Night Street Games announced today that its latest game, Last Flag, will officially release on April 14.
Last Flag is described as an “over-the-top” 5v5 capture-the-flag shooter, originally conceived by Night Street Games founders Dan Reynolds and Mac Reynolds. The duo felt that other titles in the capture-the-flag genre failed to recapture the experience they had as kids, where hiding and finding the flag was the most exciting part of the game.
Players in Last Flag compete for fame and fortune in a 1970s-style game show setting. Matches are designed to last around 20 minutes, creating an experience the developers did not want to feel “too sweaty.”
“Working on Last Flag has been a dream for all of us at the studio. It is not often you get to build a game exactly how you want,” said Mac Reynolds, CEO and co-founder of Night Street Games. “Our PC launch is a huge milestone, but we are just getting started. New maps, new contestants and some unexpected twists are coming later this year. We cannot wait to share it all.”
If this sounds appealing, you will be glad to know Night Street Games is running an open demo from now until March 2. Participants can earn exclusive cosmetic rewards, such as the Lunar Gold-themed skin set, which will carry over to the full game when it launches in April.
As previously mentioned, Night Street Games was founded by two brothers. What makes that particularly interesting is that Mac Reynolds manages the band Imagine Dragons, while Dan Reynolds serves as its lead singer. The pair say they launched Night Street Games in an effort to create multiplayer experiences built with heart.
For now, Last Flag will be available only on PC via Steam or the Epic Games Store. However, the developers have confirmed console versions are in development and expected to launch later this year. Be sure to check out Last Flag when it releases on April 14.
Last week I was: getting roundhouse kicked by Cyborgs.
This week I've been: impressed by the Automaton's ability to produce seemingly infinite Vox Engines.
Anyone who's been kickin' around the milky way for a while in Helldivers 2 will recall quite a few events of note in the galactic war. We fended off a massed Illuminate invasion of Super Earth, fighting through city streets as Leviathans swam in the skies above, raining down laser fire. We assaulted the Terminid Hive Worlds, diving underground into dark, bug-infested labyrinths, with only the weapons on our backs to keep us safe.
For my money, though, the current Machinery of Oppression update and our assault on the Automaton capital of Cyberstan is the best the game has ever been—and no, I'm not just saying that because it added my beloved explosive hammer. It all started with sneaky clankers stealing the blueprints for the 'Star of Peace', a planet-destroying weapon for the Democracy Space Station. Now, yes, that is the plot of the Star Wars, and what's even funnier: we're the Empire in that analogy.
Still, Super Earth couldn't suffer the Automatons to gain a planet-cracking weapon—or to know about the single ventilation shaft that was presumably its only weakness—so we hit the road for Cyberstan, blazing a trail of destruction right into the heart of Automaton territory to end their threat once and for all.
There's a multitude of reasons why this update has been so good. We got new toys to play with like the wonderfully designed Bastion Tank, which isn't actually a tank, but a Tank Destroyer. Don't ask me why Super Earth gave us a vehicle from World War 2, but its combo of major firepower and limited turret range make for some fun teambuilding between the gunner and the driver as they try to line up targets.
We got new enemies—or should I say old enemies—in the form of the returning Cyborg menace. Trying to accomplish strategic objectives while getting shotgunned and roundhouse-kicked into oblivion can be quite the hurdle. Not to mention the new colossal Vox Engines, towering weapon platforms that trundle through each area, firing rockets, lasers, and gatling guns, while screaming out Automaton propaganda.
The best bit? Their only major weakness is underneath them, so you have to run between their tracks with explosives like some street-fighter taking out a German tank in Stalingrad. Despite all that, the best bit for me is that Cyberstan is bloody difficult. For those who've been about the galactic block (like me), it's arguably the hardest the game's ever been, so much so that we might not win. Now that's really exciting.
Helldivers 2's galactic campaign is famously GM'd by a devious mastermind called Joel, though since launch the team has expanded. It's one of the reasons the game's major order system feels so responsive—it's like playing a tabletop RPG with a GM actively responding as you go, throwing complications into the mix and keeping you on your toes. But thanks to the current 'Forces in Reserve' system for our assault on Cyberstan, this GM-ing has really kicked up a notch.
(Image credit: Arrowhead)
You see, we only have so many lives with which to take Cyberstan. Looking at the screen as I wrote this, we were at 97,272,293 out of 410,000,000. That's right, over 300 million divers had already died in the assault, and that number is far bigger now. The fun part, though? Joel kept giving us ways to earn more lives. These 'Strategic Imperatives' are sub-objectives, such as diverting some players to kill Terminids or Illuminate and complete operations against those factions.
My favorite one of these involved moving the Democracy Space Station away from Cyberstan to pick up 35 million frozen divers Super Earth had apparently forgotten about on Fort Justice. To do that, though, we lost the support Stratagems that the DSS provides. It's such a great little devil's bargain, like something straight out of Blades in the Dark or another TTRPG. Defeating the Illuminate invasion of Super Earth felt like more of a sure thing, but the fact we can actually run out of lives to take Cyberstan has really upped the ante and made community decisions feel far more meaningful.
(Image credit: Arrowhead Game Studios)
Helldivers 2 has really gone from strength to strength this last year. As a guide writer who covers many different live service games, there's nothing quite like it in the space. It's incredible to see how, even two years after launch, a major campaign like this brings players flocking back to be part of a historical event in its life cycle. If you're like me, the kind of person who waited for hours with other Destiny 2 players to watch the Almighty crash or the Traveler transform, then you're sure to enjoy Helldivers 2's community-driven campaigns.
I'm not sure I've ever experienced a game that is rooted so heavily in community-determined events, not just witnessed by players, but created by them as well in many ways. There's no better phrase to describe the game than: "You don't know man, you weren't there." Sure, there's arguably a FOMO component to it, but also, not really?
Anyone can be part of these events unfolding in the galactic war if they have the game. Whether defending Super Earth's streets, navigating gloomy Hive World tunnels, or, as now, fighting through the bot-defended industrial complexes of Cyberstan. Even though we were ultimately defeated in our siege on the Automaton capital, it's been one of my favorite major updates either way.
Arc Raiders is home to some of the nicest players I've come across in a multiplayer game. From players teaming up together to take out huge arcs to the emergence of "care bear lobbies", which even surprised the devs. I'm not saying everyone in this game is a saint, but there certainly are some who raid among us.
This week's example is a good samaritan who helped a random downed player get to safety. "Shout out to this guy," Kickflippingdad says. "He never said a word but escorted me 15 minutes to a hatch." Alongside this post is a timelapse which actually shows the stranger escorting them to safety, even using a Vita Spray when their health got too low.
"I didn’t want to tell him that I literally had nothing on me (Anvil 3 and some heals) because I knew [helping] was a waste of time," Kickflippingdad adds. "But I don’t have the Looting MK3 Survivor blueprint, and that’s the only thing I had on me that I couldn’t easily replace. I didn’t want to make it sound like I had a lot on me either, so I just never mentioned my loot."
The MK3 Survivor augment is certainly something you'd want to keep. It's an epic item that, when equipped, heals the raider if they're downed during periods when they don't move. We've actually seen another player use it before to crawl for 15 minutes across the map to an extract.
"This game is already fun without all of the social interaction, but this is what makes the game top-tier in my book," another player adds. "It’s these interesting encounters where you meet a friendly and they help you through the game."
On the other hand, there are plenty of stories of raiders helping a stranger only to turn on them at the last minute. "I saved a guy from being killed, brought him up with a defib, he swore on his mother he wouldn't betray me," one player says. "Told him I'd watch his back while he looted so he wouldn't be killed because the area was a hotspot. Then he shot me in the back and stole my Venator IV."
I've also been shot in the back by raiders who swore they were chill and even approached me, asking not to shoot them. It sucks, but sadly, that too is part of the game. I just try and focus on the positives, which is why it's so nice to hear about feel-good stories like this one—there is still some good in the world.
Rather than informing the player, ARC Raiders aim for them to be lost in the game. Its lack of a mini map is not a blunder. It's the intentional design to ensure players care about the game and not surface. Instead of being passive skimmers, they should be active participants in a world of uncertainty. The footsteps, machinery sounds, and distant activities should be enough to guide players in a direction.
This ability to be so susceptible to sound should be considered. For most shooters, noise is a tactical nuisance. Here, it is a question of existence. A reckless dash over gravel can leak your position, while going through your inventory is an almost guaranteed call to battle. You are not evaluating whether the environment will allow the luxury of organization. You are taking a bold gamble. The pause needed to control resources is not a neutral moment.
The outcome is a rhythm that is close to horror. Waiting, scavenging, and hiding in ruined buildings to avoid the ARC's mechanized movements is more about survival horror than other forms of extraction. Unlike other worlds, this one is constructed through control, simulating a post-apocalyptic world with no need for splendour. Rather than convenience, the game wants players who buy PS5 shooting games to understand the tension that comes with fragile existence.
The Enigma Of Player Morality
If the environment is unwelcoming, the players will be unpredictable. This game relishes the mystery of human behavior, where cooperation is momentarily rewarding. ARC Raiders focuses on the paradox of trust, which is needed and always vulnerable. This is where teamwork is achievable, but very rarely. I remember times when a handshake was a sign of loyalty that would later be on the other end of.
Players' moral codes are vicious, not because the game requires it, but because the systems permit it. Teammates may casually watch you bleed out, not out of malice, but out of careful calculation, realizing your gear is worth far more than your life. Of course, you are left to suffer the feeling of utter betrayal, only to find pity in yourself for the incredible sensation of outsmarting your opponent and claiming the resources by sheer opportunism.
But the most powerful emotion is not in the betrayal, not in the targeting, but in the sheer act of existence. The sheer act of "Returning to Speranza" after a stressful run is pure electric relief. It is not the mere looting of the loot; it is the looting yourself, protecting oneself in a designed system that is meant to take it away. The ARC Raiders, in this sense, is a game in which the morals of the players who buy PS5 games are explored at length, with the ease of exploitation at their fingertips. It's a game where the players' instincts are out in the open.
The Skill Tree and the Grind of Progression
In the case of ARC Raiders, the Progression is anything but instant. It is the Skill Tree that contains the most branches and requires the most patience. The tree that contains the most branches is divided into Condition, Mobility, and Survival. Conditioning reinforces endurance, Mobility, and survival, improving the efficiency of resources.
Mobility, specifically Stamina, becomes the most crucial focus early in the game. Without it, the player becomes vulnerable, incapable of escaping and repositioning themselves.
This grind is purposeful. It slows character growth to ensure that progress feels earned and not granted. This, however, starkly contrasts with the selection and upgrade of weapons and workstations, which are done instantly. While the Skill Tree is a long-term investment, the arsenal is a source of instant gratification. Unlocking a new weapon or a crafted tool can radically change a run, providing instant reward amidst slow developmental change.
The imbalance of grind and instant reward captures the essence of the philosophy of the game: Increments define survival, instant adaptation defines it. Players need to manage the trajectory of progress strategically, while bursts of tactical advantage need to be realized. Resilience, however, is built over time, while survival is defined within moments.
The Resource Loop: Crafting, the Arsenal, and the Workstation
In ARC Raiders, crafting is not a choice- it is an imperative. The workstations act as the transformation tool, while blueprints located in the field unlock potential. The process resembles Fallout, where weapons are makeshift, yet feel obligatory. Players are able to upgrade their workstations, which in turn expands the arsenal and enables the crafting of new tools and weapons, forcing players to scavenge and manage resources.
The arsenal has a range of options, but its true strength stems from how it adapts. There's a need for strategic variation. Different environments, ARC presence, and even the actions of other players call for a distinct approach. A weapon effective in the open may struggle in tight corridors, and a weapon effective in one run may be useless in another.
"This loop" scavenge, craft, adapt"anchors the game 's identity." It's not about gaining resources. It's about how you can prepare for the unpredictable. This resource loop becomes a meditation on adaptability. It's a simulation of the fact that having the right gear, at the right time, is what counts in order to survive.
The term "casual" has been used for ARC Raiders, and it has been called a "casual extraction shooter." That label, while contradictory due to how tense and difficult the game can be, serves a purpose. Other games in the genre do not.
One example is the free loadouts offered after each failure. While most other extraction shooters punish defeats with total destruction, ARC Raiders hands you a lifeline. This design choice does not trivialize the challenge; it preserves the loop. Players are able to engage and return to try again without the tremendous defeat of having to restart from scratch.
This level of forgiveness does not remove difficulty. Consider the Rocketeer, a higher-tier ARC unit. Players will have to pay more ARC coin and prepare more, as each is harder to obtain. Progression and adaptation are still required. However, by easing the consequences of failure, it expands access without losing the level of tension. The "casual" label does not reflect a lack of challenge, but a design philosophy that celebrates the persistence over punishment approach.
Conclusion: A Simulation of Human Fragility
ARC Raiders is more than an extraction shooter. It is as much an analysis of human behavior as it is a simulation of scavenging in a world after a cataclysm. It is also a study in survival. The immersion comes from the absence of " no mini-map, no hand-holding," players are required to exist in the world. The morality of the game is cruel; it exposes the mysteries of trust and betrayal that exist in multiplayer spaces. Although the progression is centered on long-term resilience, it is also deliberately grindy, forcing the player to strike a balance of immediate adaptation. The crafting loop is strategic, and the player is subjected to a demanding level of foresight and variation. The game is also forgiving, which is a redefining feature of accessibility to a genre that is often punitive in nature.
What manifests from the above is a gaming experience that simply "feels alive," lacking in spectacle, yet abundant in tension. Every sound is significant, every choice made has consequences, and every "run" is a new tale of fragility and resilience. You do not "play" ARC Raiders as much as you "dwell" in it. You have not only made the journey to Speranza; you have also understood that conquering a system is not the primary objective; rather, it is the stories you bring along from your journey that matter.
The biggest story of the #GOTY night is the absolute dominance of Hollow Knight: Silksong. After years of development that many feared would never end, the game launched as a massive critical and commercial success in late 2025. It managed to snag both Game of the Year and Best Game You Suck At, beating out heavy hitters like Kingdom Come: Deliverance II and Clair Obscur: Expedition 33.
Clair Obscur – Best Soundtrack Award at Steam Awards 2025
While Expedition 33 was a critical darling at other shows, Steam users clearly preferred the tight, punishing platforming of Hornet’s journey. The “Best Game You Suck At” category was particularly competitive this year, with Silksong edging out Elden Ring: Nightreign and Marvel Rivals. It’s a rare feat to take the top prize while also being recognized as the most frustratingly difficult experience of the year, but for the Hollow Knight faithful, that challenge is exactly why they waited so long.
Baldurs Gate – Labor of Love Award Steam Awards 2025
The “Labor of Love” Controversy
One of the most debated wins is Baldur’s Gate 3 taking home the Labor of Love award. Larian Studios has been remarkably consistent with free updates and massive patches, even rebuilding the Linux client from the ground up for native Steam Deck support in 2025. However, the win sparked a predictable amount of salt from fans of No Man’s Sky and Helldivers 2, who felt those titles—which have been supported for years (or in the case of Helldivers, fought through a rocky launch)—were more deserving. Still, the Steam community tends to vote for their current favorites, and BG3 remains the platform’s golden child.
Peak – Better With Friend Award Steam Awards 2025
Handhelds and Innovation
Best Game on Steam Deck:Hades II won this handily, proving that Supergiant’s rogue-like loop is the gold standard for portable play. It beat out Deep Rock Galactic: Survivor and the sleeper hit BALL x PIT. The developers worked specifically to ensure the sequel was “verified” and battery-efficient from day one, and that effort paid off with the community.
Hades 2 – Best Game on Steam Deck 2025 Steam Awards
Most Innovative Gameplay: This went to ARC Raiders (affiliate link). It was a controversial pick for some, as many felt the mind-bending puzzles of Blue Prince or the genre-blending of Mage Arena pushed the medium further. However, ARC Raiders’ unpredictable community-driven “story generator” in an extraction shooter setting won over the masses, proving that even a crowded genre can feel fresh with the right execution.
Arc Raiders – Most Innovative Gameplay Award
Story & Style: The Rise of the New Classics
In a major upset, Dispatch from AdHoc Studio took home Outstanding Story-Rich Game. This superhero workplace comedy managed to beat out cinematic giants like The Last of Us Part II Remastered and Kingdom Come: Deliverance II. Players were enamored with its episodic structure and meaningful choices, showing a pivot toward tight, focused writing rather than sprawling open-world bloat.
On the visual front, Silent Hill f secured Outstanding Visual Style. It faced stiff competition from Final Fantasy VII Rebirth and DOOM: The Dark Ages, but its unique, unsettling Japanese folk-horror aesthetic resonated more than raw graphical power. This win signals that Steam players are increasingly looking for a cohesive art direction that defines the game’s identity.
Silent Hill f – Outstanding Visuals Awards at Steam Awards 2025
RV There Yet – Sit Back and Relax Award at Steam Awards 2025
The 2025 results highlight a community that is increasingly independent from mainstream trends. Whether it’s the claymation beauty of The Midnight Walkor the chaotic cooperation in PEAK, the winners reflect a year where creativity and community engagement mattered more than budget. How do you like Steam GOTY 2025 results yourself? Please leave a comment.
VR Game winner at Steam Awards 2025 is The Midnight Walk
Embark Studios finally stopped playing coy about how their machines sort the digital wheat from the tactical chaff. Patrick Söderlund basically handed the Reddit theorists a victory lap by confirming Arc Raiders employs aggression-based matchmaking. This system attempts to bucket the bloodthirsty PvP enthusiasts away from the folks who actually want to scavenge in peace. If you spend your time hunting players, you get a lobby of hunters. If you’re there for the loot and the atmosphere, the algorithm tries to find you a kindred spirit who won’t shoot you in the back the second a rare component drops. It is a bold move for an extraction shooter, a genre that usually thrives on the total lack of safety, but Embark is clearly trying to manage the salt levels of its growing player base.
Arc Raiders – Matchmaking tune up
Extraction Etiquette and the Predator Problem
The CEO admitted the system is hardly a perfected science. It functions as a secondary layer beneath the standard skill-based parameters and party-size filters. The logic is simple: the game tracks your propensity for violence. A week ago, this invisible hand started nudging the “kill on sight” crowd toward their own private hells. It aims to address the viral chaos of retired pros dunking on casuals, but it raises questions about how the game defines intent. If you only fire in self-defense, the system might still struggle to differentiate you from the aggressor. The tension of the extraction genre relies on that unpredictability. Sanitizing the experience too much could strip the game of its actual edge, turning a tense standoff into a predictable chore.
Does your choice of fashion say something about your behavior in Arc Raiders?
As I pore over this "Raider Outfit Danger Scale" created by Reddit user abeetabee and marvel at its anecdotal accuracy, it's hard to argue there isn't a correlation. Some threads just scream "this guy is totally going to shoot me when I turn around," and others carry an air of indifference, whimsy, or niceness. It's never polite to judge a book by its cover, and that's not what the author of this list is advocating for, but it sure can come in handy in this game.
"Wanted to make a chart of my experience since I've also noticed patterns in general behavior per outfit, based on this post from earlier," abeetabee wrote. "Obviously this isn't true for everyone that wears one of these outfits."
The tier list only includes outfits that they've personally encountered often enough to assess, but at 30 total outfits judged, it's a decent spread of Arc Raiders' current wardrobe. Here's the list in full:
I ran this tier list past our most active Arc players at PC Gamer to get more perspectives. Senior guides writer Sean Martin wears the "Boonie" outfit and confirms he's "defo the person who appears for one second of a Bastion fight." Group editorial director Tim Clark agrees that horns are a sign of someone looking for a fight, but argues that the default jump suit outfit in the "either chill or already dead on the floor" tier is more obnoxious than chill: "I feel like this guy is usually a dickhead with a soundboard."
Spelling out some of the highlights from the tier list:
Misthorn: The scary mask with two protruding horns
Ombra: Full head wrap and dark pants
Most nice
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(Image credit: Embark Studios)
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(Image credit: Embark Studios)
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(Image credit: Embark Studios)
Driftcoat: Heroic, stylish pilot cosplay
Radio Renegade: Nerdy head coif with an antenna
Riot: Dorky shorts, short sleeves. "1000% the helpful person skin. You look like a mailman," according to Sean.
Naturally my eyes darted around looking for where my most-used outfit was placed. I'm almost always rocking the Driftcoat skin (yellow pilot jacket/helmet) at the bottom tier, and at the risk of sounding too proud, "stops what they're doing to help you and is super nice about it" is an accurate description of how I've been enjoying Arc Raiders.
As expected, the orange and black Ryder skin that some players have been insisting cannot be trusted since November ranked top among the "stops what they're doing to shoot you and is a jerk about it" tier. It's not lost on me that the jerkiest skins judged here are also the most aggressive looking—dark colors, face coverings, glasses, and horns. Folks who prefer to play Arc Raiders like a battle royale are dressing for the job.
One ranking we all agree on is that the bottom-tier fella with high-waist shorts and rolled up sleeves is 1000% always helpful, because it's just too dorky of a look to wear with anything but pure intentions.
What do you wear in Arc Raiders, and is this chart accurate to your experience?
We're nine days into the New Year, and instead of focusing on any resolutions that are likely redundant by now, I've set my sights on one of the most popular games of 2025, Arc Raiders, and what I think (and hope) is in store for players as we progress through the year.
Embark Studios hasn't confirmed a roadmap for Arc Raiders yet, but there are some things we're very likely to see, at the very least, before 2027 creeps up on us.
(Image credit: Embark Studios)
Following on from the last few months, I'd bet that raiders will get to experience new map conditions, weapons, arc mobs, raider decks, and hopefully even some new community events.
When it comes to map conditions, I wouldn't be surprised if we got a desert condition sometime in the summer, like the Cold Snap, but in reverse. I'd also like to see something like a Wacky Raid, where the arc behaviour is really weird, the mobs spawn in locations you'd usually not find them in, and the loot makes absolutely no sense for where you'd find it. It sounds fun (and horrifying) finding a leaper wedged into the hallways of Dam Control Tower, although that's likely a pipe dream.
But you know what isn't? New mobs. From the beginning, players have been pointing and shouting about the huge arcs that can be seen on the horizon of the maps. And Embark has even spoken about the existence of the Baron, King, and Emperor arcs, all of which are even bigger versions of the Queen and the Matriarch, so where are they?
(Image credit: Embark)
Well, there are a few dormant Baron husks you can sort through already, but seeing the real deal alive and walking will likely take a little longer. Before Embark can introduce these huge arcs, they need to sort out their epic guns.
In Arc Raiders, you have normal, rare, and epic weapons, but the weird thing is that the basic weapons are just as good, if not better than some epic ones, and they are cheaper. No one really knows why this is, although some suspect that it's because Embark is afraid to buff pink weapons and throw off the balance of the game. But the consequence of this is that there's currently a ceiling on what kind of arcs players can actually take on, and I don't think the average player right now could take on a fully fledged Baron or King with what they have in their arsenal, even with all the gun mods available.
But other than adding more goliaths to the game, I'd like to see a bunch of new little guys also. We already got a new indoor mob with Stella Montis as the Shredder has quickly made a name for itself, but why stop there?
Mobs like pops and fireballs turn walking through the buildings in Arc Raiders into a horror game. There's nothing worse than getting swarmed by a bunch of explosive balls, only for you to also have a tick jump on your face. It's pure chaos, and I'd like more of that, please.
(Image credit: Embark Studios)
But if we're not going to get any new mobs, then I'd at least like to see a new mode or two. A PvE raid mode or even a PvP heist mode could be really cool, especially against the backdrops of Arc Raiders' derelict maps. The raids could be like Destiny, where you have to work together to take down a huge enemy, and the heist mode could just dump a load of players in a small area with limited loot and time, raising the stakes and the tension of a game.
I'd also like to see Embark expand more on aggression-based matchmaking. In an ideal world, we'd get to know more about how it actually works, especially since the conversations around aggression-based matchmaking are likely far from over.
(Image credit: Embark)
In the same vein, community events also need a rework. With more and more friendly PvE lobbies, more players are working together to complete tasks like opening the Bunker or taking down the Matriarch. It's now easier than ever to complete these events, as the game clearly wasn't built with this mass cooperation in mind. Meanwhile, if you're a PvP player, you're at a disadvantage in completing these events due to the aggression-based matchmaking.
And last but not least, there needs to be a rework of expeditions. I haven't even thought of sending my raider away since PC Gamer's senior guides writer Sean Martin said it wasn't worth it. There's just not enough incentive right now, and encouraging players to hoard their stash instead of using all their cool gear before the wipe seems like the wrong idea.
Arc Raiders devs have said time and time again that they thought they had something special in their hands in the lead-up to the game's release, but I'm not sure anyone could've predicted just how popular it would become. I'm not saying its popularity is a bad thing, quite the opposite, but it does mean that Embark now has swathes of fans who all want different things added to the game, and they want them now.
Swapping weapons, reloading, healing, and climbing, most things in Arc Raiders take a hell of a lot of time to do. Nowhere is this clearer than when you're carrying the crates required to open and loot Field Depots, which you'll have to slowly lug across the map with no access to your guns. This annoying mechanic has only become more frequent with the various locked doors in Stella Montis that require you to haul a power cell around in the most dangerous map of all.
Even if you're using stamina to move faster, it's so slow and I feel so incredibly vulnerable when carrying a heavy item that, quite frankly, I try to avoid it as much as possible. In fact, I rarely do Field Depots at all, even though they can contain some good loot; it would take a lot of convincing to get me to haul those crates around.
Well, after over 50 hours with the game, I've just learned that there's a method to carrying these boxes faster; I didn't think it was even possible to carry them 'wrong'. It turns out that, against all laws of physics, you're actually faster carrying items backwards. Yes, turn around and run backwards while carrying a heavy object like a field crate or battery, and you'll somehow move faster than you would running forward. You can see a comparison of it below in a video by Fallout Plays:
It's important to clarify that, yes, you can actually sprint backwards by holding the run key, just as you would if you were moving forwards. As such, you'll still benefit from maxing out your stamina with the best skills, which I'd recommend you do anyhow.
Of course, if you're walking backwards…you're not going to be able to see where you're going. It's not exactly optimal in most situations, truth be told, but if it's a straight shot to where you need to drop off the object or you've got a friend to cover you, run backwards instead to pick up the pace. The less time spent holding a heavy box instead of a gun, the better.
But no, instead of encouraging more bloodthirsty raiders Topside, I'd like to do the opposite. After checking out Arc Raiders' achievements on Steam, I was shocked—no, appalled—to learn that less than 15% of players have revived a fellow raider, and that's a crying shame:
Today You, Tomorrow Me: Revive an encountered raider with a defibrillator (14.7%)
What are we doing here, everyone? Defibrillators are easy to find in Medical areas like Buried City's Hospital, you can craft them, and they're even sold by Lance. So, you've no excuse not to take one into a raid in case a friendly raider needs a helping hand.
Ever since being downed by a Rocketeer fighting the Matriarch, only to be revived by a random player and not being able to return the favour when they met the same fate, I always take at least one defibrillator with me.
PC Gamer's Morgan Park actually spent time Topside as a full-time paramedic, watching for downed raiders and rushing to revive them, and ended up with more loot than he could carry for his efforts. I've even heard of players doing 'reverse robberies' to clear their inventory, which involves downing a player, showering them with loot, and then reviving them before running for the hills.
It's all about paying it forward, as they say. Save a raider today, and I'm sure someone will show you the same mercy soon enough.
While the Today You, Tomorrow Me achievement had a depressingly low score, I'm glad that The Friends We Made Along The Way, the task to extract with a random player, is at a surprisingly high 82.6% completion rate right now. Reviving another player is one thing, but trusting them while you're at your richest and most vulnerable is another.
Just remember your P's and Q's, since only 17.8% of players have earned the Heart of Gold achievement, involving being thanked ten times.
Last week I was: teaming up with players in Arc Raiders, and blasting the mean ones.
This week I've been: clearing out my stash and filling it up just as quickly by engaging in more PvP.
I've praised Arc Raiders a lot since launch, perhaps above all else because it's finally an extraction shooter that's forgiving and welcoming for a wider audience, even as a fan of the genre's traditionally hardcore roots. However, there's a degree to which Arc Raiders' obsession with a fair playing field is its own worst enemy, and it unfortunately strikes deep into its core: the gear system just isn't all that exciting.
The confusion I've seen from people wondering what they're supposed to do after they've unlocked everything and completed all the quests should have an easy answer: get better loot, kill things, eventually lose it, and do it all over again. But high-end loot isn't a satisfying and rewarding chase.
Firstly, the abundance and strength of free loadouts mean there are a lot of players risking literally nothing in PvP match after match, while those bringing in gear have a high chance of losing it all. On the flip side, there's also no reward to killing a player who's using a free loadout because…they don't really have any loot worth taking. You see this a lot with people on the sidelines when fighting elite Arc like the Matriarch, waiting to backstab those who actually came prepared.
But this isn't the root of the issue; it's merely a consequence of it. What's really letting the loot system down is that higher-quality weapons aren't actually all that much better than their common counterparts, so why bother?
Player interactions (whether friendly or hostile) are the true heart and soul of the game, but it's still an extraction shooter, and to be a good extraction shooter, loot needs to matter.
When it comes to the best guns in Arc Raiders, you'll hear the Stitcher, Anvil, Venator, and Hullcracker mentioned every time. Of these, the Stitcher is effectively free, and the Anvil and Venator are easy enough to craft, buy, and repair. The Hullcracker is an epic so it's the only one that's even remotely hard to come by and maintain, and it's only useful against Arc machines, not players. That said, you can buy one regularly from Tian Wen.
Why is it that I'd almost always rather take an Anvil, Stitcher, Venator, or Ferro compared to higher-rarity, more expensive options like an Osprey, Bettina, Tempest, or Bobcat. In cases where these options are better, it's only marginally and not worth the effort put into obtaining them and the psychological damage of losing them.
And then there's the legendaries, the most disappointing of them all. Presumably to stop players with legendary weapons from wiping the servers, these top-tier guns are basically only upgrades when fighting Arc machines. They're niche.
It's an interesting approach, having the most prestigious weapons angled specifically at PvE, but it also means the power of these items doesn't match their rarity and the effort put into earning them. I'll only ever pull one out of the stash if I know I'm planning on taking down an elite Arc, and even then, I'd need to bring a secondary weapon for PvP.
Even the new Aphelion legendary battle rifle, while powerful, isn't strong enough to make me want to take down the Matriarch to get it compared to just using a Stitcher, Anvil, or Venator on repeat.
Arc Raiders has proven that player interactions (whether friendly or hostile) are the true heart and soul of the game, but it's still an extraction shooter, and to be a good extraction shooter, loot needs to matter.
I think it's only a matter of time, perhaps after the first Expedition cycle, until players truly feel the loot system has fallen short, when they've either completed all the quests and upgrades or simply had enough of it and are more focused on climbing the loot ladder.
My hope is that epics get a slight buff to their overall lethality and durability to give them a tangible edge over their lower-rarity counterparts, just enough to encourage players to search them out and use them in the field—I'm not asking for power creep. A map or mode with a barrier to entry, such as a kit worth over a certain amount in value, could also help avoid power creep against fresh raiders.
Add on to that more legendaries in the future that are aimed specifically at PvP, and Arc Raiders can still straddle the fine line between casual shenanigans and intense extraction shooting.
The Communication Hideout quest in Arc Raiders has a few tricky steps, one of which involves locating a missing battery cell around the Red Tower, while another involves tracking down a terminal concealed around the outside of the building. On the plus side, though, this quest doesn't require you to extract anything, so you can bring a free loadout.
On the whole, it's a pretty straightforward quest all centered in and around Red Tower, so here's how to complete it and overcome those trickier stages, like finding the missing battery cell and the antenna terminal.
Find the missing battery cell and power up the generator
The battery is located in a box to the northeast of Red Tower (Image credit: Embark Studios)
First off, you'll need to head to the Red Tower location in the south of the Buried City, where you'll then be asked to "Find the missing battery cell". This is located in a metal box in the street to the northeast of Red Tower, marked on the map above. You'll find a yellow-marked metal box against the side of a boarded-up kiosk next to a palm tree—this resembles the boxes you've found previous quest items in. Simply interact with it to produce the missing battery cell.
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The box with the battery is just against the kiosk outside (Image credit: Embark Studios)
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Interact with the box to get the battery (Image credit: Embark Studios)
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Pick it up and install it in the generator behind you (Image credit: Embark Studios)
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Interact with the power switch on the generator to turn it on (Image credit: Embark Studios)
Now you need to "install the battery cell in the generator". Turn around from the box and the kiosk to spot a small generator on the street wired up to the tower (right next to the subway entrance), with a slot where you can place the battery, similar to when opening a Field Crate at a depot. Once that's done, hit the switch on the end of the generator to "enable power", and you're ready to head up into the tower
Boot the antenna terminal near the Red Tower
The terminal is on the outside platform on the upper level of the Red Tower (Image credit: Embark Studios)
The final step is to boot the antenna terminal on the Red Tower, and this is quite tricky to locate. Go inside the Red Tower through the window just right of the generator, climb the stairs and head out onto the roof platform, using the ladder to climb to the upper level.
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Climb up onto the exterior platform and go around the corner (Image credit: Embark Studios)
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Interact with the terminal to complete the quest (Image credit: Embark Studios)
Now turn immediately right, head along the platform around the outside of the Red Tower and go around the corner to find the yellow-marked terminal. Interact with this and you've completed the quest.
I'm having a lot more fun with Arc Raiders than I expected to—not that I assumed there'd be anything wrong with it, I just really suck at PvP shooters. Arc's relatively peaceful game world (not counting all the damn robots) has thus come as a genuinely pleasant surprise, and instead of getting mad and going back to Find My Frogs after an hour or two, I'm thoroughly hooked.
I had just one problem: The sound in Arc Raiders would persistently hiccup and hitch, and the troubles would get worse the longer I played. After three or four matches, the audio would drop out for a full second or two, intermittently but repeatedly, multiple times per minute. The game continued to run normally, to be clear, it was just dead silent. The effect was incredibly distracting and irritating, and for a game as dependent on audio cues as Arc Raiders, it was a deal breaker: I was ready to quit playing if I couldn't find a fix.
Fortunately, I did find a fix. A search through the Steam forums revealed that I was far from alone in struggling with this issue, which made me feel slightly better about things—misery and company, and all that. The real relief, though, came from Steam user awsk, who shared a fix that's really quite simple:
Right-click Arc Raiders in your Steam library
Select "Properties"
In the "Launch Options" field under the "General" tab, enter "-norhithread" without the quotes.
Like this:
(Image credit: Steam)
And that's it! Fire up Arc Raiders and, hopefully, enjoy silky smooth audio from start to finish. I say "hopefully" because I can't give you an iron-clad guarantee this will solve your problem, but it worked like a charm for me and for a bunch of other people on Steam too. Awsk warned that using this launch option will "slightly decrease" the game's FPS, but I didn't notice any difference, and if there is some small reduction I'd say it's well worth being able to hear the game as it was intended.
As for the root cause of the issue, there's plenty of speculation—Discord, Bluetooth headsets, old-ass CPUs (that's me!)—but nothing definitive that I've seen. Whatever it is, hopefully Embark will cook up a proper fix for the problem soon, but in the meantime this should help—if you use the fix, let us know how it goes in the comments.
