ARC Raiders PvE First-Day Reactions: Players Come Back
Players say PvE brought them back and made co-op more enjoyable. First-day comments also raise loot grabbing, ARC difficulty and the missing Frigate option.
Players on Reddit, on our Facebook post and under Pigeon Percent's video report coming back after months away and enjoying raids with friends. ARC Raiders' first-day PvE reactions also include complaints about loot grabbing, requests for tougher ARC fights and disappointment that Frigate is excluded.
October 14, 2026 | Player responses to the October 13 PvE launch. The beta runs until October 20 at 11:00 CEST.
Key takeaways
- Several commenters say the PvE test brought them back after a break, including players who had stopped months ago.
- Players praise the chance to explore, finish missions and fight ARC with friends without taking damage from other Raiders.
- Loot grabbing and reports of downed gear being taken show that sharing a PvE server can still cause friction.
- Requests for tougher ARC and access to Frigate give Embark specific feedback to consider during the week-long test.
Some Raiders came back specifically for PvE
Bill Moffatt's reply on our Facebook post gets straight to the reason this test matters to him:
“Played all day yesterday for the first time in months and loved it!”
Under Pigeon Percent's video, @Mr_Big_Head says PvE brought them back after a break:
“Played for the first time since January for the pve.”
Reddit's launch-day feedback thread has a similar account. u/SaltWeather8775 says they had quit playing, and the PvE test got them enjoying exploration, ARC fights and collecting loot again.
Both report playing again during the PvE test. Returning players complicate the argument that every PvE player has simply left the regular queue. Someone who had stopped playing may have been absent from both queues before the beta.
@Zumbie578 says they would probably keep playing if PvE stays, and uninstall again if it goes.
What are players enjoying about PvE?
The chance to concentrate on missions comes up in the Facebook replies. Martha Schwamph Olsson describes the benefit as a new player:
“Relaxing and easier to focus on missions. Atleast for me as a newbie.”
Mark Hobbs says he likes having extra time to explore without being shot in the back. Steve Perkins wants the option kept because he enjoys running with friends and taking on big ARC fights.
David Rupa says he now brings a full loadout into every raid and accepts the risk of dying to ARC.
One October 13 Reddit reply describes a stranger helping after a group fight:
“I fought big arc for 20 minutes with everyone. Went off and got downed by a rocketeer. Someone protected me all the way to extract. I'm really liking the PvE”
Martin Pomerleau says he likes PvP for fights, alliances and funny encounters, and PvE for quests and lore.
The toggle uses shared sessions where different squad sizes can meet. Our PvE rules guide covers the switch, map restrictions and what happens when ARC downs you.
Loot is still worth collecting, and people still compete for it
Embark says overall loot value is lower in PvE. The reactions do not agree on how noticeable that feels. Tim Lee-Priore reports good ARC fights and says the loot is still good, with a bit less of it. @DelDelight reports finding high-tier guns, keycards and furniture blueprints.
Reddit reports vary, too. u/MachCrafted says they noticed fewer drawers in Buried Hospital. u/Lytaa describes some raids with mostly basic materials and others with loot close to their regular runs. These are players' observations. Embark hasn't published a loot-reduction percentage or detailed container-spawn changes in the beta notice.
A more immediate complaint is who gets to a container or a defeated machine first. Michael Zavislak says other players wait for large ARC to fall and then rush in to collect the drops before the people who fought it.
In the same Reddit thread as the stranger-rescue account, u/Gidiyorsun says their group used Deadlines and Equalizers to defeat a Queen, then another player bashed them and took the Queen core. The reply describes what happened to that player; it does not identify who did it or why.
Michael Bederka reports another problem on Facebook:
“Watch out if you get downed. Other players can loot you. Had an Anvil 4 and Hulcracker 4 taken before my wife could get to me.”
Players want more danger from ARC, and a shot at Frigate
Several YouTube comments ask for a stronger machine threat. @DemonLight9 wants bigger ARC danger, while @DavinciSpaghetti asks for a slight increase in difficulty or density. Jonas Rønn says on Facebook that he has fallen in love with the game again and wants the different ARC types made harder.
Other replies still describe difficult machine encounters. @captainscarletxbox3912 calls the PvE co-op element fun and challenging. Erick Anderson says a Rocketeer finished him off while downed, and Andy Yasities reports continued ARC attacks while downed.
Under the official rules, ARC gets an eight-second delay before it can re-acquire a downed Raider. Moving afterward may draw another attack.
Some players feel ARC is stronger already. That is an impression, rather than an announced beta change. Embark's published PvE rules do not announce increased enemy health, damage or density.
Frigate is a separate frustration. Pigeon Percent's video argues that players should be able to try the new encounter in PvE. The beta excludes Frigate along with Night Raid, Locked Gate, Hidden Bunker and Redirection. That leaves a major Frozen Trail 2.0 encounter outside the test for players who came back to fight ARC together.
Have regular PvPvE lobbies changed?
The first-day reports point in different directions. Returning Reddit user u/Careless_Home1760 describes the regular queue this way:
“but now, it feels like everyone is just shoot on sight in every match. No mics, no emotes, not even a "Hey Raider".”
The author also asks whether they were unlucky or had ended up in aggressive lobbies. In another Reddit thread, u/MrSpartyy describes five peaceful runs on October 13:
“Nah care bear lobbies are still around. Did 5 raids without toggle yesterday and it was chill”
@louisclaassen8672 makes a similar comparison under Pigeon Percent's video, saying their PvPvE sessions feel friendlier than PvE, where players talk less and hurry past to collect loot.
These accounts describe individual sessions, not a measured change to matchmaking. Embark says standard PvPvE matchmaking continues during the test. Our matchmaking explainer covers the existing system.
Watch Pigeon Percent's take on the PvE argument
In The PvE Argument Is Getting Ridiculous | ARC Raiders, published October 13, Pigeon Percent questions what player-count arguments can tell us about the test.
The video makes a useful point about player counts: a Steam snapshot cannot tell you why someone left, returned or chose a queue. A claim that PvE saved or killed the game needs more than a chart taken around the launch.
Frequently asked questions
Do the first-day reactions show that most players prefer PvE?
The Facebook, YouTube and Reddit responses show individual experiences and preferences. They do not measure how the full player base is split between modes.
Has Embark confirmed tougher ARC for the PvE test?
The published beta rules do not announce tougher ARC or increased machine density. Comments asking for those changes are requests from players.
Can you play Frigate in PvE?
No. Frigate is one of the named excluded map conditions during this test. It still requires the regular PvPvE queue.
Will the PvE toggle become permanent?
That remains undecided. The test ends October 20, 2026, at 11:00 CEST, or 5 a.m. Eastern. Embark says feedback and in-game data will help it decide what comes next, with a survey planned after the test.
Have a first-day experience to add? Share the map, squad size and what happened in the ARC Raiders forums. A specific encounter gives other players more to compare than a verdict that the whole mode is good or bad.
Sources: comments on ARCRaiders.gg's Facebook PvE launch post and under Pigeon Percent's October 13 video, supplied October 14; r/ArcRaiders posts and comments dated October 13 and 14; Pigeon Percent's video embedded above; Embark Studios, PvE Toggle Beta Test: October 13-20 (October 12) and Store Update 2.1.0 (October 13). Quoted comments retain the authors' wording. These are selected audience responses, not a player survey.