Arc Raiders had a free playtest this weekend, and some players are arguing that the game needs a PvE-only mode. In the game players are tasked with scavenging resources from an open map infested with enemy robots alongside other players, with players not in your group effectively being another type of enemy. This, of course, has some players saying that fighting enemy robots is enough, that they don’t need the extra stress of having to fight off other players too. The pro-PvP players are, of course, saying that this is what the game is, and if you don’t like it you should go play something else.
It’s not like that’s never been done before. Sea of Thieves is another PvPvE game, and not too long ago it too got a PvE-only mode.
What do you say about this? Should a game that wants to be both PvE and PvP also offer exclusive modes?
Yes. People suck. The only tolerable multiplayer is LAN, or multiple controllers connected to the same device, possibly with split screen.
- Wish devs (well, and pubs too, sure, all companies, its their monies after all) could do whatever they want, their
arcart. None should put big pressure. If You want something that is not on the market, do it yourself, and prove You were right by getting more profits, ez as that (also fffff nintende for blocking such moves).
2, Wish more, publishers, who decide what they pay for on devs would not rush pure excel rectangles (profits, that’s very very very only thing that they do care, nothing else at all). With they could decide to add some extra pve only game modes too, like hey, You have 95% assets made already, that cannot be too hard to add few game menu elements and switch “friendlyfire=0”, can it be? Even if that gives slightly less profit per hour of work, should still be profitable overall?
- Wish devs (well, and pubs too, sure, all companies, its their monies after all) could do whatever they want, their
Extraction shooters “needs” PvE-only mode as much as Dark Souls “needs” an easy-mode.
It’s not a case of if they should offer exclusive modes. But you should get what you paid for. And you’re paying for PvPvE extraction shooter. If they add a PvE-only mode down the line, fantastic, but their main focus, should be to create the best PvPvE experience they can in accordance to their vision of what they want the game to be.
No matter how much you playtest your game, there’s gonna be “unexpected features”, balance has to be tweaked, exploits have to be removed. They’re gonna have their hands full for at least 1 year after launch before they can even think about adding additional modes.
Enthusiastically support including PvE.
I don’t want to tell others what to do with their art, but I would certainly appreciate that. For every PvPvE game if they replaced the human opponents with NPCs I would probably be happy. I avoid PvP games. There is enough toxicity in the world without willingly subjecting myself to something that has been specifically created to generate toxic situations and behavior.
Sure if it’s either limited progression/loot, or seperate progression entirely. People will just farm on low risk PvE missions for high tier resources and upgrade to end game gear. I’ll be honest, I’m not sure how Sea of Thieves handles this.
The Arc (name of the robots) can be challenging but they are also easy to pick off at range. Maybe if the arcs were stronger in PvE? This then defeats the purpose of appealing to an even more casual crowd. People were already calling for Arc nerfs.
The devs originally pitched this game as a co-op PvE game akin to something like Helldivers 2. Their monetization model is practically the same to HD2. They decided to swap to PvPVE claiming it just wasn’t fun though many speculate Nexon, their publisher/owner, had a say in it. I have doubts Nexon influenced the gameplay but Nexon is Nexon afterall.
From my experience playing the tech tests and latest server slam, it’s real easy to avoid PvP and only fight the Arc if you so choose. You’ll run into players eventually but I’ve had an easy time making friends with strangers. Last server slam had more PvP due to limited upgrades available.
I’m not opposed to a PvE only mode if it meant the game is still playable after the servers shut down.
Sea of Thieves gives like 1/4 the rewards when you’re on PvE but otherwise it’s all cross-compatible
Or just different loot. Destiny actually had a fairly decent approach to this. Some gear was PvE only from enemy drops, and other gear could only be found in the PvP shop (which required grinding currency in PvP to purchase). There was some gear that was categorically better for builds, but the devs tried to keep the exclusive stuff fairly balanced. So like the PvP stuff wouldn’t try to make you outright overpowered in PvE, for example. It meant you could take the same gear across the two different modes, without being able to simply get OP by focusing on one mode entirely.
The devs struggled with balancing the gear between the two modes, (looking at you, Gjallarhorn), but the idea wasn’t awful.
The gear exclusive to PvE means only usable in PvE or only lootable in PvE? If the former, well that’s the same as my seperate progression suggestion. If the latter, how good is the PvE loot in PvP? Can it be really strong against other players or is better gear locked behind PvP? If can be really strong, people will grind out low risk PvE for good gear hence my limited loot suggestion.
You mention the devs struggled to balance between both modes and I’m willing to bet Embark is a smaller studio compared to Bungie. Trying to balance a whole different genre is a lot of effort for not much gain. People who want only PvE will rarely touch PvPvE due to toxicity or skill issues (as cringe as that sounds).
Yes, because gamers turn into scum whenever PVP is involved.
Yup, it’s amazing how quickly PvP sucks the fun out of a game. People immediately turn into sweaty tryhards and min-maxers when PvP is required.
People cheat way too much, and will exploit whenever it’s PvP and it sucks the fun out of it entirely.
I don’t even bother anymore.
A game doesn’t have to offer anything, if they can offer modes without compromising on their artistic integrity good for them otherwise just make the best game they can without requiring they cater to the largest demographic.
It’s complicated, but I think no. But maybe they could have certain maps where it’s PVE. I’ve recently played the pve only fork of The Cycle Frontier, another pvevp extraction shooter that got shut down a few years ago, and the pve only mode is considerably easier, to the point where the tension from the full game is not present. So a game designed to be PvEvP would probably feel soulless without part of its intended game design.
No. They have a vision and implementation that they want to balance and trying to shoe horn another game mode isn’t exactly easy for them to try and balance while attempting to maintain the core game.
Everyone has already given great answers, so I’m going a bit off-topic. I recommend checking out Forever Winter for a PvE experience similar to Arc Raiders. Read the reviews, try it, refund under 2 hours played if it’s not for you
I’ve had my eye on Forever Winter for a little while, but the mixed reviews put me off it.
Also, I really like Arc Raiders’ aesthetic.
I honestly think FW is a better game than Arc, but with a ton of janky more. Beung a small indie team, they can’t compare in terms of polish, but the vision and the work they’ve been putting into the game are a great sign of what’s to come. With ARC, although I do somewhat trust Embark, I’m not sure they have a good vision for it.
Pretty sure Lazerpig made a 20min rant video about this exact topic, specifically regarding why Sea Of Thieves sucked as a result of its forced-PvP for PvPers. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TGWOgMcMJ8c
Literally can only be improved by it. The only people it hurts are people who want to do PVP with players who don’t want to do PVP, and I’d rather that kind of scumbag not play the games I play in the first place
Exactly. The only people it would affect are the ones who want to be able to steamroll over the casual or PvE players. And those players are a fucking blight, even among other PvP players.
Absolutely they should. PvPvE is great but its way too intense and sweaty for a long session.
Oh, sry I am easy to trigger on this point:(
