ARC Raiders confirms that 1 feature will likely never make it to the game, and it's splitting the community in half

Despite being an extraction shooter at its core, ARC Raiders has walked a fine line between its PvP and PvE elements since launch. While ARC Raiders has grown in popularity largely due to its accessible gameplay loop, there is a large divide in the community over the use of PvP battles where some players would prefer to keep the game PvE only. This split has led to the implementation of an aggression-based matchmaking system in ARC Raidersand now also seems to have prevented another feature from ever being introduced.

As ARC Raiders continues to grow, it is likely that more changes will be made to balance its PvP and PvE elements. The upcoming nerf to the popular PvP Stitcher weapon is just another example of Embark pulling back on the PvP game. In another stroke ARC Raiders' PvP fans, the developer has made it clear that a leaderboard feature will almost certainly never be implemented in the game, and the two sides of the community's PvP or PvE debate are divided.

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'It Could Be A Huge Benefit For Players' ARC Raiders Boss Defends Controversial AI Use

Embark Studios CEO Patrick Söderlund defends the use of AI in ARC Raiders, urging players to “step back” and understand how it can help developers.

ARC Raiders will likely never get a leaderboard, Embark's CEO confirms

According to a recent interview with GamesBeat's Dean Takahashi, Embark CEO Partrick Soderlund expressed his thoughts on a player-kill leaderboard system being added to ARC Raiders. Söderlund argues that a leaderboard like this would lead to a greater emphasis on PvP play, which would upset the delicate balance that ARC Raiders have tried to foster. But community reaction to this information has been met with mixed responses, and both sides have solid arguments to make.

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The benefits of having a leaderboard in ARC Raiders

Other extraction shooters have this feature
Encourages players to keep coming back to improve their standings
Compliments the existing test leaderboard

Player kill leaderboards are nothing new in extraction shooters, with games like Hunt: Showdown 1896 track rankings for stats like Banishing Streak, Total Bounties Collected and Kill Streak. While ARC Raiders doesn't have a bounty system yet, it could offer a variant of these types of PvP stat trackers like players killed or kill streaks to encourage new gameplay opportunities within matches. With aggression-based matchmaking already in ARC Raidersincluding a PvP-centric leaderboard wouldn't bother those players who tend to stick to PvE and are generally friendly to other raiders.

ARC Raiders' Try already has a leaderboard for players to compare their standing with others in terms of the weekly PvE challenges on offer. Adding a similar leaderboard for PvP would be a nice addition ARC Raiders' Try for players who are more interested in playing the game for PvP.

The disadvantages of having a leaderboard in ARC Raiders

Encourages an overemphasis on PvP
Chances are cheaters will fill the top spots

On the other side of the coin, there are some disadvantages to a PvP leaderboard such as ARC Raiders rightfully avoids this feature. The apparent stated issue of encouraging more PvP play is disappointing for a game that strives to balance PvE alongside it. But an additional likelihood with the addition of a leaderboard for PvP is that it will be filled with cheaters taking the top spots with unbeatable points.

ARC Raiders already allows players to view their individual kill stats via the in-game Codex, so a leaderboard that tracks these stats would only serve to create competition among PvP players who ARC Raiders' aggression-based matchmaking can be difficult to filter out. It might not be the worst idea in the long run, but it's not a necessary feature for a game with a community already divided on the subject of PvP and PvE games. In the end, Embark probably made the right decision to keep PvP leaderboards out ARC Raidersbut there may be room for a watered down version of the feature that still appeals to PvP players to get into the game in the future.