Now that Arc Raiders PvE playtest has come to an end, Embark Studios has acknowledged some of the early feedback and knows it hasn't been a win in everyone's eyes.
In a post on the Arc Raiders website, Embark noted that the PvE matchmaking toggle test has ended, thanking players who completed over 30 million PvE rounds during the testing period. This post then urged players to join the Arc Raiders Discord and complete a survey coming out soon to make their voices heard on how they felt about the test and how it should be factored in going forward.
Embark notes "we need a bit of time to understand what the data is telling us, and what our community is saying," before it can take the next steps with the mode, saying that "our decision on how to proceed will prioritize the overall health and enjoyability of the game." But the post notes that "On a surface reading, we know that the test has been polarizing."
This was seen throughout the week-long test, too, with early reactions to the mode ranging from it making Arc Raiders feel "bland, soulless" and ruining the game's tension to others saying it's the game they wanted all along. But between the two extremes is a lot of people who find the lowered stakes kind of boring. Arc Raiders streamer Loochy says, "The reality is Arc Raiders doesn’t have a strong enough endgame to support a meaningful PvE experience," calling the mode "hollow," but at the least that's something the developers can target.
As for when we'll hear more about the PvE mode and what the developers have found from the data, Embark says, "We don’t yet know what the outcome of the data analysis will be, but we expect to be able to follow up with further information in November."
