The single most offputting thing about a game like Arc Raiders, i.e. an extraction shooter, is that every single other person you meet in-game is Schrödinger’s asshole. They could be a friend who you share a story or some loot with, or they could mercilessly gun you down at the drop of a hat. It’s certainly not for everyone, but in the game’s latest update, a new PvE event has arrived encouraging everyone to walk hand in hand together to defeat those big bad bots.
This new event is called Shared Watch, described in-world as an “annual holiday that reminds us of the true enemy, by celebrating those that look out for their fellow Raiders. Tolerate, team-up, or take out some Arc – it’s all in the spirit of the Shared Watch.” The event is running from right now as you read this, through to February 24, and anyone that destroys, helps to destroy, or simply damages any Arcs can earn merits and rewards for doing so. However, killing others in PvP encounters won’t get you anything, obviously to discourage you from doing so.
It’s an interesting choice to leave friendly fire on, and I think conceptually one I broadly agree with. In an ideal world more people will help others than debilitate them, though the odd griefer is still all but guaranteed. This does raise questions as to how developer Embark should handle such people – are they shunned or punished for their nastiness, or are they ignored and the law of the people takes precedence? A moral quandary that will come to light in the coming days.
Outside of this, the Cold Snap map condition is returning to the rotation, so dress up warmly if you’re heading out. You’ll also be able to pick up the Vulpine and Slugger cosmetic sets. There’s a few fixes and tweaks in this update, like an annoying issue where some couldn’t reconnect after disconnecting from a game, and another where crafting would just randomly be cancelled. You can read the full patch notes on this handy blog post right here.
