Arc Raiders: The Extraction Shooter Taking the Gaming World by Storm
Releasing last October, Arc Raiders has swiftly become one of the most successful online shooters in the world, shifting 12 million copies in barely three months and attracting as many players as established mega hits such as Counter-Strike 2 and Apex Legends. So what is it about this sci-fi blaster that's captured so many people?
In simple terms, Arc Raiders is an extraction shooter: an online multiplayer game where you drop into a world with other players to search for valuable weapons and items before attempting to escape with all your spoils. You can play alone or with up to two friends in a squad. The gameplay features two main types of modes: Player vs Environment (PvE) and Player vs Player (PvP). In PvP mode, you don't have to fight everyone you meet; instead, human raiders often choose to ignore each other or band together.
The game is set on a post-apocalyptic Earth in the distant future. A robotic alien invasion force named Arc has arrived to plunder all the remaining natural resources and kill off humanity, forcing everyone to flee underground, where a vast subterranean city called Toledo has been built. Now Earth is patrolled by a menagerie of deadly android guards.
You play as a raider making daring trips topside to scavenge ruined towns and facilities. As you go on more raids, your character earns experience points, which can be spent on improving their survival, looting, and movement abilities, and finds blueprints that enable them to make more stuff. You can also carry out missions for traders, who will reward you with useful items.
So why is Arc Raiders so popular? The game offers a strong retro-futuristic sense of style, interesting environments, excellent music and audio, compelling lore, and engrossing set-piece battles with the giant robots. Some enemies are absolutely huge and require lots of players to join forces in ad-hoc battles. These thrilling encounters have been widely shared on Twitch, TikTok, and Instagram.
How should you start playing Arc Raiders? Just jump in! The game is available on PC, Xbox, and PS5, and it's highly recommended that you get a gaming headset so you can chat to other players if you haven't got one. Also, listening to the world through headphones gives you a better understanding of where threats are coming from.
As you start playing, you'll begin with a very basic weapon and accessories but as you go on, you'll find new guns, grenades, and healing items. Collect everything at first – useful resources such as wires and springs will let you craft items later, while rare goods such as toasters and radios can be sold or recycled for scrap. You should also prioritize upgrading your workstations (where you craft new items) whenever possible.
One of the key tips is to form alliances with other players. The game takes aggressive behaviour into account when matching you with other players. If you shoot people, you're more likely to be put on servers where people shoot back. So be nice to other raiders and use the emote wheel to greet them. You'll learn faster and often receive items from players who you've helped out.
Lastly, keep an eye on your stash – it increases as you progress through the game. Aim to increase the size of your stash until it's maxed out at 280 slots, as you're going to need them when the action gets intense.
Releasing last October, Arc Raiders has swiftly become one of the most successful online shooters in the world, shifting 12 million copies in barely three months and attracting as many players as established mega hits such as Counter-Strike 2 and Apex Legends. So what is it about this sci-fi blaster that's captured so many people?
In simple terms, Arc Raiders is an extraction shooter: an online multiplayer game where you drop into a world with other players to search for valuable weapons and items before attempting to escape with all your spoils. You can play alone or with up to two friends in a squad. The gameplay features two main types of modes: Player vs Environment (PvE) and Player vs Player (PvP). In PvP mode, you don't have to fight everyone you meet; instead, human raiders often choose to ignore each other or band together.
The game is set on a post-apocalyptic Earth in the distant future. A robotic alien invasion force named Arc has arrived to plunder all the remaining natural resources and kill off humanity, forcing everyone to flee underground, where a vast subterranean city called Toledo has been built. Now Earth is patrolled by a menagerie of deadly android guards.
You play as a raider making daring trips topside to scavenge ruined towns and facilities. As you go on more raids, your character earns experience points, which can be spent on improving their survival, looting, and movement abilities, and finds blueprints that enable them to make more stuff. You can also carry out missions for traders, who will reward you with useful items.
So why is Arc Raiders so popular? The game offers a strong retro-futuristic sense of style, interesting environments, excellent music and audio, compelling lore, and engrossing set-piece battles with the giant robots. Some enemies are absolutely huge and require lots of players to join forces in ad-hoc battles. These thrilling encounters have been widely shared on Twitch, TikTok, and Instagram.
How should you start playing Arc Raiders? Just jump in! The game is available on PC, Xbox, and PS5, and it's highly recommended that you get a gaming headset so you can chat to other players if you haven't got one. Also, listening to the world through headphones gives you a better understanding of where threats are coming from.
As you start playing, you'll begin with a very basic weapon and accessories but as you go on, you'll find new guns, grenades, and healing items. Collect everything at first – useful resources such as wires and springs will let you craft items later, while rare goods such as toasters and radios can be sold or recycled for scrap. You should also prioritize upgrading your workstations (where you craft new items) whenever possible.
One of the key tips is to form alliances with other players. The game takes aggressive behaviour into account when matching you with other players. If you shoot people, you're more likely to be put on servers where people shoot back. So be nice to other raiders and use the emote wheel to greet them. You'll learn faster and often receive items from players who you've helped out.
Lastly, keep an eye on your stash – it increases as you progress through the game. Aim to increase the size of your stash until it's maxed out at 280 slots, as you're going to need them when the action gets intense.