Many of the best Arc Raiders weapons, especially rare and epic guns, feel dramatically better once you upgrade them to level three or four, which can be a pricey endeavor even without factoring in ongoing repair costs. When rock-solid options like the common Stitcher and uncommon Anvil are significantly cheaper to upgrade and maintain, it can feel hard to economically justify splurging for the good stuff, even if those guns are really fun to use. Many players have called popular guns like the Renegade, Venator, Tempest, and Bobcat untenably expensive for weeks now, and it sounds like developer Embark Studios agrees the balance is skewed.
Design lead Virgil Watkins tells GamesRadar+ that “the original intent” with weapon balancing was to make sure that “any given weapon in capable hands should be capable of winning a fight if you’re playing smartly.” Even the worst weapons have to be good, otherwise the gunplay that’s core to Arc Raiders would break down.
“I think that has to remain true,” he continues. “But I think we’re definitely a bit off on some of the cost to benefit ratios, certainly on those [higher-tier] weapons. It was trying to follow a curve of, by spending more and more money, you’re gaining an edge. Not a clear one, like, I’m using a purple weapon, therefore I win this fight, period. We don’t want that. Cost should not inherently fill a skill gap or a tactical awareness gap or things like that.”
“We’re looking at, as we keep going with some of the balancing, to probably make that cost-benefit ratio feel a little better, certainly on the high end, because we do want people to be excited to get a Tempest or a Bobcat or things like that,” he adds. “If we’re way under-shooting how people feel about that, then that’ll take some adjustment.”
Embark is open to wider changes to weapons as well. I asked if we might see guns go up or down in rarity, or have their crafting and upgrade materials adjusted to make them more affordable. Watkins says “it could be both.”
“If it comes to pass that, as an example I’m making up right now, we like the nature of what the Bobcat is, but it’s performing at this bracket, then we can consider moving it up or down and, later on, filling that niche with a different weapon,” he reasons. “I don’t think we’re precious about where they sit on that spectrum. So if it makes sense to buff it to live up to that implied potential, or if it makes sense to drop the rarity so it stays where it is because it’s performing that role well, then we’ll do that too.”
Arc Raiders lead is “super aware” of demand for custom loadouts that save us 100 clicks, admits he sometimes runs a free loadout because he can’t be bothered making one.
