As an extraction shooter, Arc Raiders is all about focusing on the next wipe, a period where your character resets and starts all over again. Unlike other games in the genre, Embark Studios’ more casual entry makes the process completely optional, and rewards players for doing so.
The game’s first wipe saw players hoard up to five million coins worth of items in return for the game’s maximum possible rewards. However, design lead Virgil Watkins believes this caused a “dark pattern” for players where they were giving up on their own items.
As the studio looks at ways to further incentivise future Expeditions, Watkins revealed in an interview with GamesRadar that Embark isn’t attached to the current way the system works. Watkins calls the game’s first wipe “an experiment” to see if players are engaged enough to start over again, but with the first wipe focusing on the wealth of a player’s stash, it meant players weren’t actively using their loot once the requirements were announced.
“I think there was a perception that players felt compelled to [wipe],” Watkins said. “Like, they needed to do it, which I think invited a lot of, ‘oh, I’m only gonna use my worst guns or free run’. I think it created a bit of a dark pattern for some players, feeling like they shouldn’t play as intended.”
Watkins explained that the “system will change” as Embark continues to experiment. After all, the game’s second expedition date is known, but it’s requirements still aren’t known. The developer explained that Embark is “not precious about” keeping the requirements the same for every wipe with the team planning to “keep adjusting to make sure it’s properly incentivising players”.
“We still have to be very careful about the rewards and the mechanics involved,” Watkins continued, “not giving you a very direct advantage over someone who’s just starting the game or hasn’t done as many as you. So, that’s the space we still want to stay in.”
Watkins also revealed that “the current intent is skill points will not be the reward forever with Expeditions”, explaining that skill points “will cap out at some point”. However, the developer did not reveal what rewards could take their place. Could we see unique cosmetics for players who complete Expeditions? No one knows, but the future should bring more variety to always make a wipe feel unique.
