Closing in on a month since ARC Raiders‘ launch, and I’m still finding myself thoroughly addicted to its extraction gameplay loop. Part of what keeps me going back topside in ARC Raiders is the weekly Trials that I can complete as I work my way up the ranks and earn seasonal rewards. However, I’m having a hard time finishing the Trials this week, and this is the first time since launch that I’ve struggled this hard.
The honeymoon period might be over for many ARC Raiders players, and that could be part of the reason Trials feel so sluggish to complete this week. I think there’s more to the issue than just the post-launch hype decline, and it boils down to a few different factors. Given how much of the community is lamenting this week’s Trails, it’s clear that I’m not an outlier in this struggle.
I’m Struggling With ARC Raiders’ Trials this Week, And I Know I’m Not Alone
- Damage Rocketeers
- Download data during the Hidden Bunker
- Search First Wave husks
- Damage Snitches
- Damage ground-based ARC enemies
The Trials ARC Raiders challenges players to complete this week are all repeats from previous weeks, and unfortunately, include a collection of my least favorite tasks. I don’t mind searching First Wave husks or damaging Snitches since both are fairly easy. Downloading Hidden Bunker data, damaging Rocketeers, and damaging ground-based ARCs, on the other hand, are proving to be the most trouble for me. And I’m not the only one who feels this way; others are echoing a similar sentiment.
ARC Raiders Needs to Make the Hidden Bunker Available More Often
The biggest complaint I have with this week’s Trials is the issue with downloading data from the Hidden Bunker. On its own, the Hidden Bunker event isn’t the most difficult to complete, and players working together to activate all the rooftop antenna dishes to unlock the bunker doesn’t take too long. However, the problem with this Trial largely lies within its availability.
Special events like the Hidden Bunker only take place at certain times of the day, meaning players who aren’t available to play during those times will have a disadvantage. Right now, the Hidden Bunker runs during the middle of my day when I’m working, or late at night when I’m asleep. This isn’t a problem exclusive to me either, as anyone playing in a similar timezone is going to run into the same challenges. To make this event more accessible, ARC Raiders should run the Hidden Bunker more frequently, giving more players a chance to access it during prime-time hours.
The Nerfs to the Hullcracker and Explosives Make Damaging Rocketeers and Ground ARC Enemies a Chore
Last week’s nerfs to the Hullcracker and explosives in ARC Raiders patch 1.3.0 also seem to be having a ripple effect on this week’s Trials. Although it mattered a lot more during the Trials to damage Queens or Matriarchs, it’s a lot harder to damage Rocketeers and ground ARC enemies like Bastions and Bombardiers with the Hullcracker now. To make matters worse, explosives do less damage to these big ground ARCs as well, meaning I can’t use the Deadline Mine strategy to quickly take them down.
ARC Raiders’ PvP Surge Makes Completing Any Trials a Gamble
By far the most frustrating part of this week’s Trials is the increase in PvPers I’ve encountered who have killed me and prevented my score from counting. I’m not against PvP in ARC Raiders, as I believe it adds tension to the gameplay loop. However, the first couple of weeks of the game felt like they had a good balance of PvP and co-op PvE moments, and now it has spiraled out of control.
ARC Raiders’ Streamer War Has Increased PvP
I’m not sure if this is the root cause of the uptick in ARC Raiders PvP, but I suspect the streamer war between TheBurntPeanut and HutchMF played a role. Although TheBurntPeanut has since declared the war over, with his Bungulator faction claiming victory, I’ve still encountered players from this faction shooting others wearing the opposite faction’s skin on sight. I’m not a participant in this war, so trying to navigate which skins are okay to wear without getting hunted by other players has been an additional challenge this week. I’m hoping things die down a bit more now that the war is supposedly over, so that I can complete my Trials in peace.
Next Week’s Trials Need to Be a Reprieve for Ailing ARC Raiders Players
Even with the trouble this week’s Trials have caused me, I’m still on pace to rank up once the week is over. ARC Raiders has the chance to make good on a taxing week of Trials with some easier ones next week. I’m hoping to see task like:
- Damage Wasps
- Harvest Plants
- Destroy Ticks, Fireballs, and Pops
Wasps are plentiful and easy to damage without being too much of a threat in return, so completing this task wouldn’t be too difficult. Harvesting Plants was already a task for last week’s Trials, but I found a great spot in the Trench on the Spaceport map that I used to complete it quickly. Destroying Ticks, Fireballs, and Pops is also fairly easy, since they spawn in a variety of indoor locations and only take one or two shots from a gun like the Anvil to destroy.
While these tasks would make next week’s Trials a lot easier, they still don’t solve the PvP problem that is plaguing ARC Raiders this week. I may just be getting unlucky with matchmaking, so there’s still hope that things will improve in future weeks. But I have to admit, my experience with ARC Raiders‘ Trials this week has somewhat soured my opinion of the game, and I hope it turns around soon.
- Released
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October 30, 2025
- ESRB
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Teen / Violence, Blood
