I played like a scavenger in Arc Raiders, and the loot was incredibly impressive.

      I didn’t enter Arc Raiders intending to play like a coward. After a few unfortunate runs that had cost me some of my valuable gear, I was just looking to relieve some stress in the game’s unofficial PvP area, “Stella Montis.” Ideally, I aimed to charge in with guns blazing, swiping some quality gear from other raiders, and making a quick getaway to the extract. The worst-case scenario—losing everything—didn’t concern me since I was using a free loadout.

      Stella Montis has a notorious reputation. Its design features narrow, tense corridors that promote player engagement. Additionally, it highlights one of the players’ primary frustrations with the game: the free loadout issue. Free loadout players come equipped with a basic gun, ammunition, a shield, and health, which might seem minimal, but becomes dangerous when they have nothing substantial to lose.

      This is precisely the strategy my random teammate suggested we adopt. Our plan was not to pursue fights but to “fourth” party the team that emerged victorious at the end. Patience was essential, so we embarked on a waiting game.

      Embark Studios

      Here’s what unfolded

      Upon hearing gunfire in the distance, we moved closer to the action. For several minutes, we lingered while other teams engaged in combat. They battled each other, created noise, consumed resources, defeated Arc enemies, looted corpses, and gradually consolidated all the valuable loot into fewer backpacks. Once the chaos subsided, and one team appeared to have come out on top, we swooped in with our weak free loadout weapons and sent them packing to Speranza. Was it cowardly and ungraceful? Absolutely. But it worked remarkably well.

      By the end of the run, I managed to acquire four weapon blueprints, including the Aphelion, one of the game’s legendary weapons. For a run in which I risked virtually nothing, the value of what I extracted was astonishing.

      I even managed to loot a Jupiter from another raider while using a free kit. Vikhyaat Vivek / Digital Trends

      Stella Montis turns patience into a weapon

      Extraction shooters are founded on the principle of risk versus reward. The better gear you bring, the higher your chances of survival and obtaining superior loot. However, there’s always the risk of losing everything you’re carrying. Therefore, avoiding fights allows you to retain your equipment longer, whereas engaging teams might yield rewards that justify the risk. The tension lies in knowing that every choice has a consequence.

      In contrast, playing defensively (or “ratting”) disregards this equation. On Stella Montis, the map does much of the work for you. Players are instinctively attracted to high-value loot areas, which quickly turn into battlegrounds. When multiple teams encounter each other, a patient squad doesn’t need to be mechanically superior. They simply need to remain silent. My team and I didn’t give our opponents a chance; we allowed the lobby to wear each other down and then exploited the aftermath—all while using free kits.

      Free loadouts are necessary, but the reward balance seems skewed

      I don’t believe free loadouts are inherently bad. They fulfill a specific role. Extraction games can become frustrating when players exhaust their resources. Providing a free kit allows people to rejoin the fun. It helps newer players familiarize themselves with the maps while keeping those struggling active and reducing anxiety about queuing up after a few unsuccessful raids. However, it has now become problematic. Instead of serving as a fallback option, it has evolved into one of the more strategic ways to play.

      If you've been active or involved in the Arc Raiders community, you’ve probably seen numerous complaints about free loadouts. Regardless of how impressive your gear is, a player with a free kit can still eliminate you if they catch you off guard. This does tie into the “high risk, high reward” principle of games within this genre, yet it doesn’t seem to apply to free loadouts in the same manner. Embark attempts to balance this by placing free kit players in later lobbies, reducing their backpack capacity, and removing Safe Pockets completely. These are significant trade-offs, but they still don’t seem sufficient.

      The basic kit might be weak, but it gives players enough capability to fight while allowing them to play much more aggressively since their actual inventory isn't at stake, particularly on maps like Stella Montis. This reflects my own experience, where a level 1 Stitcher led me to some of the finest loot I’ve encountered in quite some time. And I can’t deny that playing defensively, waiting for the opportune moment to third party, was what yielded me the best rewards in the lobby.

      When this tactic succeeds, the game begins to push players toward the least engaging version of itself. Why bother bringing a proper weapon into a PvP-centric map when I can let someone else handle that,