Embark Looking to Change the Raider Hatch Mechanics in Arc Raiders to Intensify Extraction Tension, Following Overuse by Players
Embark Studios plans to make the Rust Belt an even more perilous place in Arc Raiders, as a recent community update has revealed that they are looking to modify how Raider Hatches function.
Players should prepare themselves, as they likely won’t be used as a clutch for extracting come release.
Raider Hatches Ended Up Being Too Safe and Too Popular
For those who are unaware, a Raider Hatch is an underground sealed door that requires a key to open. Upon opening, a Raider can extract from the match without going to a designated extraction point and drawing unwanted attention. The advantage of using Raider Hatches over the standard exil method was that it essentially avoided the possibility of PvP and PvE, as once opened, players could simply just drop down and extract without the need to wait for a countdown timer. It’s a mechanic that was initially intended to be a much secretive and challenging way to extract.
However, after analyzing the recent playtest, Embark Studios revealed that extraction via this method was used 40% of the time, which they found to be going against the very essence of Arc Raiders.
“Then there were the Raider Hatches, a tempting, almost too-convenient alternative. Requiring precious Hatch Keys – bought, crafted, or painstakingly found – these quiet, discreet escape routes had become the favored exit for the most experienced Raiders, used a staggering 40% of the time in the last expedition. Too popular, the developers realized. Too safe. The very essence of an ARC Raiders extraction was the heart-pounding tension, the desperate sprint against time and enemy. A quiet drop into a hole just wouldn’t do.”
So what’s being done? Well, that’s something the studio is looking into, as they intend to make the decision to use a hatch key a more tactical one, rather than being a clutch.
That means that playtesters who were getting comfortable with the idea of an easy way to exfil will now have a greater challenge to look forward to. How exactly that will happen, well, we’ll just have to wait and see when the game launches this October. We suppose it wouldn’t be a bad idea to drop a Queen on one of these Hatches if Embark really wanted to get brutal about it.
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