ARC Raiders: Embark Admits These Events Have Become Camper Heaven
The design director of ARC Raiders admits that the Locked Gate and Hidden Bunker events have turned into a camper’s paradise. Embark promises targeted revisions based on live data—without losing the spirit that makes these events tick.
It’s the age-old tug-of-war in multiplayer game design: on one side, the devs’ ideal vision; on the other, players who always sniff out the path of least resistance. In ARC Raiders, the Locked Gate and Hidden Bunker events are textbook examples. As Embark gears up for the second expedition, Virgil Watkins, design director at Embark, told PC Gamer that community-requested tweaks are now unavoidable.
Image credit: Embark Studios
Locked Gate and Hidden Bunker: when design backfires on the devs
On paper, these events are simple: Locked Gate and Hidden Bunker lure players into high-risk zones with juicy objectives and hefty loot. The catch? The very structure of these events has opened up a gaping flaw in the game design. It’s way more profitable to camp the entry and exit points than to brave the dangers inside. Honest players who actually complete the objectives end up as sitting ducks for campers waiting to ambush them as they leave, pockets full of loot.
If you’ve played any extraction shooter, this won’t shock you. Extraction mechanics naturally create choke points, and the most opportunistic players clocked this meta within hours. The result: events meant to reward exploration and risk-taking have devolved into organized ambushes, where patience trumps skill.
Virgil Watkins comes clean: “Players always find the meta”
Asked about the issue, Virgil Watkins didn’t sugarcoat it. The Embark design director admitted, “This is a good example of where revisions are probably needed.” Refreshingly candid, he also broke down the gap between theory and reality: “When we built this, we had an idealized vision of how people would engage. And then, as players always do, they found that meta thread.”
Embark wasn’t naïve—they tried to anticipate this. For Hidden Bunker, the team placed tough enemies near the entrance, hoping PvE threats would scare off campers. No dice: the ARC Raiders player base proved far more skilled than expected. Watkins admits it: what was meant as a deterrent is now no sweat for seasoned players, who clear the obstacles and get right back to camping.
Revisions on the way—without losing the soul of these events
Embark isn’t just sitting on its hands. The studio now has a mountain of live data since launch. Watkins explained that this data lets them deeply analyze current map conditions, and that Locked Gate and Hidden Bunker aren’t the only events under scrutiny: “There are a few others with similar issues.”
The approach? Surgical, not scorched earth. No plans to scrap or gut these events. Watkins stressed: “For us, it’s about keeping the spirit of these events, but tweaking the mechanics so those moments don’t happen as often.” The goal is to preserve what makes these events exciting—the tension, the stakes, the loot—while stamping out the cheesy strats that ruin the fun. Here’s what to expect from the upcoming changes:
- Redesigning entry and exit points to cut down on camping spots
- Rebalancing PvE threats around key areas
- Potential tweaks to other events with similar pain points
- An iterative approach, guided by real-time data—not just gut feeling
Embark’s openness about its own design flaws stands in stark contrast to studios that just ignore criticism. ARC Raiders keeps proving its success is as much about responsive devs as killer gameplay. Now it’s a waiting game to see if these fixes solve the problem—or just spawn new ones. That’s the eternal dance of any live service worth its salt.
ARC Raiders, PC, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S
