Player grievances regarding currency grinding have not gone unnoticed.
Recently, Arc Raiders concluded its inaugural “expedition,” marking the game’s first voluntary progress wipe. The first wave of players to reset their progress were granted various endgame incentives.
Among the most debated rewards were bonus skill points. Under the initial system, players earned one skill point for every million credits accumulated (combining liquid cash and stash value), with a maximum of five points available.
This mechanic drew sharp criticism from the community. Since the criteria were only disclosed toward the end of the wipe, many players spent the final days running “budget” or free gear, paralyzed by the fear that losing expensive equipment would drop them below the threshold for these permanent upgrades.
Embark Studios has formally acknowledged the feedback from the Arc Raiders community:
“A major recurring theme [in the feedback] was the endgame requirement for skill points. We likely shared that information too late because we wanted to calibrate it against the actual economy rather than guessing early on. When we set the goal at five million credits for five points, we viewed it as an ambitious milestone. However, it seems many players interpreted it as a mandatory chore they were forced to complete.”
Developers are now re-evaluating the system for future cycles:
“We acknowledge that purely farming currency is not the most captivating experience. It can discourage players from utilizing their best gear—which is exactly what they should be doing at the end of a wipe cycle. Consequently, we are looking into substantial changes.”
According to the creators of Arc Raiders, over one million players successfully completed the first expedition. Approximately 35-40% of those participants managed to secure the maximum of five bonus skill points.
Source: iXBT.games