8 ARC Raiders Enemy Behaviors That Punish Players Who Treat the Game Like a Simple Shooter

6 days ago 3

Enemy Behaviors in ARC Raiders That Punish Players Who Play it Like a Standard Shooter

Published 21 minutes ago

Christian has three years of experience writing in the gaming industry, including guides and reviews, for publications such as Dualshockers, Attack of the Fanboy, and PC Invasion. He has been an avid gamer since he was a kid, viewing it as the best possible art form and medium. Some of his favorite genres include Survival Horror, Soulslikes, and RPGs, but he finds joy in almost any type of game.

ARC Raiders has been a major success, and for good reason. It's one of the best extraction games on the market, offering exciting third-person shooter gameplay, hilarious interactions with other players, and just a good ole time. However, there is no denying that ARC Raiders is not your typical shooter, and the reason for that is because of its enemies.

The enemies in ARC Raiders, known as ARC, all have unique behaviors that force players to adapt their gameplay and strategy on the fly. These enemy behaviors are so unique that they force players to play ARC Raiders differently compared to a standard shooter. In other words, you can't just sprint into the action and attack the ARC without planning first. Fighting against enemies with no strategy will likely result in you failing a match.

This is what makes ARC Raiders such a special game and arguably one of the best and most unique third-person shooters in recent memory. Let us explain why in this detailed list. Here are 8 ARC Raiders enemy behaviors that punish players who treat the game like a simple shooter.

8 Leaper's Deadly Jump

Spider Monkey

ARC Raiders Leaper Location Feature Image

One of the most deadly situations to be in is in the sights of a Leaper in an open field with no cover. The reason being is that once a Leaper spots you, which it can from a considerable distance, it will lock in and jump across the map and land on you to deal an insane amount of damage. If you're lucky enough to survive the leap, the Leaper will then use it's electric shock attack to damage you even further and finish you off. It's absolutely brutal to be up against this ARC enemy, especially because it isn't easy to kill with normal ammo.

Due to the Leaper's dangerous leap attack, players can't engage with it like they would typically engage with enemies in a standard shooter. Instead, it's smart to deal damage from afar, and attack while in cover, such as shooting from a building window. This method increases your chances of success, since the Leaper can't get into tight spaces and is only a real threat when out in the open. If you realize a Leaper has noticed your position, and you are in the open, make sure to sprint and find cover immediately.

7 Pop's Speedy Explosion

Quick and Dangerous

One of the most annoying enemies in ARC Raiders are Pop's. These little rascals love to charge toward the player and explode, the minute you enter the same room as them. Due to this behavior, players shouldn't rush into any room without taking a cautious approach, or else a Pop will most likely get the jump on you and deal a high amount of damage. The worst traits about the Pops enemies are that they like to travel in packs, they monitor the indoors of rare-loot buildings, and move really quickly, making it hard to land a shot on them.

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Since there is always a Pop nearby when exploring buildings, players shouldn't approach these areas like a standard shooter. Instead, it's wise to listen before entering, to see if you hear the rolling sound a Pop makes, and ready your gun to take them down. If you enter rooms with the mindset of "there is a Pop in there," then you will be able to get the jump on them and destroy them before they hone toward you for a deadly explosion. These guys deal a lot of damage, and if multiple hit you, then you'll likely get downed and need to be revived. This is the worst thing to happen, especially if you are playing solo and have no one to revive you.

6 Rocketeer's Intelligent Tracking

Deadliest ARC

The last thing you ever want to happen to you in ARC Raiders is to enter the line of sight of a Rocketeer, especially if you're in an open field. Rocketeers are one of the deadliest ARC enemies in the entire game, and are able to down you almost instantly with their powerful rockets. The AI of a Rocketeer is really smart, and they are able to follow you and even pick you out from out of cover if you're not fast enough, making them one of the most challenging enemies to escape from. This behavior makes it where players shouldn't even think of approaching an area that is surveyed by a Rocketeer, unless it is absolutely mandatory, such as needing crucial loot from them or being chased by other players.

Once a Rocketeer spots you, which you will know they do if it makes a screeching noise and a red laser targets you, you need to run like a bat out of hell. It's necessary to find cover as quickly as you can inside a large building, and wait for the Rocketeer to get bored and go back to its surveying route. Make sure not to find cover in a bush or a small building with windows, because that Rocketeer will follow you there and shoot rockets straight through that window to take you out. These ARC enemies are absolutely brutal, but if you must kill one in a pickle, then have your whole squad gang up on it with explosives.

5 Snitch Ratting You Out

Tattletale

One of the most common occurrences in any ARC Raiders match is getting caught by a Snitch and it ratting you out to a whole horde of Wasps. No matter how good of a player you are, this is bound to happen at least once or twice, and it's a huge pain in the rear end. While you may think it's smart to gun a Snitch down immediately upon seeing it, it's not so simple, since shooting it will only alert it of your presence. Once a Snitch knows you're there, you have to destroy it in a handful of seconds, or it will jump into the sky to bring down a brigade of Wasps to your location.

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This unique behavior makes it important to play smart, rather than other traditional shooters where paying attention isn't necessarily mandatory. The best way to deal with a Snitch when it's nearby is to avoid its detection area altogether, or have your entire squad unload bullets on it to destroy it fast enough before it calls for backup. Honestly, I personally recommend just going the opposite way of the Snitch since it really doesn't have that much valuable loot and fighting it is a waste of time.

4 Spotter Exposing Your Location

Run Away!

Similar to the behavior of a Snitch, a Spotter will also expose your location and make a match difficult for you. However, unlike the Snitch, who summons additional enemies, Spotters are Grenadier's partners in crime and help the Grenadier track your location so it can fire missiles at you. Spotters are incredibly hard to get rid of due to their speed, extremely challenging to land shots on due to their odd movement patterns, and can be the death of you due to the amount of damage a Grenadier rocket does. This essentially makes it important to avoid the Grenadier itself and its Spotters (which travel in a pack of two), or at least be smart about how you approach it.

In a traditional shooter, you may feel brave enough to just run toward the big tank-like enemies and use explosives to defeat them, but that definitely does not work in ARC Raiders. Getting close to a Grenadier and its Spotters without a plan is a one-way ticket back to Speranza, so it's absolutely essential to play smart and come up with a strategy before making your move. Personally, I recommend using the Anvil or Hullcracker and aim for its weak points, which are the yellow-colored spots on its leg joints. If the Spotters expose you while you're attacking, take a deep breath and use your best aiming skills to destroy them first, and then turn your attention back to the Grenadier.

3 Tick's Frustrating Stun

Annoying Pests

ARC Raiders has a bunch of enemies with annoying behaviors, but the most frustrating is the behavior of the Tick, and its obsessive need to jump in your face, cling to it, and leave you stunned for a couple seconds until you shake it off. Ticks don't even deal much damage, and are only there to piss you and your teammates off. Not only are they pretty fast, moving and jumping around a room in a zigzag motion, but they like to travel in groups, too. One Tick is a pain in the butt, but three Ticks are just downright frustrating and result in wasted time. Honestly, I hate these things so much that I think the game would benefit if the developers took them out completely.

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Anyway, Ticks are another example as to why you can't play ARC Raiders like a normal shooter. There are barely any shooter games out there that have such an annoying mechanic as Ticks, as they force you to take a step back from the action to focus on killing them. If you don't kill a Tick that is scurrying across the room you're in, then you're bound to get it clinging to your face and slowing you down. Personally, whenever I hear the tiny footsteps of a Tick, I take out my Raider Tool and start swinging frantically. More often than not, swinging blindly works and I end up hitting the Ticks and destroying them. Thank god.

2 Bastion's Loud Screech

Nightmare Fuel

Similar to the Grenadier, the Bastion is another tank-like ARC enemy that is extremely deadly if it spots you. Unlike the Grenadier, that shoots rockets toward you, the Bastion likes to use a turret that absolutely shreds your health bar. I mean, it can kill you in an instant if caught in the open. The Bastion's behavior of surveying an open field, locking onto you when it spots you, and letting out a loud screech is one of the most terrifying things in all of ARC Raiders. Once you hear that screech, you need to find cover immediately or else your health will get drained in the blink of an eye. The worst thing is that Bastion's like to hover around you when you're downed, making it tough for your teammates to revive you.

It's not just the deadly turret that should make you worried about the Bastion's presence, but it's the sound that it makes to warn you that it has spotted you. It really is nightmare fuel, and is another reminder as to why you can't play ARC Raiders like any typical shooter. Hearing this screech forces you to run away, find cover, dive to the side, and just hope for the best. There is no situation where you hear this screech and you can simply stand your ground and fight and survive. Unless, however, you are behind cover and trading shots with your teammates to damage said Bastion, but even then it is risky.

1 Other Players Acting Friendly

Betrayal

While you may think the ARC enemies are the biggest threat in ARC Raiders, it's actually other players that you need to worry about the most. The reason they are so dangerous is that you never know if they are friendly or hostile, and whether you should shoot or team up with them. When ARC Raiders first released, the majority of players took the friendly route and never shot at other players. However, as time went on, players have switched gears and now "pretend" to act friendly, just to turn around and shoot you in the back. This type of behavior is one of the deadliest in all of ARC Raiders, and if you aren't prepared for it, and you decide to trust everyone, the game will punish you for it.

When facing ARC enemies, you always know what you're up against, but this is not the case with other players. You simply can not predict what type of player you will encounter during a match, since every human is different from one another. One player might actually be a good person and extract with you, while another will wait for you to hit the extract button just to kill you and take all your loot. I have learned so many harsh lessons in my 150 hours of playing this game that I have got to the point where I simply don't trust anyone and kill other players on sight. This may seem mean, but it helps me stay alive longer.