Following its recent announcement that it is testing a PvE toggle in ARC Raiders, Embark Studios has now announced that it is removing Raider Decks with the upcoming Frozen Trail update and is introducing Reward Passes as a “natural evolution” of Raider Decks. In its new post, the studio explained its reason for moving on from the Raider Decks system, which largely revolved around players accumulating too much Cred too quickly.
Reward Passes are a progression mechanic that revolves around players completing Feats to unlock new rewards that include outfits, cosmetic items, gadgets, weapons, items, and Raider Tokens.
“While Raider Decks gave us a great starting point, over time we noticed issues with the system we’d made. Players accumulated Cred at a rate that became difficult to keep up with. When a new Raider Deck released, many players were able to finish them right away thanks to the Cred they’d saved up. This made the rewards feel much less… rewarding. It also left very little motivation to keep tackling Feats.”
The Reward Pass is instead being designed to offer a “more satisfying progression path” that will make the overall journey more engaging for a longer period of time. The Reward Passes will also be updated over time, since they are tied to the major update they are released with. Through this, Embark Studios has said that it will be able to introduce new rewards at a steady pace as time goes on.
The first Reward Pass arriving with the Frozen Trail update will be available in two forms – Free and Premium. Both forms will feature 60 levels worth of progress, with the free pass culminating in a total of 200 Raider Tokens that can be earned over time. The Premium Pass, available for 1,150 Raider Tokens, will feature more modifications, colorways, and premium toggles for the new outfits being brought to the game. Raider Token rewards will total up to 1,150, getting players ready for the next Reward Pass in the process.
A Legacy Pass will also be available that combines all of the cosmetic rewards and Raider Tokens from Raider Decks into a single Free Pass. Players who have already unlocked these rewards will be able to hang on to them without having to level the Legacy Pass to get them back.
The Frozen Trails update is also going to bring dynamic loot zones to ARC Raiders, with the first one being Pendola Pass. Design director Virgil Watkins explained that the new loot zones will allow players to find red and yellow POIs on the map being switched around every time they visit the area. This is being done to bring more variety for when players decide to raid the same map repeatedly. Watkins has said that this was a feature that has been “requested on and off over time” by the community, and that its inclusion in Frozen Trail is a way for the team to test out how it works with player feedback.
ARC Raiders is available on PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X/S. The Frozen Trail update is arriving on October 8th.
