MyMMO editor Dariusz is a classic PvP sweat. In ARC Raiders, he asked for permission for his kills and received special responses.
In the community of ARC Raiders, there is still some uncertainty about matchmaking, such as when one is considered an “aggressive player” who enters PvP-focused lobbies. So I started a test for a future article to find out how to deliberately enter PvE lobbies.
However, to test how to switch from a PvP lobby to a PvE lobby, I first needed to enter a PvP lobby. So the first step of my test was clear:
I need to take down Raiders.
Since I had been in really extremely friendly lobbies last time, I could already hear my conscience nagging as I just thought about shooting at one of those helpful souls. Moreover, I wondered if it was enough to transition into PvP lobbies just by downing other Raiders without necessarily killing them.
“May I shoot you?” – The friendliest rat in Speranza
To get into the PvP lobbies, I had to shoot Raiders. However, since I didn’t want anyone to lose their loot for my test, I asked my “victims” for their permission.
I explained to them that I needed to go into PvP lobbies for a test and that I would therefore shoot people. I also assured them that I would only down them and then revive them with a defibrillator. Sometimes I had to swear that I wouldn’t actually kill them.
The first Raider I asked couldn’t be convinced – still, he was helpful… somehow. Although he didn’t want to be shot himself, he offered to help me take down other Raiders. However, I graciously declined the offer, as I did not want anyone to lose their loot. I think he unfortunately didn’t understand that I would have picked him up with a defibrillator.
Still in the same round, I found my first volunteer. On the roof of a building, I encountered an older gentleman who agreed to my request without much negotiation. I told him to put down his shield so that I wouldn’t damage it and then shot him in the face with an Anvil. Afterward, I revived him as promised and healed his injury with herbal bandages. Shortly after, we went our separate ways as if nothing happened.
A round later, I encountered my next volunteer. I could tell by his purchased skin and equipped weapons that he was not a newcomer. Despite his mistrust, he was also willing to be shot by me – but he had a counter-proposal:
He had a key for a locked room. We could go there together, he would open the room, loot, and fill his safety bags, and then I could shoot him. So initially, he didn’t trust that I would really revive him. But I eventually managed to soften him up.
At the exit, I looted two dead Raiders, who apparently fell victim to the freestanding rocket gunners, and ended Day 1 of my test – as I was already in PvP lobbies by round 3.
The sweat in me is shocked: Full trust despite endgame gear
I was really amazed by the trust of the strange Raiders. After my first volunteer, I laughed for a full 5 minutes straight. For a PvP sweat like me, who generally does not trust other players, this was shocking. I would never have risked my gear in such a way.
These were adult men who trusted a complete stranger and allowed him to shoot them. They had no guarantee that I would revive them. And anyway, agreeing to the request brought them nothing. I had no loot to offer them as thanks. And I made that clear to them.
Especially the second volunteer surprised me because he allowed himself to be persuaded despite his mistrust. Then he also wanted to take the risk and open the locked room… I could have easily shot him in the back as soon as the door opened.