I've been back on ARC Raiders since the January update landed, and you can feel the devs steering the game toward people who actually stick around. If you're the kind of player who plans routes, counts ammo, and still cares about clean comms, you'll probably end up thinking about the ARC Raiders Battle pass too, because the whole patch leans into long-term progression instead of one-and-done runs.

Level 40 Queue Feels Like A Different Game

The new advanced matchmaking option being locked behind level 40 is a bold move, and yeah, it'll rub some folks the wrong way. But once you're in, it's hard to go back. You don't get that awkward moment where your teammate sprints into open ground, pings nothing, then wonders why the squad got melted. People hold angles. They rotate when it makes sense. They'll actually back off a fight if the odds look bad. Matches get sweatier, sure, but it's the good kind of sweaty, where you lose and still feel like it was a fair scrap.

The Swamps Make You Think Twice

Those "secondary environmental conditions" sounded like patch-note fluff until I walked into the toxic swamp and realised the map is now an enemy in its own right. Visibility drops fast. Movement gets messy. And that steady chip damage changes how you take fights. You can't just crash a position like you used to, because the terrain punishes impatience. I've started taking longer flanks, watching my timer, and keeping an exit line in my head. If you're used to brute forcing every encounter, you'll learn the hard way.

Projects Give The Grind A Point

The Player Project system is the bit that's kept me logging in. It's not the usual throwaway daily checklist. These mission lines feel like a real track you can commit to, and they nudge you to play smarter instead of just playing more. Some objectives are genuinely annoying, but in a way that makes you adjust your kit, talk to your squad, and stop autopiloting. And when the rewards hit, they actually feel earned, not like pocket change.

What I'd Tell Returning Players

If you've been away, this is a solid time to jump back in, even if you're mainly here to test your gunplay and see what's changed. Weapon balance still needs a look, but the moment-to-moment pacing is sharper now, and the endgame vibe is finally showing up. If you want to keep your loadout moving without wasting time between runs, I've seen players use rsvsr to pick up game currency and items so they can stay focused on raids instead of farming, and that fits the new "be prepared or get punished" feel of this patch.