When Virgil Watkins, ARC Raiders' Design Director, said "cost shouldn't inherently fill a skill gap," a lot of us nodded… and a lot of us rolled our eyes. After you've spent nights grinding parts, praying for the right drops, and staring at your stash like it's a museum, you start asking what you're really paying for. I've crafted the pricey stuff, checked the stats, then gone back to browsing ARC Raiders Items just to sanity-check what actually feels worth running in a real raid.

Where the Loop Breaks

The problem isn't that people want a pay-to-win shooter. Most players hate that. The problem is the math doesn't land. You build a purple Bobcat or Tempest, you dump resources into upgrades, and then you discover it's not some "turn brain off" weapon. Fair. But it's also not a meaningful step up from a common rifle you've already tuned. And that's where it stings. If repairs cost a fortune and one bad push can wipe the whole investment, you end up playing scared. Not because you're bad, but because the economy is telling you to be.

Skill Should Matter, Time Should Too

I actually like the philosophy that a solid player can win with almost anything. That's healthy. But "everything is viable" can't become "nothing feels special." When you finally earn high-tier gear, it should change the way a fight feels. Maybe it snaps to target faster, maybe recoil's kinder, maybe it buys you one extra mistake before you're down. Not an auto-win, just a clear edge you can feel in your hands. Otherwise progression turns into a crafting simulator where the best strategy is hoarding, not playing.

Buff the Experience, Not the Ego

The recent balance moves show the team's watching, like nerfing stuff that was warping fights. Cool. Now it needs the other half. Purple weapons can be exciting without being oppressive if the rewards are tuned smartly. A few options are obvious: lower crafting and repair costs, make blueprints a bit less of a unicorn, or give high-tier guns perks that matter under pressure. And that pressure usually isn't PvE. It's the moment you hear footsteps, see a flashlight sweep the wall, and realize another squad's about to crash your run.

What Players Actually Do

The devs can call it PvE-first, and on paper that's true, but in practice PvP is the part you remember. It's the clip you save, the loss you stew on, the reason you hesitate at the loadout screen. If the game wants us to risk our best kit, it has to feel like a bet with a real upside. Until then, a lot of folks will keep running cheap and smart, and treat the purple stash like a rainy-day fund, or even look to services like U4GM to shortcut the grind when the economy starts feeling more punishing than the raids themselves.