A new week has begun in ARC Raiders, bringing a fresh set of Trials challenges and rewards for players to tackle. Every Monday, Embark Studios introduces five optional objectives that grant valuable loot upon completion. While some tasks tend to feel repetitive, this time the developers have leaned heavily into the recently added ARC enemy, making the latest challenges significantly harder.
As an extraction shooter, the core goal of the game revolves around collecting high-value loot. Players usually achieve this by venturing Topside, fighting other Raiders, and scavenging across different locations. However, the Trials system offers an alternative progression path. Each week features five challenges with a star-based rating system. One star grants an Uncommon item, two stars reward a Rare item, and three stars unlock an Epic reward. Players can also climb the seasonal leaderboard, earning even better prizes based on their rank.
From April 6 to 12, a new batch of Trials is available. Some objectives are fairly straightforward, such as damaging Wasps, searching Raider Caches, dealing damage to ARC in Old Town on Buried City, or disabling mines during the Locked Gate event on Blue Gate. However, one challenge stands out as potentially the hardest yet, requiring players to deal damage to the Vaporizer, a newly introduced ARC enemy widely considered to be extremely overpowered.
The enemy was added with the major Flashpoint update ARC Raiders released on March 31. Alongside new weapons, tougher map conditions, and updates for Scrappy, the patch introduced the Vaporizer. Many players already view it as more dangerous than the Rocketeer, as it combines traits of a flying Queen and Matriarch. Equipped with laser attacks, a shield, and flight capabilities, it is only encountered in the Close Scrutiny condition, making it one of the most intimidating enemies so far and a serious obstacle in the current Trials.
Although this may be the toughest Trial so far, it is far from the strangest. The Trials system has often been criticized for repetitive objectives, prompting Embark to experiment with unusual ideas. In March, for example, a challenge required players to get struck by lightning during an Electromagnetic Storm. Many described it as "not fun at all", while one player said it "sums up Trials in general."
Looking ahead, the difficulty may increase even further. The upcoming Riven Tides ARC Raiders update is expected to introduce another large ARC enemy later this month. While details remain unknown, players anticipate something similar to the Queen or Matriarch. Given that developers have acknowledged current large enemies are defeated too quickly, the next update will likely raise the challenge significantly.
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