After playing 120 hours in Arc Raiders, I finally killed another player

this Arclight Guide The achievement/trophy for killing another player in PvP combat is titled “Crossing the Threshold,” and after 120 hours of peaceful play, I felt like I'd accomplished just that when I saw an alert appear on my screen: I'd set foot in uncharted territory. What’s more, I found myself in a world I didn’t even want to be in. I'm proud of myself for never killing another player in the game. Over dozens of rounds I tried my best to avoid such an outcome, often taking the first shot slowly and even causing damage to myself. I trust other players, but sometimes it turns out to be unfounded. Most of the time, I resort to diplomacy, often negotiating with other players I encounter to resolve issues. I have a lot of great ideas about how to get back to Speranza without getting blood on my hands. To me, Arc Raiders is an exciting social experiment. How long can I effectively convince other players who want to harm me? The final answer was about 122 hours of play time.

This fatal encounter occurred on Stella Montes, which will come as no surprise to some veteran Arc Raiders players. This latest map, and the first to be played entirely indoors, is an extremely tense environment where you'll either struggle to check your corners or be bleeding out on the ground in no time. Even in solo queue, Arc Raiders is still primarily a bastion of good-natured and helpful PvE players, but Stella Montes feels like it's easier to kill or kill than other maps in the game.

I was minding my own business, carefully robbing, but certainly not intending to hurt anyone, when I heard gunshots nearby. Hiding behind some lockers, I had a clear view of the fight, except when it entered the next room through the open door that led to the hallway. I was still within range to hear the close chatter of those fighting, and witnessed a melee that claimed the lives of at least two players with flares fired from inside the hallway to the ceiling. I crouched down, away from the noise, and continued exploring the other rooms.

I knew at that point that at least one person on the map had malicious intentions this round, so I was more wary than before, but I met some friendlier people, and the round played out like I did in Arc Raiders; the troublemakers were always outnumbered. A few minutes later, I circled around, went upstairs, and found myself now in the same area, overlooking the dramatic hallway, only now I was on a higher floor. Just then, I heard the sound of two people arguing in the corridor. One player was upset about another player resorting to PvP because they felt the solo queue wasn't meant to be so unfriendly. As you might expect, the two engage in a reasonably philosophical discussion, but eventually one of the voices stops talking.

I opened the hallway door that had been closed during the melee and yelled, “What's going on here? Are you okay?” A player yelled back, but I couldn't tell from his voice whether he was the obvious aggressor or someone who was attacked and seemingly killed in self-defense—from what I recall, a quick glance down the hallway revealed three or more corpses of the attackers. I couldn't see the survivor, but he told me he had been hit and asked me if I had defibrillation. I always carry one because helping strangers in this game is my favorite way to play. But nonetheless, the chaos in the hallway made me uneasy within a few minutes, so I was reluctant to walk through the door myself. I told him, “Crawl to me. I do have heart failure. Crawl to me and I will revive you.” “Crawl to you?” he asked.

“Yeah, can you make it in time?” I wondered, knowing his life bar was evaporating, if True to his word, he was knocked out.

He never spoke another word. Thanks to the way I peeked around the corner, I saw him, not knocked down, but standing—sprint– Come into my room. He rounded the corner and opened fire, and the only reason I survived was that I had a Torrente LMG with some attachments – a decisive, ruthless weapon at close range. Although the Liar hit me first, my Riptide ripped through him and knocked him down faster than he could knock me down.

I've been in these situations before. I haven't killed anyone yet in my Arc Raiders career, but I've knocked down a few. However, I always resurrect them or have their teammates resurrect them. I'll explain why I haven't crossed this threshold yet and I don't want to start with them. Usually they end up thanking me for my kindness.

I admit that I probably would have done the same thing to this fee-charging scammer if he had given me a chance, but he didn't. As soon as I knocked him down, perhaps out of embarrassment at being caught trying to hit me with speed, he used the “give up” command, effectively ending his life and crediting me with the kill.

Before this round, I had been wondering what I was going to say to the first person I planned to kill in Arc Reaver. I'll half-jokingly tell some story about how they brought me to this point in the first place, like a character in a movie who finally snaps, forcing them to listen to my diatribes while crawling on my boots. But in the end I didn't even get a chance. I only said one sentence to the attacker, and he immediately bled: “Why did you do that?!” Of course he didn't answer.

I felt a rush of water rushing towards me. Although there was violence in the hallway, I didn't foresee myself being a part of it. I guess in the back of my mind I thought I should talk my way out of the melee, or maybe I'd slip away unscathed. Heck, maybe I'll be the next one to get shot and I'll be too slow to pull the trigger myself, but I certainly won't be the one with blood on my hands. Until I was.

Since then, I've killed another player – also on Stella Montes, also because they charged me and fired first, then chose the “abandon” command. I still play the game in a friendly way. I always carry a defibrillator or two. If someone yells, “Don't shoot!” via the game's all-important emote wheel, I tell them there's no need to worry, and I mean it. But now that I've crossed the threshold, I do feel like the mental block that kept me from drawing slowly has been lifted. Now, if I see other attackers, I tend to ask them if they are friendly. If they say nothing, I'm on guard, and even if they say they're friendly, I keep an eye on them. I still wasn't about to start fights, but since that fateful day in Stella Monteith Hall, I was more ready to end them.