If you're just going in with a pure looting mindset (especially if you're just blueprint hunting) you can take a regular loadout but just empty it all. No gun, augment, shield, etc but you still get a safe pocket which you lose with a free loadout. Nothing to lose if you get shot in the back and you get to keep 1 item in your safe pocket.

I'll echo what's been previously said - but my solo blueprint raids have been very friendly. I run on PC and casually drop a "HOW'S THE RAID GOING BROTHER?" to an unsuspecting raider. I can hear footsteps very quickly and about 80% of the time I have the drop on someone. Now that I can craft defibs - I've been keeping a couple on me. I saw a nearby flare go off maybe 50m from me on a cold snap Bluegate run. I ran over and started prox talking and the guy was very "I'm over here, come kill me" - and to his surprise, instead of giving him a knuckle sammich back to Speranza I defib'd him and he was flabbergasted. We ran back to the hatch together. Haven't been shot in the back in a solo run since before Christmas (crossing my fingers here).

I've been taking Stitcher 4s or a Renegade 4 into those solo runs.

My duos / trio runs are much more sweaty and shoot first - typically a Vent 4 and Toro 4 for those and a slew of trigger nades (nerf incoming).

See ya'll topside

Fenrir said:

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If you're just going in with a pure looting mindset (especially if you're just blueprint hunting) you can take a regular loadout but just empty it all. No gun, augment, shield, etc but you still get a safe pocket which you lose with a free loadout. Nothing to lose if you get shot in the back and you get to keep 1 item in your safe pocket.

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Yeah… you can definitely do this, but it takes practically nothing to craft a mk2 blue looting augment (with two safe pockets) and a simple green shield. The green shield rechargers are very easy/cheap to make/buy and the med bandages are very cheap as well. No reason not to craft that for even a simple looting run.

The reason people do it is so they can get the blueprint and surrender. Don't waste time extracting, don't lose any crafted items, but still make it out with the blueprint.

I've got all the blueprints I really care about so never spent time doing this but definitely speeds things up if you're pushing hard to get blueprints. I can't tell you how many times i've gotten to one of the big loot rooms in Blue Gate only to find 4 dead bodies there from people that have done naked runs and then surrendered.

Makes sense

Noob question. I see people/streamers going to "friendly" lobbies to casually loot. Is that just a PC thing? On PS5 you just get to select the location before going topside. Not a "PVE only" or "friendly" lobby

AvsB said:

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Noob question. I see people/streamers going to "friendly" lobbies to casually loot. Is that just a PC thing? On PS5 you just get to select the location before going topside. Not a "PVE only" or "friendly" lobby

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I think you have to go like 10-20 matches in a row of not shooting anyone (I think even as far as not shooting back in defense) and then you'll start to be selected for those lobbies.

This is accurate as I've heard based on what the CEO said. I had to defend myself one time and the next three matches were dicey

Any active players here looking for partners? I'm a little over 20 hours in now but still feel like a noob in this big game. Wouldn't mind running with some friends and seeing what kind of trouble we can get into.

PSN: The_Aggie

Embark ID: The_Aggie#3802

It would be better for crossplay if you put y our embarkID it'll be your PSN name with numbers and a hashtag on it like mine would be DemcracyManifest#1234. I don't know what Mine is right now but I will look it up and post it later.

Thank you, I forgot that part! See, I told you I still feel like a noob 20+ hours into this.

Gaming... I'm too old for this ****, but I still love it!

Playing Arc just makes me sad/mad that Naughty Dog/Sony cancelled The Last of Us factions game. Extraction PVE/PVP in TLOU universe would have been amazing.

All I do is Nguyen said:

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Maybe but I also think Neil Druckmann would've found somehow a way to mess it up with his activism and "spreading the message"

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Their upcoming game Intergalactic checks off every box for me... space theme, old school synth music, neon lights... aaannnnnddddd the protagonist is, of course, the poster child for diverse persons.

Playing solo... some people make it their mission to be helpful. I jumped to my death last night (not on purpose) and some guy came up. He didn't have any defibs but offered to heal me as I crawled to a hatch. It was too far. So instead he took all my crap, friended me, and gave it all back after we loaded into a duo's match!

I also met a guy who did nothing but follow me around as he played the flute. He claimed to be my bard. Weird guy, but nice guy!

Peanut is playing with NFLer Ja'marr Chase tonight

So if you play solo, do y'all usually voice chat with other randoms? Will try this one I finish A Plague's Tale: Requiem.

I do yes to let them know I am friendly and to not shoot. I will also ask if they need help looking for a certain item. One time I even gave a give a Showstopper blueprint I looted (I already had it), made his day.

I'm a super noob, but I will prox chat in solos. I'll call out "friendly" or if someone has called the elevator already, I'll ask if I can catch a ride.

Haven't run into any santa's yet dropping high value goop.

Agreed... proximity voice chat makes this game what it is and most of the community uses mics. It's good stuff going solo and looting at your own pace, but then you run across another random Raider trying to live their best life and you never know what you are going to get.

Usually friendly but the fact that you can never be 100% sure is such a unique experience.

Picked it up yesterday. Its fantastic and feels great to play.

What are the settings yall use for proximity chat?

Toggle to talk. Tap to open the voice chat, tap again to turn it off. That way I'm not having to take my left thumb off the left stick every time I talk. But can go silent with one press.

I've been struggling with my mic of late. For whatever reason nobody can hear me in game a good portion of the time. Probably some dumb setting but makes it hard to not get shot when all I can do is emote.

You're not alone and I think a big part of it is Embark's servers because I have the Shure MV6 UCB C mic, its amazing and people still complain they cant hear me sometimes

If you are solo and mic is glitchy...go back to the early days of AR and stand/squat and on/off the flashlight. It can save your life!

Yeah to everyone's point, they have some system or server issue with mics as some days mine works great and other days not so much. I do the same as the other poster, I have my proximity chat to toggle (I think it's "B" on my keyboard) and when I want to talk I can quickly press it, and then when I don't I can quickly press it off. Keep in mind, some mics can pic up ambient noise and if you have yours toggled on the whole time, other players may be able to see you are nearby (which could be both a good or a bad thing depending on your play style). For simplicity, I have mine toggled off, then quickly can press it on if I need it. And yes, the crouching and flashing of the flashlight is also a universal indicator of friendliness.

Question... is anybody actively working towards the Expedition (character reset)? I think I have ZERO desire to do this. I'm probably around 30+ hours in at this point and still have so much to unlock.

Even though looting and progressing is the name of the game, it's not the real hook for me. I just really enjoy the journey of every solo launch... sometimes I don't speak a word and it's just me, the arc, and the loot. Other times there are friends everywhere. And on the rare occasion, someone that has to be dealt with.

I just can't imagine starting over again.

jr15aggie said:

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Question... is anybody actively working towards the Expedition (character reset)? I think I have ZERO desire to do this. I'm probably around 30+ hours in at this point and still have so much to unlock.

Even though looting and progressing is the name of the game, it's not the real hook for me. I just really enjoy the journey of every solo launch... sometimes I don't speak a word and it's just me, the arc, and the loot. Other times there are friends everywhere. And on the rare occasion, someone that has to be dealt with.

I just can't imagine starting over again.

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What's the draw? Do you get a weapon or skin not available unless you reset?

I honestly don't know what the draw is.

I think they give you XP boosts and maybe some skill tree boosts... It's not very clear to me what you benefit, but I know they reset a lot of stuff back to zero. Pretty sure you even have to rebuild your workshop.

Don't think I'm the target audience for it... I'm guessing it's aimed at those that sink hundreds of hours into their games.

This answers a lot of the expedition concerns.

I'm over 230 hours in and I have no plans for a reset. I JUST got the equalizer BP lol

Beat my first Rocketeer solo last night. Did it the "old fashioned way" just using a Hullcracker and Apreggio.

It's much easier using Wolfpacks, but I wanted to get a better feel for how the thing moves and attacks, so I went a few rounds with it and had some fun.

JobSecurity said:

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I have more fun watching peanut play than actually playing myself. I'm usually solo though

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I watched peanut and his quest last night for a Bobcat with nickmercs and cloakzy. Freaking hilarious.

Hagen95 said:

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JobSecurity said:

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I have more fun watching peanut play than actually playing myself. I'm usually solo though

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I watched peanut and his quest last night for a Bobcat with nickmercs and cloakzy. Freaking hilarious.

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I'm ashamed to admit, I didn't work hard at all for my bobcat blueprint on the locked gate event; I let someone collect all the codes, punch them in, while I waited at the gate. As soon as they keyed it in, I sprinted through the gate and through the corridors to that one breached room, opened it, and went to one of the shelves where it was there waiting for me. I instantly sprinted out to an extract, and the whole ordeal took maybe 5 minutes.

After all this time, now that I have the damn thing learned, I never craft it. I use the ol' trusty Anvil about 95% of my raids. Tends to be the story with about all my other blueprints as well.