Arc Raiders has always lived in an interesting space between PvE and PvP. Some players want pure co-op survival against the Arcs,with ARC Raiders BluePrints for sale,others thrive on tense player encounters, and many float somewhere in between in mixed lobbies. That balance is part of what makes the game exciting—but it's also what can make misunderstandings blow up fast.

Recently, a clip made the rounds where a content creator killed another player, and the comments section caught fire. A lot of viewers felt the kill was unjustified and accused the creator of gunning down PvE players and then hiding behind "self-defense" in the voice-over. The creator, in turn, felt the situation was being taken out of context and that the full picture wasn't being seen.

So what actually happened, and why does this kind of situation keep happening in Arc Raiders?

The Core of the Controversy

The creator's stance is pretty straightforward: they don't mind PvP, they don't mind PvE, and they respect players who only want one or the other. What they do mind is when context gets lost and a narrative forms that doesn't match what they experienced in-game.

They've been here before. In an earlier blueprint video, they admitted they did a poor job presenting data, people got frustrated, and instead of doubling down, they went back, reworked it, and made the spawn information clearer for everyone. The underlying philosophy is simple: put the truth out there as clearly as possible.

That's why this situation bothered them. From their point of view, the clip wasn't about "mowing down PvE players." It was about reacting to what looked and felt like a PvP or mixed lobby under pressure.

Reading the Lobby: The Context Clues

Before the actual encounter even happened, there were several warning signs:

In the previous match, they had already been attacked at extract in what they thought was a friendly lobby.

In the next match, a radar flare went off right at spawn. That can happen from Arcs, sure—but it also often means a player just died.

Moving toward their objective, they heard another flare in the same general direction as another player.

Then they found a dead body.

Taken together, that's a lot of unusual activity for a pure PvE lobby. People were dying more than expected, and there were signs of player conflict. That alone put them on high alert.

The Moment of Contact

While pushing into the area to fight Arcs, the creator heard gunfire from above—specifically from a player using a Ventor. That's another red flag. Now they're dealing with Arcs, hearing shots, and already suspecting PvP is in play.

Then the key moment happens: they accidentally bump into another player.

In PvE lobbies, there's a kind of unspoken language. Players flash a flashlight, use voice, or signal "don't shoot." According to the creator, this player did none of that. Instead, the other player's first reaction was to pull out their weapon.

From the other player's perspective, maybe seeing someone already holding a gun felt threatening. That's fair. But from the creator's side, with all the previous context—dead bodies, flares, gunfire overhead—someone drawing a weapon right in front of them looked like an immediate threat.

As the other player tried to move around and get out of the line of fire while still drawing their weapon, the creator made the call and shot. Almost immediately, they were also taking damage from the Ventor player above, confirming their fear of getting third-partied in a dangerous area.

Escalation: The Fight Gets Bigger

After the first kill, things didn't calm down. A zipline came down—clearly the Ventor player moving in to capitalize on the fight. The creator killed them too.

Then a car alarm went off in the distance, another classic signal that someone else was moving in. A third player appeared, holding an angle with an Anvil, clearly looking for a chance to kill. This wasn't someone wandering in to "help a PvE player." This was someone setting up an ambush.

At this point, from the creator's perspective, the evidence was overwhelming: this was not a peaceful PvE scenario. This was a PvP or mixed lobby with multiple players actively hunting or third-partying fights.

Why the Backlash Hurt

The creator has hundreds of hours in Arc Raiders across PvE, PvP, and mixed lobbies. They know how players behave in each. And they're very clear about one thing: they don't enjoy killing players who are just trying to PvE. They actually feel bad when that happens.

So when the comments framed the clip as "another content creator mindlessly shooting PvE players," it hit a nerve. In their mind, that's not what happened at all—and it's not the kind of content they want to make.

They want PvP content to happen in PvP lobbies because it's more fun to play and more fun to watch. Shooting people who won't shoot back isn't interesting, and it's not satisfying gameplay.

The Real Issue: Ambiguity in Mixed Lobbies

The creator even admits the first encounter was messy. Two players bumped into each other, both were on edge, both had weapons out, and neither used the usual "I'm friendly" signals. In a different timeline, one flashlight flash or one "don't shoot" voice line could have defused the whole thing.

But Arc Raiders doesn't always give you clean, obvious situations—especially in mixed lobbies where PvE and PvP behaviors overlap. When you add third parties, audio cues, and recent deaths into the mix, decisions get made fast, and sometimes they're irreversible.

Trying to Do Better Going Forward

To avoid this kind of confusion, the creator is already juggling two accounts: one for PvP-focused content and one for PvE. The problem is progression—some key blueprints are only on the PvE account, which means extra setup just to make sure the right content happens in the right lobbies.

Their current routine is a bit wild: run trios to make sure they're in PvP lobbies for PvP content, then later spend time in areas like Stella Montis letting people kill them repeatedly to "reset" and go back to PvE content. It's not perfect, but it's their way of trying to respect both audiences.

The Takeaway

This whole situation highlights one of Arc Raiders' biggest strengths—and biggest pain points: the blurry line between PvE and PvP. In the heat of the moment, with limited information and real risk of being third-partied, players make snap decisions. From the outside, a clip can look simple. From inside the match, it rarely is.

The creator's main message isn't "I was 100% perfect." It's: this is what I saw, this is why I acted, and I never set out to ruin PvE players' games. Whether everyone agrees or not, it's a reminder that context matters—especially in a game where one wrong read can send you back to the lobby.

And honestly? That tension is part of what makes ARC Raiders BluePrints what it is.