(Image credit: Embark Studios)

PvP discourse will likely be a constant in Arc Raiders conversation for years to come. But while the more antagonistic raiders among us might wish for more acknowledgment of their dark deeds, it doesn't sound like Embark will be prioritizing additional PvP systems any time soon. In a recent interview with GamesBeat's Dean Takahashi, Embark Studios CEO Patrick Söderlund said features like player kill leaderboards and Nemesis systems would place too much of an emphasis on PvP.

While Söderlund said the development team has "had several discussions" about additional PvP mechanics and metrics, he ultimately thinks Arc Raiders is stronger when player combat is a potential hazard rather than an inevitability.

"One of the beauties of this game is the fact that we don't have those leaderboards, and it's not competitive. We don't necessarily want to foster that kind of gameplay," Söderlund said. "The game isn't about shooting other players. You can do that if you want to, but the ethos of the game has never been to go in and shoot players."

Instead, PvP is something that Embark wants "to a point," Söderlund said, because "it's a part that we use to craft tension." Knowing that there are players out there pursuing their own goals and interests—which may or may not include murder—makes Arc Raiders feel more unpredictable and vibrant. Söderlund said Arc Raiders' early PvE incarnation was "quite fun," but it really came alive thanks to the "subtle ways of signalling" Embark was able to play with once other raiders were added into the mix.

GamesBeat's Dean Takahashi talks to Patrick Söderlund of Embark and Owen Mahoney in ARC Raiders - YouTube

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"You hear them shooting—audio is a very important part of this game. You hear them encountering Arc and other players. You see the raider flares as they go down," Söderlund said. "At one point, I came back after a playtest, and the flares were gone, and I just said 'Bring them back.' They're such an iconic part of this game, and they signal to other players that action is happening somewhere. It makes it feel populated in an important way."

I can see why Embark would be hesitant to add a player kill leaderboard, because it would act as a different kind of signal. A leaderboard emphasizes activity just by existing; you don't present something as worth competing over if you don't want people to care about it. It'd be putting a thumb on the scale of the delicate balance of will-they-won't-they PvP tension—as would other nemesis and bounty systems.