ARC Raiders takes another step on its roadmap with an exotic offering, but it may not be enough to get back to old highs

ARC Raiders‘ new map, Riven Tides, has been scheduled to release on April 28, with Embark Studios sharing new insights on the extraction shooter’s upcoming level. It’s to come alongside a content update, which will introduce new cosmetics and goodies to the game, hopefully to help offset the title’s dramatic decline in recent months.

Riven Tides is ARC Raiders‘ upcoming map, and Embark gave us a few glimpses into what we can expect on April 28. Featuring a tropical style, we’re going to take fights to various scenic locations, from hotel resorts to pools to sandy beach bars, though there won’t be any shortage of the recognizable rusticity and post-apocalypse that comes in the form of warehouses, wreckage sites, and ruined shipyards. While there’s no gauging how big the map will be, I have a strong feeling we’re going to have a lot of environments to choose from, no matter what.

Of course, Embark Studios doesn’t miss a chance to paint a bleak picture of a world ruled by robots, and so its Riven Tides-themed Scout Report describes the map as a place where everything seems frozen in time, as if the entire populace had one day disappeared.

“Posters still hang on the walls, smashed glasses on the countertops, beds still made. It’s like whoever lived here got up one evening and just never came back. Like everything’s on pause,” the report reads. I love this side of ARC Raiders that gets so overshadowed by the game’s very nature as a PVP title, and given just how successful it actually is, I would absolutely drop any amount of money on a singleplayer or PVE-oriented event that’d let us explore the world and lore in a more direct way.

On top of adding the map, the Riven Tides update will also introduce a few new skins, one of which looks like it was taken straight out of Resident Evil Village‘s Mother Miranda’s closet. The others carry a retrofuturistic cosmic theme, which is par for the course in ARC Raiders. The middle one stands out, though.

Depending on how big this whole patch is, ARC Raiders could finally reclaim some of its lost player base, as it has been dramatically declining over the last few months amid an abject lack of new content or events. The Shrouded Sky update didn’t help much, though now there’s also an Expedition on the way (not without its fair share of controversy) that could, alongside Riven Tides, help reinvigorate the title a bit.

At any rate, the game still has strong numbers, so it’s not going to go anywhere any time soon, but it’s better to start reclaiming those positive trends now rather than to wait for the entire player base to jump ship to something else. ARC Raiders is a fantastic title, and the addition of Riven Tides is surely going to make it better. Let’s just hope that resonates with whom it should.

The post ARC Raiders takes another step on its roadmap with an exotic offering, but it may not be enough to get back to old highs appeared first on Destructoid.

The key to winning auctions and building your empire in BidKing is often hidden behind the collectors you choose. While several options are available for you to use, you need to select carefully. Each collector has a unique skill, and some are better than the rest.

This guide will help you figure out the best collectors you can unlock and use.

Best collector skills in BidKing

The table below has a list of what I consider the best collectors in BidKing. Their skills will help you have some big advantages over your competitors before you lodge your next bid.

Collector	Skill
Aisha	Relic’s Insight	One of the very best skills to have if you can go past the first round. The skill reveals the outline based on the item’s rarity after each round. If you can enter Round 3, you’ll know how many White, Green, and Blue items are located in the lot. This is amazing information to have before you place your next bid.
Ivan	Arms Instinct	Weapons sell for higher prices, which will be highlighted by the skill. All Gear, Energy, and Transportation collectibles will also be highlighted, but I love this skill for finding out hidden weapons.
Isabella	Rare Valuation	She can immediately reveal the rarity of the highest-rarity collectible that you can find. This will immediately give you a good idea of how much profit you can possibly make from your purchase. Her skill also highlights outlines of four Gems and Minerals collectibles at random. Gems typically fetch good prices, so it’s a nice bit of information to have.
Raven	Endgame Insight	This collector is amazing if you can bid your way to the fifth round. The rarity of every collectible will be disclosed before you land in the final bid. Having that information will help you decide if you should put in a final bid or abstain from spending extra.
Victor	Value Insight	This skill will show the total number of Purple, Gold, and Red rarity collectibles. In short, you’ll have a precise idea of whether the purchase you’re about to make has anything of substantial value.
Ethan	Spatial Awareness	Ethan can reveal the outlines of five random collectible types. In the subsequent rounds, he will reveal the outlines of all known-rarity collectibles. If you reach the final round, he will reveal the outlines of every available collectible you can find.

While every collector has unique use-case scenarios for their skills, you’ll need to predict accurately. Overbidding too much can make you take a loss and erase your credits. Unfortunately, none of the collectors mentioned on the table above are available for free, but you can unlock them for free using the in-game goodies that you’ll get at launch.

The post Best collectors to use in BidKing appeared first on Destructoid.