'We Just Started. I Have Nothing' — Retired Pro Gamer Goes Viral for Relentlessly Killing Casual Arc Raiders Players — but Is It Griefing or Just Fair PvP?

Arc Raiders is simply a multiplayer extraction escapade successful which players scavenge the remnants of a devastated world. The main menace is Arc’s machines and, arsenic developer Embark Studios puts it, “the unpredictable choices of chap survivors.” But 1 Arc Raiders player, hellhole bent connected sidesplitting comparative newcomers, casuals, and those who person adjacent to nary loot oregon adjacent nary astatine all, has gone viral for sidesplitting others for athletics — sparking a statement astir what is and isn’t acceptable PvP behaviour successful the process.

Let’s commencement with a little primer connected however Arc Raiders works. You tin play solo oregon successful parties up to three, moving arsenic a squad to advancement done the game. However, different players are a changeless threat, and portion Arc Raiders’ explosive motorboat has seen a fig of wholesome, viral clips of players coming unneurotic to assistance each different out, immoderate players conscionable privation to ticker the satellite burn.

Taylor "THump" Humphries, a retired American nonrecreational H1Z1 and Apex Legends player, who has taken it upon themselves to hunt down teams of players and termination them for, well, sport. In a clip viewed 4.8 cardinal times truthful acold connected Twitter / X, THump kills a radical of players, 1 of whom pleads: “we conscionable started. I person nothing.” THump is past called “scum” and “a portion of s**t.” THump responds to say: “yeah, I killed each azygous 1 of you by the way.” He past laughs.

THump‘s station reads: “I emotion sidesplitting grown men that person jobs and children arsenic they are trying to get 5 cardinal credits for the expedition. Killing each teamers successful solos, unrecorded now.”

I emotion sidesplitting grown men that person jobs and children arsenic they are trying to get 5 cardinal credits for the expedition. Killing each teamers successful solos, unrecorded now.https://t.co/hiY3uPb3e7 pic.twitter.com/ncHTgNMT1x

— THUMP (@THump) December 18, 2025

The station sparked a beardown absorption from a ample radical of players, immoderate of whom deed retired astatine THump‘s actions, immoderate of whom backed him up. “I travel from a spot wherever PvP is not optional,” THump said. “It’s a mode of life. You privation optional PvP spell play WoW.” Then: “couldn’t ideate spending my Friday nighttime getting huffy astatine a random streamer connected the net capable to remark nether his tweet due to the fact that helium killed radical successful a PvP game.”

“Another toxic streamer,” 1 professional posted. “You should effort helping them instead, it mightiness marque you consciousness bully astir yourself for a change.” Another said THump was demonstrating “psychotic behavior.”

“I deliberation there's thing uniquely anti-social astir radical whose lone enjoyment successful games is ruining the amusive of bully and affable people,” said X / Twitter idiosyncratic Mizutamari. “There was ever a quality betwixt radical who trolled guys that were yelling slurs oregon slamming keyboards and radical who lone trolled guys that were affable and seemed to effort and support a blessed disposition.”

In the months since Arc Raiders’ release, a benignant of PvP etiquette has emerged. If you brushwood different subordinate and person nary volition to PvP, telephone retired that you’re friendly. It’s considered not cool to accidental affable and enactment affable past shoot, but of people that does happen. In Arc Raiders, PvP is ever on.

In truth, this griefing statement has been astir for arsenic agelong arsenic competitory multiplayer games person existed, but Arc Raiders has surely brought it backmost to the forefront. Who cares if you unreal to beryllium affable past sprout to kill? It’s a video game, right? “Your chap quality who trusted you cares,” suggested redditor ilmk9396.

“It's a video game. You don't dice successful existent beingness erstwhile your quality dies,” countered MachinationMachine.

“There's a existent idiosyncratic connected the different extremity spending existent clip and effort playing the crippled and they spot you not to bargain that from them aft you accidental you're friendly,” responded ilmk9396. “They fto their defender down and past you instrumentality vantage of that similar a coward. Be a antheral and sprout connected show if you privation the loot.”

Then, from MachinationMachine: “it's a competitory PvP videogame wherever you role-play arsenic a ruthless post-apocalyptic raider. How is being honorable bully role-playing?”

And truthful on, and truthful forth. But isn’t this precisely what Embark Studios had hoped would look from Arc Raiders? “In the end, lone you determine what benignant of Raider you are — and however acold you’ll spell to prevail,” reads the authoritative blurb. Here, the developer is fundamentally handing implicit Arc Raiders to its community. Do what you consciousness is right, basically. The crippled is designed for tension. But is it designed for relentless PvP?

“The crippled is designed for you to enactment together, arsenic there's typically capable loot successful the situation to spell astir truthful that everyone tin emergence up and you tin person a bully clip together, with the occasional PvP,” iNteg suggested. “The 2nd lobbies lone go astir PvP you suffer astir of your playerbase who wants to bask the different aspects of the crippled and not conscionable PvP. Going successful with a mindset that it's lone astir PvP takes the charm and amusive retired of the crippled wholly and besides ruins the experience, you suffer immoderate benignant of imaginable magic that could person happened due to the fact that oop, spot idiosyncratic indispensable rat and weapon them down without an interaction.”

This 1 isn’t going anywhere, and neither is THump. Undeterred by immoderate imaginable backlash, helium has doubled down connected his playstyle, posting a akin clip with the comment: “love loading up Arc Raiders connected Saturday nighttime to amusement the blue-collar workforce of America what a existent nonrecreational gamer looks like.”

Love loading up Arc Raiders connected Saturday nighttime to amusement the blue-collar workforce of America what a existent nonrecreational gamer looks like. Live present with much skillhttps://t.co/hiY3uPb3e7 pic.twitter.com/gw4UQDCTqI

— THUMP (@THump) December 21, 2025

And alongside different much caller clip, helium posted: "Logging successful with a afloat inventory of trigger nades and sidesplitting everyone trying to get re-looted aft the expedition is simply a joy."

Logging successful with a afloat inventory of trigger nades and sidesplitting everyone trying to get re-looted aft the expedition is simply a joy. Trigger nades bash NOT request a nerf! Livehttps://t.co/hiY3uPb3e7 pic.twitter.com/DuaFRCGlUi

— THUMP (@THump) December 22, 2025

Wesley is Director, News astatine IGN. Find him connected Twitter astatine @wyp100. You tin scope Wesley astatine [email protected] oregon confidentially astatine [email protected].