u/AccurateNatural7324

Category: Feedback / Suggestions

Body:

I’ve been raiding since launch and the gunplay, atmosphere, and tension still hook me like nothing else. The satisfying recoil, the weight of every bullet, and the thrill of extracting under pressure keep me coming back. But after dozens of hours, the standard PvE loops have become too familiar — the same ARC patterns, the same predictable loot routes, and the same safe rhythm. The early-game fear of the unknown has slowly faded, and I find myself craving that raw, heart-pounding dread again.

I know a full standalone PvE mode might not be at the top of the roadmap right now, but I believe a dedicated horror/swarm experience could reignite the magic that made the first raids so memorable. Here’s a detailed vision for something that feels like a natural evolution of the game’s existing lore and atmosphere:

Proposed Mode: “Corrupted Depths” (Separate Optional Playlist)

•  The Threat: Hordes of corrupted pre-war androids — faster, smarter, and far more relentless than standard ARC units. These aren’t mindless machines; they move with twisted purpose, using pack tactics and environmental awareness. The undisputed star of the nightmare is a wall-crawling contortionist stalker unit I call The Flexor. Picture its metallic limbs bending and twisting at unnatural angles as it silently crawls across ceilings, vents, and pipes. It drops down right behind you with a sickening click of joints and exposed wiring. One wrong glance upward and it’s latched onto your back, forcing every Raider to constantly scan the darkness above, behind, and around them. The constant paranoia of “Is that a pipe… or something moving?” would be incredible.

•  The Setting: A forgotten, pitch-black underground research complex called Erebus Labs — deeper, darker, and more claustrophobic than anything we’ve seen so far. Emergency lights flicker and die without warning. Your flashlight beam struggles to cut through thick dust and hanging cables while distant metallic scraping, distorted android whispers, dripping water, and occasional far-off screams echo through the narrow corridors. Every vent grate rattles unpredictably, every overhead pipe feels like a threat, and every shadowed corner could be hiding death. The facility’s abandoned pre-war android research wing feels truly alive with dread, expanding on the mysterious android lore without overlapping current maps.

•  Objectives: A fully procedural clue system that pulls you deeper into the facility. One clue leads to the next — maybe a blood-stained terminal in a sealed lab, a flickering hologram replaying final moments in an assembly hall, or a half-destroyed android core with fragmented memories. These build toward a final high-stakes goal (extracting a volatile data core, restarting a failing reactor core, or purging corrupted memory fragments from the mainframe). No two runs would ever feel the same, keeping players guessing and engaged.

•  Time Pressure: 25–35 minute runs with steadily rising swarm intensity. The longer you stay, the more the facility seems to wake up around you — lights failing faster, more Flexors appearing, and the audio cues growing more aggressive.

•  Extraction: Brutal, memorable finales that test everything you’ve survived so far — barricading an arriving elevator as waves crash in from all angles, sprinting through an infested metro tunnel with androids skittering at your heels, or making a desperate vertical climb up an air shaft while Flexors drop from above and latch onto the walls around you.

•  Upgrade System: The Forgeheart — a massive, glowing, lore-rich machine buried in the heart of the facility. You insert your weapon plus scavenged rare parts, then hold the line for 15 terrifying seconds as the swarm floods the room from every direction. Sparks fly, the machine roars and vibrates, and your gun transforms in real time: rusty scrap becomes pristine pre-war tech, then energy-infused ARC hybrid with glowing barrels, new particle effects, and devastating alternate firing modes. Watching your favorite weapon evolve under pressure would be deeply satisfying.

•  Risk/Reward & Social Layer: The real enemy is the swarm. PvP is possible but suicidal — gunfire draws everything toward you like moths to flame. Proximity chat becomes pure gold: whispered callouts, shaky “Did you hear that?!”, panicked screams when a Flexor drops, and tense “Truce?” negotiations in the dark. It creates organic camaraderie instead of toxicity.

Why This Would Elevate the Game:

•  Replayability — Procedural objectives, dynamic swarm compositions, and multiple extraction types would make every raid feel fresh and unpredictable.

•  Visceral Horror — The Flexor combined with rich, directional audio design (scraping metal, distorted breathing, sudden drops, and failing lights) would create constant tension and unforgettable “oh shit” moments that players will talk about for years.

•  Community & Virality — Shared terror leads to incredible clips, close-call stories, ceiling-check memes, and “never again” moments that bring the community closer together.

•  Lore-Perfect — It expands the pre-war android mystery and facility horror in a natural, chilling way without conflicting with existing content.

•  Low Impact — Optional playlist that leaves the main PvPvE extraction experience completely untouched.

Even a smaller launch version (one map wing in Erebus Labs, The Flexor + a few corrupted android variants, and the Forgeheart) would give PvE-focused Raiders a powerful reason to keep returning between major updates. This isn’t just another mode — it’s the chance to make players feel genuinely hunted again, the way we did in the earliest days.

Thanks for building such a special game. The foundation is already fantastic — this kind of content could take it to another level. This comes from one Raider who still checks the ceilings… and the vents… and every damn shadow.

— Always Watching the Dark