Shroud Steps Back from Gaming, Citing Frustration with Cheaters and Diminished Enjoyment in Arc Raiders

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Michael ‘Shroud’ Grzesiek, a prominent figure in the Arc Raiders community, is taking a short break from the extraction shooter. The former Counter-Strike: Global Offensive pro and streamer plans to return to Speranza after the next Expedition when there’s more to explore.

“I’ll probably play Arc Raiders again in a month,” he mentioned during a recent livestream, as shared by an outlet on Twitter. “That seems like a good time to jump back in with the Expedition resetting. My favorite part of Arc is the beginning; once you have everything, it loses a bit of its fun.”

The Expedition allows players to reset their progress by sending their characters off in a caravan, which, while costly and time-consuming, unlocks rewards like extra skill points, providing motivation for those who have explored all other game aspects.

“My favorite part of ARC is the beginning, but once you have everything, it loses some of its fun… I honestly got a little tired of the cheaters,” Shroud said, indicating he’ll return to ARC Raiders, but not just yet.

The second Expedition is set to take place at the end of this month, allowing players to start fresh as spring approaches. This event aligns with changes to the map conditions and other updates in the roadmap, and Grzesiek is looking forward to “new content” to enhance his gameplay experience.

He acknowledges that the game is “still good” for casual play, but the ongoing cheating issues are becoming frustrating. “I got a little tired of the cheaters,” he noted. “I know they’re working on fixing that with Arc, so I’m excited for those changes.”

Given that he campaigned for Arc Raiders to win Game of the Year at The Game Awards, this break is a notable shift. Even the most dedicated fans need a pause, and it’s likely that by March, Grzesiek will be back in the Raider grind, perhaps even finishing Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 in the meantime.

Arc Raiders developers have increased the frequency of Bird City events after time zone issues prevented many fans from participating, with Embark promising to continually revise its map event schedule.