Self-Revive Kit Would Be a Logical Fit in ARC Raiders, But It Would Ruin the Game

Some ARC Raiders fans want the game to add a self-revive mechanic, while others believe it would break both PvP and PvE. If ARC Raiders players were asked to list gadgets they want to see added, the answers would likely vary, but a self-revive kit would probably come up often. Still, popularity alone does not mean it would be a healthy addition to the game.

ARC Raiders offers a wide variety of resources and materials to loot, but its selection of gadgets is much more limited. The list of Quick Use and utility items is especially short, which has fueled ongoing debates among fans and sparked plenty of creative ideas for new additions. Some players have even suggested turning ARC Raiders‘ broken handcuffs into a usable gadget for restraining enemies. Others have argued that Embark Studios should prioritize adding a self-revive Quick Use item instead.

ARC Raiders Fans Think Downed Players Desperately Need This Feature, And It’s Not a Self-Revive Kit

A new, intriguing concept suggests adding a PvP feature to ARC Raiders, one that could lead to far more interesting topside stories.

Self-Revive Kits Are a Hotly Debated Topic in ARC Raiders

Debates around self-revive kits began even before the game’s launch and intensified after ARC Raiders‘ server slam period. Some players who tested the game argued that the lack of any self-reliant way to recover after being knocked down is a major issue. They pointed to solo play as the clearest example.

When a solo player gets knocked down by the ARC, there is usually no option other than surrendering, unless they are lucky enough to run into a good samaritan carrying a defibrillator. Some describe this situation as a forced game-over mechanic, which they believe could hurt player retention over time. From their perspective, introducing some form of self-revive, at least in solo matches, would make a lot of sense.

Self-Revive Supporters Make a Logical Argument

Supporters of self-revive kits point to several reasons why the mechanic could work in ARC Raiders:

They argue that Defibrillators could reasonably be self-injectable
Solo players would have more incentive to keep playing after being knocked down
Self-revive could introduce a strategic layer to long-range encounters
It would give players a chance to retaliate against ambush-heavy playstyles
To address balance concerns, they suggest Embark Studios could make self-revive kits extremely rare or prohibitively expensive

Currently, reviving a teammate does not require any additional items. When a squadmate goes down, surviving members can simply approach them and hold a button to bring them back. Reviving a non-teammate, however, requires ARC Raiders‘ Defibrillator, often referred to as a Defib. This distinction has led many players to question why Embark Studios did not include a way for players to revive themselves using the same item.

From the supporters’ perspective, the logic is straightforward. A downed raider can crawl, interact with doors, and use buttons, so being unable to use a Defib on themselves feels inconsistent. If defibrillators work on both teammates and strangers, they argue there is no clear reason they should not work on the owner as well. They also point out that the game’s current PvP environment makes players especially vulnerable to long-range engagements in open areas. A self-revive option, they claim, would add depth to these situations and force attackers to think more carefully before committing.

Opponents of self-revive kits counter that allowing players to revive themselves could easily tip the balance in PvP. Supporters acknowledge this risk but believe it can be mitigated. Their solution is to treat self-revive kits as ultra-rare items, on par with some of ARC Raiders‘ hardest-to-obtain gear, such as the Legendary Guitar or the special Anvil Splitter mod. Even so, while these arguments are logical on paper, they do not guarantee that adding self-revive to ARC Raiders would not ultimately break the game.

Why Self-Revive Would Harm ARC Raiders

Even if Embark Studios managed to introduce self-revive kits in a carefully balanced way, the mechanic would still take away something irreplaceable from ARC Raiders‘ core experience. A major part of the game’s identity comes from the diminished sense of control players feel during overwhelming encounters. Both PvP and PvE are built to evoke awe, keep the stakes consistently high, and occasionally humble the player.

Adding self-revive kits would undermine that feeling. ARC Raiders enemies like Bombardiers, Queens, and Matriarchs would no longer feel as threatening, and surviving a tense PvP fight would lose its near-death intensity. Over time, this shift would erode the game’s immersion. Beyond its impact on the atmosphere, introducing self-revival would also create several gameplay-focused issues that could further harm the experience.

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Limitations Mostly Affect Casual Players

Most players who support self-revive kits also acknowledge that the mechanic could disrupt game balance. Their main counterargument is that making the item rare or expensive would offset those issues. While that sounds reasonable, it overlooks a key reality of ARC Raiders‘ ecosystem. Some players cannot be meaningfully constrained by in-game limitations. Many top-tier players already sit on large stockpiles of rare items even after participating in ARC Raiders‘ first Expedition.

In practice, acquisition limits tend to affect casual players far more than dedicated ones. Players with limited time cannot grind endlessly for ultra-rare items, while highly active players can. This approach could also push more players toward real-money transactions to obtain a self-revive blueprint or a stack of kits. Given that a black market for ARC Raiders items already exists on platforms like eBay, introducing an extremely valuable self-revival item could further incentivize RMT, something Embark Studios has explicitly said it wants to avoid.

Self-Revive Lessens the PvP Stakes

Supporters often argue that self-revive kits would help players fight back against so-called rats and overly aggressive PvP players. The problem with this logic is that those same aggressors could also carry self-revive kits. Instead of discouraging them, the mechanic could embolden them, giving such players more confidence to initiate fights knowing they have a fallback option.

Self-revive could also turn being downed into a tactical advantage on certain maps. In smaller, PvP-heavy locations like Stella Montis, multiple solo players or squads frequently collide at once. A downed player with a self-revive kit could disengage from the chaos, wait for the remaining groups to eliminate each other, and then return to finish off the last survivor.

People Will Find Ways to Exploit Self-Revive in PvE

ARC Raiders has already shown how easily players can push mechanics beyond their intended limits, with tools like the Snap Hook enabling exploits against ARC machines. A self-revive kit would likely follow the same pattern. Even if restricted to once per match, players would likely find ways to use it to trivialize encounters with the game’s strongest enemies and farm high-value loot.

While a small percentage of players are already capable of farming endgame bosses efficiently, adding self-revive kits would widen that gap between them and other players even further. High-performing players would gain another safety net, while others would fall behind. Over time, this imbalance could distort the in-game economy and undermine the risk-reward loop that currently defines ARC Raiders‘ PvPvE experience.

arc raiders players want the tutorial skin added to the game.

Self-Revive Isn’t the Worst Item Embark Could Add

Some players who oppose self-revive kits argue that such items would make PvP feel more like Call of Duty, as self-revive mechanics are a core feature in games like Warzone. However, self-revive kits wouldn’t be the worst CoD-style addition ARC Raiders could see. Another combat gadget poses a far greater risk to the game’s PvP balance: UAVs.

Ironically, some Call of Duty content creators, such as Swagg, have suggested adding UAVs to ARC Raiders, which sparked strong backlash from the core community. While ARC Raiders already includes limited enemy-spotting tools like the Tagging Grenade, a UAV that reveals enemy locations on a mini-map would likely break PvP. Much of ARC Raiders‘ combat relies on listening for sound cues and observing the environment to detect threats, and gadgets like UAVs would undermine that core gameplay element entirely.