Some Arc Raiders players have been desperately searching for a way to identify and punish evil players, to warn others that they aren’t to be trusted before any more blood is shed. Some dabbled with the idea of virtual sheriffs, while others took to naming and shaming on Reddit, but now they’ve taken to using a new tool.
The Speranza Watchlist has been circling raider groups for about a week now, as some celebrate finally having a concrete way to report evil players, while others lament that they’ve been wrongly accused of some heinous crimes: “Bro, I have 219 reports on an account that I haven’t been able to use for the past week.”
I too had an outrageous bounty levied against me. With an evil rating of A, a certified menace, I’m apparently the worst of the worst. With over 400 reports against my name. Which is ridiculous considering I haven’t even encountered 400 people during my time in Arc Raiders.
But none of that really matters, because The Speranza Watchlist isn’t real. Before you can use the website, an important notice pops up in your face: “Before you peek into this (not really) classified Raider intel, keep in mind: None of this is actual Raider data—it’s all fake.
“This website is a fan-made, satire tool for entertainment purposes only. The raider information, reports, and statistics you see are not real player data. No real player data is stored, tracked, or displayed. This is not an official Embark Studios tool. All information is generated for roleplay and entertainment purposes.” See, I told you I’m not evil, or at least you have no proof otherwise.
I’m not exactly sure when this notice first appeared on the website, but I have a feeling that it was a recent addition, as most people talking about this watchlist are convinced that it’s real, or at least accurate enough to actually hunt evil players down using it. I’m just here to spread the word of its inaccuracies because if I get downed by some nerd cosplaying as a sheriff thanks to some made-up rating on a roleplaying site, I think I may lose it.
But I’m not the only one who isn’t a fan of this kind of snitching, for better or worse. “Personal lists are one thing, but a whole ass community list? What an absolutely terrible, stupid idea that someone followed through with,” one player says. “This is the type of shit that unironically kills a game. Anyone looking to play raiders for the first time and see there’s a whole ass Hit List people are compiling would turn me away so fast.”
I’m all for holding a grudge or even pursuing a personal vendetta, whatever makes your character arc more interesting, but the idea of collating a list of anyone someone views as bad in a game that has no real consequences isn’t just a bit of an L but also makes no sense. Some people like PvP, some don’t, some people think it should be every person for themselves, Topside, some disagree. There’s no real way to dictate if someone is evil in Arc Raiders. Unless they’re extract camping, that’s ungodly.
So if you see someone yapping about The Speranza Watchlist as if it’s gospel, do your duty as a good raider and let them know that none of it is real. I’m talking about the list data, don’t say anything about the game, it could break their poor little heart.
