Embark Studios has officially concluded the limited-time PvE test for ARC Raiders. Over the course of the one-week event, players completed more than 30 million matches. The development team noted that the volume of data is substantial and requires time for thorough analysis; they plan to announce the next steps in November.

PvE Test Recap: Core Rules and Player Feedback

The PvE test ran from October 13 to October 20. During these sessions, friendly fire was disabled, and all threats originated exclusively from AI-controlled ARC units. Matches supported solo players as well as duos and trios. To maintain balance, the value of loot in this mode was lower than in the standard PvPvE experience, and match outcomes did not affect players' MMR (Matchmaking Rating). This made the mode well-suited for casual play, map exploration, and practicing combat techniques against ARC units.

Community reception was polarized. Casual players appreciated the secure environment - free from the constant threat of ambushes by other players - which allowed them to complete objectives and explore the map at their own pace. Conversely, more hardcore players argued that the lower-value loot diminished the tension essential to an extraction-style game, and that the influx of resources could negatively impact the game's existing economy.

For those who accumulated a significant amount of materials during the test, many players prioritized using them to unlock ARC Raiders blueprints, crafting unique weapons and armor sets to improve their survivability during extractions.

Official Evaluation Criteria: Determining the Future of a Permanent PvE Mode

Embark Studios will not decide whether to make the PvE mode a permanent feature based solely on its popularity. The evaluation process considers several key metrics, including matchmaking queue times, the stability of the in-game economy, the potential fragmentation of the player base (between PvE and PvPvE modes), and the frequency of bugs. A large-scale, long-term shift of the player base toward PvE could lead to longer matchmaking times for the core game mode, while the introduction of lower-value loot could disrupt the game's overall resource loop - a concern the development team is approaching with great caution.

Ahead of the final announcement, the developers have opened two channels for feedback: players can share their thoughts in the PvE-test-feedback channel on the official Discord server, and some players may also receive targeted surveys. All player feedback will be taken into account during the evaluation process.

The matchmaking toggle exclusive to the current testing phase has been removed. All matches have reverted to the original PvPvE format - the classic, high-stakes extraction loop featuring both AI enemies and other human raiders. For those seeking a reliable way to secure high-tier loot, some players opt to buy ARC Raiders items directly, avoiding the losses that come with repeated failed extractions.

Strategies for Farming and Progression During the Interim

You may need to adjust your playstyle ahead of the official announcements expected in November. If you are a casual player who prefers PvE, be aware that there is currently no "safe mode" to fall back on. It is best to avoid entering high-risk zones with your most valuable gear; instead, use low-cost loadouts to familiarize yourself with item spawn locations and AI combat patterns, which will help minimize losses if a run goes wrong.

Blueprint progression remains a long-term goal. Unlocking many ARC Raiders items requires collecting components and blueprints over time. Regardless of whether a dedicated PvE mode becomes a permanent fixture, returns for a limited time, or is scrapped entirely, your progress - including blueprints, weapon attachments, and armor modules - will be preserved. Any effort you put into gathering these now will not go to waste.

Focus on completing daily and weekly contracts to steadily accumulate blueprint fragments and essential supplies, ensuring you are well-prepared for future updates.

Tailoring Your Approach

If you are a hardcore player focused on the PvPvE experience, feel free to continue climbing the ranks and hunting for high-value extraction loot - there is no need to worry too much about the status of a dedicated PvE mode. If your primary goal is to farm blueprints or complete missions, consider running with less expensive gear to avoid losing valuable equipment to other players.

For those who would like to see a permanent PvE mode, consider submitting constructive feedback - clearly outlining your suggestions for reward adjustments - to help the development team as they refine the game.

The 3.3.0 PTR is the most critical testing phase ahead of the official launch of Diablo 4 Season 16. This test introduces a reworked endgame system, brand-new Horadric Items, and dual-boss encounters, alongside extensive class balancing and adjustments to loot drop mechanics.

PTR Testing Period and Participation Rules

The Diablo 4 PTR will be live from October 27 to November 3 (Pacific Time). To access the PTR, simply switch to the Diablo 4 PTR branch within the Battle.net client to download the standalone PTR client. No additional buy is required; anyone who owns the base game is eligible to participate.

Please note that any progress made on the PTR - including characters, gear, and gold - will not carry over to the live servers. All test data will be wiped once the testing period concludes. The primary purpose of the PTR is to identify bugs and evaluate power levels; players are encouraged to experiment freely with various character builds without worrying about resource consumption.

Nevertheless, many players are already planning their strategies for the live season, preparing specific D4 items in advance so they can hit the ground running with their target builds as soon as the season begins.

Reworked War Plans System

The most significant change in Diablo 4 Season 16 is the overhaul of the War Plans Tactics system, which applies to both the Seasonal Realm and the Eternal Realm. By completing various endgame activities, players earn points that can be invested into a strategy tree to influence the probability of specific tasks appearing and to adjust the composition of reward pools.

Reward nodes can be targeted toward specific categories, such as weapons, armor, jewelry, Talisman materials, keys, or gold. If your goal is to farm gear, you can increase the drop weighting for equipment; if you prefer to accumulate Diablo 4 gold, you can invest in paths that boost gold rewards.

This system significantly reduces the randomness of farming, allowing players to tailor the endgame experience to their individual needs. Since testing various build configurations requires a substantial amount of resources, some players may choose to buy Diablo 4 items to quickly acquire multiple sets of gear and test the full potential of different builds.

New Horadric Items and Talisman Synergy

Diablo 4 Season 16 introduces Horadric Items - a special category of Legendary gear that serves as the cornerstone for character builds this season. When found on jewelry, the Horadric affix contributes directly to your Talisman set count, allowing a single piece of jewelry to trigger a two-piece set bonus. When these same affixes appear on armor or weapons, they unlock powerful additional effects - such as increased damage, damage reduction, or skill rank bonuses - provided you have already met the requirements for the two-piece set bonus.

This mechanic will fundamentally shift how builds are constructed. Many setups that previously relied heavily on Unique items will see their dominance diluted, while the value of Legendary gear will rise significantly.

Furthermore, this season introduces a dual-boss encounter: the Corrupted Reaper and the Fractured Reaper appear simultaneously. With their skill sets overlapping, this encounter demands higher thresholds for both survivability and damage output, making gear critical during the early-game progression phase.

Preparation Tips for Early-Game Progression

The Diablo 4 3.3.0 PTR includes a comprehensive round of class adjustments. Core skills and Paragon nodes for various classes have been tweaked - some previously top-tier builds may face nerfs, while underutilized builds could receive buffs.

Additionally, a new system called Tyrael's Boon has been added. Separate from the Seasonal Blessings, this system provides bonuses such as increased reputation gains, extra gold, and reduced crafting costs. Since resetting your skill points or Paragon board will incur a massive gold cost, this system will become a key part of long-term character development once the season goes live.

Advice: During the PTR phase, focus on testing the classes you play most often. Identify new, high-performing builds, safe positioning for dealing damage, and the gear thresholds required for success. Keep in mind that PTR drop rates and specific affix values are subject to change before the official launch.

If you plan to tackle high-difficulty content on the first day of the season, identify the core components for your target build in advance and stockpile the necessary gold and items. This will help you avoid wasting time on inefficient "grinding" once the season begins.

What battery chemistry are you planning to pair with your panels ? lifepo4 has pretty much become the standard for field work nowadays due to weight and steady voltage.

Investing in a well-shielded MPPT controller (like a Genasun or Victron) and putting ferrite chokes on the DC lines makes a world of difference if you want to listen or transmit on low power while charging your battery at the same time.

OH8STN's site is definitely the gold standard when it comes to field solar setups for ham radio! His video breakdowns on man-portable power kits saved me a lot of trial and error.

One practical tip I would add for operating HF/VHF with solar in the field: be very careful with cheap PWM solar charge controllers or lower-end MPPTs. Many budget controllers emit massive amounts of RF noise (QRM) across HF bands as soon as they start charging.

One quick detail for anyone planning to attempt this mod: make sure you save your alignment settings or write down the soft-cal menu values before doing a full master reset. Sometimes opening up the wideband transmit can reset factory calibration values on certain firmware revisions.
Thanks again for sharing the exact link for the 818.

You're completely spot on about the board layout differences. The FT-818ND main board has minor revisions around the microprocessor area compared to the older FT-817ND, especially regarding the jumper layout. A friend of ours tried using an old 817 diagram on an 818 a while back and almost bridge-soldered the wrong SMD pads.

Thanks for digging up that link Davys, that's super helpful.

I tried asking ai tools for advice on this, but the responses were completely theoretical and ignored field constraints like real-world signal attenuation and power limits. I'd much rather get feedback from people here who actually test their equipment in the field.
To give a concrete example of what we are trying to run, we did a quick dry run yesterday loading heavy interactive platforms like trixino casino over a weak signal, and the packet loss caused constant session timeouts. That's why we are really looking for a proper hardware solution. Thanks in advance for your help.

These web platforms require a continuous, secure HTTPS connection with low latency. Standard mobile tethering often drops packets in low-signal areas, which resets the active sessions and corrupts the test data. We are evaluating whether carrying a small dedicated 4G/5G battery router with a directional antenna is worth the extra weight and power draw compared to basic phone hotspots.

For those of you who operate or test gear in remote areas, how do you maintain a stable connection for bandwidth-sensitive or session-heavy websites without draining your battery storage in a day ? Do you rely on external antenna boosters, or are there specific low-power network setups you would recommend ?