Arc Raiders' hardest achievement is the most stressful I've ever felt in the game

Once upon a time, I viewed achievements as the most obvious thing to do in every video game I played. As someone who has long sought the feeling of completing 100% of game content, earning every achievement felt like icing on the cake. But after getting married and having children, achievements eventually became nothing more than bonus content. The main reason is that I have to be more selective about what I spend my time on now. And yet, I still get that rush when the thrill of Steam achievement greets my ears. arc radarPreviously thought to be impossible. Still, I got it (mostly by accident), and it's safe to say it was the most stressful thing I've ever felt in a game.

There are 50 achievements. arc radarSome of them can be easily obtained just by playing the game. Player achievements can be earned regardless of platform by reaching a certain level, defeating a specified number of enemies, or completing quests for a merchant. But I would say that one achievement is the most difficult because the conditions have to be perfect. and since then arc radar Achieving the “In the Nick of Time” achievement almost feels like a fever dream.

I got an adrenaline rush after completing the 'In the Nick of Time' achievement in Arc Raiders.

When I first saw the requirements for the “In the Nick of Time” achievement, I almost laughed. To get it, players must return to Speranza with less than five seconds left in the round, which seems impossible on paper. As of this writing, only 17% of players have completed the achievement on Steam alone, and compared to the rest of the achievements in the game, fewer players have completed it than any other achievement. Needless to say, when I found out what it would take to get it, I essentially dismissed it and thought, “I'm going to need sheer luck or serendipity to complete it.”

As it turned out, it was almost a coincidence. Every day around noon, my son takes a nap and my daughter spends an hour of quiet time in her room. On this special day, I decided to spend some quiet time to myself by playing a few rounds of games. arc radar. Well, sometimes my son doesn't want to sleep, and this was one of those instances. My wife was also trying to get some quiet time, and since she's already (mostly) a stay-at-home mom with the kids, I took it upon myself to help our son fall asleep so she could continue to relax.

The only problem was that I was in the middle of a round. arc radarAnd I've already picked up the loot I desperately need to get back to Speranza.

I didn't want to just quit the game, so I crouched in a large bush, thinking that after some time I could at least grab a little more loot and head to the extraction point. After spending about 20 minutes putting my son to bed, I returned to the PC and found that it was safe, but there were only about 6 minutes left in the round. The only remaining escape point was at the other end. arc radar' Dam battlefield map.

I took off at full speed toward the extraction point, but when I got halfway, I found myself in a situation where I felt trapped. I was on a structure too high off the ground to safely jump off, and there were too many hornets and hornets patrolling in front of me. There wasn't enough ammo and not enough time to take on them all. So I ran from left to right looking for a safe path, but now there was less than 3 minutes left in the round. Then the only way to move forward was to jump down and hope you survived the fall.

I jumped and lost most of my health, but I sprinted with all my might toward the only remaining extraction point. I was lucky enough to escape the hornets and wasps that first spotted me, but another obstacle awaited me in the elevator. one of the following arc radar' Deadly Rippers were patrolling around the elevator, with about two minutes left in the round. I waited for a while until the ripper was a little far away before calling the elevator, but it wasn't enough. Calling for an elevator alerted the Leaper and all nearby Wasps and Hornets, and they started aiming and shooting at me as I desperately sought cover while waiting for the elevator to arrive.

The gunfire continued and I was clearly alone. All other solo players in the round have already been extracted or killed, making them the machine's only target. I sprinted, dodged, rolled, and ran toward the shadows. Finally, I heard the elevator arrive. With only 10 seconds left on the clock, the doors finally opened and I made my reservation. When we started the “Return to Speranza” sequence in one of the terminals, we heard the Leaper firing his gun, but it was too late. The door was closing, and after all that stress, I heard one of the most satisfying sounds. arc radar There is a Steam achievement called “In the Nick of Time”. And it was all because my son couldn't nap that day.

released

October 30, 2025

ESRB

Youth/Violence, Blood