Math Proves Some ‘ARC Raiders’ Skills Are Actually Traps (RIP ‘Calming Stroll’)
Look, I am absolutely obsessed with ARC Raiders. Embark Studios has managed to create an extraction shooter that feels fluid, tense, and visually stunning. It is easily one of my favorite games of the year.
But we need to have a serious conversation about the skill tree. While the customization is great, it turns out that some perks aren't just underwhelming, they are actively detrimental to your gameplay. Thanks to some serious number crunching by the community, we now have proof that at least one popular skill is a complete scam.
The "Calming Stroll" Scam
The skill in question is Calming Stroll. On paper, it sounds fantastic: it boosts your stamina regeneration while walking. The logic is simple, you sprint until you are dry, walk for a few seconds to recharge super fast, and then sprint again. Efficient, right?
Wrong.
Reddit user this-food9601 decided to stop trusting the tooltips and started trusting the stopwatch. They ran a series of tests in the practice range comparing the "Calming Stroll" method against just... jogging normally. The results are damning.
The Math Doesn't Lie
Here is the breakdown of the data they collected:
Sprinting Speed: ~6.32 m/s
Jogging Speed (Default): ~3.65 m/s
Walking Speed (Toggle): ~1.98 m/s
The problem is simple: Walking is slow. Like, painfully slow. While your stamina does regenerate faster (approx. 14 seconds to full vs. 22 seconds while jogging), the distance you lose by moving at a snail's pace is catastrophic.
The Scenario: Imagine you and a friend run out of stamina at the same spot.
Friend: Jogs normally to regen.
You: Toggle "Walk" to use Calming Stroll.
By the time you reach full stamina, your friend is 23 meters ahead of you. Sure, you can start sprinting sooner than them, but because you are so far behind, you spend your entire stamina bar just trying to catch up.
By the moment you actually catch up to your friend, they have also reached full stamina and started sprinting. The result? You are in the exact same physical location, traveling at the same speed, but you have burned 35% of your stamina just to catch up, while they are fresh.
Why Does This Exist?
This is what we call a "Noob Trap." It is a skill designed to look efficient to new players who don't understand the underlying movement mechanics. It relies on the psychological feeling of "recharging faster" without accounting for the net loss in velocity.
There is, as the Redditor put it, "absolutely no justifiable reason" to use this perk for traversal. Unless you are roleplaying as a leisurely hiker in a warzone, you are wasting a slot.
Don't Panic, But Don't Pick It Again
Now, before you rush to reset your character: relax.
ARC Raiders isn't an RPG where one bad skill point ruins your build. Most skills in this game offer marginal advantages rather than game-breaking powers, so having "Calming Stroll" equipped isn't going to make you lose every gunfight. You don't need to burn your resources immediately just to fix this.
However, if you do decide to respec, either by doin an Expedition or coughing up the hefty 125,000 Coins fee, just make sure you don't pick this trash again. Save that slot for something that actually helps you survive, because walking slowly in an open field is usually a great way to get sniped, not a great way to win.
Huge shoutout to this-food9601 on Reddit for doing the homework so the rest of us can stop wasting our points.
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