As soon as upon a time, I noticed achievements as one thing I most actually needed to do in any online game I performed. As somebody who has lengthy chased that feeling of actually completing 100% of a game’s content, incomes each achievement simply felt like icing on the cake. Nonetheless, achievements ultimately turned little greater than bonus content material as soon as I bought married and had children, primarily as a result of I’ve to be extra selective with what I spend my time on now. Even so, I nonetheless get that rush when the trill of a Steam achievement greets my ears, and one in every of my newest in Arc Raiders, I beforehand thought was not possible. Nonetheless, I earned it (principally by chance), and it is protected to say it is essentially the most stress I’ve ever felt in a sport.
There are 50 achievements in Arc Raiders, and a few of them are straightforward to amass just by enjoying the sport. Reaching a sure degree, defeating a specified variety of enemies, or finishing quests for merchants can all earn gamers achievements, no matter platform. However one achievement, I might say, stands out as its hardest, because the circumstances for it should be good. And since Arc Raiders generally is a robust sport to achieve management of, finishing its “Within the Nick of Time” achievement virtually appears like a fever dream.
Finishing Arc Raiders’ ‘Within the Nick of Time’ Achievement Had My Adrenaline By way of the Roof
Once I first noticed the circumstances for the “Within the Nick of Time” achievement, I virtually scoffed at it. With the intention to earn it, gamers have to return to Speranza with lower than 5 seconds left within the spherical, which, on paper, sounds not possible. On the time of writing, solely 17% of gamers have accomplished the achievement on Steam alone, and when in comparison with the remainder of the achievements within the sport, fewer gamers have earned it than another. Evidently, once I noticed what was required to earn it, I primarily dismissed it and thought, “If I full that one, it’s going to should be sheer luck or by chance.”
Because it seems, it just about was by chance. Day by day, my son goes down for a nap round midday and my daughter has an hour of quiet time in her room. On this specific day, I made a decision to spend my very own quiet time playing a couple rounds of Arc Raiders. Effectively, often, my son simply does not need to sleep, and this turned out to be a type of events. My spouse was attempting to have some quiet time as effectively, and since she’s already with the children a lot as a (principally) stay-at-home mother, I took it upon myself to assist get my son to sleep so she might proceed to chill out.
The one downside is that I used to be in the midst of a spherical on Arc Raiders, and I had already picked up some loot that I desperately wanted to get again to Speranza.
I did not need to simply stop the sport, so I crouched in an enormous bush and thought I’d be again in time to at the least seize a bit of extra loot and head for an extraction level. After spending round 20 minutes getting my son to sleep, I returned to my PC to search out that though I used to be protected, I now solely had round 6 minutes left within the spherical — and the one extraction level left was on the opposite finish of Arc Raiders‘ Dam Battlegrounds map.
I took off, full velocity, towards the extraction point, however once I was round midway there, I bought myself right into a state of affairs the place I felt trapped. I used to be on a construction that was too excessive off the bottom to soundly bounce down, and much too many Wasps and Hornets had been patrolling the realm in entrance of me. I did not have sufficient ammo to take all of them on, nor did I’ve sufficient time. So, I ran from the left to the proper, searching for a protected approach ahead, however there have been now solely slightly below 3 minutes left within the spherical. The one approach ahead, then, could be to leap down and hope I survived the autumn.
After spending round 20 minutes getting my son to sleep, I returned to my PC to search out that though I used to be protected, I now solely had round 6 minutes left within the spherical — and the one extraction level left was on the opposite finish of the map.
I jumped and misplaced nearly all of my well being, however I sprinted with all that I had towards the one remaining extraction level. Fortunately, I managed to get away from the Wasps and Hornets that originally noticed me, however one other roadblock awaited me on the elevator. Certainly one of Arc Raiders‘ lethal Leapers was patrolling the realm across the elevator, and I now had solely round 2 minutes left within the spherical. I waited for a second for the Leaper to stroll away a bit earlier than calling the elevator, but it surely wasn’t sufficient. Calling the elevator alerted the Leaper, in addition to each close by Wasp and Hornet, they usually started concentrating on me and firing at me as I appeared desperately for some cowl whereas I waited for the elevator to reach.
The gunfire continued, and I used to be clearly alone. Each different solo participant within the spherical had already both extracted or died, making me the machines’ solely goal. I sprinted round, I dodged, I rolled, I fled for the shadows. Till, eventually, I heard the elevator arrive. Now, with solely 10 seconds left on the clock, the doorways had been lastly opening, and I booked it. As I started the “Return to Speranza” sequence at one of many terminals, I heard the Leaper charging up a shot, but it surely was too late. The doorways had been closing, and in any case that stress, I heard one of the crucial satisfying sounds — the proc of an Arc Raiders Steam achievement referred to as “Within the Nick of Time.” And it was all as a result of my son was having a troublesome time napping that day.
- Launched
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October 30, 2025
- ESRB
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Teen / Violence, Blood


