Once upon a time, I saw achievements as something I absolutely had to do in any video game I played. As someone who has long chased the feeling of actually completing 100% of the game's content, getting each achievement was just the icing on the cake. However, the achievements eventually became little more than bonus content once I got married and had kids, mainly because I have to be more selective about what I spend my time on now. Even so, I still get that rush when my ears are greeted by the trill of Steam's success and one of my latest Arc RaiderI used to think it was impossible. Still, I earned it (mostly by accident) and it's arguably the most stress I've ever felt in a game.
There are 50 achievements Arc Raiderand some of them can be easily obtained just by playing the game. Reaching a certain level, defeating a set number of enemies or completing merchant quests can earn players achievements regardless of platform. But one achievement, I would say, stands out as the most difficult because the conditions for it have to be perfect. And since then Arc Raider it can be hard to get a handle on her, completing her “In the Nick of Time” achievement almost feels like a fever dream.
Completing the Arc Raiders “In the Nick of Time” quest sent my adrenaline through the roof
When I first saw the “In the Nick of Time” success conditions, I almost laughed it off. To earn it, players must return to Speranza with less than 5 seconds left in the round, which sounds impossible on paper. At the time of 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 earned it than any other. Needless to say, when I saw what it took to earn it, I pretty much dismissed it and thought, “If I'm going to finish this, it's going to have to be pure luck or serendipity.”
As it turns out, it was more or less by accident. Every day my son goes for a nap around noon and my daughter has an hour of peace in her room. On this particular day, I decided to spend my quiet time playing a few rounds Arc Raider. Well, sometimes my son just doesn't want to sleep and this was one of those occasions. My wife was also trying to get some quiet time, and since she's already a (mostly) stay-at-home mom with the kids, I took it upon myself to help my son fall asleep so she could continue to rest.
The only problem is that I was in the middle of the round Arc Raiderand I had already picked up some loot that I desperately needed to get back to Speranza.
I didn't want to just end the game so I crouched down in a large bush, thinking I'd make it back in time to at least grab some more loot and head to the extraction point. After spending about 20 minutes putting my son to sleep, I returned to the computer to find that although I was safe, I only had about 6 minutes left in the round – and the only extraction point was at the other end Arc RaiderDam Battlegrounds map.
I took off at full speed towards the extraction site, but when I was about halfway there, I found myself in a situation where I felt trapped. I was on a structure that was too high off the ground to jump down safely, and there were too many Wasps and Hornets patrolling the area in front of me. I didn't have enough ammo to take them all, nor did I have enough time. So I ran from left to right looking for a safe way forward, but there was just under 3 minutes left in the lap. So the only way forward would be to jump down and hope to survive the fall.
After spending about 20 minutes putting my son to sleep, I returned to the computer to find that even though I was safe, I only had about 6 minutes left in my round – and the only remaining extraction point was at the other end of the map.
I jumped and lost most of my health but sprinted with everything I had to the only remaining extraction point. Fortunately, I managed to get away from the Wasps and Hornets, who had spotted me at first, but another roadblock awaited me at the elevator. One of Arc RaiderDeadly Leapers were patrolling around the elevator and I now only had about 2 minutes left in my turn. I waited a while for the Jumper to get a little further away before I called the elevator, but it wasn't enough. The call of the lift alerted the Leaper, as well as any nearby Wasps and Hornets, and they began targeting and shooting at me as I desperately sought some cover while waiting for the lift to arrive.
The shooting continued and I was apparently alone. Every other solo player in the round has either extracted or died, so I'm the only target for the machines. I sprinted around, dodged, rolled, fled into the shadows. Until I finally heard the elevator come. Now with only 10 seconds left on the clock the doors finally opened and I booked it. When I started the “Return to Speranza” sequence on one of the terminals, I heard the Leaper shoot, but it was too late. The door was closing and after all the stress I heard one of the most satisfying sounds – proc of an Arc Raider Steam achievement titled “In the Nick of Time”. And it was all because my son didn't sleep well that day.
- Released
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October 30, 2025
- ESRB
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Teen / Violence, Blood
