'If I see this skin, I shoot first': Arc Raiders players insist anyone wearing this 'sweaty' outfit cannot be trusted

Arc Raiders Ryder skin
(Image credit: Embark Studios)

In an interesting development of Arc Raiders unexpectedly polite solo raiding culture, some players have decided one way to tell if someone's secretly plotting to fill your back with lead is to judge their outfit. Are you wearing the Ryder skin in its black and orange styling? Well, you might be shot on sight.

"Pro tip. Every time you see someone wearing this specific outfit, do not ask questions, do not bother [talking to] them, do not ask them if they need help," YouTuber Onepeg said in an X post over a streamer using the Ryder skin.

Arc Raiders Ryder skin

(Image credit: Embark Studios)

At first, I was inclined to chalk this up to streamers saying things out loud without worrying about their accuracy, but interestingly, this specific instance of fashion profiling seems to be corroborated by other players and streamers. Twitch streamer Myth highlighted the same "shoot on sight" skin combination during a recent stream, warning viewers to "kill them immediately. Do not trust them with your life."

User _TITO1016 even sounded the alarm about the Ryder skin on the Arc Raiders subreddit a full day before the Onepeg or Myth posts were out there, suggesting there's more to this than hot air. "Looks rad. Would shoot on sight," wrote one commenter.

While it'd be silly to start popping everyone wearing this common skin, I see where concerned raiders are coming from. Based on what I'm seeing, I believe folks have identified Arc Raiders' first "sweaty" skin: an outfit that might indicate the wearer is especially concerned with winning a lot and looking cool while doing it.

The black/orange Ryder exhibits all the signs of a sweaty skin:

  • Dominantly dark colors: Useful for hiding in dark buildings
  • Slender: No baggy pants, jackets, or elaborate hats that could stick out from a corner. Sweats love being the smallest target possible
  • Cool in a normie way: It's a boring dude in a mask and leather jacket, of course streamers love it
  • Not easy to get: While the Ryder skin is free and unlocked early on, the specific color and accessory combo takes a lot of playtime to grind on the battle pass

I know from hundreds of hours in Hunt: Showdown that a lot of people will seek out whatever skin can grant even a small advantage—a trend that's become so common in multiplayer shooters that "developer changes skin that was OP" has become a genre of news story.

With all that in mind, I would not be surprised if players wearing the Ryder skin are more likely to be disinterested in Arc Raiders' chill social dynamics and squarely focused on loot and XP—doubly true if you're in a raid with a hidden bunker or other map conditions with scarce but valuable resources.

But on the other hand, it's a popular skin, and there's no shortage of players sounding off in the replies to these posts worried that simply using their preferred outfit is going to get them shot. As always, exercise caution in the Rust Belt.

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Morgan Park
Staff Writer

Morgan has been writing for PC Gamer since 2018, first as a freelancer and currently as a staff writer. He has also appeared on Polygon, Kotaku, Fanbyte, and PCGamesN. Before freelancing, he spent most of high school and all of college writing at small gaming sites that didn't pay him. He's very happy to have a real job now. Morgan is a beat writer following the latest and greatest shooters and the communities that play them. He also writes general news, reviews, features, the occasional guide, and bad jokes in Slack. Twist his arm, and he'll even write about a boring strategy game. Please don't, though.

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