Shared Watch is a limited-time event in Arc Raiders that shifts incentives toward fighting ARC machines together while leaving PvP fully enabled.
Quick answer: During Shared Watch (February 10–24, 2026), you earn Merits only by gaining XP from damaging and destroying ARC units; those Merits unlock a reward track that includes items, Raider Tokens, and the new cosmetic set The Slugger, while PvP remains possible but does not advance event progression.
Shared Watch event state (dates, scope, and goal)
Shared Watch runs for 14 days, from February 10 through February 24, 2026. It is a game-wide event, not tied to a single map, and it layers on top of the usual PvPvE rules rather than replacing them.
The stated theme is a celebration of Raiders “that have each other's back,” summed up in two slogans used for the event: “You watch my back, I’ll watch yours – that’s how Speranza keeps ticking” and “Tolerate Raiders, target the ARC.” The intent is clear: keep player conflict as an option, but make the optimal way to progress the event track revolve around cooperating, or at least coexisting, while focusing fire on ARC machines.
Shared Watch mechanics (how Merits and rewards work)
Shared Watch introduces Merits as a temporary event currency. The mechanics are straightforward and deterministic:
- Trigger for Merits: You gain Merits through XP that comes specifically from damaging and destroying ARC units during raids.
- Irrelevant actions: Damage to other Raiders and other PvP actions do not generate Merits.
- Progression: As your total Merits increase, you move along a fixed reward track. Reaching higher Merit thresholds unlocks more rewards.
- Rewards: The reward pool includes regular items, Raider Tokens, and a unique cosmetic armor set named The Slugger, themed around baseball gear.
The event does not add a separate queue or ruleset. It instead overlays a numerical system on the existing raids: all normal objectives, loot, and extraction rules still apply, but only your PvE output against ARC contributes to event progression.
Is Shared Watch a PvE mode?
Shared Watch is not a dedicated PvE mode. The core game remains PvPvE throughout the event window:
- Other squads can still spawn into the same instance.
- You can still down other Raiders and be downed by them.
- Loot, extracts, and all usual map events continue to function as normal.
What changes is the incentive structure. Because only ARC-related XP converts into Merits, repeated PvP kills provide no direct benefit toward Shared Watch rewards. The event’s “Tolerate Raiders, target the ARC” line spells out the intended behavior: tolerate nearby teams where possible so both sides can farm ARC machines for Merits instead of turning each encounter into a firefight.
Shared Watch, therefore, sits firmly in the “PvE-focused” category rather than “PvE-only.” Players who prefer to shoot first can continue to do so, but they are choosing to ignore the most efficient path through the event’s progression system.
Deterministic rules that define Shared Watch behavior
The event’s behavior can be summarized as a small set of rules that run alongside the normal game logic:
| Condition | Shared Watch effect |
|---|---|
| You deal damage to an ARC unit | The resulting ARC XP contributes to your Merit gain. |
| You destroy an ARC unit | Kill XP contributes to your Merit gain; this is typically a larger chunk than chip damage. |
| You damage or down another Raider | No Merits are awarded. Event progression is unaffected. |
| Your squad extracts successfully | Event rules do not change extraction; Merits already earned in that raid remain. |
| Shared Watch period ends (after February 24, 2026) | Merit earning and the event reward track stop. Normal progression systems continue. |
Patch notes released alongside the event are expected to specify granular values, such as how much ARC damage XP converts into a given number of Merits and the exact thresholds for each reward tier. The key behavior, however, is fixed by design: only XP from fighting machines, not from fighting players, moves the Merit counter.
How to tell Shared Watch is progressing correctly
Shared Watch progression is working correctly when the following conditions are met:
- Your in-match actions against ARC (damage and kills) produce ARC-related XP as usual.
- Your cumulative Merits increase in the event interface when ARC XP is gained.
- Reaching known Merit thresholds unlocks rewards such as items, Raider Tokens, and eventually The Slugger armor set.
If your Merits do not move after clearly gaining ARC XP, that indicates a problem; during the event window, any successful raid that involves fighting ARC should nudge the Merit value upward. Fighting only other Raiders, looting, or simply surviving without touching ARC will leave the Merit counter unchanged, which is expected behavior rather than an error.
Shared Watch is therefore best understood as a global modifier that pays out for PvE performance while leaving the underlying PvPvE sandbox intact. The machines are the target, the players are the potential allies or risks, and the reward track simply codifies that priority for two weeks.
