I enjoyed The Cycle: Frontier for a while, back in 2022, but the constant drag of having to insure your kit for a decent run meant that the grind was a bit crazy.

But it was Dark and Darker that made me realise that extraction shooters weren't my bag. At least ARC is trying to match solos together... Dark and Darker was an absolute shit-fest. I remember, as a newb, I was walking around the waiting lobby, examining players randomly, and I came across a team of three, fully kitted out, and each member had at least (!) 15 healing potions. As a newb, I could afford, perhaps three. Sure enough, they were waiting at extraction. I hope they enjoyed the rusty sword I'd looted, and a couple of arrows. I never did find a bow...

Maybe ARC's community will prove me wrong, but these games almost always skew towards a small group of try-hards with too much time on their hands basically griefing newcomers. Too early to tell right now though.