Armed NPCs: Half-Baked Encounters
Perhaps the most hyped gameplay addition in SCUM 1.0 was the introduction of Armed NPC enemies – essentially AI bandits who roam the world with guns. This is a big change in the game, as previously the only humanoid threats were the mindless puppets and the heavily armed mech robots guarding bunkers. Human AI can potentially add dynamic PvE gunfights in the open world. The devs touted these NPCs as “smart, aggressive and a real threat,” with “adaptive behavior and varying gear loadouts”. Now that I’ve faced them, I can report that this feature, in its current state, is a disappointment.
The armed NPCs spawn in points of interest; I’ve encountered them inside towns, at points of interest like factories, military bases, but never “out there”, in the wild. Typically, they appear in small groups (often two together). The instant they spawn, their behavior is extremely basic: they make a beeline straight for the player. If they see or hear you, they charge and start shooting with uncanny accuracy (their aim is almost aimbot-level, which is downright deadly if you’re caught in the open). Any pretence of them living their own lives on the island is nonexistent – they don’t patrol or take cover intelligently, they just rush in a straightforward manner. In fact, if an NPC spawns inside a building, sometimes they get stuck in a room or against a doorframe, and you’ll just see the barrel of a gun clipping through a wall swinging back and forth. These NPCs are not “Smart” and “dynamic”, but rather dumb as a brick and easily get stuck behind random obstacles.
I also noticed they spawn on player proximity in immersion-breaking ways. For example, I cleared a house and was looting a container, only to hear footsteps – I turned around and an armed NPC had just popped into existence behind me in the same house! It’s clear the game is spawning them when you enter an area, rather than them organically traveling the world. This can lead to cheap surprises (and cheap deaths), of which I have had my fair share. Occasionally, these NPC thugs will get into fights with puppets or even the mech sentries if their spawn happens to be near one; I witnessed couple of instances of an NPC and some puppets battling it out, and another where a mech mowed down an NPC that wandered into its patrol route. These moments are rare and mostly incidental; there’s no sense of faction warfare or living world akin to something like S.T.A.L.K.E.R. where different AI groups fight each other. Don’t expect roaming traders, friendly survivors, or complex interactions – SCUM’s NPCs exist solely as spawn-in targets to shoot the player. At least for now; let us hope this will change in the future.
Loot-wise, killing armed NPCs yields some random gear, but nothing compared to the level of nuisance they bring to the table. Supposedly there’s roughly a 20% chance to get the actual firearm they were using when you loot their body. Often you’ll just get some low-tier clothing or items. This makes hunting NPCs for guns a bit unrewarding (and unpredictable), which is probably intentional for balance – otherwise players would just farm NPC’s for weapons. Still, it adds to the sense that these NPC encounters are half-baked; they’re not integrated into the SCUM economy or gameplay loops in a satisfying way yet.
At best, the armed NPCs currently provide a surprise firefight here and there to keep you on your toes during PvE exploration. At worst, they feel like an aggravating, unfairly accurate turret that spawns out of thin air. The idea behind them is solid – the island was always eerily lonely except for zombies, so adding human adversaries should spice things up. But the implementation does not yet live up to the vision. Gamepires has confirmed that an NPC upgrade is on schedule,making the NPC AI to be more life-like: patrolling, using tactics, maybe even having different factions that might fight each other or interact with the player in non-lethal ways. Right now, they’re just another SCUM feature that feels rushed in to tick a box for 1.0. “We have NPCs now!” – yes, but they suck.
