The more I play PvPvE extraction shooters, the more I think the "shooter" part is misleading. These aren't shooters. These are competitive stealth games. The most important advantage you can have is an information advantage. Successful play requires understanding that everything you do leaves a trace of your presence, from the sound of gunfire, to opening a door, to a looted container, to the sound of your footsteps. Players who win the information battle get to decide whether they take out the players they have information on.
It does mean that most battles are over before they start, and that does feel bad to be on the receiving end of. It doesn't really feel great to do either, in my opinion, but it is often the safest option for success.
I am a person who mostly plays video games alone for many, overlapping reasons. I avoid multiplayer games like they are the plague. I especially avoid competitive multiplayer games, from Titanfall 2's multiplayer to competitive board games. Generally, even playing a multiplayer PvP game that I like is a recipe for feeling bad once I slam headfirst into my personal skill ceiling.
And yet, I think, undeniably, PvPvE extraction shooters are my absolute favorite genre of video game. Nothing else leverages gameplay incentives to drive players into simulating the fiction of the game's setting for every other player involved.
