Embark Studios confirmed that Arc Raiders now uses aggression-based matchmaking to sort players into different lobbies based on how they behave in raids.
The developer revealed the system in a GamesBeat interview. According to the studio, players who focus on PvE content and avoid initiating fights will encounter less player conflict in their raids. Meanwhile, players who frequently engage in PvP combat get matched with others who play aggressively.
The system quietly went live in early December, weeks after the game launched, with Embark introducing it without a major announcement or patch note detail. The game tracks the actions of players across multiple matches, queuing them with players that match their pvp aggression.
If you consistently avoid player combat and stick to fighting Arc‘s impressive AI enemies, the system places you with others who play similarly. Attack other players regularly and you’ll end up in raids where shoot-on-sight encounters are common.
Embark hasn’t disclosed the exact metrics used to measure aggression. The studio hasn’t said whether the system tracks kills, damage dealt, who initiated combat, or some combination of factors. Players also don’t know how quickly the system updates their classification or whether defending yourself counts against you.
Without behavior sorting, aggressive players can dominate lobbies and farm less confrontational players repeatedly. This often drives PvE-focused players away from games that rely on mixing both audiences.
Arc‘s typically friendly playerbase has set it apart from other extraction shooters. Games such as Escape from Tarkov have a reputation for being tough as nails, with PvP strategies changing all the time. Somehow, Arc Raiders took a different route, with the community much more likely to cooperate with one another in matches
What players are seeing
Players report noticing stark differences between lobby types. Some describe peaceful raids with little tension where players ignore each other or team up against AI. Others report constant combat where every encounter turns into a firefight.
While the difference between lobbies could remain this way, it’s unclear yet how the system might settle. As more players are filtered, or as the game continues to calculate its players’ behaviour, Arc‘s lobbies may enter more of a sliding scale.
