ARC Raiders Players Ask for Changes to Matchmaking

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Players of ARC Raiders are asking Embark Studios to adjust how the game connects players for raids. They want solo raids to be separate from the more challenging encounters that happen when playing with two or three others. Although ARC Raiders has only been out for a couple of months, many are finding solo play much easier and more enjoyable, but the current matchmaking system can unexpectedly throw difficult challenges their way based on what’s happening in team raids.

Most online games use a system to group players together, based on things like skill or connection quality, but many developers don’t share how these systems work. Embark, the studio behind ARC Raiders, kept its matchmaking details secret, leading to guesses about whether it considered player skill or equipment. It turns out the system is actually based on how players behave. Aggressive players will be matched with others who play aggressively, while those who focus on cooperative gameplay will find more peaceful lobbies.

ARC Raiders Players Don’t Want Trios to Affect Solo Matchmaking

A recent game system has sparked debate among players. Some appreciate the ability to play more casually without constant threats, while others feel it’s too easy to manipulate the matchmaking to get the lobbies they want. However, many players agree that Solo matches should be completely separate from the Duos and Trios modes in ARC Raiders. A popular Reddit post, with almost 8,000 upvotes, highlights this concern. The poster explained that their playstyle became overly aggressive after playing Trios with friends, and that this shouldn’t carry over into their Solo games. They hope the developers at Embark will address this issue.

Players of ARC Raiders have noticed that solo raids tend to be more cooperative than those with two or three players. Because of this, many believe the game shouldn’t penalize players for aggressive behavior in duo or trio modes. One player explained they play more cautiously in solo raids, even helping other players, but enjoy the player-versus-player combat in trios. Another suggested Embark, the game developer, should remove the aggression-based matchmaking system entirely, making lobby assignments completely random each time, regardless of how a player behaves.

Despite some criticism of how the game matches players based on aggressive play, ARC Raiders has become a huge success. Many predicted the game would fail because it launched between Battlefield 6 and Call of Duty: Black Ops 7, two very popular shooting games. However, that didn’t happen. While Battlefield 6 lost most of its players on Steam (85%), ARC Raiders kept a remarkable 91% of its daily users. According to data from Alinea Analytics, ARC Raiders has sold 12 million copies and reached over 3.2 million daily active players, peaking on January 4th.

Embark hasn’t said if it will change how matchmaking pairs players based on their playstyle in Solo, Duo, and Trio modes, but they’ve shared some details about the upcoming update for ARC Raiders. The first update of 2026 was expected today, but it seems like it might be released next week instead. On the plus side, the developers are planning to significantly reduce the power of Trigger Nades and are fixing a problem that lets some players use macros to fire the Kettle weapon faster than it’s meant to.

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2026-01-06 23:05