ARC Raiders Aggression-Based Matchmaking: What Embark's CEO Revealed

ARC Raiders uses aggression-based matchmaking to pair you with players who share your playstyle. If you're the type to shoot first and ask questions never, expect your lobbies to be filled with raiders who think the same way. Embark Studios CEO Patrick Söderlund confirmed the system exists in a December 2025 interview, putting to rest months of player speculation. The system has been running since roughly a week before the confirmation, meaning it was quietly shaping your raids before anyone knew it existed.

The matchmaking system in ARC Raiders considers three distinct factors when placing you into a raid. First, skill-based matchmaking (SBMM) puts you against players of similar ability. Second, it groups you with parties of similar size to keep squad compositions fair. The third factor, aggression scoring, is what sets ARC Raiders apart from other extraction shooters.

Söderlund described it as matching players "based on how prone you are to PvP or PvE." The system observes your game-by-game interactions with other raiders. Kill on sight? Your aggression score climbs. Team up with randoms to take down a Queen? Your score trends toward the cooperative side.

Embark hasn't released the exact formula, but player behavior tracking in extraction games typically monitors specific actions. Based on how similar systems work in games like Hunt: Showdown and The Finals, expect these behaviors to influence your aggression score:

Some players worry this system punishes skilled PvP players by trapping them in sweaty lobbies forever. That's a fair concern, but consider the alternative: extraction shooters without behavior-based matchmaking tend to devolve into murder fests where cooperation becomes impossible. Games like Escape from Tarkov have struggled with this for years.

The current ARC Raiders approach lets both playstyles coexist. Want intense PvP? Keep shooting raiders and the game will accommodate. Prefer a more social experience where temporary alliances form against Matriarchs? Play accordingly and your lobbies will reflect that. It's a compromise, but one that could extend the game's longevity by keeping different player types satisfied.

Your aggression bracket affects more than just who you encounter. It should influence how you build your raider. Players in high-aggression lobbies need to prioritize skills and gear that support direct combat. Quick heals, armor repairs, and burst damage become survival necessities.

In lower-aggression brackets, you can afford to optimize for PvE efficiency. Builds focused on mobility and resource gathering become more viable when you're not constantly watching your back for other raiders. Check out our weapon tier list to see which loadouts work best for your preferred playstyle.

The community reaction has been mixed. PvP-focused players argue that being matched against equally aggressive opponents removes the power fantasy of dominating lobbies. PvE players celebrate having a better chance at peaceful extractions. Most take a pragmatic view: it's better than a hard PvP/PvE mode split that would fracture the playerbase and kill queue times.

Some critics point out that the system creates a nice middle ground. Unlike games that force you to pick between hardcore PvP servers and carebear PvE instances, ARC Raiders lets both experiences exist in the same ecosystem. Your playstyle determines your experience without requiring separate game modes.

Söderlund indicated that the aggression system will continue to evolve. As ARC Raiders gathers more player data, expect tweaks to how the system weighs different behaviors. Embark may also add transparency features so players can see their current standing, similar to how other games have implemented reputation systems.

For now, the system runs silently in the background. Your best strategy is to play the way you enjoy and let the matchmaking sort itself out. If your lobbies feel too aggressive or too passive, sustained changes to your playstyle will eventually shift your placement. The player count remains strong, suggesting the system hasn't driven anyone away yet.