Embark Studios Confirms Exactly How ARC Raiders Matchmaking Works

Embark Studios has released a massive breakdown of how matchmaking works in ARC Raiders, the extraction adventure title released in October. In the months since the game came out, fans have been neck-deep in debating how matchmaking works, with the majority believing that there’s a way to ‘cheat’ the algorithms at play to get friendly lobbies.

Embark doubled down on a previous statement that it’s not binary, but more of a scale, but the team expanded way beyond that. From confirming that your playstyle does impact your matches to outright disputing the existence of PvE lobbies, the breakdown goes deeper than anything they’ve offered before.

How Does ARC Raiders Matchmaking Work?

In a post on social media, Embark Studios confirmed that ARC Raiders matchmaking starts with the concept of fairness. This means that they prioritize matchmaking equal-sized squads, then the system looks at matching players based on playstyle. This ‘drives enjoyment and reduces friction.’

With a jazzy representative visual, the team showed how this works. It’s worth stressing that, again, there’s no binary matchmaking mechanic; you don’t get either a good or a bad lobby. They confirmed that most players fall into a midway point between high PvP and cooperation.

That said, you have a higher chance of being matched with players who match your desired style of play, and a lower chance of being matched with those who oppose it. Your behavior does impact your future lobbies, but it’s gradual. It’s not like one aggressive match will suddenly skew your matchmaking algorithm.

Plenty of myths were then knocked down by the team, including:

• Friendly vs. Aggressive lobbies: Busted – It’s a spectrum
• One kill skews your entire lobby structure: Busted – It’s a gradual process that alters over time
• PvE lobbies exist: Busted – There is always risk when raiding Topside, and you’re never guaranteed safety
• End of round feedback impacts matchmaking: Busted – This isn’t the case, but it does help Embark understand your impressions

Turning crossplay on or off doesn’t impact your placement, nor does the level of your squad level. If you loot knocked-out raiders, that doesn’t skew your algorithm, and patches and updates do not impact your matchmaking.

That’s the long and short of how it works.

However, some major changes are coming. For instance, defending yourself is no longer going to be treated the same as instigating a fight, which will keep your ‘aggression level’ low if you’re just trying to stand up for yourself.

Also, low-activity rounds, where you go through a raid without doing much, will weigh less in your playstyle history and metrics.

The team explained:

To sum it up: we’re committed to making Topside more fair, more fun, and more rewarding – without sanding off the edges that make ARC Raiders what it is.

Play how you want to play. Over time, your behavior helps shape the kinds of Raiders you’re most likely to encounter. But there will always be room for the unexpected.

Are you surprised to learn how ARC Raiders matchmaking works? Let us know your thoughts on the Insider Gaming Discord server.

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