“Arc Raiders Design Lead Clarifies Matchmaking Approach: ‘Aggression-Based Is a Misnomer'”

Recent insights from Embark Studios shed light on how Arc Raiders matches players based on their PvP tendencies. Design lead Virgil Watkins clarifies that while some interpretations may be exaggerated, the community’s understanding is fairly accurate.

In a conversation, Watkins noted, “It’s a bit of a misnomer calling it aggression-based, and it is something we’re going to keep tuning, but people aren’t far off in how they think it works.”

I was curious if the developers were concerned that some players might try to exploit the matchmaking system. Watkins, unfazed, mentioned that this is simply “part of the experience.” He emphasized that players should recognize this is just one aspect of a more intricate and evolving system.

“At present, I think we’re kind of okay with the fact that you have some agency over the situation,” he explained. “If you really want to try to adjust and play in a bit of a less hostile environment, you are afforded a way to do so. But it should be clear to people, I hope, that it’s also not binary. Obviously, you can tell it’s weighted one way or the other, but it’s never like, you are now only with PvE players, you are now only with PvP players. It’s a weighted system. There’s a lot of layers to it, so it’s not quite so A/B as people might assume.”

He also clarified, “And we don’t do anything like skill-based matchmaking or gear-based matchmaking. It’s really just this kind of rating system we have that maneuvers, and we’re just going to keep monitoring match health and player response, and tune it from there.”

This led me to ponder the possibility of a PvP singularity, where more players are categorized as PvP participants regardless of context. I asked Watkins how the system identifies aggressors.

“That’s a good point to raise, because we can track who shoots first and who takes damage and who does whatever,” he said. “But the one thing the system does not do is attempt to assume intent. If I’m a very bad player and you’re a good player, and I’m the aggressor and I just miss all my shots and you defend yourself, the game doesn’t know what the intent was. They just saw you kill me because I’m terrible.”

Watkins further explained, “So we don’t make any value or moral judgments. It’s not the game judging you for your actions. It’s purely around, just, are you engaging in PvP at all? So it’s a bit of a blunt instrument, which is why we’re continuing to add and tune what we do with it. So we have a ton of data to work with for now, seeing how the matches go and where those players are matched up.”

He agreed that this system has a self-correcting aspect; avoiding PvP if you don’t enjoy it will naturally lead you toward players less likely to engage in combat. However, it only shifts your position along a spectrum of perceived behaviors among other factors. There are always unpredictable players in lobbies, and various elements influence matchmaking. Compared to typical video game karma systems, which often fail due to their binary nature, this approach is one of the most intriguing I’ve encountered.

Arc Raiders is set to introduce a “Toxic Swamp” map event next week, as indicated by new raider trials, suggesting that Embark has taken inspiration from other successful titles.