Arc Raiders introduces highly requested feature in latest update

Arc Raiders may have seen a decline in its extraction shooter popularity since last year, but it still maintains a robust player community, with daily peaks of 40,000 to 50,000 concurrent players on PC, as noted by SteamDB. One major factor that could entice returning players to Speranza is the introduction of a long-requested feature.

The game’s matchmaking system has sparked considerable debate, as it employs an aggression-based approach. The more you engage in combat with other players, the higher the chance you’ll be matched with fellow PvP enthusiasts. Conversely, if you primarily battle Arc enemies, you’ll find yourself in more “care bear” lobbies. Players are assigned a hidden rating that influences the types of opponents they encounter.

However, many players voiced concerns about this system. A common strategy was to play cooperatively while solo, gathering gear and completing quests, then switch to aggressive play when teaming up with friends for coordinated PvP. This single rating meant that playing aggressively with friends could inadvertently lead to more PvP encounters when playing solo. That’s no longer the case.

With the release of update 1.36.0, your play style is now tracked independently across solo, duo, and trio modes. The patch notes clarify:

“If you’re a friendly solo player but your duo partners prefer to dominate in trio PvP, previously, your solo play could push you into more cooperative trio matches, while PvP-focused trio play could lead to more PvP encounters in solo. This meant that changing squad size would affect matchmaking over time.

“Now, there’s no overlap. You can seamlessly transition from friendly questing and resource gathering in Solo rounds to high-octane PvP in Trio games, depending on how you typically play in those modes. The same applies to Duo matches—all three are tracked separately.”

Will this update help Arc Raiders regain its status as one of the top games globally? It’s unlikely—especially with the upcoming October update, Frozen Trail, being its best chance at a resurgence—but it certainly enhances the overall player experience.

Additionally, update 1.36.0 introduces a new outfit obtainable by playing another title from the studio. The team has also completed the rollout of Denuvo anti-cheat, is addressing more duplication glitches, and is expanding restrictions on free loadouts across various map conditions.

You get what you give.