A developer reveals: The matchmaking in ARC Raiders assesses exactly how mean you really are

In ARC Raiders you can act cooperatively or meanly. Your behavior ultimately has consequences for matchmaking. A developer reveals this.

ARC Raiders is an extraction shooter where you have to secure loot. The game relies on a strong PvPvE aspect, where you can cooperate with other players or choose to go against cooperation.

A big unknown in ARC Raiders has been the matchmaking: Who plays together with whom and when? A developer has now said that there is a complex system behind it and that every one of your decisions has consequences. And other users believe they can confirm this.

What did the developer say? Art Director Robert Sammelin from Embark confirms that the matchmaking system of ARC Raiders is complex and evaluates player behavior to group them “accordingly”. He did not want to reveal more about matchmaking. Specifically, he said (via PCGamer.com):

[The matchmaking] is quite complex, so we analyze behavior and assign players accordingly.

Depending on how you behave, you will end up in a different match next time.

What do the experiences say? The magazine PCGamer references its own experiences: If you act like a jerk who backstabs other players for loot, you will end up in a match with players who think exactly the same way next time. YouTuber Domi also points out after 300 hours of gameplay that matchmaking is said to strongly depend on how one behaves: If you act hostile, you will end up in a hostile match next time.

In the end, this means for you:

• Aggressive players who frequently kill or betray others will increasingly be matched with similarly aggressive PvP players.
• More careful or cooperative players are more likely to find lobbies where looting, dodging, and temporary alliances dominate instead of constant frontal PvP gameplay.

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