The developers of ARC Raiders suggest that the strongest robots in the shooter are too weak. They are fought in a way that was not intended.
Which robots are we talking about? In ARC Raiders there are some nasty robots. The strongest are the so-called Queens and Matriarchs. These are massive, heavily armed ARCs that can easily tear apart a squad of inexperienced Raiders.
In an interview with PC Gamer, Virgil Watkins, the lead designer of ARC Raiders at Embark Studios, stated that these powerful ARCs are not up to the current challenges faced by the Raiders.
Massive ARCs are not up to the threat from humans
In what way are the ARCs too weak? Watkins was asked in the interview about the frustration that many players currently feel with the loot from the Queens and Matriarchs, as it often feels like none of those involved are receiving the desired rewards. It’s said: There’s too little loot for too many players.
Watkins explained that even the Queens and Matriarchs are not designed to be attacked by huge swarms of players:
Even though they are massive and deadly, it was not intended for the entire server to fight against them and all to be rewarded equally. It is intended that perhaps a few dedicated squads collaborate and have to deal with other players at the same time.
Thus, the developers did not foresee that almost all players on a server would cooperate to defeat a Queen or a Matriarch, instead of fighting each other. That’s why there is also not enough loot for all involved – there are simply more players peacefully fighting together against the boss ARCs than planned.
Watkins also stated that the developers had to rethink, because the ARC Raiders community was more peaceful than expected. The players’ behavior surprised the team behind the shooter, as the players in the tests had never been that friendly.
Could there be even stronger ARCs? Yes, the developers already mentioned this in January 2026. It was also Watkins who hinted that there will be even stronger ARCs in the future – like the colossal robots that you see wandering in the background on some maps. The question is whether the developers can technically implement it. More about this here: ARC Raiders will unleash such powerful robots on you that the developers are worried about the servers
