Does ARC Raiders Have Aggression Based Matchmaking?
Embark Studios CEO Patrick Söderlund recently confirmed in an interview with GamesBeat that ARC Raiders does have Aggression Based Matchmaking (which we'll refer to as ABMM from this point forwards).
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We'll go over his exact words and how to best interpret them, and what might make ABMM a possible misnomer for what is actually happening behind the scenes. In short: does ARC Raiders have Aggression Based Matchmaking? Yes, but it is complicated.
Patrick Söderlund's Quote
Patrick Söderlund, Embark Studios' CEO. Image Via Embark.Here is the full quote from Patrick Söderlund, Embark Studios' CEO, directly transcribed from Dean Takahashi's video:
We also matchmake now based on how prone you are to PVP or PVE. So if you're preference is to do PVE and have less conflict with players, you'll get more matched-up with [similar players]. Obviously it is not a science.
Dean Takahashi mentions the ABMM questions and Söderlund says:
And that's exactly what it is.
Embark's CEO mentions that they expected problems with the split between the PVE and PVP community, especially as the game's playerbase grows beyond anyone's predictions.
When asked more specific questions about the system, Patrick Söderlund admits that even he doesn't know exactly how the ABMM works. Let's dive into that and how that is both good and bad.
ARC Raiders' Aggression Based Matchmaking
Hiding from a Rocketeer duo. Image Via Embark Studios, Screenshot Captured By Blast.All we know so far is that beyond the skill based matchmaking that is the norm in games like these, and in more competitive shooters, ARC Raiders also tries to use ABMM to match PVE-focused players with like-minded cooperators, and kill-on-sight raiders with other PVP-focused opponents.
Söderlund admitted that this isn't an exact science for obvious reasons. These players are human and won't always play in the exact same way every raid. Most players are probably doing a bit of both, with a bigger focus on PVE, according to our experience and what we've witnessed online.
While information is great and we tend to appreciate transparency, we're thankful that Embark Studios isn't spilling all the beans when it does to ARC Raiders' Aggression Based Matchmaking. Releasing more concrete information about the system would allow players to "game" it, which they're already trying to do.
For now, no one knows specifics. People tend to run into more PVP focused lobbies in groups, so it seems that having even a single PVP-prone player in your trios alongside two pacifists will still result in a PVP-focused lobby.
Players have been questioning everything ever since ABMM has been confirmed, including rumors about the fact that simply looting dead raiders will count as a form of PVP for the system.
What we now for certain is that ARC Raiders does have Aggression Based Matchmaking, but it was added post-launch. Dean Takahashi's interview was recorded before Cold Snap released, so the system was added sometime between its release and the first North Line update.
At the time of writing, ABMM has likely been in effect for around a month, and it probably is being constantly updated, so anyone who tells you that they know exactly how the system works is, at best, taking an informed guess.
In our personal experience, the system works reasonably well. We tend to focus on PVE and rarely engage PVP fights unless we're shot first, and the overwhelming majority of our raids is peaceful. Major Conditions like the Queen, Snowfall, Hidden Gate, are entirely devoid of PVP encounters for 90% of the raids.
So if you are running into PVP more often than not, you just might need a few pacifist runs to get you back into the more peaceful side of ARC Raiders' ABMM.
READ: ARC Raiders 2026 Roadmap
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