Arc Raiders Matchmaking Revealed: Defending Yourself No Longer Counts as Aggression, Embark Confirms

Breaking: Embark Overhauls Arc Raiders' Aggression-Based Matchmaking

Embark Studios has released a major clarification on Arc Raiders' controversial aggression-based matchmaking system. The developer confirmed that defending yourself is no longer treated as a hostile action, addressing a key player complaint from the game's early access period.

Arc Raiders Matchmaking Revealed: Defending Yourself No Longer Counts as Aggression, Embark Confirms — Source: www.pcgamer.com

In a detailed blog post, Embark also busted nine common myths about the system. The studio emphasized that the matchmaking is not binary—there are not just "friendly" and "aggressive" lobbies. Instead, it uses a continuous scale of playstyles.

Quotes from Embark

"We take multiple factors into account when forming a lobby. One of the strongest is your playstyle across previous rounds, especially as it relates to how you engage with other Raiders," the post reads. "It's important to understand that playstyles aren't binary. This isn't 'friendly' vs. 'shoot on sight.' It's a continuous scale."

Embark added: "Most raiders fall somewhere in between—maybe friendly until threatened, maybe opportunistic, maybe cautious, maybe unpredictable on a bad day."

Background

Arc Raiders is a PvPvE survival extraction game where players compete with each other and fight AI enemies. The matchmaking system aims to group players with similar aggression levels to reduce toxic encounters.

However, early feedback showed flaws: cautious players who defended themselves were incorrectly labeled as aggressive. Embark previously described a playstyle graph that placed players on a spectrum from pacifist to maniac, with most players in the middle.

Key Changes Based on Feedback

Defending vs. Initiating: The system now distinguishes between starting a fight and merely defending. Previously, both actions were treated equally.
Low-activity rounds reduced weight: Short matches with little interaction no longer heavily influence your playstyle score.

Debunking Myths

Embark clarified that there are not only two lobby types—friendly and aggressive. The matchmaking scale means you're most likely to encounter players close to your own aggression level, but not exclusively. An illustration shows that players in the middle majority see more varied lobbies.

The studio noted that the system is designed to keep gameplay dynamic: "Our system tries to place you with players who sit closer to you on that scale, while still keeping Topside from becoming completely predictable."

What This Means

For players who prefer cautious play, this update is significant: defending yourself will no longer push you into aggressive brackets. This should reduce the frustration of being matched with bloodthirsty players after a single self-defense kill.

However, the matchmaking remains opaque in some ways. Embark has not shared specific metrics for continuous updates, so players must rely on their own experiences. The system still uses a scale, meaning unpredictable encounters can still happen—by design.

Internal Anchor Links

See all 9 myths busted below.

Full List of Myths Busted

There are only friendly and aggressive lobbies.
One kill marks you as a hostile player forever.
Defending yourself counts as aggression (now fixed).
Matchmaking guarantees same playstyle lobbies.
Low-activity rounds have high impact (now fixed).
Playstyle is binary (friendly vs shoot-on-sight).
The system ignores context of kills.
You'll never meet different playstyles.
Updates are not responsive to feedback (proven wrong by these changes).

This story is developing. Embark may release further details on matchmaking telemetry in future updates.

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