Whether you treat the game as an exciting case study in new tools or as a warning shot about where those tools can lead, it’s hard to pretend its use of AI is incidental. In a shooter about surviving a world run by machines, the machines are already in the booth. Its reinforcement learning for robotic enemies is a clear technical win that makes fights feel more dynamic. CEO Junghun Lee has said players should assume that “every game company is now using AI,” and framed the key question as how studios will differentiate when everyone has access to roughly the same tools.
ARC Raiders Does Matchmaking Differently
Gadgets are useful tools topside and you can equip your Raider with everything from Lure Grenade to trick the ARCs, to ziplines, mines, door blockers, grenades, flares, bandage, etc the list goes on. You can also find some of these gadgets topside, but in most cases you are better off coming topside prepared. Looking dapper certainly helps, but looks alone will not be able to carry you through the dangers topside. The Traders of Speranza are central figures in the community, and as you will find out – they often have different agendas. They will send you on quests that will tell the story of the Rust Belt and reward you for your help.
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- It has since been reported that cheaters are now receiving bans, albeit only temporary ones.
- Originally, ARC Raiders was going to be a co-op PvE game, where players would be able to traverse a vast open world and utilize a powerful jumping mechanic to leap onto towering mechanical enemies.
- Once you know where the Arc enemies are going to be, it’s far easier to avoid them.
- Smart players are starting to build their own ARC Raiders etiquette — if you can’t loot, don’t kill — so players can extract together without getting each other botted on.
Meanwhile, the design of an extraction shooter shifts weekly during development and after launch. Loot tables are adjusted, objectives move, encounter pacing gets tuned, and entire quest lines can be rewritten or cut. That misalignment between “slow” VO and “fast” gameplay iteration is exactly what Embark is trying to compress. The game takes aggressive behaviour into account when matching you with other players.
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Other users complained that Arc Raiders’ exploits are the reason the game is getting too difficult. The topic of Arc Raiders having a skill gap issue first kicked off after a video by Twitch streamer TimTheTatman went viral online. In the clip, the streamer claimed that Arc Raiders was starting to have a skill gap situation similar to Fortnite. For context, the Epic Games battle royale had a situation early on where some players became so good at building that they started to dominate other users.
Multiple Types Of Search Models Help Craft Player Experiences
Recent comments from developers have revealed some key details that prove why ARC Raiders is still performing well in 2026. As a PvPvE extraction shooter, dying in a match before extracting means losing out on any items the player has on them. With the expectation that players can lose their gear at any time, deciding what to take along when queuing for a match requires a good deal of thought. The choice to incorporate PvP and redirect ARC Raiders to be an extraction shooter allowed the team to keep the world, lore, and large-scale fights against giant machines that they had built for the original pitch. However, it also injected the game with a layer of unpredictability that proved to be the missing key that unlocked the addictive gameplay loop that ARC Raiders players have come to enjoy.
The Unwritten Rules for Success in ARC Raiders
- In regards to the pure PvE gameplay of this original version, ARC Raiders Creative Director Stefan Strandberg bluntly states that “it didn’t work. The larger recipe for the game wasn’t there.”
- Extraction shooters like ARC Raiders are full of do’s and don’ts that evolve as the community grows, and with tests like the server slam leading up to launch, the game has already seen a set of unwritten rules for player conduct develop.
- Your raider also sends up a flare when they die, giving everyone in the match a bead on your location, but these can also be faked with remote controlled flares you can place down and use as a clever distraction.
- This is a brilliant option for when you’re exploring a new map for the first time, or if you just need to recoup your supplies after being killed on a previous run.
- Communicating with other Raiders is a crucial part of the ARC Raiders experience.
- It’s easy to fall prey to even one or two Wasps or Pops if players aren’t careful, so teaming up with a squad of Raiders or other solo players is usually more beneficial than fighting them.
- According to SteamDB, ARC Raiders is still one of Steam’s top sellers, most wishlisted titles, and most played games over 30 days since its launch.
- Its staying power has been impressive, to say the least, and it wouldn’t be surprising at all if the defining game of 2026 was this third-person extraction shooter from October 2025.
Furthermore, Embark’s long-term vision for the extraction shooter extends far beyond 2025, as the studio has confirmed ongoing content additions well into 2026, with no fixed seasonal model, but updates released once they are ready. In other words, it appears ARC Raiders’ month-long Steam domination may only be the beginning. ARC Raiders wasn’t always planned to be a PvPvE extraction shooter, according to a recent behind-the-scenes video documenting the game’s development process.
Everything you need to know about ARC Raiders
Based on the CEO’s comments, solos, duos, trios, and any other pairings of players work in the same way, factoring in multiple systems at the same time. First, the game will organize players based on their estimated skill level, then it will organize them further based on their gameplay preferences. This “aggression-based matchmaking” hasn’t been in the game for very long, as it is a system the Embark CEO says has only been put in for around a week or so. However, as time goes on, this system could serve to make sure players are always getting the experience they want every time they queue up for a match. According to a recent GameRant article, an interview with Embark Studios CEO Patrick Söderlund has given more context surrounding ARC Raiders matchmaking. For starters, the game uses skill-based matchmaking (SBMM) like other shooters, such as Call of Duty and Battlefield’s recent entries.
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If you shoot people, you’re more likely to be put on servers where people shoot back. You’ll learn faster and I’ve often been given items by players who I’ve helped out. This idea of matchmaking based on preference is excellent for player experiences, especially for anyone who doesn’t want to be exposed to certain aspects of ARC Raiders. In other survival shooters, it can be easy for someone who only likes doing PvE content to run into overly aggressive players who force them into unwanted PvP. By separating players based on what content they prefer to participate in, many are solely exposed to their avenue of “fun.” Under the same platform split as last year—Steam, Battle.net, and Game Pass—Black Ops 6 hit roughly three times the Steam concurrence that Black Ops 7 is seeing at launch.
Arc Raiders has a problem: it’s too set in its ways
Your first location will be Dam Battlegrounds, a map that offers forests, swamps, old research centers and apartment buildings. We also have larger machines like the Leaper, who patrols outside and poses massive threat with its destructive leap attack. Embark confirmed it is taking action against the cheating problem in a message posted in its official Discord server. The note comes with an acknowledgement of the discussion surrounding cheaters in the community, promising that the studio is “taking this issue very seriously” as it awaits further feedback. If you play primarily on PC and care about where the energy is right now, ARC Raiders and Battlefield 6 have the momentum. If your friends are on console and live in the Call of Duty ecosystem, Black Ops 7 will likely still be the default every‑night shooter, even in a comparatively down year.
The Growing List of Exploits Plaguing Arc Raiders
On Arc Raiders’ Steam page, Embark flags the game as using “procedural- and AI-based tools to assist with content creation.” Design leadership has been explicit that the studio does not use “generative AI” for visual content. Instead, the standout applications are reinforcement learning for enemy movement and a machine-learned TTS system for voices. You play as a raider making daring trips topside to scavenge ruined towns and facilities. As you go on more raids, your character earns experience points, which can be spent on improving their survival, looting and movement abilities, and finds blueprints that enable them to make more stuff. You can also carry out missions for traders, who will reward you with useful items.
- That number also represented a new high for ARC Raiders, which had already climbed past its previous record of around 416,000 concurrent players only ten days after release.
- It has topped Call of Duty, Battlefield 6, Marvel Rivals, PUBG, and Where Winds Meet this weekend with ease.
- “So ARC Raiders passed 12M copies sold over the weekend (Alinea estimates),” Elliot wrote in a post on Bluesky.
- Players are using scripts to automate weapon firing and exploit weapon swap speed glitches, performing maneuvers that would be nearly impossible to execute manually.
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Arc Raiders is under siege from a dizzying array of exploits that strike the game from every angle. Automated aimbots lock onto targets through walls, snap to heads with surgical precision, and eliminate recoil entirely. Even skilled players often find themselves eliminated before they can react, turning tense firefights into exercises in frustration rather than skill. For one, the tougher Arc enemies — your Bombardiers, Rocketeers, Leapers, and so on — all typically spawn in the same places on each map. If you’re a frequenter of Buried City, you’ll no doubt have seen the Rocketeer that circles around the Grandioso Apartments countless times.
ARC Raiders Complete Skill Tree Progression Guide
Topside is the place where you spend most of your time in ARC Raiders looking for valuable loot. This could be gameplay items you can use to your advantage or items you can bring back to craft with. ARC Raiders is a multiplayer extraction adventure, set in a lethal future earth, ravaged by a mysterious mechanized threat known as ARC. Elevators also make lots of noise, drawing ARC and alerting other nearby players to the fact you’re trying to escape. As things become more desperate, teams begin to plead with each other to escape together so everyone can get out with their loot. In a genius twist, even if you’re downed into the state where you can be revived so long as you don’t bleed out, you can still push the elevator button and escape as your health ebbs away.
ARC Raiders Stella Montis Complete Looting Guide
ARC is by far not the only threat topside, there are other Raiders up there, as well. Maybe you can make a friend or two, but watch your back as other Raiders are competing for the same loot. You can choose to go alone or as a squad of up to 3 players, all viable in different ways.The matchmaking will prioritize Squad vs. Squads and Solos vs. Solos.
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Without shadows to hide in and with an expanded view of the battlefield, these cheaters can spot movements and positions that should remain hidden, turning every encounter into a lopsided fight. Communicating with other Raiders is a crucial part of the ARC Raiders experience. Not only does ARC Raiders offer proximity chat for solo players with microphones to use, but in-game voice and emote options also allow players without mics to communicate. Often, other players are likely to be friendly to players who chat or use the “Don’t Shoot” voice line, since no one wants to lose their loot. Rather than shooting on sight, talking to other Raiders frequently results in unexpected team-ups, or at least a parting of ways without the need for violence. At the beginning of each run, after you choose which map area you want to visit, the game offers you the chance to start with a free load-out, which includes a basic gun and some useful random items.
- With players losing their inventory upon death, ARC Raiders makes venturing out into its world a gamble that requires strategy and skill to survive.
- Shoot off another and they spin out before crashing into the ground, sometimes going down guns-blazing.
- Adding another layer to all of this is that Arc Raiders is currently developing “gangs” within the game itself.
- ARC Raiders offers players the option to take a Free Loadout of basic gear into the Rust Belt if they don’t want to risk losing their best weapons.
- Now, according to Alinea Analytics, Embark Studio’s third-person extraction shooter has reached a new milestone, with over 12 million copies sold, says analyst Rhys Elliot.
- Loot tables are adjusted, objectives move, encounter pacing gets tuned, and entire quest lines can be rewritten or cut.
- Other conditions are Harvest Season that offers higher yield of nature loot, or Electromagnetic Storm, Hidden Bunkers etc. to name a few.
- Instead, the standout applications are reinforcement learning for enemy movement and a machine-learned TTS system for voices.
And considering why people are still playing ARC Raiders, as well as what is yet to come for the game, those numbers could continue to rise even beyond the peaks they’ve already achieved. While Steam player counts aren’t everything in a cross-platform game like ARC Raiders, they still offer a glimpse into the extent of its popularity. A closer look at its peaks over its first month helps show how that interest has both risen and settled over time. Despite previous claims from Embark’s CEO, Patrick Söderlund, Watkins says there isn’t any form of skill-based matchmaking taken into consideration either.
Peak went from a canceled game that couldn’t get funding to selling millions on Steam
- For example, players who like PvP more are placed with each other when looking for games.
- Steam did not suddenly become less popular with Call of Duty players in a single year; instead, it suggests that some portion of the regular audience either shifted to other shooters or delayed buying in.
- As soon as you have the money, increase the size of your stash – ie the number of items you’re allowed to store.
- Without shadows to hide in and with an expanded view of the battlefield, these cheaters can spot movements and positions that should remain hidden, turning every encounter into a lopsided fight.
- Its reinforcement learning for robotic enemies is a clear technical win that makes fights feel more dynamic.
- For Black Ops 7, the more worrying comparison is not ARC Raiders, but its own predecessor.
When I first started playing, I assumed — as did many others, from browsing the game’s subreddit and speaking to friends — that these would change each round, so the same places don’t become guaranteed high-traffic areas. Unfortunately, that isn’t the case, and anyone who has paid a visit to Research & Administration on Dam Battlegrounds or Medical Research on Stella Montis can attest to this. Embark Studio’s other PvP-centric title, The Finals, shifted to the forefront of development, giving the ARC Raiders team time to fine-tune how the game’s PvPvE gameplay would work.
ARC Raiders is Still Dominating on Steam and It’s Showing Absolutely No Signs of Slowing Down
With players losing their inventory upon death, ARC Raiders makes venturing out into its world a gamble that requires strategy and skill to survive. Some ARC Raiders players believe the game would benefit from a PvE-only mode, but the developers have recently revealed why that would be to the overall game’s detriment. If the reported strain on the game’s servers is any indication, ARC Raiders is destined to be one of the year’s biggest shooters, buoyed by the continued popularity of the extraction shooter subgenre.
While the studio has yet to reveal its roadmap for the next 12 months, it has already begun cracking down on cheaters and hackers. Last week, Embark attempted to diffuse the anger among the community as cheaters continued to run rampant in ARC Raiders. In a new statement, the studio said it is taking the issue very seriously and that it plans to make significant changes to the game’s rulesets and deploy new detection mechanisms to identify and remove cheaters.
Enemy behavior, NPC voices, and player comms all lean on AI in Arc Raiders, but not in the same way — or to the same reception. Adding another layer to all of this is that Arc Raiders is currently developing “gangs” within the game itself. Players are joining clans and essentially kicking off an in-game war against anyone not in their group. For average players who are just trying to jump into a casual session, you can kind of see why this would quickly become problematic. To celebrate the Server Slam we have added an additional pre-order reward, The Bruiser Bundle, for all players who purchase any edition of ARC Raiders ahead of launch.
Battlefield 6 has quietly become a strong performer after its own rocky history for the franchise, and it is sitting just below ARC Raiders on Steam’s charts with a peak of nearly 300,000 concurrent players around the same weekend. Now, according to Alinea Analytics, arc raiders hacks Embark Studio’s third-person extraction shooter has reached a new milestone, with over 12 million copies sold, says analyst Rhys Elliot. “So ARC Raiders passed 12M copies sold over the weekend (Alinea estimates),” Elliot wrote in a post on Bluesky.
It shows that a big-budget extraction shooter can ship with AI‑trained voices front-and-center, draw both backlash and praise, and still become a commercial success with millions of copies sold and hundreds of thousands of concurrent players. But it’s not always all about concurrent players; what also matters is the experience that those in the game are having as well, but Arc Raiders manages to ace this, too. I’ve been loving my time in Arc Raiders, as I mentioned in my Arc Raiders review, but it’s also managed to hook the rest of the PC Gamer team, with our guides writer Rory Norris proclaiming it as an “extraction shooter for people with jobs”. It has officially been one month since the release of Embark Studios’ hit extraction shooter ARC Raiders, and it is still holding its position as one of Steam’s most popular titles. According to SteamDB, ARC Raiders is still one of Steam’s top sellers, most wishlisted titles, and most played games over 30 days since its launch. The fundamental gameplay loop of ARC Raiders is to battle ARC enemies and scavenge for loot, with the ever-present threat of encountering another hostile player keeping the moment-to-moment gameplay tense.
It lets you get to grips with the area and do a bit of looting without the risk of losing valuable equipment. This is a brilliant option for when you’re exploring a new map for the first time, or if you just need to recoup your supplies after being killed on a previous run. If you survive, you can visit the trader named Lance and swap your basic Augment for a better one for no charge.
