ARC Raiders has announced a PvE matchmaking test running from October 13 at 11 a.m. to October 20 at 11 a.m. CEST. A selector will offer a choice between the standard PvPvE experience and PvE servers that disable damage between players, with reduced overall loot value as the main trade-off.
In its October 13 announcement, the team sets out the experiment’s schedule and rules. The PvE option will also change some player interactions, squad matchmaking and access to map conditions.
Player attacks disabled, but machines remain a threat
On the test’s PvE servers, players will no longer be able to hurt each other. Throwable items, including those that cause stuns or fire, will not work on other players either. The protection will therefore cover these effects as well as direct weapon damage.
Barricades and ziplines will remain unaffected, along with other physical interaction items. Disabling attacks between players will not disable every tool that can influence how they move through an expedition.
Being downed will still leave players exposed to ARC enemies. After an eight-second grace period, machines will be able to target downed players again and attack if they catch them moving. Removing player damage will therefore leave a specific danger intact: ARC enemies can still threaten someone who is already down.
Lower loot value and more varied squad sizes
The reduction applies to overall loot value on PvE servers. The team has not specified the size of that reduction, so players cannot yet weigh the reward difference precisely. The announced choice nevertheless has a clear cost: protection from other players’ attacks comes with less valuable loot.
PvE matchmaking will also place less emphasis on separating squads by size. Groups with different numbers of members will encounter each other more often. Players choosing PvE should therefore expect a different mix of squads, rather than assume the selector only changes whether attacks can cause damage.
Some map conditions will remain outside PvE
Night Raid, Locked Gate, Hidden Bunker, Frigate and Redirection are among the map conditions that will not offer a PvE option. These are examples, rather than a complete list. For those conditions, the new selector will not provide an alternative without player damage.
Standard matchmaking will continue to apply to PvPvE sessions during the test. The team also warns that matchmaking times could be affected in less populated regions and during off-peak hours. That is a possible consequence of the experiment, rather than a guaranteed increase in waiting times.
The team is seeking feedback from both PvE and PvPvE players and plans to send a questionnaire after the test ends. Players who stay with standard sessions will also have a role in assessing the matchmaking selector.
The experiment offers a way to avoid damage from other players, but that choice comes with lower loot value and restricted map conditions. Its appeal will depend on how players value that protection against the rewards and conditions they give up, while ARC enemies retain their ability to threaten downed players.
See also our ARC Raiders game page.
