The latest Arc Raiders update is out now, and alongside the opening of the Expedition 4 window and an upcoming crossover event with Embark’s first-person shooter The Finals, the extraction game is getting a matchmaking overhaul that fulfills one of players’ biggest wishlist items.
Starting today, Arc Raiders offers separate matchmaking buckets for solo, duo, and trio queues. This means that players who may prefer to express different playstyles depending on their team size can now find lobbies that suit their needs.
Arc Raiders’ “aggression-based matchmaking” has been a story surrounding the game since it debuted last October, with players debating how it should work and, initially, whether it truly existed at all. We’ve since learned that your affinity for PvP does, in fact, influence which other players you’re matched with when you hop into a round, but today’s changes let players wear different proverbial hats for different occasions.
It’s a particularly welcome addition for someone like me. I love to play Arc Raiders as a PvE-only medic, running around the map, chasing down flares of other raiders in a tough spot, and ensuring they escape safely. It took me 120 gameplay hours before I even killed another player, and only because that ne’er-do-well left me with no other choice.
My preference to consider only the ARC robots as enemies has made it hard for me to play with my much more bloodthirsty brother. He’s gotten me into trouble before, where his itchy trigger finger would ultimately kick me out of my utopian solo queues. But this change means I can return fire in duos with him without sacrificing my beloved solo rounds where we defib each other and essentially end rounds with a chorus of Kumbaya. Now, “us versus them” lives alongside “we’re all in this together.”
Along with this much-requested change, Embark’s two live-service games are hosting another crossover event. Starting on July 9 and running until the 30th, players can hop into The Finals and complete specific challenges to unlock Azimuth outfit and Archeologist backpack bundle for use in Arc Raiders for free. You can see that new skin below and decide whether it’s worth your time.
For what it’s worth, The Finals is a slick, destruction-based shooter that feels a bit like Battlefield reimagined in an arcadey context. Like Arc Raiders, it would be better if it didn’t rely on generative AI, though.
