ARC Raiders · Guides
ARC Raiders Other Raiders: Survive Player Encounters
ARC Raiders other Raiders guide: how matchmaking reads your PvP habits, the quieter exits, what the ended PvE toggle test changed and what a death costs.
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About the game
ARC Raiders
Embark Studios
ARC Raiders other Raiders are the threat you can partly choose. Embark's matchmaking places you with people whose past behavior looks like yours, so the way you treat strangers today shapes the lobbies you get next week. Inside a round, most fights happen at the exits, where everyone has to go. Plan those two things and player encounters become far rarer.
Updated 2026-10-21: the PvE toggle test ended on October 20; the PvE section, table, verdict and FAQ now say so, with Embark's 30 million rounds figure and its November follow-up. On 2026-10-15 we rewrote this guide against the ARC Raiders wiki and Embark's own posts and removed unsupported claims: a zone-wide extraction alarm, made-up exit timers, colored loot zones, loadout noise profiles and double Trial points in storms.
How do you survive other Raiders in ARC Raiders? (quick answer)
Be the Raider you want to meet, because matchmaking learns from it. Carry a Raider Hatch Key on runs you can't afford to lose, call the elevator only when you're ready to defend it, and keep your best finds in safe pockets. The PvE toggle test is over, so for now every round is PvPvE.
| Situation | What the sources say | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| Lobby you land in | Matched by past playstyle, tracked separately for Solo, Duo and Trio | Play friendly in the squad size where you want calm rounds |
| Cargo elevator | About 45 seconds to arrive; the noise attracts ARC and players | Clear the area first, then call it |
| Raider Hatch | Needs a key, open about 10 to 15 seconds, one Raider at a time, no shutdown timer | Your exit on loaded runs and late rounds |
| Electromagnetic Storm | Fewer Return Points, no active Raider Hatches | Expect more Raiders at fewer exits |
| You die | You lose everything except safe pocket items | Put the run's best item in a safe pocket |
| PvE toggle test (ended October 20) | Zero player damage, lower loot, five conditions excluded | Gone for now; Embark follows up in November |
How matchmaking decides who you meet
There are no fixed friendly or aggressive lobbies. Embark's May 2026 notes describe one continuous scale: you have "a higher chance of being matched with Raiders whose past playstyle is similar to yours", with no guarantee. Change how you play and your lobbies drift with you, gradually, not after a single round.
The same post lists what does not count. Your loadout doesn't, so a free kit won't buy gentler lobbies. Looting a knocked-out Raider doesn't. One kill doesn't flip you into PvP rounds. Embark also changed one thing players had complained about: defending yourself is no longer treated the same as starting a fight.
Since update 1.36.0 in July, Embark tracks your playstyle separately for Solo, Duo and Trio rounds. If your trio loves PvP and you quest peacefully alone, the two no longer bleed into each other. The ARC Raiders beginner guide covers the first rounds where this starts.
Image: ARC Raiders Steam store page. Game art is the property of Embark Studios.
When you meet another Raider
The wiki's advice for a first encounter is plain: talk if you have a microphone, or use the emoji wheel, which offers lines like "Don't shoot!". Rapidly flashing your light is the other common peace sign. New Raiders often find the surface "fairly benign", in the wiki's words: most players ignore you, some drop items, and a few will revive you.
If a fight starts anyway, your losses are fixed before it begins. Die and you lose everything you were carrying, loot and loadout, except what sits in your safe pockets. You still keep the round's experience. So move the run's best find into a safe pocket the moment you pick it up, not at the exit.
Downed doesn't mean done. ARC machines stop targeting a downed Raider, and the wiki notes that a downed Raider can still use an extraction terminal. A crawl to a nearby terminal can save the run.
The exits are where Raiders meet
Every Raider has to leave through one of four exit types: cargo elevators, metro stations, airshafts and Raider Hatches. Most of them shut down on a timer shown on the map, so late in a round the remaining exits draw everyone left alive. Our extractions guide covers each type in detail.
The cargo elevator is the loud one. The wiki says it takes about 45 seconds to arrive once called, and the noise "often attracts predators, ARC, and players alike". Clear the area before you press the button, not after.
The Raider Hatch is the quiet escape. It stays locked until you use a Raider Hatch Key, stays open about 10 to 15 seconds, lets one Raider through at a time, and has no shutdown timer, which makes it the exit for late or loaded runs. Keys are single use; you scavenge them, craft them, or buy them from Shani.
Two more rules matter when someone is closing in. A terminal used just before its exit shuts down stays active, so you can extract in overtime. And Electromagnetic Storm rounds switch off Raider Hatches and run fewer Return Points, so more squads share fewer ways out. The cargo elevator guide has the button sequence.
Image: ARC Raiders Steam store page. Game art is the property of Embark Studios.
What Embark's own clips show
Embark's September community highlights reel is full of Raider-against-Raider fights. In the first clip, from about 0:10, a duo hugs a concrete wall while one asks "Did you see him? He was around the wall, up there, right?", and by 0:28 they are trading shots at close range. It shows the habit that works on both sides of a fight: whoever checks the corner first decides it.
*Video: September Community Highlights (Part 1), ARC Raiders official YouTube channel.*The PvE toggle test
From October 13 to October 20, 2026 (11:00 CEST), Embark tested a PvE matchmaking toggle. On PvE servers there was zero player-to-player damage, throwables like stun and fire items didn't affect other players, overall loot value was lower, and squads of different sizes met more often. Night Raid, Locked Gate, Hidden Bunker, Frigate and Redirection didn't offer PvE.
One change cut the other way: on PvE servers ARC could target a downed Raider again after an eight-second grace period. The toggle is gone now. Embark says more than 30 million PvE rounds were played, calls the test "polarizing" and expects to follow up in November. Our PvE test explainer tracks what comes next.
Step by step: a run with fewer player fights
- Choose your squad size on purpose. Matchmaking reads Solo, Duo and Trio separately, so keep your calm runs in the mode where you play calmly.
- Bank the best item early. Safe pockets are the only thing you keep after a death.
- Signal before you shoot. Use voice, the emoji wheel or a flashing light when you spot someone who hasn't fired.
- Pick the exit before you need it. Know which exits are still open and which one you'd use if the first is contested.
- Call the elevator from a cleared area. Its noise pulls in ARC and Raiders for most of its arrival time.
- Spend the Hatch Key when the bag is worth it. No timer, short opening, one Raider at a time.
Our take
We'd play the long game. Matchmaking is the strongest tool you have against other Raiders, and it rewards patience over rounds, not clever tricks in one. Keep a Hatch Key for runs that matter, treat the elevator as a beacon, and if PvP is the part you dislike, try the toggle this week and fill in Embark's survey after it ends. Skip any guide that promises a timer trick at the exit; the sources describe none.
How we checked this
- On 2026-10-15 we read the ARC Raiders wiki pages Getting Started, Extraction Points, Raider Hatch, Raider Hatch Key, Electromagnetic Storm and Matchmaking as raw wikitext.
- We read Embark's posts on arcraiders.com: Notes on The Matchmaking System (May 20, 2026), Live Update 1.36.0, PvE Toggle Beta Test: October 13-20 and the October 20 post closing the test.
- We watched Embark's September Community Highlights (Part 1) and took frames from 0:08 to 0:28.
- We did not time exits in-game for this update; timings are the wiki's.
Frequently asked questions
How do you avoid other Raiders in ARC Raiders?
Play friendly over many rounds, since matchmaking pairs you with similar playstyles. In the round, use a Raider Hatch on loaded runs and don't loiter at a cargo elevator.
Does shooting back put me in PvP lobbies?
Embark now separates defending yourself from starting a fight, and one kill doesn't move you. Matchmaking looks at patterns over time.
What do you lose if another Raider kills you?
Everything you were carrying except safe pocket items. You keep the round's experience.
Is there a PvE mode in ARC Raiders?
Not right now. A PvE toggle was tested until October 20 with zero player damage and lower loot, and Embark expects to follow up in November.
Does my loadout change who I get matched with?
No. Embark says loadout does not affect matchmaking.
Related Reading
- ARC Raiders Extractions Guide: all four exit types, overtime and the Raider Hatch Key.
- ARC Raiders Cargo Elevator Guide: the button sequence and what the noise draws in.
- ARC Raiders PvE test explainer: the toggle, the excluded conditions and the survey.
- ARC Raiders Beginner Guide: first rounds, safe pockets and the free loadout.
- ARC Raiders Best Solo Loadouts: kits for playing alone, including augment choices.
- ARC Raiders Best Squad Loadouts: splitting roles in a duo or trio.
- ARC Raiders Maps Guide: All 6 Zones and Extractions: where the exits sit on each map.
- ARC Raiders Endgame Guide: What to Do After Frozen Trail: Trials, the Outpost and the Expedition pause.
- ARC Raiders Crafting Guide: crafting the Raider Hatch Key and other gear.
References
- ARC Raiders on Steam
- Notes on The Matchmaking System: Embark, May 20, 2026
- Live Update 1.36.0: separate Solo, Duo and Trio matchmaking
- PvE Toggle Beta Test: October 13-20: Embark, October 12, 2026
- PvE Matchmaking Toggle Test: Thanks for taking part!: Embark, October 20, 2026
- ARC Raiders wiki: Getting Started: first encounters, death, elevators
- ARC Raiders wiki: Extraction Points and Raider Hatch
- September Community Highlights (Part 1): ARC Raiders official YouTube channel
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