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Choose the test PvE experience if quests, scavenging, exploration, and lower exposure to hostile players matter most. Choose classic PvPvE if the uncertainty of meeting, avoiding, negotiating with, or fighting other Raiders is the reason you play. The toggle is temporary; Embark has not promised that a permanent PvE mode will follow.
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ARC Raiders PvE vs PvP at a glance
| Reader priority | PvE toggle test | Classic PvPvE |
|---|---|---|
| Player damage | Player-to-player damage is disabled for the session. | Other Raiders can attack, and player encounters remain part of extraction. |
| Main pressure | ARC machines, objectives, resources, and cooperation with other Raiders. | ARC machines plus unpredictable encounters with other Raiders. |
| Squad mix | Solo, duo, and trio players share the same PvE sessions. | Regular matchmaking considers several factors, including squad size where possible. |
| Loot during the test | Overall loot value is reduced to reflect the relative safety. | Baseline loot values are slightly higher during the test. |
| Matchmaking rating | Does not affect PvPvE matchmaking rating. | Regular play gradually informs the playstyle estimate. |
| Availability | Limited test announced for October 13–20, 2026; the toggle is scheduled for removal afterward. | Standard ARC Raiders experience. |
The PvE option is therefore not a separate game, a new progression track, or a PvE difficulty overhaul. It changes who can damage you, what conditions are available, how much value the session yields, and which matchmaking history the session affects.
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ARC Raiders is an extraction adventure set on a dangerous future Earth. You leave an underground settlement, gather materials, complete objectives, fight or evade ARC machines, and try to extract with what you found. The official description and Steam listing present the game as playable alone or in parties of up to three, with scavenging, crafting, repairing, and upgrading as central activities.
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In the standard loop, machines are only one part of the danger. Other human-controlled Raiders may help, ignore you, bargain, stalk you, or attack when you are carrying valuable loot. You cannot identify a guaranteed friendly lobby from the normal matchmaking queue. That uncertainty is what separates PvPvE extraction from a conventional cooperative PvE mission.
PvPvE does not mean every encounter must become a gunfight
The PvPvE label describes the threats that can exist in a session, not a requirement to shoot every player you see. A cautious player can avoid contact, communicate, or defend a position without actively hunting other Raiders. Embark’s matchmaking notes distinguish defending yourself from starting a fight, and describe behavior as a gradual pattern rather than a permanent friendly or aggressive label.
What the October 2026 PvE test changes
Zero player-to-player damage
The defining rule is simple: Raiders cannot damage one another during a PvE session. You still share the map with other players, but their weapons cannot turn an extraction into a player-versus-player ambush. The test is designed for scavenging, quest completion, exploration, and cooperative play against ARC rather than for competition over kills.
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Solo, duo, and trio players share sessions
PvE sessions combine solo players with duos and trios. A solo queue is therefore not a promise that every other person will also be alone, and a trio should not assume that every encounter involves a full opposing squad. The mixed population supports the test’s cooperative goal, but it also means group size can vary widely around an objective or extraction route.
Four named conditions are excluded
Embark lists Night Raids, Hidden Bunker, Locked Gate, and Frigate as unavailable in the test. The explanation is that these conditions depend on uncertainty and heightened tension, which conflicts with the safer cooperative purpose of the toggle. Their exclusion is a content rule for the test, not evidence that they are permanently removed from ARC Raiders.
Loot value is lower
Relative safety changes the reward balance. Embark says overall loot value is lowered in PvE, while PvPvE sessions receive slightly higher baseline loot values during the test. The announcement does not provide a universal percentage reduction, so treat this as a general value adjustment rather than a fixed multiplier for every item or map.
This matters if you are optimizing an extraction route, funding upgrades, or judging whether a risky trip is worth repeating. PvE reduces the chance that another Raider takes your haul, but it also reduces the expected value assigned to the safer session.
Downed-player behavior still matters
If ARC downs you in PvE, crawling can cause the machine to reacquire you as a target. Embark says ARC will ignore a downed Raider who stays still. That creates a specific survival decision: movement may help you reach cover or a teammate, but it can also draw the machine’s attention again. The rule concerns ARC behavior; it does not restore player damage.
PvE does not change your PvPvE rating
Sessions played through the test toggle do not affect PvPvE matchmaking rating. You can use PvE to learn routes, work through quests, or play with less concern about human ambushes without pushing your regular playstyle estimate toward either end of the spectrum.
How regular playstyle matchmaking works
Embark describes matchmaking as a balance among fairness, enjoyment, queue time, latency, and other practical constraints. Playstyle is one significant factor, especially how you interact with other Raiders over previous rounds. The system treats that behavior as a continuum, not as two fixed queues labeled “friendly” and “aggressive.”
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Similar behavior is more likely, not guaranteed
If your history suggests that you usually avoid or cooperate with other Raiders, the system may make similar players more likely to appear in future sessions. If your history shows frequent attacks, it may increase the chance of meeting players with comparable tendencies. It cannot guarantee a peaceful lobby, prevent a hostile player from appearing, or create a normal PvE-only server.
Embark explicitly states that regular matchmaking has no “PvE-only” lobbies in which other Raiders can never attack. The October toggle is a separate, limited test with a hard no-damage rule.
Behavior changes the estimate gradually
A single encounter does not permanently classify you. Embark says low-activity rounds carry less weight in the playstyle history, and that defending yourself is treated differently from initiating a fight. The practical implication is to think in terms of repeated patterns: one defensive shot should not be treated as an automatic switch into a “PvP category,” just as one peaceful round does not guarantee a friendly queue.
Which experience should you play?
Choose PvE during the test if you want a lower-conflict learning loop
- You want to finish quests without player damage interrupting the run.
- You are learning ARC attack patterns, map routes, extraction points, or crafting requirements.
- You prefer scavenging and exploration to watching every other Raider for an ambush.
- You are playing with friends who want cooperation but not competition.
- You are comfortable trading some loot value for a safer session.
PvE is particularly useful when the objective is knowledge rather than maximum profit. You can study where materials appear, practice moving around machines, and understand how long an extraction route takes without another player deciding to contest it with gunfire.
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Choose classic PvPvE if uncertainty is the appeal
- You enjoy deciding whether an unknown Raider is a threat, potential ally, or target.
- You want the full tension of protecting a valuable haul on the way out.
- You value the slightly higher baseline loot available to PvPvE during the test.
- You want to practice negotiation, avoidance, defensive positioning, and player combat.
- You consider player encounters essential to ARC Raiders rather than an interruption of the machine-fighting loop.
Classic PvPvE remains the choice for players who want the game’s complete risk equation. Playstyle matchmaking may improve the odds of meeting people with similar habits, but it does not remove the need to read situations and make your own decision about contact.
Use both when your goals change
The test is designed to let players switch between the two experiences. Use PvE for a quest or route-learning session, then return to PvPvE when you want higher stakes. Because PvE sessions do not affect PvPvE matchmaking rating, alternating does not mix the two histories through the test’s stated rating rules.
What the test means for squads
Mixed squad sizes change how a cooperative session feels. A solo player may encounter a trio working toward the same objective, while a trio may meet several independent players rather than a coordinated rival squad. Since damage is disabled, numerical advantage does not translate directly into the ability to eliminate another group; it mainly affects communication, machine control, carrying capacity, and how quickly a team can complete tasks.
Players should still coordinate roles. One person can watch ARC behavior, another can gather materials, and another can handle navigation or extraction timing. The absence of friendly fire between Raiders removes a major griefing risk, but it does not remove machine aggro, environmental hazards, or the possibility that several groups crowd the same valuable location.
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Conditions, risk, and reward: the practical trade-off
The PvE toggle lowers one category of risk while preserving the rest. You are safer from another player taking your life or loot, but ARC remains dangerous, quests still require time, and an extraction can still fail if you mismanage health, equipment, or machine attention. The lower loot value is the test’s balancing response to the removed player threat.
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PvPvE reverses that trade-off. The session offers the higher-tension loop and slightly higher baseline loot during the test, but your route and extraction plan must account for human behavior as well as ARC patrols. A quiet run can become dangerous without warning, even if your prior matches contained mostly cooperative players.
Is the PvE option permanent?
No permanent mode has been promised. Embark describes the October 13–20, 2026 feature as a limited test and says the toggle will be removed when the test ends. The studio plans to review player feedback and data before deciding what comes next. Treat the dates as the availability window announced by Embark; the announcement does not state the exact ending hour or timezone.
That distinction matters for planning. A player who wants to try the no-damage rules should not assume the toggle will remain after October 20, and a player who prefers permanent PvE should not interpret the test as a commitment to a future dedicated queue.
What players say they want—and how to read the figures
In its September 24, 2026 announcement, Embark reported a preference breakdown of 37% Friendly co-op players, 27% Mixed players, and 34% Pure PvP players. It also reported that 51% of the surveyed playerbase expressed interest in a dedicated PvE option.
These are developer-reported figures, not an independently verified estimate of every ARC Raiders player. The announcement does not provide the survey sample size or methodology, so the numbers are best read as Embark’s measurement of player preferences rather than a population-wide benchmark.
How to decide before you queue
- Identify your goal. If the goal is quests, exploration, or machine practice, start with PvE during the test. If the goal is tension, loot efficiency, or player interaction, select PvPvE.
- Check the session rules. PvE removes player damage but mixes solo, duo, and trio players, excludes four named conditions, and uses lower overall loot value.
- Choose your acceptable failure. In PvE, your main concern is losing time or resources to ARC and extraction mistakes. In PvPvE, add the possibility of a human ambush or contested route.
- Switch when the objective changes. The test is intended to support movement between the two experiences, and PvE sessions do not affect PvPvE matchmaking rating.
- Recheck availability after October 20. The toggle is temporary, and the announcement does not promise its continuation.
Platforms and the game you are comparing
The official ARC Raiders site lists Steam, Epic Games Store, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, and GeForce NOW. The comparison applies to the same extraction adventure on those listed platforms: the question is whether other Raiders can damage you in the session, not whether PvE and PvPvE are separate products with different progression systems.
Bottom line: PvE for focus, PvPvE for tension
During the October 13–20 test, PvE is the better fit for players who want cooperative scavenging, quest progress, and exploration without player-to-player damage. Accept mixed squad sizes, excluded high-tension conditions, and lower overall loot value. Classic PvPvE is the better fit when uncertain human encounters and the full extraction risk are the point. Its matchmaking can tilt probabilities toward similar playstyles, but it cannot promise a friendly lobby. The test gives you a temporary choice; it does not yet establish a permanent PvE mode.
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