Yes—ARC Raiders supports both solo play and parties with friends. Solo runs are not a separate campaign or a guaranteed PvE mode: you are a lone Raider in a multiplayer extraction game, facing hostile ARC machines and potentially hostile human Raiders. Whether it is worth your time depends on how much you enjoy high-stakes scavenging, uncertain encounters and extracting without a regular team.
You can also form cross-platform parties on PlayStation, Xbox and PC. Matchmaking attempts to place similar squad sizes and playstyles together, but Embark describes those outcomes as probabilities rather than promises.
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Can you play ARC Raiders solo?
Yes. ARC Raiders is officially a multiplayer extraction adventure, but its design allows a player to queue as a lone ranger. A solo run still uses the shared extraction structure: enter a map, search for resources, deal with ARC machines, decide how much risk to take, and reach extraction before losing what you carried.
The important qualification is that “solo” means solo in your squad, not “alone in a private world.” Other Raiders can be present, and some may cooperate while others attack. The game therefore combines player-versus-environment threats from ARC machines with possible player-versus-player encounters.
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There is no permanent solo-only or PvE-only lobby in standard matchmaking. A solo queue can put you in a match with other solos, duos or larger squads because the system is balancing several goals at once and cannot guarantee a particular lobby composition.
Is ARC Raiders worth playing solo?
Solo play is a good fit if you want an extraction game that does not require coordinating schedules or voice chat. You control the route, the pace and the decision to avoid or confront another Raider. The trade-off is that every fight, revive decision and extraction call falls on one person, while a mistake can cost the run’s haul.
Solo is most suitable for players who:
- Enjoy searching for valuable resources while deciding when to leave safely.
- Prefer self-directed sessions instead of waiting for a regular group.
- Can tolerate encounters that are not fully predictable, including possible attacks by other players.
- Like adapting to both machine threats and human behavior in the same match.
Solo is less suitable for players who:
- Want a conventional story campaign built around scripted missions and guaranteed progression.
- Expect every match to be PvE-only or protected from other Raiders.
- Dislike losing a run’s contents after a failed extraction.
- Prefer the safety and role coverage that a coordinated team provides.
Embark has not published an independent satisfaction survey, solo win rate or percentage showing how often solo players meet other solos. There is therefore no reliable statistic that can turn “worth it” into a universal answer. The practical test is whether you enjoy the extraction loop enough to accept uncertainty and occasional disadvantages against larger groups.
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How solo matchmaking works
Embark says matchmaking pursues both fairness and a more enjoyable mix of encounters. It tries to prioritize equal squad sizes where possible and also considers patterns in how players behave across previous rounds.
Equal squad sizes are prioritized, not guaranteed
Solo players are generally given priority toward other solos, while duos are prioritized toward duos and trios toward trios. These are queue preferences rather than hard partitions. Population, region, queue timing and the available players can all result in a solo encountering a different squad size.
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The same principle applies to playstyle. Embark describes behavior as a continuous spectrum rather than a simple friendly-versus-aggressive switch. The official explanation says: “Similarity is more likely, not guaranteed. You have a higher chance of being matched with Raiders whose past playstyle is similar to yours – and a lower chance of being matched with Raiders whose playstyle is very different. But there is no hard guarantee.”
Your behavior changes likely encounters gradually
A single kill or one unusually cautious round does not immediately move you into a different category of lobby. Embark says repeated behavior shapes future matchmaking over time. A player who alternates between fighting and avoiding other Raiders should expect the system to respond gradually rather than after one match.
The whole squad affects the profile
For a party, matchmaking considers the squad’s combined profile rather than only the party leader’s behavior. One player cannot guarantee a particular lobby by handing leadership to a teammate with a different history.
Crossplay changes the pool, not the friendliness
Turning crossplay on or off changes which players are eligible for your queue and can affect waiting time. Embark does not promise that disabling crossplay produces more cooperative encounters, and enabling it does not guarantee a faster or safer match.
Can you play ARC Raiders with friends?
Yes. The official game listing supports social play across PlayStation, Xbox and PC. On PC, the listed stores are Steam and the Epic Games Store. Console availability includes PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S, and GeForce NOW is also listed as a supported way to access the game.
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Because parties are cross-platform, friends do not need to own the same console family. They do need compatible accounts, current game versions and matching social or crossplay settings where required by their platform.
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Embark’s January 2026 patch notes added open parties. Embark friends and platform friends can join an open party, and a friend can join while the current player is already in a round. The arriving player waits in the lobby for the next match rather than being inserted into the active run.
Invitations are not limited to the party leader. Squadmates can invite people as well, which is useful when the usual host is still occupied or has disconnected.
Solo, duo or trio: what changes?
| Choice | What it offers | What it does not guarantee |
|---|---|---|
| Solo | No party coordination; complete control over route, pace and extraction decisions. | A solo-only lobby, PvE-only match or protection from larger groups. |
| Duo | A friend can share scouting, combat and extraction decisions while retaining a small-group playstyle. | That every opposing team will also be a duo; Embark prioritizes duos but allows mismatches. |
| Trio or larger party | More opportunities to divide tasks, watch flanks and recover from mistakes. | That matchmaking will place you only against the same group size or similar behavior. |
The larger the party, the more important communication and a shared risk tolerance become. A group that wants to fight every nearby Raider may create a different matchmaking history from one that usually avoids contact, and the system evaluates the squad rather than just its leader.
How to troubleshoot slow or failed matchmaking
Embark’s support guidance identifies Crossplay as a common cause when matchmaking takes too long. In a party, the most restrictive member’s Crossplay setting applies to the entire group, so one person with Crossplay disabled can narrow the queue for everyone.
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- Check Crossplay for every party member. If your group is comfortable with cross-platform matchmaking, enable Crossplay for each member. A single restrictive setting can determine the party’s available pool.
- Check the matchmaking region. If Crossplay changes do not solve the problem, verify that your region is not manually limited to a low-population area.
- Set the server to Automatic. On PC, open Gameplay > Server and choose Automatic. On console, open Social, then Settings, then Gameplay > Server, and select Automatic.
- Retry outside quiet hours. A small regional population or an off-peak time can leave the system waiting for an appropriate pool, especially when squad-size priorities are being applied.
These steps can improve queue availability, but they do not change the basic PvPvE rules. A successful match still may contain a different squad size or a player whose behavior is unlike yours.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.A deliberate solo challenge: Solo vs Squad
Experienced solo players have an additional option. Embark’s January 27, 2026 patch notes describe an opt-in Solo vs Squad toggle for solo Raiders at level 40 or above.
When selected, the player enters the Squads queue rather than the regular solo-priority queue. In exchange for taking on that deliberate disadvantage, the player receives a 20% end-of-round XP bonus whether the result is an extraction or a defeat.
This is not a way to force ordinary solo matchmaking. It is a higher-risk choice for a level-40-plus player who specifically wants to test solo decision-making against squads and values the experience bonus even when the run ends unsuccessfully.
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What the October 2026 PvE toggle beta changes
Embark announced a temporary PvE matchmaking toggle test running from October 13 at 11:00 CEST through October 20 at 11:00 CEST, 2026. Treat this as a time-limited beta test, not a permanent replacement for standard matchmaking. Availability and queue behavior can vary by region and time of day.
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Rules announced for the test
- Player-to-player damage is set to zero on the PvE servers.
- Throwable stun and fire items do not work on other players.
- Barricades and ziplines remain unaffected.
- Overall loot value is lower than in the standard experience.
- Squad-size separation is not prioritized in the test.
- Certain major map conditions are omitted.
- ARC enemies can reacquire a downed player after an eight-second grace period if they catch that player moving.
Even with player damage disabled, the test is not a guarantee of an effortless run. ARC enemies remain active, and the different squad-size policy means the lobby may not be organized around equal group counts. Embark also warns that low-population regions and quiet hours may produce longer matchmaking times.
Standard matchmaking continues to apply to PvPvE sessions during the test. If you want the ordinary risk of being attacked by another Raider, use the standard queue rather than assuming the temporary toggle changes every mode.
Choosing the right way to play
Choose solo when independence matters most
Queue alone when you want a flexible session and are comfortable treating every encounter as a decision rather than expecting a protected environment. Start with conservative routes, learn how ARC threats behave, and extract before greed turns a successful run into a total loss.
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Party up when you value shared callouts, divided responsibilities and the ability to recover from a teammate’s mistake. Cross-platform support means the group can combine PlayStation, Xbox and PC players, while open parties make it easier to add people between rounds.
Use the temporary PvE test only for its stated trade-offs
The October 13–20 beta can remove player damage, but it also lowers loot value, changes squad-size priorities and may lengthen queues. It is best understood as a limited experiment for players who want less direct PvP pressure, not as evidence that the permanent game has a PvE-only mode.
Verdict
ARC Raiders is worth playing solo if you want a multiplayer extraction adventure that rewards independent decisions and can accept unpredictable encounters with both machines and Raiders. It is not the right choice if you are looking for a scripted solo campaign or guaranteed PvE safety. When you do have friends, cross-platform parties on PlayStation, Xbox and PC provide the more coordinated experience, but matchmaking still treats squad size and playstyle as priorities rather than guarantees.
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