The PvE Toggle at a Glance
Test window
One week, starting five days after Frozen Trail. The toggle is removed when it ends.
Player damage
No player-to-player damage in PvE sessions. Solos, Duos and Trios share the same lobby.
Matchmaking rating
Playing PvE does not affect your PvPvE matchmaking rating.
How the test works
- Toggle freely between PvPvE and PvE. Embark is designing it for seamless switching, so a relaxed solo run and a high-tension match can be back to back.
- Mixed squad sizes: Solos, Duos and Trios all matchmake into the same PvE session.
- Excluded conditions: Night Raids, Hidden Bunker, Locked Gate and the new Frigate will not appear in PvE. Embark says they rely on the uncertainty of meeting other players.
- Lower loot: overall loot value is reduced in PvE to compensate for the relative safety.
- Downed crawling is risky: if ARC downs you, moving while downed can make them re-acquire you as a target. Stay still and they ignore you.
- Temporary: after October 20 the toggle is removed and matchmaking returns to normal.
Why Embark Is Doing This
The announcement, signed by executive producer Aleks, opens with some history. Seven years ago ARC Raiders was conceived as a raid-based PvE co-op looter. That version hit significant problems, and the team reset it into the PvPvE extraction game that shipped. What surprised them at launch was who showed up: not only extraction fans, but a broad audience that found its own way to play, to the point that the community nicknamed it the "Extraction (Don't) Shooter".
Embark says it weighs big decisions on three things: what the data says, what players say, and gut feel. On this one, the data is hard to ignore. Here is how the playerbase splits by preferred playstyle:
- Over 70% of friendly players and 40% of PvP players want fewer hostile encounters.
- 51% of surveyed players are interested in a dedicated PvE option.
- Friendly players often try to avoid PvP entirely, and there is ongoing frustration with ratting and camping.
"As creators, we design a game with an intention for how we think it should be played; but after launch, it becomes the players' game."
The number that matters most is not the 51%. It is that the friendly co-op group keeps growing while the pure PvP group stays flat. That trend, not a survey, is what forces the question. And 40% of PvP-preferring players also wanting fewer hostile encounters says a lot about how much of the current PvP is third-partying, camping and ratting rather than the fights people actually queue for.
What PvE Sessions Will Be Like
Embark is clear about scope. The PvE side of the test is meant for scavenging, questing and exploring in relative safety from other players. It is not a test of harder PvE, new ARC behaviour or a separate PvE progression track. It is simply the existing game without hostile Raiders, with two deliberate changes to keep some tension:
- Lower overall loot value, reflecting the lower risk.
- ARC can re-target downed players who crawl. If you are downed, staying still is the safe play until a squadmate reaches you.
The PvE week falls in the second week of Frozen Trail, which makes it a genuinely good time to learn Pendola Pass: routes, the new Bully and Skulker, flash-freeze shelters and the Outposts' crafting loop, without a squad deciding you are the loot. Just remember loot is lower, so it is a scouting and questing queue more than a farming one.
Risks: Economy, Queues and Tension
Embark does not pretend this is free. The first, unlaunched version of the game was PvE, and there is a real risk that a toggle drains some of the tension ARC Raiders is built on. The team says it will watch two things closely:
- Player economy. Friendly players already extract more often and earn more. To balance PvE sessions during the test, PvPvE sessions get slightly higher baseline loot values.
- Matchmaking and queue times. Low-population regions and off-hours may see slightly longer queues. Depending on how many players switch, the quality of some PvPvE sessions could also change, and Embark says it will adjust as needed.
The PvPvE loot bump is the clever part. It gives PvP players a concrete reason to stay in the classic queue during the test rather than just framing PvE as a loss for them. The open question is lobby quality: if a big share of friendly players leave PvPvE for the week, the remaining lobbies get sweatier, which is exactly the experience that drove people to want PvE in the first place. That feedback loop is what the test is really measuring.
What Happens After October 20
The toggle is removed and matchmaking goes back to normal. Embark will review data and feedback and share its findings sometime after the test. Two expectations are set explicitly:
- It may not work. The test is not a promise of a future PvE mode, but it is a sign they are seriously considering one.
- A future version could look very different from what you play in October, and would evolve with player input.
If you have an opinion on PvE in ARC Raiders either way, the most useful thing you can do is play both queues during the test and send feedback. That is what will shape whatever comes next.
PvE Toggle FAQ
When is the ARC Raiders PvE test?
October 13 to 20, 2026, starting five days after the Frozen Trail update.
Is ARC Raiders getting a permanent PvE mode?
Not confirmed. The toggle is removed after the test, and Embark will decide next steps based on data and feedback.
Can other players kill me in PvE?
No. PvE sessions have zero player-to-player damage.
Is loot the same in PvE?
No. Overall loot value is lower in PvE, and PvPvE sessions get slightly higher baseline loot during the test.
Are all maps and conditions available in PvE?
Night Raids, Hidden Bunker, Locked Gate and the Frigate are excluded. Other maps and conditions are available.
Will PvE affect my matchmaking rating?
No. Your PvPvE matchmaking rating is unaffected by PvE sessions.
Everything else arriving in October is in our Frozen Trail First Look breakdown, and the new map has its own Pendola Pass page.
See you Topside, Raiders.
— Arc Raiders Hub