PSA: ARC Raiders Devs Confirm There Is NO Gear-Based Matchmaking

So you can stop "gear-fearing" your own stash now. Your best kit won't put you in sweatier lobbies.

I’ve seen the panic setting in. The Reddit threads, the Discord chats. "Should I just run a free loadout?" "Am I getting punished for bringing in my purple armor?"

It's the classic extraction game paranoia: "gear fear." We've all been burned by "gear-score-based matchmaking" in other games, and it sucks.

Well, you can finally relax. The ARC Raiders devs have officially put the rumor to bed.

It's Just Solos vs. Squads

In a recent announcement, the team clarified the matchmaking principles.

"While it is true that the team has previously evaluated loot/gear-based as well as other types of matchmaking principles, right now the focus is on maintaining the split between solos and squads to keep those groups on an even playing field whenever possible."

That's it. That's the whole system right now. The only thing the game is checking is if you queued up alone or with a team, and it's trying to keep those groups separate.

This is a massive "W." It means you can go in with your best-in-slot kit and have a chance to run the lobby. It also means you can go in with a "free loadout" and a pistol and have a chance to kill a Chad. The playing field is even.

The Focus is "Fair," Not "Punishing"

The dev post went on to say that the team is "determined to ensure that players have high quality rounds that are varied and interesting, but fair".

"Varied and interesting" is the key phrase here. Gear-based matchmaking is the opposite of that. It just creates two boring, predictable brackets: low-gear pistol-runners vs. low-gear pistol-runners, and high-gear Chads vs. high-gear Chads.

The current system allows for those classic extraction shooter stories. It allows for true risk and reward.

Now, could this change in the "far future," as some are speculating? Maybe. The devs said they did evaluate other systems, and they're going to "continue to monitor how things go".

But for now, their focus is just on letting this amazing game breathe and seeing what we do with it. And I, for one, am glad. So, for god's sake, go use that shiny new weapon you crafted.