Arc Raiders AI: how the ARC machines actually work
Two different things get called "Arc Raiders AI", and people searching for it usually want one or the other. The first is the machine learning Embark Studios used to teach the ARC machines how to move. The second is the argument about the game's AI-generated voice lines. This page answers both, then points at the detail.
The short version
The machines do not learn you. Embark trained ARC locomotion with machine learning borrowed from robotics research: agents that could not stand up at first learned to walk, climb and recover across an enormous number of attempts. That training finished before the game shipped. Nothing is studying your habits mid-raid. What you fight is physically simulated movement plus a conventional detection and aggro state machine, and the combination is convincing enough that most players assume otherwise.
The voice lines are the part that was AI. Arc Raiders launched with text-to-speech dialogue built from recordings by voice actors who were licensed and paid. Embark has since re-recorded many of those lines with human actors.
What that means when a machine is looking at you
Read the scanner laser. Blue is patrolling and has not noticed anything. Yellow means something got its attention and it is investigating, which is a window, not a death sentence. Red means it has you.
Noise and sight are what move it between those states: gunfire, sprinting in the open, a bullet passing close, another machine in distress, a metal detector or motion sensor you walked through. Your voice is not on that list. Players hear each other over proximity chat, the machines do not hear any of it.
Go deeper
- Arc Raiders Machine Learning: How the ARC Enemy AI Really Works: The ARC do not learn your habits mid raid. Embark used reinforcement learning to teach them to walk, balance and climb. Here is what that changes in a fight.
- ARC Raiders Detection: Scanner Colors and How to Stay Unseen: Blue, yellow and red scanner lights tell you exactly what an ARC machine knows. What alerts them, what does not, and the stealth routine that keeps you unseen.
- Arc Raiders AI Voice Acting: The Controversy, Explained: Arc Raiders shipped with text-to-speech voice lines licensed from paid actors. What Embark said, why players objected, and what changed after launch.
- Arc Raiders ARC Enemies Guide: Every Machine and Weak Point: Every confirmed ARC machine in Arc Raiders by threat tier: behaviour, weak points, the ammo that actually penetrates armor, and the mistake each punishes.
- Arc Raiders ARC AI Patch History: Every Change to the Machines: A dated list of every Arc Raiders patch we can source that changed ARC machines: perception, spawning, target selection and the new units, newest first.
Common questions
Do the ARC enemies in Arc Raiders learn your behaviour?
No. This is the most common misconception about the game. Embark Studios used machine learning to train the ARC machines how to move: how to walk, climb, cross difficult terrain and recover after being knocked down. That training happened before the game shipped and is not running against you during a raid. The machines are not studying your habits and adapting to them. What they do have is physically simulated movement, which makes them react to the world in ways that look improvised, and that is why so many players believe they are learning.
How does the AI in Arc Raiders work?
Two different systems get called AI here and they are worth separating. The first is the machine learning Embark used to train ARC locomotion, borrowed from robotics research, where agents learned to move through trial and error over a very large number of attempts. The second is ordinary game AI: the detection and aggro state machine that decides whether a machine is patrolling, investigating or hunting you. The state machine is what you actually play against moment to moment.
How do ARC machines detect you in Arc Raiders?
By sight and by noise. Gunfire, sprinting in their line of sight, a bullet passing close, another machine in distress, and triggered metal detectors or motion sensors will all draw them. Their scanner laser tells you where you stand: blue means patrolling, yellow means something got their attention and they are investigating, red means they have you. Notably they cannot hear your actual voice, so proximity chat does not give you away to them.
Was Arc Raiders made with AI?
Partly, and the specific part is voice. Arc Raiders launched using text-to-speech voice lines built from recordings by real voice actors who were licensed and paid for that use, which drew significant criticism. Embark's Chief Creative Officer stated that truly generative AI was not used in the game. After launch Embark re-recorded a lot of those lines with human actors, and the CEO publicly acknowledged that a professional actor is better than AI. The situation has changed since release and may change again.
Is Arc Raiders AI the same as ARC Raiders the game?
No. Arc Raiders AI is a free fan-made companion site for the game, with a quest tracker, item database, interactive maps and strategy guides. It is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or connected to Embark Studios, and it is not part of the game's voice-acting story.
Arc Raiders AI is a free fan-made companion site. Not affiliated with Embark Studios.