PvP Combat Guide for Arc Raiders

Arc Raiders PvP per the wiki: matchmaking follows your past play, a downed Raider can be finished or revived, and death costs all but your safe pockets.

Published 28 March 2026. Updated 4 November 2026.

How PvP Works in Arc Raiders

The wiki's Getting Started page calls Arc Raiders a Player vs Environment vs Player game, so the other Raiders on a map can fight you as well as the ARC machines. It says that when you die you lose everything you were carrying except what is in your safe pockets, and that you still earn experience for the round. It also says some of its details come from its editors' experience rather than official sources, so this guide names the page wherever it leans on it.

Matchmaking Follows How You Play

The wiki's Matchmaking page, which cites Embark's notes on the system, says your behavior in earlier rounds weighs on who you meet, on a continuous scale, and that there are no aggressive or friendly lobbies. It says similar play styles are more likely to meet but never guaranteed, and that one shot or kill does not move you at once, because the change is gradual. It says your loadout does not affect matchmaking, looting a knocked out player does not, and defending yourself is not treated the same as starting a fight, though it notes Embark does not say shooting back has no effect at all. It also says each squad member's play style affects matchmaking equally, which the team raid guide covers with what revives a downed squadmate. It quotes Live Update 1.36.0: your play style is now tracked separately for Solo, Duo and Trio rounds.

What the Weapon Pages Show

This guide names no best gun, because the pages it cites do not rank weapons for PvP. The Arpeggio vs Tempest comparison shows what to compare in two Assault Rifles, a 3-round burst against fully automatic fire, figure by figure from their wiki pages.

What Gives You Away

Getting Started says breaching anything is incredibly loud and attracts attention, that birds flying away as you approach can alert Raiders and nearby ARC, and that the noise of an arriving lift often attracts ARC and players alike. The Tagging Grenade's own item text says it tags Raiders and ARC enemies in an area so you can briefly track their location.

When You Meet Another Raider

Getting Started says you can talk to another Raider on a microphone, use the emoji wheel's phrases such as "Don't shoot!", or rapidly flash your light as a sign of peaceful intentions. It also says that if you are aggressive (shooting other players) you will spawn into more aggressive games, which the Matchmaking page frames as a gradual tendency, never a guarantee.

Shields, Healing and Smoke

By their item text, a Light Shield blocks a small portion of incoming damage with no cost to mobility, a Medium Shield a medium portion at a moderate cost, and a Heavy Shield a large portion at a significant cost. Getting Started says shields reduce the damage you take rather than acting as a second health bar, and that using Bandages or a Shield Recharger takes a few seconds in which you cannot hold a weapon, which it calls not something to try in the middle of a fight. It says to use Bandages first, because health is the critical factor. The Smoke Grenade's wiki page says visibility past the cloud is blocked for both ARC and Raiders.

If You Go Down

Getting Started says a downed Raider can still crawl, can activate an extraction or go through Raider Hatches, and is no longer attacked by ARC enemies. It says a nearby Raider may finish you off and take your weapons and loot, or sometimes revive you with a Defibrillator.