ARC Raiders Kill Matriarch ＆ The Queen

The developers have been trying to patch their expedition system. After the third expedition, they added a new trader, Nomadic Envoys. This trader not only offers extra stash space but also sells a special expedition vault storage, allowing you to store up to 5 items that will carry over into your next expedition.

However, now might not be the best time to trade with him. There are some flaws in both the goods he sells and the design of the expedition vault storage. Let's take a closer look at what Nomadic Envoys specifically offer and what their problems are.

Nomadic Envoys Guide  

To access this new trader, simply go to Traders interface in the main menu, then select Nomadic Envoys at the bottom right. All exchangeable items will be listed there. Note that you can only visit this trader after reaching level 25. Players who haven't hit that level yet should focus on leveling up first.

Stash Expansion  

One highly practical upgrade he provides is Stash Expansion. Using this feature permanently increases your backpack by 12 stash slots. You'll need to submit 200,000 ARC Raiders coins along with several high-quality materials:

• Queen Reactor  
• Matriarch Reactor  
• Bombardier Cell  
• Assessor Matrix  
• Turbine Compressor  
• Leaper Pulse Unit  
• Bastion Cell  
• Vaporizer Regulator  
• Rocketeer Driver  

If you've gathered all the above items and coins, you can use the auto select function to quickly submit and complete the transaction.

Expedition Vault  

Another important upgrade is Expedition Vault. Redeeming this adds one extra slot to your expedition vault. Its function is that after you finish an expedition and return, any item placed in the vault will be available for your next raider to use.

In other words, it lets you preserve ARC Raiders blueprints or items after an expedition reset - like a safe pocket. Each expedition vault slot carries the same value as Stash Expansion. Keep in mind that each submission unlocks only one expedition vault slot, whereas Stash Expansion unlocks all 12 slots at once.

Weekly Rotating Items  

Nomadic Envoys also brings unlockable cosmetic outfits, decorations, blueprints, and other items, each with different requirements:

Mirage Outfit: 

• 500,000 coins
• Same material requirements as Stash Expansion

Backpack Charm / Emote: 

• 5× Portable TV
• 5× Headphones
• 5× Projector

Weapon Blueprint (Tempest): 

• Any Weapon
• 1,000,000 coins
• Same material requirements as Stash Expansion

ARC Enemy Part (Turbine Compressors):  

• 1× Alien Duck
• 1× Rubber Duck
• 1× Flashy Duck

Legendary Project Item (Ship Model):  

• Any Weapon
• 100,000 coins
• Same material requirements as Stash Expansion

Epic Project Item (Ship Model):  

• Any Weapon
• 30,000 coins
• Same material requirements as Stash Expansion

Raider Tokens:  

• 150,000 coins
• Same material requirements as Stash Expansion

All of the above will be replaced when the weekly rotation happens. But don't worry too much about missing something important, because they will obviously cycle back sooner or later. What you really need to consider is how to gather all those materials and coins.

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Core Issues with The New Trader  

The main problems with the new trader are already clear: most of the goods are overvalued. Even players who don't participate in expeditions might not have enough materials. For those who do take part in expeditions but currently lack coins and materials, Nomadic Envoys are basically out of reach.

Take Tempest blueprint as an example. Even though it's an epic blueprint, you would need to invest a huge amount of time farming Queen and Matriarch - the toughest bosses. You have to cooperate with other players to take them down, and even then you might not get their Reactors, let alone all the other epic materials.

Instead of exhausting yourself collecting materials, following a guide to directly find Tempest blueprint might actually be more efficient.

That said, not everything is bad news. The developers have explicitly stated that during the first week, they will allow players to test one stash expansion and 5 expedition vault slots. The goal is to gather initial feedback and use that opportunity to adjust the costs before adding more slots later. Therefore, it's best not to acquire anything just yet. After the development team sees the community's response to this week's pricing, the costs are likely to go down next week.

Another Mechanic Flaw   

When upgrading a stash slot, you have to submit all the required ARC components at once, unlike with projects where you can contribute gradually over time. This means that to unlock the last vault slot, which demands a value as high as 1,000,000 coins' worth of materials, you would first need to free up 91 stash slots just to hold enough Queen Reactors.

Even if you use Vaporizer Regulators to save space, you'd still need to stockpile 56 stacks of those cores to complete the transaction - making an already difficult situation even worse for players with limited stash space.

The development team might lower the costs after receiving feedback and might also design a feature that allows us to submit ARC components one by one, instead of forcing a one-time transaction. But for now, that feature hasn't been implemented. So the only thing players can do at the moment is to unlock extra stash space first, then keep accumulating ARC components while waiting for the trader's costs to drop.

Nomadic Envoys serve as a stable resource sink and a weekly goal. Whether you want to expand your stash, carry over expedition items, or collect limited-edition cosmetics, you can visit this new trader regularly. However, given that most exchanges offer poor value for what they cost, there's no need to rush into any trades. It's wiser to wait for the developers to make reasonable adjustments to the valuation.

Although ARC Raiders is unlikely to release monthly updates within the next six months, the optimization of core game mechanics remains an ongoing priority. So, a developer note regarding adjustments to the matchmaking system was released this week.

Given the game's inherent PvPvE nature, ARC Raiders player base has historically and organically divided into two camps: those who welcome high-intensity PvP encounters during raids, and those who prefer to avoid them.

Consequently, to ensure that a wider range of players can enjoy their ideal combat experience, the development team has been continuously refining the matchmaking system, specifically by implementing a mechanism based on player aggression.

So, what exactly do these latest adjustments entail? And will they succeed in further enhancing your overall match experience in ARC Raiders? Let's take a closer look.

Deep dive into the matchmaking mechanics

Simply put, the game's matchmaking logic is predicated on your level of aggression, or, more broadly, your playstyle.

For instance, if you prefer a more casual approach to the game, the system aims to match you with other players who share that same mindset within the same raid session.

However, playstyle is not a binary, black-and-white concept. In other words, it is not merely a simple dichotomy between pure PvP matches and pure PvE matches; the reality is far more nuanced.

To account for this complexity, ARC Raiders utilizes a proprietary style spectrum. When you are queued for a match, the system attempts to assemble a lobby of players whose styles closely align with yours, specifically, those who fall within the same specific segment of this spectrum.

Naturally, this style classification system is primarily categorized based on varying levels of aggression. Broadly speaking, these categories include cooperative players, hybrid players, and PvP-focused players.

As for how your specific level of aggression is determined, the system primarily evaluates the amount of damage you have dealt to other players across your most recent matches.

However, this serves merely as a baseline classification; after all, there is no telling when a typically casual player might suddenly decide to go on a rampage. But then again, a little unpredictability is part of the game's charm!

Therefore, ARC Raiders matchmaking system can essentially be summarized by two core principles: ensuring a high probability of matching you with Raiders who share a similar playstyle, and ensuring that your in-game actions directly influence the matchmaking environment you encounter in future sessions.

One important caveat to note, however: if there are insufficient players in the lobby to fill a match during your specific queuing window, the system may be forced to broaden its search parameters.

This could result in you being matched with players whose playstyles do not align as closely with your own.

What specific changes are being made?

The recent adjustments to the game's matchmaking system do not involve adding entirely new elements; instead, they focus on optimizing existing features to address known shortcomings.

First, the system will now more intelligently distinguish whether your aggressive actions toward other players constitute self-defense or an act of provocation.

This allows the system to assess your level of aggression accurately, ensuring you are not mistakenly categorized as a player who actively seeks out PvP combat.

This change is crucial because, even in matches with a generally friendly atmosphere, you may still encounter Raiders who enjoy preying on others. It would be truly unfair to be lumped in with such players simply because you had to defend yourself.

The second adjustment involves reducing the weight assigned to low-activity rounds within your historical gameplay profile.

These rounds are defined as those involving minimal interaction on the ground, for instance, rounds that end almost immediately due to a quick respawn followed by a surrender.

Typically, such rounds occur due to unforeseen circumstances or accidents; consequently, if they were given too much weight, they could distort the data and fail to accurately reflect your true gameplay style.

These changes have already been implemented in the live game environment. Furthermore, based on player feedback, the game plan to release additional updates and refinements to the matchmaking system in the future.

Addressing matchmaking rumors

Since mechanics are not tangible in-game objects, unlike ARC enemies or weapons, they are prone to becoming the subject of vague speculation that eventually evolves into full-blown rumors.

Taking this opportunity to announce the recent optimizations, ARC Raiders would like to directly address several common rumors regarding our matchmaking system to ensure you are not misled.

The first misconception was effectively debunked the moment we introduced the concept of the spectrum. It is now evident that matchmaking lobbies do not fall into purely friendly or purely hostile, they exist along a continuous spectrum.

Furthermore, the notion that a single PvP kill will automatically shunt you into a PvP-exclusive lobby is completely false. The matchmaking system's data analysis relies on your performance over a sustained period, not on isolated, instantaneous events.

A related rumor suggests that the game intends to introduce pure PvE servers. As long as ARC Raiders remains a PvPvE title, such a feature simply cannot be implemented.

In fact, it is precisely the unpredictability introduced by human players that keeps the game engaging and fresh; a version of Topside inhabited solely by ARC entities would be a dull and lifeless place.

Also Read: ARC Raiders Patch 1.29.0 Breakdown: New Trader, Rascal Launcher, Weapon Buffs & Stash Upgrade Guide

Finally, players have expressed concern that the feedback prompts, which appear after every match, might directly influence their matchmaking results for the very next round.

Please rest assured that this is not the case. The feedback you provide is used solely to help the developers identify general trends and inform future design decisions; it has absolutely no direct bearing on the specific matchmaking parameters for your upcoming games.

Furthermore, gear rarity determines only your combat power; it does not influence matchmaking. Similarly, simply looting gear from fallen players will not cause your matchmaking to be weighted toward PvP encounters.

When it comes to team-based matchmaking, the system takes into account the aggressiveness profile of every member of the squad, rather than relying solely on the leader's playstyle.

Finally, the release of new patches and updates will not trigger a re-evaluation of your playstyle that could alter your matchmaking parameters; nor will your choice to enable or disable cross-platform play have any such effect.

In short, aside from whether you directly eliminate other players during a match, virtually no other factors will influence the calculation and operation of the matchmaking system, so you can rest assured!

As the fundamental basis for initiating matches, optimizing the matchmaking system is essential for fundamentally safeguarding the combat experience for a wider player base; therefore, regular updates are indeed a necessity.

If you haven't yet experienced these changes firsthand, why not hop into the game and queue up for a match in Topside to see for yourself?