ARC Raiders update 1.36.0 now tracks playstyle separately across solo, duo, and trio rounds, changing how matchmaking reads aggressive squads and peaceful solo runs.
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Update 1.36.0 stops one squad size from defining your whole account
ARC Raiders update 1.36.0 has changed one of the most sensitive parts of extraction shooter matchmaking: how the game reads your behavior when you move between solo, duo, and trio play. Embark Studios says the game now tracks your playstyle separately for Solo, Duo, and Trio rounds, then matches you accordingly. The update went live on July 7, according to the official ARC Raiders patch notes.
The tension is obvious for anyone who plays extraction shooters differently depending on the stack. A solo player may avoid fights, finish quests, loot quietly, and disengage when possible. That same player, with two coordinated friends and comms, may hunt gunshots and force PvP. Before this update, Embark says those patterns could overlap. A friendly solo profile could push a player toward more cooperative trio rounds, while PvP-heavy trio sessions could push that same player into more PvP-focused solo rounds. Changing ARC Raiders squad size meant the system needed time to adjust.
That is the specific problem update 1.36.0 targets. This is not a new mode, a ranked ladder, or a promise of safe solo lobbies. It is a matchmaking data separation change. For players searching for ARC Raiders matchmaking changes, the important confirmed detail is that solo, duo, and trio behavior are now treated as separate playstyle tracks.
How ARC Raiders playstyle tracking now works across squad sizes
Embark’s official explanation is direct: ARC Raiders now tracks playstyle separately for Solo, Duo, and Trio rounds. The studio’s example describes a player who is friendly while solo but has two squadmates who prefer to dominate in trios PvP. Under the previous setup, those behaviors could bleed into each other. Under the new setup, Embark says there is “no overlap,” and the same separation applies to Duo rounds.
That gives each squad size its own behavioral profile. If you usually play solo as a quiet scavenger, quest runner, or resource gatherer, your solo matchmaking should be based on that solo pattern. If you usually play trio matches as a PvP squad, your trio matchmaking should be based on that trio pattern. If your duo sessions sit somewhere in between, duo gets its own track too.
What Embark has not detailed, at least in the provided patch notes, is the math behind the system. The studio does not list the exact signals used to define playstyle, such as player kills, damage dealt, proximity behavior, extraction choices, voice or emote interactions, quest completion, or avoidance patterns. It also does not state how quickly a player’s profile updates after changing behavior inside a given squad size. So the confirmed change is the separation of data by squad size. The unconfirmed part is how aggressively the system weighs each action and how transparent those weights will ever be to players.
Solo players get the cleanest benefit, but not a PvP shield
Solo players are the most exposed group in an extraction shooter because every bad read by matchmaking hits harder. You have no revive safety net from squadmates, no second angle watching a door, and no teammate to trade a kill after a bad peek. If you were running trios aggressively with friends, then came back later for solo quests, the old overlap described by Embark could make the solo experience feel like you were paying for your squad’s earlier appetite for fights.
The ARC Raiders solo duo squad split should reduce that whiplash. A player who usually solos peacefully should no longer be dragged toward more hostile solo matchmaking because of PvP-heavy trio sessions, based on Embark’s explanation. That is a practical improvement for people who use solo runs to finish contracts, farm specific materials, learn routes, or decompress after stacked matches.
It does not mean solo play becomes protected PvE. ARC Raiders remains built around the pressure of other Raiders and ARC threats on the surface. Embark’s notes say the game will match you according to your separately tracked playstyle, not that it will remove hostile players from solo rounds. If you are a solo who regularly ambushes extracts, chases shots, and wipes lobbies, the system should read that solo behavior as yours. The cleaner expectation is consistency, not comfort.
Duos and trios can specialize without poisoning the other queues
For duos and full squads, the change is less about protection and more about freedom to play the stack honestly. A duo can develop its own identity without being pulled too hard by solo habits or trio chaos. A full trio can commit to PvP pacing without worrying that every later solo run will be matched as if the player still has two guns behind them.
That matters competitively because squad size changes the entire tempo of a fight. In trios, a team can wide swing, bait revives, hold exits, and cover reloads in ways a solo cannot. Duos tend to live in the middle, with enough coordination to pressure but fewer bodies to lock a space down. If ARC Raiders matchmaking is trying to read player intent, then combining those contexts into one account-level profile was always going to create noisy data.
The update should make squad-size swapping cleaner for groups with mixed habits. A player can be a low-noise solo looter, a measured duo partner, and a bloodthirsty trio fragger without forcing the game to average those identities together. The expectation, if the system works as Embark describes, is better lobby fit per queue. The risk is that players will now notice each queue’s personality more sharply, especially if certain squad sizes have smaller or more aggressive player pools at particular times.
The matchmaking change lands inside a broader 1.36.0 patch
Update 1.36.0 is not only a matchmaking pass. Embark’s official patch notes list Expedition 4, Trials Season 5, the Solo, Duo, and Trio Matchmaking change, an ARC Raiders and THE FINALS crossover, a Triumph Set store update, and a store redesign. MP1st reported that the update is live on all platforms and that console players see it as ARC Raiders update 1.000.047.
The patch also makes several combat and loot changes that affect surface pacing. Embark says the value of loot dropped by ARC Turbines has been significantly increased because player feedback said the reward was too low for the effort required to take one down. The update also fixes an issue where ARC Turbines could disappear right after spawning. For players deciding whether to engage a high-effort ARC target, that changes the risk-reward calculation.
There are also encounter fixes. Embark says knockback from Queen and Matriarch stomps will no longer go through walls, which should reduce cheap-feeling damage or displacement during heavy ARC fights. Dropped weapons now display installed mods, a small but useful readability upgrade when looting under pressure. Separately, iXBT reported that Embark has said it is investigating Xbox console crashes and looking into PC FPS drops, so technical stability remains an area to watch even as matchmaking gets a cleaner structure.
What to watch before judging the new ARC Raiders matchmaking
The practical advice is simple: judge the update by squad size, not by your account as a whole. If you play solo quietly, run several solo rounds the way you actually want to play and see whether the lobby rhythm stabilizes. If your trio is built for PvP, test that queue separately. Duo players should do the same instead of assuming the system is still averaging every mode together.
The biggest unanswered questions are still under the hood. Embark has confirmed separate ARC Raiders playstyle tracking for solo, duo, and trio rounds, but it has not published thresholds, categories, decay timing, or a player-facing way to inspect your profile. That means players can feel the effects before they can prove the system’s exact logic. Expect community testing to focus on whether aggressive trio sessions truly stop affecting solo lobbies and whether friendly solo behavior can remain stable over time.
For now, update 1.36.0 is a meaningful matchmaking correction because it targets a real extraction shooter friction point: the same player often has different risk tolerance depending on squad size. Solo, duo, and trio ARC Raiders are different games in terms of information, confidence, and trade potential. Embark’s new separation finally treats them that way, while leaving the hard proof to live-match behavior over the coming days.