ARC Raiders PvE Mode Guide – How It Works, Beta Dates, Rules & What’s Excluded

TL;DR

• ARC Raiders is testing a PvE matchmaking toggle from October 13 to October 20, 2026 — one week only, not a permanent feature.
• Toggle it in the expedition lobby before deploying. Once active, no player can damage any other player in your session.
• Solos, Duos, and Trios all share the same PvE session pool. You can switch freely between PvE and PvPvE between runs.
• Loot value is lower in PvE to compensate for the reduced risk. PvPvE sessions get a slight loot buff during the same test period.
• ARC enemies are still dangerous — and if you’re downed and start crawling, they’ll re-engage you. Stay still to be ignored.
• PvE sessions don’t affect your PvPvE matchmaking rating at all.
• Four content types are excluded: Night Raids, Hidden Bunker, Locked Gate, and the Frigate.
• This is a data-gathering test, not a permanent mode. Embark has been explicit that what comes next depends on what the data shows.
• Separately, China’s client has been testing a Rebellion Incident mode with a traitor-marking system. It’s not in the global build yet.

ARC Raiders is, at its core, a PvPvE extraction shooter — other Raiders can hunt you just as readily as the machines can. But Embark Studios has been watching the data, and what they’re seeing is that a meaningful chunk of the player base wants to focus on the ARC threat without the human wildcard in the mix. So they’re testing it.

The PvE toggle beta runs for one week and gives players the option to drop into raids where nobody can shoot each other. What stays is the ARC threat, the quests, the loot loop — just without the anxiety of checking every corner for another squad. This guide covers exactly how it works, what changes, what doesn’t, what’s off the table entirely, and what the China build has been testing separately that the global playerbase has been watching closely.

ARC Raiders is available on the official ARC Raiders site, PlayStation Store, and Xbox.

What Is the ARC Raiders PvE Mode?

PvE mode is a per-expedition matchmaking toggle that removes all player-versus-player damage from a raid session. You and every other Raider in the instance cannot hurt each other — the only threats are the ARC machines that make every run dangerous regardless.

It’s not a separate game mode with its own queue, rewards track, or progression system. It’s a switch you flip before deploying that changes who you share a map with and what they can do to you. Everything else — quests, exploration, scavenging, looting, extracting — functions the same way it always has.

The mode grew out of a real tension at Embark. ARC Raiders began its life seven years ago as a raid-based PvE co-op looter before the studio reset the concept and rebuilt it as the PvPvE extraction shooter that launched in October 2025. A segment of the community has consistently wanted that original co-op focus back, and the data Embark has been collecting backs that up. The executive producer Aleks Gröndal put it plainly in the announcement post: “We can’t ignore what the data is telling us.”

ARC Raiders PvE Beta Test Dates and Times

The PvE matchmaking toggle beta is a one-week limited test with firm start and end times:

• Start: October 13, 2026 at 11:00 AM CEST (2:00 AM PT / 5:00 AM ET)
• End: October 20, 2026 at 11:00 AM CEST (2:00 AM PT / 5:00 AM ET)

The test runs for exactly seven days. When it ends, the toggle disappears and matchmaking returns to the standard PvPvE format. There is no announced continuation after October 20 — that decision depends entirely on what the data shows during the test week.

The beta launches five days after the Frozen Trail update dropped on October 8, which means the PvE test is running on top of a significant content update. Players will have the new Pendola Pass map, new quests, and Frozen Trail systems active at the same time as the PvE toggle — making it a meaningful window for testing how the mode performs in real conditions with active new content.

How to Enable PvE Mode in ARC Raiders

The process is intentionally simple:

1. Open the expedition lobby before deploying into a raid.
2. Find the PvE/PvPvE toggle in the matchmaking screen.
3. Switch it to PvE.
4. Queue and deploy as normal.

You can switch freely between PvE and PvPvE between runs — finishing a relaxed solo PvE farming session and then flipping back to PvPvE for a high-stakes run is completely supported. The toggle is per-expedition, so you’re not locked into a choice for the whole session. Your PvPvE matchmaking rating is completely unaffected by anything that happens in PvE sessions.

The beta is open to all players — there’s no separate signup or access requirement.

How PvE Mode Plays Differently – Key Rule Changes

No Player-to-Player Damage

The most obvious change: no Raider in a PvE session can damage any other Raider. Full stop. You can’t be shot, you can’t shoot others. The human competition element is entirely off the table, and that shifts the social dynamic considerably. Without the threat of being third-partied on a loot run or ambushed at extraction, the entire tenor of a session changes. Players who might otherwise play aggressively to steal loot have no mechanical reason to do so.

Embark describes the social dynamic they’re studying as “co-op social dynamics” — what happens when Raiders share a map with no incentive to fight each other, only to cooperate against the machines.

ARC Enemy Density Is Higher

With the human threat removed, ARC Raiders doesn’t just become an easy stroll through empty maps. ARC enemy density is higher in PvE sessions to compensate for the missing player pressure. You’ll face more machines across the map, which means the familiar ARC enemy roster — Hydras, Skulkers, Bullies — comes at you in larger numbers.

This matters especially for boss encounters. Without rival players pulling ARC attention, you’re dealing with the full threat yourself. Sentinels, in particular, feel tougher in PvE because there are no other squads creating distractions or splitting aggro.

ARC Behavior While Downed – A Critical Difference

In standard PvPvE, when you’re downed, ARC enemies actually ignore you. They don’t follow up on a downed Raider — the assumption is that other players are the ongoing threat. This gives you a window to crawl away toward teammates for a revive without worrying about the machines finishing you off.

In PvE, that changes entirely. ARC enemies will re-engage a downed player who starts moving. If you crawl, they come back for you. The only safe play when downed in PvE is to stay completely still and wait for your squad to reach you. The moment you crawl, you paint yourself as an active target and risk being sent back to Speranza almost immediately.

This is probably the most important mechanical difference to internalize before your first PvE run. The muscle memory from PvPvE — crawl away to a safer spot while downed — will get you killed in PvE.

Loot Value Is Reduced

PvE sessions carry a lower overall loot value compared to PvPvE. Embark is explicitly acknowledging the risk trade-off: a session with no player threat is a safer session, and safer sessions yield less reward. The exact reduction hasn’t been detailed down to percentages, but the principle is straightforward — the danger of other Raiders is priced into the loot economy, and removing it means the payout adjusts accordingly.

To balance this across the player base during the test, PvPvE sessions will have slightly higher baseline loot values for the duration of October 13–20. Players staying in the standard mode get a small bonus, while PvE runners trade some of that ceiling for a much calmer run environment.

For players focused on efficient farming, this is worth weighing carefully. PvE removes the risk of losing your run to another Raider, but the ceiling on what you take home is lower. For loot-dense farming strategies, see our complete loot table farming guide and blueprint farming spots guide — both are relevant for planning which zones to prioritize.

PvE vs PvPvE – Full Comparison

• Other players: None (PvE) vs. Multiple squads (PvPvE)
• Player damage: Disabled completely (PvE) vs. Full (PvPvE)
• ARC density: Higher (PvE) vs. Standard (PvPvE)
• Loot value: Reduced (PvE) vs. Slightly boosted during test (PvPvE)
• XP rate: Same (both)
• Quest availability: Most quests available (PvE) vs. All (PvPvE)
• Downed behavior: ARC re-engages if you crawl (PvE) vs. ARC ignores downed players (PvPvE)
• Matchmaking rating impact: None (PvE) vs. Affects rating (PvPvE)
• Squad types in session: Solos, Duos, Trios mixed (PvE) vs. Standard (PvPvE)

What’s Excluded From ARC Raiders PvE Mode

Not everything in ARC Raiders translates cleanly into a no-PvP context. Embark has excluded four content types from the PvE test entirely — all of them built around high-tension encounters where the presence of other players is baked into the design:

• Night Raids — the reduced visibility and heightened tension of Night Raids are specifically designed around the full PvPvE threat mix.
• Hidden Bunker — the Hidden Bunker event involves contested access and timing that doesn’t translate to a co-op context. See our Hidden Bunker guide for how it works in standard mode.
• Locked Gate — same reasoning; high-tension competitive content built around the risk of other players.
• The Frigate — the Frozen Trail endgame raid is explicitly excluded from PvE. The Frigate is designed as a large-group cooperative challenge with the full PvPvE environment active. See our ARC Frigate complete guide for how the full raid works.

Everything else — standard maps, regular quests, exploration, normal extraction — is available in PvE mode. That covers the broad majority of what most players do in any given session.

What PvE Mode Is Good For

PvE excels for specific types of sessions. If your goal involves consistency, learning, or casual farming rather than confrontation, it removes the biggest unpredictable variable from the equation:

• Learning new maps without interruption. Pendola Pass is brand new with Frozen Trail. Exploring it in PvE means you can take your time understanding the layout, key locations, and extraction routes without another squad ending your run mid-discovery.
• Quest grinding. Many quests require interacting with specific objects, reaching certain areas, or completing objectives that take time. Doing that without worrying about being third-partied mid-quest is significantly smoother. Our complete quests list covers everything you might be working through.
• Resource farming with no competition. Farming materials like synthesized fuel, cooling fans, humidifiers, or rusted gears is much more predictable when nobody’s contesting the same loot spots.
• Practicing boss fights. Attempting the Harvester raid, working on Leaper timing, or learning the Sentinel patrol pattern is easier when you’re not also managing player threats simultaneously. See our Harvester raid guide for strategy tips.
• Playing as a new or returning player. Getting back up to speed after a break, or just learning the fundamentals without the stress of constant PvP pressure, is exactly what PvE was designed to support.

The catch to keep in mind: the higher ARC density and the changed downed-state behavior mean PvE is still a combat-active experience. It’s calmer, not easy. Bring the right gear — good anti-ARC weapons, plenty of heals, and solid shield rechargers. Our tips and tricks guide and best early skills guide are worth reviewing before your first run.

Is the ARC Raiders PvE Mode Permanent?

Not yet — and Embark has been explicitly clear about this. The executive producer Aleks Gröndal stated directly in the announcement: “This test is not a promise that there will be a PvE mode in the future.”

When the test ends on October 20, the toggle disappears and matchmaking returns to normal PvPvE. What happens after that depends on what the data shows: player participation rates, how the loot economy behaved, matchmaking queue times across regions, and what feedback Embark collects during the week.

The fact that Embark chose to run this test at all — especially framing it around data they “can’t ignore” — suggests the player demand for PvE is real and they’re taking it seriously. But a limited beta and a confirmed permanent mode are two different things, and it’s worth being clear-eyed about that going in.

The China “Rebellion Incident” Mode – What It Is and Why It Matters

Separate from the global PvE toggle, the Chinese client of ARC Raiders — co-developed with Tencent — has been running a closed beta that surfaced a more elaborate take on the PvE concept.

The mode is called Rebellion Incident. Its baseline setup is genuinely close to full PvE: friendly fire is disabled by default, difficulty is reduced, and resources are more abundant than in standard sessions. However, the twist is that any player can voluntarily choose to “rebel” — the moment they do, the entire map gets an announcement that a rebel is somewhere in the lobby, and the rebel is flagged with a red marker on the compass and map for everyone to see and hunt down.

It’s essentially ARC Raiders’ version of The Division’s Dark Zone, where betrayal is always possible but comes with a public bounty attached. Players who want a peaceful farming run can have it, and players who want the PvP tension can opt into it on their own terms — but they pay the price of being a marked target the moment they do.

The Chinese beta also surfaced two other conditions that haven’t reached the global build:

• Dual Boss (Double King/Queen): Both the Queen and the Matriarch spawn on the same map simultaneously, with loot drops landing at random locations. Essentially a massive difficulty spike for players who want the hardest possible PvE challenge.
• Safe Zone: Another mode spotted in the Chinese beta, though details are limited.

These Chinese-exclusive conditions haven’t been confirmed for the global version. The Rebellion Incident in particular drew significant attention from the global ARC Raiders community — the reaction from many players was essentially “this is the PvE mode people have been waiting for.” Whether Embark brings any of these mechanics to the global build is unknown, but the fact that they’re testing them at all suggests the framework exists to do it.

ARC Raiders PvE Tips – How to Make the Most of the Beta

• Don’t crawl when downed. This is the single most important adjustment. Stay completely still and let your squad reach you. Moving re-flags you as a target for the ARC and will end your run fast.
• Adjust for higher ARC density. Bring more ammo than you think you’ll need, and don’t underestimate patrols. Maps that felt manageable in PvPvE might have noticeably thicker ARC presence in PvE sessions.
• Use PvE to finish quest chains you’ve been putting off. Multi-step quests that require accessing contested areas, specific loot rooms, or vulnerable objectives are much easier to complete without player interference. Check the full quest list and identify what you’ve been procrastinating on.
• Farm resource-heavy items efficiently. With no competition for specific spawn points, targeted material farms become highly predictable. Stack multiple farming goals in the same run to maximize time.
• Don’t over-rely on anti-Raider weapons. In PvPvE, meta loadouts balance anti-ARC and anti-player effectiveness. In PvE, you can lean fully into ARC-focused weapons like the Hullcracker without worrying about being under-geared against other Raiders. For dedicated anti-ARC loadout ideas, see the Amplified Weapons guide.
• Experiment with stenciling your weapons. A PvE run with no death risk from other players is a lower-stakes environment to try out your new weapon stencils without the anxiety of losing an expensive cosmetic to a PvP ambush.
• Use PvE to learn the Reward Pass Feats. Many Feats are achievable through normal raiding activity — completing them in PvE is a low-pressure way to tick off Feat progress while also doing the things you wanted to do anyway. See the Reward Pass guide for which Feats to prioritize.
• Manage your backpack space deliberately. Without the threat of losing your loot to another player, you might be tempted to stay longer and fill every slot. That’s fine, but make sure you still leave room for valuable finds. Our stash and backpack space guide covers how to maximize carry capacity.

ARC Raiders PvE Mode FAQ