Arc Raiders' Flashpoint update is here, and as well as adding new weapons and unleashing Shredders upon all of the maps, Embark has made a change to matchmaking that's already going down very well.
As detailed in the Flashpoint patch notes, one highlight of the update is that "players who build their own loadout are more likely to join fresh servers." Embark elaborates on this in a dev note, saying: "As part of an ongoing look at free loadout usage and how it impacts the game, we're going to bias the matchmaking to put players with custom loadouts into fresh servers."
Embark notes that this isn't a "guarantee, as map choice, time of day, and region will still affect the number of players available to matchmake." What's more, it adds: "This does have an effect on overall matchmaking times so we'll be keeping a close eye on it."
The devs continue: "Free Loadouts are primarily meant as a safety net for a player's personal economy. With these kits, those who play carefully should have enough to build themselves back up, accomplish a few tasks, or make a bit of progress."
Arc Raiders' free loadouts are incredibly useful if you want to jump into a game with some basic gear and weapons without risking your valuable loot, but that lack of risk also allows players to go charging in, all guns blazing, with no real consequences. You can understand why some folks are stunned that a matchmaking option like this wasn't already a thing, but hey, better late than never – this change should, in theory, see folks with custom loadouts load in at the start of a game, with free loadouts more likely to load in later.
Huge!! Finally! from r/ArcRaiders
"Huge!! Finally!" one player reacts on Reddit, sharing the patch note. "Why was it not that way in the first place, seems insane," another comments.
"I see this as an absolute win," one fan writes in a separate thread. "Fucking *FINALLY*. This is great," agrees another. "They really cooked with this one!" another comment adds.
Some wonder exactly how this is going to play out in practice, though. "I still think the concept of free loadouts will be the same though. As in people will spam them, and they will be scavengers," one player muses. "Only caveat now is that realistically kitted players will be fighting/looting probably at least 5 mins before they can get in. Hopefully this change alongside the crafting help will enable more people to be kitted, and (as Embark said) free kits are mainly used to help boost their economy."
With the change live now, I'm sure we're going to be finding out very soon if this matchmaking tweak is as good as it first appears.
