Solo Guide

You can play ARC Raiders solo by setting Fill Squad to Off and pressing Play. Embark tracks your solo playstyle separately since update 1.36.0, and it tries to match equal squad sizes, but solo gets no built-in compensation and squads can still appear.

You can play ARC Raiders solo: set Fill Squad to Off, then press Play, as Shacknews explains (Nov 6, 2025); there is no separate solo mode button. Embark prioritizes equal squad sizes where possible (May 20, 2026), so most of your opposition should also be alone, though the wording is not a promise. Solo gets no built-in compensation such as a free revive. What it does give you is quiet, a full share of the loot, and a playstyle record of its own.

Over-the-shoulder view of a helmeted Raider among tall trees and ferns, a second person standing far down a misty path. — A Raider with a heavy backpack and a rifle looks across a sunlit forest toward a distant figure in an official Steam store screenshot of ARC Raiders Embark Studios

Quick facts

How to go solo	Fill Squad: Off, then Play
Solo mode button	None
Playstyle tracking	Separate for solo, duo and trio since 1.36.0, Jul 7, 2026
Squad-size matching	Equal sizes "where possible" (May 20, 2026)
Solo vs. Squads mode	Added in 1.13.0, removed in 2.0
Revive bonus for solo	None (Shacknews, Nov 2025)

Sources: Shacknews, Nov 6, 2025; Embark's 1.36.0 notes, Jul 7, 2026; Notes on The Matchmaking System, May 20, 2026; Headwinds notes, Jan 27, 2026; Frozen Trail notes, Oct 8, 2026.

The rules for solo players

Playstyle is tracked per squad size. Since 1.36.0 there is "no overlap": you can be a friendly solo and a PvP trio player, and changing size changes the record the game reads. Similar players are more likely, not guaranteed, and it is a scale rather than friendly and aggressive buckets. More on Matchmaking.

Solo vs. Squads is gone. That option launched in 1.13.0 for level 40 and above with 20% more XP and was removed in 2.0 because it lacked "a proper incentive." Older guides that tell you to use it are out of date.

Queue teaming is targeted. Embark said on Sep 30, 2026 that it keeps known teaming groups apart: five days in, 85% fewer players were doing it, and spoiled raids fell from about 1 in 50 to 1 in 300. Teaming with a stranger you meet through proximity chat stays allowed; arranging it before the raid to exploit a solo lobby does not (Anti-Cheat and Fair Play).

A PvE lobby is not on offer. The PvE toggle was a test, Oct 13 to 20, 2026; it has ended, and as of Oct 31, 2026 Embark has not said whether it returns (PvE Toggle).

Tips

Assume backup. Shacknews's rule is to assume any Raider has friends nearby, since you cannot tell a solo from a scout at a glance.

17:17 Be hard to hear. Game Rant says to set voice chat and emotes to Team Only, hold G and press K on PC to change who hears them, and disable voice when alone (Nov 2025). The other side of that choice is that speaking first can stop a fight, so turn proximity chat back on if you want to talk your way past people (PvP Guide).

9:13 Do not start loud things. The same guide warns that breaching probes carries about 1 km, and that Hornets, Wasps and Rocketeers draw Raiders. Couriers and ARC remains are quieter.

6:50 Carry a Raider Hatch Key. It is your silent exit from a bad spot, with no alarm and no timer, and solo players have no one watching their back during an elevator's alarm. On Pendola Pass the gondola needs a Transceiver, and ARC reacts to it since 2.2.0. See Extraction and Raider Hatches.

4:58 Plan to be alone when down. No squadmate is coming. Skills built for revives lose value: KeenGamer says Downed But Determined is worth nothing solo (Oct 8, 2026). Augments that help you get yourself up, such as Looting Mk.3 (Survivor) (PC Gamer, Nov 2025), do more. See Best Builds. The clip shows what the skill does: more time for a teammate to reach you.

Pick fights you can leave. Keep distance from anyone standing still and avoid flares, which can be traps. Big machines such as the Queen and Matriarch are group work; let others start them.

Solo or squad

	Solo	Squad of three
Loot	All yours	Not shared automatically; agree first (KeenGamer, Nov 2025)
Revives	None unless a stranger helps	Squadmates; Back from the Brink achievement for ten
Noise	Low	KeenGamer says squad movement is noisier
Matchmaking record	Solo record	Trio record
Defense	Your own	One squadmate hit counts your whole squad as defending (1.39.0 test)

Sources: KeenGamer, Nov 10, 2025; Steam achievements, read Oct 31, 2026; Embark's 1.36.0 and 1.39.0 notes.

Frequently asked questions

Can you play ARC Raiders solo? Yes. In ARC Raiders set Fill Squad to Off, then Play; there is no separate solo mode button.

Do solo players in ARC Raiders fight squads? They can. Embark says it prioritizes equal squad sizes "where possible," which is not a guarantee, and the optional Solo vs. Squads mode was removed in update 2.0.

Is ARC Raiders harder solo? You get no revive and no extra bonus, Shacknews notes, so a knock is final unless a stranger helps. In exchange ARC Raiders solo players keep all their loot and make less noise.

Is teaming in ARC Raiders solo lobbies allowed? Meeting a stranger and working together through proximity chat is allowed. Arranging it before the raid is what Embark targets, per its Sep 30, 2026 post.

What is the best solo loadout in ARC Raiders? No allowed guide names a solo-only kit after update 2.0 as of Oct 31, 2026. Start from Best Loadouts and bring a Raider Hatch Key.