No, ARC Raiders' AI Isn't Actively Evolving Like Many Players Think

Despite multiple fan theories, a developer at Embark Studios has revealed that the AI enemies in ARC Raiders aren’t actively evolving and learning players’ habits, movements, and other tactics. Aside from occasional updates made by Embark Studios, a developer says that any machine learning used for the enemies in ARC Raiders, such as Leapers or the Queen, is purely to assist them in navigating the environment and not to predict player behavior.

While Embark’s latest shooter originally started out in life as a PvE-only game, development eventually pivoted as ARC Raiders evolved into a PvPvE game. This means that players not only have to deal with other players shooting them in the back, but they also need to be on the lookout for ARC enemies, too. Ticks and Pops can be destroyed with just a couple of bullets, but there are many more formidable ARC that most players will actively avoid, such as Rocketeers, Leapers, and Bastions. For quite a long time now, many players have speculated that these enemies are evolving and becoming much smarter than they were at launch, learning the behavior patterns of players and predicting their movements. However, that’s not the case at all.

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AI Enemies In ARC Raiders Aren’t Predicting Your Movements

During a recent interview with PC Gamer, design lead Virgil Watkins commented on the popular fan theory that ARC Raiders‘ enemies are actively learning and evolving. As it turns out, ARC enemies like the Bastion, Leaper, or Rocketeer are all exactly the same as they were at launch. But some of them can just walk a little better now. “The machine learning is literally only for teaching them to walk and navigate the environment. It doesn’t do any of their behaviours or their attacks or anything like that,” Watkins clarified. This is a theory that has been around for a long time, as a 2021 post from Embark revealed that the studio uses machine learning, which many misconstrue to mean that the ARC are able to learn from players.

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There have been occasional updates to ARC Raiders that make improvements to the AI enemies, but those are often targeted at their path-finding and any bugs that are discovered in relation to them. So while it can sometimes feel as though a Rocketeer is predicting which way you’re going to swerve when it shoots at you, or that a well-timed Tick is latching to your face at the worst possible moment, this isn’t anything different from when the game first launched. What will have changed, thanks to the game’s machine learning, is enemies like the Leaper, Queen, or Matriarch being able to navigate their surroundings.

Speaking of, Watkins also commented on the Queen and Matriarch, revealing that Embark failed to anticipate entire lobbies taking on the large ARC. Thanks to the aggression-based matchmaking in ARC Raiders, players who do not engage in PvP will be placed into lobbies with other like-minded individuals. This means that certain lobbies with tons of PvE-centric players will work together to take down the Queen or Matriarch. However, Embark wasn’t anticipating such cooperation, which means there is often not enough loot to go around for the entire lobby. “They’re not intended for the full servers to go up against,” Watkins told PC Gamer, before admitting, “That’s definitely on us.”

Those looking forward to new enemies will be pleased to know that the ARC Raiders 2026 roadmap has confirmed that a new large ARC threat, likely similar to the Queen or Matriarch, will arrive as part of the Riven Tides update in April, which will also add a brand-new map to the game.

A new update is also set to arrive next week, on February 24, bringing a new Hurricane Map Condition to the game. Players will have to go up against challenging gusts of wind, which will affect visibility, movement, and even throwable items such as grenades. A new ARC threat is also expected in the patch, but details on the update are still sparse.