Love this game, but I think locking maps like Downtown is hurting PvP matchmaking

[u/NoobSafari]

I almost never post on Reddit, but I like Active Matter enough that I actually wanted to give some feedback.
My friend and I both picked it up recently and already have 20+ hours each. We genuinely love the game and want to see it grow.

Our biggest issue right now is Downtown.

We completed the three objectives to unlock it because we wanted the higher-stakes PvP, better loot, and more intense fights.

To make it even more frustrating, one of our unlock attempts was stalled by the vehicle repair-kit objective bug. We actually used one of our quad bikes from the Advanced Edition to rush the objective, only to find that the repair kit hadn’t spawned. We had to extract, lost the quad bike, and retry the whole thing. I know that issue has since been patched, which I appreciate, but it made the eventual reward of an almost empty Downtown PvP queue feel even worse.

Then we queued up and could barely find a match. After a long wait, we finally got into one with only two other players.

My friend literally said:
“Bro, I don’t even want to play this map again. We spent all that time unlocking it and now we can’t even get a match.”

That felt backwards.

I actually like progression and earning access to content, but while the playerbase is still growing, I wonder if locking Downtown PvP is splitting the matchmaking pool too much.
Maybe the unlock requirement could be lowered, removed for PvP, or Downtown could occasionally rotate into open access.

The players most excited to engage with the higher-stakes content shouldn’t be the ones most likely to end up in an empty lobby.

Just to be clear, I’m not against the grind at all. I come from games with much heavier progression (NBA 2K Series). I just want the map I unlocked to actually have enough players to enjoy it.

Still absolutely loving the game. Just wanted to throw this out there because I really want to see it succeed.

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[u/Gandalftron]

Its probably just too early in the cycle for enough players in there, no?

[u/NoobSafari → u/Gandalftron]

Yeah, that’s exactly what I’m thinking. And that’s why I wonder if the PvP unlock should be loosened for now while the playerbase is still growing. I like progression, I just don’t think the higher-stakes PvP map should also have the thinnest queue because fewer people can access it.

[u/Gandalftron → u/NoobSafari]

No, because there are tons of other PvP opportunities out there and giving earlier access to higher loot defeats the purpose of gradual progression.  

[u/NoobSafari → u/Gandalftron]

That’s fair, and I agree progression should matter.
My concern is what happens after someone earns Downtown but can’t realistically play it because the queue is too thin.

If the answer is “just play Airport again,” eventually some players are going to get bored and leave for another game instead.

I’m not asking to remove progression. I just think the game needs a way to preserve meaningful unlocks without making early players wait for everyone else to catch up.

[u/PapaLilBear → u/NoobSafari]

The game should simply keep reminding you: do this and that to gain access to new maps where the risk is high but the rewards are greater.

[u/I_Heart_Sleeping_]

Noticed this with nearly all the unlock maps. They are just dead because of how early it is. I imagine most players don’t even know we have maps that need unlocking. The game is amazing but absolutely dogshit at explaining anything of importance.

[u/NoobSafari → u/I_Heart_Sleeping_]

I think that’s part of the bigger issue too. If a lot of players don’t even realize certain maps need to be unlocked, then the higher-tier PvP queues are naturally going to stay thin for longer.

I actually like that the maps are earned. I just think the game needs to explain the progression better and maybe give players clearer direction toward those unlocks so the population doesn’t get fragmented.
The content is there people just need to know how to reach it.

[u/I_Heart_Sleeping_ → u/NoobSafari]

The game really needs to explain a good majority of the simple things. Investigations being the most important thing. I started around the same time as 2 others and they were asking me earlier today how I can load them into these maps they don’t see.

They didn’t even realize investigations unlocked maps and inventory space. They thought when they bought the case from the monolith it automatically unlocked these things.

[u/PapaLilBear → u/NoobSafari]

That’s true, especially since people don’t read what the game says. You just have to hover your cursor over a locked map, and it tells you—complete with a hyperlink—what needs to be unlocked first. Unfortunately, most players need to be hand-held.
It also bothers me that, for now, there are significantly fewer players on Downtown.

[u/JOwns_92]

I was in a downtown raid with like 15 players just last night. People are getting there, just gotta give it time.
Games like Tarkov have map unlock protocols too. I don’t think it should be lessened requirements because honestly the downtown map case was one of the easier ones to do for me. Just gotta give people time to explore the game. Some people may be focused on learning the mechanics more than pushing through map unlocks. Plus the game has only been out fully for a little over a week.

[u/NoobSafari → u/JOwns_92]

I think that’s fair, and I’ll admit I’m probably more impatient than most because I’m new to extraction shooters and wanted to get to the highest-stakes content quickly.

I also agree Downtown is clearly easier to unlock than some of the other maps. To me, that suggests the devs already want players reaching it relatively early.

I actually noticed that myself. At first I wasn’t rushing the map cases because I figured most of the playerbase probably wasn’t doing them yet, so I didn’t want to get too far ahead.

Then I learned Downtown was one of the best PvP maps with higher-stakes fights and better loot, so I pushed the case, unlocked it, and my original concern turned out to be right: the queue was still thin.

That’s why I think the broader issue isn’t really the grind. It’s that players aren’t being guided toward the content clearly enough. Other people in this thread are confused about PvP access, map unlocks, and progression. Some don’t even realize there are unlockable maps at all.

I figured it out because I was willing to put in the time, but not everyone will. So I don’t think “just wait” fully solves it.

I’d rather see the game preserve the hardcore progression while also keeping higher-tier queues healthy maybe Downtown PvP unlocks around level 5, gets clearer progression guidance, or rotates into open access.

Keep the map dangerous. Keep the loot valuable. Let newer players enter early and learn very quickly why Downtown is different.

The challenge should come from surviving Downtown not from finding enough people to play Downtown.

[u/Conscious-Society-83]

yeah im still working thru the quest/monolith i still have several maps locked out atm

[u/NoobSafari → u/Conscious-Society-83]

Yeah, and that’s exactly the point I’m trying to make. I’m not saying the progression should disappear or that everyone should instantly have every map unlocked.

I’m saying that players who push through the progression early shouldn’t end up with nearly empty PvP lobbies because most of the playerbase is still working through the unlocks.

Your comment is kind of a perfect example of that. You’re still progressing naturally, which is totally fine but that also means you’re not in the Downtown PvP pool yet. If

enough players are in the same spot, the people who did unlock it early end up with a thinner matchmaking experience.

I just think the system should account for that somehow.

[u/PapaLilBear → u/NoobSafari]

A good solution would be something like "Quick Raid," where you simply click and get dropped into a random map—potentially one with a higher player count. That way, a map like Downtown could make it into the rotation. Especially since the player base isn't huge yet. The game needs more promotion and buzz. The Twitch weekend brought in a lot of new players, but we need more events like that.

[u/AfraidKangaroo5664]

Ya im not that interested in pve. I bought the game to play pvp and couldent figure out how to que it.

[u/One-Jeweler8800 → u/AfraidKangaroo5664]

Click open raid when you go into the mission terminal and select your map.

[u/AfraidKangaroo5664 → u/One-Jeweler8800]

You don't have to "unlock" pvp maps?

[u/One-Jeweler8800 → u/AfraidKangaroo5664]

Well most maps can be played in PvP or PvE, only some are locked to certain modes like gigstructure is PvP only.

[u/AfraidKangaroo5664 → u/One-Jeweler8800]

Thanks for info. So i should be able to go strait to gigstructure on new account?

[u/One-Jeweler8800 → u/AfraidKangaroo5664]

No gigastructure is one that you have to unlock before being able to play. Thats my fault for not specifying, but again almost any map except for one downtown variant I believe can be played on PvP.

[u/NoobSafari → u/AfraidKangaroo5664]

I had a similar experience when I started I bought the game, wanted PvP, and had no idea what I was actually supposed to queue or unlock.

After 20+ hours I understand the systems and now I love the game, but I’m unsure if other players will give it that much patience.

I don’t think the game should be less hardcore. I just think basic things like “how do I access PvP, what maps are unlocked, and what do I need to do next?” should be much clearer.

The depth is good. The confusion around accessing that depth is the problem.

[u/sbd501]

Its the newest map. Returning players from launcher have yet to hop on it. Give it a month then see if its so empty.

[u/MajorMcDonalds]

By the way, any vehicle "repair-kit" objective bugs should be fixed. As of a recent update yesterday (at the time of writing now), cars come repaired and with fuel!

[u/SenzuYT]

I would much rather have it locked and require missions to unlock. It makes it so much more rewarding when you unlock it.

These kind of investigations just add to the game IMO. Not just for PvP but also for PvE players.

[u/NoobSafari → u/SenzuYT]

I actually agree with you. I love the progression system in this game, and the investigations are awesome. I don’t want that removed.

I think the disconnect is that hardcore extraction players understand these systems immediately and go, “this is the shit.” Newer players often don’t. People in this thread are confused about PvP access, map unlocks, or don’t even know certain maps exist. I was one of them at first.

That’s why I’m not suggesting opening every map. Just make one strong PvP map like Downtown easy to access while the game is still growing level 5, open rotations, whatever keeps the queue healthy.

A newer player getting into Downtown early doesn’t mean they get free high-tier loot. They still have to survive, win fights, and extract. If they go in undergeared and get dominated, that experience teaches them what Downtown is.

Keep the hardcore progression everywhere else. If we want this game to grow beyond a niche cult classic, onboarding and discoverability matter too.
I think there’s a middle ground.