Muting yourself socially while you still want to enjoy ARC Raiders is a reasonable goal, especially if you prefer solo runs or you play at odd hours. Right now, though, the game’s social and presence systems are limited in ways that catch a lot of players off guard.
Current status: ARC Raiders does not support a real “appear offline” mode
ARC Raiders does not currently include a built-in “Appear Offline” or “Invisible” toggle in its own settings. Setting your Steam status to Offline or Invisible also does not hide you from the game’s own online presence or stop in‑game invites from friends. Players who appear Invisible on Steam still show as online inside ARC Raiders and can still receive invites.
Because of this, there is no reliable way today to stay logged into ARC Raiders, fully connected to its servers, and at the same time appear offline to friends in the in‑game social layer.
Method 1: Use ARC Raiders solo and limited-social play instead of appearing offline
This method does not hide your online status, but it does keep your actual play sessions solo and reduces how often others can pull you into groups.
Step 1: Set your match preference to solo whenever the game allows you to choose how you enter activities.
Select solo options or queues where available so that you load into activities without automatically joining other players. This keeps your runs separate even if others see you online in their friends list.
Step 2: Avoid manually joining friend lobbies while you want to stay to yourself.
When you see friends online in ARC Raiders, do not accept their join requests or lobby invites if you are trying to keep a solo session. This sounds obvious, but it is effectively your only hard limit while there is no offline appearance toggle.
Step 3: Let close friends know you are focusing on solo sessions for now.
A simple one‑line message like “I’m doing solo grinds in ARC Raiders for a bit” sets expectations and usually cuts down repeated invites. Several players use this social approach as the main workaround until the game adds a proper status control.
Method 2: Reduce, but not hide, your visibility using platform tools
Platform status controls such as Steam’s Online/Invisible/Offline settings still matter for general visibility, even though they do not fully control ARC Raiders’ in‑game status.
Step 1: Switch your platform status to Invisible or Offline.
On Steam, change your status from Online to Invisible or Offline. This will make you appear offline in the Steam friends overlay and can cut down on generic “you’re online, want to play?” messages, even though ARC Raiders itself still shows your in‑game presence and allows invites.
Step 2: Temporarily avoid global or large social groups while playing.
If you are in big group chats or community channels tied to your platform account, mute or leave those temporarily when you start ARC Raiders. This does not change your in‑game visibility but reduces the number of people who notice that you are currently active.
Method 3: Use hard boundaries when you receive invites
Because there is no technical switch to appear offline at the moment, clear, consistent replies are often the only practical way to limit social pressure to group up.
Step 1: Prepare a short, honest response you can send quickly.
Keep one simple line ready, such as “I’m doing solo ARC Raiders runs right now, will group another time.” Sending the same answer each time avoids long explanations while making your boundary clear.
Step 2: Stick to your boundary even if friends send repeated invites.
If you accept “just one run” every time, people learn that repeated invites eventually work. If you remain consistent, most friends quickly adjust and only invite you when you have signaled you are free to group.
Step 3: Consider muting or limiting notifications from specific friends while playing.
On some platforms, you can mute DM notifications from particular contacts or groups. Doing this while you play ARC Raiders helps you stay focused on your solo session without constant pop‑ups, even though invites still technically arrive.
What you cannot do right now in ARC Raiders
Given the current behavior of ARC Raiders and its integration with services like Steam, keep these hard limits in mind:
| Action | Is it possible? | What actually happens. |
|---|---|---|
| Toggle “Appear Offline” inside ARC Raiders. | No. | The game does not offer a built‑in visibility toggle or status like “offline/invisible” separate from connection status. |
| Use Steam Invisible to hide from ARC Raiders friends. | No. | Setting Steam to Invisible/Offline does not stop ARC Raiders from showing you online or from receiving in‑game invites. |
| Stay connected to ARC Raiders servers while fully hidden from friends. | No. | If you are logged in and playing, the game currently treats you as online for social features. |
| Limit who can invite you inside ARC Raiders via privacy filters. | Not documented. | There is no documented in‑game setting that restricts invites to a subset of friends or disables invites entirely. |
If a future update adds a proper in‑game privacy or status menu, that would be the natural place to look for a real “Appear Offline” or “Do Not Disturb” control. For now, the options are restricted to how you queue, how you respond, and how many people know you are playing.
Right now, ARC Raiders simply does not support a true appear‑offline mode, so the best you can do is combine solo play choices, platform status tweaks, and clear boundaries with friends until the developers introduce proper in‑game privacy controls.
