Fallout 76’s Gleaming Depths raid is the new hardest content in the game, requiring endgame builds, coordinated teamwork, and a whole lot of ammo. However, finding a group of players to take on thenew Gleaming Depths Raid inFallout 76is also proving to be quite difficult, highlighting the need for a matchmaking feature to finally be added to the game.
Players have requested forFallout 76to add a matchmaking feature for years now, except with the raid being as hard as it is, the need for this feature has reached a new extreme. Even outside of the new Raid, a matchmaking feature could help to breathe new life into the many endgame activities inFallout 76, keeping the game well and thrivingfor many years to come.

Fallout 76’s New Gleaming Depths Raid Highlights the Need for a Matchmaking Feature
While it’s possible for players to brute force some of the encounters inFallout 76’s new Gleaming Depths Raid with less than a full team, or even solo, this Raid is widely considered to be thehardest content in all ofFallout 76, so it’s generally best to bring a full team. However, finding a full team for the Raid is oftentimes an unnecessarily difficult task, so a matchmaking feature has become an increasingly popular request amongFallout 76’s community.
For now, the closest thing to a matchmaking feature is creating a Public Team inFallout 76. This sends a notification to all players on the same server to join the team, and there are specific teams dedicated to endgame activities like Raids, Daily Ops, and Expeditions. Even with Public Teams though, since servers have a limit of twenty-two players, finding a group of four players who are prepared for the Raid with a max-level, endgame build isn’t always an easy task. Players often have to hop into multiple servers to find a server populated with raid-ready teammates or rely on community social media platforms, which many players have resorted to the latter.
While there’s no level requirement to participate in the Gleaming Depths Raid, it’s recommended formaximum-level players inFallout 76.
One of the most popular platforms to find teammates inFallout 76is currently Bethesda’s official Discord server. Additionally, there have already been three new Subreddits created for matchmaking sinceFallout 76’s Gleaming Depths and Season 19 updatewas released last week, r/F76Raids, r/FO76Raids, and r/fo76Teams. While these community resources are proving especially useful, players have been requesting a matchmaking feature inFallout 76for years now, although the new Raid especially makes this feature needed now more than ever.
Players on Xbox platforms can take advantage of Xbox’s built-in SmartMatch matchmaking feature to find teammates inFallout 76.
Public Matchmaking Could Be the Key to Fallout 76’s Longevity
The Gleaming Depths Raid is extremely hard on its own, so finding a group shouldn’t have to be an additional hurdle to overcome. Considering that the Raid is currently the only way to earn the new four-star legendary mods, Raid weapons, and thenew Vulcan Power Armor set inFallout 76, adding a matchmaking feature will be a big step towards making these highly exclusive rewards more accessible to the broader community without the need for controversial nerfs.
Even beyond making the Raid and other endgame content more accessible, matchmaking could ultimately bethe key toFallout 76’s longevityin general. More specifically, when or ifFallout 76ever stops receiving major content updates, matchmaking could help to keep the community active by increasing engagement with specific activities for as long as the public servers stay online. While the end ofFallout 76is still likely many years away, it’s an inevitable part of every live service game’s lifecycle, though it’s still best to prepare for this moment sooner rather than later.
Fallout 76
WHERE TO PLAY
Bethesda Game Studios, the award-winning creators of Skyrim and Fallout 4, welcome you to Fallout 76. Twenty-five years after the bombs fell, you and your fellow Vault Dwellers—chosen from the nation’s best and brightest – emerge into post-nuclear America on Reclamation Day, 2102. Play solo or join together as you explore, quest, build, and triumph against the wasteland’s greatest threats. Explore a vast wasteland, devastated by nuclear war, in this open-world multiplayer addition to the Fallout story. Experience the largest, most dynamic world ever created in the legendary Fallout universe. Expand southward to Skyline Valley – a brand-new region of Appalachia. Investigate the cause of the electric storm circling overhead and unveil the mystery around Vault 63 and its dwellers, including a shocking new Ghoul type – The Lost.