11 Dec eSport Arc Raiders Expedition controversy explained: Is it worth resetting? December 11, 2025 Posted by GataGames Leave a comment Is everyone ready to send their raider on a one-way trip? / Image credit: Embark TL;DR Arc Raiders’ Expedition Project is a voluntary wipe system with permanent rewards, like skill points and stash space. The resource grind and high stash value requirements, combined with a short announcement, riled up the community. The Expedition is further instilling gear fear and reinforcing hoarding, the complete opposite of what should happen in an extraction shooter. Mandatory wipes or resets are expected in the extraction shooter genre, but Arc Raiders adds its own spin to it. Instead of the universal server wipe, the voluntary prestige system is an individual choice, where players willingly give up all their progress to start fresh with a few bonuses and an essential hat for their chicken. At first glance, it continues the accessibility Embark Studios brings into this punishing genre. Ironically, it’s that very same mindset that infuriated the playerbase, turning this voluntary expedition into a source of FOMO and burnout. At the end of the day, is all this effort and investment worth it? How does the Arc Raiders’ Expedition Project work? The Expedition Project isn’t something new players should worry about until their character hits level 20. Once that happens, the Expedition Project opens up under the “Projects” feature. This is the game’s equivalent of the seasonal wipes as seen in games like Escape from Tarkov and Rust, but this time it’s completely voluntary. If you’re ready to send your Raider into the unknown, you’ll first have to gather materials and resources through six stages: Foundation 150 Metal Parts200 Rubber Parts80 ARC Alloy15 Steel Springs Core Systems 35 Durable Cloth30 Wires30 Electrical Components5 Cooling Fan Framework 5 Lightbulbs30 Batteries20 Sensors1 Exodus Modules Outfitting 5 Humidifiers5 Advanced Electrical Components3 Magnetic Accelerators3 Leaper Pulse Units Load 250,000 Coins worth of Combat Items100,000 Coins worth of Survival Items180,000 Coins worth of Provisions300,000 Coins worth of Materials Departure Total value of stash on the deadline For the departure phase, this will take into account your Raider’s total stash value plus accumulated credits, awarding a skill point per 1 million (up to five). You can start stacking up for the requirements as soon as you reach level 20, but the Expedition Window opens from December 17-22, where all committed players will finally send off their characters. The Expedition Project removes Raider progression while keeping account-wide achievements / Image credit: Embark Again, this is voluntary. For players who didn’t commit their Raiders to die off alone in some barren area, they can always depart on the next project when it arrives. The best part is that your Expedition’s Project progress will be kept until the next window. What’s the point of the Expedition Project? Players who came from other extraction shooters, Rust, ARK: Survival, or even ARPG games with their Leagues, know the intrinsic reward for wipes is the feeling of everyone starting fresh, but these are all mandatory. Meanwhile, Arc Raiders tries to strike a balance for veterans and casuals by making it optional, but offering rewards for those who wipe: Permanent Unlocks Temporary Buffs The Patchwork Raider outfit, Scrappy Janitor Cap, Expeditions Indicator icon, Skill points +12 Stash space 10% repair buff5% xp boost6% more materials from Scrappy According to Embark, each Expedition Project will generally reward permanent unlocks, unique cosmetic rewards, and temporary account buffs. While these are modest buffs, keep in mind that skill points and stash space permanently stack, making these too good to pass up for anyone wanting to play this game long term. Is the Expedition Project worth it? Earning five million after all the materials feels greedy / Image credit: Embark Studios Now that you’ve seen the incentive to go through the Expedition Project in Arc Raiders, it’s clear that wiping is worth all the effort, even as a casual player. The crux is that the grind, poor spawns for blueprints, and the overall effect on the game’s economy make everyone slowly working toward it feel like walking on glass just for the reward. Five million stash reinforces gear fear The requirements for the Expedition Project were already known since the game began, but Embark remained tight-lipped about the departure phase. The community had an idea that the stash value would contribute to skill points, but nobody had an idea that you needed five big ones for five skill points (1M for one point) two weeks before departure. Needless to say, this blindsided the community and lit up public forums. Five million coin value (coins and stash) isn’t something most players stumble into; that’s many hours of successful raids, gear avoidance, and selling everything remotely valuable. This is a value that the likes of streamers, dedicated players, and hoarders have comfortably reached, but everyone else needs to catch up. Ever since the announcement, there’s been a stark change in how players approach the game. Reaching the high value further validated gear fear when it’s already a prevalent issue in the game. Instead of raiders bringing their best gear topside, players are selling it, preferring to raid with modest equipment or spamming the free loadout. This is the antithesis of an extraction shooter and actively punishes players for engaging in the core gameplay loop or extracting and using better equipment. Extraction shooters are built around tension, risk, and reward, but now raiders are bolting for the exit as soon as they fill their pockets. How is this gameplay loop good for the game’s longevity? Accessible but punishing There’s no way to respec or reset skill points outside of the Expedition. If you misbuild your Raider, whether through a perk you regret or through balance changes, there isn’t a way to take those points back. Embark hasn’t made that easy. Skill descriptions are vague, and the value of many passives is unclear until tested. Players need to fully wipe to respec their skills / Image credit: Embark Studios Worse, the studio has already nerfed key perks post-launch, like Security Breach, after players sunk time unlocking and building around them. Your only option is a full wipe, and that alone pushes many players who want to optimise their busted build. Then there are the Expedition rewards themselves, which are initially underwhelming but permanent. These rewards compound each cycle, slowly but surely widening the gap between players who reset. Compared to games like Escape from Tarkov or Rust, where server wipes are a chance to equalise the playing field, this gives the hardcore players an unattainable, compounding advantage over the casuals. I just really wanted the hat for my chicken It’s perhaps too late for Embark to back down on the requirements and rewards for now, especially with the first wipe rapidly approaching. But maybe they could use the lively feedback from the community to tweak the next cycle. Some great suggestions include: Temporary buffs to finding rarer loot after a wipe, alleviating the horrible blueprint drop chance, and encouraging players to craft better loot. If Embark values choice and accessibility, add a skill respec system so players aren’t compelled to wipe. Clear and transparent communication at the start of the cycle, not near the end of it. Reasons to use and bring better gear other than trials, such as using certain weapons or defeating higher-tier Arc to fulfil checklists for the Expedition. This also incentivizes players to engage in other endgame activities. Tie the stash value at the end of the cycle to the total amount brought back during a raid. Despite everything, despite how much the Arc Raiders Expedition Project hurts, it’s still worth it to wipe if you believe in the game long-term. For casuals, these bonuses won’t mean much in the short term, but they will stack up with each wipe. The game doesn’t force a reset like other titles in the genre, but it rewards those who commit to it. The permanent unlocks are too good to pass up—except for the ugly raider cosmetic that you can’t pay me to wear. Conclusion The Expedition Project is a byproduct of the extraction shooter genre, one holdover that Embark chose to carry on like a tradition that nobody remembers why it’s still ongoing. While the studio strives for accessibility, the compounding rewards only made players, hardcore and casuals, want it even more. Arc Raiders’ first wipe cycle may not be for everyone, but it entices everyone, and it definitely affects everyone. If you’ve been noticing fewer fights and more free loadouts in your game, you know that all the good gear is getting immediately sold off as a future investment. FAQs What are Expeditions in Arc Raiders? The Expedition Project in Arc Raiders is equivalent to the server wipe in other extraction shooters, only this time it’s optional and voluntary. How to unlock expeditions in Arc Raiders? Players unlock the Expedition Project one reaching level 20. While they can gather materials for it, they can only depart at set dates at the end of every cycle. What are the rewards for completing Arc Raiders expeditions? For the first wipe cycle of Arc Raiders, the permanent rewards are the Patchwork Raider outfit, Scrappy Janitor Cap, Expeditions Indicator icon, skill points, and stash space. Additionally, there are also temporary buffs to repair, exp, and Scrappy materials. Will Arc Raiders expeditions reset my progress? Yes, Arc Raiders will reset your character’s progress, which includes levels, skills, items, and workshop. However, you get to keep account-wide progress like anything bought with real money, trials, and events. Source link Facebook Twitter Google Email Pinterest