Welcome to the ultimate beginner‑friendly ARC Raiders Expedition Guide! If you’re an ARC Raiders player who’s heard about the expedition but isn’t 100% sure what it is or why it matters, you’re in the right place. This guide breaks down everything you need to know — what the expedition is, what you keep vs. lose, why you should do it, and how to prepare for your first one.

Whether you’re close to the expedition window or just curious about long‑term progression, you’ll walk away confident and ready to make the most of your ARC Raiders journey.

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What Is the ARC Raiders Expedition?

In ARC Raiders, an expedition is a special in‑game project that becomes available once your raider reaches a certain level. Think of it as your character’s big sendoff: you build a caravan, gather resources, and ultimately choose to wipe your character in exchange for powerful long‑term advantages.

Expedition Explained Simply

An expedition is essentially a planned reset — your current raider finishes their time in Sparanza, hands off the hideout and progress to a new raider, and begins again from scratch. But this isn’t just a reset for fun — it’s tied to lasting bonuses that help future characters grow smarter, faster, and stronger.

How the Expedition Fits Into ARC Raiders

Instead of treating every wipe as starting over, ARC Raiders rewards you for doing it on purpose through the expedition system. The goal? Build your caravan, contribute the required items, and secure those permanent benefits before the departure window closes. It is a wipe of your character, but a voluntary one.

What You Keep vs What You Lose

When you trigger an expedition wipe, some parts of your progress carry forward — and others don’t. Understanding this is key to deciding whether you’re ready to take the leap.

What You KEEP After a Wipe

Below are the things that stay with you when you wipe for an expedition:

Unlocked maps — You don’t have to re‑unlock them.
Unlocked workshop stations — They return at level 1 but are available.
Codex entries
Raider tokens & Cred
Raider Deck progress
Leaderboards & Trials
Cosmetics
Bonus skill points earned through expeditions
Bonus stash slots earned through expeditions

These permanent bonuses are the heart of why the expedition is worth doing — they carry forward into future playthroughs and cannot be lost.

What You LOSE When You Wipe

While some things stay, others reset completely:

Player level
Base skill points
Items in stash & inventory
Blueprints
Coins/Cred
Raid progress & quests
Workshop levels beyond level 1

Losing blueprints and stash items may sound scary at first — but we’ll talk soon about why the expedition rewards outweigh these losses for long‑term players.

How ARC Raiders Expeditions Work

Expeditions aren’t automatic — they involve multiple stages and a calendar window for contributions and departure.

Expedition Phases

ARC Raiders expeditions are structured into stages:

Build Stages – Donate resources to build the caravan’s foundation.
Load Stages – Fill the caravan with items from your stash and inventory to reach required contribution totals.
Departure Window – A limited period where you confirm your expedition wipe and lock in rewards.

The Expedition Timeline

Each expedition has a schedule. Players have about 60 days to contribute resources and complete stages. At the end of that period, a 7‑day window opens where you can select Yes to depart — meaning your character will wipe and transition into the next.

For example, in one cycle players could contribute up until a certain date (e.g., Dec 21), then choose to depart between launch and final date (e.g., Dec 17–22), with the actual wipe happening at the end of the window.

What Happens If You Miss the Window

If you invest in an expedition but don’t confirm departure during the 7‑day window, you may lose progress toward that expedition’s buffs. Still, your expedition will remain and can be used for following departure windows. If you don’t leave during the window though, you will have to wait for the next one. You can always see when the next departure window is in the Expedition menu. Planning is critical!

Why You Should Do an Expedition

So you’ve heard what gets wiped — but why should you do it? Let’s break down the real value.

Permanent Skill Points

One of the biggest draws of the expedition is bonus skill points. You can earn up to five permanent skill points by contributing a high‑value stash. These stack with future expeditions and help build deeper, more powerful skill trees on new characters. For every million in stash value you get another skill point.

Permanent Stash Slots

Every expedition gives you extra stash slots. These aren’t temporary — they stay with your account forever. More stash space means more room for valuable loot, currency, consumables, and resources.

Temporary Buffs

On top of the permanent rewards, expeditions also grant temporary buffs — for example:

Increased XP gain
Better resource yield
Repair cost reduction

These stack up to three expedition cycles as long as you continue participating.

How to Prepare for Your First Expedition

Before you commit to wiping your character, you want to maximize the value you contribute — especially for skill points.

Many players aim for a target stash value (like 5 million in Cred) to earn the maximum bonus skill points. It’s not mandatory to hit an exact number, but the higher your stash value used for contribution, the better your rewards. Skills are a very big deal in this game, sou you’ll want as many points as you can get.

The ARC Raiders Expedition system may seem intimidating at first — a wipe always comes with questions and uncertainty. But once you understand how it works, it’s clear that expeditions are one of the best ways to boost your long‑term progression in ARC Raiders.

By earning permanent skill points, extra stash space, and temporary buffs that stack across expeditions, you set yourself up for future playthroughs that are stronger, smarter, and more efficient.

Whether you’re a new player leveling up or a long‑time raider preparing for your next wipe, mastering the expedition is a key part of your ARC Raiders journey.