Arc Raiders is now firmly settled into its post-launch life. While the game doesn't officially label its content cycles as "seasons," it's fair to say that the period from launch through Expedition 1 served as its first major phase, with Expedition 2 ushering in what many players consider a second season. As the community looks ahead toward a potential 2026 roadmap, Embark Studios has begun pulling back the curtain on how it views one of Arc Raiders' most debated systems so far: expeditions, voluntary resets, and the incentives tied to them.

Recent discussions with Embark—and comments from ARC Raiders BluePrints design director Virgil Watkins—offer valuable insight into what worked, what didn't, and how the studio plans to improve the system moving forward.

The Current State of Expeditions

At present, players have access to two major expedition-related projects. One is tied to the limited-time Cold Snap event, which is set to expire shortly after its conclusion. The other is the ongoing expedition project connected to voluntary resets—an option that allows players to wipe their progress in exchange for long-term benefits.

These expeditions are intentionally designed as long-term goals. Players contribute items gathered through normal gameplay, deposit currency from their stash and coin bank, and complete multi-phase objectives that require a mix of exploration, combat, crafting, and resource management.

The exact requirements can vary depending on whether it's your first or second expedition. Items like cooling fans versus cooling coils, sensors versus shredder gyros, or humidifiers versus frequency modulation boxes appear in later phases, meaning players may not always be working toward identical objectives. This variability helps keep expeditions from feeling entirely cookie-cutter, but it also adds complexity—especially for casual players.

Rewards That Matter… Mostly

The rewards for completing an expedition are substantial. XP boosts, repair buffs, scrappy bonuses, exclusive skins, and—most importantly for many—up to five additional skill points that can be used from level zero on your next run.

Those skill points, however, quickly became the most controversial aspect of the system.

To earn them, players needed to accumulate five million credits in shared value between their stash and coin bank. That figure wasn't inherently unreasonable, but the way it was introduced created friction throughout the community.

The 5 Million Credit Controversy

In an interview with PCGamesN, Virgil Watkins acknowledged that the final-stage requirements for expedition skill points were one of the biggest sources of negative feedback.

According to Watkins, Embark delayed revealing the exact number because they wanted to calibrate it around the real player economy rather than guess early. The five-million-credit goal was meant to be aspirational—something some players would reach, not necessarily everyone.

The problem was perception.

Once players saw the number, many felt it became mandatory rather than optional. Instead of being a stretch goal, it felt like a requirement. Worse still, Embark admitted that simply grinding currency is not the most engaging gameplay loop, and it can actively discourage players from using their best gear near the end of a reset cycle.

Embark has since stated they are looking at revising this system.

Communication Was the Real Issue

For many players, the credit requirement itself wasn't the core problem. The timing was.

The blog post detailing the expedition requirements was released on December 6. The expedition commitment window opened on December 17, and the reset occurred on December 22. That left players with roughly 11–16 days to prepare.

For highly active players with optimized loot routes, five million credits was achievable. But Arc Raiders attracts a significant number of casual players—people with limited playtime due to work, family, or other commitments. For them, the short notice made the goal feel overwhelming.

Had the same requirement been communicated at the start of the season—with 60 days to work toward it—the reaction likely would have been very different.

Embark has acknowledged this misstep and emphasized that earlier communication will be a priority going forward.

Rethinking What Progress Looks Like

Another key takeaway from Embark's comments is their recognition that money-only objectives are inherently dull. Grinding loot, selling everything, and repeating the process lacks variety and excitement, especially in a game built around tense extraction gameplay.

So what could replace or supplement raw currency requirements?

Possibilities include:

Kill-based objectives tied to Arc enemy types

Completing a certain number of bastions, night raids, or high-risk zones

Quest completion milestones

Time invested across the season

These systems would better reflect actual gameplay engagement rather than pure economic output. Embark hasn't committed to a specific alternative yet, but the door is clearly open for experimentation.

Rewards That Don't Scale With Effort

Another point of friction lies in expedition rewards that don't meaningfully change after the first reset.

Players who already reached level 75 and earned the associated skin in Expedition 1 don't gain anything new from repeating that same progression in Expedition 2. The reset skins themselves are understated, to the point where many players don't even use them.

A potential solution would be prestige-style rewards—unique skins or cosmetics tied specifically to Expedition 1, Expedition 2, Expedition 3, and so on. This would give repeat resets a visible sense of progression rather than feeling like a rerun.

Quest Rewards and Diminishing Motivation

Quests pose a similar issue. Some quests provide extremely valuable rewards, such as guaranteed blueprints that are otherwise incredibly rare. Others offer cosmetics or items players already earned in a previous expedition.

Requiring players to redo all quests for minimal or duplicate rewards reduces motivation to engage with that content again. A tiered reward structure—where each expedition offers a new version of quest rewards—could make repeat playthroughs far more appealing.

A Compelling Idea: Knowledge Passed Between Raiders

One of the most intriguing ideas discussed is the concept of knowledge transfer between resets.

From a lore perspective, the idea fits Arc Raiders perfectly. One raider leaves Sparanza, heading into the unknown, making room for another. That departing raider could leave behind notes, schematics, or hard-earned knowledge.

In gameplay terms, this could mean allowing players to carry over one or two blueprints into their next reset.

Crucially, this wouldn't give immediate power. Blueprints still require crafting materials, upgraded benches, and time. Instead, it removes the frustration of having to re-farm ultra-rare blueprints every season, while preserving the challenge of actually building and using the weapon.

It's a middle ground that rewards dedication without breaking balance—and one that many players would likely embrace.

Looking Forward

Embark has made it clear they don't view the first expedition as a failure—but they do see room for improvement. They're actively analyzing player data, especially from those progressing more slowly, to ensure future expeditions don't leave anyone feeling left behind.

The biggest ask from the community is simple: communicate early. Give players time to plan, experiment, and engage at their own pace.

If Embark can combine clearer messaging, more varied objectives, and rewards that scale with effort and repetition, Arc Raiders' expedition system could evolve into one of the game's strongest long-term features.

As Expedition 2 unfolds and the future roadmap takes shape, one thing is clear: ARC Raiders buy Loot is listening—and that's a promising sign for what comes next.