🚨 EXPEDITION = TOTAL PROGRESS WIPER! 😤💥 DON’T GET TRICKED!
Raiders at L20+ hyped for “prestige”? IT’S A TRAP. 60-DAY GRIND hoarding JUNK, then SACRIFICE 830K+ COINS OF GEAR… for what? Temporary buffs that VANISH? BLUEPRINTS GONE FOREVER – back to 100+hr RNG hell! 👻
Smithdoggy EXPOSES: “Wait if not maxed – you’ll REGRET!” PC Gamer: “Honestly, wasn’t worth it.” Steam/Reddit RAGING: “WTF lose blueprints?!”
Full math + proof why SKIP before caravan departs! Who’s staying maxed? 👇🔥
In ARC Raiders, Embark Studios’ hit PvPvE extraction shooter, the Expedition Project promised a glamorous send-off for veteran Raiders—a voluntary prestige system to refresh the grind amid robotic ARC hordes and rival scavengers. Unlocked at level 20, it lets players build a caravan over 60 days, load it with treasures, and depart into the unknown, resetting their character for buffs and cosmetics. But as the first departure window looms, a backlash is brewing: players decry it as a massive time sink that obliterates hard-earned blueprints and gear for underwhelming, temporary perks.
Launched in late 2025, ARC Raiders tasks players with raiding toxic wastelands for loot, blueprints, and components to craft god-roll weapons like the Tempest SMG or Bobcat LMG. Progression ties to workshops, skill trees, and stash upgrades, but endgame max-outs leave veterans bored—hence the Expedition. Official blogs frame it as equitable: no mandatory wipes, just optional resets for the dedicated, preserving cosmetics and unlocks while granting cycle-long buffs. Yet community forums, Steam threads, and a viral YouTube video titled “Why You SHOULD NOT Do The Expedition” argue it’s a raw deal, especially for non-hardcore players.
The Expedition Grind: 60 Days of Hoarding Hell Preparation spans six stages, unlocked progressively over two months. Stages 1-4 demand “junk” items often scrapped by newbies: 150 Metal Parts, 200 Rubber, 80 ARC Alloy, 15 Steel Springs (Foundation); 35 Durable Cloth, 30 Wires/Electrical Components, 5 Cooling Fans (Core Systems); 5 Lightbulbs, 30 Batteries, 20 Sensors, 1 Exodus Module (Framework); 5 Humidifiers, 5 Advanced Electricals, 3 Magnetic Accelerators/Leaper Pulse Units (Outfitting).
Stage 5, “Load,” escalates: sacrifice items totaling 250,000 coins in combat gear (pinks, ammo, grenades), 100,000 in survival (shields, meds), 180,000 in provisions (trinkets, keys), and 300,000 in materials—over 830,000 coins of prime loot. Stage 6 awaits a 7-day departure window; miss it, and buffs vanish until next cycle. Reddit users lament accidental scrapping of rarities like Cooling Fans, forcing endless low-tier raids.
Catastrophic Losses: Blueprints and Beyond Completion resets core progress: player level (cap ~75), skill points, all coins, inventory/stash items, workshop bench levels (unlocks persist but revert to 1, crippling crafting), quests, and—most reviled—blueprints. These recipes for epics like Wolfpack launchers demand 100+ hours of RNG farming breachables and lockers; post-reset, you’re naked on Dam Battlegrounds, re-hunting rares amid Leapers and Rocketeers.
Steam poster Vincent fumed: “WTF [blueprints reset]? Are the only rewards buffed XP, extra skill points, stash? Pointless.” Reddit’s Demento6 posted a loss-vs-gain chart: “Temporary 5 skill points for blueprint wipe? Not worth it—like WoW addons you renew or lose.” One player tallied 120 hours to level 47 and 17 blueprints: “Early game ease gone forever.”
Rewards: Cosmetics and Fleeting Buffs Kept items include maps, workshop stations, codex, tokens, cred, leaderboards, trials, cosmetics, events, and prior bonus skill/stash slots. New perks: unique cosmetics per expedition; up to 5 bonus skill points (stash-value based, e.g., max ~1M+ coins for full 5, equaling level 81 total); cycle buffs like XP boosts, extra Scrappy mats, repair efficiency, temporary stash expansion.
But caveats abound: Skill points may accumulate permanently across expeditions, yet cycle buffs (XP, stash) expire at next departure—requiring endless repeats. PC Gamer’s author, post-completion: “Up to five bonus skill points based on stash value… wasn’t worth it,” citing minor QoL amid lost momentum. YouTuber Smithdoggy, responding to comments: “If not level 75/quests done, wait—time constraints kill it for casuals.”
Player Horror Stories: Regret and Rage Forums erupt with tales. A Steam user: “Lose stash upgrades, items—insane for extraction shooter.” Reddit: “200 hours in, skill tree rework? Fine, but blueprint RNG chore returns.” X posts echo: “Expedition tryhards killing solos—unfair to newbies.” One vet: “Maxed? Bored? Alts exist—why self-punish?”
Data backs sentiment: Heatmaps show hotspots thriving sans wipes; casuals hit 50+ fast via PvE routes. Smithdoggy notes: “Fresh runs vary—blueprints luck-based; no guarantee better second time.”
Why Skip? Smarter Paths to Endgame Bliss Critics advocate alternatives: Maintain main for god-roll farms (Stella Montis mats/hour S-tier); alt characters for fresh grinds (onboarding skipped post-first); await patches—devs eye hatch overuse (40%), loot balance. “Prestige for done players,” per Reddit, but most aren’t. Embark touts “no power edges,” respecting casuals—yet FOMO looms as buffs stack sequentially.
X chatter: “Expedition pressures toxicity—extract campers galore.” As player counts surge (post-Stella Montis), skips preserve economies: No blueprint floods, sustained tension.
Dev Intent vs. Reality: Patch Incoming? Embark pitches equity: “Highly engaged reset regularly; casuals untouched.” Buffs avoid P2W, focus bragging/QoL. But Discord clarifies (wallet counts for points) fuel debates; no exact thresholds (e.g., 1M stash for 5 SP?).
Backlash mirrors genre woes—Escape from Tarkov wipes thrive on hype, but ARC’s optional twist divides. Smithdoggy: “Personal—I’ll wipe, but casuals sit.” With December window nearing, will hordes depart or defy? Forums predict regret waves; Embark monitors feedback for tweaks.
For now, maxed Raiders farm unfettered: Blue Gate BPs, Buried City pinks. Expedition allure fades against cold math—unless you’re addicted to the loop. Will you board the caravan… or watch it leave empty?
