Expedition Projects
ARC Raiders does not use mandatory server wipes. Instead, it offers a voluntary reset system called Expedition Projects. You choose when (and if) to wipe your character. Nobody forces it on you.
This system confuses a lot of players. The forums are full of questions about what survives, what gets destroyed, and whether the rewards are worth the pain. This guide breaks down every piece of it.
What Is an Expedition Project?
An Expedition Project is a structured, eight-week progression cycle. At the end of the cycle, you can choose to "finalize" your Expedition, which resets your character back to level one. In exchange, you receive exclusive rewards that are only available through the Expedition system.
If you do not finalize, nothing happens. You keep everything and continue playing normally. The wipe is entirely opt-in.
What Resets
When you finalize an Expedition, the following are permanently wiped:
- Character level. Back to level one.
- Skill tree. Every skill point is removed. You rebuild from scratch.
- Raider Den progress. All station upgrades reset to their starting level.
- Learned blueprints. Gone. You must find and extract them again.
- Inventory and stash. Every item, material, and component is deleted.
- Coins. Your wallet goes to zero.
- Active quest progress. Any in-progress quests reset.
This is a hard reset. Your character becomes a brand new Raider in every functional sense.
Do not finalize an Expedition impulsively. You lose hundreds of hours of progression, blueprints, and gear. Read the rewards section below and decide if they are worth the cost before you commit.
What Survives
Account-level progression is permanent and cannot be wiped by any Expedition:
- Cosmetics. Every outfit, emote, weapon skin, and visual customization you own carries over.
- Real-money purchases. Anything bought with premium currency stays on your account.
- Account achievements. Steam, PlayStation, and Xbox achievements are permanent.
- Expedition history. Your completed Expedition count is tracked on your profile as a prestige indicator.
- Tutorial skip. After your first Expedition, you can skip the onboarding tutorial on subsequent cycles.
- Expedition Vault items. Up to five items stored in the Vault carry across the wipe (see below).
The Eight-Week Cycle
Expedition Projects follow a fixed cadence:
| Week | Phase |
|---|---|
| 1 to 6 | Active progression. Play normally, level up, farm, and build. |
| 7 | Warning period. The game notifies you that the current Expedition is ending soon. |
| 8 | Finalization window. You choose to finalize (wipe) or skip (keep everything). |
After Week 8, a new Expedition cycle begins. If you skipped the previous one, you simply continue with your existing character into the next cycle.
The first Expedition concluded in December 2025 (Patch 1.7.0). Expedition 3 ended in April 2026. The cadence is now firmly established.
Expedition Rewards
Finalizing an Expedition grants exclusive rewards that cannot be obtained any other way:
- Exclusive cosmetic sets. Each Expedition has a unique outfit, weapon skin, and banner tied to it. Miss the window, and those cosmetics are gone permanently.
- Prestige badge. Your profile displays your completed Expedition count. Multiple completions carry increasing visual flair.
- Tutorial bypass. Starting over without sitting through the tutorial saves time on subsequent cycles.
The rewards are purely cosmetic and prestige-based. There is no gameplay advantage to wiping. The system exists for players who enjoy the fresh-start experience or want the exclusive looks.
The Expedition Vault
The Expedition Vault is the single most important piece of Expedition planning. It lets you carry specific items across a wipe.
How It Works
- The Vault provides up to five secure slots.
- You purchase Vault slots from Ermal (the Nomadic Envoys vendor) using premium ARC components. See the Crafting and Gear guide for details on Ermal.
- Before finalizing your Expedition, place your five most valuable items in the Vault.
- When the wipe hits, everything else is deleted. The Vault items survive and appear in your stash on your fresh level-one character.
What to Vault
Choosing your five items is the hardest decision in the Expedition system. Here are the priorities:
| Priority | What to Vault | Why |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Your best weapon (Tier III or IV) | Starting over with a powerful weapon cuts hours off early progression. |
| 2 | A high-tier shield | Survivability is more important than damage in the early levels. |
| 3 | A rare blueprint you do not want to re-farm | Some blueprints have extremely low drop rates. Losing them means dozens of farming runs. |
| 4 | A stack of expensive refined materials | Jumpstarts your station upgrades on the fresh character. |
| 5 | A premium Ermal trade item | Ermal items are hard to farm. Carrying one across saves a week of grinding. |
Vault slots are purchased per-Expedition. Buying five slots in Expedition 3 does not give you five free slots in Expedition 4. You must repurchase them each cycle from Ermal.
Who Should Wipe?
Not everyone should finalize an Expedition. Here is a rough guide:
| Player Type | Recommendation |
|---|---|
| New player (under Level 15) | Skip. You have not built enough to benefit from wiping. Focus on learning the game. |
| Mid-game player (Levels 15 to 30) | Skip unless you want the exclusive cosmetics badly enough to start over. |
| Endgame player (Level 30+, all stations maxed) | Consider it. If you have done everything and want a fresh challenge, the wipe gives you a reason to re-engage with early maps and progression systems. |
| Cosmetic collector | Wipe. Each Expedition's cosmetics are time-limited. If you want the full collection, you must finalize every cycle. |
| Hardcore prestige player | Wipe every cycle. The Expedition count on your profile is your badge of honor. |
Common Misconceptions
These come up constantly on Reddit and the Steam forums:
"Do my Stash Expansions survive the wipe?" No. Stash Expansions purchased from Ermal reset with the Expedition. You must buy them again each cycle.
"Do my quest completions carry over?" No. All quest progress resets. You replay the story from the beginning.
"Can I wipe mid-cycle?" No. You can only finalize during the Week 8 window. Outside that window, the option is unavailable.
"Is there a gameplay advantage to wiping?" No. The rewards are cosmetic and prestige-based. You do not get stronger or unlock hidden content by wiping. You get exclusive looks and a fresh start.
"What happens if I never wipe?" Nothing negative. You keep your character, your gear, your blueprints, and your progress indefinitely. The system is entirely opt-in.