ARC Raiders: Fifth Expedition Is the Last Until 2027

ARC Raiders is making a major change to its Expedition system, and it could significantly reshape the game's endgame. Starting with the fifth Expedition, players will be able to choose whether to reset their mission progress or keep it, removing one of the most repetitive parts of the current wipe cycle.

But the bigger news is that the fifth Expedition will be the last one until 2027. Embark plans to pause Expeditions for several months while it works on deeper structural changes to the system. In the meantime, Frozen Trail launches on October 8, bringing new content that will carry the game through this extended period without another account reset.

You may be interested our Guide:

Changes Coming to the 5th Expedition

The 5th Expedition will begin on September 8, and players will have a three-week window to complete their challenges. The wipe will take place on September 29, shortly before Frozen Trail arrives.

Note: Completing your Caravan does not automatically register you for the Expedition. You will still need to register during the designated period.

Will You No Longer Have to Repeat All Missions?

Will You No Longer Have to Repeat All Missions

This is probably one of the biggest changes for veteran players.

Until now, every wipe meant essentially starting over and repeating a large number of missions. This created a repetitive experience, especially for players who had already completed the same quest chains multiple times.

With the 5th Expedition, Embark will allow players to skip resetting their mission progress.

But then, how will blueprints that are unlocked exclusively through missions, such as the Hullcracker, be obtained? We still don't have any information about that. Most likely, we'll either have to complete some kind of task to obtain it more easily, or we'll simply receive the blueprint after the wipe.

The Expedition Window Increases from 2 to 3 Weeks

Another important change directly affects the amount of time available.

Previously, players had a shorter window to complete the Expedition objectives. For the 5th Expedition, this period will increase:

2 weeks → 3 weeks

This should make it considerably easier for players who can't dedicate several hours every day to ARC Raiders.

What Rewards Will the 5th Expedition Have?

According to the information provided, the 5th Expedition will keep a reward structure fairly similar to the previous ones. However, there will be some interesting rewards for players who decide to participate.

Complete Zenith Outfit
Mystery Rewards
+12 stash space, up to a maximum of 60
Skill points, if you haven't reached the maximum of 15 skill points awarded through wipes
XP boost, Scrappy materials boost, and repair value increase, capped at three levels

Do you need a Blueprint or Weapon quickly & securely? Take a look at our CATALOG.

No More Expeditions Until 2027

This is the biggest news from the update: Embark has been reviewing community feedback and identified deeper issues with the current Expedition system, including:

Tight Expedition time windows.
Reward structure.
Accessibility for new players.
Repetition tied to wipes.
The current state of the endgame.

Because of this, future Expeditions will be paused to allow for more significant changes to the system, making the 5th Expedition the last one until 2027.

And it doesn't matter if this is your first, second, third, fourth, or fifth Expedition this will be the last one of the year. The developers recommend taking part in it, as there will be at least five months without another wipe.

Why Is Embark Pausing Expeditions?

The decision appears to be directly tied to community feedback.

The Expedition system partially solved an endgame problem: once players had unlocked and collected almost everything, a wipe gave them a reason to start over and work through the progression again.

The problem is that this could also turn into a repetitive cycle that ultimately went nowhere.

For veteran players who had already completed multiple Expeditions, running through the exact same missions again could start feeling more like a chore than a fresh gameplay experience.

Embark has acknowledged these issues and says deeper changes will be needed. This could point toward the possibility that Embark is working on some kind of dedicated endgame system for ARC Raiders.

What Does This Mean for the Future of ARC Raiders?

The decision to stop wipes until 2027 sends a pretty clear message:

Embark Is Confident in Frozen Trail

The studio appears to believe that the amount of content coming with the October 8 update will be enough to keep players engaged for several months without needing to reset their accounts.

This could become an important test for the future of ARC Raiders.

If Frozen Trail manages to keep the playerbase active throughout this period, it would show that the game can maintain a healthy endgame without constantly relying on wipes.