Arc Raiders expeditions are a somewhat confusing prospect, because they take a lot of effort to complete, and while you do get some decent rewards, you’d be forgiven for thinking it isn’t worth doing. You sacrifice basically all of your progress thus far, including stash, skills, workshop upgrades, and more, in order to start from scratch.
Expeditions also work on a schedule though, and the first departure window is fast approaching. Here’s everything you need to know about the Arc Raiders expedition project including materials required to complete each step, the rewards you earn for completing an expedition, and everything you lose when you embark.
What is an expedition in Arc Raiders?
An expedition is described in-game as “sending your raider off on an expedition beyond the Rust Belt,” taking “all their possessions into the unknown.” It’s essentially Arc Raiders‘ version of a wipe, which acts like a new game plus and resets the progress of your character. However, where they (used to) happen on a fairly regular basis in other extraction shooters like Escape from Tarkov, expeditions are very much on an opt-in basis.
However, you cannot just go on an expedition at the click of a button. Instead, you’ll need to build your caravan by gathering a ton of materials. In return, you’ll earn a bunch of rewards like bonus skill points, extra stash space, and more.
How to unlock expeditions in Arc Raiders
Expeditions are unlocked at level 20, as the final feature of the game available via leveling up. You can’t commit resources to expeditions before then, so focus on going topside and acquiring materials and items for upgrades in the meantime.
Arc Raiders expedition schedule
The first expedition window began on Oct. 30, when Arc Raiders launched. The finalization phase will open on Dec. 15 and last until Dec. 20, with the departure date starting on the next day, Dec. 21. Expeditions roughly operate on an eight-week schedule, but to retain the benefits from an expedition, you must also complete the next expedition and so forth, or you’ll lose the perks. Additionally, some of the benefits stack, so if you continue playing enough to complete subsequent expeditions, you’ll reap the rewards.
It isn’t confirmed yet, but we’re expecting the next expedition to begin shortly after the current window closes, so our educated guess would be Dec. 22. That would, in theory, run until Feb. 16, 2026.
Arc Raiders expedition materials required
To go on an expedition, you’ll need to first construct your caravan, which needs a lot of materials. Here are all of the materials you need for each step of the caravan construction process:
| Stage | Materials |
| Foundation | 150 Metal Parts 200 Rubber Parts 80 Arc Alloys 15 Steel Springs |
| Core Systems | 35 Durable Cloths 30 Wires 30 Electrical Components 5 Cooling Fans |
| Framework | 5 Lightbulbs 30 Battery 20 Sensors 1 Exodus Module |
| Outfitting | 5 Humidifiers 5 Advanced Electrical Components 3 Magnetic Accelerators 3 Leaper Pulse Units |
| Load | 250,000 coins worth of combat items 100,000 coins worth of survival items 180,000 coins worth of provisions 300,000 coins worth of materials |
| Departure | N/A |
Everything you keep and lose on an expedition
As an expedition in Arc Raiders functions as a wipe for your character, you’ll naturally lose a majority of your progression. However, there are some things that carry over.
Here’s everything you keep when you complete an expedition project and carry forward into the next window:
- Maps
- Workshop stations
- Codex entries
- Raider tokens
- Deck progress
- Active leaderboards
- Trials
- Cosmetics
- Event progress
- Skill points and stash slots earned from prior expeditions
Here’s everything that will be reset after you complete an expedition project:
- Stash upgrade progress
- Items
- Blueprints
- Coins
- Player level
- Skill points
- Raider den
- Workshop
- Quests
Arc Raiders expedition rewards
Here are all the rewards you will get for completing an expedition project that lasts until the end of the next expedition window:
- Increased XP gain
- Extra Scrappy materials
- Increased weapon repairs
- More stash space
- Bonus skill points
The latter two are both dependent on the value of the items in your stash upon departure, so hoarding as much rare loot as possible does pay off, even if you don’t get to use it.
Want to know what to spend your skill points on when you have a fresh start? Read our guide on the best skills in Arc Raiders.
