Arc Raiders Expedition rewards and requirements explained

Expeditions in Arc Raiders
(Image credit: Embark Studios)

The Expedition system in Arc Raiders has all kinds of rewards and requirements, but fundamentally it's all about building a caravan in multiple steps that ultimately leads to a kind of Prestige system, where parts of your progress are reset in exchange for long-term gain. Expeditions are a big investment and you need to sync it up with the departure window, and all this leads to the question of if it's even worth doing in the first place? To help cover all the key details, I'll explain the Expedition mechanics in Arc Raiders below, and how you can quit the Wasteland for good.

What are Expeditions in Arc Raiders?

Expeditions in Arc Raiders

(Image credit: Embark Studios)

Expeditions are a kind of project in Arc Raiders in which players construct a caravan in multiple steps with components they bring back from missions. When all six stages of the caravan construction are complete, players can trigger an Expedition that allows them to reset certain parts of their progression in exchange for new rewards.

The first and only Expedition released so far concerns building a caravan - however, it is unclear if future Expeditions will be focused around the same thing or have the exact same requirements.

Expedition Rewards

Expeditions in Arc Raiders

(Image credit: Embark Studios)

If you successfully depart on an expedition, your Raider will receive a mixture of temporary and permanent rewards.

Temporary rewards last until the player fails to go on an expedition during the next departure window that Arc Raiders provides, and can stack to a maximum of three times. That means that if you can complete three consecutive expeditions, you can stack the temporary rewards three times, but if you miss a single outing, you lose all the temporary bonuses. These rewards tend to be gameplay buffs, rather than

All the Expedition Rewards and Buffs you can get are laid out in the table below:

  • Permanent Rewards
    • Janitor Cap for Scrappy the Rooster
    • Patchwork Raider outfit
    • Expeditions Indicator icon
    • +12 Stash Inventory size
    • Up to five Skill points (the number is determined by the total value of your Stash when you trigger the Expedition, including your coins. You gain 1 Skill Point for every 1,000,000 of stash value you own, up to 5,000,000).
  • Temporary Rewards
    • 6% material increase from Scrappy the Rooster (can stack up to 18%)
    • 5% XP increase (can stack up to 15%)
    • 10% Repair Increase (can stack up to 30%)

Expedition Requirements

Expeditions in Arc Raiders

(Image credit: Embark Studios)

To trigger the Expedition, you need to complete all project steps to build the caravan and commence departure before the global Expedition Departure Window is closed (marked in the top right corner of the Expedition menu).

The requirements for each step are clearly laid out in the Expedition page of the game, and concern either finding specific items, or simply contributing items of a specific type - combat items, raw materials, survival items, etc. To help find items, check out our comprehensive Arc Raiders loot cheat sheet.

Departure Window calendar and schedule

Expeditions in Arc Raiders

(Image credit: Embark Studios)

The Departure Window for Expeditions is based around a specific calendar schedule that follows the following pattern when triggered:

  1. The Expedition begins when the developers decide it will. From that point, players have 60 days from commencement to acquire and donate their resources to the project.
  2. When all six stages are complete, the players have 7 days to commence the expedition.
  3. if the players fail to meet either deadline, they lose any chance to progress the Expedition and will have to wait until the next one.

What progress do Expeditions reset?

Expeditions in Arc Raiders

(Image credit: Embark Studios)

Certain gameplay progress in Arc Raiders is reset when you trigger an Expedition, but certain elements do carry over. Here's the full list of what does and doesn't reset.

  • Lost/reset
    • Coins/Money
    • Stash size
    • Stash Inventory/Items
    • Unlocked and owned Arc Raiders blueprints
    • Player's Level
    • Unlocked Skill Points (not including those earned through rewards)
    • Workshop Table Upgrades
    • Quest completion/Story Progress
    • Raider's Den Appearance
  • Kept/does not reset
    • Workshop Tables (they are reverted to their lowest level, but you keep the ones you've unlocked)
    • Cosmetics and outfits
    • Cred
    • Unlocked maps
    • Raider Tokens/Microtransaction Currency
    • Trial progress
    • Battle Pass/Raider Deck completion
    • Leaderboard status
    • Personal Event Progress
    • Unlocked Codex entries
    • Temporary Expedition rewards

Are Expeditions in Arc Raiders worth it?

Expeditions in Arc Raiders

(Image credit: Embark Studios)

Expeditions are worth the effort if you play Arc Raiders a lot and plan to keep playing it a lot in the future. The increased skill points and stash size increase are great if you want to unlock as many of the best Arc Raiders skills as possible, but you give up a lot to get these. This is a choice you should make if you're in the game for the long haul and don't mind starting partially from scratch for the sake of replayability, but for more casual players who are just dropping in for the occasional match or social sake, it might be something you regret doing.

Planning to go blasting into the wasteland? Make sure you're using the best Arc Raiders weapons tier list we wrote and researched as a reference!

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Joel Franey
Guides Editor, GamesRadar+

Joel Franey is a writer, journalist, podcaster and Very Tired Man with a BA from Brunel University, a Masters from Sussex University and a decade working in games journalism, often focused on guides coverage but also in reviews, features and news. His love of games is strongest when it comes to groundbreaking narratives like Disco Elysium, UnderTale and Baldur's Gate 3, as well as innovative or refined gameplay experiences like XCOM, Sifu, Arkham Asylum or Slay the Spire. He is a firm believer that the vast majority of games would be improved by adding a grappling hook, and if they already have one, they should probably add another just to be safe. You can find old work of his at Eurogamer, Gfinity, USgamer, SFX Magazine, RPS, Dicebreaker, VG247, and more.

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