Arc Raiders will introduce two heavily demanded features in a smaller but significant update coming the week of May 17, letting players expand their stash and carry key items like blueprints between Expeditions.
Developer Embark Studios announced the update today in the footnotes to a long explainer about the game's new release schedule, with major updates like the newly announced Frozen Trail coming twice a year (in this case, in October).
"Next week, we’re introducing a fresh mechanic designed for late-game players: a new Trader from a nomadic tribe of surface-dwellers," Embark says.
This trader is meant to solve a problem some experienced raiders have run into: they have too much stuff and nothing to do with it. With Expedition skill point payouts now tied to limited-time combat events, there's even less point to selling stuff to become a coin millionaire.
Additionally, "very few of you are going on the Expedition, either because it is not rewarding enough, or because it is too painful to part with your favorite items and Blueprints," Embark observes.
This trader, unlocked at level 25, is meant to help solve all of this, in addition to offering "unique rewards, rare items, and cosmetics in exchange for your high-value items." On a weekly rotation, you'll be able to barter for goods and answer requests for specific rare items.
Most importantly, the trader will let you purchase extra stash space, and a hotly requested way to "carry over up to five items across the Expedition, so you can set your new Raider up with your favorite items or blueprints." It sounds like you'll have to unlock all five slots incrementally, similar to earning bonus skill points, but that's just a guess.
Embark says "this is just one part of a broader set of improvements arriving later this year," seemingly alluding not just to Frozen Trail but also to the regular bug, balance, and quality-of-life updates coming in the interim.
For now, this sounds pretty darn good. More stash space is always welcome (though we don't know how much we're getting), the trader's exchanges could very well extend late-game progression, and a way to preserve blueprints ought to make the Expedition more appealing. Now the theorycrafting begins: what are the best blueprints to bring with you?
