ARC Raiders is putting its prestige loop on ice after one more departure. The fifth Expedition window runs from September 8 to September 29, 2026, and then Expeditions pause until early 2027 while Embark reworks the system. That makes this the last departure window of 2026, but it does not make departure automatically worthwhile.
The important choice is still personal. Signing up and departing resets much of the current Raider in exchange for permanent progression, cosmetics, stage-specific rewards, and consecutive buffs. Skipping preserves the character you already built. The pause changes the timing and protects earned buffs, but it does not turn an optional reset into a mandatory wipe.
There is also a distinction that short news reports often miss: this is the fifth global Expedition window, not necessarily your fifth personal Expedition. Rewards follow your own sequence. A player departing for the first time does not jump straight to the complete Zenith Outfit or the maximum 60 bonus Stash spaces.
Why ARC Raiders Is Pausing Expeditions Until 2027
Embark says the system's problems are too structural for another small adjustment. According to the official fifth Expedition announcement, player feedback has focused on tight departure windows, the reward structure, and accessibility for new Raiders. The studio wants to make larger changes and plans to reveal more about the redesign in September.
The pause is not a cancellation. Expeditions are scheduled to return in early 2027, although Embark has not announced an exact date or published the redesigned rules. Any claim about a new reward track, altered reset scope, or replacement for the Caravan would therefore be speculation. What is confirmed is that the fifth Expedition is the last one before the pause and that already earned consecutive buffs will remain active through it.
The decision makes sense when viewed against the system's history. Expedition rewards and deadlines have changed several times, Skill Point catch-up was added for players who fell behind, and the fourth personal Expedition introduced Mystery Rewards with Blueprints and Raider Tokens instead of additional challenge-based Skill Points. Because Expeditions are completed in personal sequence, newer Raiders can still be several reward stages behind veterans. Extending one deadline could not solve all of those issues.
The fifth window introduces two player-friendly changes before the larger overhaul: it lasts three weeks instead of two, and resetting quest progress becomes optional. At the same time, Last Call has been removed, so players must pay closer attention to registration than before.
Final Expedition Dates and How to Depart
The Expedition window opens on September 8 at 11:00 UTC, 1:00 PM CEST, and 4:00 AM PT. It closes on September 29 at 08:00 UTC, 10:00 AM CEST, and 1:00 AM PT. Everyone who has signed up departs when the window closes.
Completing the Caravan does not register the account. It only makes the Raider eligible to participate. Open the Expedition screen after the window begins, sign up manually, complete the relevant challenge for your personal Expedition stage, and confirm that the interface shows the correct status. There is no Last Call after September 29, so a finished Caravan with no registration will not depart.
- Finish the Caravan: contribute the materials and value required by the current personal Project stages.
- Wait for September 8: Caravan work can be completed earlier, but departure registration only becomes available during the window.
- Sign up manually: do not assume the game registered you because the Project reached 100%.
- Complete the active challenge: follow the objectives for your personal Expedition stage. Mystery Reward damage objectives and Skill Point catch-up are separate systems, with catch-up remaining tied to Stash value.
- Review the reset choice: decide whether to preserve or reset quest progress before departure.
- Depart on September 29: the reset applies automatically to every registered Raider when the window ends.
If the Caravan is nearly complete but the remaining material stages are the only obstacle, the ARC Raiders Project Completion option is directly relevant to that preparation. It should only be considered after deciding that the reset itself is worth taking; finishing the Project is not a reason to depart by itself.
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What Resets and What You Keep After Departure
Embark designed Expeditions as a voluntary character reset instead of a server-wide wipe. The original Expedition Project explanation states that character-bound progression is sacrificed while cosmetics, achievements, rankings, and other metagame elements remain. The fifth Expedition changes one major part of that split: players can now choose to keep their quest progress.
The table below reflects the currently confirmed reset model for a Raider who signs up and departs. It is still worth checking the in-game confirmation screen before committing because Embark is actively changing the Expedition system.
| Resets on Departure | Remains on the Account |
|---|---|
| Raider Level and normal Skill Tree progress | Permanent bonus Skill Points earned through Expeditions |
| Inventory, Stash items, and resettable Stash expansions | Permanent Expedition Stash spaces and eligible items carried through Ermal's Expedition Vault |
| Coins and other character-bound economic progress covered by the reset | Raider Tokens and permanent Expedition or account-level rewards |
| Workshop upgrades, crafting capability, and Blueprints not protected through a valid carry-over exception | Cosmetics, awards, achievements, Codex entries, and other confirmed metagame unlocks |
| Other character-bound progression covered by the Expedition reset | Trophy Display Project, unlocked map regions, Raider Deck progress, Trials, and leaderboard position |
| Quest progress only if the player chooses to reset it | Existing quest progress if the new opt-out choice is selected |
The quest option deserves special attention. Players who are deep into a long chain can now depart without voluntarily replaying the entire quest line. Embark also acknowledged that the Hullcracker Blueprint can currently only be obtained through that quest line and said other ways to obtain it will be introduced. The announcement does not yet name those methods, so do not plan around a specific vendor, drop, or challenge until Embark provides the details.
Partially completed Caravans are handled differently from a signed-up Raider reset. When Expeditions enter the pause, Caravans will be reset and incomplete contribution value will be converted into an equal value of Ermal Vouchers. Embark says those vouchers can be used with Ermal's offers and ARC Parts or firearm trades, or sold for Coin. This means unfinished Caravan contributions will not simply disappear when the pause begins.
For a complete explanation of the standard system beyond this final window, the related ARC Raiders Expedition reset guide covers Caravan preparation, personal progression, and the normal reset decision in more detail.
Final Expedition Rewards and Buffs During the Pause
For a Raider completing their fifth personal Expedition, the current reward page lists the complete Zenith Outfit, Mystery Rewards, 12 additional Stash spaces for a maximum of 60, Skill Point catch-up where eligible, and consecutive buffs. Earlier-stage players still progress through the reward sequence associated with their own personal Expedition number rather than receiving the entire fifth-stage package.
Zenith Outfit: the fourth personal Expedition unlocked the first stage of Zenith. Completing all five personal Expeditions fully unlocks the outfit. A first-time or returning participant advances the appropriate personal stage but does not skip earlier cosmetic progression.
Stash space: each completed personal Expedition adds 12 permanent spaces. The fifth completion takes a veteran to the stated maximum of 60 extra Expedition spaces. A first completion adds 12, not 60.
Skill Points: permanent bonus Skill Points from Expeditions cap at 15. Catch-up remains tied to Stash value and becomes available from the second Expedition. The fifth announcement specifically lists catch-up for players on their second, third, or fourth personal Expedition, with a maximum of five missed points recovered per eligible Expedition. Once all 15 bonus Skill Points have been obtained, catch-up is no longer available.
Mystery Rewards: the fifth announcement links directly to the reward format introduced for Expedition 4. The official Mystery Rewards rules award one duplicate-protected Blueprint and 150 Raider Tokens for each completed departure damage objective, up to five objectives. The thresholds are 5,000, 10,000, 30,000, 50,000, and 100,000 total damage during the window.
Raider Tokens from those objectives are permanent. The reward Blueprints are temporary and, under the published rules, reset when the player departs on their next Expedition. With no further Expedition departure scheduled before early 2027, Embark has not announced any separate expiration for those Blueprints during the pause.
Consecutive buffs: the three buff categories are increased XP, additional materials from Scrappy, and improved repair value. They are capped at three levels. Embark explicitly says earned buffs will persist during the pause, so the absence of an Expedition cycle in late 2026 will not erase them. This preserves the tier already earned; it does not grant a free additional tier or raise the three-level cap.
Who Should Depart in the Final Expedition?
The strongest case belongs to veterans completing their fifth personal Expedition. They can finish Zenith, reach the 60-space Expedition Stash maximum, earn the fifth window's Mystery Rewards, and enter the pause with their accumulated consecutive buff tier preserved. The cost is still a major Raider rebuild, but this is the clearest long-term value available from the current reward track.
Players on their first three personal Expeditions also have a reasonable reason to go. Permanent Stash space and eligible bonus Skill Points improve later Raiders, while the longer window gives more time to complete the relevant challenge. The new quest opt-out also removes one of the most repetitive parts of rebuilding. A newer player should still judge the rewards for their own Expedition stage rather than assume that everyone receives the complete fifth-stage package.
Departure also suits a player whose current progression has gone stale. An overflowing Stash, an unsatisfying build, and little interest in preserving the current Workshop can make a clean restart enjoyable. That was the original purpose of the system: a voluntary prestige-style reset for active players, not an obligation imposed on everyone.
Skipping is sensible when the current Raider is still advancing important Workshop tiers, collecting difficult Blueprints, relying heavily on a developed inventory and loadout, or simply getting more value from present progression than the permanent Expedition rewards would provide. It is also sensible for anyone who will not have time to rebuild after September 29. The pause will last several months, so there is no immediate next Expedition window forcing another decision.
Do not depart only because this is the final window of 2026. Partially completed Caravan value will become Ermal Vouchers, earned consecutive buffs are protected during the pause, and the whole system is returning with major changes. Fear of missing out is a poor reason to erase a Raider that is still enjoyable and useful.
How to Prepare Before September 29
First, decide before farming. Write down what the current personal Expedition gives you: the cosmetic stage, permanent Stash spaces, remaining Skill Point eligibility, applicable Mystery Rewards, and the buff tier. Then list what the reset costs: current Level, Stash, Coins, standard Blueprints, Workshop progress, and the hours required to rebuild. If the reward column does not clearly win, do not let a completed Caravan make the decision for you.
Second, protect only items that create a genuine early-game shortcut. Ermal's Expedition Vault can carry over up to five selected items, so common weapons and easily replaced materials are poor choices. A scarce Blueprint or a difficult progression bottleneck is usually more valuable than an expensive gun that may be lost in the first Topside run. Confirm the current Vault restrictions in-game before relying on any protected slot.
Third, if your personal Expedition stage uses Mystery Rewards, finish the damage objectives steadily instead of saving 100,000 damage for the final days. Fight targets that match the squad's equipment, keep an extraction route open, and avoid turning every ARC encounter into an unnecessary PvP beacon. Trials Season 5 ends on September 22 and Trials then pause until October 8, so do not plan on using Trials during the final week of the Expedition window.
Fourth, clean up the economy according to the choice already made. A departing player should stop hoarding ordinary gear that will be reset and build the Stash value needed for any eligible Skill Point catch-up or stage-specific calculation. A player who is skipping should preserve useful equipment and continue building normally. The ARC Raiders money guide helps compare repeatable extraction value without confusing Coins with Raider Tokens.
Finally, plan the first hours after departure. Permanent bonus points reduce the early Skill Tree delay, but Level, equipment, and crafting infrastructure still need work. Players who want to shorten that recovery can review the ARC Raiders leveling route for character progression and the separate Workshop upgrade option for crafting infrastructure. Keeping those goals separate prevents a fast Level rebuild from being mistaken for a restored Workshop.
Before logging off on the final day, make one last manual check: Caravan complete, registration active, challenge progress confirmed, quest-reset preference selected, Vault choices checked, and no irreplaceable item left outside the intended protection. There is no Last Call after the deadline.
Conclusion
ARC Raiders Expeditions pause after the September 8-29 window because Embark wants to address departure timing, rewards, and new-player accessibility with larger changes rather than continue making incremental fixes. The fifth Expedition is the last departure until early 2027, not the final Expedition permanently and not a forced wipe.
Departing resets the current Raider's Level, normal skills, inventory, Coins, Workshop progression, crafting capability, and unprotected Blueprints, while confirmed permanent Expedition rewards and metagame progress remain. Quest reset is now optional, earned XP, Scrappy materials, and repair-value buffs persist through the pause, and incomplete Caravans are converted into equal-value Ermal Vouchers.
Veterans finishing their fifth personal Expedition receive the clearest value through the complete Zenith Outfit, the 60-space Expedition Stash maximum, Mystery Rewards, and preserved buffs. Earlier-stage players can still gain meaningful permanent progression, but their rewards follow their own Expedition number. If the rebuild sounds worse than the rewards, skipping the departure remains a valid choice. The system is voluntary, and preserving a Raider you still enjoy is entirely consistent with how Embark designed Expeditions.
