The ARC Raiders "Expedition" Grind: Here's the Full Shopping List to Reset Your Character
The final departure window for this cycle opens December 15th. It's time to start farming.
We've known about the Expedition Project for a while now. It's the "prestige" system, the voluntary wipe for all of us who hit level 20 and thought, "Now what?"
It's a way to start fresh, but with some extra flair. But the big question has always been: what's it cost?
Well, now we have the full, six-stage shopping list. And honestly, while it's a hell of a grind, it looks surprisingly... doable.
So, What's the Point of This?
Before you start hoarding, let's recap the "why." This is a big decision.
The Expedition Project is an 8-week-long build. The final week of that cycle, which for us is December 15th to December 20th, is the "finalization window". If you've built all the stages, you can commit to departure.
And when you depart, you're throwing away everything. Your character level, your skills, your entire workshop, and all your inventory are gone.
What you keep are your cosmetics (bought or earned), your achievements, and your rankings. The "meta" stuff.
The reward? "Incentives." You get permanent account unlocks, unique cosmetic items for bragging rights, and account "buffs" for your next run. Most importantly, these buffs are quality-of-life and progression smoothers, not combat advantages. A very smart move.
The Grand Shopping List: Building the Caravan
Alright, here's what you need to start hoarding.
Stage 1: Foundation is your basic resource dump. It's 150 Metal Parts, 200 Rubber Parts, 80 ARC Alloy, and 15 Steel Springs. A few good runs should cover this.
Stage 2: Core Systems gets more specific. You'll need 35 Durable Cloth, 30 Wires, 30 Electrical Components, and 5 Cooling Fans.
Stage 3: Framework is where you'll need to hunt for specific items. It requires 5 Lightbulbs, 30 Batteries, 20 Sensors, and the one-and-only Exodus Module.
Stage 4: Outfitting is the high-tier, late-game barrier. This is the real test. You need 5 Humidifiers, 5 Advanced Electrical Components, 3 Magnetic Accelerators, and 3 Leaper Pulse Units.
Stage 5: Loading Phase isn't a fetch quest; it's a "prove your wealth" test. You have to feed the caravan 250,000 coins worth of Combat items, 100,000 in Survival items, 180,000 in Provisions, and a whopping 300,000 in Materials.
Stage 6: Departure is the easy part. No more materials. You just have to hit the button during that 7-day window.
A Wipe for the Hardcore, Peace for the Rest of Us
I've got to say, I like this system. It's smart.
The hardcore players, the streamers, the 1% who live in the Rust Belt, they get their fresh start. They get to race through the game again and earn their bragging rights.
The rest of us? The "filthy casuals" who just want to upgrade our Gunsmith bench? We're safe. Our progress isn't reset against our will. We can just keep playing at our own pace.
It's a rare system that actually values everyone's time. Now I just have to decide if I'm crazy enough to actually do it.