I Nuked My Arc Raiders Account for a Hat (For My rooster), and I (Mostly) Don't Regret It
There is a specific kind of hollow feeling you get when you log into a looter shooter, open your stash, and see absolutely nothing but the starter pistol and a sense of regret.
The "Expedition" has officially departed. The window closed today, December 22nd, and a massive chunk of the community decided to effectively commit digital suicide. We signed the waiver, we watched our hard-earned loot vanish into the ether, and we woke up back at square one. Embark called it "a new chapter." I call it "voluntary poverty." But now that the dust has settled and I am walking around Speranza looking like a hobo in my exclusive "Patchwork" outfit, I have to ask: was it actually worth it?
The Price of Admission (Everything)
Let's be clear about what we just lost. This wasn't just a "Prestige" click in Call of Duty. This was a wipe. My stash? Gone. My level? Reset. But the real kick in the teeth is the Workshop.
Losing your guns is one thing; you can find more guns. But losing your Crafting Abilities and Blueprints? That is the true grind. I spent weeks unlocking those upgrades to craft better meds and ammo, and now I am back to scraping together basic materials like a fresh install. The fact that the initial onboarding is skipped is a tiny mercy, but it doesn't change the fact that I feel naked without my high-tier crafting recipes.
The "Loot" (What We Got for Our Souls)
So, why did we do it? Why did thousands of us look at our piles of loot and say, "Burn it"? It comes down to the gamer’s primal need for efficiency and status symbols. Here is the breakdown of what we actually bought with our sacrifice.
The Community Verdict
The mood in Speranza right now is a weird mix of elitism and camaraderie. If you see someone wearing the new homeless merch you know two things: 1) They are likely a dedicated player who knows the mechanics inside out, and 2) They currently have terrible gear because they just reset.
For the hardcore crowd, this was a no-brainer. The extra Stash Space is a permanent advantage that will compound over time. If Embark does this every few months, the players who participate every time will eventually have massive inventories compared to those who don't. It is FOMO (Fear Of Missing Out) weaponized in its purest form.
However, I have seen plenty of complaints from casual players who simply couldn't hit that 1 million coin threshold to make the Skill Points worth it. For them, wiping progress for just a drone hat and no head-start points feels like a bad deal. And honestly? They aren't wrong. If you reset with zero bonus Skill Points, you just shot yourself in the foot for fashion.
Was It Worth It?
Personally? Yes. The +12 Stash Space is permanent. My loot will come back. My workshop levels will return. But that extra space is something you cannot grind for in the normal loop.
Plus, there is something refreshing about the "fresh wipe" feeling. It forces you to stop relying on your high-tier crutches and get back to basics. The tension is back. Every piece of loot matters again. I am currently running around with a pea-shooter and a dream, frantically trying to rebuild my empire before the next Expedition window opens.
If you didn't depart this time, don't sweat it too much. You kept your gear, and you can stomp on us "resetters" for a few weeks while we are weak.
The good kind of hurt
It hurts, but it’s the good kind of hurt.
The Arc Raiders Expedition reset is a brutal mechanic for a modern audience, but the permanent rewards (specifically stash size) make it mandatory for long-term players. If you skipped it, you saved your time but capped your potential.