In a move that prioritizes player agency and respects time investment, Embark Studios has revealed the Expedition Project – a voluntary character reset system that offers fresh starts without mandatory progression wipes. Design Director Virgil shared the details in a comprehensive blog post, explaining how this innovative approach balances player progression with the desire for periodic resets.
The Expedition Project: A Player-Centric Approach
Unlike traditional mandatory wipe systems common in extraction shooters, the Expedition Project puts control firmly in players' hands. Available starting at level 20, this system allows Raiders to voluntarily reset their character progression while maintaining meaningful rewards for their investment.
How the Expedition System Works
The Expedition Project operates on an 8-week repeating cycle:
- Weeks 1-7: Players contribute to and progress their Expedition Project
- Week 8: A one-week window opens for players to finalize and complete their Expedition
Progress carries over between cycles, so players who aren't ready during one window can continue working toward the next opportunity without losing their accumulated effort.
📊 Expedition Timeline
What You Keep vs. What You Lose
The Expedition Project maintains a clear distinction between character-specific progression and account-wide achievements:
❌ What Gets Reset
- Character levels and experience
- Skills and ability progression
- Items, inventory, and equipment
- Workshop and crafting capabilities
- All character-specific progression
✅ What You Keep
- All cosmetics (earned or purchased)
- Awards and achievements
- Rankings and competitive progress
- Real-money purchases and premium content
- Account-wide unlocks and benefits
🚀 Reset Benefits & Convenience
After completing an Expedition, players enjoy several quality-of-life improvements:
- Skip most onboarding and tutorial steps
- Immediate access to previously unlocked features and maps
- Faster early-game progression
Incentives and Rewards
While Embark is still finalizing exact rewards, the system will provide meaningful incentives for players who choose to reset:
Permanent Account Unlocks
Each completed Expedition grants permanent account-wide benefits that persist across all characters and game sessions.
Unique Cosmetic Rewards
Exclusive cosmetics tied to Expedition completions provide visual recognition for dedicated players while maintaining gameplay balance.
Sequential Account Buffs
Account "buffs" are applied for the duration of the following Expedition cycle, with increased magnitude for each sequential completion. These focus on quality-of-life improvements and progression smoothing rather than combat advantages.
🎯 Design Philosophy
"We are being very careful about the nature of these benefits. Completing a reset should never give a player a power or combat advantage over anyone who has not completed a reset."
– Embark Studios Design Team
Implications for Build Optimization
The Expedition Project has significant implications for how players approach character building and progression in Arc Raiders:
Strategic Reset Planning
Players can now plan character resets around meta shifts, personal goals, or when they feel their current build has reached its optimal potential. This creates opportunities for:
- Testing experimental builds without permanent consequence
- Adapting to evolving meta strategies
- Experiencing different playstyles periodically
- Re-optimizing based on new weapons or attachments
Community Build Evolution
This system will likely accelerate the evolution of build strategies as players regularly experiment with fresh characters while maintaining the knowledge gained from previous playthroughs.
Future Projects & Expansion
The Expedition Project is just the first major project in what Embark describes as a broader "Projects" system. Future projects may be added through:
- Regular game updates
- Holiday events and celebrations
- Special limited-time content
- Community-driven initiatives
These projects will vary in scale and reward structure, providing ongoing reasons for long-term engagement while maintaining player choice.
A Balanced Approach to Player Investment
The Expedition Project represents Embark's commitment to valuing player time while providing mechanisms for renewal and continued engagement. By making resets voluntary and properly incentivized, the system aims to achieve two key outcomes:
- Highly engaged players can experience fresh starts regularly while accruing meaningful benefits
- Casual players maintain control over their progression pace without external pressure to reset
🎮 Ready to Plan Your Expeditions?
Start thinking about your long-term build strategy now. The Expedition Project opens up new possibilities for experimentation and optimization that will shape the Arc Raiders meta for months to come.
The wasteland awaits your next expedition. Will you embrace the reset and discover new strategies, or continue building your legend? The choice is yours, Raider.