ARC Raiders Expeditions - Timeline & Context
High-level timeline of Expeditions 1-3 as mirrored in this site's data: departure windows, reward-method changes, catch-up shifts, and where to read archive summaries vs. the active checklist.
The Expedition system has already gone through three distinct eras: the original harsh stash-value launch, the post-feedback catch-up revision, and now the April 17 Expedition 3 switch to a damage challenge for the main five skill points.
Comparison snapshot
| Expedition 1 | Expedition 2 | Expedition 3 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Construction start | Oct 30 2025 | Dec 22 2025 | Mar 2 2026 |
| Departure date | Dec 22 2025 | Mar 2 2026 | May 11 2026 |
| Main 5 SP reward method | 5M stash (1M/pt) | 3M stash (600k/pt) | Damage challenge |
| Catch-up available | No | Yes (300k/pt) | Yes (300k/pt after challenge) |
| Stage progress carry | No | Yes (post-1.13) | Yes |
| Stash slots gained | +12 | +12 (24 total) | +12 (36 total) |
Oct 30 2025 - Game launch and Expedition 1 construction begins
ARC Raiders launched with the first Expedition already forming in the background. The Projects tab unlocked at Raider level 20, and the first version of the system asked for the harshest economy commitment the game has used so far.
Expedition 1 established the familiar six-stage shape, but the part players remember most is the reward math:
- 250k Combat / 100k Survival / 180k Provisions / 300k Materials in Stage 5
- 5 million total stash value for the full five skill points
- 1 million per skill point
There was also no carry-over for partial progress and no catch-up for missed points.
Dec 6 2025 - Official delay announcement
Embark pushed the first sign-up window back and clarified the cadence. The message players kept repeating was that everyone would have a six-day period and then depart together on the 22nd. That set the tone for the whole system: shared cutoff, no quiet late departures.
Dec 17-22 2025 - Expedition 1 sign-up window
This is where the first big lesson landed. Sign-up was manual, not automatic. Players who finished the checklist but missed the button learned that the hard way.
Dec 22 2025 - Expedition 1 departure
The first major reset hit, and the backlash was immediate. The 5M threshold was called steep, grind-heavy, and too RNG-sensitive for normal players. Plenty of casual accounts either skipped entirely or left with fewer than five points.
That reaction directly triggered the first major design correction.
Jan 27-28 2026 - Patch 1.13.0 (Headwinds)
This was the quality-of-life reset patch. The biggest structural improvement was that Stages 1-5 began carrying between cycles, which meant missing one window no longer erased all the prep work.
That one change made the system much less punishing for players with uneven schedules.
Feb 5 2026 - “Preparing for your Second Expedition”
This was the first direct developer response to Expedition 1 backlash. Embark lowered the threshold from 5M to 3M total, or 600k per skill point, and introduced catch-up at 300k per missed Expedition 1 point.
They also adjusted item requirements and expanded the cosmetic package with more Patchwork toggles, new colors, and another +12 stash slots.
This is the point where Expeditions stopped feeling impossible to average players and started feeling like a system the team was actively tuning.
Feb 25 - Mar 2 2026 - Expedition 2 sign-up and departure
Expedition 2 landed with far less backlash. The community mood shifted hard toward “devs listened” because the system kept its prestige identity while becoming more realistic to finish.
This was also the first time catch-up became part of normal Expedition planning instead of just theory.
Mar 31 2026 - Flashpoint update
Flashpoint did not change Expedition reward logic directly, but it improved the economy around it:
- locked-room loot value went up,
- Baron Husk spawns increased,
- stash value started displaying in inventory,
- and Shredders began spawning on more maps.
That made Expedition prep more efficient, even though the core reward curve still looked like Expedition 2 at the time.
Apr 17 2026 - A Triumphant Exit
This is the second major system redesign moment. Embark changed Expedition 3’s reward logic from a stash-value race to a damage challenge during the live Expedition window.
The important rule changes:
- the main five Expedition 3 skill points now come from dealing damage,
- the thresholds are 5,000 / 10,000 / 30,000 / 50,000 / 100,000 damage for 1-5 SP,
- catch-up stays stash-value based at 300k per point,
- catch-up only unlocks after the challenge is complete,
- and the new Last Call feature lets players who finished the Caravan but missed sign-up still depart later without earning the damage-based skill points.
This is the moment Expedition 3 stopped being a “hit 3M stash or fail” season and became a “finish the Caravan, then stay active through the extended window” season.
Apr 28 - May 11 2026 - Expedition 3 live window
The updated official Expedition 3 window opens on April 28 at 11:00 UTC / 4:00 AM PT and closes on May 11 at 07:00 UTC / 12:00 AM PT. Automatic departure happens at that same closing time.
Community sentiment going into this window is far calmer than Expedition 1 because the system is now familiar, but the April 17 rule change matters: the five-point reward track is active gameplay now, not just stash hoarding.