Embark Studios has detailed the Fourth Expedition for ARC Raiders, and the headline change isn't the new cosmetic on offer, it's a rework of how veterans are rewarded for going Topside. For the first time, players completing their fourth Expedition will stop earning Skill Points from the Expedition Challenge altogether, swapping them for a new "Mystery Reward" system built around Blueprints and Raider Tokens.
The announcement, posted today frames the change as another round of iteration on a system the studio has been openly tweaking since launch. "Each Expedition we run, we learn something new and look for ways to make improvements," the post reads, with this time meaning a reworked reward structure for the most committed Raiders.
When Does Expedition 4 Go Live?
The departure window opens on July 7 at 11:00 UTC (1pm CEST / 4am PT) and closes on July 21 at 08:00 UTC (10am CEST / 1am PT), giving players a 14-day stretch to sign up and meet the requirements. Everyone who's signed up departs automatically when the window closes.
As always, Embark is stressing the distinction that trips players up every cycle: finishing your Caravan does not count as signing up. You still have to manually enrol once the window is live. The "last call" safety-net feature returns for anyone who leaves it late. A fresh Trials Season also kicks off the moment the window opens.
How to Do the Expedition
Complete the Caravan
The option to contribute to the Caravan starts as soon as you complete the previous Expedition and if this is your first Expedition, you can start contributing right away.Wait for the Expedition Window
Sign Up
Once the Expedition window opens, you need to sign up.Complete the Challenge
In order to get the rewards, players will need to complete a challenge within the Expedition Window (more details below).Catch Up
Catch up on missed skill points (max 5 per Expedition) for players on their second, third or fourth Expedition (more details below).Depart
Expedition 4 Changes
For Raiders on their fourth Expedition, the Expedition Challenge now pays out Blueprints and Raider Tokens, delivered after departure, rather than Skill Points. The number you earn scales with total damage dealt during the window, using the same thresholds as the previous Expedition. Crucially, and unlike Skill Points, there's no catch-up mechanic for these rewards.
The five damage tiers are:
5,000 damage — Reward 1
10,000 damage — Reward 2
30,000 damage — Reward 3
50,000 damage — Reward 4
100,000 damage — Reward 5
Each completed departure objective grants one Blueprint (from a pool of roughly two dozen, covering weapon parts, augments, and gear like the Venator, Osprey, and Wolfpack), plus 150 Raider Tokens. The catch: Blueprints are temporary and reset when you depart on your next Expedition, while Raider Tokens are permanent. Embark is being upfront that this is an experiment, "the first time we are trying the Mystery Reward system", and says it'll monitor performance and feedback closely before deciding whether to keep it.
On the permanent side, finishing the fourth Expedition unlocks the first step of the brand-new Zenith Outfit (the previous Patchwork set is now complete), bumps stash space by 12 slots to 48 total, and continues the existing Skill Point catch-up, which caps out at 15.
The Blueprints
Heavy Gun Parts Blueprint
Complex Gun Parts Blueprint
Padded Stock Blueprint
Extended Barrel III Blueprint
Muzzle Brake III Blueprint
Stable Stock III Blueprint
Vertical Grip III Blueprint
Venator Blueprint
Rascal Blueprint
Osprey Blueprint
Trailblazer Blueprint
Anvil Blueprint
Bettina Blueprint
Hullcracker Blueprint
Tempest Blueprint
Vulcano Blueprint
Dolabra Blueprint
Aphelion Blueprint
Combat Augment Mk 3 Flanking Blueprint
Tactical Augment Mk 3 Defensive Blueprint
Looting Augment Mk 3 Safekeeper Blueprint
Looting Augment Mk 3 Survivor Blueprint
Wolfpack Blueprint
Powered Descender Blueprint
Snap Hook Blueprint
New Raiders
Quote From Ossen We understand the frustration of new players that are only now starting to do their Expeditions. We need to find the right balance of rewarding our veteran players but also give new players fair and fun ways to catch up and not feel like they are always behind. This is a continuous effort and we'll keep you updated as we have more to share.
It is great to see ARC Raiders having continued success with their game with Embark and Nexon talking figures north of 15 million copies sold and roughly $500 million in revenue, with a cross-platform concurrent peak of around 960,000 players back in January and roughly 6 million weekly actives at its height. Steam concurrents have since settled into the tens of thousands which is certainly normal for a premium live-service title, and honestly? Still comfortably dominant within the extraction-shooter genre which isn't something Marathon can say with the recent layoffs at Bungie.
Are you loving ARC Raiders? Let us know how you feel about the game thus far in the comments below.
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