Arc Raiders fans think the Expedition project isn't worth it

Embark Studios has given us a few more details about the Arc Raiders' Expedition Project, which starts on December 17th. To keep it brief, this is the game version of the progress wipe found in many multiplayer games. However, Arc Raiders has made it optional for those who want to keep their progress, while also offering some benefits to those who opt for it.

When the Expedition Project was first revealed, players were previously unsure about wiping all of their skills and loot, but now that we have more details, it doesn't seem like the tradeoff is worth it at all. In addition to a few temporary buffs, those who embark on the expedition will receive some cosmetics, 12 additional stashes, and skill points based on the amount of stash (loot) you've collected. It seems the rewards just aren't as attractive as the developers think.

The rewards of the Expedition Arc Raiders project are not worth it

The queen, a giant mechanical spider, overlooks two characters in ARC Raiders.

While the temporary buffs and cosmetics look nice, it's the skill points part that most players struggle with. According to the blog post: “Your next raider can gain up to five skill points based on the total value of your stash and coins at the time of departure. One million coins worth equals one extra skill point for your new raider.”

The raiders spent over a month collecting loot ranging from common to legendary. If you were planning to go on an expedition, this system incentivized you to keep the loot instead of using it. Ideally, if a wipe was in danger, you'd want to come out with weapons and all your best loot, but this system forces you to stick to getting more skill points for your raider after a wipe.

Players on Reddit have discussed that this will force them to not use any loot until the window closes on December 22nd. “We're days away from wipeout. This should be the time to burn through our caches and equip the most expensive weapons and armor we have, because they'll be gone soon anyway,” said Flumingo1990. “But since Skill Points are tied to Stash Value, no one wants to risk their gear. The game actively punishes me for using my best gear.”

Arc Raiders raider aiming a gun in red lighting.

Arc Raiders should have at least been nominated for this GOTY category

The sound design of Arc Raiders is fantastic and it's a real shame it wasn't recognized at this year's gaming awards.

With this caveat, you can expect many raiders to use the free cargo to build up their stash in hopes of gaining more skill points later on. So instead of allowing the expedition to go out with a bang, it will instead tinker with low-level gear.