Developer Embark Studios has once again announced tweaks to the Arc Raiders Expedition window, and players who have spent months saving millions of credits are feeling left behind.
The developer behind the ongoing extraction shooter published a long list of adjustments for its prestige feature, which allows players to start over with bonuses depending on their performance, in a blog post on its website today. Instead of requiring the last-season switch of 3 million credits worth of stash value for the maximum amount of bonus skill points, Embark is removing the credit stipulation for the third Expedition and will now reward points based on damage dealt.
Arc Raiders Expedition 3 Bonuses. Image courtesy of Embark Studios.
The studio said it made these changes because “grinding for monetary value isn’t the most exciting experience,” a point many fans seem to agree with. The catch is that players now have a five-day window from April 28 to May 4 at midnight to participate in and complete the challenge if they want to earn all five available skill points. While those using the catch-up mechanic to earn skill points from previous Expeditions will still earn them through stash value, those on the third window who have spent their time gathering resources since the last Expedition ended March 1 may have done all of the collecting for nothing.
“Above all, we want expeditions to be fun and not an endless grind,” Embark continued. “We believe these changes create a fair and engaging challenge that keeps everyone active across the full 5 days.”
It’s the fact that such a major change has arrived without warning that has most players fired up. Adding insult to injury is the lack of clarity on how much damage will be required to meet the five-skill-point mark, leaving players left to wonder if they’ll be able to get all five – or any at all – in time.
“Sure is nice that every time an expedition comes around, they wait until the last possible second to let people know what to expect and what has changed,” one Reddit user commented.
“My friends and I will coincidentally be on vacation for 4 of the 5 day window,” someone else said. “Are we cooked?”
The fear that players won’t have the free time to dedicate to Arc Raiders during the window seems to be the prevailing concern in the community, but some do have suggestions for how the situation could be rectified. A few players who like the idea of damage instead of stash value say they’d be open to the change if Embark had announced it for Expedition four instead of Expedition three.
“I really dont get why they cant just do the same as previous expedition for this one, and then next expedition it tracks damage for the entire season to get the skill points,” someone suggested. “This seems like they wanted to get rid of the 3 mil requirement, but decided it too late and now put this half ass 5-day requirement in.”
This idea sounds like it can be solid but changing part of the expedition right before it starts just doesn’t make sense?
It’s also very strange not knowing how much damage you need to dish out. Will that be announced right before the expedition closes?
Good idea, bad execution https://t.co/MS41HUobfm
— EmbarkBulletin (@EmbarkBulletin) April 17, 2026
“I saved up 3 million credits throughout this entire season to ‘chill’ on the last phase of the expedition. It’s practically worthless now because of the lack of communication,” another player added. “I do like the new change but this needed to be implemented in the BEGINNING on the season… People have lives, on vacation, or have important stuff scheduled… like wtf, Embark. A 5 day window is absurd.”
Arc Raiders is facing an important point in its post-launch rollout as players await its Riven Tides update. Set to go live later this month, the content drop is expected to be its biggest yet, with a roadmap shared earlier this year saying it would include the first new map in months. Embark has yet to comment on how it may respond to those disappointed with the new Expedition changes.
We gave Arc Raiders a 9/10 review when it launched October 2025. Recent updates have added new enemies and map conditions, as well as balance changes for some of the most powerful weapons taking over the PvP scene. For more, you can keep up with the BAFTA Game Awards 2026, where Embark managed to win for Multiplayer. You can also check out our interview with CEO Patrick Söderlund.
Michael Cripe is a freelance writer with IGN. He’s best known for his work at sites like The Pitch, The Escapist, and OnlySP. Be sure to give him a follow on Bluesky (@mikecripe.bsky.social) and Twitter (@MikeCripe).
