In a new blog post, Embark Studios has outlined what players can expect from the Expedition, a feature that will let you wipe your progress and start a new character with special rewards and new bonuses based on your previous character's stash value. You can choose whether or not to opt in to the Expedition in a window that will be open from December 17-22.

We've got a full guide on everything that happens when you do an Expedition Project in Arc Raiders, but now we know what we'll get for it. Committing to the Expedition guarantees a new outfit for you, and a Janitor Cap for Scrappy (we don't know what they'll look like yet), a special Indicator icon, and +12 stash space⁠—that's all permanent. You also get temporary buffs to repair, XP gain, and materials from Scrappy at the start of next season.

It's officially 1 skill point per Million in value from r/ArcRaiders

In addition to the guaranteed rewards, you'll get bonus skill points on your new raider contingent on the value of your stash and coins: One extra skill point for every one million coins you've accumulated by December 22.

Speaking with one of PCG's resident Arc experts, senior guides writer Sean Martin, we agree it looks like a characteristically forgiving, generous approach to progress wipes for the approachable extraction shooter, contrasting with the brutal wipes of Tarkov, or even ARPGs like Diablo or Path of Exile, where you can't bring old characters into new seasonal content. Arc is providing this prestige option for its hardcore adherents who just love the grind, while players who don't prestige will actually be at more of a mechanical advantage at the start of a given season. Since expedition rewards are cumulative as well, you'll get increased bonuses if you keep retiring Raiders in subsequent seasons, too.

Comments on a booming thread about the news from Gavinznotcool268 (don't sell yourself short, Gavin) on the Arc Raiders subreddit are trending a bit peeved, finding the rewards a bit stingy, but Sean argues this makes sense as a fully optional, self-imposed challenge, one that will be cumulative with future seasons. After all, Embark can't provide too big of a long term advantage to prestiging players if it wants to keep the game fair.

It strikes me as a rather elegant solution to the clashing power creep and FOMO problems inherent to live service games. If you fall off Arc Raiders and want to get back on the horse, you can ease back in by not prestiging. The sweaty boys, meanwhile, can just burn it all down with each new season, stacking their stash bonuses and swaggy cosmetics over the (hopefully) years of the game's lifespan.

You'll have to reach level 20 in Arc Raiders to be eligible to sign up for the Expedition at all, and you'll want to really hit that grind if you want to maximize the skill bonuses in time for the sign up window's closure on December 22.