The Fourth Expedition departed on July 21, 2026, and with it gone the Fifth Expedition caravan is now live — the fifth and, for most players, the last reset you need to fully max out your Raider account. If you've done all four before, Expedition 5 is the one that tops you out at 60 bonus stash slots and keeps your Expedition-earned bonus Skill Points and triple-stacked buffs at their caps (your ordinary Raider skills and level still reset — that's the whole point of a prestige). Here's every project step, exactly what carries over, the damage thresholds you'll need to hit, and how to finish the caravan fast without torching your stash.
Quick answer: The Fifth Expedition (Expedition 5) preparation phase is live now (late July 2026). You build the caravan over 6 contribution stages during the prep phase, then — once the departure window opens in the final week or two of the ~2-month cycle — you sign up, complete the damage challenge (thresholds at 5,000 / 10,000 / 30,000 / 50,000 / 100,000 damage for up to 5 Skill Points or Mystery Rewards), optionally catch up missed Skill Points, and depart. Departing grants +12 permanent stash space (bringing a 5-Expedition account to 60 total), keeps your maps, cosmetics, codex and Raider Tokens, but resets your Raider level, inventory, Coins and Blueprints. (Source: ARC Raiders official)
ARC Raiders - Blueprints
Get blueprints in 10 minutes
The Fifth Expedition at a glance
| Element | Detail |
|---|---|
| Phase live now | Preparation / caravan build (late July 2026) |
| Departure window | Final ~1–2 weeks of the cycle — expect September 2026 (exact dates TBA by Embark) |
| Unlock requirement | Raider level 20 (permanent unlock) |
| Caravan | 6 contribution stages — committed items are consumed, cannot be retrieved |
| Challenge | Deal damage: 5k / 10k / 30k / 50k / 100k → up to 5 Skill Points / Mystery Rewards |
| Permanent reward | +12 stash space (→ 60 across 5 Expeditions) + Expedition 5 cosmetic set (TBA) |
| Carry items across reset | Up to 5 Expedition Vault Slots via Ermal |
The caravan contributions can be made at any time — even between windows — and progress carries over across cycles, so there's no reason to wait. Start feeding the caravan now while lobbies are calm.
What is the Fifth Expedition in ARC Raiders?
An Expedition is ARC Raiders' recurring Project — a soft "prestige" reset where your current Raider leaves the Rust Belt for good and your next Raider inherits permanent and temporary advantages. As the community ARC Raiders Wiki puts it: "Your Raider will carry all their possessions into the unknown beyond the Rust Belt. In return, your next Raider gains a unique edge that lasts until the next Expedition departs."
One important note: Expeditions are personal progression, completed in order — your "fifth" Expedition only unlocks after you've personally completed and departed on the previous four. If you've done fewer, you're simply on whichever Expedition is next for you, and the rewards below are tied to each Expedition in sequence (Expedition 1 reward on your first departure, and so on).
The Fifth Expedition is simply the fifth cycle in that rolling loop. It's permanently unlocked once any Raider reaches level 20, and the full project runs about two months, split into two phases:
- Preparation phase (~6–7 weeks): you construct and supply the caravan. This is live now.
- Expedition Window (~1–2 weeks): you sign up, complete the challenge, and depart.
Because Expedition 4 ran May 11 → July 21, 2026 (71 days), the Fifth Expedition follows the same cadence — the caravan opens right after the previous one departs, and the window lands near the end of the cycle. Treat the prep phase as a long on-ramp: chip away at the caravan whenever you're topside anyway.
The 5 project steps of every Expedition
Every Expedition follows the same five-step structure. The first happens during prep; the rest happen once the window opens (Source: the community ARC Raiders Wiki):
- Complete the Caravan. Contribute goods and equipment across six stages. You can do this any time, and progress carries across cycles.
- Sign up. Once the window opens, you register to depart. Finishing the caravan does NOT auto-sign you up — you must sign up separately.
- Complete the Challenge (optional). Deal damage to any valid target to earn up to 5 bonus Skill Points (or Mystery Rewards) at set thresholds.
- Catch up (optional). If you've completed a previous Expedition, you can recover up to 5 missed Skill Points per catch-up (300,000 stash value each).
- Depart. All signed-up Raiders leave automatically when the window closes. You create a fresh Raider who receives the Expedition's permanent and temporary rewards.
The caravan: 6 contribution stages
The caravan is built in order, and each committed item is consumed and cannot be retrieved, so commit deliberately. The stages, per the community ARC Raiders Wiki, move from frame to full supply run:
- Base structure & frame of the caravan.
- Wiring, ventilation, and essential power systems.
- Walls, roof, core systems, and interior layout.
- Storage, workbenches, utilities, and personal touches.
- Vital supplies — combat gear, survival equipment, provisions, and repair materials.
- Final loadout to fully prepare the caravan for departure.
Exact item lists shift per Expedition, but the categories are consistent: construction materials early, gear and consumables late. Because contributions carry across cycles, the smart play is to bank surplus crafting mats and mid-tier gear now instead of dumping them on the market.
Stock the caravan without the grind — via timesaver.gg:
- ARC Raiders Materials — from $0.02 — every rarity, instant delivery, to fill the construction stages fast.
- ARC Raiders Blueprints — from $0.99 — 80+ blueprints to unlock the gear you'll want on your fresh Raider.
- All ARC Raiders services — leveling, carries, and more.
The damage challenge: thresholds and Skill Points
Since the "A Triumphant Exit" overhaul, the Expedition challenge is damage-based for every Expedition — new, second, or third-plus — instead of the old "stash value" requirement. As Embark stated in the official announcement: "Instead of gathering stash value and coins, players will now have to deal damage to get all 5 skill points."
The five reward tiers unlock at these cumulative damage thresholds:
| Cumulative damage | Reward tier |
|---|---|
| 5,000 | Reward 1 |
| 10,000 | Reward 2 |
| 30,000 | Reward 3 |
| 50,000 | Reward 4 |
| 100,000 | Reward 5 (full clear) |
For perspective, Embark noted that 100,000 damage is roughly equivalent to destroying 20 Bastions, and that in "a single, very good round, 8,000–10,000 damage was an achievable number." So the 100k tier realistically takes 10+ strong raids across the window — start early, and prioritise hitting big ARC targets (Bastions, Queens, Matriarchs) over farming trash mobs.
Embark has not yet announced whether Expedition 5's challenge pays out raw Skill Points or the Mystery Rewards system (Raider Tokens + temporary blueprints) introduced in Expedition 4 — and the two are not interchangeable. What is confirmed is the threshold structure above; treat the reward type as TBA until Embark posts the Fifth Expedition details.
ARC Raiders - Materials
Get materials in 10 minutes
What you keep vs. what resets
This is where new Expedition players panic. The rule of thumb: anything tied to your current Raider's run resets; account-level progress is kept. Here's the part that's consistent across every Expedition (Source: ARC Raiders official + the community ARC Raiders Wiki):
| ❌ Reset on departure | ✅ Kept forever |
|---|---|
| Player Level & ordinary Raider Skills/Skill Points | Unlocked Maps |
| Inventory Items | Codex Entries |
| Stash Upgrade Progress (bought slots) | Cosmetics |
| Blueprints | Personal Event progress |
| Coins | Raider Tokens (account-level — never lost) |
| Bonus Skill Points from Expeditions | |
| Bonus Stash Slots from Expeditions |
Spend your Coins before you depart — they're consumed. Raider Tokens are account-level and safe. A handful of other systems (Workshop, Trials, Quests, Cred, Merits, Raider Decks) have shifted between the "A Triumphant Exit" and Expedition 4 updates, so their reset/keep status has changed across cycles — check the in-game Expedition Project screen's own "what resets" summary before you commit, since Embark has tweaked the exact list. The +12 stash slots and Skill Points earned through Expeditions are the permanent payoff — they stack every cycle and are never lost.
Temporary buffs (stack up to 3×)
On top of permanents, each departure grants temporary buffs that stack up to three times by departing on consecutive Expeditions. Miss a window and the stack simply stops advancing for that period — per Embark's Expedition 4 guidance, a missed window doesn't wipe your existing progression; the buff just goes inactive and doesn't climb higher. Keep departing on consecutive Expeditions to reach and hold the caps:
| Buff | Per completion | Max (3× stack) |
|---|---|---|
| Repair buff | +10% | +30% |
| XP boost | +5% | +15% |
| Materials from Scrappy | +6% | +18% |
If you've departed on the last two Expeditions, completing the Fifth keeps your buffs at max — the caps are already reached by three consecutive departures, so this cycle maintains them rather than raising them further. Another reason not to skip.
How to complete Expedition 5 fast
- Feed the caravan now. Commit surplus construction mats and mid-tier gear during the quiet prep weeks. Contributions carry over, so nothing is wasted.
- Grind damage in the window, not before. The challenge only counts during the departure window — but the caravan doesn't. Split the work.
- Set up your 5 Ermal Vault slots. Buy up to 5 Expedition Vault Slots from Ermal (the Nomadic Envoys trader, who unlocks at level 25) to carry your best gear/blueprints across the reset — the only way to keep prized items through a departure.
- Spend your Coins before you depart. Coins and your inventory are consumed on departure, so blow your Coins on permanent unlocks first (Raider Tokens are safe — they carry over).
- Sign up early, depart last. Sign up as soon as the window opens so you're locked in, then farm damage right up to the deadline.
Is Expedition 5 worth doing?
For anyone who's already departed on Expeditions 1–4: yes, easily. It's the cycle that caps a maxed account — 60 total bonus stash slots, up to 15 bonus Skill Points via the challenge and catch-up, and triple-stacked buffs. Early players on r/ArcRaiders are calling the Expedition 5 caravan one of the easier ones so far — several report clearing most of it in a couple of hours of normal play, with only the final damage push demanding real effort (anecdotal, not official). For a brand-new Raider still climbing to level 20, finish your progression first; the Expedition will still be there.
Frequently Asked Questions
When does the Fifth Expedition depart in ARC Raiders? The caravan (preparation phase) is live now, in late July 2026. The departure window opens in the final week or two of the ~2-month cycle — based on the Expedition 4 cadence (May 11 → July 21), expect it around September 2026. Embark hasn't published exact Expedition 5 window dates yet, so watch the in-game Expedition Project screen and arcraiders.com.
What are the rewards for Expedition 5? The confirmed permanent reward is +12 stash space (bringing a full 5-Expedition account to 60 bonus slots), plus the damage challenge's up to 5 Skill Points / Mystery Rewards and a new Expedition 5 cosmetic set. The exact outfit for the fifth cycle has not been revealed by Embark yet — the +12 stash and the challenge structure are the parts you can count on.
Do I have to do the Fifth Expedition? No — Expeditions are entirely optional. But skipping one pauses your stacked temporary buffs (repair/XP/Scrappy materials go inactive and stop climbing), and you miss the +12 permanent stash slots. If you're chasing a maxed account, don't skip.
What's the max stash and Skill Points from all Expeditions? Completing all five Expeditions gives +60 bonus stash slots (12 per cycle) and up to 15 bonus Skill Points via the challenge and catch-up system. Temporary buffs cap at 3× stacks (+30% repair, +15% XP, +18% Scrappy materials). You can also buy extra stash slots from Ermal, but those reset each Expedition and must be re-bought.
Can I keep my gear through the Fifth Expedition? Only what's in your Expedition Vault. You can buy up to 5 Vault Slots from Ermal to safely store your most prized items for retrieval after you depart. Everything else in your inventory and stash is reset.
Does finishing the caravan sign me up to depart? No. Completing the caravan and signing up are separate steps. You must actively sign up once the departure window opens, or you won't leave with the caravan.
