One gameplay staple of extraction shooters is the regular “wipe” that resets everyone’s in-game progress back to square one. Arc Raiders developer Embark Studios knows that this system can be controversial, and to keep things fair, the studio aims to make wipes a voluntary feature of the game through its Expedition Projects.
Players will unlock an Expedition Project at level 20. Each Expedition cycle runs for roughly eight weeks and players will contribute toward overall progress. Once the Expedition is complete, they’ll have the option to reset their progress and lose all gained levels, skills, and their inventory, while their cosmetics and achievements will remain. Players who do not complete an Expedition can instead carry their progress over to the next cycle.
Ideally, this will keep things balanced for everyone. Players who don’t have as much time to commit to playing Arc Raiders won’t have to worry about booting up the game and discovering that they’ve lost all their progress, while dedicated players will be rewarded with unique cosmetic rewards, permanent account unlocks, and buffs that are applied for the duration of the following Expedition cycle.
Design director Virgil added that players who gain these benefits will not have a power or combat advantage over anyone who has not completed a reset. It’s all about bragging rights, as expressed through the cosmetics they’ll earn. “It’s not a silver bullet, and [it] won’t achieve the clean break that a mandatory global reset does, but it does aim to be more equitable to all players. Wherever possible, we want to value your time spent in the game as much as you do,” Virgil wrote.
Arc Raiders launches on October 30 for PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X|S. Ahead of its arrival, Embark Studios will host a Server Slam Open Test from October 17-19 on PC and console, and while progress won’t carry over to the full game, participation will unlock an exclusive backpack cosmetic for use in the full game.