ARC Raiders Carry Run

ARC Raiders is rolling out a major update at the end of April, including a new map and an all-new boss. Around the same time, the third Expedition window is also set to open in late April, making this a very significant moment.

On April 17, the team released an article titled A Triumphant Exit, which essentially serves as the official announcement for the third Expedition. It lays out the timing for the third Expedition, key adjustments to the seasonal reset, and several welcome changes compared to previous Expeditions. Let's break down the details.

Third Expedition Date

The specific window for the third Expedition has now been confirmed to open on April 28, aligning closely with earlier estimates. This date also marks the release of Riven Tides update. It will be the first time an Expedition window opens on the same day as a content update - previously, the update would arrive first, followed by Expedition window a day or two later.

The only difference is that the window will open a few hours after the update goes live. This Expedition window will last for five days. The opening and closing times, by time zone, are as follows:

• UTC: April 28, 11:00 – May 4, 07:00
• PDT: April 28, 04:00 – May 4, 00:00
• BST: April 28, 12:00 – May 4, 08:00
• CET: April 28, 12:00 – May 4, 08:00
• AEST: April 28, 21:00 – May 4, 17:00
• JST: April 28, 20:00 – May 4, 16:00

Expedition Requirements

If you've been hoarding wealth or high-value items throughout this season, most of that accumulation has now become largely irrelevant. Unlike previous seasons, where coins and stash value were the final targets for earning top rewards, this Expedition requires you to deal damage to enemies during the window to obtain the highest reward: 5 Skill Points.

This adjustment is now the standard rule for the current version, whether you are taking part in your first, second, or third Expedition. The number of Expeditions you've completed doesn't matter - what counts is the total damage you deal between April 28 and May 4.

How to Meet the Damage Requirement?

To earn all 5 Skill Points for this season, you need to deal damage to any target except the shooting range within the five-day window. This change is clearly meant to encourage active combat. However, the exact damage threshold has not yet been revealed.

The team has already stated their intention to reform Expedition system, moving away from a monotonous gold grind and reshaping core mechanics such as ARC Raiders blueprints and Skill Point allocation. This shift was therefore to be expected.

Players who enjoy PvE will need to find ways to eliminate ARC enemies on the map, while PvP players can expect even more chaos and relentless killing during the window. Stella Montis is sure to become a bloody battlefield. 

Stash Value

Although your stash value is no longer needed for this Expedition, the catch-up mechanic still relies on coins and stash value for conversion. Similar to the previous Expedition, you can use 300,000 (combined coins and stash value) to make up for each Skill Point you missed earlier. However, you must first obtain the 5 skill points from the current Expedition by completing the damage challenge.

For example, suppose you earned only 3 out of 5 Skill Points in the last Expedition (missing 2). This time, you complete the damage challenge and earn all 5 Skill Points. If, when the window closes, you have a combined stash and coin value of 600,000, you will receive a total of 7 Skill Points. If you also missed points from the first Expedition, you can continue to catch up, but that will require even more value.

Last Call

A major issue with past Expedition windows was that players had to actively confirm and agree to depart within the five-day window. If you missed it, the entire Expedition window became void - no reset, no benefits.

Now, a new feature called Last Call has been introduced. It allows players who have completed all the prerequisite steps for an Expedition and are only waiting for departure confirmation - even if they missed the five-day registration window - to still depart the next time they log in, after the window has closed and the reset has already taken place.

The only difference is that because you depart through this option without needing to meet the damage requirement, you will not earn any Skill Points. However, you will still receive the basic rewards, including:

• Patchwork outfit (evolved)
• Expedition Indicator icon
• Stash capacity increase

More importantly, Last Call also allows you to retain your Consecutive Buffs. If you fail to depart, those buffs would be lost. Last Call gives you one final chance - even if you can't obtain all the rewards, you can still advance your progress and make up for what you missed in the next Expedition window.

Rewards

Permanent Rewards

Patchwork outfit from Expedition rewards will continue to evolve. However, the announcement mentions that the fourth Expedition will feature a completely different appearance. The evolved skin actually already existed in the game files in an unimplemented state after the last Expedition update, and it will now be officially awarded as the reward for the third Expedition. Depending on whether you are participating in your first, second, or third Expedition, you will receive the corresponding version of the outfit.

Stash capacity: Each Expedition adds 12 stash slots. After upgrading to the maximum capacity:

• First Expedition: 292 slots
• Second Expedition: 304 slots
• Third Expedition: 316 slots

Each Expedition grants up to 5 Skill Points, plus any additional points you catch up on. Note that you can obtain at most 5 extra points via the catch-up mechanic per Expedition, for a total of 10.

Consecutive Buffs

Depending on how many Expeditions you have completed, these buffs will stack cumulatively, up to a maximum of three stacks.

• General experience bonus: 5% → 10% → 15%
• Scrappy materials boost: 6% → 12% → 18%
• Repair value increase: 60% → 70% → 80%

If you complete the third Expedition but skip the fourth, these buffs will drop back to the base level, and you will need to complete three Expeditions in a row again to restore them to their current tier.

This third Expedition is certainly more engaging than simply hoarding stash value, but the window is rather short, and many players may miss out. The current approach to Expedition doesn't feel fully mature. Given that the team is considering adjustments to various aspects of the game, these changes may well be temporary.

In ARC Raiders FlashPoint, a new legendary weapon called Dolabra has been added to the game. It is a shotgun that, like other energy firearms, uses Energy Clips and features Strong Armor Penetration. While its penetration isn't top-tier, its unique dual-mode firing mechanism makes it an intriguing weapon.

Of course, players care more about how well it actually performs - after all, in ARC Raiders, a weapon's rarity doesn't tell the whole story. Quite a few rare and epic weapons are favored for their better utility. So we need to test how it holds up in real combat.

Against Large ARC Units

Large ARC units like Bastion and Bombardier boast heavy firepower and tough armor. For most PvE weapons, the most straightforward strategy is to aim for their core zone and pour on the damage. Equalizer, Jupiter, and Hullcracker all have potent Arc Armor Penetration, allowing them to dump massive damage in a short time and quickly destroy their targets. This brute-force approach works very efficiently on them.

But Dolabra falls short in this regard. It only has Strong Arc Armor Pen, not extreme. Using the same head-on assault tactic, it takes considerably longer to eliminate a target. It's no exaggeration to say that even an Anvil or a Bettina might get the job done faster.

So if you want to take down large ARC units with Dolabra, you'll need a more strategic approach. First, you have to target their weak points to knock them down, then circle around to their core to unload all your damage.

The problem, however, is that Dolabra's rate of fire and reload speed prevent you from dealing a lethal amount of damage before the target gets back up. In comparison, if you were wielding a Vulcano, the fight would already be over. Overall, against large ARC units, Dolabra is far from an excellent choice.

Against Small Flying ARC Units

It's when you use Dolabra against smaller ARC units that its true strengths emerge. It proves highly efficient against light flyers like Wasps, Hornets, and Fireflies - usually taking just two shots to bring one down.

When you fire at a Hornet's or Firefly's thrusters, the spread of pellets often destroys the other thruster behind it as well, genuinely letting you eliminate one enemy with two shots. In terms of takedown speed, it's on par with Equalizer, Jupiter, and Hullcracker.

If you sometimes can't be bothered to aim carefully, don't need pinpoint accuracy, and just want to quickly clear those annoying airborne pests, Dolabra is a handy and effective choice.

This is especially true when you're running around Stella Montis region on trial missions, getting frustrated by those scurrying, aggressively taunting Ticks. Anvil often misses them, but Dolabra never lets you down - its wide pellet spread means you'll almost always hit, and sometimes you can even take out two Ticks with a single shot.

However, against Shredders found in Stella Montis area, Dolabra can't maintain that level of performance. Shredders have heavier armor, and Dolabra's damage per shot isn't sufficient to punch through effectively, so taking one down consumes a lot of ammunition.

Of course, if you want to achieve higher scores in the weekly Trials Tick missions, a Dolabra will definitely save you a lot of trouble. If you haven't obtained its blueprint yet, you can participate in IGGM's giveaway on Discord to get various weapon blueprints for free.

Range and Damage Falloff

When using this weapon, you'll constantly notice it falls short in some respects. One of Dolabra's biggest issues is that, while you can tighten its pellet spread by aiming down sights to turn it into a mid-range weapon, it suffers from a strict maximum range limit.

Worse still, even when you're within that maximum range, if the target is near the edge of that range, damage falloff becomes severe. This prevents it from serving as a reliable long-range weapon like Anvil. Unless the target is quite close, Dolabra won't deliver satisfactory damage.

This puts Dolabra in a very awkward position. It can't match the speed of Vulcano or other powerful PvE weapons when taking down large ARC units. For clearing flying ARC units at a distance - while doable - most other weapons can do the same. And when you try to engage ARC units farther away, you're frustrated by the maximum range limit. In short, for every role, there's a better option.

PvP Performance

In PvP, Dolabra's damage as a shotgun is fairly reliable. Within 15 meters, you can consistently eliminate a full-health player with a light shield in three shots. The number of hits to kill is almost identical whether you hip-fire or aim down sights. But Volcano has a faster firing rate, a higher margin for error, and a higher kill efficiency, while its acquisition difficulty and cost are not necessarily higher.

Crafting Requirements

One advantage of Dolabra is that, compared to other legendary weapons, its material needs are much simpler. As long as you have ARC Raiders Dolabra blueprint, you can easily replicate this weapon. The required materials are as follows:

• Vaporizer Regulator x2
• Magnetic Accelerator x3
• Shredder Gyro x3

Among these, Shredder Gyros and Magnetic Accelerators can be obtained in large quantities without much trouble in Stella Montis map. As for Vaporizer Regulators, defeating just one or two Vaporizers will get you enough. Unlike other legendary weapons, crafting Dolabra doesn't require hunting for exceptionally rare drops like Queen Reactor.

Additionally, it is the only non-basic weapon in the game that doesn't require Simple Gun Parts. This makes it much easier to craft compared to other legendary weapons. But considering its overall performance, an epic rarity might suit it better.

All in all, Dolabra is neither the best weapon in PvP nor in PvE. Currently, it lacks an irreplaceable core advantage to justify its legendary status. The developers need to give it a boost.