ARC Raiders Expedition 2 Speculation | The Coin Grind Will Be Gone, But What Replaces It?
Category: ARC Raiders Posted: Jan 16, 2026 Views: 994
The second phase of ARC Raiders' Expedition Project is about to begin in about four weeks. Given the poor reception of the first Expedition's requirement for players to contribute items worth 5 million in-game coins, players have been eagerly awaiting news, worried that the second Expedition might also disappoint.
Below, we'll delve into the issues raised by Expedition and the developers' responses, combining official announcements and other scattered information.

A Recap of The First Expedition
The first Expedition ended on December 22nd or 23rd (depending on your timezone) more than three weeks ago. This means the current Expedition has about four weeks remaining. Most of the first Expedition involved players collecting items according to a list, culminating in a final stage requiring the contribution of various items worth 750,000 coins..
The final requirements for the second Expedition have not yet been announced. Considering the development team only gave two weeks' notice for the previous 5 million coins requirement, we can only speculate that we'll have to wait another two weeks for an announcement.
As an extraction shooter, ARC Raiders also needed a mechanism to clear players' gear, materials, and ARC Raiders blueprints to start the next cycle, thus extending the game's lifespan. The developers wanted the game to be more casual, so this process should be entirely optional, rewarding players who chose to reset.
However, Virgil Watkins, design director of ARC Raiders, believes this puts players in a predicament, forcing them to abandon using their items.
The clearing of items in the first expedition was an experiment, allowing the developers to observe whether players were sufficiently engaged to restart. However, because the initial clearing focused on players' stash wealth, it meant that once the requirement was announced, players were no longer actively using their loot.
Virgil Watkins stated that the requirement for the second expedition will change, and they plan to continuously adjust it to ensure it properly incentivizes players. He also revealed that the current intention is for Skill Points to not be a permanent reward for expeditions, as Skill Points will eventually reach a cap, but he didn't specify what type of reward it will be.
Speculation on Second Expedition
Regarding the rewards for the second expedition, it's certain that Skill Points will still be involved. You can expect up to five more, increasing the new total from 81 to 86. These additional Skill Points will eventually reach a cap. The same likely applies to additional Stash Bases.
However, Skill Points and Stash Base space are permanent. So, if you choose not to reset and miss future expeditions, you won't lose what you've already gained.
However, repair, XP, or Scrappy Materials buffs (which stack up to three times) from expeditions will be lost if you don't participate in subsequent expeditions.
Alternative Solution for Second Expedition
The 5 million coin requirement is unlikely to be met again. The developers need a new system to allow players to participate in expeditions while experiencing the full game content and more naturally consuming high-level equipment. One player-suggested alternative is to link the expedition's end goal to defeating powerful ARC units.
Requirements
Players need to collect cores from specific high-level ARC units, such as Bastion, Queen, Matriarch, and Rocketeer. Alternatively, a total damage target could be set, with players accumulating progress by defeating various ARCs. Different ARCs would offer different scores, with higher-level units providing greater rewards.
This solution would guide players to challenge the game's most distinctive features, encouraging them to confidently use high-level equipment in the mid-game, as the end goal would no longer be accumulating coins but dealing damage or defeating ARCs.
The main challenge with this solution is that encounters with high-level ARCs often depend on Scheduled Events. If players' schedules don't align with fixed event times, they will struggle to challenge certain ARCs. Therefore, randomizing event times could be considered.
In the cumulative damage scheme, all ARC units contribute to progress, albeit at different rates. In this way, players with limited time can still advance their objectives by defeating common units.
Impact of This Solution
If the new expedition objective revolves around ARC, players will have a clear goal in the early, mid, and endgame.
- In the early game, players will focus on accumulating basic resources, upgrading their Workbench, and preparing for their expedition.
- In the mid-game, players will be more willing to use their stockpiled high-level gear to participate in PvP or PvE, enjoying the game and creating an active period of gear consumption.
- In the endgame, players' goal shifts to cooperating to defeat the powerful ARC. PvP conflicts may decrease, with more players collaborating towards a common objective.
Meanwhile, the game's existing matchmaking system effectively blends PvE and PvP experiences, ensuring that every game is unpredictable, which is one of the joys of ARC Raiders.
The 5 million coins requirement for the first expedition is just its biggest flaw; there are also issues of unfairness due to the different number of skills. Hopefully, the developers can address these issues in the second expedition, encouraging players to experience all the game's content and use equipment more strategically at each stage to enhance the player experience.
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