Embark Studios has finally released details on their progression reset system for their upcoming third-person extraction shooter, ARC Raiders (2025). 

Progression resets, also known as ‘wipes,’ are a mechanic that originated in the lengthy beta development cycle for Escape from Tarkov (2025), the grandfather of all extraction shooters. In order to test new content, Tarkov’s developers forced their player base to reset their accounts and begin again with fresh characters. While progression resets are common in betas, wipes in Tarkov provided secondary benefits that have become key features of the genre.

Progression in extraction shooters is different than other loot-focused shooters, like Destiny (2014). Persistent inventories, or stashes, allow players to accumulate a lot of powerful gear, if they put in the effort. As time passes, the player base inevitably becomes divided between hardcore players, who stomp servers with the best gear in the game, and casual players who sabotage themselves by going outside or having a social life. 

While wipes alleviate these issues, at least for a short time, communities remain divided on the benefits of wipes, especially, global wipes, in which players have no choice, but to lose their progression. Some players appreciate them because they equalize the playing field and everyone explores the new content from the same perspective. Others deride them because they force players to forfeit any gear advantages they managed to obtain, keeping them perpetually behind more dedicated players.

Embark is seeking to avoid these pain points by introducing a voluntary reset system called the Expedition Project. Instead of instituting forced global wipes, Embark is giving players the option to reset their character’s progress for exclusive rewards, if certain conditions are met.

Here’s how Expeditions will work: 

• At level 20, players unlock a new feature called Projects. 

• Projects are events which are only open for a specific time. 

• The first major Project, the Expedition Project, runs for eight weeks.  

• During this time, players complete the Project by contributing materials, such as Metal Parts, Steel Springs, etc.

• If a Project is unfinished when the time expires, all progress carries over.

• After finalizing the Expedition Project, your character resets and they lose all levels, skills, items, and crafting; they will keep any cosmetics, achievements, and previously purchased content.

• For convenience, you will skip any tutorials and onboarding after a reset.

The first Expedition Project opens on launch day, October 30th, and closes on December 14th. Raiders then have five days to finalize their projects with completed caravans departing on December 21st.

In order to entice players to participate, Embark is offering the following incentives: 

• “Permanent account unlocks for each Expedition completed.” (It is unclear what these are at this time.)

• Exclusive cosmetics and cosmetic-based progression rewards.

• Account “buffs” that scale with repeated resets. (It is also unknown what these are at this time.)

• Sequential completions of the Expedition Project increase the magnitude of these buffs, up to a limit.

Embark promises any “buffs” will not provide combat advantages, but instead will give quality of life (QoL) improvements, cosmetics, bragging rights, and smoother progression. Virgil, the design director for ARC Raiders, writes, “Completing a reset should never give a player a power or combat advantage over anyone who has not completed a reset.”

Embark’s stated goals for the Expedition Project are to allow casual players to retain their progress without forced wipes and provide highly engaged players with a fresh replay experience with rewards that encourage their time investment.  More projects are likely to be added with future updates.

[You can read the official post on the Expedition Project on the ARC Raiders website.]

Embark has provided a lot of detail on this new feature, but some big questions remain. What exactly are “permanent account unlocks?” What will the “buffs to be applied during the following expedition cycle” do? What does smoother progression mean for players who have reset? And how big is the time commitment required for completing the Expedition Project?

Overall, this new approach to a somewhat divisive system looks promising. Embark is definitely trying to provide features the community is requesting. No doubt, there will be a lot of feedback as the Expedition Project is implemented and the game evolves. Some players, like myself, are looking forward to having a goal to work towards once the game is released.    

At the very least, Embark is demonstrating they are shifting their focus to the health of the game beyond its October 30th launch. ARC Raiders is shaping up to be a fully realized product with a healthy future ahead of it, something rarely seen in the extraction shooter genre.