Quick answer: ARC Raiders' 5th Expedition window runs September 8 → September 29, 2026 — a three-week window (extended by one week), with no "last call" this time. It is the last Expedition until early 2027, when Embark pauses the mechanic to rework it. The two big changes: you can now opt out of resetting your quest progress, and the departure window is longer. Expeditions are personal and completed in order, so departing in this window advances your own progression — and finishing your fifth personal Expedition fully unlocks the Zenith Outfit. Other rewards include +12 stash space (which caps at 60) and consecutive buffs that persist through the pause. If you're on the fence about departing, this is the window to lock it in.
This is a news-and-schedule guide: the exact times, everything that changed, the reward list, and what actually happens to your progress during the pause. For the full step-by-step Caravan walkthrough, see our ARC Raiders Fifth Expedition walkthrough.
Everything below is verified against Embark's official announcement on arcraiders.com.
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When does ARC Raiders Expedition 5 start and end?
The window is fixed and short — mark it:
| Event | Date | Time (CEST / UTC / PT) |
|---|---|---|
| Expedition window opens | September 8, 2026 | 1:00 PM CEST / 11:00 AM UTC / 4:00 AM PT |
| Expedition window closes (departure) | September 29, 2026 | 10:00 AM CEST / 8:00 AM UTC / 1:00 AM PT |
| Trials Season ends | September 22, 2026 | — |
| Trials return | October 8, 2026 | (alongside Frozen Trail) |
That's a 21-day departure window — one week longer than previous Expeditions, which ran two weeks. The extra week is a direct response to community feedback that the old windows were too tight for anyone with a job or a backlog.
Important: completing your Caravan does not automatically sign you up. You still have to manually sign up during the window, and there is no "last call" feature this time — miss the September 29 close and you miss the entire Expedition. Do not assume the game will hold a spot for you.
Why is this the last Expedition until 2027?
Because Embark is pausing the whole mechanic to rebuild it. In the announcement, the studio was blunt about the reasons:
"The fifth Expedition will be the last one until early 2027, when Expeditions will return with major improvements, tackling some of the biggest player pain points." — The ARC Raiders Team, official announcement
Embark called out three specific problems it can't fix with small patches: tight departure windows, the reward structure, and accessibility for new players. Their words: "some of the issues you've raised… need more than incremental fixes. They call for bigger changes." So Expeditions go dark after September 29 and come back in early 2027 reworked. Embark says it will share details on those changes in September.
For context, Expedition windows had been landing roughly two months apart (the 4th opened July 7, the 5th opens September 8), so a pause into early 2027 is a longer-than-usual gap but not a total content void — the Frozen Trail update still lands October 8, 2026 with a new map, new ARC enemies, and the new Outpost. See our Frozen Trail October 2026 breakdown for what's confirmed.
What's new in Expedition 5?
Three changes matter this time around:
1. Opt-in quest reset (keep your progress)
The biggest one. Historically, departing on an Expedition reset your quest line, which felt repetitive after the second or third run. Now it's your choice — you can opt out of the reset and keep your quests exactly where you left off.
There's one catch worth knowing: the Hullcracker Blueprint was only obtainable through the quest line, so if you don't reset, you'd normally miss it. Embark confirmed it will "give you other ways to get it," so keeping your progress no longer locks you out of that blueprint.
2. Longer departure window
Two weeks became three weeks (September 8–29). More breathing room to complete the required challenge and sign up.
3. No "last call"
Previous Expeditions gave you a short grace period after the main window. Not this time. Sign up for departure inside the window or you're out.
Expedition 5 rewards: what you actually get
Here's the full confirmed reward list for departing on the 5th Expedition:
| Reward | Detail |
|---|---|
| Zenith Outfit | Completing all five of your personal Expeditions fully unlocks the Zenith Outfit |
| Stash space | +12 stash space, with the Expedition stash bonus capped at 60 |
| Skill points | Bonus Expedition skill points cap at 15; catch-up on up to 5 previously missed points (tied to stash value) |
| Raider Tokens | 150 permanent Raider Tokens per completed departure objective |
| Mystery Rewards | Post-departure reward pool — 1 Blueprint per completed departure objective (temporary; resets when you depart on your next Expedition) |
| Consecutive buffs | XP boost, Scrappy materials boost, and repair-value increase — each capped at 3 levels |
The Mystery Reward blueprints are temporary — they reset when you depart on your next Expedition. The permanent unlocks are the outfit, the stash cap, the skill points, and the Raider Tokens. The consecutive buffs are temporary stacking boosts — but, exceptionally, they persist through the announced pause rather than lapsing (more on that below).
Real player takeaway (r/ArcRaiders): several Raiders pointed out the "on the fence — now's the time" line reads as pressure, but the practical read holds up: if you want the repair/XP/materials buffs kept active through the whole pause, this window is your last chance to earn or extend them until Expeditions return in early 2027.
What happens to my progress during the pause?
This is the part players keep asking about, so here's exactly what Embark confirmed:
- Consecutive buffs persist. Any XP boost, Scrappy materials boost, or repair-value increase you've earned stays active through the entire pause — you lose nothing by the Expeditions going dark.
- Complete all five = Zenith fully unlocked. Finish the 5th and the Zenith Outfit is yours permanently.
- Caravans reset — but you're compensated. Because Caravans get wiped for the rework, any partially completed Caravan is replaced with Ermal Vouchers of equal value. Those vouchers buy Ermal offers (alongside ARC Parts and firearm trades) or can be sold for Coin. You don't eat the loss on a half-finished Caravan.
So the strategic call is simple: if you've already put work into your Caravan or you're chasing buffs, departing on Expedition 5 advances your progression and keeps that momentum going. Embark has confirmed that any consecutive buffs you've already earned will persist through the pause regardless — so you won't lose existing buffs by sitting out — but departing is how you keep the consecutive streak advancing and bank this Expedition's rewards.
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Should you rush to finish Expedition 5?
A quick decision tree based on where you are:
- This would be your fifth personal Expedition: Depart. This is the run that fully unlocks the Zenith Outfit, and your buffs stay active through the pause. Highest value, lowest downside.
- You've completed 1–3 personal Expeditions: Depart. You advance your personal progression, keep the consecutive-buff streak going, and can catch up on missed skill points. You won't finish Zenith this window, but you keep building toward it.
- You're mid-Caravan: Depart if you can. Even a partial Caravan converts to Ermal Vouchers, but a completed departure banks the full reward set and advances your buff streak.
- This is your very first Expedition and you're far behind: It's tighter. Departing counts as your first personal Expedition, so you won't get near Zenith before the pause. Some players are choosing to wait for the early-2027 rework, which specifically targets new-player accessibility — a reasonable call.
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How does Expedition 5 line up with the Frozen Trail update?
The calendar matters here, because two things happen back-to-back:
- September 22 — the current Trials Season ends. Trials then go on a two-week pause until October 8.
- September 29 — the Expedition 5 departure window closes.
- October 8 — the Frozen Trail update drops (new map, new ARC enemies, the new Outpost) and Trials return.
So the final week of September is your last chance to bank Expedition rewards before the mechanic goes dark, and roughly a week later the biggest content update of the year lands. Practically, that means you want to finish Expedition 5 first, then walk into Frozen Trail with your Expedition rewards, expanded stash, and consecutive buffs already active — those buffs carry through the pause and give you a head start on the new map's grind.
One more nuance on the buff math: the consecutive buffs (XP, Scrappy materials, repair value) advance as you depart on Expeditions, and they cap at three levels. If you've already hit the cap, they simply stay active through the pause. If you haven't, this window is your last opportunity to push them higher before early 2027 — after which Expeditions go dark and no further progress can be made until they return.
How to complete the Expedition (the flow)
Straight from the official steps:
- Complete the Caravan — you can contribute to the Caravan as soon as you finish the previous Expedition (or right away if this is your first). The Caravan can be built between windows.
- Wait for the window — opens September 8.
- Sign up — mandatory once the window is live; completing the Caravan alone does not sign you up.
- Complete the challenge — finish the departure challenge inside the window to earn rewards.
- Catch up on skill points — 2nd/3rd/4th-Expedition players can recover up to 5 missed skill points.
- Depart — everyone signed up departs on September 29.
For the deeper Caravan-by-Caravan breakdown and skill-point math, our Fifth Expedition walkthrough and Skill Tree guide cover it.
FAQ
When does ARC Raiders Expedition 5 start and end? The window opens September 8, 2026 (1PM CEST / 11AM UTC / 4AM PT) and closes on September 29, 2026 (10AM CEST / 8AM UTC / 1AM PT) — a three-week departure window with no "last call."
Is this really the last ARC Raiders Expedition? It's the last one until early 2027. Embark is pausing Expeditions after September 29 to rework the mechanic — addressing tight windows, the reward structure, and new-player accessibility — then bringing them back "with major improvements." More detail on those changes is promised for September.
Do my Expedition buffs stay active during the pause? Yes. The consecutive buffs — XP boost, Scrappy materials boost, and repair-value increase (each capped at 3 levels) — persist through the entire pause, so nothing is lost while Expeditions are offline.
If I opt out of the quest reset, can I still get the Hullcracker Blueprint? Yes. The Hullcracker Blueprint was previously locked behind the quest line, but Embark confirmed it will provide "other ways to get it" so that keeping your quest progress doesn't cost you the blueprint.
What happens to my Caravan if I don't finish it before the pause? Caravans reset for the rework, but any partially completed Caravan is replaced with Ermal Vouchers of equal value. You can spend those vouchers on Ermal offers (with ARC Parts and firearm trades) or sell them for Coin — you're not penalized for a half-done Caravan.
Should I do Expedition 5 if it's my first one? Expeditions are personal and completed in order, so departing now counts as your first personal Expedition — you'll bank first-Expedition rewards and start your buff streak, but you won't be near the full Zenith Outfit (that needs all five of your personal Expeditions). If you're far behind and time-crunched, some players are waiting for the early-2027 rework that specifically targets new-player accessibility — a reasonable call.
Bottom line
The 5th Expedition window (September 8–29, 2026) is a genuine deadline: it's the last one until early 2027, there's no last call, and it's the run that completes the Zenith Outfit if it's your fifth personal Expedition — while keeping your buffs active through the entire pause either way. The opt-in quest reset and the extra week make it the friendliest Expedition yet — but the hard September 29 cutoff means the players who bank the rewards are the ones who prep now. Build the Caravan, hit the departure challenge, and sign up before the window closes.
