ARC Raiders completely changes the wipe system and unleashes controversy among players

Embark introduces deep adjustments to expeditions and reopens the debate on progression in its extraction shooter.

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Unexpected movement in the development of ARC Raiders. Embark Studios has released a major update that significantly modifies the functioning of expeditions, the system that acts as the equivalent of a wipe within their action and extraction proposal. The change has arrived without warning and is already generating mixed reactions within the community.

The controversy is easy to understand. With this new approach, the studio has decided that players who participate in the second wipe can now obtain the rewards corresponding to both the first and second expeditions at once, including cosmetic items. This directly alters the balance between those who have already completed the first restart and those who have not.

Changes to ARC Raiders expeditions and why they’re sparking debate

In practical terms, the base benefits are not eliminated, but they are redistributed. Players who have already completed the first wipe can now reach up to 5 skill points and 12 inventory slots by repeating the process. On the other hand, players who did not participate in the first restart can now achieve up to 10 skill points and 24 inventory slots with a single wipe.

However, not everything is duplicated. Additional experience, Scartino materials, and repairs are not increased, remaining at their usual values. Nevertheless, the difference in progression is evident and has been one of the main focuses of criticism.

Another detail that has fueled the discussion is the assignment of coins:

• 600,000 coins for each block of 5 skill points corresponding to the second expedition.

• 300,000 coins for the 5 points linked to the first.

In practice, this means a clear advantage for those who had not previously reset their progress, something that many veteran players find difficult to justify.

The aesthetic rewards have also failed to convince. The second wipe does not introduce a completely new design, but rather a variant of the skin obtained in the first expedition, which has been received with considerable indifference.

For now, ARC Raiders continues to advance in its adjustment and testing phase, but this change makes it clear that Embark Studios is willing to experiment, even at the risk of dividing its player base. It remains to be seen if the studio will react to the controversy or maintain its course in future updates.