With ARC Raiders Expedition 2, every Raider has been given the opportunity to make some big decisions once the signing windows open on February 25th and with the actual wipe on March 1st.

It goes beyond the nature of an actual reset — it's an investment. Losing your valuable loot and the time it takes to earn it absolutely sucks. But the buffs and skill point returns, in the long run, make it worth it. If you're having a tough time deciding, allow me to explain the potential loss a bit better, and what you can do to ensure you make the most back.

• The Preparation: What will stay and What will Go
• The Rewards: Why We Do It
• The Buff Stack
• The Skill Point Economy
• The Meta Skill Tree Build
• 1. Survival Tree (Mobility & Looting)
• 2. Conditioning (Weight & Breaching)
• 3. Utility (The Clutch Factors)
• Early Wipe Strategy: The Looting Mark 2 Rush
• The Shopping List
• Advanced Tactics: Low Aggression Lobbies
• Farming Guide: Money & XP
• 1. The Money Run: Stella Montis
• 2. The XP Farm: Blue Gate Bastions
• Frequently Asked Questions
• Conclusion

↖ The Preparation: What will stay and What will Go

The first things we need to make our build about the loss is the wipe and it is not total. Knowing the total loss will allow us to prepare better.

What does this mean for you?

Wiping is more than removing your loot. Wiping is about building functional power, starting with your Workshop levels and Blueprints. Since we will have access to maps, we will be able to enter high value areas such as Stella Montis to avoid tedious early game looting.

↖ The Rewards: Why We Do It

Expedition 2's primary motivator is the Veteran Buff which provides bonuses that stack. If this is your second expedition, you are playing significantly more efficiently than a brand-new player.

↖ The Buff Stack

The table below shows the breakdown of the permanent passive bonuses you start with.

↖ The Skill Point Economy

Aside from the stats, you also receive Skill Points based on your stash value at the time of the wipe.

• Cost: 600K Coins = 1 Skill Point.
• Cap: 5 points maximum (3 Million total value).

The Catch-Up Mechanic:

If you took part in Expedition 1, you could only get the 5 point cap, but now you can get those points back. You'll need the standard 3 million Coins for this run's points, and also an extra 300k per point you missed from the previous expedition.

Warning:

Don't expect this catch-up system to last forever. The Dev's have suggested this won't be a permanent system, so you should try to get the full 3 million Coins now.

↖ The Meta Skill Tree Build

For our metas, we'll be sticking with the skill trees the way they are for the current patch. While the trees are expected to be rebalanced later, for now, storing your skills into synergies and not individual skills will be the right call

↖ 1. Survival Tree (Mobility & Looting)

As far as movement is concerned, the first priority is always movement. Speed is survival.

Marathon Runner & Euphoric Lungs: These are your most important maxed perks. Stamina is the most important resource.

Looters Instinct + Looters Luck: Luck doubles your items and speeds up your economy. While Looters Instinct seems weak on its own, with Looters Luck, it doubles items.

Silent Scavenger: We prefer this over Agile Croucher. Reducing noise while looting could save you from the 3rd party ambush.

↖ 2. Conditioning (Weight & Breaching)

Use the Weight: Indispensable if you run medium shields.

Proficient Pryer: Animation speeds up breaching, leaving you exposed for less time.

Unburdened Roll vs. Survivor Stamina: We will be advocating for Unburdened Roll here. If you ever find yourself in a situation where you need to roll to save yourself, having a panic roll that is free on the stamina bar could be the difference between life and death.

↖ 3. Utility (The Clutch Factors)

Deep Breaths (3/5 points): This is a must. It cuts the delay before stamina regen starts from around 5 seconds to just under 2 seconds. That's huge.

Good as New: Healing while you're sprinting is stamina regen just asking to get abused—you get tapped, you heal while sprinting, you escape.

↖ Early Wipe Strategy: The Looting Mark 2 Rush

After a wipe, your first goal is not to shoot people. Your first goal is to shoot people's wallets, and to do that, you need the Looting Mark 2. It gives 60 weight, safe pockets, and a ton of backpack space.

To get that, you need to sprint your Gear Bench to Level 2.

↖ The Shopping List

Here are some materials you need for your first several raids:

Magnets Pro Tip

Instead of playing and hoping to find crude magnets, loot Exodus Modules and Ripped Safety Vests. They will break down some magnets at your base.

↖ Advanced Tactics: Low Aggression Lobbies

To progress fast, you need to avoid sweats in the beginning. ARC Raiders has a matchmaking system based on your level of aggression.

How to get into Bot Lobbies:

If you are getting destroyed, equip a free kit, enter a raid, find a player, and get yourself Defeated. Do not shoot back. This will cause the matchmaking to put you in less aggressive lobbies after doing it a couple of times.

Why do this?

It lets you make your workstation upgrades with little risk from high-tier PvP players. Set up your economy before you start fighting.

↖ Farming Guide: Money & XP

After gearing up, you should try to hit 3 million value.

↖ 1. The Money Run: Stella Montis

Go here first since you have this map unlocked.

• Strategy: Skip the closed crates, and go through the Cultural Archives. Loot everything you can off of couches and tables.
• Target: Trinkets since they have low weight and sell for high value.
• Bird City: You can also loot the chimneys for tons of high value items.

↖ 2. The XP Farm: Blue Gate Bastions

Go to Blue Gate to hunt Bastions for XP. This will also help to level your traders.

The Technique: You don't need high-tier weapons. A Level 1 Pharaoh works for this if you hit the yellow joints.

The Combo: Leg break > Stun > Run back > Destroy the bat > Shoot the core.

Cash Optimization:

When you get some money, purchase a Hull Cracker and launcher ammo. Shoot the leg to get a Defeat, then use the launcher to get the core.

↖ Frequently Asked Questions

Q: Can I keep my blueprints for after the wipe?

A: You can't do that, however there is a loophole. If you have a friend who is not participating in the expedition, you can drop the rare blueprints like the Ventor or Wolfpack to them in a raid, and after the wipe, have them drop the blueprints back to you. You can then relearn the blueprints.

Q: Is the 'Catch-Up' mechanic guaranteed for Expedition 3?

A: No, developers have been vague about this. Do not assume you can skip the grind now and catch up later. This is your only opportuntiy to earn these 5 skill points.

Q: What if I don't have enough time to reach 3 million?

A: Concentrate more on actual liquid cash by selling whatever you can get off to other players. 3 million coins can be reached by combining cash on hand and the value of your stash. You can value your stash and stash items you don't want, so to make it easier, have a big cash stack.

↖ Conclusion

Expedition 2 is about efficiency and testing players. If you place your priorities right by investing first in the Looting Mark 2 rig and applying the Low Aggression matchmaking tactic, you end the early-game obstacle players face.

You're competing against your peers for the 3 million value mark and the permanent power that comes with it. The wipe is coming, make sure you have the first mover advantage. Good luck, Raiders.