ARC Raiders: the 5th Expedition will open on September 8 and will be the last before 2027 — what to do with your caravan

Embark Studios published yesterday, Friday, August 21, 2026, the "The 5th Expedition" post. The studio finally gives firm dates in it: the departure window for the fifth Expedition will open on Tuesday, September 8, 2026 at 1 PM, Paris time, and will close on Tuesday, September 29 at 10 AM. All enrolled Raiders will depart together that day.

The rest of the post carries more weight than the calendar. This fifth Expedition will be the last before early 2027: Embark is pausing the system to overhaul it. Three other changes come with the window: quest resets become optional, the duration goes from two to three weeks, and the "last call" disappears.

A clarification on terminology is needed here. Embark does not translate its news posts: the French-language version of the site serves the English text as-is. The game client, on the other hand, is localized. We therefore use the French in-game labels — Expédition, caravane, réserve, points de compétence, Pièces — and we keep Embark's English wording where no French label is attested: Ermal Vouchers, last call, Hullcracker Blueprint, ARC Parts, Trials, Scrappy, Zenith. No homemade translations.

Finally, a word about a date we had previously reported: our guide from August 8 assumed an opening on September 21, a figure taken from the community wiki in the absence of an official announcement. Embark has decided otherwise, thirteen days earlier. If you had planned your preparation around that date, you now have two fewer weeks than expected.

Key dates to note

Embark gives its schedule in CEST, which matches French time until the end-of-October time change: the post reads directly as-is for us. The table below also includes the studio's UTC and PT equivalents.

The last Expedition before early 2027

This is the piece of information that governs everything else. Embark says it reviewed player feedback and identified three issues that its successive adjustments haven't fixed: departure windows that are too tight, the reward structure, and the system's accessibility for newcomers. In its view, these points call for fundamental changes, hence the pause.

The consequence is straightforward. If you don't depart between September 8 and September 29, the next opportunity won't come until early 2027. Embark addresses those still undecided directly, in the original English text:

So, if you've been on the fence about departing - now is the time!

What the post doesn't say deserves to be stated just as plainly: what the reworked system will look like, and on what date in 2027 it will return. The studio promises detailed communication in September. One point offers reassurance: during the pause, the consecutive buffs already earned — XP boost, extra materials delivered by Scrappy, improved repair value — are kept, and Embark writes that no progress is lost. The interruption therefore doesn't break a streak of departures. On the other hand, missing the September window remains a missed window in the usual sense, and the post doesn't announce any exception.

Your ongoing caravans will become Ermal Vouchers

This is the most technical part of the post, and it calls for a decision before the end of September. During the pause, caravans are reset: any partially filled caravan will be replaced with Ermal Vouchers of equivalent value, according to the studio's terms.

These Vouchers will be used to buy Ermal's offers, alongside ARC Parts and weapon trading, or can be sold back for Coins. Reminder: Ermal is the nomadic emissary of Speranza's trader area, accessible from level 25 onward.

Two practical consequences. The first is good: materials put into an unfinished caravan don't go up in smoke, they simply change form. The second is less visible. The next caravan opens as soon as the previous Expedition ends: if you leave on September 29, your new Raider will immediately be able to feed caravan number six, which will be reset during the pause. Best not to put anything into it until the conversion date is known — the post doesn't give it, nor does it detail the calculation behind the "equivalent value" formula.

Quest resets become optional

This is the most anticipated change, and Embark presents it as a direct response to feedback received: redoing the same quest line after every Expedition ended up feeling tiresome. The studio is therefore opening up the possibility of not resetting quest progress and picking up right where you left off.

Let's stress this, because the nuance is easy to miss on a quick read: it's an option, not a removal of the reset. Embark doesn't specify either the default behavior or where the setting is located. Better to check the interface when departing than to assume.

The trade-off is real, and the studio owns it. The Hullcracker Blueprint is currently only obtainable through the quest line: keeping your progress means giving up the only documented path to that blueprint. Embark commits to opening up "other ways" to get it, without saying which ones or when.

No more "last call": finishing your caravan doesn't count as signing up

The post repeats the same instruction twice, which says a lot about how many Raiders have been caught out by it. Finishing your caravan doesn't sign you up for the Expedition. Signing up is a separate action, to be completed between September 8 and September 29.

Until now, a last call served as a safety net for the distracted. It doesn't exist for this window, Embark states it in black and white. After 10 a.m. on September 29, a Raider who hasn't signed up stays in Speranza until the system's return.

The trade-off is generous: twenty-one days to sign up and complete the challenge, compared to fourteen previously. The post recalls a rule that many people get backwards: the caravan is built between two windows, only the completion of the Expedition falls within the scheduled slot.

Announced rewards and caps

Embark lists what awaits those setting off on September 29:

• the complete Zenith outfit — the post adds that players who have completed all five Expeditions will have fully unlocked it;
• mystery rewards, called Mystery Rewards in the text;
• twelve additional stash slots, with a cap set at 60;
• bonus Expedition skill points, still capped at 15 total.

Catch-up for missed points remains in place: five points maximum per Expedition, indexed to the stash value, for players on their second, third, or fourth Expedition. It stops being offered once the fifteen points are reached. Consecutive buffs, meanwhile, remain capped at three levels.

A stash requirement for the challenge: the post states that one will need to be completed during the window to receive the rewards, but does not give the tiers. Don't bet on the previous cycle's format.

Trials: season ends September 22, resumes October 8

The same post also settles the Trials schedule in passing. The current season will end on Tuesday, September 22, 2026, a week before the collective departure. Embark then announces a two-week pause, until Thursday, October 8, 2026 — the day the Frozen Trail expansion is expected.

In practical terms: the last week of the Expedition window will be played without an active Trials season. Sort out your tiers before September 22.

What to do before September 8

1. Decide now. Going or waiting is no longer a decision measured in weeks but in months, since the system closes until early 2027.
2. Complete the caravan before it opens. It fills up outside the window: arriving on September 8 with a finished caravan frees up the three weeks for signing up and completing the challenge.
3. Set two reminders: one on September 8 to sign up, one before the 29th to verify your registration. Without a last call, forgetting can't be undone.
4. Don't put anything into the next caravan after September 29, as long as the conversion date to Ermal Vouchers remains unknown.
5. Only reset your quests if you know why: this choice determines access to the Hullcracker Blueprint.
6. Finish your Trials objectives before September 22, and wait for the September announcement before planning beyond the pause.

The simplest takeaway fits in one line: Embark is opening one last three-week window, then closing it for several months. Optional quests, the end of the last call, caravan conversion: everything else just makes this transition less punishing.