The final Expedition of the current system asks ARC Raiders players to think carefully about how they use their remaining time. Expedition 5 runs from September 8 to September 29, 2026, and it represents the last opportunity to experience the existing progression reset structure before the planned overhaul in early 2027. Players who have been collecting ARC Raiders BluePrints and building their resources over several Expedition cycles should pay particular attention to what happens before the final cutoff.

I would approach this Expedition differently from a normal content cycle. ARC Raiders BluePrints may still be useful targets during regular play, but the bigger priority is understanding which parts of your progression have lasting value and which systems are about to be reset. U4N readers preparing for the final departure window can benefit from separating their goals into three groups: things to complete, things that will be converted, and bonuses that will remain available during the pause.

Start With Your Current Progress

The September 8 to September 22 period is the main active progression stage. This is when you have the most freedom to collect materials, increase stash value, and work through Expedition objectives.

Before jumping into raids, I recommend looking over your remaining requirements and identifying anything that could take several attempts. A task that seems easy on paper can become much harder when it depends on finding a particular resource or surviving long enough to extract with it.

The earlier you identify those tasks, the more flexibility you have. You can also adjust your normal routes based on what you actually need instead of making every raid a general resource run.

Think About the Zenith Outfit

For players who have completed the previous consecutive Expeditions, Expedition 5 has an additional reward incentive. Finishing all five consecutive Expeditions allows eligible players to complete the requirements for the exclusive Zenith Outfit.

This makes the final Expedition especially meaningful for anyone already committed to that progression chain. If you are close to the finish, check your requirements now rather than assuming you can complete everything during the final week.

There is little benefit in discovering near the deadline that one unfinished requirement needs several more raids. A quick progress check now can give you enough time to adjust your schedule.

Plan Around September 22

September 22 is an important date because the active Trials season pauses on that day. If you still need to complete Week 10 Trials, the period before the pause should be used efficiently.

The easiest way to manage this is to look for overlap. If an Expedition objective requires you to visit an area or collect a particular type of resource, check whether a Trial can be progressed during the same raid. Combining objectives reduces the amount of time spent repeating similar activities.

After September 22, the Trials season is expected to return on October 8. That means players who want to combine the two progression systems need to do so before the pause rather than planning around an extra week after September 22.

Check Your Caravan Before the Reset

The Caravan system deserves its own review because its current construction progress will not remain in its existing form. The system is being reset, but incomplete Caravan investments will be converted into Ermal Vouchers rather than simply disappearing.

Those vouchers can provide several options. Players can use them for firearms trades, ARC Parts, or Ermal offers, and they can also be liquidated directly for Coins.

That conversion makes it important to understand the value of your unfinished Caravan before the reset. You do not necessarily need to panic and complete every possible stage. Instead, compare the effort required with the value you can reasonably gain before September 29.

Remember What Stays

The progression pause is not a complete wipe of every benefit earned through previous Expeditions. Consecutive buffs, including XP improvements, Scrappy material gathering benefits, and increased repair value, are expected to persist through the pause.

That is useful information when deciding how aggressively to spend your final days. You can focus on completing meaningful progression without feeling that every accumulated benefit must somehow be used before September 29.

The pause is expected to continue into early 2027 while the progression system is overhauled. Frozen Trail is also scheduled as part of the content arriving during this broader period of change.

Use the Final Week Carefully

During the last stage, cheap ARC Raiders Materials can be useful when you still have specific resource requirements to finish, but the key is to know exactly what those resources are for before spending time or Coins. Randomly building your stash without checking your objectives can leave you with plenty of materials but incomplete progression.The final week should be about finishing, checking, and locking in progress. Make sure your Caravan situation is understood, your important objectives are complete, and your departure steps are properly handled. There is no announced Last Call period, so waiting for an additional grace window is risky.

Prepare for the Pause

The best way to approach Expedition 5 is to keep the plan simple. Use the early period for difficult objectives and resource gathering, combine Trials with Expedition tasks where possible, and use the final week to verify that everything important has been committed.Once September 29 arrives, the current progression cycle will be over. A little preparation now can make that transition much smoother and leave you ready for whatever changes arrive when the progression system returns.