If you have been watching the Arc Raiders Expedition deadline creep closer and closer, you can relax a bit now because the devs have pushed the signup window to 17–22 December, and that extra time is worth a lot more than it first looks, especially if you are still chasing stash value and trying to hit the 5M mark for max rewards before the reset, whether you are grinding it out yourself or mixing in a few trades for premium drops like ARC Raiders Items.

What The “Optional Reset” Really Means

On paper, wiping your Raider sounds rough. You lose your level, your skills, your workshop progress. It feels like throwing away weeks of work. But once you look at what you actually get back, it starts to feel more like prestige mode than a punishment. Hitting that 5M stash and coin value turns the reset into a long term boost: extra skill points, more permanent stash slots, and exclusive looks that other players just will not have. You also skip the slow start next cycle, with all maps and stations unlocked right away, so you can jump straight into the zones you actually care about instead of crawling through early missions.

How To Push Your Stash To 5M

To get anywhere near 5M without burning out, you have to stop playing like it is week one. A lot of people keep crafting low tier guns and basic ammo thinking they are “preparing,” but the value you sink into that stuff almost never comes back. At this stage, you are better off chasing high ticket drops. Stella Montis should be your main stop, especially the Hidden Bunker or Night Majors runs. They are sweaty, sure, but a single Queen Core or rare Tempest blueprint can flip your whole night. If full on PvP pressure is not your thing, the Dam Battlegrounds still pay out nicely with explosives and Anvil blueprints that sell well, so you can keep your nerves intact and your stash ticking upward at the same time.

Protecting Your Best Blueprints

The big worry right now is blueprints. Losing learned BPs in the reset stings, especially if you have already slogged through runs for something like a Vulcano or Bobcat. The trick is remembering that the reset is tied to the character actually going on the Expedition. That means you can park your valuable unlearned blueprints on a friend’s account, or on an alt that is not signing up. Trade them off before you commit to the reset, then once your fresh Raider lands on day one, you simply trade them back and start rebuilding from a much better spot. It is a bit of juggling, but it saves you from having to repeat weeks of RNG misery.

Making The Delay Work For You

These extra days are not just a breather, they are the window where you clean up your stash, dump duplicate gear, and stop wasting slots on half finished projects so your value climbs instead of stalls, and if you are short on rare alloys or just tired of running the same loop over and over, grabbing a few key upgrades or materials through trusted trading for ARC Raiders Items cheap can help you lock in that 5M goal before the caravan rolls out on the 22nd.