Expedition 3 rewrites the rule most Raiders have been grinding against since launch. Skill points no longer come from stash value. Over a five-day window ending May 4, players earn all five permanent skill points by dealing damage with any weapon or gadget, against any target outside the practice range.
Window opens: April 28, 2026 at 11:00 UTC (04:00 PT / 13:00 CEST)
Window timing across regions
The Expedition window runs exactly five days. Sign-up and damage progress both have to happen inside that window. Completing the Caravan beforehand is necessary, but does not auto-register you for departure.
| Region | Window opens | Departure |
|---|---|---|
| UTC | Apr 28, 11:00 | May 4, 07:00 |
| Pacific (PT) | Apr 28, 04:00 | May 4, 00:00 |
| Eastern (ET) | Apr 28, 07:00 PM (prev day start) | May 4, 03:00 |
| UK (GMT/BST) | Apr 28, 12:00 | May 4, 08:00 |
| Central Europe (CEST) | Apr 28, 13:00 | May 4, 09:00 |
| Japan (JST) | Apr 28, 20:00 | May 4, 16:00 |
| Australia (AEST) | Apr 28, 21:00 | May 4, 17:00 |
The damage challenge replaces stash value
In the first two Expeditions, earning all five skill points meant hoarding roughly 3,000,000 in stash value. That pressure is gone. For Expedition 3, every player on their first, second, or third Expedition earns skill points through a single damage objective that appears automatically once the Caravan is complete.
Any weapon works. Any gadget works. Damage against ARC machines, wildlife, or other players all counts. The only exclusion is the practice range. Embark Studios framed this in its A Triumphant Exit post as a push to reward actual play rather than loot hoarding.
You have the full five-day window (Tuesday through Sunday) to hit the damage targets. Specific damage cutoffs for each of the five skill points have not been published ahead of the window.
How to complete Expedition 3
Step 1: Finish the Caravan. Each tier has its own stage list; Expedition 3's Caravan requires items like 150 Metal Parts, 100 Chemicals, 80 ARC Alloy, a Coffee Pot, a Broken Guidance System, and a final Load Stage totaling 750,000 coin-value across Combat, Survival, Provisions, and Materials.
Step 2: Wait for April 28. The challenge panel and sign-up option only appear once the window opens.
Step 3: Sign up manually in-game during the window. Completing the Caravan early does not register you automatically.
Step 4: Deal damage until the five skill points unlock. All five are tied to the damage challenge, regardless of which Expedition number you are on.
Step 5: If you are on your second or third Expedition, use the catch-up system after finishing the damage challenge to recover missed skill points from earlier Expeditions.
Step 6: Depart on May 4 at 07:00 UTC. Everyone who signed up is sent off automatically.
Catch-up mechanic for returning Raiders
The catch-up system is the one place where stash value still matters. If you departed on Expedition 1 or Expedition 2 without earning all five skill points, you can make those up here.
- Only players on their second or third Expedition qualify.
- You must clear the damage challenge first before catch-up unlocks.
- Each missed skill point costs 300,000 in coins or stash value.
- Maximum of 5 catch-up skill points per window.
- Third-Expedition Raiders who fully catch up can reach 91 total skill points.
Rewards for Expedition 3
Rewards are gated by your personal Expedition count. First-time Raiders get Expedition 1 rewards, second-timers get Expedition 2, and so on, regardless of which window they depart in.
| Reward type | Details |
|---|---|
| Cosmetics | Patchwork outfit (evolved) with new Helmet, Bandolier, and Leg Accessories toggles; White Red and Black Green color variants; Scrappy Turban; upgraded Expedition Indicator icon |
| Stash space | +12 slots per Expedition (280 base → 292 → 304 → 316) |
| Skill points | 0–5 from the damage challenge, plus up to 5 catch-up points for returning Raiders |
| XP boost (consecutive) | 5% → 10% → 15% |
| Scrappy materials boost (consecutive) | 6% → 12% → 18% |
| Repair value (consecutive) | 60% → 70% → 80% |
The consecutive buffs only stack if you depart in back-to-back windows. Skip one, and the XP, Scrappy, and repair bonuses reset to the first-tier values.
Trials overlap with the Expedition window
Season 3 ends April 28 at 08:00 UTC, two hours before the Expedition window opens. Unlike previous cycles, Season 4 Trials run concurrently with Expedition 3, starting alongside the window and ending when departure triggers on May 4. Damage done against Trial targets counts toward the Expedition challenge as well, so there is no dead time between seasons.
Last Call for missed sign-ups
Embark is adding a safety net for Raiders who finished the Caravan but forgot to register before the window closed. On the next login after May 4, a pop-up offers one final chance to depart.
The trade-off is steep. Last Call departures grant the cosmetics, stash space, and consecutive buffs, but zero skill points from the current Expedition. The damage challenge is bypassed entirely, so there is no way to earn those five points retroactively.
What resets and what carries over
Departure wipes most of the account, but not everything. Knowing what survives helps decide how to spend the final days before May 4.
| Reset on departure | Kept on departure |
|---|---|
| Player level | Unlocked maps |
| Skill points and perks | Codex entries |
| Inventory items and weapons | Raider Tokens and Cred |
| Coins | Cosmetics |
| Blueprints | Raider Decks progress |
| Workshop progress | Active leaderboards and Trials |
| Stash upgrade progress (size) | Bonus stash slots from past Expeditions |
| Quests and Raider Den | Bonus skill points from past Expeditions |
How to verify your Expedition is locked in
After signing up, the Expedition project in the Projects tab shows a registered state for your Raider. The damage challenge tracker appears on the same panel and updates in real time as you deal damage in raids. Skill points are granted when you hit each damage threshold, and permanent rewards appear on the next Raider after departure on May 4.
If the sign-up does not stick, the most common reason is that the Caravan has an unfinished stage. Check each of the six stages (Foundation, Core Systems, Framework, Outfitting, Load Stage, Departure) and confirm every item requirement is committed.
Looking ahead to Expedition 4
Finishing Expedition 3 unlocks the full Patchwork outfit set. Expedition 4 is set to introduce the first piece of an entirely new cosmetic line, and Embark has indicated it is reconsidering which elements of progression get reset versus carried over in future cycles. No confirmed date has been announced for that next window yet.