Alright Raiders, time’s running down fast, and the first Expedition window is opening sooner than you think. From December 15 to 21, you’ve got your shot at heading out, and if you miss it, you’re stuck waiting for the next cycle. I get it—resetting your Raider feels brutal. You lose your levels, your gear, all those hard-earned blueprints. But if you step back and think long term, it’s worth it. This isn’t just a wipe, it’s your chance to grab permanent stat boosts that stick with you run after run. If you can hit your stash cap now, you’ll even snag bonus skill points before you reset—and those can make all the difference. Some players even speed things up grabbing ARC Raiders Coins to push their stash value without grinding every single bolt and scrap by hand.

Building the Caravan

I’ve been knee-deep in the 6-stage caravan build for weeks and it eats resources like nothing else. Stage 1 isn’t too bad—you’ll need 150 Metal Parts and 200 Rubber Parts, but that’s a lot of scrounging through junk piles. By Stage 3, things get tricky. You’ll need Exodus Modules and Sensors, which aren’t just lying around. If you slack now and skip the grind, you’ll be heading into the next season with bare-bones stats while other Raiders are stacking XP bonuses, increased scrap yields, and bigger stash space. That’s not where you want to be.

Choosing Skills Wisely

Skill points are precious, and you don’t get do-overs. Once you pick a build, you’re locked in. Right now, mobility builds are dominating. I’ve poured points into Nimble Climber and Marathon Runner, and it’s a game-changer. You can outrun ARC drones and scale obstacles before they can lock on. If you run solo, grab at least one survival skill like Looter’s Instincts, so you spot rare drops even in low visibility. Speed keeps you alive early on; going tank too soon just turns you into an easy target for swarms.

Blueprint Hunting

Blueprints reset too, which means you need to find the good ones now so you’re ready to craft in the next run. I’ve been camping Blue Gate breach points trying to snag the Bobcat SMG and Vulcano. The Cold Snap weather makes this grind even tougher—short sightlines and constant ambushes. Time’s short. If farming for hours isn’t doable, grab what you can quickly. Some squads shortcut this part by using services like Raider Tokens buy to secure rare blueprints or coins, making sure they hit stash cap before departure. Just don’t sleep on the deadline—once the 21st hits, you’re either on that Expedition or left behind until the next cycle.