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Repair Windows errors before they cause bigger problemsFix Now →Fix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitchesFind Drivers →Clear out junk files and repair common Windows errorsFree Scan →Some ARC Raiders players said they returned from an Expedition to find workshop stations unavailable, but Embark’s published rules described workshop progress as something that resets—not something that stays unlocked. The confusion appears to stem from a distinction in the December 2025 explanation: workshop progress, crafting abilities and blueprints reset, while maps and potential workshop upgrades are available from the start after a reset.
What Embark said would happen to workshops
In its official Expedition explainer published December 6, 2025, Embark said: “When you restart, everything tied to your progress will be reset.” The listed resets included the Skill Tree, Level, Stash, Workshop, Crafting Abilities and Blueprints. In practical terms, players should not expect their workshop progress or previously earned crafting capabilities and blueprints to carry through a reset.
The same explainer said onboarding would be skipped and that all maps and potential workshop upgrades would be available from the start after resetting. That describes access to systems and upgrade opportunities; it does not say that previously built or upgraded stations remain in a player’s post-Expedition state. Read the full Embark Expedition Project explanation for the original wording.
Why players thought stations would remain
A Reddit user posted on December 22, 2025: “Did anyone else lose their workshops after seeing the expedition?” The post said the player had found only the first workshop available and recalled that Embark had said unlocked workshops would remain. Replies disputed that interpretation, including whether “unlocked” meant a station was available to build or already built.
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That account documents one player’s experience and the confusion around the wording; it does not establish that a widespread account bug occurred. GameRiv also reported backlash and player complaints about inaccessible stations at the time, but its coverage does not establish how many players were affected or diagnose a technical defect. Embark’s published reset list is the clearest evidence of the intended rule; the player reports show why some expected a different result.
Expedition rules changed between cycles
Not every Expedition cycle used the same rewards or details, so figures from the first departure should not be treated as standing rules. The first official explanation listed permanent rewards including +12 Stash space and up to five skill points, with the skill-point amount tied to stash and coin value at departure. Those are historical first-cycle details, not a current workshop-retention promise. See Embark’s first Expedition departure details.
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For the second Expedition, Embark said permanent bonuses earned in earlier Expeditions would remain even if a player did not depart again. It also specified that cosmetics, Raider Deck progress, unlocked map regions, leaderboard position, Trials, Codex entries and Raider Tokens would not be affected. That February 5, 2026 update lowered the first-cycle stash-value requirement to 3 million Coins, or 600,000 per Skill Point. These were cycle-specific rules, not evidence that workshop progress carried over. The details are in Embark’s second Expedition update.
Embark’s June 25, 2026 post for the fourth Expedition described a different reward structure: qualifying damage challenges awarded temporary blueprints and Raider Tokens, and the listed blueprints reset at the next departure. The departure window ran July 7–21, 2026. Those dates have passed, and that cycle’s reward rules do not change what the first reset explanation said about workshop progress. See the fourth Expedition announcement.
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What the latest Expedition announcement did—and did not—change
Embark’s August 21, 2026 announcement said the fifth Expedition window would run September 8–29, 2026, then Expeditions would pause while the developer reviewed core systems. It also announced an option for upcoming Expeditions to let players opt out of resetting quest progress. The window has passed, and the announcement addressed quest progress—not workshop retention. It did not say stations, workshop progress or crafting abilities would be preserved. Read the fifth Expedition announcement for those stated changes.
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