(The Practical, No-Nonsense Guide)
If you want Expedition skill points in Arc Raiders, you need a combined stash value and coin balance of five million. Most players don’t fail because they can’t earn. They fail because they quietly burn more value than they bring home. Ammo, meds, armor durability, attachments, and upgraded weapons all drain your wallet long before you notice.
This guide helps you reach the five-million mark without stress, without exploits, and without turning every raid into a gamble. The idea is simple:
Stop losing value first, then focus on earning it.
1. Stop the Bleeding Before You Try to Get Rich
Before you think about routes or events, you need to understand where most value disappears.
1.1 Hidden costs add up
Every bullet, bandage, and armor repair subtracts from your total.
If you bring expensive Arc Raiders gear, use half of it, and then die, you’ve just turned a raid into a loss—even if you picked up some loot.
1.2 Three common money traps
• Over-gearing. Taking a full, expensive loadout “just in case” you find something good.
• Upgrading everything. Upgraded weapons and attachments are worth far less than the materials used to make them.
• Queen fights and heavy PvP. Fun, but terrible for your economy. They cost more than they ever return.
1.3 The core idea
You make faster progress when you bring in less and take out more.
Winning a fight matters far less than leaving the raid with untouched loot.
2. The Snowball Method: Start With Nothing, End With Plenty
This is the safest and most consistent way to build wealth.
2.1 What you bring
- A free or empty loadout
- A hatch key in your safe slot
- No meds, no armor, no extras
2.2 Why it works
Your first few runs will be simple: grab loot, avoid fights, and extract.
When you escape with a gun or armor you didn’t pay for, that becomes your next run’s gear.
Within a few successful raids, you’re operating with a complete loadout that costs you nothing.
2.3 The mindset
If you die, you lose a few minutes—not your stash.
If you survive, everything you picked up is pure profit.
This alone separates rich players from broke players.
3. The Five Best Ways to Make Money (Ranked by Value and Risk)
These are the main methods that actually scale. Use them as your rotation depending on which events are active.
3.1 Stella Montis: Reliable, Fast, Always Available
Recommended main grind
Where to loot:
Assembly Workshop, Medical Research, Lobby
How to run it:
Go in nearly empty, sprint to high-value rooms, fill your bag, and leave through the hatch.
Expected profit:
- 50–80k per 2–3 minute run
- 300–500k per hour if you stay focused
Stella Montis is consistent, low-risk, and perfect for the snowball method.
3.2 Lush Blooms: High Burst, Event-Dependent
Fruits stack, meaning a very high value per slot.
Spaceport is the strongest map because the spawn patterns are predictable and plentiful.
Expected profit:
- 500–600k per hour
- Higher risk: losing a big bag of fruit after 15 minutes hurts
Run this when it’s active for a major boost in your total value.
3.3 Queen Harvester: Mid-Tier, Steady Income
Not the actual Queen fight—just the Harvester puzzle.
How to run it:
Low-cost loadout → complete the puzzle → open breachable containers → pick up Ark Parts and energy ammo.
Expected profit:
- 100–200k per hour
- Good as a backup option if you’re tired of Stella Montis
Works best at Dam Battlegrounds due to a nearby hatch.
3.4 High-Density Loot Buildings: Great if You Know the Layout
These buildings squeeze a surprising amount of loot into a small area:
- Research & Administration
- Spaceport: Departure Building / Arrival Building
- Buried City: Plaza Rosa, Grandioso Apartments, Space Travel & Research
Tip:
Day raids usually mean less competition. Most players chase blueprints in night raids.
3.5 Electro Storm Events: Low Pressure, Steady Returns
When storms spawn Ark Husks and probes, head to the edges of the map (Spaceport is ideal).
Expected profit:
- 60–100k per run
- 200–300k per hour with good luck
- Very low contest and low stress
Think of this as a calmer way to keep your economy moving.
4. A Growth Roadmap: From Broke to Five Million
Stage 1: 0–500k
- Run Stella Montis with empty loadouts
- Focus only on safe, fast extractions
- Build a stash of gear you didn’t pay for
Stage 2: 500k–2M
- Mix Stella Montis with Lush Blooms and Electro Storms
- Use the gear you picked up, not the gear you crafted
- Avoid all unnecessary upgrades
Stage 3: 2M–5M
- Grind mostly with cheap loadouts
- Spend 20% of your time on fun content (PvP, Queen)
- Ensure your stash value never dips too low
Stick to the cycle, and five million becomes realistic rather than overwhelming.
5. Common Misunderstandings
This guide isn’t telling you to avoid fun.
It’s telling you that while you’re pushing for 5 million, you should think like an economist.
Once you reach the target, gear up however you want.
Until then, your Arc Raiders money-making loadout should stay cheap, simple, and replaceable.
6. Final Thoughts: Bring Less, Keep More
The fastest way to build wealth in Arc Raiders isn’t about lucky drops or PvP skill.
It’s about how much you risk every time you spawn in.
If you bring nothing and leave with something, you’re already ahead.
Do that over and over, and five million stops being a grind and becomes a routine.
Try an empty-loadout Stella Montis run next time you log in.
You’ll feel the difference immediately.
