ARC Raiders Update 1.45.0 Removes Cred and Starts Final 2026 Expedition

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Store links: ARC Raiders on Steam

Cred now has an expiration date, and the clock is the real patch note

ARC Raiders Update 1.45.0 is live, and its sharpest change is economic: Embark Studios says Cred will remain usable only until October 8, 2026, when it will expire with the Frozen Trail update. That makes this ARC Raiders update less about a routine balance pass and more about a one-month cleanup window for anyone sitting on free progression currency.

In Embark’s official Live Update 1.45.0 notes, the studio says it is “retiring Cred as a currency” because Frozen Trail will introduce “a more expansive reward system.” The developer also confirms that players will keep any rewards they have already claimed before the update, and that existing Raider Deck rewards will be available through the new system once it arrives.

The practical read is simple: unspent Cred is now temporary. Embark tells players to spend remaining Cred with Shani or on remaining Raider Deck rewards before October 8. PCGamesN, citing the same patch notes, describes Cred as a free currency separate from premium Raider Tokens and notes that it is typically earned through quests, successful extractions, and in-game events. That distinction matters because this is not a paid-currency sunset based on the available sources. It is a free progression currency being cleared out before a reward-system rework.

Frozen Trail is becoming the real reset point for progression

Update 1.45.0 does not launch Frozen Trail itself. Embark’s news page lists Frozen Trail for October 8 and says it will bring a new map, a new ARC Operation, new ARC, the Outpost, and more. The current patch is the staging ground: Cred expiration, Raider Deck transition details, the fifth Expedition, and a new Raider Project called Ascending the Mountain.

Embark’s phrasing leaves one major detail open. The studio has confirmed that a more expansive reward system is coming with Frozen Trail, but the provided patch notes do not explain its structure, pacing, costs, or whether reward acquisition will feel faster or slower than the current Cred and Raider Deck loop. All that is confirmed is the migration path for rewards: claimed items stay with the account, existing Raider Deck rewards carry over into the new system, and leftover Cred disappears when Frozen Trail lands.

For a PvPvE extraction shooter, reward pacing is not cosmetic housekeeping. It affects how often players feel compelled to queue, what they risk on raids, and whether objectives compete with survival. ARC Raiders already asks players to weigh extraction timing, loadout weight, and PvP threat. If Frozen Trail changes how rewards are earned, the grind rhythm could shift even if the gunplay stays untouched. Embark has not yet shown enough to judge that system, so the safe player move is to treat October 8 as a progression cutoff and spend accordingly.

Expedition 5 has started, but it is also the last one this year

Live Update 1.45.0 begins Expedition 5. GamingBolt reports that Embark previously confirmed the fifth Expedition will be the final Expedition for ARC Raiders in 2026, with the system planned to return in 2027 after “major improvements” aimed at addressing “some of the biggest player pain points.” The ARC Raiders Wiki’s patch notes page also flags that Expeditions will be paused, pointing readers to more Expedition information.

That creates an unusual end-of-year state for active players. Expedition 5 is live, but it is not the start of a steady cadence through the rest of 2026. It is the last run before Embark steps back from the system. The studio has not announced the 2027 version’s exact timing, scope, or rules in the provided materials, so players should not assume a quick rollover into Expedition 6 after Frozen Trail.

The most immediate quality-of-life change is in the patch notes: starting an Expedition no longer resets quests by default. Players can now choose whether to reset quests when departing. For anyone grinding vendors, Raider Deck targets, or personal progression in parallel with Expedition goals, that is a meaningful friction cut. In extraction games, forced resets can punish players for engaging with a seasonal system at the wrong time. Embark’s change makes Expedition participation less destructive to existing quest progress, at least based on the official note.

Ascending the Mountain pushes the story toward unreachable signals

The new Raider Project, Ascending the Mountain, is tied to the next leg of ARC Raiders’ story. Embark says Raider efforts have uncovered clues around phantom ARC signals that worry Shani. Those signals lead ARC toward a mountain range beyond the reach of the Tube system, and the update frames Apollo as working on an experimental solution with help from Raiders who can handle schematics and stay quiet.

GamingBolt also reports that the update continues the story with Raiders trying to work out how to follow those phantom ARC signals beyond the Tube system. The connection to Frozen Trail is implied by timing and theme, but the official 1.45.0 notes stop short of spelling out every narrative or map connection. What is confirmed is that Ascending the Mountain is live now, Frozen Trail arrives October 8, and Frozen Trail is listed by Embark as bringing a new map and related content.

For players who care mostly about shooting and extraction flow, the story wrapper still has mechanical stakes. Raider Projects have been used as community-facing objectives in ARC Raiders’ live structure, and PCGamesN notes that in-game events have contributed to Cred in past examples such as community projects to unlock maps like Stella Montis. Since Cred is being retired, Frozen Trail’s new reward system will need to carry that sense of shared forward motion without leaving players wondering which objectives are worth their time.

The patch also tightens several match-to-match pain points

Beyond Cred and Expedition timing, the ARC Raiders patch notes include changes that hit the feel of raids. Embark says Snitch Scanners will now spawn ARC similarly to the regular Snitch, but with a lower chance for stronger ARC. That should make scanner interactions more threatening without guaranteeing the worst possible escalation every time, although the exact spawn rates are not listed in the provided notes.

The Aphelion gets reduced weapon sway for improved aiming stability. That is a clean gunfeel adjustment, especially in a game where small aim penalties can decide whether a peek turns into an extraction or a lost kit. The patch also fixes an issue where the Equalizer could play its firing sound when holstering, which is small on paper but relevant in a shooter where audio reads can influence player decisions.

Movement and input changes are also worth calling out. Landing on moving surfaces now makes players follow that surface when landing rather than while still in the air. Quick item cycling can now be rebound separately from the quick-use wheel, disabled, or bound to the same key, which Embark says should help prevent unintended item swaps after closing the wheel. That kind of input cleanup matters during third-party pressure, when a wrong item pull can lose a fight faster than bad aim.

There are also fixes for ARC Turbine mines not being pingable, Matriarch stomp damage hitting players through tall cover or from on top of the Matriarch, and voice chat failing when Raider Voice was enabled. The new severe over-encumbrance tier is more punitive: when carrying well above the loadout weight limit, movement is restricted to walking, with sprinting and jumping disabled. Loot greed now has a harder ceiling, and squads trying to crawl out overloaded should expect to become easier targets.

What active players should do before October 8

If you are playing ARC Raiders regularly, the safest order of operations is to spend Cred before Frozen Trail launches on October 8, then decide how much time Expedition 5 deserves before the system pauses for its 2027 rework. Embark explicitly says remaining Cred will expire, while claimed rewards stay on the account. There is no upside in hoarding Cred based on the current official information.

If Raider Deck rewards are your priority, Embark says existing Raider Deck rewards will be available in the new system, so missing one now does not appear to make it permanently inaccessible. If you want certainty, claim what you can before the transition. If you dislike the current Raider Deck options, Embark points players toward Shani as another place to spend remaining Cred.

Platform availability is unchanged in the provided reports: GamingBolt lists ARC Raiders as available on PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X/S. Embark says Update 1.45.0 is live now and tells players to restart the game to download it. The studio also says this is the last Live Update before October 8, though a smaller update is still planned before then.

The unanswered question is whether Frozen Trail’s new reward system will solve the reasons Embark is retiring Cred in the first place. The studio has named the direction, not the full design. Until those details arrive, Update 1.45.0 should be treated as a transition patch: spend the old currency, test the Expedition quest-reset change, adjust to the over-encumbrance penalty, and be ready for October 8 to rewrite the reward loop.