Progression and the Workshop in ARC Raiders explained
Contents
Progression in ARC Raiders is made up of several parallel systems — experience, daily challenges, seasonal trials, and a knowledge log. Below is the officially confirmed description of each, sourced from arcraiders.com.
The basics: experience and skill points
The official description frames a raider’s core progression as earning experience and skill points, which unlock the skill tree. More on the skill tree and its three branches (Survival, Mobility, Conditioning) in our piece on gear and loot.
Feats and Cred
- Feats — daily tasks or challenges that reward a raider with the Cred currency.
- Cred is spent unlocking items in Raider Decks — sets that the official description ties specifically to this progression system.
An exact list of individual Feats or the full contents of Raider Decks isn’t given on the general game description page — it’s more of a confirmation the system exists than a full reference.
Trials — weekly challenges
The game is organized into Trials seasons with a leaderboard. Per official news on arcraiders.com, Trials Season 5 had already started as of July 1, 2026 — meaning at least five official seasons of this system had run by that point.
- Format — weekly challenges with a player ranking.
- Seasonality — each season, judging by the numbering, has its own period and, most likely, its own rewards, though the general game description doesn’t detail what those season-specific rewards are.
Codex
The official description calls the Codex a knowledge log that a raider fills in during raids. The wording leaves open whether it’s purely a lore encyclopedia or whether it grants in-game advantages — the official text doesn’t spell that out.
What the Frozen Trail update changes
The Frozen Trail announcement (planned for October 8, 2026, announced August 12, 2026) directly touches progression systems:
- Outpost replaces Raider Den. The raider’s underground storage space, Raider Den, is being replaced with a new Outpost area, which the official announcement describes as a place for decorating and exploring the world.
- An expanded Skill Tree. The skill tree is getting additions, per the wording of the official announcement.
- Updated Raider Decks. The same announcement promises changes to the Raider Decks system, without a detailed breakdown of exactly what will change.
The official website calls Frozen Trail the biggest update since launch — more on the full context of recent updates in our piece on recent updates.
What is officially NOT said
- The maximum character level (the progression ceiling) isn’t named as a specific number on any of the official pages we checked.
- A precise list of rewards for every Trials season hasn’t been compiled officially into a single document.
- What the Codex practically gives a player (in-game advantages or just lore) isn’t explained in detail.
- The exact launch date of the Trials system (which patch introduced it) isn’t officially confirmed in the sources we checked — only that it already had five seasons by July 2026.
Connection to trading
Cred and Raider Tokens are not the same currency: the first is earned through Feats, the second is tied to trading and cosmetics. The differences between all the game’s currencies are covered in our piece on economy and trading.
Frequently asked questions
How does progression work in ARC Raiders?
Through experience and skill points earned from successful raids, plus Feats — daily challenges that award Cred, a currency used to unlock items in Raider Decks.
What are Trials in ARC Raiders?
A weekly mode with a leaderboard, organized into seasons. As of July 2026, Trials Season 5 had officially started.
What is the Codex?
An in-game knowledge log that a raider fills in during raids — the official description calls it part of the progression system, without further detail on how filling it in works.
What changes to progression are coming with Frozen Trail?
The update, planned for October 8, 2026, replaces the underground Raider Den storage space with a new Outpost area and expands the Skill Tree and Raider Decks, per the official announcement.