I sat there with my cursor on "Expedition Complete," knowing it meant nuking my stash, my blueprints, and that comfy pile of Creds I'd been babying for weeks. It felt wrong, like tossing a good jacket into a bonfire. But the more I thought about the prestige loop, the more it clicked: losing the clutter is the price of getting stronger for every run after. If you're already eyeing ARC Raiders Coins to smooth out the early rebuild, a wipe can actually line up nicely with that reset feeling—clean slate, better habits, less "I'll save this for later" nonsense.
Why the reset is more than a flex
People talk about prestige like it's a badge you wear in the hub. That's the least interesting part. The real value is what sticks around. Permanent stash space and extra skill points change how you play minute to minute. You stop playing Tetris with gear. You stop ditching useful blues because you're out of room. And when you load back in, you aren't "weak," you're just early—there's a difference. You'll feel it fast when you can grab more junk, keep it, and actually turn it into progress instead of panic-scrapping half your haul.
Cold Snap makes the map feel meaner
The snow update isn't just pretty. It slows everything down and punishes the old sprint-and-pray style. You'll get forced into awkward routes, longer fights, and those moments where the weather is the thing that's hunting you. I started treating warmth like ammo: always planning where I can duck in, how long I can stay out, and when to stop being greedy. Gear choice shifts too. I've been leaning into rifles that don't fall apart mid-raid and keeping fire utility on me, not because I'm trying to be flashy, but because sometimes you just need a quick "I'm not dying out here" option when visibility drops.
Rebuild priorities that actually pay off
If you're fresh off the wipe, don't blow your first points chasing combat perks. Start with tools that print value. First, push Breaching so you can open what other players walk past. Those locked containers are basically a silent income stream, especially early when everyone's fighting over obvious spawns. Second, go Mobility so you can survive the longer rotations and messy disengages in snow. Rolling cleanly and moving well matters more than a tiny damage bump when you're trying to extract with a bag full of parts and your hands are shaking because you heard an ARC somewhere behind the drift.
Keeping the grind from turning into a second job
Some folks love the rebuild. Some don't. If you've got limited hours, the trick is picking one loop and sticking to it: short raids, consistent extracts, sell what you don't need, and don't get baited into "one more run" when you're already loaded. The prestige perks make that loop smoother, but you still have to protect your time. If you'd rather spend your sessions in higher-tier routes instead of crawling back from zero, there are players who choose to buy ARC Raiders Coins so the early economy doesn't drag and they can focus on learning fights, routes, and the new Cold Snap pacing.