Quick Answer: When Does Cred Expire
Cred, one of two currencies in Arc Raiders, is being retired.
Any Cred still in your account when the Frozen Trail update launches on October 8, 2026 will expire and cannot be recovered.
Embark confirmed this in the Live Update 1.45.0 patch notes, published September 8, 2026, the same day Expedition 5 opened and the Ascending the Mountain project went live.
The studio has not announced a conversion rate, a grace period, or any compensation for unspent balances.
That leaves a short window to decide what to do with whatever Cred youâre sitting on.
This guide covers exactly where Cred can still be spent and what it costs to clear each Raider Deck.
It also covers the spending order that gets the most value out of a balance before itâs gone.
Table of Contents
What âRetiringâ Actually Means
Embarkâs own wording, straight from the patch notes, is worth reading closely:
âAs we look ahead to Frozen Trail and a rework to Raider Decks, weâll be making changes to the Cred currency. It will remain usable until October 8, so be sure to use any remaining Cred before then. We are retiring Cred as a currency, as weâll be introducing a more expansive reward system launching with the Frozen Trail Update.â
Three things are confirmed here, and three things are notably absent.
Confirmed:
- Cred stays spendable right up to October 8.
- Cred is being fully retired, not paused or reworked in place.
- All existing Raider Deck rewards carry over into the new system that replaces it.
Not confirmed:
- The exact time on October 8 the cutoff happens. It could land when the patch goes live or later that day; Embark hasnât said.
- Any compensation for Cred lost at the cutoff.
- What currency or price the Raider Deck rewards will use once they move to the new system. Embark only promises theyâll still be available, not on what terms.
That last point matters for how you should think about this deadline.
A Deck cosmetic you donât unlock isnât gone, since itâs carrying over.
Cred itself is whatâs actually at risk.
Where You Can Still Spend Cred
Embark names exactly two places: Shani, and the Raider Decks.
Shaniâs Trade Stock
Shani is the only trader who accepts Cred as payment.
Her stock got a refresh with the September 15 Store Update.
As of this update, her lineup includes three weapon blueprints that werenât purchasable with Cred before: Hullcracker, Burletta, and Trigger âNade.
Each is priced at 150 Cred, the most expensive single items Shani sells.
Check whether youâve unlocked these before assuming her stock is just consumables and mods.
The rest of her stock breaks down by category:
- Weapon mods: Silencer I, Extended Light Mag II, Extended Medium Mag II, Stable Stock II, Angled Grip II, Compensator II - all 100 Cred each
- Healing and shield items: Sterilized Bandage, Surge Shield Recharger - both 40 Cred
- Utility grenades and light sticks: 10-20 Cred
- Raider Hatch Key: 100 Cred
- A handful of other lower-cost gadgets round out the stall
Most items have a daily purchase limit.
A full clear of her stall takes several days regardless of how much Cred youâre holding.
The Three Raider Decks
Decks are reward tracks: each page has a set of tiles, and each tile costs Cred to unlock.
There are three free Decks currently active.
| Deck | Pages | Rewards | Total cost to fully clear |
|---|---|---|---|
| Starter Deck (Ryder & Voyager) | 6 | 36 | 2,190 Cred |
| Goalie Deck | 5 | 28 | 1,240 Cred |
| Surgeon Deck | 5 | 25 | 1,070 Cred |
One accuracy note here, because it changes the math: the ARC Raiders Wikiâs own summary table for the Goalie Deck lists 1,330 Cred.
Adding up the wikiâs own page-by-page breakdown for that Deck comes to 1,240 Cred instead.
The wiki lists unlock thresholds for Goalieâs later pages: 90, then 270, then 460, then 1,090 Cred spent in-Deck.
Those thresholds only add up correctly against the 1,240 figure, so thatâs the number used here.
If youâre cross-checking against the wiki directly, donât be surprised to see the higher number in its summary row.
Every page across all three Decks also awards Raider Tokens on at least one tile.
Raider Tokens are Arc Raidersâ premium currency, and theyâre unaffected by this change and donât expire.
Can You Actually Finish All Three Decks?
No, not without spending Cred as fast as you earn it.
Clearing all three Decks costs 4,500 Cred combined, but Cred has had a soft cap of 800 since Update 1.7.0.
You cannot bank enough to buy your way through a Deck in one sitting; every purchase has to come out of Cred youâre actively generating.
Cred comes from two sources: playing (1 Cred per 2,000 experience gained Topside) and daily Feats.
Feats cap out at 80 Cred per 24-hour period (10 Cred for completing one, 30 for three, 40 for five).
That puts a hard ceiling of roughly 1,680 Cred from Feats alone over that stretch, on top of whatever XP-based Cred you pick up from actually playing.
Thatâs enough to comfortably clear the Surgeon Deck and make a serious dent in the Goalie Deck.
Itâs not enough on its own to also finish the 2,190-Cred Starter Deck, unless youâre already sitting on a meaningful balance.
Best Order to Spend Your Remaining Cred
-
Unlock any no-threshold tile that awards Raider Tokens first. Both the Goalie and Surgeon Decks have a Raider Token tile on their first page with no prior spending required in that Deck, so thereâs no reason to delay these.
-
Claim anything youâve already unlocked. Embarkâs carryover guarantee applies to rewards youâve claimed by the time of the update, not tiles that are simply unlocked and waiting.
-
Go after cosmetics youâll actually use, not every tile in a page. Everything you skip stays available; it just moves to whatever system replaces Decks.
-
Spend down at Shani last, prioritizing anything with a daily purchase limit (mods, bandages, Recorder, Shaker) since those take multiple days to fully buy out.
-
Donât try to hoard Cred âjust in case.â At the 800 cap youâre not earning more by waiting, and on October 8 the entire remaining balance is lost regardless of size.
Does Cred Survive an Expedition Reset?
This one isnât explicitly addressed in the Update 1.45.0 notes, so itâs worth flagging as unconfirmed rather than stating it as fact.
Earlier in 2026, Embark published a list of what starting a new Expedition does not reset.
That list includes Raider Deck progress, Raider Tokens, unlocked map regions, and Trials standing.
Cred wasnât specifically named on that list either way.
Cred functions as account-wide currency rather than an Expedition-scoped resource, so itâs reasonable to expect it carries over.
Treat this as likely rather than officially confirmed until Embark states it directly.
What Happens After October 8
Frozen Trail replaces Cred with what Embark describes only as âa more expansive reward system.â
Beyond that, the details are still unannounced: no name, no earn rate, and no confirmation of how existing Deck tiles will be priced going forward.
What is confirmed is that everything currently offered through the three Raider Decks remains available after the switch.
Anything youâve claimed before the cutoff stays on your account regardless of the system change.
Key Takeaways
- Cred expires when Frozen Trail launches on October 8, 2026, with no conversion or compensation announced.
- Only Shani and the three Raider Decks accept Cred; Shaniâs stock now includes three 150-Cred blueprints added September 15.
- Fully clearing all three Decks costs 4,500 Cred, but the 800 soft cap means you canât stockpile your way there.
- Prioritize no-threshold Raider Token tiles first, then cosmetics you want, then Shaniâs daily-limited stock.
- Raider Tokens and anything already claimed are unaffected by the Cred retirement.
FAQ
When does Cred expire in Arc Raiders?
Cred expires when the Frozen Trail update launches on October 8, 2026.
Embark has not published an exact time, so the safest assumption is that the cutoff lands at some point that day rather than at midnight.
Will my leftover Cred convert into another currency?
No.
Embarkâs patch notes for Live Update 1.45.0 say only that Cred will expire, with no mention of a conversion rate or compensation for whatâs left unspent.
What can I still buy with Cred before it expires?
Two things: Shaniâs trader stock, and unlocking tiles in the three Raider Decks (Starter, Goalie, and Surgeon).
Those are the only Cred sinks Embark has confirmed.
How much Cred can I hold at once?
Cred has had a soft cap of 800 since Update 1.7.0.
You stop earning more once youâre at or above that amount, though a balance already above 800 before the cap was added is not reduced.
Do I lose Raider Deck rewards I havenât claimed yet?
Embarkâs guarantee only covers rewards youâve already claimed at the time of the update.
An unlocked tile you havenât claimed, or a page you havenât paid into, is not covered by that promise.
Can I finish all three Raider Decks before Cred expires?
Not from a standing start.
Fully clearing the Starter, Goalie, and Surgeon Decks costs 4,500 Cred combined, and the 800 soft cap means you can never bank that much at once.
You have to keep spending as you earn.
Does Cred survive an Expedition reset?
Likely yes, but this isnât stated in the Update 1.45.0 patch notes directly.
Embarkâs own list of what an Expedition does not reset (published earlier in 2026) includes Raider Deck progress, Raider Tokens, and other account-wide progress.
That suggests Cred should be unaffected too.
Treat this as probable rather than confirmed.
Whatâs the best way to spend my last Cred?
Prioritize Raider Deck tiles that award Raider Tokens with no unlock threshold, since those give the best return with no prerequisite spending.
After that, claim any cosmetics you actually want, then spend down the rest at Shani.
Is Frozen Trail definitely launching on October 8?
Thatâs the date Embark has tied Credâs expiration to in the official patch notes, and itâs been described as the next major content update.
Embark hasnât published a separate, dedicated release-date announcement for Frozen Trail beyond this reference.
Treat October 8 as the operative date until a dedicated announcement says otherwise.
Will Embark offer any compensation for lost Cred?
None has been announced.
The official patch notes state Cred will expire and say nothing about compensation for unspent balances.
What happens to Raider Tokens Iâve already earned?
Raider Tokens arenât affected by this change.
Theyâre a separate currency from Cred, used for Raider Decks, bundles, and cosmetic items, and nothing in the Cred Expiration announcement touches them.
