No. Nobody at Gaijin schedules a wipe for you. Active Matter replaces the wipe with three things you'll meet in your first week: a self-wipe you trigger yourself at the top of the Monolith, a Harmonization meter in the top bar that moves everyone at once when it hits 100%, and Merits, a currency that only pays out while a cycle is live.
Get the three confused and you'll either wipe yourself for nothing or sit on a stash the game is about to move for you. Here is what each one does, what resets, what stays, and when pulling the lever is worth it. Checked in the game on builds 0.4.0.148 and 0.4.0.156 (25 and 27 September 2026) and against every developer Q&A Gaijin has published on the subject.
The short answer
Asked before launch whether there would be a wipe, Gaijin's September Q&A said: "There won't be a wipe with the release of the game." The earlier Q&A explains what's there instead:
"No, we don't plan a wipe. However, regular self-wiping is a key part of the game through player-driven decisions (the red door, or the blue door?), causing new players to never meet only fully-geared players regardless. The 'harmonization of the multiverse' can also be achieved by the entire community's decisions to conduct a server wipe, only preserving their prestige and edition bonuses."
So: you wipe yourself when you choose to, and the whole server moves together when Harmonization completes. Both keep more than a Tarkov wipe does.
Five names for one button
The wiki, the patch notes and the game itself use five terms for the same act: self-wipe, self-sacrifice, creating a new Personal Timeline, passing through the Monolith door, and the red door or the blue door. They all mean one thing: ending your current progression and starting a new timeline on the same account.
It lives at the top of the Monolith. Gaijin's answer to "will you add a self-wipe" was "We already have a self-wipe option when you finish the Monolith progression." The door opens on what the September Q&A calls "the special Monolith scene," and you choose a permanent reward before you go through. That choice is final: "Not for now, so choose carefully before opening the door on the special Monolith scene itself!"
What a new Personal Timeline resets, and what stays
The two lists, from the Q&As, the FAQ and the 26 September patch notes.
Reset:
- Credits, the stash and everything in it, and your Monolith level and tokens.
- Blueprints and chronogenes. Equipped chronogenes are discarded outright.
- The Perks Tree, which the game labels "Perks Tree of current Personal Timeline" for exactly this reason.
Kept:
- Crystallised Active Matter (the store now calls it Prime) and anything you bought with it. The safe container comes with you.
- Self-sacrifice rewards, dog tags, and "any bonuses tied to multiverse resets."
- Your edition's content. The FAQ is precise: "The content will be returned to your stash, with the exception of crystallised Active Matter (Prime)," meaning the starting CAM grant isn't paid twice.
- Access to the Fundamental Protocol (below).
Two things changed on 26 September. Update 0.4.0.156 "placed all equipped gear to a temporary stash after creating a new Personal Timeline," so what you're wearing survives the reset. And "items placed in the Shelter are kept in their original locations," so decorations stay put. The same note warns that weapons and equipment left there "could become just decorative items and unusable in loadouts," so wear what you want to fight with.
Why anyone wipes themselves
Because the game pays for it, four ways.
- Merits repeat. Merits come from Monolith Access Levels, but a level only pays once per timeline. From the Harmonization Cycles Q&A: "You can repeat the Monolith progression and earn Merits for each Monolith Access Level again only by creating a new timeline."
- Global Progression rewards unlock at the door. Same Q&A: they "unlock when you pass through the Monolith door (create a new personal timeline), or you can wait and claim them later as the Cycle advances."
- A permanent reward. The door offers upgrades that carry through every future timeline, one per pass, chosen before you go through and not reversible.
- Speeding up Harmonization. From the April Q&A: a player who sacrifices progress moves "to the new universe immediately without restrictions, and their sacrifice reduces the overall load so the global transformation finishes sooner." Gaijin rewards that: veterans who reset five or more times in Cycle 1 were given ten copies of the exclusive Red Shards camouflage.
Harmonization: the meter in the top bar
That percentage is Harmonization, and the April Q&A defines it: "Harmonization is a transformation" in which "the universe migrates from one phase to another." It rises as players create new timelines, and "When the bar hits 100%, the process completes and every player will be operating in the new universe." That is the community-wide wipe from the first quote, and it keeps the same list as a self-wipe: prestige, edition bonuses, CAM and what it bought.
The cadence, from the same Q&A: each cycle "is expected to last about three months," made up of "roughly one month of Harmonization followed by two months of stabilization," and "then the process repeats." Cycle 1 ended early because the system was reworked. Cycle 2 began with the 15 September release, and our account read 21.7% on 27 September.
Timing matters for rewards. "After Harmonization ends, the Agency will slightly reduce the rewards," the Q&A says, naming the Top Employee plaque and reduced Crystallised Active Matter amounts. Early harmonisers get more.
Merits: the currency that only exists during a cycle
Merits are the seasonal currency, and the rules are strict.
- Earned two ways, only while a cycle is live: "from daily 'Priority Raid' objectives and from Monolith Access Levels, but only while a Harmonization Cycle is active."
- Levels earned between cycles pay nothing. "To receive Merits from Monolith Access Levels, you must earn those levels during an active Harmonization Cycle."
- How much: Beta grants 100. Since the 12 September patch, "Monolith Access Levels 2 through 12 will award 15,000 Merits for a full ascent instead of 3,500."
- There's a cap. "A single cap overflow is allowed; any further Merits beyond the cap will be lost."
- Two kinds of reward. Global Progression rewards unlock at the door; Cycle Offer rewards "must be purchased with Merits after you unlock the Cycle." Anything labelled exclusive "will never be obtainable again." Older cycle rewards stay buyable.
Cycle 0: the Fundamental Protocol
The 24 September patch, The Fundamental Protocol, fixed the awkward gap between cycles. It "lets you spend earned Merits even if you're not participating in any other Cycle," unlocks "at Monolith access level DELTA," and "persists after you create a new Personal Timeline."
What's in it: "consumables, unique decorations, Credits, and Monolith Tokens," which the notes call "everything you need to accelerate your push toward establishing your new Personal Timeline." Some of it is exclusive to the Protocol. In practice it's where leftover Merits go, and a reason to reach Delta before you wipe.
When to pull the lever
- While a cycle is live, or the levels you climb next pay no Merits.
- After you've reached Delta, so the Protocol is open on the other side.
- After spending Credits and refining the stash. Both go. CAM and what it bought don't, so buy the container and beacons first.
- With the permanent reward decided. There's no undo.
- Wearing what you want to keep. Since 0.4.0.156 equipped gear survives; equipped chronogenes don't.
Every timeline starts at Shegolskoe, and Beta wants extractions from Shegolskoe, Factory and Airport before it opens. If you'd rather not learn those exits twice, the raid clears and Squad Carry below put a pro in your squad for the gate raids. Stated once, because it's true of every paid service in this game: Gaijin's EULA (§3.2.6) bans paid "combat services," so this is against the rules. What it avoids is account sharing, because nobody logs in as you. The full reasoning is in Active Matter Boosting Explained.
Wipe questions
Does Active Matter have a wipe? Not a scheduled one. You wipe yourself by creating a new Personal Timeline, and the whole server moves to a new universe when Harmonization hits 100%. Both keep prestige, edition bonuses and CAM.
Do I lose my edition items? No. Edition content returns to your stash after a self-wipe. The one-time CAM grant is the exception; it isn't paid again.
Can I undo the permanent reward I chose at the door? No. Gaijin's answer was "Not for now, so choose carefully."
Do Merits carry over? Yes, up to the cap with one overflow, and since 24 September you can spend them in the Fundamental Protocol whether or not a cycle is running.