Summary
"Frozen Trail" is the largest update ARC Raiders has received since launch, arriving Thursday, October 8. It brings a new map, new enemies, and a weapon system overhaul — but it also completely reshapes the game's progression systems. Before the update lands, there are things you must do in advance, or you'll lose resources permanently. For players who want to Buy ARC Raiders Coins ahead of the new season, timing matters — the in-game economy is shifting, and preparation now can save you time later.
1. Do This First: Cred Is Being Removed Permanently
This is the single most important warning in this guide.
Embark has confirmed: Cred will be retired entirely when "Frozen Trail" launches on October 8. Any Cred remaining in your account will expire and vanish. It cannot be converted or carried over.
What you must do now: Before October 8, log in, visit Shani, and spend every last Cred. Buy gear, items, anything available. Items in your inventory will carry over intact into the new season — but Cred itself will not.
Cred is being replaced by a new Reward Pass system, which progresses by completing Feats rather than hoarding a currency.
2. Skill Points Are Fully Refunded — But You Must Reallocate
If you've invested heavily in the skill tree (including bonus points earned from Expeditions), every skill point you've spent will be refunded in full on October 8, available for you to reallocate in the reworked skill tree.
The mechanic works like this: if you're level 75 with multiple Expeditions completed and 90 skill points spent, you'll get all 90 back after the update, free to redistribute however you see fit. You won't pay any coin cost to reset.
This means continuing to level up and accumulate skill points right now is still worthwhile — whatever you put in comes back to you.
3. New Map: Pendola Pass and the Frigate
Pendola Pass
The new map is set in an Italian village beyond the peaks of the Rust Belt, featuring a supermarket, a lifeless town square, an observatory, and a buried train depot. At its core lies a downed Emperor — the largest ARC wreck in the game to date, with rare technology inside.
Pendola Pass introduces dynamic Flash Freeze weather: extreme cold can erupt across the map at any time, forcing players to seek shelter. Shelters activate when the freeze hits, but they also attract other players competing for the same safe space.
One of the new extraction methods is a Ballistic Gondola — a cable car that holds only 3 players and requires fast calling and boarding.
The Frigate
The Frigate is a massive ARC aerial vessel patrolling the Pendola Pass region. You cannot destroy it with weapons from outside — you must board it and sabotage it from within, solving navigation puzzles and fighting new enemies along the way. The interior is close-quarters, and other players are competing for the same objective.
4. New Enemies and How to Handle Them
Bully
The Bully is an aggressive new ARC that relentlessly pursues players and won't give up easily. Its attack pattern combines Leaper and Shredder behavior: rapid lunges plus short-range attacks. How to handle it: use cover, time your movement, and land precise shots. It's fast, but manageable if you stay steady.
Skulker
The opposite of the Bully, the Skulker lurks at the edge of your vision, waiting for you to be distracted by combat or looting before landing a high-damage hit and retreating out of sight. How to handle it: watch for audio cues, stay alert, and don't stay exposed in open areas for long.
Hydra
The Hydra is a fixed turret-type enemy aboard the Frigate, split into three stacked independent sections, each capable of aiming and firing separately — meaning it can engage multiple squads at once. How to handle it: this requires coordinated tactics — split its attention, find cover fast, and concentrate damage in the gaps. Solo or single-squad frontal assaults are essentially not viable.
5. Outpost: Your Above-Ground Base
The Outpost is an expansion of the Raider Den, located above ground between the Rust Belt and the mountains. You can decorate and customize it with modules and furniture, making it a personal space.
Its core functional building is the Research Workstation. Once fully upgraded, you can unlock the Amplified Weapons system there.
6. Amplified Weapons: Tier 5 Upgrades
Amplified Weapons raise the weapon quality ceiling from Tier 4 to a fifth tier, covering 15 weapons at launch. It isn't a simple stat boost — it's a branching upgrade that changes how a weapon behaves.
Official examples include:
Burletta can become fully automatic
Renegade can mount a scope
Rattler can take incendiary rounds or a 64-round magazine
This lets you bring "outdated" weapons back into the fight with entirely new tactical roles.
7. New Weapons and Gear
New Weapons
Stiletto: a light-ammo battle rifle positioned as an early-game budget alternative to the Renegade, sitting between the Rattler and Ferro
Bantam: a snub-nose revolver using heavy ammo, strong for hip-fire and close quarters, essentially a close-range version of the Anvil
New Gear
Grappling Hook: focused on horizontal movement — grapple ceilings, walls, even ARC directly
Tether Launcher: thrown and activated, it pins players or ARC within a set radius, restricting movement
Yank Grenade: on detonation, it forcibly pulls nearby targets toward the blast point — you can yank flying ARC out of the air or drag players out from behind cover
Camera: with zoom, aperture control, and a selfie mode, photos saved to your Codex
8. Free-to-Play Weekend: October 8–12
Alongside "Frozen Trail," ARC Raiders opens a free-to-play weekend: from October 8 at 09:00 UTC to October 12 at 08:00 UTC, across Steam, Xbox, and PlayStation.
Free players get access to the full game, including the core PvPvE extraction gameplay. New players who party up with someone who has already unlocked Pendola Pass can enter the new map immediately, bypassing normal unlock requirements.
9. Reward Pass System Overview
"Frozen Trail" introduces two Reward Passes:
Frozen Trail Pass (60 levels): includes free and premium tracks. The free track unlocks basic outfits, new decorations, weapons, gear, and up to 200 Raider Tokens. The premium track (1150 Tokens) unlocks exclusive cosmetics, legendary weapon templates, and hairstyles, returning 1150 Tokens in total
Legacy Pass: consolidates cosmetic rewards and Tokens from all past Raider Decks into one free track, preserving veteran players' earned rewards while letting newcomers obtain content they missed
10. Timeline and Preparation Checklist
Item | Time |
Final action on current version | Spend all Cred immediately |
"Frozen Trail" launch | October 8 |
Free-to-play weekend | October 8–12 |
Cred expiration | October 8 |
48-hour pre-update checklist:
Log in and spend every Cred — this is an irreversible loss
Check your skill points — you don't need to do anything, they're fully refunded after the update
If you're running Expeditions, finish your current progress — Expeditions are already on their fifth round
Tell friends who want to try the game about the free weekend window
"Frozen Trail" is the key step in ARC Raiders' push toward "2.0." Whether you're a veteran or a newcomer planning to jump in during the free weekend, clearing out your Cred is the only genuinely urgent task right now — and if you're looking to stock up on ARC Raiders Coins before the economy shifts, MMOEXP is a reliable destination with secure delivery, competitive pricing, and fast service. Everything else becomes clear on October 8.
