ARC Raiders is getting a major overhaul on October 8, 2026, with the Frozen Trail update. Embark Studios has described it as a "2.0" moment for the game, and after seeing everything confirmed so far, that framing holds up. This isn't a single map drop or a weapon refresh. Frozen Trail adds a new region, a flying carrier encounter, four new enemies, new guns, new gadgets, a base-building system, a reworked progression pass, and a completely new weapon upgrade tier. There's a lot to unpack.
What's in the Frozen Trail update at a glance?
Here's a full breakdown of every confirmed addition before diving into specifics:
Where is Pendola Pass and what makes it different?
Pendola Pass is an old Italian settlement and former Exodus transport hub located beyond the mountains surrounding the Rust Belt. Celeste and Shani trace a signal to the region, giving Raiders a narrative reason to push north.
The map mixes abandoned civilian spaces with remnants of the Exodus Project. Confirmed locations include a supermarket, town square, observatory, and a buried train depot, with threats both above and below ground. Embark has specifically highlighted verticality as a core design focus here, more so than previous maps.
Everything New in ARC Raiders Frozen Trail Update
The centerpiece is a fallen Emperor, one of the largest ARC walker machines, which has crashed in the valley. Rare technology sits inside it, drawing both Raiders and ARC forces to the site. Finding a way into the Emperor and uncovering what happened there is described as the central objective of the Frozen Trail storyline.
The map also has its own weather event: Flash Freeze. When it triggers, the valley becomes hostile to players exposed on the surface, forcing them into buildings or dedicated Avalanche Shelters to avoid the cold's negative effects. It's unpredictable by design, so you can't just plan around it.
Pendola Pass is also the only map where the Redirection minor map condition activates. Players can call in Harvester payloads away from the Queen, which pulls attention from both ARC robots and rival Raiders toward that location.
What is the Frigate and how does it work?
The fallen Emperor has triggered a major ARC response, and the Frigate is the result. Described as a "pirate ship"-style encounter, it's one of the largest ARC vessels in the game and functions more like a high-level activity than a traditional boss fight.
The Frigate cannot be destroyed outright. Instead, Raiders need to board it, navigate its internal passages, and sabotage it from within. Combat happens hundreds of feet above the ground, with close-quarters firefights against ARC forces and other player squads simultaneously. The Hydra, a stationary three-section turret found aboard the Frigate, is one of the major threats inside. Each of its three sections can target separate enemies independently, meaning a full squad can be threatened at once. Coordinated fire and smart positioning are the counters.
The Frigate loot is the payoff, but getting to it means deciding on the fly whether nearby Raiders are temporary allies or targets.
What are the four new ARC enemies?
Frozen Trail adds four new enemies, each designed to disrupt how you move and fight rather than just scaling up existing threat types.
- Bully: A four-legged walker similar in size to a Leaper but with a top-mounted turret. Fast, aggressive, and relentless in close quarters. Embark describes it as "in your face" combat pressure that requires cover use and precise timing to manage.
- Skulker: A small, stealthy sniper that lurks around the edges of encounters. It takes a few shots from distance, then retreats out of sight before you can respond. You need to listen for it as much as look for it.
- Hydra: Found aboard the Frigate. Three independently operating gun turret sections that can each lock onto different targets. Splitting its attention across a squad is a viable strategy.
- Frigate: Technically the encounter itself rather than a killable enemy. It patrols Pendola Pass and can only be sabotaged, not destroyed.
Everything New in ARC Raiders Frozen Trail Update
What are the two new weapons?
The Stiletto is a light-ammo battle rifle designed for medium-to-long range. It's positioned as a cheaper early-game alternative to the Renegade, rewarding controlled, deliberate firing. Spamming the trigger degrades accuracy, so it punishes players who treat it like an SMG. It's better suited to PvE than PvP.
The Bantam takes the opposite direction. This snub-nosed revolver uses heavy ammunition and is built for hard-hitting close-range work against both ARC and enemy Raiders. It has a dedicated hip-fire animation, making it a more aggressive heavy-ammo sidearm alternative to the Anvil.
What is Weapon Amplification?
Weapon Amplification is a new fifth quality tier for weapons, accessed through the Research Workstation inside your Outpost. Once the workstation is fully upgraded, you can research upgrades for specific guns and then build those upgrades using materials found on missions.
This system is about specialization, not just raw stat improvements. Embark gave specific examples during the reveal:
- Burletta can become fully automatic
- Renegade can gain a scope
- Rattler can use incendiary ammunition and a 64-round magazine
At launch, only 15 weapons are compatible with Amplification. More will be added over time. The intent is to give veteran players a reason to revisit guns they've ignored rather than defaulting to the same small group of late-game favorites.
Everything New in ARC Raiders Frozen Trail Update
What are the new gadgets and tools?
Four new gadgets arrive with Frozen Trail, each changing how you move or interact with enemies.
Grappling Hook: A hand-thrown rope and hook that lets you rappel, swing, climb, or even tether to enemies and get dragged along behind them. Pendola Pass's verticality was clearly designed with this in mind.
Tether Launcher: Fires two tethers connected by a wire. When both land, they pull together, letting you drag enemies, root them in place, or even attach Raiders to ARC machines.
Yank Grenade: A thrown version of the tether concept. When it detonates, it fires a wire at the nearest character and yanks them toward the blast point. Useful for pulling enemies out of cover or smashing airborne ARC into the ground.
Camera: A fully functional in-game photography gadget with zoom, aperture controls, manual and automatic focus, and a selfie mode. Photos save to the Codex. This is a proper system, not just a screenshot filter.
Two instruments also arrive: the Harmonica and Banjo. The Banjo Blueprint is included with the Collector Set DLC.
What are Outposts?
Outposts are a new personal base system positioned between the Rust Belt and the mountains. Celeste offers Raiders this space as a foothold on the surface, and players can customize it with modules, furniture, and decorations crafted or acquired from missions.
The Outpost houses the Research Workstation, which feeds directly into Weapon Amplification. Embark has framed Outposts as a long-term system it plans to expand over time, with the current version focused on customization and research as a foundation.
Weapon Stencils also tie into this layer of personalization. These are reusable visual designs that can be applied to weapons to change their appearance without affecting stats. The stencil itself stays with you even if the customized weapon is lost during a raid.
How does the new Reward Pass work?
Frozen Trail replaces the existing Raider Deck system with a new Reward Pass format that runs three tracks simultaneously:
- Free Pass: 200 Raider Tokens, 5 new outfits, gameplay items, and 20 cosmetic rewards including Scrappy outfits, furniture, charms, attachments, and emotes.
- Premium Pass: Adds premium outfit toggles, exclusive colorways, Weapon Stencils, hairstyles, and 1,150 Raider Tokens.
- Legacy Pass: Free for all Raiders. Combines existing Raider Decks so previous progression and rewards are preserved.
The Collector Set DLC costs 2,400 Raider Tokens and includes access to both the Free and Premium Reward Pass tracks, the Renzo cosmetic set, the Dragon's Breath Weapon Stencil, the Bob hairstyle, and 2,400 Raider Tokens.
Trials Season 6 also kicks off with the Frozen Trail update, and new quests with optional objectives for bonus XP are confirmed alongside it.
What's changing with the Skill Tree?
Embark has confirmed a broader Skill Tree rework is part of Frozen Trail, specifically targeting the issue of experienced Raiders eventually collecting nearly every skill point available. The goal is to make build choices feel more meaningful and create genuine specialization rather than a slow accumulation toward a universal loadout.
New skills are being added and existing ones are being modified or rebalanced. Full details on individual skill changes haven't been released ahead of October 8, so exactly how current builds shift is still an open question. If you've been running the same setup for a while, expect to revisit your choices after the update lands.
For more on previous seasonal content and how past updates have shaped the current meta, check out our ARC Raiders Flashpoint update rundown and the Shrouded Sky update breakdown. If Pendola Pass's harsh weather conditions have you thinking ahead, the frostbite survival guide covers exactly what you need to know before stepping into the cold. For the full catalog of ARC Raiders strategy content, browse the complete ARC Raiders guides collection.