Winter arrives in the Rust Belt on December 16th, and it’s not here to look pretty. ARC Raiders’ December update introduces environmental hazards that can kill you faster than enemy fire, a month-long community event with actual rewards worth grinding for, and a completely free Raider Deck that proves not everything in gaming needs a price tag.
Cold Snap changes how you approach every Topside run. The Flickering Flames event gives you clear objectives and tangible payoffs. The Goalie Raider Deck launches December 26th with a hockey stick melee weapon that’s either genius or ridiculous—probably both.
Here’s everything you need to survive winter in the Rust Belt and make the most of what might be ARC Raiders’ most gameplay-focused update yet.
What Is Cold Snap in ARC Raiders?
Cold Snap turns weather into a legitimate threat. Blizzards sweep across The Blue Gate. The Red Lakes freeze solid. The abandoned spaceport becomes a wind tunnel. Your Raider will freeze to death in minutes if you stay exposed, which makes every outdoor engagement a calculated risk.
Frostbite kills, and it kills fast enough that you can’t ignore it while looting or fighting. The timer starts the moment you’re outside, and it only stops when you get indoors or use healing items to buy yourself extra seconds.
How Does Frostbite Work in ARC Raiders?
The game doesn’t spell out exact numbers, but players are reporting death in “minutes” rather than the vague “eventually” most survival mechanics threaten you with. That’s tight enough to matter in real combat situations.
Healing items reset or slow the frostbite timer, making them more valuable than usual. Every medkit you burn on temperature control is one you can’t use during a firefight. Indoor locations completely stop the countdown, turning buildings into strategic resources rather than just cover.
You’ll know when frostbite is becoming critical. The visual warnings are obvious enough that you won’t die surprised—but they come late enough that panic is guaranteed. If you’re stuck in the open when the warnings start, you’re probably already making bad decisions.
Key frostbite mechanics:
- Death occurs in minutes, not gradual damage over time
- Healing items temporarily counteract freezing effects
- Indoor areas completely stop frostbite progression
- Visual warnings appear before death but with limited reaction time
Cold Snap Environmental Hazards
The Red Lakes don’t just look frozen—they behave differently. Walking on ice makes your movement unsteady, which affects everything from strafing during combat to precision jumps. The ice can crack under you, adding an element of randomness to water crossings that wasn’t there before.
Blizzards wreck your sight lines. Long-range engagements become guesswork when you can barely see 30 meters ahead. Snipers lose their advantage. Close-quarters fighters gain opportunities they never had in clear weather. The blizzards aren’t constant, but when they hit, they force everyone to adapt or die.
Three main environmental threats:
- Frozen water surfaces: Unstable movement on ice, cracking hazards, dangerous water crossings
- Blizzard conditions: Severely reduced visibility, compromised long-range combat, increased ambush potential
- Temperature zones: Open areas become death traps, buildings become essential survival points
Temperature zones divide the map into safe and deadly spaces. Open areas kill. Buildings save. The space between them is where you make decisions that determine whether you extract or respawn.
Best Cold Snap Survival Strategies
Prolonged outdoor fights are suicide. If you can’t end the engagement in under a minute, you need to disengage or push into a building. This completely changes pacing. Defensive positions in the open become death traps. Aggressive pushes toward indoor areas suddenly make tactical sense.
Indoor positioning is now premium real estate. Everyone wants to be inside, which means buildings become contested zones. You’re not just fighting other Raiders—you’re fighting them for access to warmth. Expect more close-quarters battles and fewer long-range stalemates.
Smart players will use the environment as a weapon. Pin someone outside during a blizzard and let Cold Snap do the work. Force enemies to choose between fighting in lethal cold or pushing into disadvantageous positions. Bait players away from shelter, then stall until frostbite does the job.
Winning Cold Snap tactics:
- End outdoor fights within 60 seconds or disengage immediately
- Prioritize building control over open map positioning
- Force enemies into cold exposure during engagements
- Plan escape routes to shelter before starting fights
- Carry extra healing items for emergency temperature control
The meta shift is real. Loadouts that excel indoors gain value. Healing items become mandatory rather than optional. Map knowledge—specifically knowing where every building is—separates prepared players from frozen ones.
Flickering Flames Event Guide (December 16 - January 13)
Underground in Speranza, survivors are preparing for their winter festival despite food shortages and rolling blackouts. They need supplies, and they’re willing to pay Raiders who bring them back. Flickering Flames runs for 28 days, giving you from December 16th until January 13th to rack up rewards.
You’re collecting Candleberries and Special Items, turning them in for rewards, and earning Merits just by playing the game normally. No convoluted mechanics, no battle pass confusion—just gather resources, get paid.
What Are Candleberries in ARC Raiders?
The Candleberry Bush serves as survival infrastructure for Speranza. Boiling the berries creates wax that burns for hours, giving the underground community reliable light sources. Crushing the berries produces juice. The roots make medicinal tea that fights winter illnesses.
Candleberry uses for Speranza:
- Wax production: Berries boiled down create long-burning candles
- Beverages: Crushed berries make refreshing juice; roots brew into medicinal tea
- Food supplies: Ingredients for stews, soups, and winter meals
- Hygiene products: Base material for perfumes and soap
- Decorations: Wreaths bring greenery underground for festival atmosphere
Speranzans use every part of the plant. This versatility explains why the Candleberry Banquets need massive quantities—the plant is a multi-purpose winter survival tool.
For players, Candleberries work as the primary event currency. Every berry you turn in converts into tangible rewards that affect your actual gameplay.
Flickering Flames Rewards List
The payout structure is straightforward. Candleberries and Special Items redeem for multiple reward types:
| Reward Type | Description | Value |
|---|---|---|
| Raider Tokens | Premium currency | Shop purchases |
| New Items | Event-exclusive gear | Not available otherwise |
| Rare Utility Items | High-value consumables | Topside runs |
| Weapons | Combat gear | Not just skins |
| Cosmetics | Visual customization | Outfits and accessories |
| Merits | Progression currency | Own reward track |
Merits deserve special attention. You earn them passively by gaining XP Topside, meaning you’re progressing toward rewards just by playing. More Merits unlock better stuff. It’s a parallel progression system that runs alongside the collection mechanic.
The dual-track approach means casual players who can’t dedicate hours to berry hunting still earn meaningful rewards through normal gameplay. Hardcore grinders who focus on collection speed up the process but don’t shut out everyone else.
How to Collect Special Items
Beyond Candleberries, Speranza needs specific winter survival supplies. Light sources boost morale in the underground city. Heat sources keep people comfortable when temperatures drop and blackouts cut power.
Priority Special Items to collect:
- Light sources (candles, lanterns, portable lights)
- Heat sources (portable heaters, fuel, thermal equipment)
- Winter survival gear for community use
These items help the community survive until spring, which gives the event some narrative weight beyond “collect 100 of X for rewards.” The game treats Speranza as an actual place with actual needs, not just a quest hub.
Special Items trade for the same reward categories as Candleberries, so you’re not locked into one collection path. Flexibility matters when Cold Snap makes certain areas too dangerous to farm efficiently.
Best Flickering Flames Farming Tips
Twenty-eight days is a decent window. You’re not racing against a 72-hour limited-time panic event. You can approach this casually—hit Topside when you have time, collect what you find, and still walk away with rewards by January 13th.
Efficient event farming strategies:
- Focus on Candleberry collection as primary objective
- Grab Special Items opportunistically during normal runs
- Balance Merit grinding with resource gathering
- Play during optimal weather windows to avoid Cold Snap deaths
- Use indoor farming routes when blizzards hit
Daily grinders will max out faster, obviously. If you’re the type who optimizes routes and farms efficiently, you’ll finish the reward tracks well before the deadline. Weekend warriors should focus on bulk collection during play sessions rather than trying to log in daily.
The Goalie Raider Deck: Release Date & Rewards
Ten days after Cold Snap launches, ARC Raiders drops its second free permanent Raider Deck. The Goalie releases December 26th and costs nothing. No battle pass purchase. No premium currency gate. You earn Cred by playing Topside, and the deck unlocks progressively as you accumulate it.
The deck is permanent, meaning you can access it anytime. No trial period or limited-time opportunity. The Goalie works as a standard progression system available to everyone forever.
What's Included in The Goalie Deck?
The flagship cosmetic is an outfit that Speranzans claim was worn by ancient gladiators—”the world’s most fierce and respected gladiators,” according to the lore blurb. Whether that’s historically accurate or post-apocalyptic mythology doesn’t really matter. It looks distinctive, which is the point.
Main Goalie Deck rewards:
- Gladiator-inspired outfit (flagship cosmetic)
- Hockey stick Raider Tool (unique melee weapon)
- Multiple cosmetic pieces through progression tiers
- Raider Tokens at specific milestones
- Unlockable items across reward track
The real draw is the hockey stick Raider Tool. Yes, a hockey stick. As a melee weapon. In a shooter with ARC mechs and extraction mechanics. It’s exactly as ridiculous as it sounds, and that’s probably intentional.
Beyond the headliner items, the deck contains a series of unlockables that flesh out the reward track. The deck is structured like the previous free Raider Deck—you’re working through tiers, each one offering something new.
How to Unlock The Goalie Raider Deck
Progression is tied to Cred, which you earn by playing Topside. Extract successfully, complete objectives, survive encounters—the normal loop generates Cred automatically. Every milestone unlocks the next tier of rewards.
Cred earning activities:
- Successful extractions from Topside
- Objective completions during runs
- Combat victories and survival streaks
- XP gains through normal gameplay
There’s no time pressure. The deck is permanent, so you can’t “miss” it by not playing enough in December. Log in six months from now and The Goalie will still be there, ready to be progressed through at whatever pace you prefer.
This accessibility matters in a genre where most cosmetic content sits behind paywalls or limited-time grinds. Embark Studios is positioning free Raider Decks as standard features rather than promotional exceptions.
Hockey Stick Raider Tool: Is It Good?
Melee weapons in ARC Raiders occupy a weird space. They’re not primary combat tools—you’re not winning firefights by charging with a stick. They’re situational options for close encounters, silent takedowns, or moments when reloading would get you killed.
The hockey stick presumably functions like other Raider Tools: limited range, specific use cases, and more about style than strategic advantage. It’s a fashion choice that happens to deal damage. In a game where cosmetics matter to player identity, that’s enough.
Expected hockey stick use cases:
- Close-quarters indoor combat during Cold Snap
- Silent takedowns in confined spaces
- Emergency melee when reloading isn’t an option
- Style points and player identity expression
Expect to see hockey sticks in indoor fights during Cold Snap. Confined spaces make melee more viable, and winter combat pushes everyone indoors. Whether it’s effective or just memorable, we’ll find out after December 26th when players actually get their hands on it.
How Cold Snap, Flickering Flames & Goalie Deck Connect
Cold Snap makes Topside more dangerous, which makes Candleberry collection riskier. You can’t casually farm resources when frostbite is actively trying to kill you. Indoor camping becomes tempting, but sitting in a warm building doesn’t progress the Flickering Flames event.
Gameplay synergies between update features:
- Cold Snap increases risk of outdoor resource farming
- Flickering Flames rewards players who brave dangerous weather
- The Goalie Deck progresses naturally during event participation
- Hockey stick becomes relevant for indoor Cold Snap fights
- Merit system rewards all Topside activity regardless of focus
This creates interesting tension. Do you push into dangerous weather to maximize berry collection? Do you play it safe and accept slower progression? The update rewards calculated risk-taking over mindless grinding.
The Goalie Deck provides long-term goals while Flickering Flames offers short-term payoffs. One is about consistent play over months. The other is about focused effort over weeks. You’re naturally progressing both simultaneously just by playing—Cred accumulates for The Goalie while you’re collecting Candleberries for the event.
ARC Raiders Winter Update Tips & Strategies
Cold Snap survival tactics:
- Memorize building locations before emergencies force poor decisions
- Carry 2-3 extra healing items minimum for frostbite insurance
- Avoid frozen water crossings without clear escape routes to shelter
- Commit to fights decisively or disengage completely—no half measures
- Treat outdoor positioning as temporary, not sustainable
Flickering Flames farming priorities:
- Candleberries first, Special Items second (unless you stumble on them naturally)
- Merit farming happens passively—don’t overthink XP optimization
- Balance collection routes with Cold Snap safe zones
- Track January 13th deadline if you’re targeting completion
- Play during your available time—28 days accommodates most schedules
Goalie Deck progression approach:
- Launches December 26th mid-event—you’ll already be playing
- No rush required—permanent system means no FOMO pressure
- Focus on Cred-generating activities: extractions, objectives, survival
- Playing well accelerates progress more than playing constantly
- Hockey stick becomes available through natural progression
Winter Update Timeline
| Date | What Happens |
|---|---|
| December 16 | Cold Snap condition activates across all maps |
| December 16 | Flickering Flames event begins |
| December 26 | The Goalie Raider Deck becomes available |
| January 13 | Flickering Flames event ends |
The staggered release gives players time to adapt to Cold Snap before The Goalie arrives. You get ten days to learn the new survival mechanics before the free cosmetic progression becomes available. It’s a reasonable pacing choice that doesn’t overwhelm players with everything at once.
ARC Raiders Winter Update: Worth Playing?
ARC Raiders’ December update changes how the game plays, not just how it looks. Cold Snap adds environmental stakes that force tactical adaptation. Flickering Flames gives concrete objectives with rewards that matter. The Goalie Raider Deck proves free progression systems can coexist with monetized content.
Weather now affects your decisions as much as enemy positions. Resource collection has purpose beyond hoarding for its own sake. Free cosmetics reward consistent play without demanding your credit card.
Winter in the Rust Belt means adaptation. The players who treat Cold Snap as a serious threat will outlast the ones who ignore it. The Raiders who balance event farming with smart play will extract more value from Flickering Flames than pure grinders. The ones who appreciate free content will unlock The Goalie simply by playing the game they already own.
That’s the update. Stay warm. Stay tactical. Stay alive.
