Free to Play October 8 to 12
Embark's launch announcement adds two things the patch notes don't: ARC Raiders is free to play from October 8 to 12, so you can pull friends into your squad, and the game is 50% off on all platforms. The same post describes the Hydra as a squad killer that guards both the Emperor and the Frigate, and says the Outpost raises weapons to a fifth tier and unlocks special abilities.
The free weekend runs October 8 to 12. Image: Embark Studios.
What's in 2.0
Highlights
- Pendola Pass, a new map, with two new map conditions: Frigate and Redirection
- New ARC: the Bully, the Skulker and the Hydra
- New weapons: the Stiletto and the Bantam
- Amplified weapons, a skill tree revamp and the Frozen Trail Reward Pass
- New gear: Grappling Hook, Basic and Advanced Cameras, Tether Launcher, Yank Grenade, Mountaineer's Detector, Banjo and Harmonica
- The Outpost with a Research Bench, plus 100 furniture Designs
- 14 weapon stencils, 22 new quests, a reworked Map Selection screen and new default gamepad mapping
- Stash raised by two tiers to 328 slots
Pendola Pass, the Frigate and Redirection
The notes name Pendola Pass and its two map conditions but give no details on either condition. One system is spelled out: Pendola Pass is testing Dynamic Loot Zones. The loot value of some zones changes from raid to raid, but a zone's loot type stays the same, so a Residential area stays Residential.
The Frigate, which has arrived to patrol the Rust Belt. Image: Embark Studios.
Dynamic Loot Zones mean a "dead" building last raid can be worth a run this raid. Check the zone highlights before you commit to a route. Our interactive Pendola Pass map covers the layout. For the map conditions, see our Redirection guide, which explains how relays and Emperor Payloads work, and our Ballistic Gondola guide for the new extraction.
New ARC: Bully, Skulker and Hydra
All three are listed without stats. The only other mention is a known issue: the Hydra can see and shoot through walls in the Cargo area. Separately, standing on the side of the Cargo drop can eliminate you instantly. Both are flagged as being worked on.
The Bully. Image: Embark Studios.
The patch also reworked explosive damage, and that matters most against the Bully: the Hullcracker now deals over 50% more damage to armor plates and about 30% less to fragile parts. The armored Bully is exactly the target that buff is for. Our Bully guide covers the knee weak points, tether timing and its loot.
Amplified Weapons
The notes say surprisingly little about the headline system. What they do confirm:
- The Anvil Splitter is no longer a mod. It's now an upgrade on the Amplified Anvil, and the Anvil's Tech Mod slot is gone.
- Old Splitter mods stop dropping. You can sell them or recycle them into Amplified Fragments, which repair amplified weapons.
- The Anvil moves from uncommon to rare, and the new Bantam takes over as the uncommon hand cannon.
The Amplified Anvil's upgrade screen, with the Anvil Splitter now an amplification. Screenshot: GamingMerchant.
Amplified Fragments answer the biggest worry from early access: amplified guns burn durability fast, and looted ones arrive nearly broken. Recycling spare amplified weapons is how you keep your main one running. Our amplified weapons guide has the requirements, every known upgrade with exact numbers, and which ones are worth it. Our Amplification Module guide covers where modules drop.
Skill Tree Revamp
The tree has a new shape. Halfway along each branch, one path forces a choice between two skills, and you can switch by resetting the tree. Each branch now ends in two nodes of three skills, and once you've invested enough points you can take up to two of the three in each.
- Fight or Flight: about 25% more stamina gained per level
- Stubborn Mule: about 33% more stamina regeneration
- Back on Your Feet: heals 40 instead of 30
The new skill tree. Image: Embark Studios.
Plan your branch-end picks before you spend points. Our skill tree planner has the new Frozen Trail tree, and the recommended build guide explains what to take. One known issue: Field Repair can be unavailable after you unlock it until you restart the game.
The Outpost and Furniture Designs
You unlock the Outpost by finishing a project. Accept the quest and bring a camera. The Outpost grows with modules, and unlocking it also unlocks the Research Station. Furniture comes from Designs, learned like blueprints: 100 in total, with 4 exclusive to the Frozen Trail Pass, 1 to the Collector DLC and 73 found Topside. Celeste now sells the new furniture crafting materials.
An Outpost. Image: Embark Studios.
Stuck on the first step? "Research Topside Living Conditions" asks for a photo of a farmland house near the Ruined Homestead on Blue Gate. You need a camera: buy one from Shani, craft it at the Workbench, or find one Topside.
The Outpost has the longest known-issues list in the notes: furniture clipping and blocked slots, broken lighting with Shadow quality on Low, the camera resetting when you leave decorating view, and a missing orange indicator after the first stage. Most fixes are planned for an upcoming live update.
Weapon Stencils
There are 14 stencils at launch: 8 found Topside, 5 exclusive to the Frozen Trail Premium Pass and 1 exclusive to the DLC. You learn them like blueprints and pay Stencil Parts every time you apply one. If you go down, whoever loots your weapon gets the stencil with it.
Stencils repaint the whole weapon. Image: Embark Studios.
The Stencils tab previews a skin before you pay. Screenshot: Cloud Plays.
Our weapon stencils guide lists every stencil seen so far, what each costs and where they come from.
Reward Pass and Feats
Cred is gone. It's replaced by Reward Points, which go straight into your active pass. The Frozen Trail Pass has 60 levels on a Free and a Premium track. Raider Decks move into a Legacy Pass: you keep what you unlocked, and you can keep progressing by making it your active pass. Only one pass can be active at a time.
Premium Reward Pass outfits: Caposta, Carriga, Deadwire, Banshee and Ice Giant. Image: Embark Studios.
| Feat | Reward Points | Weekly milestone progress |
|---|---|---|
| Easy | 15 | +1 |
| Medium | 25 | +2 |
| Hard | 50 | +3 |
Three weekly milestones pay 250 Reward Points each, at 4, 8 and 12 progress. After the third, Feats still count but give no milestone rewards until the weekly reset.
That's 750 points a week from milestones, and 12 progress is reachable with four Hard Feats. Do your Hard Feats first each week, then fill in with Easy ones.
Weapon and Item Balance
| Item | Change |
|---|---|
| Hullcracker | Explosive damage formula reworked: over 50% more to armor plates, about 30% less to fragile parts |
| Jupiter | Damage no longer hits ARC parts behind the target twice. Stronger against armor, slightly weaker against weak spots |
| Anvil | Now rare; Tech Mod slot removed; Splitter moved to the Amplified Anvil |
| Snap Hook | Range 20 m to 18 m; durability cost per use 2% to 4%; power cost 50 to 60; no more back-to-back uses at low power |
| Heavy Shield | Durability decay 0.20 to 0.15; movement penalty 15% to 10% |
| Flame Spray | Longer range |
| Ziplines | Break if something intersects them after placement |
The Snap Hook nerf is aimed at chained mobility. With the new Grappling Hook in the game, Embark clearly doesn't want the Snap Hook doing the same job for free. The Heavy Shield change is the quiet winner: less decay and a lighter movement penalty make it a real option again.
Gameplay Changes
- Stash: two more tiers, 328 slots before Expedition or Nomadic Envoy bonuses.
- Scrambling: sprinting up steep slopes lets you scramble for a moment.
- Drop loot straight from containers onto the ground.
- Open the map while downed.
- "Solo vs. Squads" is removed from matchmaking.
- Weapon slot weight reduction now applies only to the loadout.
- No sprint-climbing ladders while exhausted, and you slide automatically after tumbling too long.
- Better hit registration when shooting from on top of ARC, and no more random launches when vaulting onto wrecked ARC parts.
ARC, Traders and Quests
ARC
- The Queen and Matriarch moved their higher-tier loot from the leg armor to the leg pieces. Some armor still holds loot.
- The Matriarch uses all its ranged attacks again, and the Vaporizer's multi-target laser has a clearer dodge window.
Traders
- Ermal is replaced by Cassio, who trades valuables and hands out quests.
- Celeste sells furniture materials and new gameplay items. Apollo adds Epic Augments.
- Shani's offers are now Coin-based, including Cameras and Light Sticks.
- Tian Wen no longer sells the Anvil or Hullcracker; they moved to the weekly Nomadic Envoys rotation.
- Launcher Ammo and Energy Clips now have a daily purchase limit.
Quests
There are 22 new quests, and quests and objectives now grant XP. Five existing quests now need photos from the new camera: The League, Reduced to Rubble, Life of a Pharmacist, Battening Down and Groundbreaking. Two quest bugs to know: "Picking up the Pieces" can't be completed on Pendola Pass, and the "Sizing Things Up" cinematic doesn't trigger.
Maps
- Riven Tides: overall loot value up about 15%.
- Buried City: the Hospital Roof is climbable again.
- Blue Gate: lighting adjusted and stuck spots fixed.
- Small side-sliding doors now take vertical Doorblockers.
What the Patch Notes Don't Tell You
Some of Frozen Trail's biggest systems get a single line in the notes or none at all. Here's what we've confirmed from early access and launch day.
- Getting into the Emperor: the door at the fallen Emperor's base needs an Emperor Gateway Conduit. You craft it at Workbench I from its blueprint plus one ARC Insulated, one ARC Conductive and one ARC Plated Coupler. The couplers drop from Emperor Payloads during Redirection. See our Emperor guide.
- Amplification requirements: you need the Outpost, with the Gunsmith and Research Stations at level 4, plus an Amplification Module that matches the weapon's rarity. Nine amplified weapons have been seen so far: Anvil, Bettina, Burletta, Canto, Hairpin, Hullcracker, Kettle, Rattler and Renegade.
- The Ballistic Gondola: request it at a Gondola Transceiver and it lands three pods nearby. Riders can even grapple onto the top. See our gondola extraction guide.
- Pendola Pass key rooms: the Observatory Key is epic, the Train Station Key rare and the Old Town Key uncommon. Early access also showed a Railyard key room.
- Trials Season 6 starts with Frozen Trail. Our Weekly Trials page tracks the Season 6 sets.
The conduit recipe, which isn't in the patch notes. Screenshot shared on Reddit.
Twitch Drops, the Collector DLC and Duplicated Items
Twitch Drops
Watch 60 minutes for the Oxygen Respirator and 120 minutes for the Mailbox, both backpack attachments.
Collector DLC
The Renzo outfit set, the Dragon's Breath stencil, the Bob hairstyle, 2,400 Raider Tokens and the Premium Reward Pass.
Twitch Drops, October 8 to November 4. Image: Embark Studios.
The Collector Set includes the Premium Reward Pass. Image: Embark Studios.
Embark is also cracking down on duplication: accounts holding large amounts of duplicated items are being restricted, and duplicated items are being removed from inventories.
Frozen Trail Concept Art
Embark published three pieces of concept art alongside the notes.
Image: Embark Studios.
Image: Embark Studios.
Image: Embark Studios.
Known Issues
The ones most likely to affect your raids:
- Field Repair can be unavailable after unlocking. Restarting fixes it.
- The Tether Launcher can't be repaired yet. A fix is planned for the next update.
- The Hydra can detect and shoot through walls in the Cargo area, and standing on the side of the Cargo drop can eliminate you instantly.
- Rarely, you spawn invisible and can't loot or use the quick wheel. Returning to Speranza restores your loadout.
- Weapon meshes can turn partly invisible with attachments, and the Anvil may make no firing sound on low-spec PCs.
- Keybinds reset after every raid on non-English keyboard layouts.
- Premium Reward Pass rewards can still show a lock icon after you buy the pass.
- On Pendola Pass, vaulting onto steep or moving surfaces can slide you back or launch you.
Start with the amplified weapons guide if you're planning your first upgrade, or the Emperor guide if you're after modules. We'll keep both updated as we play.
See you Topside, Raiders.
— Arc Raiders Hub