Weapon amplification is Frozen Trail's new endgame for guns: a fifth level beyond tier IV that turns a weapon into something different. A full-auto Burletta, a scoped Renegade, a 64-round Rattler. It doesn't add flat stats. Instead each weapon gets its own upgrade tree, and the choices you make are permanent. Here's what you need to unlock it, where the parts come from, and every upgrade path we've seen so far.
Frozen Trail launched on October 8 and we're updating this guide as we play. This version is written from the developer Q&A, in-game text and early-access footage. The early-access build had pre-made amplified guns but no Outpost, research or modules, so costs and research objectives are still missing. We'll fill them in as we play.
How to Get an Amplified Weapon
- Unlock the Outpost. It's a project: a visit-and-photograph task on Blue Gate, two pages of material collections, then a "distract and destroy ARC" step.
- Upgrade the Gunsmith and the Research Station to level 4. The Research Station is new and lives in the Outpost.
- Have a weapon that can be amplified. Embark calls amplification a "fifth quality level", so expect to need the gun at tier IV first. That's how early testers read it; the game hasn't spelled it out yet.
- Socket an Amplification Module. Modules come from the Frigate and the fallen Emperor. Socketing one unlocks the weapon's amplification tree.
- Research and buy upgrades. Right-click the weapon to open its tree; hovering an upgrade shows the materials and research it needs.
What the Amplified Weapons Look Like
Amplifying a gun gives it a new model, not just new stats. Here are the seven amplified weapons shown in early access, each rotated a full turn. Click any of them to see it bigger.
What You Need: Modules, Materials and Research
Amplification Modules
The module is the gate. Per the developers it drops only from the Frigate and from inside the fallen Emperor on Pendola Pass. Modules come in Mk. I to Mk. V, one per weapon rarity: the Mk. I tooltip says it "unlocks common weapon Amplification". The developers say all Marks drop at the same rate, so a Mk. V isn't rarer than a Mk. I. A Mk. I weighs 0.5 and sells for 7,000. The Emperor's interior sits behind the Emperor Gateway Conduit, which is built from three couplers (see below).
Rare materials: Pneumatic Actuator and Pressure Regulator
Two epic topside materials say "Used to craft amplified weapons" right in their tooltips: the Pneumatic Actuator and the Pressure Regulator. Both stack to 3 and weigh 0.5. Early-access players found them in an Emperor Payload, the container that crashes down when you redirect a Harvester payload during the Redirection map condition on Pendola Pass.
Research points and mastery objectives
Embark's Frozen Trail first look showed the research screen for a Kettle upgrade, "Concussive Impact Engineering". It needed 5,000 research points and Rocketeer Drivers, plus a research objective: "Deal 100 Damage with…" (the rest is hidden behind a developer's head), tracked at 0/100. Even with the resources in hand, a red bar read "Research objective not complete", so you have to actually use the gun before the research unlocks. Research appears to be the expensive one-time step per upgrade.
Where to farm the inputs: run Redirection on Pendola Pass for Emperor Payloads (Actuators, Regulators and couplers), then use the couplers to open the Emperor for modules. Our Pendola Pass map marks the Emperor relays.
How the Amplification Tree Works
Every amplifiable weapon has its own tree of one to three pathways. You can keep going down a pathway, but some upgrades lock out the others, and nothing can be reverted: the upgrade is built into the weapon's frame, and the gun's model changes with it.
- Attachments still fit, though some slots change. The amplified Renegade takes a barrel and stock but no magazine; the Rattler keeps stock, grip and barrel.
- Amplified Durability appears as an amplification on every amplified gun we saw.
- Upgrades are bought by right-clicking the weapon; the tooltip on each node lists what it costs.
Durability: Why You Can't Just Loot Them
- Amplified weapons have 200 durability, against about 130 for a normal tier IV gun.
- They still burn it quickly: one early-access raid of PvP and ARC fights cost 30+.
- Looted amplified weapons arrive at 10 to 11 durability, every time. You get one fight out of someone else's gun.
- The Field Repair skill repairs weapons up to 30% durability in a round, which is the cheapest insurance for an amplified gun. See our skill tree guide.
Every Known Amplification
Nine of the 15 amplifiable weapons have been seen so far. Numbers come from in-game tooltips where we have them. For reference, the amplified guns seen in the preview: a full-auto Burletta with 27 rounds, a semi-auto Hairpin with 8 rounds and its integrated silencer, and an incendiary Rattler with 24 rounds.
| Weapon | Path | Upgrade | Effect |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rattler | 1 | More Reload | +2 rounds per reload step (reloads 4 at a time) |
| 1 | Drum Mag | +40 magazine (64 rounds); +50% vertical and horizontal recoil, +30% shot dispersion, 10% slower ADS | |
| 2 | Incendiary Rounds | +5 burn damage per second, +2 s burn duration; magazine stays 24. Exclusive | |
| Renegade | 1 | More Reload | +1 round per reload step |
| 2 | Scoped | Adds a sniper scope; strong at mid to long range | |
| Burletta | 1 | Burst Fire | +2 projectiles per burst (3-round burst). Exclusive |
| 1 | Increased Burst | +2 more projectiles (5-round burst), +3 magazine | |
| 2 | Full Auto | Fully automatic: +60% fire rate, −2 base damage, −60% headshot multiplier, +50% recoil and dispersion, double dispersion recovery time. Exclusive | |
| 3 | Sprint Shooting | Fire while sprinting | |
| Hairpin | 1 | Incendiary Rounds | +5 burn damage per second, +2 s burn duration. Exclusive |
| 2 | Semi-Automatic | +150% fire rate, −20% headshot multiplier, +40% spread per shot | |
| 2 | Sprint Shooting | Fire while sprinting | |
| 3 | Tracker Rounds | Targets you hit are revealed for 5 seconds. Exclusive | |
| Bettina | – | Bigger Mag | +15 magazine |
| – | Semi-Auto | Semi-automatic, +3 base damage | |
| – | X Rounds | Explosive rounds | |
| Anvil | – | X Rounds | Slightly more damage to Raiders, much more to ARC armor plating |
| – | Anvil Splitter | Each round splits into 4 projectiles: +3 projectiles per shot, −70% projectile damage, −40% headshot multiplier, −30% base dispersion, −90% dispersion recovery time, +40% ADS dispersion. Replaces the old Splitter mod. Exclusive | |
| Canto | – | Carbine Conversion | Much better stability and accuracy, less agility |
| – | Sprint Shooting | Fire while sprinting | |
| – | Incendiary Rounds | Sets targets on fire | |
| Hullcracker | – | Incendiary Grenades | Adds fire to the explosion |
| – | Mag Reload | Reloads the whole magazine at once | |
| Kettle | – | X Rounds | Concussive explosive rounds |
Exclusive upgrades, in the game's words, "block out an alternative amplification chain": pick one and the competing pathway closes. "–" means we haven't seen which pathway the upgrade sits on yet. The remaining six weapons will be added as soon as they're confirmed.
Which Amplifications Are Worth It?
Early impressions from players who used them in the preview, before anyone could tune attachments:
Rattler: Drum Mag
64 rounds of medium ammo, and it reloads four at a time, so the long reload people feared isn't that bad. Testers expect it to be a "laser beam" with a Kinetic Converter. The Incendiary Rounds path keeps 24 rounds but hit noticeably harder against ARC.
Renegade: Scoped
The standout for range. Flying ARC can be cleared from rooftops before they get close, and it will be strong in PvP poke fights. It's weak inside about 30 m, and one tester felt its hip fire was off.
Burletta: Full Auto
The most transformed gun of the preview and the most fun, but chaotic: it took nearly a full magazine to drop a player in a blue shield. Pair it with a muzzle brake. Burst Fire is the controlled alternative.
Hairpin: Semi-Automatic + Sprint Shooting
No more racking between shots. A team running semi-auto Hairpins with sprint shooting was a real threat at close to medium range in the preview. Tracker Rounds are the support pick.
What About the Stiletto and Bantam?
The two new Frozen Trail weapons cannot be amplified at launch. Both are uncommon and meant for the early game: the Stiletto is a light-ammo alternative to the Renegade, the Bantam a hip-fire revolver. Note that the Anvil is now a rare (blue) weapon.
Amplified Weapons FAQ
How do you get an amplified weapon?
Unlock the Outpost, upgrade the Gunsmith and Research Stations to level 4, and socket an Amplification Module into an amplifiable weapon, most likely at tier IV, since amplification is the fifth quality level. Then research and buy upgrades in its tree.
Where do Amplification Modules drop?
Only from the Frigate and from inside the fallen Emperor on Pendola Pass, per the developers. Mk. I to Mk. V match weapon rarity (Mk. I is for common weapons) and share the same drop rate.
Can I loot amplified weapons from other players?
Yes, but they drop to about 10 durability out of 200. Use them for a fight, don't plan around them.
Can I undo an amplification?
No. Upgrades are permanent, and some lock out others in the same tree.
Which weapons can be amplified?
15 at launch. Confirmed so far: Anvil, Bettina, Burletta, Canto, Hairpin, Hullcracker, Kettle, Rattler and Renegade. Not the Stiletto or Bantam.
Do attachments still work on amplified weapons?
Yes, though some slots change: the scoped Renegade loses its magazine slot.
📚 Related Guides
Early-access details come from Embark's Frozen Trail first look and preview videos by Espresso, Cloud News, Legacy Gaming and other creators invited to the preview, cross-checked against in-game tooltips.