Winter has arrived in ARC Raiders with the live Cold Snap event. This guide covers everything you need to know about playing on snowy maps, managing frostbite, completing the Flickering Flames event, locating Candleberries, and unlocking exclusive cosmetic items and rewards.
How to Play on a Snow Map
Snowy maps are not always active. The Cold Snap event features rotating maps, so you must manually select and join a Cold Snap map to experience the winter environment. Once you enter, the real challenge begins.
How Frostbite Works
The Cold Snap event introduces the Frostbite mechanic. After spending a few minutes exposed to the elements outdoors, your character will begin to react to the cold. Within about a minute, shivering will start, and snow will accumulate on your character’s gear, a notable visual detail.
After approximately three minutes outside, frostbite fully sets in, causing a gradual decrease in health. It’s crucial to seek shelter indoors immediately when this occurs.
Once inside a building, health loss ceases, and the frostbite effect starts to reverse. Returning outside too quickly will not immediately cause damage, but the shivering and snow buildup will return, and the health drain will resume after a short period.
Tip: Remain indoors until the snow patches on your character have completely vanished. This indicates it is safe to venture back outside.
Here are a few observations on edge cases:
- Standing near a balcony does not trigger frostbite, as the game registers it as an indoor area.
- Locations like covered parking structures with open sides are still considered outdoors, and frostbite will affect you there.
Flickering Flames Event Explained
The Flickering Flames event requires players to collect specific items. You can access it via Raider → Projects → Flickering Flames. The event consists of five stages, each demanding the collection of items such as empty wine bottles, light bulbs, plastic pots, and the special Candleberries.
Where to Find Candleberries
Candleberries are found in areas with dense vegetation. On maps like Barry City, search sections rich in trees, bushes, and plants, particularly towards the center of the map. While somewhat rare, carefully searching bushes will eventually lead you to a Candleberry tree that can be harvested.
Once collected, store them in your safe pockets immediately to prevent loss. This advice applies to other maps like The Dam as well; any area with trees and plant life is a good place to search for them.
New Outfits & Cosmetics in the Cold Snap Event
The Cold Snap event introduces new outfits, items, and emotes. The primary reward is the Warden Outfit, unlocked by completing the Stench of Corruption quest. This quest is part of a new chain quest, meaning you must finish preceding quests first.
Completing the Groundbreaking quest will also grant an alternate color variation of the Warden outfit.
Wrap-Up
This concludes a concise overview of the Cold Snap and Flickering Flames events in ARC Raiders. You are now prepared to face the winter challenges, from managing frostbite and gathering Candleberries to acquiring new cosmetic items.
