The Cold Snap winter event is officially live in ARC Raiders, and in this guide, I’ll break down everything you need to know, from playing on snow maps, surviving frostbite, completing the Flickering Flames event, finding Candleberries, and unlocking new outfits and rewards.
How to Play on a Snow Map
To play on a snow-covered map, keep in mind that not every map will have snow active at the same time. The Cold Snap event rotates between maps, so you’ll need to manually select and join the Cold Snap map to experience the winter environment.
Once you’re in, the real challenge begins.
How Frostbite Works
The Cold Snap event introduces a new mechanic called Frostbite.
If you stay outdoors for a few minutes, your character will start reacting to the cold. After about a minute, you’ll notice your character shivering, and as time passes, snow will visibly build up on your clothing, a really cool visual detail from Embark that you don’t see in many games.
After roughly three minutes outdoors, frostbite kicks in fully and your health will start ticking down slowly. That’s your cue to get indoors immediately.
Once you enter a building, the damage stops, and the frostbite effect begins to reverse. If you go back outside too soon, you won’t take damage right away, but the shivering and snow buildup will return, and after a few more minutes, the health drain starts again.
Tip: Stay indoors until the snow patches on your character disappear. That’s when it’s safe to head back out.
I also tested a few edge cases:
- Standing near a balcony doesn’t trigger frostbite, the game considers it indoors.
- Areas like covered parking with open sides still count as outdoors, so frostbite applies there.
Flickering Flames Event Explained
Next up is the Flickering Flames event.
To access it, go to Raider → Projects → Flickering Flames. The event has five stages, and each one requires you to collect specific items like:
- Empty wine bottles
- Light bulbs
- Plastic pots
- And a unique item called Candleberries
Let’s talk about where to find those.
Where to Find Candleberries
Candleberries spawn in areas with dense vegetation.
For example, on Barry City, head toward sections of the map with trees, bushes, and plants, especially around the middle areas. Search through bushes carefully, they’re a bit rare, but you’ll eventually find a Candleberry tree you can loot.
Once you pick them up, store them in your safe pockets immediately. You really don’t want to lose these.
The same rule applies on other maps like The Dam. Anywhere with trees and vegetation is your best bet, just keep checking bushes and you’ll find them eventually.
New Outfits & Cosmetics in the Cold Snap Event
The Cold Snap event also adds new outfits, items, and emotes.
The main highlight is the Warden Outfit. To unlock it, you’ll need to complete the Stench of Corruption quest, which is part of a new chain quest, meaning you’ll need to finish a few prerequisite quests first.
Completing the Groundbreaking quest unlocks an alternate color variation of the Warden outfit as well.
Wrap-Up
And that’s a quick, clean breakdown of the Cold Snap and Flickering Flames events in ARC Raiders. From surviving frostbite to farming Candleberries and unlocking new cosmetics, you’re now fully prepped for the winter grind.
Up next, if you still haven’t completed the Paving the Way quest in ARC Raiders, check out our guide. It includes locations, objectives and tips, so you can complete the quest with ease, and you don’t miss out on the rewards!
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