ARC Raiders Frozen Trail arrives October 8, 2026. Preview Pendola Pass, Outposts and Amplified Weapons, plus the separate October 13\u201320 PvE test.<\/p>","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":7172,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[176],"tags":[],"blog_tag":[24],"class_list":["post-3555","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-arc-raiders","blog_tag-pve-guide"],"acf":{"redactor":[{"acf_fc_layout":"text","text":"
The ARC Raiders Frozen Trail update is scheduled for 8 October 2026. It adds the Pendola Pass map, the Frigate, three new ARC enemies, a Raider Den extension called the Outpost, and a fifth weapon quality level for 15 guns. Five days later, from 13 to 20 October, Embark Studios will run a separate, temporary PvE toggle test. This page covers the announced additions, the separate PvE test and the details not stated in those previews.<\/p>"},{"acf_fc_layout":"text","text":"
TL;DR<\/p>
Pendola Pass<\/strong> is the new map. Embark describes an old Italian village and Exodus transport hub beyond the peaks around the Rust Belt, preserved by icy air. It has a supermarket, a lifeless town square, an observatory and a buried train depot. The main draw is a fallen Emperor. In the words of the official Frozen Trail First Look<\/a>, the job is to \"get there, and find a way inside.\" The same post mentions flash freezes cutting through the valley, and the closing section lists a new Map Condition among the 8 October additions. If you want to compare it with how map conditions already work, the 1.42.0 regional map conditions explainer<\/a> shows how they work today.<\/p>\n The Frigate<\/strong> is one of ARC's largest vessels, sent to patrol Pendola Pass after the Emperor fell. You have to find a way aboard, navigate its internal passageways, unlock paths and defend yourself against ARC. Other Raiders will be competing for the same prize in close quarters, hundreds of feet in the air.<\/p> The Outpost is a Raider Den extension located between the Rust Belt and the mountain range. You customise it with different modules and furnish the interiors. Embark calls it \"the first step to reclaiming parts of the surface\" and the start of a feature it plans to develop further.<\/p>\n The Research Workstation sits inside the Outpost and gives access to higher levels of weapon customisation and modding. Once it is fully upgraded, it opens a fifth quality level for a range of guns, called Amplified Weapons. At that level you unlock a branching path of abilities and enhancements that can completely change how a weapon behaves. Embark gives three examples: a fully automatic Burletta, a Renegade with a scope, and a Rattler with incendiary bullets and a 64-round magazine. The feature rolls out to 15 weapons at launch, with more planned.<\/p>\n The First Look does not state Research Workstation costs, its number of upgrade tiers, or the full list of 15 eligible weapons.<\/p> "},{"acf_fc_layout":"title","heading":"New Weapons and Gadgets in the Frozen Trail Update","tag":"h2"},{"acf_fc_layout":"image","image":7174,"caption":"Illustration: New weapons and gadgets laid out on an outpost workbench.","alt":"Futuristic weapons and gadgets on a metal workbench inside a frosted outpost"},{"acf_fc_layout":"text","text":" Crafting recipes, stats and unlock requirements for these items aren't in the First Look.<\/p> "},{"acf_fc_layout":"table","headers":[{"header_text":"Item"},{"header_text":"Type"},{"header_text":"Confirmed function"}],"rows":[{"cells":[{"cell_text":"Stiletto"},{"cell_text":"Light-ammo battle rifle"},{"cell_text":"Early-game alternative to the Renegade. Cheap to craft and easy to wield; its fire rate can be fast, but button mashing sacrifices accuracy."}]},{"cells":[{"cell_text":"Bantam"},{"cell_text":"Heavy-ammo snub-nosed revolver"},{"cell_text":"Effective against both ARC and Raiders, with a unique hip-fire capability "}]},{"cells":[{"cell_text":"Grappling Hook"},{"cell_text":"Traversal gadget"},{"cell_text":"Climb hard-to-reach spots, abseil off buildings, swing over large gaps "}]},{"cells":[{"cell_text":"Tether Launcher"},{"cell_text":"Tether gadget"},{"cell_text":"Connects two points with a wire and roots targets in place. It can attach Raiders to ARC so they get dragged away "}]},{"cells":[{"cell_text":"Yank Grenade"},{"cell_text":"Tether grenade"},{"cell_text":"On explosion, pulls a nearby target with violent force. Useful for grounding flying ARC or pulling Raiders out of cover "}]},{"cells":[{"cell_text":"Camera"},{"cell_text":"Photo gadget"},{"cell_text":"Zoom, aperture, manual and automatic focus racking, and a selfie mode with custom emotes. Pictures save to your Codex "}]}],"size":"small"},{"acf_fc_layout":"title","heading":"Skill Tree Rework: What Is Actually Confirmed","tag":"h2"},{"acf_fc_layout":"text","text":"\n The rework is official. The closing section of the 23 September post lists \"a Skill Tree rework including new and improved skills\" among the 8 October additions, next to new questlines and a new Map Condition. In a press Q&A, Embark said it reworked skills to be more impactful and to force players to make choices about their playstyle. According to Dork's report of executive producer Aleksander Gr\u00f8ndal's comments<\/a>, the tree keeps its general structure but requires choosing between abilities rather than unlocking everything. The 23 September First Look does not name individual added or removed skills or provide enough detail to map a current build to the reworked tree.<\/p> "},{"acf_fc_layout":"title","heading":"PvE Toggle Test (October 13 \u2013 20): How It Will Work","tag":"h2"},{"acf_fc_layout":"text","text":"\n This is a separate announcement from 24 September. The toggle isn't part of the 8 October launch itself. During the test you will be able to switch between the classic PvPvE experience and a PvE experience with zero player-to-player damage, focused only on the ARC threat and co-op. Embark hasn't published the exact menu name or location of the toggle.<\/p> PvE sessions include Solos, Duos and Trios in the same session, and the system is designed for seamless switching, for example a relaxed solo PvE run followed by a tense PvPvE match. Your PvPvE matchmaking rating isn't affected by time spent in PvE. The 1.39.0 matchmaking changes<\/a> give background on how the normal queue sorts players.<\/p> The Collector Set DLC includes both the free and premium Reward Passes, plus the Renzo cosmetic set, the Dragon’s Breath weapon stencil, the Bob hairstyle and 2,400 Raider Tokens. The First Look doesn’t give the Premium Pass price, and it doesn’t say whether gear or levels carry over at launch.<\/p>"},{"acf_fc_layout":"title","heading":"Our Take: Is the Frozen Trail Update Worth Coming Back For?","tag":"h2"},{"acf_fc_layout":"text","text":"\n Our Take<\/p> Amplified Weapons is aimed at late-game players, while Pendola Pass adds a new map to explore. Their practical impact cannot yet be assessed from the First Look, which gives no research costs or full weapon list.<\/p><\/div> "},{"acf_fc_layout":"text","text":" This table separates what the studio has confirmed and what is not confirmed yet. Each claim below is tied to the post and the game version it describes.<\/p>\nWho gets matched together<\/h3>\n
What is excluded<\/h3>\n
\n\n
Pass<\/th> Cost<\/th> What it includes<\/th><\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n Free Pass<\/td> Free<\/td> Rewards unlocked by completing Feats: 200 Raider Tokens, five new outfits, new gameplay items and 20 cosmetic items (Scrappy outfits, furniture, charms, attachments, emotes)<\/td><\/tr>\n Premium Pass<\/td> Paid<\/td> Premium toggles for all the outfits, exclusive colorways, weapon stencils, hairstyles and 1,150 Raider Tokens<\/td><\/tr>\n Legacy Pass<\/td> Free for all Raiders<\/td> All existing Raider Decks combined, with your progress kept<\/td><\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n Sources and Confidence<\/h2>\n
Claim<\/th> Where it comes from<\/th> Status<\/th><\/tr><\/thead> Frozen Trail on Oct 8: Pendola Pass, Frigate, Bully, Skulker, Hydra, Outpost, 15 weapons<\/td> Embark Studios (arcraiders.com)<\/a><\/td> Official<\/td><\/tr> Oct 8 includes a Skill Tree rework with new and improved skills<\/td> Embark Studios (arcraiders.com)<\/a><\/td> Official<\/td><\/tr> PvE toggle test Oct 13\u201320: zero player-to-player damage; Night Raids, Hidden Bunker, Locked Gate and Frigate excluded<\/td> Embark Studios (arcraiders.com)<\/a><\/td> Official<\/td><\/tr> Solos, Duos, Trios share PvE sessions; seamless switching; PvPvE rating unaffected<\/td> Embark Studios, PvE toggle test announcement (24 September 2026)<\/a><\/td> Official<\/td><\/tr> Lower loot value in PvE; ARC can re-target a downed Raider who crawls, ignore one who stays still; slightly higher PvPvE baseline loot during the test<\/td> Embark Studios, PvE toggle test announcement (24 September 2026)<\/a><\/td> Official<\/td><\/tr> Reworked skills force players to make choices about playstyle<\/td> Dork, reporting Aleksander Gr\u00f8ndal’s comments<\/a><\/td> Press report - not independently verified<\/td><\/tr> Reward Pass: Free, Premium and Legacy passes and their contents; Collector Set DLC contents<\/td> Embark Studios, Frozen Trail First Look (23 September 2026)<\/a><\/td> Official<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table>"},{"acf_fc_layout":"faq","items":[{"question":"When does the ARC Raiders Frozen Trail update release?","answer":"It is scheduled for 8 October 2026 and adds Pendola Pass, the Frigate, and the Bully, Skulker and Hydra enemies. "},{"question":"Is the PvE toggle part of Frozen Trail?","answer":"It does not launch on 8 October. The separate PvE toggle test runs from 13 to 20 October 2026, and the toggle is removed when the test ends. "},{"question":"Can I play the Frigate in PvE?","answer":"Not during the test. Night Raids, Hidden Bunker, Locked Gate and Frigate are all excluded from PvE matchmaking. "},{"question":"Which 15 weapons get Amplified upgrades?","answer":"The 23 September First Look names Burletta, Renegade and Rattler as examples. It does not state the full list of 15 weapons or the research costs."},{"question":"Does playing PvE affect my PvPvE matchmaking rating?","answer":"No. Embark says PvPvE matchmaking rating isn't affected by time spent in PvE sessions during the test. "},{"question":"What is in the free Reward Pass?","answer":"Rewards unlocked by completing Feats: 200 Raider Tokens, five new outfits, new gameplay items and 20 cosmetic items. The Legacy Pass is also free and keeps your existing Raider Deck progress."}]}],"bottom":[{"acf_fc_layout":"more_articles","heading":"","posts":[],"count":10},{"acf_fc_layout":"chat","heading":""}],"meta_description":"ARC Raiders Frozen Trail arrives October 8, 2026. Preview Pendola Pass, Outposts and Amplified Weapons, plus the separate October 13\u201320 PvE test."},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/neonsect.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3555","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/neonsect.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/neonsect.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/neonsect.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/neonsect.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3555"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/neonsect.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3555\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7171,"href":"https:\/\/neonsect.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3555\/revisions\/7171"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/neonsect.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/7172"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/neonsect.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3555"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/neonsect.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3555"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/neonsect.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3555"},{"taxonomy":"blog_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/neonsect.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/blog_tag?post=3555"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}