Arc Raiders – Cold Snap is a major winter-themed update and limited-time event that launched in mid-December 2025 for Arc Raiders, introducing new survival challenges, map changes, quests, and rewards for players.
What Cold Snap Is
Cold Snap is essentially a snow and frost survival event layered onto Arc Raiders' existing battlegrounds. It adds:
- A Snowfall map condition that blankets popular zones (like Dam Battlegrounds, Spaceport, Buried City, and Blue Gate) in snow and ice.
- A frostbite mechanic that harms Raiders if they stay exposed to the cold too long — encouraging players to seek shelter and manage body heat.
- Increased loot opportunities, including better blueprint drop rates, though these were later tweaked by developers after players found them too generous.
- New quests and events, including the Flickering Flames project with stages and rewards like Raider Tokens, cosmetics, and more.
Release and Duration
- The Cold Snap update (Patch 1.7.0) dropped on December 16, 2025 as the final major content update of the year.
Gameplay Impact
During Cold Snap:
- Survival becomes more intense — staying outside leads to frostbite damage, so indoor routes and heat sources matter more.
- Candleberries and other seasonal resources become available only during Cold Snap matches.
- Blueprints and rare drops were more common at launch, encouraging risk-reward play and exploration in exposed areas.
Rewards & Events
- The Flickering Flames event tied to Cold Snap allowed players to earn rewards by completing objectives across multiple stages.
- Some players could also obtain free Twitch drops by watching Arc Raiders streams during the event period.
For players who miss certain rewards or prefer to save time during seasonal events, some choose to look for Arc Raiders blueprints for sale from U4N. It's an option often used alongside normal gameplay, especially when events like Flickering Flames are limited-time. Most players still earn blueprints through raids and events, but having an external marketplace available can help fill specific gaps without changing how you play the rest of the game.
Community & Meta
Cold Snap significantly changed how players approach raids. Extreme cold alters pacing and strategy, making positioning, cover, and survival gear far more important than in standard runs.
In short, Cold Snap transformed raids into high-stakes winter survival runs, blending harsh environmental hazards with extraction gameplay and offering seasonal content and rewards.
