What Cold Snap is (and when it happens)

Cold Snap is a limited-time winter update built around a Snowfall map condition that transforms multiple Topside locations into snowy, low-visibility arenas where frostbite slowly drains your health if you stay outside too long. The condition affects Topside maps including Dam Battlegrounds, Buried City, Spaceport, and Blue Gate, and it runs as an event window (with the winter rollout highlighted as running from mid-December into mid-January).

Cold Snap changes three things at once:

• Visibility: snowfall and storms reduce long-range clarity and make distant shapes harder to read.
• Terrain: water can freeze (including the Red Lakes area), and open surface travel becomes more dangerous.
• Survival pressure: frostbite adds a health-drain timer that forces you to plan around shelter, healing, and extraction timing.

So the correct mindset is: Cold Snap is a routing challenge first, a combat challenge second, and a loot challenge third.

Frostbite explained (what it does and why it feels unfair)

Frostbite is a “creeping” outdoor penalty: once you’ve been outside long enough, it activates and slowly drains your health over time until you get to shelter. The reason it feels unfair to newer players is that it usually hits during the worst moments: when you’re mid-crossing, mid-fight, or waiting to extract with a heavy bag.

The key details you need to play correctly:

• Frostbite is not something you “tank forever.” It steadily chips you down and forces healing if you stay exposed.
• The counterplay is shelter—buildings and roofed structures. Even relatively open structures can work as a warm-up reset point.
• Cold Snap rewards short outdoor bursts and punishes long outdoor fights.

If you learn one thing: Cold Snap is won by planning where you’ll warm up next, not by “being brave” outside.

How to tell you’re getting colder (warning signs before it starts costing you)

Cold Snap gives you readable signals that your core temperature is dropping. The dev team specifically calls out things like:

• Frost on your clothes
• Breathing becoming more intense
• Your breath freezing in the air

Treat these like your early-warning system. If you wait until your health is draining, you’re already late—because now you must choose between:

• spending bandages, or
• sprinting for shelter while vulnerable, or
• taking a fight while your HP is melting.

The best players respond at the warning stage: rotate to shelter before frostbite becomes a health problem.

Shelter rules (what counts, how to use it, and how to chain it)

The universal Cold Snap survival concept is simple: if it has a roof, it can be shelter. In practice, this includes full buildings, partial structures, and roofed areas you can step under to stop the cold pressure and reset your outdoor timer. Guides and coverage consistently emphasize that getting inside (even briefly) clears the frostbite pressure and lets you continue your route.

Your goal is not “stay indoors all raid.” Your goal is chain shelters like checkpoints so you can move across the map without bleeding out.

Shelter chaining: the route pattern that extracts

Think of every raid as a string of warm-up points:

Shelter A → short outdoor sprint → Shelter B → short outdoor sprint → Shelter C → extraction

If you can’t see your next shelter, you’re about to make a mistake—because you’ll either:

• take damage mid-crossing, or
• panic-heal in the open, or
• arrive at extraction already low, then die to one stray bullet or ARC hit.

The “two shelters ahead” rule

When Cold Snap is active, don’t just know your next shelter. Know your next two. That way, if the first one is contested (Raiders) or blocked (ARC pressure), you still have a plan.

Bandage economy (why Cold Snap makes you feel “always broke”)

Cold Snap doesn’t just cause deaths—it causes resource drain. Even successful raids can feel expensive because you heal more often:

• small frostbite ticks
• chip damage from ARCs you couldn’t ignore
• extra fights caused by shelter funnels

That’s why almost every Cold Snap tip boils down to: carry more healing than you think you need.

A strong Cold Snap habit is to treat healing as a profit tool:

• If you heal earlier, you can take a safer rotation.
• If you heal later, you’re forced into greedy shortcuts.
• Greedy shortcuts get you killed.
• Dead Raiders earn nothing.

Snow fights 101 (how combat changes when visibility drops)

Cold Snap snow fights are different for one main reason: you don’t get perfect information. Snowfall reduces visibility, and storms make it harder to read distant motion. That changes how you should fight:

Win condition: shorten the fight

In normal raids, long fights can be okay if you control space. In Cold Snap, long fights outside are risky because:

• frostbite keeps ticking
• you burn healing faster
• third parties hear you and rotate
• you’re stuck in exposed lanes longer

So the best Cold Snap combat skill is: end engagements fast or disengage fast.

Preferred engagement distances

• Close to mid-range fights become more common because snow hides movement and encourages pushes.
• Long-range duels become more wasteful: you spend time and ammo for uncertain results while your route timer worsens.
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The snow fight rhythm

A reliable pattern looks like this:

1. Start from shelter (full HP, calm, ready)
2. Take a short outdoor angle (peek, burst damage, reposition)
3. Reset (back under cover/roof if possible)
4. Commit only when you can finish (down someone, force a retreat, or secure a clear exit)

Cold Snap rewards players who treat fights like bursts, not marathons.

Audio becomes your radar (especially near shelter funnels)

When visibility drops, audio becomes “map awareness.” Cold Snap also naturally funnels Raiders into the same buildings and roofed structures—meaning you’ll hear more footsteps in and around shelter.

Two habits that win snow fights:

• Stop moving to listen before entering shelter. If another team is inside, sprinting into the doorway is a donation.
• Assume shelter is contested late raid. The longer the raid goes, the more likely someone else is using the same warm-up points.

If you want fewer surprise deaths, treat every warm building like a mini-PvP zone: clear corners, check stairwells, and never stand still in a doorway.

Use the environment tactically (snowballs, distractions, and safer resets)

Cold Snap adds winter flavor, but some of it is genuinely useful. The dev team mentions a practical trick: throwing snowballs at alarmed cars can create a noise distraction to divert ARC away from your location.

This matters because ARCs are a double threat in Cold Snap:

• they deal damage (forcing healing), and
• they create noise (attracting Raiders).

Anything that helps you break contact with ARCs safely is effectively a “free” rotation.

Also, the dev tips mention that fire can warm you quickly—but treat this as a risky emergency idea, not your main plan. Your safe, repeatable solution is still shelter routing and healing discipline.

Cold Snap loot changes (why some raids feel “more rewarding”)

Cold Snap isn’t only danger—there’s a reason everyone queues it: rewards and seasonal progression. The Cold Snap patch cycle also included changes like:

• seasonal items and rewards tied to winter events
• increased availability of certain seasonal loot types (light-related items called out by the dev tips)
• systems like event reward tracks and projects that convert time played into progress

This is why Cold Snap feels like “high stakes survival”: you can earn more, but you also lose more if you die.

Candleberries (what they look like, where they spawn, and how to keep them)

Candleberries are the seasonal resource everyone hunts during Cold Snap. The dev tips describe the key visual tell: the Candleberry bush is evergreen and bears bright red fruits.

Coverage and guides also note you can gather Candleberries from green bushes with red berries during Cold Snap, and you can also find them via baskets and through event reward tracks.

Where Candleberries tend to be (high-percentage search logic)

Instead of memorizing “one magic bush,” use spawn logic:

• The dev team notes bushes can be found around smaller structures, rocky areas, and other foliage
• Practical guides point you toward vegetation-heavy routes (example: swamp-style areas on Dam Battlegrounds and certain greener sides of Blue Gate).

How to farm Candleberries without throwing raids

Candleberry hunting becomes easy when you stop turning it into a long outdoor marathon:

• Farm in short loops that keep you near shelter
• Grab berries “on-route,” not “out of route”
• Extract earlier once you have enough for your next project step
• Use a safe pocket to protect what you’ve found so one death doesn’t delete your progress

If you want Candleberries consistently, your best friend is a route that goes: roofed structure → nearby foliage check → roofed structure → extraction.

Flickering Flames and Merits (how the Cold Snap grind actually works)

Cold Snap ties into seasonal progression systems where you earn event progress via Merits. One widely referenced framework is: Merits are converted from XP, and reward tracks use Merits as the progression currency.

A practical takeaway for players:

• If you want faster seasonal rewards, focus on consistent extracts and high-XP actions (objectives, survival, loot delivery) rather than high-risk PvP marathons.
• The Candleberry project and reward track are designed to reinforce each other: gathering and delivering seasonal resources helps your broader event progression.

In other words: Cold Snap progression is not “fight everyone.” It’s “stay alive and keep playing efficiently.”

Map-by-map Cold Snap survival (what changes on each Topside map)

Cold Snap hits four maps in particular: Dam Battlegrounds, Buried City, Spaceport, and Blue Gate. Each map asks for a slightly different shelter strategy.

Dam Battlegrounds Cold Snap tips (swamp danger + frozen water pressure)

Dam Battlegrounds becomes scarier in Cold Snap because:

• open lanes and water crossings become more punishing
• the central zones encourage long outdoor movement
• frostbite adds pressure to every “just rotate across the swamp” decision

What to do instead:

• Route along buildings and roofed structures like stepping stones.
• Avoid long swamp fights—if you’re outside trading shots for 60 seconds, you’re paying frostbite and attracting third parties.
• If your plan includes Candleberries, use structure-adjacent foliage checks, not deep wilderness runs.

A good Dam Cold Snap rule: the middle is money, but the edges are life—especially when the air is trying to kill you.

Buried City Cold Snap tips (metro extracts + vertical shelter)

Buried City is naturally shelter-rich because it’s full of interiors, stairwells, and rooftops—so frostbite is less about “can I find shelter” and more about “can I avoid getting trapped in the same building as another team?”

What changes in snow fights here:

• People linger indoors more, so buildings become more contested.
• Extraction routes to metro entrances become more dangerous because everyone wants the same warm path.

Winning Buried City in Cold Snap:

• Use interior-to-interior rotations and minimize street time.
• Clear metro entrances like a PvP room, not a finish line.
• If you’re Candleberry hunting, treat it as a side objective you do near safe building loops—not a reason to roam streets for minutes.

Spaceport Cold Snap tips (open yard tax + tunnel value)

Spaceport is the map where Cold Snap feels the harshest because there’s so much open space between structures. When storms hit, you can lose fights you didn’t even realize you were in—because you arrive low HP after frostbite + chip damage.

Your Spaceport winter plan:

• Move building-to-building and avoid long yard crossings.
• Favor rotations that let you reset under roofs before you commit to open lanes.
• If the surface is hot or exposed, use safer movement options (like covered structures and known safe “reset rooms” on your route).

Spaceport Cold Snap success looks like discipline: loot in bursts, rotate with cover, and extract while you’re still comfortable—not when you’re desperate.

Blue Gate Cold Snap tips (mountain sightlines + “roof scarcity” routes)

Blue Gate is already a risk/reward map because of long sightlines and contested routes. Cold Snap increases pressure because being caught in open snowfields is doubly bad: you’re visible and you’re losing HP.

Blue Gate winter rules:

• Pay attention to “roof scarcity.” Some routes feel safe until you realize you won’t see shelter again for too long.
• Use shelter chaining and avoid fighting on ridges where retreat options are limited.
• If you’re gathering Candleberries, use the dev-stated logic: check bushes near smaller structures and rocky/foliage areas instead of wandering in exposed valleys.

Extraction timing in Cold Snap (how most players die with full bags)

Cold Snap doesn’t change extraction mechanics as much as it changes extraction timing.

The most common Cold Snap death pattern:

1. You get rich.
2. You stay “one more minute.”
3. You take a long outdoor rotation.
4. Frostbite chips you.
5. A fight starts near extraction.
6. You lose because you had to heal or you arrived low.

The Cold Snap extraction rule

Extract earlier than you would in a normal raid.

Cold Snap is a high variance environment: visibility swings, ARCs pull aggro, and routes get contested near shelter. If your bag is valuable, the correct play is often to leave immediately.

How to “stage” an extraction safely

• Choose an approach that includes a shelter reset close to the extraction zone.
• Arrive with full HP and stamina whenever possible.
• If you must wait, wait near cover—don’t stand exposed.

Cold Snap doesn’t forgive sloppy finishing. It rewards players who treat the last 90 seconds like a tactical phase.

Best Cold Snap loadout mindset (simple and repeatable)

Cold Snap loadouts are less about “best gun” and more about survival tempo.

Your winter priorities:

• Healing reliability: bring enough to survive both cold drain and combat.
• Mobility: longer sprints between shelters reduce risk (and reduce healing cost).
• Flex range: you want to handle indoor pushes and mid-range peeks without committing to long duels.
• Utility for disengage: anything that breaks line-of-sight or denies pushes becomes stronger when visibility is already messy.

If you’re dying a lot in Cold Snap, the fix usually isn’t “aim better.” It’s “bring more healing and rotate with shelter in mind.”

Skill planning for Cold Snap (and why the update makes experimenting easier)

One of the most relevant quality-of-life changes around the Cold Snap update: skill points can be reset individually for 2,000 Coins per skill point.

That matters because Cold Snap rewards certain traits more than others—especially anything that helps:

• sprint farther between shelters
• carry enough healing without feeling slow
• recover from chip damage and keep moving

If your winter raids feel rough, consider reshaping your skill setup around:

• mobility and stamina (to chain shelters safely)
• survival consistency (so chip damage doesn’t snowball into a death)
• utility that reduces time spent exposed

Cold Snap is a great time to experiment because the cost to adjust is no longer tied to a massive expedition-style reset.

Quick “die less” checklist (use this every Cold Snap raid)

Before you go Topside:

• Bring more healing than normal.
• Decide your shelter chain: where you’ll warm up first, second, third.
• Decide your extraction direction before you start looting.
• If you’re Candleberry hunting: plan a short loop, not a marathon.

During the raid:

• When you see frost and hear heavy breathing, rotate to shelter early.
• Keep outdoor fights short or disengage.
• Treat every warm building as potentially contested late raid.
• Extract as soon as you’re “up,” not when you’re “maxed.”

After the raid:

• Restock healing immediately.
• Keep a default winter kit so you don’t start underprepared.

BoostRoom: win Cold Snap without paying the learning tax

Cold Snap is one of the best times to progress—because rewards are flowing and seasonal goals are active—but it’s also when players lose the most kits to frostbite mistakes and bad rotations. BoostRoom helps you turn Cold Snap into consistent extracts by focusing on the skills that actually matter:

• Shelter chaining routes for each snowy map (Dam, Buried City, Spaceport, Blue Gate)
• Snow fight decision-making (when to push, when to reset, when to leave)
• Extraction staging so you stop dying at the finish line
• Candleberry farming routes that keep you near safety and protect your progress
• Loadout and skill planning for winter raids (built around your playstyle)

The goal is simple: extract more, die less, and finish seasonal projects faster—without turning every run into a blizzard wipe.

FAQ

What maps can have frostbite in Cold Snap?

Cold Snap snowfall maps (and frostbite pressure) appear on Topside locations including Dam Battlegrounds, Buried City, Spaceport, and Blue Gate.

How do you remove frostbite in ARC Raiders?

The consistent solution is shelter: get inside a building or under a roofed structure for a short reset. Even relatively open structures can work as warm-up points.

What are the warning signs before frostbite becomes dangerous?

Cold Snap shows signs like frost on your clothes, heavier breathing, and even your breath freezing in the air as you get colder.

How do I win fights in the snow when I can’t see well?

Shorten engagements, fight from cover, reset under shelter when possible, and avoid long-range duels that waste time while frostbite pressure increases.

What do Candleberries look like?

The dev team describes Candleberry bushes as evergreen with bright red fruits, and guides commonly describe them as green bushes with red berries during Cold Snap.

How do I keep Candleberries if I die?

Use your safe pocket for Candleberries so you don’t lose progress when a run goes wrong.

Is there anything new in the Cold Snap update besides snow?

Yes—Cold Snap shipped alongside seasonal events and quality-of-life changes, including the ability to reset skill points for a coin cost per point, and winter-themed loot/progression systems.