ARC Raiders Flickering Flames Guide: 25 Tiers & Rewards

What “Flickering Flames” Actually Includes (And Why It Matters)

Flickering Flames isn’t just one checklist—it’s a package of progression systems that feed each other:

The 25-tier Merit reward track (commonly labeled Gathering Candleberries)
You earn Merits from XP you gain in raids. Those Merits unlock tier rewards at fixed thresholds up to 15,000 Merits.
The Candleberry Banquet Project (5 stages)
You donate specific items (and lots of Candleberries). In return you get rewards per donation—most importantly, big Merit injections that can complete a massive chunk of the 25-tier track.

Here’s the key idea that saves time: the Project is not “extra.” If you complete the Banquet efficiently, it can provide 10,000 Merits on its own (through multiple 1,000-Merit donation rewards), which is a huge portion of the 15,000 needed to finish all tiers. That means the smartest route is usually:

Project first (to spike Merits) → then farm the remaining tiers through normal raids.

Also note: Flickering Flames is limited-time. It runs December 16, 2025 to January 13, 2026 (timed release windows vary by region). The event also requires that your account has played a minimum number of rounds before it activates (commonly reported as five rounds)—so brand-new accounts should knock out a few quick raids early.

ARC Raiders Flickering Flames, Gathering Candleberries, ARC Raiders Merits, Merit farming, 25 tiers rewards, Hi-Tech Hiker outfit

How Merits Work (The Only Math You Need)

Merits are the currency that pushes the 25-tier track forward.

The conversion

1 Merit per 100 XP earned in raids
Equivalent: 10 Merits per 1,000 XP

The tier pacing

Rewards unlock at fixed thresholds (every few hundred Merits), culminating at:
15,000 Merits = final tier

What that means in XP

If you were doing the track purely by XP conversion:

15,000 Merits × 100 XP = 1,500,000 XP total

That number looks scary until you use the Project to “skip” most of it.

The biggest time-saver: Project Merit boosts

The Candleberry Banquet includes multiple donations that each grant 1,000 Merits. If you complete those donations, you can gain 10,000 Merits from the Project rewards alone—leaving you only:

15,000 − 10,000 = 5,000 Merits remaining
5,000 Merits × 100 XP = 500,000 XP remaining

That’s the difference between “grind for days” and “finish with a focused plan.”

Candleberry Banquet Project (5 Stages) — Full Requirements + Rewards

The Banquet Project is where most players either save time… or waste a week.

The big picture

Stages: 5
You donate items: some common, some annoying, plus a lot of Candleberries
You receive rewards per donation: including many 1,000 Merit payouts and Raider Tokens
Completion bonus: a final reward bundle (Snowglobe charm + gear)

Total Candleberries needed for the entire Project

You must donate Candleberries across all five stages:

Stage 1: 20
Stage 2: 50
Stage 3: 60
Stage 4: 60
Stage 5: 70

Total = 260 Candleberries

That’s why the 25-tier track matters: it hands out up to 180 Candleberries if you finish all tiers—covering most of what the Project demands.

Stage-by-stage checklist (requirements + rewards)

Use this as your no-stress “what do I keep” list.

Stage 1 — Candlelight (1/5)

1× Empty Wine Bottle → 5× Firecracker
25× Plastic Parts → 1,000 Merits
5× Durable Cloth → 1,000 Merits
20× Candleberries → 50 Raider Tokens

Stage 2 — Decorations (2/5)

3× Candle Holder → Red Light Stick Blueprint

3× Light Bulb → 1,000 Merits
1× Industrial Battery → 1,000 Merits
50× Candleberries → 50 Raider Tokens

Stage 3 — Presents (3/5)

5× Snap Blast Grenade → 3× Trailblazer
10× Duct Tape → 1,000 Merits
1× Film Reel → 1,000 Merits
60× Candleberries → 50 Raider Tokens

Stage 4 — Beverages (4/5)

2× Coffee Pot → 1× Vita Spray
10× Fireball Burner → 1,000 Merits
2× Water Filter → 1,000 Merits
60× Candleberries → 50 Raider Tokens

Stage 5 — Meals (5/5)

7× Mushroom → 1× Snap Hook
2× Frying Pan → 1,000 Merits
2× Music Album → 1,000 Merits
70× Candleberries → 50 Raider Tokens

Banquet completion reward (after all 5 stages)

When the Project is fully completed, you get:

Snowglobe Charm
1× Bettina III
1× Extended Barrel
1× Kinetic Converter

The “free Merits” hiding inside the Project

Count the 1,000-Merit donations:

Stage 1: 2× (Plastic Parts, Durable Cloth)
Stage 2: 2× (Light Bulb, Industrial Battery)
Stage 3: 2× (Duct Tape, Film Reel)
Stage 4: 2× (Fireball Burner, Water Filter)
Stage 5: 2× (Frying Pan, Music Album)

That’s 10 donations × 1,000 Merits = 10,000 Merits.

If you want the Space Wrench without pain, this is the backbone of your strategy.

Where Candleberries Come From (And Why Most Players Farm Them Wrong)

Candleberries are the bottleneck because the Project wants 260, and they’re not always quick to harvest.

The two main sources

The 25-tier track: up to 180 Candleberries just from Merit milestones
Topside harvesting during Cold Snap: Candleberries appear on bushes (and sometimes in baskets, similar to other forage events)

Best practical advice: protect your berries

If you’re doing Topside foraging, treat Candleberries like “fragile currency”:

Put them into your safe pocket whenever possible
Don’t take prolonged fights while berry-hunting—your goal is to extract, not win an ego duel
If the run is going bad, leave early with the berries you already grabbed

Location-style guidance that consistently works

Candleberry bushes spawn most reliably in vegetation-heavy outdoor areas during Cold Snap conditions. Two commonly cited patterns:

Dam Battlegrounds: swamp/vegetation zones
Blue Gate: western side / wilderness edges

The most consistent success comes from a simple behavior: loop the edges, hit vegetation pockets, and avoid center-map choke points where PvP stacks up.

Fast Merit Farming That Doesn’t Feel Like a Job

Merits come from XP. XP comes from actions. The trick is choosing actions that are:

repeatable,
low-risk,
fast.

1) Looting is the “steady paycheck”

If your goal is Merit speed, you want constant XP ticks:

Open containers quickly
Prioritize dense loot areas
Don’t overstay after your bag is “good enough”

A lot of players lose time by “shopping” in the inventory for minutes. If your aim is Merits, adopt a rule:

If the run is profitable and safe, leave.
If it’s noisy and messy, leave sooner.

More raids completed usually beats one “perfect” raid.

2) Big ARC targets can spike XP (if you can finish cleanly)

Large ARC fights can award big XP, and looting their parts can extend the XP gain. But only do this if:

you can kill them efficiently with your current loadout, and
you have a safe exit route.

If you want consistent Merit growth, don’t take “hero fights” in the open—especially during Cold Snap conditions.

3) Short raid loops beat long raid adventures

If you track your time honestly, many “long raids” end in:

frostbite pressure,
third-party PvP,
over-encumbrance,
and a late death that erases the run’s value.

A better Merit mindset is:

10–12 minute loop
extract
repeat

Even if you’re not maxing XP every match, you’re stacking Merits predictably.

4) Stack two progress bars at once

The best Flickering Flames sessions do all of this in the same run:

earn XP → earn Merits → progress tiers
collect a Project item → donate later → gain 1,000 Merits spikes
harvest a few Candleberries → push the Banquet stages

When a run advances both track and Project, it’s automatically high-efficiency.

The Best Order to Finish Everything (No Wasted Steps)

If you want the cleanest route to Tier 25:

Step 1: Unlock eligibility and open the UI loop

Get your required minimum raids done early (commonly five rounds).
Open the event screens and track what you still need for the Project.

Step 2: Rush the Project’s Merit donations first

Your priority is the 10 donations that give 1,000 Merits each. Those are your fast-pass:

Plastic Parts, Durable Cloth
Light Bulb, Industrial Battery
Duct Tape, Film Reel
Fireball Burner, Water Filter
Frying Pan, Music Album

These are often easier than farming 100,000 XP for the same Merit value.

Step 3: Use tier Candleberries to fund Project Candleberries

The reward track hands out Candleberries at multiple thresholds. Claim them, then donate them. This prevents you from relying purely on bush spawns.

Step 4: Finish Banquet completion rewards when it’s convenient

Don’t delay Tier progress “just to complete the final Project stage” if you’re missing berries. Keep earning Merits; the tiers will feed you berries anyway.

Step 5: Farm remaining Merits through quick XP raids

If you completed all 10 Merit donations in the Project, your remaining grind is roughly:

5,000 Merits
~500,000 XP

That’s completely doable with consistent short loops.

Common Mistakes That Make Flickering Flames Feel Impossible

Hoarding everything “just in case”

The Project asks for specific items. Keeping 40 random junk items “maybe needed later” destroys stash space and slows you down. Keep:

the listed Project items,
your favorite loadout backups,
and sell/recycle the rest.

Farming Candleberries only from bushes

Bush farming alone is slow because each harvest can be small, bushes can be rare, and Cold Snap pressure punishes long outdoor loops. The smarter approach is:

use reward track Candleberries first,
bush farm only to fill the gaps.

Fighting too much while “on a resource run”

Resource runs are not PvP tournaments. If you’re carrying berries or a Film Reel, you should be pathing like a courier:

cover to cover,
minimal noise,
fast exit.

BoostRoom Tip: Finish Tier 25 Without Burning Your Week

If your goal is simply “get everything before the event ends,” BoostRoom is built for exactly that kind of timeline pressure. Whether you’re missing the last few tiers, short on Candleberries for Stage 5, or you just want the Space Wrench + full Hi-Tech Hiker setup without endless resets, BoostRoom can help.

What most players underestimate is how much faster the event becomes with:

efficient item routing for the 10,000 Merit Project spikes,
safe extraction planning,
and targeted Candleberry runs that don’t devolve into random PvP.

If you want to play the fun parts of ARC Raiders and still finish the event on schedule, that’s the point.

FAQ

How long do I have to finish Flickering Flames?

The event window runs from December 16, 2025 to January 13, 2026.

How do I earn Merits fastest?

Complete the Candleberry Banquet’s 1,000-Merit donations (up to 10,000 Merits total) and then farm the remaining Merits through short, loot-heavy raids.

What’s the total Merit needed for all 25 tiers?

15,000 Merits.

How much XP equals 15,000 Merits?

At 1 Merit per 100 XP, that’s 1,500,000 XP—but the Project can cut that down drastically by giving large Merit rewards.

Do I need Candleberries to complete the Project?

Yes. The five stages require 260 Candleberries total (20 + 50 + 60 + 60 + 70).

What’s the final tier reward?

Tier 25 at 15,000 Merits awards the Space Wrench Raider Tool.

What do I get for completing the full Banquet Project?

A completion bundle including Snowglobe Charm, Bettina III, Extended Barrel, and Kinetic Converter.

Where should I look for Candleberries on Topside?

During Cold Snap conditions, check vegetation-heavy areas (commonly cited: Dam’s swampy zones and Blue Gate’s western edges). Put berries in your safe pocket when possible.