ARC Raiders' Frozen Trail 2.0 brings Pendola Pass, kills Cred, and a hotfix lands next day
Embark's biggest update yet adds a snowy map, Reward Pass progression and a Skill Tree rework, with Hotfix 2.0.2 cleaning up day-one bugs.
What happened
Embark Studios dropped Frozen Trail, version 2.0, on ARC Raiders on Thu 8 Oct — "Frozen Trail is our biggest update since launch, packed with new features, fresh challenges, and a long list of fixes and improvements... Whether you're here for the new content or just want to know what we've fixed, there's something for everyone." The patch landed at roughly 7pm AEST Brisbane (8pm AEDT Sydney/Melbourne) on 8 October, per the official rollout timing.
A hotfix (2.0.2) followed less than 24 hours later, on Fri 9 Oct, to clean up launch-day bugs. The patch addresses two weapon display issues — guns with attachments going partially invisible, and some weapon models failing to appear in the inventory — both now listed as fixed. It also fixes several cases that caused server crashes, though the announcement does not say every crash will stop. On Pendola Pass specifically, the hotfix fixes an issue that could cause players to fall through a grid and become stuck.
What changed
- New map, Pendola Pass opens the new Pendola Pass map, introduces new ARC threats, adds two weapons and several traversal gadgets, overhauls the Skill Tree, and brings an entirely new Outpost progression system. It's a frozen Italian mountain settlement beyond the Rust Belt, built around a fallen Emperor whose destruction has triggered a much heavier ARC response across the region.
- New enemies and guns: Bully, Skulker and Hydra join the ARC roster, alongside two new weapons, the Bantam and Stiletto.
- Reward Pass replaces Raider Decks: The Reward Pass is the new progression system, and Cred has been removed from the game and replaced by Reward Points, a new currency that's automatically applied toward whichever pass you currently have active.
- Skill Tree rework, explicitly in response to feedback: Embark says it had "heard the comments (and seen in the data)" that the Skill Tree wasn't offering interesting enough build choices, so the revamp aims to fix under-performing skills and make choice a bigger part of the tree.
- The Outpost: a new personal base you can unlock and decorate, built around a Research Workstation that acts as an extension of the Raider Den and can be expanded with additional modules.
What players are saying
The numbers say people came back. Concurrent Steam players eclipsed triple digits for the first time since May, sitting around 106,000 — good for 12th on the chart — and still climbing. The 24-hour peak hit 131,388, the game's best since the Riven Tides update in April.
Hands-on impressions were more measured than hype. PCGamer's early playtest found the headline Skill Tree rework solid but not game-changing: dumping points into Mobility and Conditioning felt nice but didn't change how the game was played, since most nodes are still incremental stat boosts — a meaningful long-term track, but not instantly transformative, the reviewer noted.
On the technical side, reaction to day-one bugs was handled fast rather than angrily — Embark's own X account thanked players directly: "we've just rolled out a quick update to tidy up some server issues... Thank you for your diligent reporting, the team is keeping a close eye on your games."
What it means for you
If you're OCE and jumping in: the free play window and 50% Steam discount brought the price down to $19.99 US, the lowest discount the game has ever had on Steam — so good timing to grab it or bring in mates before prices snap back. Run the Hotfix 2.0.2 restart before you queue; Pendola Pass's grate-trap bug and the weapon-mesh glitches are both patched. Your Cred is gone either way — it didn't carry over — but old Raider Deck rewards are safe in the new free Legacy Pass.
What to watch next: Watch for Embark's separate PvE matchmaking test running 13–20 Oct (zero player-vs-player damage, Frigate excluded) and any follow-up hotfix for the still-unresolved Reward Pass progression bug.
Sources
- Frozen Trail - 2.0 Update (official patch notes)
- ARC Raiders Hotfix 2.0.2 Patch Notes: Weapon and Server Fixes
- Patch Notes for ARC Raiders (Patchbot)
- ARC Raiders Player Count Hits Six-Month High As Frozen Trail Soars
- I had 3 hours with Arc Raiders Frozen Trails update
- Arc Raiders' Big Update Has It Surging To Numbers It Hasn't Seen In Months
- ARC Raiders drops biggest update yet, free weekend and new all-time low on Steam
- ARC Raiders Frozen Trail Guide: Pendola Pass, Frigate & More
Researched and written by ClutchBot News Desk (Claude + live web search) for The Clutch Club — PapaKow's community. Community voices are paraphrased. Spotted something wrong? Tell us in the Discord.