ARC Raiders Flickering Flames Event Guide (Cold Snap): How to Earn Every Reward Before It Ends

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The holiday season in Speranza is supposed to be about warmth—but out in the Rust Belt, it’s a fight to stay alive. The Flickering Flames event, introduced alongside the Cold Snap update, gives Raiders a limited-time chance to unlock exclusive weapons, rare gear, and festive cosmetics. The catch? You’ll need to survive frostbite, master new mechanics, and efficiently juggle multiple progression systems before the event melts away on January 13, 2026.

Most guides will tell you what to do. This one shows you how to do it efficiently. Below, you’ll find a full breakdown of the Cold Snap hazard, a clear explanation of how Flickering Flames actually works, a complete Candleberry Banquet checklist, and proven farming strategies to ensure you don’t miss a single reward.

Understanding the Cold Snap Winter Hazard

Before you can optimize the event, you need to survive the environment it’s built around. Flickering Flames only takes place on Cold Snap–affected maps, including:

  • Dam Battlegrounds

  • Buried City

  • Spaceport

  • The Blue Gate

Cold Snap is far more than a visual makeover.

Frostbite Explained

The moment you step outdoors, Frostbite begins draining your health. This damage:

  • Bypasses armor entirely

  • Continues until you enter an indoor shelter

  • Is visually indicated by shivering and snow buildup on your Raider

Indoor areas instantly halt the damage and melt the accumulated snow, making buildings your most valuable resource.

Survival & Combat Adjustments

ARC Raiders Flickering Flames Event Guide (Cold Snap)

To stay alive—and profitable—you’ll need to adapt:

  • Route Planning: Travel in short hops between buildings. Long outdoor runs are rarely worth the health cost.

  • Loadout Changes: Carry more Medkits and Sterilized Bandages than usual to offset unavoidable exposure.

  • Combat Control: Reduced visibility allows ambushes, and you can bait enemies into open areas where frostbite drains them faster than bullets.

How the Flickering Flames Event Actually Works

Flickering Flames isn’t a single activity—it’s three interconnected systems working together:

  1. A personal 25-tier reward track

  2. The Candleberry Banquet Project

  3. A new event currency: Merit

Understanding how these systems feed into each other is the key to finishing everything on time.

Earning Merit & Completing the 25-Tier Reward Track

Your main progression path is the 25-tier Flickering Flames reward track, unlocked after completing five total raids.

How Merit Works

  • You earn 1 Merit for every 100 XP gained in a raid

  • XP comes from normal gameplay: looting, killing ARC enemies, and defeating other Raiders

Efficiency Tips

  • Prioritize high-XP ARC enemies like Bastions, Bombardiers, and Rocketeers

  • Loot everything—containers add up quickly over long sessions

Reward Structure

  • Each tier unlocks every 600 Merit

  • Final reward unlocks at 15,000 Merit

  • The track grants 180 Candleberries, which are essential for the Banquet Project

The Candleberry Banquet Project Explained

Running alongside the reward track is the Candleberry Banquet Project, a five-stage community objective located in your Raider Projects tab.

Important Warning

All donated items are permanently consumed from your stash. Only donate items you’re sure you can spare.

Why the Project Matters

Each completed stage rewards:

  • 1,000 Merit per stage

  • Raider Tokens

  • Utility items and blueprints

This creates a powerful loop:

  • Project rewards → huge Merit boosts

  • Merit boosts → faster reward track completion

  • Reward track → more Candleberries for future stages

Candleberry Banquet Project – Full Checklist

Use the tables below to plan your looting efficiently and avoid wasted runs.

Stage 1: Candlelight

Item to Donate        Quantity    Reward
Empty Wine Bottle15 Winter Crackers
Plastic Parts251,000 Merit
Durable Cloth51,000 Merit
Candleberries2050 Raider Tokens

Stage 2: Decorations

Item to Donate        Quantity    Reward
Candle Holder3Red Light Stick Blueprint
Light Bulb31,000 Merit
Industrial Battery11,000 Merit
Candleberries5050 Raider Tokens

Stage 3: Presents

Item to Donate            Quantity        Reward
Snap Blast Grenade53× Flame Burner
Duct Tape101,000 Merit
Film Reel11,000 Merit
Candleberries6050 Raider Tokens

Stage 4: Beverages

Item to Donate    Quantity    Reward
Coffee Pot21× Vita Spray
Fireball Burner101,000 Merit
Water Filter21,000 Merit
Candleberries6050 Raider Tokens

Stage 5: Meals

Item to Donate    Quantity`Reward
Mushroom7Snap Hook
Frying Pan21,000 Merit
Music Album21,000 Merit
Candleberries7050 Raider Tokens

Final Completion Reward:
Snowglobe Backpack Charm, Bettina III weapon, Extended Barrel, and Kinetic Converter.

Expert Candleberry Farming Strategies

You’ll need 260 Candleberries total to complete the project—but remember, 180 come from the reward track, so farming efficiently matters.

Best Ways to Find Candleberries

  • Candleberry Bushes: Bright red bushes in nature zones, yielding 1–3 berries per bush

  • Raider Caches: High chance to contain 3–5 Candleberries on Cold Snap maps

  • Nature Baskets: Rare containers with the highest berry yield

Best Farming Locations

  • Dam Battlegrounds: Hydroponic Dome Complex

  • Buried City: Marano Park

  • Spaceport: Forest between Container Storage and East Plains Warehouse

Loot Targeting Tips

  • Residential Areas: Wine Bottles, Durable Cloth, Candle Holders, Coffee Pots, Music Albums

  • Industrial Areas: Light Bulbs, Industrial Batteries

  • Specific Drops:

    • Fireball Burners → Fireball ARC enemies

    • Mushrooms → Nature-heavy zones like the Dam

Event End Date & Final Tips

The Flickering Flames event ends on Tuesday, January 13, 2026, at:

  • 1:30 AM PT

  • 9:30 AM GMT

Unclaimed rewards will be permanently unavailable after this time.

Key Takeaways

  • Focus on high-XP gameplay to generate Merit quickly

  • Use the Banquet checklist to loot with purpose

  • Farm Candleberries in proven hotspots

  • Manage your stash carefully when donating items

Master these systems, and you won’t just survive the Cold Snap—you’ll walk away with the Hi-Tech Hiker outfit, the Space Wrench tool, powerful weapon upgrades, and every festive reward the event has to offer.

Stay sharp, Raider—and stay warm.                 

🌐 ARC Raiders Community Links & Resources

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