The Cold Snap update in Arc Raiders hits harder than most people expect, and it does not matter how cracked your aim is if you are slowly freezing to death while chasing ARC Raiders Coins across an empty snowfield. The storms cut your vision down so far you are basically guessing shapes, your movement feels stuck in glue, and that constant chip of health from the cold turns every sprint into a risk. You are not just sliding into fights anymore, you are planning legs of a journey, counting seconds outside, and thinking more about where you stand than how fast you snap to a headshot.

Using Safe Zones Smart

Safe zones sound cosy, but they are more like petrol stations on a motorway than a house you move into. Bunkers, sealed buildings, bits of intact ruins, they all give you warmth and a breather, but staying too long is how squads get boxed in and wiped. You dash in, warm up, patch yourself, quick reload, and then you are listening hard for anyone creeping up the stairs. A lot of newer players park their whole team there, waiting for action, and end up trapped with no exit. The teams that last longer know the gaps between shelters almost by feel, so they are never stuck in the open snow with their temperature crashing and no cover in sight.

Loot Routes Under Pressure

The juicy loot still spawns in familiar places like factories, crashed pods, and checkpoint bunkers, but Cold Snap changes how long you can hang around them. You can not sit there comparing guns while the blizzard eats your health and every other squad hears you banging doors. A tight squad usually has one person grabbing items while the rest watch angles, stairs, and any window that gives a line on the approach. You hit the room, scoop what you need, and you are already thinking about which door you will use to bail if someone pushes. If you wander off the plan or stop to admire your new kit in the middle of a snowfield, you are basically asking to get picked off from the treeline.

Ambushes In The Whiteout

This update turns the whole map into a stalking ground. Visibility is bad enough that people walk right past danger, but footprints in the snow tell a clear story if you slow down and read them. You can follow a trail to a squad that is already half-frozen, or you can flip it and use your own tracks as bait, backing off to a ridge or corner where you have cover. The best ambushes hit when the enemy is already deep in the drift, moving slow and bleeding health, then you drop slows or area damage to lock them in place. It is less about being the first to click and more about forcing them to fight exactly where they are weakest.

Heat Sources And Map Control

Heat sources feel like simple survival tools, but they might be the strongest tactical pieces on the map when you place them with intent, the same way you think ahead about where you will spend or farm cheap ARC Raiders Coins for your build. Dropping one outside a safe zone door can stretch how long you stay mobile between shelters, or you can leave it in the open where every desperate player will crawl toward it. That lets you guess their route, set crossfire, and line up an easy catch. When you start planning a full run that chains shelters, hits key loot spots, and uses heat as both lifeline and trap, you will notice other squads are always late, always reacting, and you are the one choosing when and where every fight actually happens.