ARC Raiders Frozen Trail Weapon Buffs and Nerfs arrived with Update 2.0 on October 8, 2026, changing explosive damage against ARC, moving the Anvil to Rare rarity and adjusting how the Jupiter performs. Gadgets and defensive equipment also changed, including a shorter Snap Hook range and a smaller movement penalty for Heavy Shields.
Not every entry is a direct reduction to weapon damage. Some ARC Raiders Frozen Trail Weapon Buffs involve bug fixes, rarity changes and different trader stock, each of which affects a loadout in a different way. Here’s the developer-confirmed breakdown, including the numerical changes worth remembering.
ARC Raiders Frozen Trail Weapon Buffs and Nerfs Overview
The biggest combat change is to explosives: against ARC armour plates, damage from weapons such as the Hullcracker increases by more than 50%, while damage to fragile ARC parts falls by roughly 30%. This changes target selection rather than replacing the gun’s normal ammunition or crafting rules.
Elsewhere, the Anvil shifts from green to blue rarity, the Jupiter has a damage-propagation fix and the Snap Hook consumes more resources. These ARC Raiders Frozen Trail Weapon Buffs and Nerfs are part of the same patch but affect different playstyles.
Hullcracker and Explosive Damage Against ARC
The revised explosive formula makes heavy armour more appealing to attack with explosives. Embark says the change should make damage more consistent across ARC encounters and improve performance against heavily protected sections.
Against fragile parts, explosive weapons deal around 30% less damage than before. That doesn’t mean the Hullcracker is uniformly weaker: the change depends on the part being hit. ARC Raiders Frozen Trail Weapon Buffs therefore reward players who identify armour rather than assuming every weak point is the best explosive target.
Anvil Rarity Change and Bantam’s New Role
The Anvil moves from Uncommon green rarity to Rare blue. Embark says its ability to handle both Raiders and machines made it too effective for the previous tier. Its familiar combat identity remains, but obtaining it now fits a different place in the weapon economy.
The new Bantam is an Uncommon heavy-ammo revolver that replaces the Anvil in the lower-rarity hand-cannon role. This part of ARC Raiders Frozen Trail Weapon Buffs is about accessibility and progression, not a confirmed new Anvil damage statistic.
Anvil Splitter Is Now an Amplified Upgrade
The Anvil Splitter can no longer be attached as a normal weapon mod. The Anvil’s Tech Mod slot has been removed, and an improved Splitter effect is offered through the Amplified Anvil upgrade path instead.
Existing Splitter items may remain in inventories for a time. Embark says they can be sold or recycled into Amplified Fragments, which are used to repair amplified weapons. Don’t hunt for the old mod as a new drop: the update says it should no longer appear.
Jupiter Damage Fix: Armour Versus Weak Points
The Jupiter previously propagated damage twice into ARC parts behind its intended target. Embark corrected that unintended interaction, leaving the Jupiter stronger against armour but slightly weaker against weak spots.
If your old strategy relied on overlapping hits through a vulnerable target, the difference may be noticeable. This ARC Raiders Frozen Trail Weapon Buffs adjustment is specifically a calculation fix rather than an announced new Jupiter firing mode or magazine upgrade.
Snap Hook Nerf: Range, Durability and Power
The Snap Hook’s range falls from 20 metres to 18 metres, durability consumption rises from 2% to 4% per use, and power cost increases from 50 to 60. Those are exact patch-note values, not estimates.
Embark wants the Snap Hook to specialize in fast bursts of movement now that the new Grappling Hook handles climbing and swinging. Among ARC Raiders Frozen Trail Weapon Buffs and Nerfs, this is a gadget change that can affect how quickly you retreat from a dangerous fight.
Heavy Shield Buff and Combat Survival
Heavy Shield durability decay decreases from 0.20 to 0.15, while its equipped movement penalty drops from 15% to 10%. Both adjustments make the shield less punishing to carry during a long raid.
Combat also sees a clearer dodge window against the Vaporizer’s multi-target laser and refinements to physical force against some ARC. The ARC Raiders Frozen Trail Weapon Buffs list reaches beyond guns to movement, defence and enemy behaviour.
Trader Stock Changes for Weapons and Ammunition
Tian Wen no longer sells Anvil and Hullcracker offers. Those weapons move into the weekly Nomadic Envoys rotation. Launcher Ammo and Energy Clips now have a daily purchasing limit, which may affect how you replenish high-end loadouts.
These are availability changes rather than direct combat nerfs. If a previously familiar item has disappeared from a trader, look at the new stock arrangement before assuming it was removed entirely.
Which Equipment Benefits Most After Update 2.0?
Explosive weapons are more effective against heavy armour, while the Heavy Shield loses durability more slowly and restricts movement less. The Jupiter requires more careful target selection, and Snap Hook users will need to plan around shorter reach and higher costs.
ARC Raiders Frozen Trail Weapon Buffs and Nerfs offer several reasons to revisit your regular loadout, but the best choice still depends on what you fight and how you extract. Test familiar equipment against the enemies you normally encounter before committing costly upgrades.
Related Guides
- ARC Raiders Frozen Trail 2.0 overview
- Pendola Pass map and extraction
- Frigate boarding and Hydra
- Outpost unlock project
- Amplified Weapons upgrades
- Free, Premium and Legacy Reward Pass
Official source: Embark Studios Frozen Trail 2.0 patch notes.
