ARC Raiders Guide: Ascending the Mountain Before Frozen Trail
Everything to do in ARC Raiders patch 1.45.0: start Ascending the Mountain, spend expiring Cred, and gear up before Frozen Trail lands October 8.
ARC Raiders players who logged in after September 8 found a lot waiting for them at Speranza. Embark Studios' PvPvE extraction shooter sends squads Topside to loot a machine-ravaged Earth and back underground before anything with claws or a stomp attack catches them, and patch 1.45.0 quietly rewired several systems that shape that loop. The update opened a new Raider Project, put a hard deadline on an entire currency, and adjusted a couple of weapons and enemies, all while Embark points everyone toward Frozen Trail — described as the biggest update since launch — on October 8. Here's what actually changed, what to do about it, and how to walk into the next few weeks with your loadout, your materials, and your Cred all intact.
01What Changed in ARC Raiders Patch 1.45.0
Live Update 1.45.0 landed on September 8 and, according to the official patch notes, moved the game from Unreal Engine 5.3 to 5.7 under the hood. On top of the engine bump, the update added the Raider Project "Ascending the Mountain," the cosmetic Hornet Hunter Set, community-designed Rubber Ducks for the Raider Den at Bird City, the start of Expedition 5, and a formal countdown on the Cred currency. A batch of quality-of-life changes shipped alongside the content: you can now rebind quick-item cycling separately from the quick-use wheel (or turn cycling off and bind both actions to the same key), starting an Expedition can optionally reset your quest progress, and loadout weight indicators were updated to read more clearly. Embark also called out clearer error messages if you go offline while queuing or if your crossplay settings conflict with a squadmate's, plus a long list of stability and UI fixes, including crash fixes on PS5.
None of this is a small maintenance patch. Treating 1.45.0 as prep work for Frozen Trail is the right lens: several of the changes only make sense once you know Embark is clearing the decks — literally, in Cred's case — for its next major content drop.
02How to Start the Ascending the Mountain Project
The new Raider Project continues the mystery around the phantom ARC signals players have been tracking for months. Per Embark, those signals trace back to a mountain range beyond the reach of the Tube system, and Apollo needs Raiders with schematic know-how to help build an experimental way through. On ARC Raiders' official X account, the studio framed it as "collecting critical materials to navigate the path through the blistering winds of the north" — a direct setup for Frozen Trail's snowbound setting next month.
To get started, check in with Apollo at Speranza; the project should be sitting in your project list as of 1.45.0. Embark hasn't published a full materials checklist, so treat any specific item name you see repeated in chat or in-game as unconfirmed until the project screen in front of you confirms it. What is confirmed is the theme: hold on to schematic components and crafting materials you'd normally scrap on the way out of a raid, since this project is explicitly built around them. If you're the type to dump low-value scrap the moment your bag gets heavy, this is the patch to break that habit, at least until you've seen the project's full requirements for yourself.
03Spend Your Cred Before October 8
The bigger housekeeping item in 1.45.0 is the retirement of Cred. The currency still works today, but Embark's notes are explicit: any Cred left unspent when Frozen Trail launches on October 8 simply expires. The studio's advice is to spend it down with the trader Shani or put it toward Raider Deck rewards before the deadline. A new, broader reward system is replacing Cred, and any Raider Deck rewards you've already claimed carry over, so there's no benefit to hoarding a currency that's going away. If you've been sitting on a stockpile since an earlier season, this patch is your reminder to burn through it over the next few runs rather than logging back in on October 9 to find it gone.
04Loadout Changes: Aphelion, Equalizer and Snitch Scanners
A few weapon and enemy tweaks in 1.45.0 are worth building around rather than just reading past:
- Aphelion: weapon sway was reduced to improve aiming stability, so it's worth another look if you'd previously written it off as too twitchy at range.
- Equalizer: a bug that let it play its firing sound effect while holstered has been fixed, which matters for anyone using audio cues to track nearby Raiders.
- Snitch Scanners: these now spawn ARC the same way a regular Snitch does, but with a lower chance of pulling a stronger ARC unit — a small but real change to how risky it is to trip one on purpose for loot.
- Rawhide headgear: a toggle bug that left it visibly worn even when switched off has been fixed, which is purely cosmetic but worth knowing if you were confused by it before.
None of these are headline rebalances, but stacked together they shift a few small decisions: whether the Aphelion is worth slotting over a steadier alternative, and whether a Snitch Scanner is still worth the risk when you're low on healing.
05The Matriarch's Stomp No Longer Cheats Through Cover
One bug fix buried in the patch notes is a genuine tactical change: the Matriarch's stomp attack was hitting Raiders through cover that should have blocked it. That's fixed in 1.45.0, which means the cover-based approach the game has always taught you should now actually hold up against that specific attack. If you'd built a habit of backing off to a totally safe distance whenever a Matriarch showed up, it's worth testing a more conservative cover-and-peek approach again now that the stomp isn't ignoring geometry. The patch notes also mention a fix to ARC Turbine mine pinging, which is a smaller change but relevant if you rely on audio or minimap cues to spot mines before you walk into one.
06Jumping Into Expedition 5
Expedition 5 began alongside 1.45.0. Embark's announcement confirms it's live but doesn't detail specific objectives or rewards beyond what you'll see in your own Expedition tab, so treat any third-party claim about exact Expedition 5 rewards as unconfirmed until you check in-game. What is confirmed is the option added this patch to reset your quest progress when you start a new Expedition, which is worth knowing before you commit if you're chasing a clean run through it.
07Where ARC Raiders Stands Before Frozen Trail
If you're newer to ARC Raiders and picking it back up for this patch, the current rotation of Topside maps includes Buried City, The Blue Gate, Spaceport, and Riven Tides, each with its own extraction points and ARC density. Frozen Trail adds a fifth location rather than replacing any of them, so nothing about your current routes or extraction habits needs to change before October 8 — the new map is additive, not a reset. That makes this patch a reasonable point to settle into a map you're comfortable extracting from consistently, rather than chasing whatever's newest, since you'll have a genuinely new option to learn again in under a month regardless.
08Getting Ready for Frozen Trail on October 8
Embark is calling Frozen Trail its biggest update since launch, and the official announcement lays out a long list of additions: a new frozen settlement beyond the mountains as a playable map, new ARC threats ranging from a small nuisance to what Embark describes as "an enormous machine that will halt you in your tracks," and a high-level ARC Operation built around cooperation and dynamic encounters for experienced squads. Outside of combat, the update adds the Outpost, a new inhabitable space beyond the Raider Den where you can decorate, research, and start reclaiming the surface, plus a revised skill tree, enhanced Raider Decks, new weapons, and new gadgets and cosmetics. Matchmaking, anti-cheat, and stability are also called out as ongoing focus areas heading into the launch.
None of the new ARC threats have been named yet, so anything you see labeled as a confirmed enemy name before Embark's own reveal should be treated as speculation. The practical prep for the next four weeks is simple: clear your Cred balance, work through Ascending the Mountain while the materials are fresh in mind, and bank crafting components rather than spending them on anything you can live without. Whatever the new skill tree changes on October 8, walking in with a stocked inventory and a clean Cred slate beats scrambling to catch up on day one.
Your ARC Raiders 1.45.0 Checklist
- 1Read through what changed before you queue — the engine upgrade and several bug fixes affect how weapons and enemies behave.3 min
- 2Head to Speranza and open the new Raider Project in your project list to see its live requirements.5 min
- 3Stop scrapping crafting components on the way out of a raid until you've confirmed what the project actually needs.Ongoing
- 4Visit Shani or cash in on Raider Deck rewards — any Cred left after October 8 is gone for good.10 min
- 5Try it in a low-stakes raid now that its sway has been reduced; it may be worth a loadout slot again.1 raid
- 6Set up the new separate binding for quick-item cycling so it doesn't overlap with your quick-use wheel.2 min
- 7Jump into the new Expedition and decide if you want a fresh start using the new optional quest reset.Varies
- 8Keep building a reserve of crafting components ahead of October 8 instead of spending everything on short-term upgrades.Ongoing
Update 1.45.0 has hit Topside and Apollo needs your help. Starting today, join the new Raider Project, ‘Ascending the Mountain’, collecting critical materials to navigate the path through the blistering winds of the north. Check the blog for a look at the Hornet Hunter Set,
— ARC Raiders (@ARCRaidersGame) · Sept 8, 2026 on X
FAQ
What is Ascending the Mountain in ARC Raiders?
It's the Raider Project added in patch 1.45.0 on September 8, tasking players with gathering materials so Apollo can build a path through a mountain range linked to the game's phantom ARC signal mystery, according to Embark's official announcement.
When does Cred expire in ARC Raiders?
Cred remains usable until Frozen Trail launches on October 8, 2026, after which any unspent balance is gone. Embark recommends spending it with Shani or on Raider Deck rewards before then.
What changed with the Aphelion and Equalizer in patch 1.45.0?
The Aphelion's weapon sway was reduced for better aiming stability, and a bug that let the Equalizer play its firing sound while holstered was fixed.
When does Frozen Trail release and what does it add?
Frozen Trail is scheduled for October 8, 2026, and adds a new frozen map, new ARC threats, a high-level ARC Operation, the Outpost feature, a revised skill tree, and new weapons and cosmetics, per Embark's official announcement.
Is Expedition 5 live in ARC Raiders?
Yes, Expedition 5 started with patch 1.45.0 on September 8. Embark hasn't published its specific objectives or rewards beyond what appears in-game.
Official resources
Jonas runs the guides desk at Tutorial.Games. He replays every route, build and boss strategy on the current patch before it goes up, and re-checks it when the developer ships a balance update. Soulslikes, co-op action games and anything with a build planner.
