Best New ARC Raiders Skills: Frozen Trail 2.0

The skill effects and availability reflect the Frozen Trail 2.0 skill tree overhaul. Exact values may change with future balance updates. Below, I'll show you what I consider to be the best new skills in the ARC Raiders skill tree.

Swift Start improves your initial burst of speed when starting to sprint. During our tests, we noticed that it provides a 15% speed increase during that initial burst without increasing stamina consumption.

This extra acceleration is useful when crossing exposed areas, breaking enemies' line of sight, or reaching cover before they can finish aiming at you.

However, performing a roll can end the effect, causing its icon to disappear from above the stamina bar.

To reactivate it, stop sprinting briefly and start sprinting again.

A bad landing can leave you vulnerable at the worst possible moment, but now we have Right Back At It, which reduces the time needed to recover after a heavy landing, allowing you to regain control sooner and spend less time immobilized. In our tests, we observed recovery improvements of approximately 0.2 seconds after a lighter fall and 0.4 seconds after a heavier one.

These fractions of a second can help, but they won't magically save you from a Raider who is already aiming at the spot where you landed.

Frozen Trail introduced the slope scrambling mechanic, which allows Raiders to sprint uphill for a short distance.

Sure-Footed Scrambler improves this type of movement. However, our demonstration revealed that its benefits weren't compelling enough to prioritize it over other movement perks that are more useful in different situations.

This skill may be suitable for specific routes where climbing terrain is a regular part of your escape plan, but more general mobility improvements tend to offer more consistent value.

Carrying an object can limit your movement options. Vault 'n' Carry solves this problem by allowing you to jump and climb ledges while holding compatible objects in your hands, such as barricades.

The difference we observed during our tests is especially noticeable with a Field Crate. Without this skill, carrying the object prevents you from performing the tested jumps and climbing actions; with it, both actions become possible.

Not all carryable objects necessarily behave the same way, so don't assume this perk removes every movement restriction in every situation.

This is one of the most practical skills for players who leave raids carrying as much loot as possible.

ARC Raiders distinguishes between normal over-encumbrance and severe over-encumbrance. Under the usual yellow state, movement is penalized, but you can still perform actions such as sprinting. Under the red severe over-encumbrance state, sprinting, jumping, and climbing are normally disabled.

Mule's Gallop allows you to sprint even when you are severely over-encumbered. Without this skill, pressing the sprint button can trigger a different jogging animation without actually increasing your movement speed or consuming stamina. With Mule's Gallop, sprinting works properly and consumes stamina as expected.

In our test, sprinting was approximately 70% faster than walking while the character was severely over-encumbered.

Quick Roll improves your dodge roll, making it faster, shorter, and less expensive in terms of stamina.

A shorter movement distance can be useful when you need to avoid enemy fire without moving too far away from your position. Reducing stamina consumption also helps you conserve stamina for your next reposition.

Its best use is aggressive movement during close-range encounters, where dodging and immediately regaining control with weapons like the Anvil and the Il Toro can make a difference.

Stylish Landing allows you to perform a recovery roll after falling from greater heights.

Our tests demonstrated its limits using a marker placed beneath the character. A fall from approximately 10 meters was safe in the test, while an 11-meter fall still caused damage. With the skill activated, the observed safe limit was approximately 12 meters, although measurements and actual landing conditions may vary.

Nomadic Crafting expands the number of items you can craft while you're topside.

The crafting progression in our tests included three relevant skills: In-Round Crafting, Traveling Tinkerer, and Nomadic Crafting. Each one adds more field-crafting options, including items such as herbal bandages, a Raider Hatch Key, ammunition, and a defibrillator.

The exact recipes and availability of each item depend on the skills you've unlocked and the corresponding crafting requirements.

For a squad, these perks can reduce the need to rely exclusively on the supplies you bring when starting a raid. If teammates coordinate their skill choices, the group can access a wider variety of useful crafting options.

However, from my point of view, this skill is quite situational.