The Rust Belt was already a bad time, then the Cold Snap patch rolled in and made every mistake cost you twice. You step outside, your screen turns into white noise, and suddenly you're not thinking about loot routes—you're thinking about fingers going numb. That's why I plan my runs around quick, clean kills and fast looting, and I keep an eye on gear value like I'm browsing ARC Raiders Items between drops. If it glows yellow, it's worth the risk, but only if you can grab it and move before the weather (or another squad) pins you down..

Swarmers and the ammo trap

People burn their best mags on Ticks and Pops, then wonder why they've got nothing left when a Bastion shows up. Don't do that. If it's a Tick, get under it, look up, swing the Raider Tool, done. Quiet, quick, no mess. Pops are the same story: hit, step back, let it pop where it can't ruin your day. Indoors is safer from the cold, sure, but it's also where ceilings get crowded, so slow down for half a second and actually check corners. When it goes sideways, fire fixes it. Blaze Grenades don't just kill, they reset the room—chain reactions, smoke, panic, the whole deal..

Leapers and flyers in bad visibility

Leapers are the jump-scare tax of this update. The trick is to stop treating them like a fair fight. Set them on fire and they glitch into fear—no clean pounces, no pressure—just a window where you can put damage into the soft spots and end it. Flyers are worse now because you'll hear them before you see them, and by the time you look up you're already eating shots. Don't waste rounds on the armored front. Wait for a hover or a bank, then tag the rear thrusters. A couple solid hits and they drop like a bad idea. And if a Snitch shows up, it's priority one. Shoot the bottom plating or those wiper-blade bits right away, because a finished scan turns your "quick grab" into a long fight you can't afford in a blizzard.

Heavy targets and not getting stuck outside

Bastions and Queens don't care how confident you feel. You've got to strip armor first, and you've got to do it together. For Bastions, I like knees and those back cylinders—anything that makes it stumble or opens real damage. For Queens, it's the stagger loop: break leg joints, knock her down, then dump everything into the core before she stands back up and resets the problem. Explosives help, and not just for damage—stagger buys time, and time is warmth and survival. If you're gearing up the slow way, fine, but if you're trying to keep pace with the patch economy, knowing where to find BluePrint in ARC Raiders can be the difference between limping out and walking out with your bag full.