Arc Raiders Frozen Trail Skill Tree: Every Pick Explained

The Arc Raiders Frozen Trail skill tree forces choices, so you can no longer unlock everything and every wrong pick costs coins to undo.

The update shipped October 8, 2026 and replaced the old large nodes with one binary pick at 10 points and a choose-two-of-three at 30 and 40 in each branch.

This guide covers every pick, what was added, moved and removed, and how to split your 76 points.

Table of Contents

• How the Frozen Trail Skill Tree Works
• What Changed in the Frozen Trail Skill Tree
• Gate Choices at 10 Points
• Capstone Choices at 30 and 40 Points
• Skills That Moved, Arrived or Left
• Builds for 76 Points
• Skill Points, Respec and Expedition Points
• Known Issues and What May Still Change
• Key Takeaways
• FAQ

How the Frozen Trail Skill Tree Works

The tree still has three branches: Conditioning, Mobility and Survival. Each branch now has three choice points instead of the old large nodes:

• 10 points in the branch: pick one of two skills.
• 30 points in the branch: pick one of three capstone skills.
• 40 points in the branch: pick a second capstone from the same three. It cannot be the same skill twice.

Where the structure comes from:

• Embark’s Frozen Trail 2.0 patch notes describe the middle of each branch as a binary choice. They describe the end as two nodes where you choose up to two of three skills.
• The 10, 30 and 40 point thresholds come from Dot Esports’ hands-on preview.

You earn 76 skill points from levels 0 to 75, plus Expedition bonus points. No raider can take everything.

Our Frozen Trail update overview covers the rest of what shipped.

What Changed in the Frozen Trail Skill Tree

Embark’s stated goal was to replace under-performing skills and make choice a core part of the tree.

Executive producer Aleksander Grøndal told PC Gamer that the old tree gave no real use to having several selections.

Four structural changes matter most:

• Active skills at the gates. The choice nodes hold skills that change how you play, such as wall running or a melee bash, instead of another passive percentage.
• Security Breach moved. It is no longer a Survival skill. Dot Esports confirms it now sits at the end of the Conditioning tree.
• A bigger reshuffle. Two skill-tree guides count 16 new, 13 removed and 11 moved skills. The full lists are below.
• Lower gates. The old tree gated its upper skills at 15 and 36 points, according to the ARC Raiders Wiki. Most pre-Frozen Trail build guides still use those numbers, so do not copy them.

The practical result: the old route of dumping points into Survival to reach Security Breach no longer works.

Gate Choices at 10 Points

Every branch has one binary pick at 10 points.

You can only hold one, and you can remake the choice only by resetting the tree, per Embark’s patch notes.

What each skill does, based on the early-access creator’s walkthrough:

• Mule’s Gallop lets you sprint while over-encumbered.
• Back On Your Feet regenerates health up to a limit when you are critically hurt. Embark’s patch notes raise its healing from 30 to 40.
• Vault Spring lets you jump at the end of a vault.
• Vaults On Vaults On Vaults removes the stamina cost of vaulting.
• Quick Roll is a faster dodge roll with a lower stamina cost, but it covers a shorter distance.
• Minesweeper lets you defuse mines and explosive deployables from close range. It used to be the end skill of the Survival tree.

Analysis:

• Conditioning: take Mule’s Gallop if you carry heavy loadouts and lose stamina to weight. Take Back On Your Feet if you expect to fight, since the buff to 40 makes it the stronger recovery option.
• Mobility: Vaults On Vaults On Vaults suits long chases, while Vault Spring is a positioning tool.
• Survival: Quick Roll favors PvP and Minesweeper favors players who loot trap-heavy areas.

Capstone Choices at 30 and 40 Points

Each branch ends with a three-skill pool.

You fill two slots from it, one at 30 points and one at 40.

Conditioning: Security Breach, Weapon Bash, Bull Rush

• Security Breach lets you breach Security Lockers. It keeps its old function in a new home.
• Weapon Bash is a melee attack using your equipped weapon.
  • The creator used it to break ice and enter a building.
  • Damage was not measured.
• Bull Rush works with your weapon stowed: sprint into players or ARC to knock them back.
  • Dot Esports lists it among the new skills.
  • The creator’s clip showed it shoving a player.
  • Damage was untested.

Mobility: Sprinting on Fumes, Wall Run, In The Flow

• Sprinting on Fumes stops stamina from fully draining while you sprint.
  • Any action or damage cancels it.
  • Recovery time scales with how long you ran.
  • The creator ran far past normal limits, then stayed winded much longer after stopping.
• Wall Run lets you sprint at a wall and run up it for a few steps.
  • In the creator’s tests it needed a run-up and a jump, and you fell if stamina ran out.
• In The Flow raises speed and lowers stamina cost as you chain mobility moves while sprinting.
  • The early footage did not demo it.

Survival: Road Warrior, Nomadic Crafting, Field Repair

• Road Warrior increases the ammo and ARC Power Cells you loot from ARC and lets you recycle at full efficiency during a round.
  • In one test a turret dropped two Power Cells and 23 ammo.
  • Two other ARC dropped only one cell each, so the bonus does not apply to every kill.
• Nomadic Crafting widens what you can field craft.
  • The creator saw extra options including ammo, a zipline and the new grappling hook.
  • Pair it with our crafting guide to see what the base recipes cost.
• Field Repair repairs weapons, shields and gadgets up to 30% durability mid-round, using crafting materials.
  • See our weapon durability guide for how wear works.

The ARC drop and ammo numbers come from one creator’s short test, so treat them as an illustration, not a drop table.

Our ARC enemies guide covers what each machine carries.

Skills That Moved, Arrived or Left

The moved and new lists follow the creator’s full walkthrough, cross-checked against skill-tree guides where the names overlap.

Moved to Conditioning:

• Three Deep Breaths, Vigorous Vaulter, Broad Shoulders, Crawl Before You Walk and Stubborn Mule
• Security Breach, now a capstone

Moved to Mobility:

• Fight or Flight

Moved to Survival:

• Sturdy Ankles, Gentle Pressure, Turtle Crawl and A Little Extra

New skills:

• Vault ‘n’ Carry: vault while holding a carryable
• Speedy Mule: less speed penalty when severely over-encumbered
• Sure-Footed Scrambler: more time to scramble up steep slopes while sprinting
• Right Back At It: faster recovery after a heavy landing
• Stylish Landing: use the Recovery Roll from higher up
• Swift Start: longer boosted speed at the start of a sprint
• The other 10 new skills are the gate and capstone picks above: Mule’s Gallop, Quick Roll, Weapon Bash, Bull Rush, Sprinting on Fumes, Wall Run, In The Flow, Road Warrior, Nomadic Crafting and Field Repair.

Removed (13):

• Conditioning: Blast-Born, Survivor’s Stamina, Unburdened Roll, Effortless Swing, Sky-Clearing Swing, Flyswatter
• Mobility: Carry the Momentum, Calming Stroll, Heroic Leap
• Survival: Suffer in Silence, Revitalizing Squat, Good as New, One Raider’s Scraps

Embark’s patch notes do not list the removed skills. Two skill-tree guides give the same 13, and the creator’s walkthrough confirms Blast-Born is gone.

Two position changes affect early planning:

• Youthful Lungs is now the first Mobility node.
• Marathon Runner sits past the first gate, so reaching it takes at least 10 Mobility points, according to the creator.

Embark also added a Scrambling mechanic in the patch: sprinting at a steep slope lets you scramble up it briefly.

Embark rebalanced three older skills in the same patch:

• Fight or Flight gives about 25% more stamina per level.
• Stubborn Mule restores about 33% more stamina regeneration.
• Back On Your Feet heals 40 instead of 30.

Builds for 76 Points

The thresholds create hard arithmetic:

• A branch with both capstones costs 40 points.
• A branch with one capstone costs 30 points.
• With 76 points you can fill 40 in one branch and 30 in another, which leaves 6 points spare.

These builds are starting points based on the skill descriptions, not a tested meta. Weapon Bash and Bull Rush damage has not been measured.

The looter build shows the biggest change. Security Breach now needs 30 Conditioning points, so a pure Survival route no longer reaches it.

Other guides split the same 76 points differently. Each of these adds up and respects the gates, but we have not tested them:

The pattern: none of them fills all three branches.

Treat every build here as a starting point and pick capstones for your habits, not a meta.

Pair your split with a best loadout so your weapon weight matches your encumbrance skills.

Skill Points, Respec and Expedition Points

Level 75 gives 76 points.

Our leveling guide covers the fastest way to reach the cap.

Expedition bonus points:

• The wiki says each completed Expedition adds up to five more points.
• Some guides cite 15 bonus points in total.
• A recap of Embark’s developer Q&A says bonus points carry over but cannot max out multiple branches.
• The exact cap is unconfirmed, so check your in-game total.

Respec:

• Reportedly free at launch. Arc Raiders Hub’s recap of Embark’s September 25 developer Q&A says all points are refunded at Frozen Trail launch so you can respec into the new tree. Embark’s patch notes do not mention it, so confirm on the reset prompt.
• After that, the wiki lists 2,000 Coins per spent point, so a full 76-point tree costs 152,000 Coins.
• The wiki lists no option to reset a single branch or skill.
• Resetting is the only way to change a gate or capstone pick.

The wiki page was last edited on October 4, so check the price before you confirm.

New players can skip the planning stress. Our beginner guide shows what to prioritize in your first levels.

Known Issues and What May Still Change

Embark says the rework is a big reimagining and expects more tweaks to existing and new skills as it watches how players use the tree.

Several details above come from a creator who played before launch, so numbers can shift. The free respec and the Expedition cap rest on secondary reports.

One live bug is listed in the patch notes: Field Repair may be unavailable after you unlock it, and restarting the game fixes it.

If you build around it, expect that restart.

Key Takeaways

• Each branch has a 10-point pick of one of two, then two capstones from three at 30 and 40 points.
• Security Breach moved to Conditioning.
• With 76 points you can fill 40 in one branch and 30 in another.
• Gate and capstone swaps require a full reset.
• Back On Your Feet, Fight or Flight and Stubborn Mule received buffs.
• Weapon Bash and Bull Rush damage is unmeasured.
• A free respec at launch is reported but not in the patch notes.
• Field Repair has a known bug fixed by restarting.

FAQ

How many skill points do you get in Arc Raiders?

You get 76 skill points from levels 0 to 75.

Each completed Expedition adds up to five more, according to the wiki.

Some guides cite 15 Expedition points in total, so treat the cap as unconfirmed.

How do the Frozen Trail skill tree gates work?

Each branch has a gate at 10 points where you pick one of two skills.

At 30 and 40 points you pick one capstone each from a pool of three.

You cannot pick the same capstone twice.

Where is Security Breach now?

Security Breach moved to the end of the Conditioning tree.

It shares a capstone pool with Weapon Bash and Bull Rush.

You need 30 Conditioning points to take it.

Can you change your gate choices?

Yes, but only by resetting the skill tree.

Embark’s patch notes say you can make the choice again after a reset.

The wiki says resets apply to the whole tree.

Is there a free respec for Frozen Trail?

Reportedly, yes.

A recap of Embark’s September 25 developer Q&A says all points are refunded at launch.

Embark’s patch notes do not mention it, so confirm on the reset prompt before spending.

How much does a skill reset cost?

The wiki lists 2,000 Coins per spent skill point, or 152,000 Coins for a full 76-point tree.

The Frozen Trail patch notes do not restate the price.

Check the reset prompt for the current cost before confirming.

What does Sprinting on Fumes do?

It keeps your stamina from fully draining while you sprint.

Any action or damage cancels it.

The longer you use it, the longer stamina takes to recover afterward.

Is Field Repair worth taking?

It repairs weapons, shields and gadgets up to 30% durability during a round, using crafting materials.

That helps long raids and Trials where you cannot return to base.

Embark lists a bug where it may be unavailable after unlocking, fixed by restarting.

Which Conditioning gate is better, Mule’s Gallop or Back On Your Feet?

It depends on your loadout.

Mule’s Gallop helps heavy carriers who get over-encumbered.

Back On Your Feet suits fighters since its healing rose from 30 to 40.

Neither has been tested head to head.

Which skills did Frozen Trail remove?

Two skill-tree guides list 13 removed skills, including Blast-Born, Survivor’s Stamina, Flyswatter and Heroic Leap.

The full list by branch is in the removed skills section.

Embark’s notes do not list them, so check in game.