Frozen doors are a barrier unique to Pendola Pass, the snowy map added to ARC Raiders with the Frozen Trail update on October 8, 2026. When a Flash Freeze rolls across the region, doors on small buildings ice over and the usual breach prompt disappears. Behind that frost sit extra rooms with loot and, just as importantly, shelter from a storm that can down you faster than most ARC machines.
Quick answer: Aim a fire tool at the iced door to melt it in seconds, or hit the ice with your Raider Tool until it shatters. Then press the [E] OPEN prompt on the wall switch to enter.
Melt the ice with a fire tool
Fire clears a frozen door almost instantly. Point the Flame Spray, a Fireball Burner, or a Blazing Grenade at the frost, and the ice melts away, opening the door without any breach charge. The Flame Spray is the easiest to carry into a run on purpose. It weighs 1 kg, sits in your Quick Use slot, and doubles as a short-range weapon if something follows you to the door.
You do not have to craft one before every raid. The Flame Spray drops from Raider loot across the maps, Pendola Pass included, so grabbing one on your way in is usually enough.
Most of the doors that freeze shut belong to smaller structures like Train Station Towers and storage rooms. These are exactly the spots you want open when a Flash Freeze hits and there is no Snow Shelter nearby, and several of them hide a Weapon Case inside.
Explosives also blow the ice apart. A charge planted on the door and detonated shatters the frost in one go, which is handy when you are carrying one anyway.
Break the ice with the Raider Tool
When fire isn’t available, rely on the Raider Tool you keep with you. Equip it and hit the ice; repeated strikes chip away the frozen layer until it breaks, letting you use the door again. No preparation is needed, so it’s a handy backup for an unexpected blocked door.
The trade-off is noise and time. Every swing drains your stamina fast, and the sound draws both ARC units and other Raiders to your position. If you have the Weapon Bash ability from the Conditioning skill tree, it increases the damage per strike and brings the ice down noticeably quicker.
Some players will deliberately walk into your swings while you are chipping at a door. Taking that hit triggers the Self-Defense rule, which lets them hunt you without taking a hit to their matchmaking score. Scan your surroundings before you start smashing.
Let a departing gondola thaw it for you
The heat from an ascending gondola melts the ice on nearby frozen doors. If you are near a Gondola landing when one departs, wait a moment and you may find the locked buildings around it already cleared of frost, with no tool or fire spent. Watch the gondola timing as you move through a location and you can save your equipment for doors nowhere near an extraction point.
Which method to pick
| Method | Speed | Best when |
|---|---|---|
| Fire tool (Flame Spray, Fireball Burner, Blazing Grenade) | Near-instant | You packed a fire source for the run |
 Raider Tool (smash) | Slow, drains stamina | You have no fire and need in now |
| Departing gondola | Free, no effort | The door sits beside a Gondola landing |
If you know you are heading to Pendola Pass, bring a Flame Spray. It is light, costs almost nothing to carry, and removes the slow Raider Tool grind at the worst possible moment, which is when a Flash Freeze front is closing on you. Keep the Raider Tool smash as your safety net for the door you did not plan around.
How to confirm the door is open
Once the frost melts or the ice shatters, the door behaves like any normal one. A wall switch nearby shows the [E] OPEN prompt. Press it and the doors slide apart, giving you access to the room behind them. Clearing the ice does not clear what is inside, so peek and check angles before you commit, the same as you would with any interior room.
