ARC Raiders Flickering Flames rewards and how to unlock Merits fast

The Flickering Flames festival turns ARC Raiders’ Rust Belt into a winter grind with a clear goal: play raids, earn XP, convert that into Merits, and clear a 25‑step reward track before the event disappears.

Flickering Flames is part of the Cold Snap update, which also adds a frostbite map condition and the Goalie Raider Deck. While the frozen weather changes how you survive Topside, the event itself is much simpler. If you can stay alive long enough to pull XP out of a raid, you make progress.

Flickering Flames schedule and basics

Flickering Flames runs as a limited‑time winter event. It sits alongside the Candleberry Banquet Project and the Cold Snap map condition, all sharing the same broad winter window from mid‑December into January.

Every player who has played at least a few rounds can participate; there’s no premium track or buy‑in. Progress happens automatically in the background while you play extraction runs.

How Merits work in Flickering Flames

The event is built around Merits, a temporary currency that only exists for this reward track.

• XP converts into Merits at a 100:1 rate. Every 100 XP you bring back to Speranza becomes 1 Merit when the round ends.
• Both successful extractions and failed runs count. You earn XP either way, as long as the game returns you to Speranza with your end‑of‑round summary.
• Candleberry Banquet adds bonus Merits. Turning in Candleberries through the Candleberry Banquet Project grants extra Merits on top of what XP already gives.

Merits are then spent automatically along a fixed reward line. Hit the Merit requirement for a node and that item unlocks; you don’t have to manually claim or choose between rewards.

All Flickering Flames rewards and Merit costs

The merit track is split visually into four pages but functions as one continuous ladder of 25 rewards. You start at 0 and climb up to 15,000 Merits for the final cosmetic.

The track leans heavily on the Hi-Tech Hiker outfit and its variants, punctuated by Raider Tokens, Candleberries that feed into the parallel project, and one new Raider Tool at the end.

How to earn XP and Merits efficiently

Merits flow from XP, so the fastest way to clear the track is to maximise XP per hour rather than obsess over any specific node.

Play full rounds rather than chain dying early. XP in ARC Raiders stacks from exploration, kills, objectives, and extraction. Surviving deeper into a raid, especially during Cold Snap, is more valuable than rushing risky fights that end runs in minutes.

Lean into Cold Snap modifiers. The frostbite condition drains health outdoors and pushes more fights indoors. Shorter sightlines favour close‑quarters weapons and mobility tools that help you reposition between cover and buildings. Staying alive is more important than aggressive long‑range picks if those leave you stranded in the open snow.

Stack Candleberries when you can. Candleberry Bushes Topside feed the Candleberry Banquet Project, which pays out extra Merits. If you can safely divert to bushes or loot with berries inside, you accelerate both projects at once.

Flickering Flames and the Candleberry Banquet Project

Candleberries sit at the centre of Speranza’s winter story. In fiction, the Candleberry Bush provides wax for long‑burning candles, food, drink, and even perfumes. In the event, Candleberries are an extra layer of progression.

Topside, Candleberry Bushes spawn across the Rust Belt. Gathering berries and turning them in underground pushes the Candleberry Banquet Project through five stages. Each stage returns a package of rewards that can include cosmetics, Raider Tokens, items, and Merits that also count toward Flickering Flames.

The result is a simple loop: raid during Cold Snap, grab loot and Candleberries, survive or die back to Speranza, then push both your Merit total and the banquet bar forward.

Cold Snap’s impact on how you play the event

Cold Snap is more than a visual filter. It changes basic movement and survival rules while Flickering Flames runs.

• Frostbite drains health outdoors. Any time you stay exposed, your health bar bleeds down. You either find shelter or commit more resources to healing items.
• Visibility and footing are worse. Snow and frost reduce sightlines, frozen lakes change routes, and some terrain becomes slippery or risky.
• Indoor fights become the norm. Because everyone is chasing warmth, more squads converge on buildings, power sources, and indoor objectives.

For Flickering Flames, that means the most reliable Merit grind comes from squads that adapt loadouts for tighter spaces and bring enough healing to survive the weather effect between shelters.

How Flickering Flames connects to the Goalie Raider Deck

Alongside Flickering Flames, ARC Raiders adds The Goalie Raider Deck, a permanent, free deck themed around hockey‑style armor and a hockey stick Raider Tool. While the deck is separate from the event track, it creates a second long‑term progression path you can work on after the winter festivals end.

The Goalie deck unlocks from December 26 and progresses on Cred earned Topside, not Merits. It lives in the same ecosystem of winter content but doesn’t expire, so there’s no pressure to finish it on the same timeline as Flickering Flames.

Flickering Flames is ultimately a straightforward event: 15,000 Merits, 25 rewards, and a hard deadline. The friction comes from surviving Cold Snap long enough to keep XP and Candleberries flowing. If you’re already running raids for gear or Cred, the event mostly rewards you for playing the game you were going to play anyway, with a winter‑themed outfit set and a Space Wrench waiting at the end of the track.