The Frigate Inductor is a Legendary material tied to the ARC Frigate, the flying ARC warship introduced with the Frozen Trail update. It feeds Research Station upgrades, and the thing worth knowing is that you can walk away with one without finishing the long Frigate sabotage run. It sits inside breach hatches on the ship’s hull, ready to loot directly.
Quick answer: Breach and search the circular wall hatches along the ARC Frigate’s exterior to loot a Frigate Inductor, then move it into your Safe Pocket. Boarding and solving the Frigate is not required.
What the Frigate Inductor does
The Frigate Inductor is a Topside Material of Legendary rarity. Its single purpose is progression: it goes toward upgrading your Research Station. Because it is a research material rather than a weapon part or shield, the value is in what it unlocks on your bench, which is why most players carry it out whole instead of breaking it down.
| Attribute | Value |
|---|---|
| Category | Topside Material |
| Rarity | Legendary |
| Loot category | ARC |
| Weight | 0.5 |
| Use | Upgrades the Research Station |
Where the Frigate Inductor drops
Frigate Inductors are found in the round access hatches built into its outer walkway, suspended over the snowy valley. Approach one on the slim exterior ledge to trigger a Breach & Search prompt. Breach it to view the container contents; the Frigate Inductor is there with the other loot.
The interaction is the same whether the hatch is set into a wall on the outer ledge or embedded in the floor of an interior corridor. You stand beside it, trigger the breach, and the container pops open.
Hatch contents can include items besides Inductors. Possible drops are an Amplification Module Mk. I, a Topside Material used to unlock common weapon Amplification, and the Arc Data Module, an Epic research item found on multiple ARC machines. Basic recyclables such as Arc Synthetic Resin and Arc Thermo Lining may also turn up.
You can obtain an Inductor without entering the Frigate, destroying its power cores, or lowering the cargo. Breach and loot the hatches from outside instead to skip the much longer sabotage sequence.
Keep it in the Safe Pocket
After picking up the Inductor, place it in your Safe Pocket. Items placed there remain yours even if the raid leaves you downed or dead, which matters when you only need to retrieve this material from the Frigate once. You can verify the transfer when the loot window disappears and the Inductor is listed in your Safe Pocket instead of your backpack. It will make it through extraction regardless of how the remainder of the run unfolds.
What changes when the ARC Frigate is active
The ARC Frigate appears as a rotating map condition, not a permanent point of interest. It may spawn on multiple maps, including places beyond Pendola Pass, and brings a huge airborne ARC that shoots at anything beneath it. Its presence changes several aspects of play while active.
- No active locked doors
- Reduced overall loot value across the map
- No active Raider Hatches
- No free loadout, so you bring your own gear
The shortcut still leaves you vulnerable. You are out in the open on the exterior ledge, and navigating the ship’s curved pipes and engine housings makes movement tricky; meanwhile, the airborne ARC maintains pressure for as long as you remain outside. Other raiders use these platforms too. Calm standoffs can happen, and you can use the emote wheel to greet another squad and show you mean no harm.
Gear that suits a Frigate run
With free loadouts turned off, you must bring in everything you plan to use. ARC penetration is central to the event, making anti-ARC payloads and a durable shield worthwhile choices. Buy supplies from traders before deploying instead of counting on shipboard ammo.
| Item | Rarity | Key detail | Trader price |
|---|---|---|---|
 Launcher Ammo | Rare | Anti-ARC payload, most often deployed alongside the Hullcracker | 4,500 Coins (Tian Wen) |
 Medium Shield | Rare | 42.5% damage reduction, Charge 70, 5% slower movement | 6,000 Coins (Lance) |
 Photoelectric Cloak | Epic | Conceals you from ARC | — |
On an exposed open ledge, the Medium Shield’s ability to soak a meaningful share of hits justifies its moderate mobility penalty. Use the Photoelectric Cloak for the slow ascent to the hull, where the Frigate’s underside gun can target you. Hullcracker’s counter-ARC payload uses Launcher Ammo, so bring enough for the trip.
Pendola Pass locations reference
Pendola Pass, a frozen summit map rated difficulty 3 of 5, becomes available after you finish 25 rounds. It is especially tied to the Frigate event. During a Frigate window there, learn these named locations and their loot focus before plotting a path among the hatches.
| Location | Loot category | Threat |
|---|---|---|
| Cielo Sereno Observatory | Exodus, Technological | 1 |
| Commissary Supermarket | Commercial, Medical | 1 |
| Almatera Station | Commercial | 1 |
| Old Town | Old World, Residential | 1 |
| Railroad Junction | Electrical, Mechanical | — |
| Deep-Space Telescope | Exodus | — |
| Loading Platforms | Exodus, Industrial | — |
| Old Hamlet | Old World | — |
| Fallen Emperor | ARC | — |
| Frozen River | Nature | — |
Other named spots in the summit basin are Almatera Village, the Controlled Receiving Facility, the Dispatch Tower, the Electrical Substation, the Freight Terminal, the Northern Tracks, Piazza della Rupe and Porta Benvenuti. Flash Freeze is harsher than Cold Snap and forces you to find shelter from the cold; factor that in when plotting a route around the Frigate’s exterior hatches.
