Weapons worth knowing
IN-GAME DESCRIPTIONSA single-action hand cannon with huge per-shot damage and strong armor penetration. Works in both PvP and PvE, it just needs a steady hand (slow handling).
A battle rifle that reloads between every shot, but strips shields and weaker ARCs in one hit. It is cheap to craft.
Kettle is powerful and cheap to craft in PvE once you master the recoil; Stitcher is a low-recoil auto — perfect for new players up close.
Single-tier experimental weapons. Dolabra picks a wide blast or a focused beam; Equalizer is a beam LMG; Jupiter is a bolt-action sniper of top damage. Not upgraded — hunted.
A light-ammo battle rifle that fits in as an early-game alternative to the Renegade. Cheap to craft and easy to wield. Per its in-game description it is a semi-auto with high accuracy and low initial recoil, but gets harder to control under sustained fire. Fire rate can be fast, but button mashing sacrifices accuracy.
A snub-nosed revolver that uses heavy ammo, with a unique hip-fire capability. Effective against both ARC and Raiders. In the 2.0 patch the Bantam takes the role of the uncommon hand cannon, while the Anvil moves from green to blue (Rare) rarity.
Weapon categories
SOURCE: arctracker.ioSix weapon classes, each tied to an ammo type. Names and descriptions are from the game; most families climb through tiers I–IV (see Craft), while Legendary pieces exist in a single tier only.
Assault Rifle
Light/medium ammo · versatile mid-range
- KettleCommonquick and accurate, slow reload
- RattlerCommoncheap full-auto all-rounder
- ArpeggioUncommondecent damage and accuracy
- BettinaEpicslow fire rate, high damage
- TempestEpicfull-auto, well balanced
Battle Rifle
Light/medium/heavy ammo · per-shot punch
- FerroCommonreload between shots, huge punch
- StilettoUncommonlight ammo, early alternative to the Renegade
- RenegadeRarelever-action, strong headshot damage
SMG
Light ammo · close range, fast fire rate
- StitcherCommongood damage, controllable
- CantoRarelarger caliber, full-auto
- BobcatEpicvery fast, but low accuracy
Shotgun
Shotgun ammo · brutal up close
- Il ToroUncommonpump-action, sharp falloff
- VulcanoEpicsemi-auto, good spread
- DolabraLegendaryblast or focused beam
Pistol & Hand Cannon
Light/heavy ammo · sidearm and punch
- HairpinCommonbuilt-in silencer, stealth
- BurlettaUncommonsemi-auto, decent damage
- VenatorRarefires two shots at a time
- BantamUncommonheavy-ammo snub revolver, hip-fire
- AnvilRarehuge damage, slow handling
Sniper & LMG
Energy/heavy ammo · range and suppression
- OspreyRarescoped bolt-action sniper
- JupiterLegendaryexceptional damage, slow
- TorrenteRarelarge mag, accurate only crouched
- EqualizerLegendarybeam rifle, high capacity
Weapon Amplification
NEW IN 2.0Frozen Trail 2.0 adds a fifth quality level for a range of guns: Amplification. It unlocks a branching path of abilities and enhancements that can completely change how a weapon behaves. Embark's own examples are a fully-automatic Burletta, a Renegade with a scope and a Rattler with incendiary bullets and a 64-round magazine. The full rundown of 2.0 is on the Frozen Trail page.
The Research Station in your Outpost must be fully upgraded. According to the game data, the base amplified weapon also needs a level 4 Gunsmith and an Amplification Module, and some branches need specific technologies researched at the Research Station.
Amplified weapons are repaired with Amplified Fragments. The Anvil Splitter is no longer a mod but an upgrade option for the Amplified Anvil; it no longer drops, and existing copies can be sold or recycled into Amplified Fragments. The Anvil lost its Tech Mod slot.
Each of the 15 weapons has its own tree. The game data lists 89 amplified variants in total, from 3 to 12 per weapon. Costs and paths are in the data; the final ability values have not been published by Embark.
Weapons with Amplification (15), in alphabetical order:
The list comes from the game data (arctracker.io) and is not a power ranking.
Recommended loadout
BEGINNER vs VETERANRule for everyone: don't bring in what you can't afford to lose. When you die, everything on you drops. So a cheap, clean loadout wins raids — and you save the expensive stuff for when you're sure of the extract.
Cheap & safe
Goal: survive, extract, don't cry over what you lost.
Meta & aggression
Goal: win PvP fights and crack big ARCs.
Shields, augments and gadgets
SOURCE: arctracker.ioShields
A stronger shield blocks more damage, but heavier shields require an augment that supports them. Start light, work up.
Augments
Looting = more loot (but light shield only). Combat = supports stronger shields. Tactical = more Quick Use slots. Free Loadout for rookie raids.
Quick Use / gadgets
Bandages and a shield recharger are mandatory. Smoke grenade to escape, barricade for cover, defibrillator to pick up your team.
New gadgets in 2.0
FROZEN TRAILA simple gadget that attaches to most surfaces. Climb hard-to-reach spots, abseil off buildings and swing over large gaps.
A two-shot launcher that ties a line to whatever it hits, connecting both points. Root targets in place or attach a Raider to an ARC and watch them get dragged away. Known issue at 2.0 launch: the Tether Launcher cannot currently be repaired.
Works on the same principle, but when it explodes it pulls a nearby target with violent force. Good for smashing flying ARC to the ground or pulling Raiders out of cover.
To set it apart from the Grappling Hook, the Snap Hook got a nerf: range 20 m to 18 m, durability use 2% to 4% per use, power cost 50 to 60. It still allows several uses in a short window at full power, but no longer immediate back-to-back uses.
How to choose by situation
Ferro, Osprey, Jupiter — punish from distance before they close in. A battle rifle strips a shield in one hit.
Vulcano, Dolabra, Stitcher, Bobcat — a shotgun or fast SMG dominates cramped spaces.
Anvil, Ferro, Kettle — high per-shot damage and armor penetration target weak points.
Hairpin — a built-in silencer for when you don't want to wake half the map.