Твитнуть
The Rust Belt's gone properly icy in the latest Arc Raiders update, and the whole place feels slower, sharper, and a bit meaner—like every noise you make matters. If you're dipping in for the Flickering Flames event, it helps to know what you're actually chasing, and I've been using ARC Raiders BluePrint as a quick reference while planning what to keep and what to ditch mid-run. The event runs from mid-December through January 13, 2026, and it's built around Merit, an event XP track that climbs as you earn normal raid XP.
How Merit Actually Adds Up
Merit isn't complicated, but it is stingy. You get 10 Merit per 1,000 standard XP, so it's not the kind of thing you finish by "one good raid" and a smile. Looting, surviving, fighting ARCs—whatever feeds your raid XP will nudge Merit along. The trick is pacing. If you're the type who overcommits to every fight, you'll feel the grind. If you play clean and bank steady XP, you'll see progress without even thinking about it.
The 25-Tier Track Worth Sticking With
The reward path is 25 tiers, and you pop a new unlock every 600 Merit, so there's always something close enough to chase. Most players are aiming at the Hi-Tech Hiker outfit, but it's spread across the track in pieces, not handed to you in one neat bundle. You'll pick up the base look first, then get add-ons and variants like the Scanner and Field Phone, plus camo colour options in a tidy order: blue, orange, yellow, and white. If you push all the way to 15,000 Merit, you land the Space Wrench, which is basically the "yeah, I did the whole thing" badge.
Candleberry Banquet: The Fast Lane
If you don't want to rely on raid XP alone, the Candleberry Banquet Project is the real accelerator. It's a five-stage community donation chain, and every completed stage pays out 2,000 Merit plus 50 Raider Tokens, which is huge for momentum. Stage 1 asks for simple scrap like an Empty Wine Bottle and Plastic Parts, so you can knock it out early without changing your route much. Then the list gets oddly picky. By stage 4 you're hunting Coffee Pots and Fireball Burners, and stage 5 wants Mushrooms, Frying Pans, and Music Albums—stuff you'd swear nobody would bother saving, until the project tells you to.
Why Finishing Stage Five Matters
Stage five is the one I'd circle on the calendar, because it's not just about the Merit spike. You also get a Snowglobe backpack charm, a Bettina III, and weapon mods like an Extended Barrel and a Kinetic Converter, which can change how a build feels right away. The catch is Candleberries: you'll burn through stacks, roughly 20 to 70 per stage, so don't casually spend them and then panic later. If you're planning your runs with the end date in mind and you want to tighten your route and shopping list, it's worth lining things up early and, if needed, buy ARC Raiders BluePrint so you're not scrambling when the clock's running out.
How Merit Actually Adds Up
Merit isn't complicated, but it is stingy. You get 10 Merit per 1,000 standard XP, so it's not the kind of thing you finish by "one good raid" and a smile. Looting, surviving, fighting ARCs—whatever feeds your raid XP will nudge Merit along. The trick is pacing. If you're the type who overcommits to every fight, you'll feel the grind. If you play clean and bank steady XP, you'll see progress without even thinking about it.
The 25-Tier Track Worth Sticking With
The reward path is 25 tiers, and you pop a new unlock every 600 Merit, so there's always something close enough to chase. Most players are aiming at the Hi-Tech Hiker outfit, but it's spread across the track in pieces, not handed to you in one neat bundle. You'll pick up the base look first, then get add-ons and variants like the Scanner and Field Phone, plus camo colour options in a tidy order: blue, orange, yellow, and white. If you push all the way to 15,000 Merit, you land the Space Wrench, which is basically the "yeah, I did the whole thing" badge.
Candleberry Banquet: The Fast Lane
If you don't want to rely on raid XP alone, the Candleberry Banquet Project is the real accelerator. It's a five-stage community donation chain, and every completed stage pays out 2,000 Merit plus 50 Raider Tokens, which is huge for momentum. Stage 1 asks for simple scrap like an Empty Wine Bottle and Plastic Parts, so you can knock it out early without changing your route much. Then the list gets oddly picky. By stage 4 you're hunting Coffee Pots and Fireball Burners, and stage 5 wants Mushrooms, Frying Pans, and Music Albums—stuff you'd swear nobody would bother saving, until the project tells you to.
Why Finishing Stage Five Matters
Stage five is the one I'd circle on the calendar, because it's not just about the Merit spike. You also get a Snowglobe backpack charm, a Bettina III, and weapon mods like an Extended Barrel and a Kinetic Converter, which can change how a build feels right away. The catch is Candleberries: you'll burn through stacks, roughly 20 to 70 per stage, so don't casually spend them and then panic later. If you're planning your runs with the end date in mind and you want to tighten your route and shopping list, it's worth lining things up early and, if needed, buy ARC Raiders BluePrint so you're not scrambling when the clock's running out.