The Cold Snap map condition, which was originally introduced to ARC Raiders back in December as a limited-time option, is going to return as a permanent addition to the game. In a social media post, Embark Studios has confirmed that Cold Snap will become part of the regular rotation of map conditions from February 10 onwards.
“Clear skies and sunny temperatures are predicted for Topside this weekend, but don’t pack your winter gear away yet folks; the weather towers are predicting sporadic snowfall in the foreseeable future,” wrote the studio. “The Cold Snap returns to our regular rotation of conditions from February 10.”
The map condition was originally unveiled through a trailer in December, revealing what kind of impact it would have on gameplay. Rather than just being a simple reskin of the map, the harsh cold encourages players to stay indoors or focus on their healing at the risk of rapidly losing all of their health. Along with this, visibility also takes a hit, and movement becomes harder thanks to the slippery ice.
Why would you want to set out for a session during this map condition, you ask? The initial version of Cold Snap offered special rewards through a brand new resource. Along with this, it also provided weapons, Raider Tokens, cosmetics, and Merits, among other things. Embark Studios hasn’t confirmed whether Cold Snap’s permanent addition to the rotating list of map conditions will include the same rewards, however.
The studio kicked off the new year for ARC Raiders with a major update that, along with introducing a new matchmaking option for players over level 40, also brought with it a new three-strike ban system to punish cheaters and hackers. The new system involves banning players from the game for 30 days for their first offense. Repeated offenses get more severe punishments, with 60 days for the second one and a permanent ban for the third.
In a recent interview, Embark Studios CEO Patrick Söderlund said that this new system has been working because of how many appeals the developers have been getting from banned players. Talking about the need to be proactive about catching hackers and cheaters, he compared the studio’s treatment of the subject to dealing with a distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attack.
“The game wasn’t prone to so many cheaters in the beginning, but as with all multiplayer games that get successful, this becomes a component, unfortunately. For us as developers, just like a DDoS [Distributed Denial-of-Service] attack, it’s one of these things that you just have to try and be a step ahead,” he said.
As for how many players have been banned through the new system, Söderlund didn’t provide an exact figure. He did, however, note that “The banning process is obviously delicate because we need to make sure that we ban people that deserve to be banned, if that makes any sense. If you take general figures, anywhere between 0.1% to 1% of any multiplayer crowd in a large-scale multiplayer game is cheating, and therefore, to some extent, should get a temporary or a longer, or permanent ban.”
ARC Raiders is available on PC, PS5 and Xbox Series X/S. For more details about some of its map conditions, check out our report on how the frequency of Bird City has been increased.
