The Frozen Trail 2.0 update gave every Raider something the underground life in Speranza never offered: a home above the surface. The Outpost is the new personal base that replaces the old Raider Den backdrop, and it comes with its own three-stage Project, four room types, a brand-new Research Station, and a furniture system with 100 collectible Designs. This guide walks through where the Outpost sits, how to earn it, how to build and level it, how to use it as extra storage, and what the current rules are for visiting other players. If you are standing in the lobby wondering why there is a new tab at the top of your screen, start here.
ARC Raiders Outpost Guide (2.0 Frozen Trail Update)
Embark describes the Outpost as "the evolution of your Raider Den." Instead of a hidden bunker that fills itself with trinkets based on stash value, you now have a surface structure you build room by room, decorate by hand, and tie directly into weapon progression. Celeste offers the site to Raiders who push into Pendola Pass, and the whole system sits behind a Project called Sheltered Retreat that requires Raider Level 18.
Three things define what you actually do there: build rooms with materials, decorate with crafted furniture and your own loot, and research blueprints and Amplified Weapons at the Research Station. The sections below take each of those in turn, beginning with the basics of what the Outpost is and how it functions.
What Is the Outpost in ARC Raiders and How Does It Work?
A surface base, not a replacement for the Den
The Outpost does not delete your Raider Den. It extends it. Your Skill Tree, Codex, Trials and customization still live where they always did, but once Sheltered Retreat is finished the entire main lobby changes, the background becomes your Outpost, and a new slot appears in the Workshop for the Research Bench.
Rooms set the ceiling for everything else
Your Outpost level is simply the number of rooms you own. The base room counts as level one. Add a second room and you are level two, and so on up to four. This matters because the Research Station can never be higher than your Outpost level, and the Gunsmith only gains its Level 4 upgrade once all four rooms are in place. Building and research are one connected climb rather than two separate grinds.
Menu-based at launch
One honest caveat: you cannot walk around your Outpost yet. You interact through camera angles and placement slots in the Outpost tab. Embark has stated that walkable Outposts are a future goal, so treat the current version as the foundation of something larger.
What Are the Uses of the Outpost in ARC Raiders?
1. Research Station access
This is the headline reason to bother. The Research Station lets you spend Research Points on Blueprint Crafting (targeting specific blueprints you are missing instead of praying to RNG), Design Crafting for furniture, and Amplified Research, which opens the new fifth weapon quality tier. Branching Amplified perks include things like the drum magazine and incendiary rounds on the Rattler, new scopes, and run-and-shoot options.
2. Gunsmith Level 4
Workshop benches such as the Gear Bench and Refiner still cap at three. The Gunsmith is the exception: with four Outpost rooms it can reach Level 4, the step tied to high-end weapon work.
3. Stash relief
Furniture placed in the Outpost can hold real items. Weapon racks take guns out of your stash, shelves and display pieces hold trinkets and collectibles, and all of that frees slots for raiding loot. More on this in the storage section further down.
4. Decoration and collecting
Frozen Trail added 100 Furniture Designs. 73 drop Topside, 22 come from Outpost upgrades, 4 are in the Frozen Trail Pass, and 1 is exclusive to the Collector Set DLC. Players have found Designs in odd places, including a legendary piano Design under a car hood on Dam Battlegrounds, so check everything.
5. Future social hub potential
Embark has talked about letting friends visit. If that lands, a well-stocked Outpost becomes a trophy room you can show off, so starting early costs nothing.
Where to Find the Outpost in ARC Raiders
In the world
Lore-wise, Celeste offers Raiders a new home on the route to Pendola Pass, between the Rust Belt and the mountain region. That is why so many of its upgrade materials only appear on the Pendola Pass map.
In the menu
Practically, you reach the Outpost through the Outpost tab at the very top of your home screen in Speranza (some players see it in the top-left corner depending on layout). Before you qualify, the tab shows the Sheltered Retreat Project. After you finish it, the tab becomes your build and decoration hub, and the Research Bench slot shows up under the Workshop.
How to Get Your Own Outpost in ARC Raiders
You need Raider Level 18 and all three stages of the Sheltered Retreat Project. You can preview every stage from the start, so read the later requirements and bank materials early.
Stage 1: Research Topside Living Conditions
Goal: Photograph a farmland house at Ruined Homestead on Blue Gate.
Getting a Camera:
Buy a Basic or Advanced Camera from Shani, whose trade options changed with Frozen Trail
Craft a Basic Camera at the Workbench with Plastic Parts and Wires (Sledge sells both)
Claim the free Basic Camera at Level 2 of the Frozen Trail Pass free track
Accept the quest Sizing Things Up, which hands you one
Doing it: Load Blue Gate in any mode and head to the south end of the map. Ruined Homestead sits right beside the Olive Grove. Put the Camera in a Quick Use slot (keep it in the Safe Pocket during transit since it serves several missions), pull it out near any house in the marked area, right-click to aim, left-click to shoot. No specific angle or interior is required. Extract, return to Speranza, and claim the stage.
Reward: Advanced Camera Blueprint.
Stage 2: Gather Building Materials
Hand in: 3 Planks, 5 Sheet Metal, 10 ARC Alloy, 3 Advanced Electrical Components. Items already in your stash count.
| Material | Where to get it |
|---|---|
| Planks | Celeste for Assorted Seeds; common gray loot in shelves and boxes; Ruby Residence on Dam Battlegrounds; Stacking Yard and Customs House on Riven Tides |
| Sheet Metal | Celeste for Assorted Seeds; same industrial and residential containers as Planks |
| ARC Alloy | Drops from almost every destroyed ARC |
| Advanced Electrical Components | Loot electrical POIs (Pilgrim's Peak on Blue Gate: server racks, power distribution boxes, oscilloscopes, electrical cabinets, computers) or craft at a Level 2 Refiner with 3 Wires plus 2 Electrical Components. Fried Motherboards scrap into 2 Electrical Components |
Reward: Red Light Stick Blueprint.
Stage 3: Safeguard the Building Site
Goal: Deal 800 damage to flying ARC and 300 damage to Bullies.
Flying ARC: Wasps, Hornets and similar drones on any map. Seeker Grenades, Wolfpacks and the recently buffed Hullcracker handle these quickly.
Bullies: The large four-legged ARC introduced on Pendola Pass. They roam the center and northern tracks area, and you will hear them long before you see them. Fight from a single doorway if possible, bring heavy ammo or explosives, and remember you only need to deal the damage, not finish the kill. Around 30 heavy rounds reached 195 damage in one run, and a few grenades close the gap fast. If you do destroy one, loot the Bully Fragmenters; you will need six later.
Reward: Decorative Chair, 15 Planks, 5 Durable Cloth, and full access to the Outpost after a short cutscene.
Access is only the beginning. Now the building starts.
How to Build Your Outpost
Start with the base room
Your starting room is a multi-story space with 42 furniture slots plus 8 station slots. Shelving units, pianos, chairs, lights and more can all go in. Open the Outpost tab, pick a slot, and choose from furniture you have already crafted.
Install the Research Station first
Before adding any rooms, build Research Station Level 1. It costs 35 Planks, 5 Battered Paperbacks and 3 Mini Pumps. Battered Paperbacks are abundant in the Old Town houses on Dam Battlegrounds. Mini Pumps come from technological and electrical containers on every map; the Observatory on Pendola Pass, the Port Authority control room on Riven Tides, and the Railyard all drop them.
Choose your rooms
Every added room at a given level costs the same regardless of style, so pick on looks. Once a room is placed it cannot be moved or swapped.
| Room | When available | Character |
|---|---|---|
| Chalet Room | Rooms 2 and 3 | Plaster and wood, cozy cabin feel, often called the best looking |
| Timeless Room | Rooms 2 and 3 | Post-apocalyptic, chipped paint, split into small sub-rooms with several camera angles, few windows |
| Panoramic Room | Rooms 2 and 3 | Large open floor, 22 furniture slots, ceiling windows not visible from current angles |
| Studious Room | Room 4 only | Big circular hall with a skylight roof, appears only for the final expansion |
Learn Designs and craft furniture
Furniture Designs work like weapon blueprints. Loot one Topside, bring it home, learn it, gather the recipe materials, and craft the piece from the Outpost interface. Nineteen pieces arrive through the Project itself. Some materials such as Laser Levels and Radial Presses are shared between furniture recipes and room upgrades, so hold off on decorative spending until your rooms are in.
Building a room is also leveling the Outpost, which brings us to the full upgrade path.
How to Upgrade and Level the Outpost
Outpost room costs
| Level | Requirement |
|---|---|
| 2 (second room) | 3 Steel Cable, 20 Sheet Metal, 3 Cable Strippers |
| 3 (third room) | 3 Epoxy Buckets, 35 Planks, 3 Hand Drills |
| 4 (Studious Room) | 40 Sheet Metal, 3 Laser Levels, 3 Insulation Rolls |
Research Station costs
| Level | Requirement | Needs Outpost level |
|---|---|---|
| I | 35 Planks, 5 Battered Paperbacks, 3 Mini Pumps | 1 |
| II | 3 Calculators, 3 Raider Logbooks, 5 Skulker Targeters | 2 |
| III | 3 Differential Microphones, 3 Exodus Technical Handbooks, 6 Bully Fragmenters | 3 |
| IV | 3 Thermal Shakers, 3 ARC Data Modules, 1 Frigate Inductor | 4 |
Gunsmith Level 4
3 Radial Presses, 3 Magnetic Accelerators, 1 Emperor Modulator. Requires all four rooms.
Where to get each material for Outpost leveling
Sheet Metal and Planks: Buy from Celeste. Rooms plus station total 70 Planks and 60 Sheet Metal, roughly 390 Assorted Seeds if you buy everything.
Steel Cable: Pendola Pass containers everywhere; Celeste sells 5 per day at 20 seeds each. Ziplines and Snap Hooks also eat Steel Cable, so build the room first.
Cable Strippers: Mechanical and industrial containers on any map; Pendola Pass supermarket shelves, Railyard, Observatory breachables.
Calculators: Loose loot throughout the Observatory and on older maps.
Raider Logbooks: Old Town houses on Dam Battlegrounds.
Skulker Targeters: Only the gun half of a destroyed Skulker, never the body. Loot five of those pointed top pieces.
Epoxy Buckets: Pendola Pass only, with no "found in" tooltip. Almatera Station, Observatory desk drawers and bins, Railyard, and Storm Huts. It shows as recyclable, so do not scrap it by accident.
Hand Drills: Industrial containers in the Observatory and Railyard (crates, lockers, tool trolleys) and wire shelves in Storm Huts.
Differential Microphones: Same spots as Epoxy plus the supermarket.
Exodus Technical Handbooks: Medical, office and house containers in the Observatory and older maps. Do not study them for Research Points before the upgrade is done.
Bully Fragmenters: The main chassis and the smaller odd-shaped piece of a destroyed Bully each tend to drop one. Occasionally from an ARC Courier.
Laser Levels: Mechanical and industrial containers; Railyard sheds near the Loading Platforms. Looks similar to a Radial Press, so read the label.
Insulation Rolls: Pendola Pass only, the rarest item on the list. Storm Huts, Almatera Station shop shelves, and ice-covered loot rooms you open with Blaze Grenades or repeated melee.
Thermal Shakers: Pendola Pass, including Almatera Station and Storm Huts.
ARC Data Modules: Drop from many ARC types. Also a research item, so hold them.
Frigate Inductor: Breachable containers aboard the Frigate during its map event. You do not need the full Frigate puzzle; breach whatever you can reach.
Radial Presses: Storm Hut wire shelves, with no vendor or recipe.
Magnetic Accelerators: Craft at a Level 3 Refiner with 2 Advanced Mechanical Components and 2 ARC Motion Cores, or wait on a Matriarch or Queen drop.
Emperor Modulator: Only from the Emperor.
The Storm Hut farm
Load Pendola Pass and watch the map around the 28-minute mark. A blizzard spawns somewhere and Storm Hut icons appear globally with a red alarm. Sprint to one, lock the door from inside, and loot. These huts have far higher spawn rates for Thermal Shakers, Insulation Rolls, Radial Presses, Hand Drills, Steel Cable and Differential Microphones than any fixed POI. Huts refresh every two to three minutes during the storm and generally stop around the 10-minute mark.
Read the loot value before committing
Every Pendola Pass area shows a loot value (low, medium, high) when you hover on the map, and it changes each raid. If the Observatory reads high, that is your raid. The Railyard is the backup. If both read low, do something else and return next time.
Suggested order
Buy all Planks and Sheet Metal from Celeste, finish rooms two and three plus Research Station II before worrying about Laser Levels or Insulation Rolls. Level 4 is where the pace slows, and the Storm Hut routine is how you push through it.
Upgrades expand the space. The next section covers filling that space with your own gear.
How to Store Weapons and Items in the Outpost
Weapon racks
Craft a weapon rack Design, place it in a slot, then hang weapons from your stash on it. Each racked gun leaves your stash inventory, which lets you juggle more loot between raids.
Shelves and display furniture
Shelving units and certain decorative pieces accept trinkets and collectibles. Place them to keep rare finds visible without burning stash slots.
The rack-in-storage trick
A community find worth knowing: a weapon rack with guns already mounted can itself be placed into your storage, taking the weapons with it. This frees even more space. It appears to work as intended at the time of writing, though keep an eye on patch notes in case Embark adjusts it.
A few cautions
Items on display are still your items; sell or scrap them only through the normal menus
Some furniture currently clips through the structure and some slots become unselectable when blocked, both known issues Embark has listed for an upcoming Live Update
Furniture gives no combat or stat bonus, so storage and looks are the practical benefits
How to Visit Other Players' Outposts
At launch, you cannot. There is no player visit feature in Frozen Trail 2.0, and your Outpost is not walkable even for you. Embark has publicly described walkable Outposts and inviting friends over as goals for a future update, and the current slot-based system looks designed with that in mind. For now, screenshots and the lobby camera angles are the only way to show off your build. Treat the decorating you do today as groundwork for a social space that has been promised but not yet delivered.
That covers the main systems. A few recurring questions remain.
More FAQs About the Outpost in ARC Raiders Frozen Trail
Is there an Outpost or Research Station Level 5?
No. Gunsmith Level 4 and Research Station Level 4 both display "max level." The fifth tier people mention is on the weapon itself, achieved through Amplification using an Amplification Module. Those drop from the Frigate (standard) and the Emperor (Mark II and III).
Can I swap a room after placing it?
No. Choose carefully; the only differences between Chalet, Timeless and Panoramic are visual and slot count.
Do my regular Workshop benches need the Outpost?
No. Gear Bench, Refiner and the others still cap at Level 3 and ignore the Outpost entirely. Only the Gunsmith gains a fourth level through it.
Does the Expedition wipe reset my Outpost?
Embark has not confirmed either way as of this writing. Watch the official news page before the next Expedition.
Does the quest hand me a Camera?
Not Sheltered Retreat itself. Buy one from Shani, craft one, claim the Frozen Trail Pass reward, or take the Sizing Things Up quest.
Can I use materials already in my stash for the Project?
Yes. Anything you own counts toward Stage 2.
Which Pendola Pass POI is best for upgrade materials?
The Observatory rates heavy on all seven Pendola-exclusive parts (Steel Cable, Epoxy Buckets, Hand Drills, Laser Levels, Insulation Rolls, Differential Microphones, Thermal Shakers). The Railyard carries all seven at a lighter rate. Storm Huts beat both for the rarest items.
Do I need to kill the Bully for Stage 3?
No. Only 300 total damage is required. That said, finishing it drops Bully Fragmenters you will want for Research Station III.
Where do Furniture Designs come from?
73 are Topside loot in any container type, 22 come from Outpost upgrades, 4 from the Frozen Trail Pass, and 1 from the Collector Set DLC.
The Outpost turns a cosmetic backdrop into a progression engine. Earn it through Sheltered Retreat at Level 18, drop the Research Station in first, buy your Planks and Sheet Metal from Celeste, and plan your Pendola Pass runs around loot values and Storm Huts. Use weapon racks to breathe room into your stash, pick the room style you want to look at for a long time, and keep an eye on Embark's updates for the day you can finally walk through the front door with friends in tow. See you topside, Raider.
