If you have been throwing yourself into ARC Raiders during the Cold Snap event, you have probably already noticed how the whole thing quietly pushes you toward the Flickering Flames Reward Track while you chase better ARC Raiders Items and upgrades along the way. Everything revolves around Merit, but it is not as mysterious as it sounds. Almost every action gives XP, and that XP just trickles into Merit at roughly one point per 100 XP. The nice part is you do not get funnelled into one "correct" way to play. You can fight, loot, sneak around or just focus on surviving. As long as you stay active and keep extracting, the bar keeps moving.

Stacking Merit Without Burning Out

Once you start paying attention to the numbers, you realise that taking down ARC machines is the safest way to build steady Merit. Those bots are everywhere, and clearing a machine-heavy area gives you predictable XP without the chaos of chasing other players. PvP still matters, sure, but it is a gamble. If you lose the fight and fail the extraction, that big chunk of bonus XP just disappears. That is why a lot of players dial things back a bit. They clear a few machines, loot as they go, then get out clean instead of taking every fight they see. Even tiny actions help. Opening containers, grabbing scrap, picking up stuff you might drop later, it all feeds into the same meter.

What The Reward Track Actually Gives You

The Flickering Flames track is split into 25 stages, and it feels more like a long road trip than a quick sprint. Early on, around 600 Merit, you pick up the Hi-Tech Hiker Outfit, which fits the winter vibe and does not look like a throwaway unlock. As you move into the mid levels, roughly between 1,200 and 2,400 Merit, Candleberries start to show up as rewards. They may look like filler at first, but they are key for seasonal projects, so skipping them is a mistake. Hit 3,000 Merit and you unlock the Check Compass emote, which is one of those small things you end up using way more than you expect when you are messing around with friends. Later, the track gets much more flashy, with the Yellow Camo colour at 10,800 Merit and the Space Wrench skin at 15,000 acting as proof that you stuck it out.

Making Candleberries Less Of A Chore

Candleberries are where a lot of people start to feel the grind. They only appear in natural spots like bushes while the Cold Snap weather is active, so you cannot just sprint through a zone and expect to leave with pockets full of them. The reward track hands you a few, but if you want to finish certain seasonal goals, you pretty much have to go hunting. The trick is to fold this into your normal runs instead of treating it like a separate job. Plan routes that cut through wooded or overgrown areas, clear a few ARC machines on the way, loot every container you pass and keep an eye on the sky for incoming trouble. You are not wasting time if you are picking up XP from several sources at once.

Playing Smart Instead Of Just Playing Loud

If you want to squeeze the most Merit out of each session, think in terms of complete runs, not single fights or clips for social media. A balanced approach usually wins: kill some machines, grab every resource and chest you see, avoid the dumbest PvP pushes and focus on extracting in one piece. High-risk brawls look exciting, but dying just before extraction can wipe out the best part of the XP you were about to bank. Over a week or two, the players who move carefully, plan their routes and treat each match like a small expedition tend to end up further along the track, with more cosmetics and rarer loot, than the ones who chase every gunshot while dreaming about more ARC Raiders Items buy.