Frigate Guide: Board, Sabotage & Cargo Loot

Last updated: 2026-10-30

The ARC Frigate is a massive airborne ARC vessel added with Frozen Trail 2.0 on October 8, 2026. Designated an ARC Operation — a threat level above even a Queen or Matriarch — it is not a boss you shoot down from the ground: you board it via a Reclaimer drone, destroy its Power Cores, and lower the Cargo platform to claim its loot. It is one of only two sources of Amplification Modules, alongside the Fallen Emperor.

• Release: October 8, 2026, with Frozen Trail 2.0
• Condition: ARC Frigate — a scheduled map modifier, not on every map at all times
• Maps in rotation: Dam Battlegrounds, Buried City, Spaceport, The Blue Gate, Riven Tides, and Pendola Pass (Stella Montis is not part of the rotation)
• Restrictions: no Free Loadout, no active Raider Hatches, no active locked doors, reduced overall map loot; matches get an extra 5 minutes (35 minutes total)
• Arrival: the ship generally spawns around 1–2 minutes into the match
• Main enemies: Hydra turrets, Rocketeers, Vaporizers, plus Fireflies, Hornets and Wasps
• Notable loot: Amplification Modules Mk. I–V, Frigate Inductors, research items

How the Condition Works

The Frigate hovers over the area and pummels the ground with dual autocannons — an attack telegraphed by an audio cue and blue lasers. While the event is active, ARC Turbines do not spawn on the map and surface ARC spawns are significantly reduced. PvP remains enabled; the condition was excluded from the October 13–20 PvE matchmaking test.

Check the map selection screen for the ARC Frigate condition, or Embark’s official rotation schedule — times differ between server regions.

Boarding the Frigate

You do not need a hidden entrance or to damage the ship’s exterior. You use one of the circular Reclaimer drones that shuttle between the Frigate and the ground.

1. Enter a raid with the ARC Frigate condition active.
2. Look beneath the ship for circular ARC drones descending toward the surface.
3. Approach one at its lowest point and climb or grapple onto its top — a Snap Hook or Grappling Hook makes this easier.
4. Find the interaction point and select Disrupt.
5. The disrupted drone turns back toward the Frigate, carrying you upward.
6. When it reaches the ship, climb or jump from the drone onto the hull.

Do not destroy the Reclaimer — it is your elevator. Watch for rival Raiders on the same drone and for the Frigate’s underside weapons. Once aboard, follow the wing passages toward the rear docking area and breach the round hatches in walls and floors if you are farming research materials.

The Frigate Layout

The ship consists of 6 sections connected by lifts and exposable platforms along the walls of the center atrium.

The two entrances on the Top Deck only open once all 20 accessible Power Cores have been destroyed.

Completing the Encounter: Power Cores to Cargo

The ship is mirrored left to right, and some cores can be tackled from either side.

• First core. After boarding, skip the lift marked “Move Up” for now, continue along the lower route, and shoot the glowing orange sections of the exposed core on the other side of the structure.
• Central arena. Clear or distract the Hydras around the central mechanism. Three Raiders activate the three nearby reactor controls together to raise and expose the main Power Core. Two smaller cores sit above, one on each side, and can be destroyed from below.
• Climb to the upper deck. Shoot the yellow nodes beside movable platforms to deploy the next footholds. Some platforms need one Raider to hold a control while another advances and secures the route. A Grappling Hook or Snap Hook can shortcut part of the ascent.
• Upper fire rooms. When the warning lights turn red, flames and strong airflow make entry dangerous. Wait for a safe opening, breach the panel concealing the core in each room, and destroy its glowing sections — the fire and wind shut down once the cores are disabled.
• Front section. More Hydras and remaining Power Cores guard the route to the Cargo mechanism. Carry enough ammunition for this stretch instead of spending it all on the early Hydras.
• Easy-to-miss lower core. If the upper cores are cleared but the route toward Cargo stays closed, look for a red-lit hatch leading down to a small chamber beneath the Frigate — another Power Core waits there. Missing it can leave the next part of the encounter locked.

Then lower the Cargo: breach the covers around the platform, and operate the two controls on opposite sides together, repeating the release as the platform descends in stages. Once the Cargo is fully released, board the descending platform rather than jumping from the hull — it is both the main reward area and your route back to ground level. Community walkthroughs report 24 loot spots split across two sides. The Cargo descent is not extraction: you still need to reach a regular exit on the map.

Celeste’s Frigate Quests

Boarding the Frigate — reach the ship and damage three types of ARC defenders. Killing blows are not required: deal 100 damage to a Hydra, 100 to a Vaporizer, and 100 to a Rocketeer. Completing it unlocks the follow-up.

Disrupting the Frigate — destroy 3 Power Cores (the quest counter only), access and loot the Cargo, destroy 3 Hydras, 2 Rocketeers and 2 Vaporizers. Reported supplied items include a Hullcracker I and a Powered Descender. Note that the three counter cores do not mean the full Cargo route is cleared.

Loadout Suggestion

Community-tested setup for a full clear:

• 1 Heavy Ammo weapon (e.g. a Bettina) and 1 Energy or Launcher Ammo weapon (Hullcracker or Jupiter) for ARC penetration and breaking cores
• Looting MK3 Survivor for the extra slots, Medium Shield
• 2 stacks of Herbal Bandages, 1 stack of Vita Shot or Sterilized Bandage, 3 stacks of Shield Recharger (two small, one medium)
• 2 Wolf Packs or 2 stacks of Trigger Nade, 3 Barriers, 2 Defibrillator
• 1 Snap Hook, and fill remaining slots with Heavy and Launcher/Energy ammo

Loot and Rewards

Exact item drop rates, fastest full-clear routes, optional shortcuts and guaranteed loot per run are still being verified as of Patch 2.1.0 (October 13), which adjusted Cargo collision and drop behavior without redesigning the reported Power Core sequence.