The best ARC Raiders skill tree build after Frozen Trail depends on how you play: PvP players are putting most of their points into Mobility, while looters and PvE players are splitting them between Conditioning and Survival to reach the breaching and crafting capstones. Embark rebuilt the tree in the October 8, 2026 update around choices you cannot all take, so your build now matters more than it did at launch.
Below we explain how the reworked tree works, list the choice nodes in each branch, lay out the two builds outlets are recommending, and add our own read of the skills Embark chose to buff.
What Embark Changed
Embark was blunt in the Frozen Trail patch notes: “the Skill Tree was not living up to its role in offering sufficiently interesting ways of building your character.” The revamp looked at under-performing skills, modified or replaced them, and tried to make “choice and expression a more core feature.”
The big structural change replaces the old large nodes in each branch:
- Middle of each branch: one path with a binary choice between two skills. You can only take one.
- End of each branch: two nodes that share three skills, and you can take up to two of the three once you reach the required point investment.
- Changing your mind: Embark says “you will be able to make the choice again when you reset your skill tree.”
Embark also warns that “there will likely be more tweaks and updates in the near future,” so treat any build as current for this update, not forever.
How the New Tree Works
The three branches keep their names: Conditioning (carry weight, shields, breaching and staying alive when downed), Mobility (stamina, sprinting, vaulting and traversal) and Survival (looting, stealth and field crafting).
Community breakdowns of the 2.0 tree report that the middle choice opens at 10 points in a branch and the end nodes at 30 and 40, and that leveling to the cap still earns 76 skill points in total. That is nowhere near enough to finish all three branches, which is the point of the redesign.
The Choice Nodes in Each Branch
Embark has not published the full layout, so these names come from community breakdowns of the live tree. They line up with Embark’s notes, which name Back on Your Feet as a buffed skill and list Field Repair in the known issues.
| Branch | Middle choice (pick one) | End choices (pick up to two) |
|---|---|---|
| Conditioning | Mule’s Gallop or Back on Your Feet | Security Breach, Weapon Bash, Bull Rush |
| Mobility | Vault Spring or Vaults on Vaults on Vaults | Sprinting on Fumes, Wall Run, In the Flow |
| Survival | Quick Roll or Minesweeper | Road Warrior, Nomadic Crafting, Field Repair |
Note the move most veterans will feel: Security Breach, which opens Security Lockers, now sits at the end of Conditioning rather than Survival, according to those breakdowns.
Best PvP Build
KeenGamer’s Ali Amir recommends a movement-first PvP build: 41 points in Mobility, 24 in Conditioning and 11 in Survival. The key picks:
- Mobility: Vault Spring at the middle node, then In the Flow and Sprinting on Fumes at the end, for chaining movement and sprinting longer on low stamina.
- Conditioning: Back on Your Feet over Mule’s Gallop, because it “restores some Health before re-peeking.”
- Survival: Quick Roll, for faster, cheaper dodge rolls when someone pushes you up close.
His reasoning is simple: “Fire a burst, move, and force the enemy to reacquire you.”
Best Looting and PvE Build
Power Up Gaming’s Serhii Patskan takes the opposite approach for Pendola Pass looting runs: 31 points in Conditioning, 31 in Survival and 14 in Mobility, enough to reach both the Security Breach and Road Warrior end skills. The early points go into stamina and climbing for the new map, then into looting speed, in-round crafting, carry weight and breaching.
This is also the shape we would take into Embark’s PvE toggle test, where fights with other raiders are off and loot is the only goal. Our PvE toggle story covers what that test includes.
Our Read: The Skills Embark Buffed
When a developer adjusts specific numbers, it is telling you which skills it wants used. Frozen Trail buffed three existing skills:
- Fight or Flight: stamina gained increased by about 25% per level.
- Stubborn Mule: stamina regen values increased by about 33%.
- Back on Your Feet: healing raised from 30 to 40.
Stamina matters more than it used to. Frozen Trail added Scrambling up steep slopes, stopped you from sprint-climbing ladders while exhausted, and built Pendola Pass around vertical terrain. Whatever your build, a few points in stamina skills pay off on the new map.
How to Reset Your Skill Tree
Every player got a free reset when the update went live, according to player reports and several guides. After that, PC Games and other outlets report that a reset costs 2,000 Coins per skill point spent, and it applies to the whole tree, not one branch. A fully built tree costs well over 100,000 Coins to reset, so test your middle and end choices in a few raids before you lock in a full build.
Do not count on an Expedition to reset you for free either. Embark said in August that it would pause Expeditions after the fifth one departed on September 29, and Frozen Trail’s known issues note the Expedition screen “is not functional” for now. Bonus skill points you already earned from Expeditions stay capped at 15, per Embark.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the best skill tree for PvP in ARC Raiders? KeenGamer’s recommended PvP build puts 41 points in Mobility, 24 in Conditioning and 11 in Survival, built around In the Flow, Sprinting on Fumes, Back on Your Feet and Quick Roll.
What is the best skill tree for PvE and looting? Power Up Gaming recommends 31 Conditioning, 31 Survival and 14 Mobility to reach Security Breach and Road Warrior, which suits looting runs and the PvE test.
Can you reset the skill tree in ARC Raiders? Yes. Embark confirms you can remake your choices by resetting the tree. Outlets report it costs 2,000 Coins per skill point spent.
Did Frozen Trail refund skill points? Player reports and guides say everyone received a free reset when the update went live, so you could rebuild for the new tree at no cost.
Where is Security Breach now? Community breakdowns place it at the end of the Conditioning branch, as one of three end skills alongside Weapon Bash and Bull Rush.
Does the skill tree matter for Amplified Weapons? Not directly. Amplification is done at your Outpost, as our weapon amplification guide explains, but Research Points for it come from looting, which our Research Points guide covers.