ARC Raiders Emergency Shelter Loot Farm: Storm Timings, Route, and Loot

Farm ARC Raiders emergency shelters for epic weapons, Wolfpacks, and research notes by running to each shelter icon on normal Pendola Pass. In the footage we reviewed, the route worked with a free loadout and without killing a single ARC.

How to Farm Emergency Shelters in ARC Raiders

You farm emergency shelters by queuing for normal Pendola Pass, waiting near the middle of the map, and running to each shelter as its icon appears. The steps below follow the order of a single raid.

1. Queue for the normal condition: Load into Pendola Pass with no map condition active. The route in the footage we reviewed only worked on the normal version.
2. Bring a cheap kit: A free loadout is enough, plus bandages and stims for storm damage. You risk almost nothing if you are eliminated before the first icon appears.
3. Move to the middle of the map: Wait near the center so you are never far from the next shelter. The icon shows on your map from any distance.
4. Watch the map and the sky: The shelter icon appears when the timer drops below 28 minutes. A forming snowstorm can also tell you a shelter is active.
5. Run to the shelter: Only one shelter is active at a time, so head straight to the icon. Heal on the way, because the storm damages you inside its area.
6. Loot the shelter: Open the weapon crates and take the epic items first. Close the door behind you if you want to keep other Raiders out.
7. Return to the middle and repeat: Drop junk to free space, heal, and wait for the next icon. The second shelter appeared at 24 minutes in the reviewed run.

We built this route from footage of a full four-shelter run on Pendola Pass after the Frozen Trail 2.0 update. Anything the footage could not confirm is marked TBC, so check it against your own raids.

What You Need Before You Queue

You need the normal version of Pendola Pass, a cheap loadout, and plenty of healing items. The route depends on timed shelters rather than combat, so a free loadout is enough to start, but spare backpack space matters once the loot starts coming in during the run.

• Map: Pendola Pass with no condition active. The official Map Conditions page lists conditions such as Redirection and ARC Frigate but does not name emergency shelters.
• Loadout: A free loadout works, so bring a weapon only if you expect PvP at a shelter.
• Healing: Bandages and stims. Storm damage in the footage ticked slowly enough that standard gray bandages were fine.
• Backpack space:Wolfpack grenades and weapons fill slots quickly, and heavy weapons add weight fast. Check your kit’s weight before you queue.
• Squad size: The reviewed run was solo. Whether a squad changes shelter loot is TBC.

When Emergency Shelters Appear

The first emergency shelter icon appears when the match timer drops below 28 minutes, and the second appeared at 24 minutes in the footage we reviewed. Each shelter stays active for roughly 3 to 4 minutes before the storm moves on, but these figures come from a single run.

The gap between the first two icons was about 4 minutes, so you can expect the next icon roughly 4 minutes after the last one. That is an inference from two readings and may not hold, because no icon appeared with about 12 minutes left.

How to Reach Each Shelter Before Other Raiders

Stand near the middle of the map, because the shelter icon shows on your map from any distance and a central position shortens the run to wherever the next one spawns. Move the moment the icon or the storm appears, since the first Raider through the door gets the loot.

• Storm cue: A snowstorm forming nearby can appear before the icon registers on your map. Check your surroundings as well as the map screen.
• Central staging: Position yourself near the center between shelters, so no spawn is a long run. You can plan the route on our ARC Raiders Interactive Map, but results are estimates and do not guarantee an identical outcome.
• Stay productive: Use the walk back to heal and sort your backpack, so you are ready when the next icon appears.

What Loot Emergency Shelters Drop

Emergency shelters hold weapon crates and loose loot, and the reviewed footage showed epic weapons, Wolfpacks, attachments, grenades, healing items, defibs, and research notes. Contents varied between shelters, so read the table below as a list of what was seen, not a confirmed set of drop rates.

Loot seen	Shelter seen in	Notes
Epic weapons	Third and fourth	A shotgun and an LMG were shown
Wolfpacks	First and fourth	They do not stack, so each one takes its own slot
Attachments	First	An extended barrel was taken
Grenades	Third and fourth	Several grenades were taken
Healing items	Fourth	Bandages and a Defibrillator
Research notes	Fourth	Several were taken
Epic shelf item	Third	Taken from a shelf inside the shelter

Drop rates and loot tables for emergency shelters are TBC, because the footage only shows four shelters from one run.

What to Do with Emergency Shelter Loot

Shelter loot feeds three things: Outpost research, other map events, and your own weapon rotation. Research notes and Wolfpacks are the two items worth planning around, because both have a clear use after the raid and neither is a throwaway pickup, so make room for them first.

• Research notes: Take them to your research station to unlock blueprints. The Frozen Trail content preview says the Research Workstation gives access to higher levels of weapon customization and modding.
• Wolfpacks: Keep them for the Frigate, where an epic grenade that splits into homing missiles suits Rocketeers and Fireflies.
• Weapons and attachments: Use them for PvP or for newer events that need a better kit than a free loadout.

How the Shelter Door and Ladder Hatch Work

Close the shelter door behind you to keep other Raiders out, or leave through the ladder hatch if you want the door to stay shut when you exit. In the footage reviewed, an open door on arrival meant nobody had looted that shelter yet, so check it first.

• Check the door on arrival: An open door means the shelter is unlooted, not that nobody is inside. A door that is already shut was not shown in the footage, so what it means is TBC.
• Close it behind you: Raiders left outside take storm damage while you loot.
• Use the hatch to leave: A button inside opens a ladder hatch. You can climb out and leave the door shut, which is useful in a PvP lobby.

How to Survive the Snowstorm and Manage Your Inventory

The storm only covers the area around the active shelter, so the damage you take is brief and local. Carry bandages for the walk out, then use the downtime between shelters to heal and drop junk items before the next icon appears on your map.

• Damage on exit: You start taking storm damage as soon as you leave the shelter. Heal on the walk back to the middle.
• Drop junk: Gray items and anything you do not need can go between shelters. You need the space if you plan to hit several shelters in one raid.
• Watch your weight: Heavy weapons such as an LMG add weight quickly. Check your weight before you pick them up.
• Protect your best find: Move your most valuable item into your safe pocket as soon as you take it.

Emergency Shelters Compared with Redirection and the Frigate

Emergency shelters are the only one of the three that the footage shows working with a free loadout, which makes them the lowest-risk way to farm Pendola Pass loot. The table compares them with the two map conditions confirmed for the Frozen Trail update, Redirection and the Frigate.

Shelters suit a low-risk first pass, while the Redirection map condition covers the beacon route toward Amplified weapon materials. You can check when Redirection and Frigate windows are active on our ARC Raiders Event Timers page.

Run Your First Shelter Loop, Then Take the Loot Where It Counts

Queue for normal Pendola Pass with a free loadout, wait near the middle of the map, and run to the first shelter icon when the timer drops below 28 minutes. Loot it, heal, drop junk, and return to the center before the next one appears.

Take your research notes to the Outpost’s research station and keep your Wolfpacks for a full-loadout Frigate run in ARC Raiders. When you are ready for a higher-value route, load into the Redirection map condition for Amplified weapon materials.

FAQs

Do emergency shelters spawn on other ARC Raiders maps besides Pendola Pass?

No other map has a confirmed emergency shelter route as of October 11, 2026. The reviewed footage only showed emergency shelters on normal Pendola Pass, and the official Map Conditions page does not name them, so every other ARC Raiders map is TBC until Embark or in-game testing confirms otherwise.

Are ARC Raiders emergency shelters part of the Dynamic Loot Zone system?

Embark has not confirmed that link yet. The Frozen Trail 2.0 update notes say a Dynamic Loot Zone system is being tested and is exclusive to Pendola Pass, but they do not name emergency shelters, so the connection is TBC as of October 11, 2026.

What should you do if a Rocketeer is near an emergency shelter in ARC Raiders?

Close the shelter door, equip shields, and break line of sight before you loot. In the reviewed run, a Rocketeer was nearby at the fourth shelter and the player did exactly that, and because Rocketeers hit hard from range, keep healing items ready and stay out of the doorway.

Do you need the Outpost to use research notes from emergency shelters?

Embark’s 2.0 update notes state that unlocking the Outpost unlocks access to the research station. The notes call it a Research Bench while the Frozen Trail preview calls it a Research Workstation, so the names likely refer to one station, but the exact unlock steps are TBC.

Can you farm ARC Raiders emergency shelters during the free play event?

Possibly, if you can reach Pendola Pass. Embark’s free play event runs from October 8 to October 12, 2026 and grants access to the full game, and new players can reach Pendola Pass immediately if teamed up with players who have already unlocked it, but solo access is not mentioned.