Candleberries ARC Raiders: How To Find Them

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If you are searching for candleberries in ARC Raiders, the confusing part is not actually picking the berries—it is understanding when they can appear, which areas are worth checking, and whether they still have a purpose after the seasonal event. Candleberries were introduced with the Cold Snap update as a rare nature resource connected to the Flickering Flames event and the Candleberry Banquet project.

There is also an important detail that many older guides now miss: the original Candleberry event was temporary. Flickering Flames ran from December 16, 2025, through January 13, 2026, so players reading a guide today should not assume that the old Candleberry Banquet objectives are still active.

This guide explains what Candleberries are, where they appeared, how to farm them efficiently during Cold Snap, how many were needed for the original event, what mistakes made farming frustrating, and what their status means for players returning to ARC Raiders.

What Are Candleberries in ARC Raiders?

Candleberries are a Rare nature item in ARC Raiders. Their description presents them as a waxy berry traditionally associated with candles, food, and medicine. In gameplay, however, their main importance came from the limited-time Flickering Flames event.

The item was introduced in patch 1.7.0 and was specifically tied to the winter content surrounding Cold Snap.

During the event, Candleberries served two main purposes:

Progressing the Candleberry Banquet project
Contributing indirectly to the Gathering Candleberries reward track

They could also be recycled into Assorted Seeds, although that was generally a poor use of them when the event was active.

The important distinction is that Candleberries were never simply a normal fruit that you could reliably collect on every map. Their availability was linked to a particular map condition.

Where to Find Candleberries in ARC Raiders

During the Cold Snap event, the most reliable source was Candleberry bushes.

These bushes appeared only when the Cold Snap map modifier was active. The bushes were evergreen, with green foliage and distinctive red berries. ARC Raiders’ developers specifically described them as evergreen bushes bearing bright red fruit.

The best general strategy was to search areas containing:

Smaller structures
Rocky terrain
Dense vegetation
Forested sections
Map outskirts
Areas around certain loot locations

The developers also noted that Candleberry bushes tended to appear around smaller structures, rocky areas and other foliage. That is a more useful mental model than simply memorizing one location.

Dam Battlegrounds

Dam Battlegrounds was one of the commonly recommended Candleberry farming maps.

Players reported useful clusters around areas such as the swamp, Formicai Hills and Red Lakes. Some routes also focused on northern areas near Raider-related locations.

The major advantage was that vegetation gave you opportunities to combine Candleberry searches with ordinary looting instead of spending the entire raid looking exclusively for bushes.

Buried City

Buried City offered several useful areas during Cold Snap, including locations around:

Buried Properties
Marano Park
Abandoned Highway Camp
Piazza Arbusto

Because Buried City contains many structures and vegetation pockets, it rewarded players who searched around the edges of buildings instead of running directly through major points of interest.

Spaceport

Spaceport became particularly attractive for players who wanted larger Candleberry hauls.

Community reports frequently mentioned finding substantial quantities through a combination of bushes, Raider caches and baskets. Some players reported getting 20–30 berries in a successful farming run when combining these sources.

That does not mean every Spaceport raid produced the same amount. Spawn randomness, competition and extraction success still mattered.

The Blue Gate

The Blue Gate was another important Candleberry map during Cold Snap.

Useful search areas included the forest, ruined homestead, highway-collapse area and ridgeline. The key was to think in terms of vegetation routes rather than one guaranteed spawn.

Candleberries were not a traditional “walk here and receive 20 berries” resource. A good route worked because it connected multiple possible sources.

Candleberry Bushes Were Only Part of the Answer

One of the most useful farming lessons from the original event was not to rely exclusively on bushes.

Candleberries could also appear through scavenging, including wicker baskets during Cold Snap.

This made a major difference.

A player who ran from bush to bush could easily spend a large part of a raid collecting only a handful of berries. By contrast, a player who combined bushes with baskets, Raider caches and ordinary loot searches could substantially increase the number collected per extraction.

Community reports repeatedly highlighted baskets and Raider caches as valuable secondary sources.

A better farming mindset

Instead of asking:

“Where is the Candleberry spawn?”

ask:

“What route lets me check several Candleberry sources without wasting time?”

That small change makes the farming process much more efficient.

How Many Candleberries Did You Need?

The original Candleberry Banquet project required 260 Candleberries in total according to contemporary event guides.

That number explains why the resource felt unusually frustrating.

Finding one or two berries occasionally was easy enough. Collecting hundreds while simultaneously dealing with ARC machines, other Raiders, frostbite and extraction pressure was a completely different challenge.

The Gathering Candleberries reward track helped reduce the burden by giving Candleberries as progression rewards.

The reward milestones included:

1,200 Merits — 10 Candleberries
2,400 Merits — 10 Candleberries
3,600 Merits — 20 Candleberries
5,400 Merits — 30 Candleberries
6,600 Merits — 30 Candleberries
9,000 Merits — 40 Candleberries
11,400 Merits — 40 Candleberries

That amounted to 180 Candleberries from the listed reward milestones alone.

So the smartest approach was never simply “farm 260 berries manually.”

You could combine natural gathering with event progression.

The Biggest Problem: Cold Snap Itself

Candleberry farming sounds straightforward until you remember where the bushes appear.

They were associated with Cold Snap, a condition that made the environment itself dangerous.

Players had to manage frostbite while searching for the resource. The developers specifically warned Raiders to prepare for the cold, use shelter intelligently, carry healing supplies and consider stamina because movement between outdoor areas became strategically important.

This creates an interesting risk-versus-reward situation.

Every extra minute spent searching can increase your Candleberry total, but it also increases:

Frostbite exposure
The chance of encountering another Raider
ARC encounters
Healing consumption
The distance you may need to travel to extraction

The best Candleberry run therefore wasn’t necessarily the one with the biggest backpack.

It was the run where you extracted before the additional berries became more valuable than the risk of losing everything.

Practical Candleberry Farming Strategy

If Cold Snap returns and Candleberries become relevant again, this is the approach I would recommend.

1. Check the map condition first

Do not enter a raid expecting Candleberries to appear everywhere.

First establish whether the relevant Cold Snap condition is active. If it is not, spending the raid searching for Candleberry bushes is wasted effort.

2. Bring a Safe Pocket

A Safe Pocket was particularly valuable for resource farming.

If you found berries early, putting them somewhere protected meant that dying later in the raid would not completely erase your progress.

This is especially important for a resource that requires repeated runs.

3. Pick berries while moving

Do not build your entire raid around standing still and searching every bush.

Instead, incorporate bushes into a larger route.

For example:

Move toward a useful loot area.
Check vegetation and structures along the route.
Collect visible Candleberries.
Search baskets or caches when they are naturally nearby.
Continue toward extraction.
Leave once the risk becomes disproportionate.

This produces a much better berries-per-minute rhythm.

4. Do not fight everything

This is one of the most overlooked farming principles.

If an ARC machine spots you while you are collecting a low-value seasonal resource, fighting it may cost more time and supplies than the berry is worth.

The developers themselves advised Raiders to focus on movement and preparation rather than unnecessarily fighting every ARC machine that detects them.

Your objective is extraction, not clearing the map.

A Simple Example of an Efficient Run

Imagine you enter a Cold Snap raid with the goal of collecting Candleberries.

You find three bushes near your initial route and collect a few berries. Instead of immediately searching the entire area, you continue toward a nearby structure.

On the way, you encounter a basket and collect several more.

A little farther along, you find a Raider cache containing additional berries.

At this point, your backpack has a worthwhile amount.

You have two choices.

Risky option: Continue searching for another 10–15 minutes.

Efficient option: Head toward extraction and secure what you already collected.

For a seasonal resource, the second option is often better.

This is particularly true when your Safe Pocket has already protected some of the valuable haul.

Common Candleberry Farming Mistakes

Searching without Cold Snap

This is probably the biggest mistake.

If Candleberry bushes are tied to the Cold Snap condition, normal map conditions should not be treated as Candleberry farming opportunities.

Looking only for bushes

Baskets and caches can significantly improve your haul.

Ignoring secondary loot sources turns a potentially productive route into a slow scavenger hunt.

Staying too long

A player might collect five berries and think, “I’ll just get five more.”

Then another Raider appears.

Or frostbite becomes a problem.

Or the extraction route becomes dangerous.

The lesson is simple: secure progress instead of chasing perfection.

Fighting unnecessarily

Seasonal farming rewards efficiency. Every unnecessary firefight creates another opportunity to lose the resources you already collected.

Treating old guides as current information

This is especially important today.

The Gathering Candleberries event ran from December 16, 2025 to January 13, 2026. It is no longer an active event.

Current item data also indicates that no active project currently requires Candleberries.

That means an old guide telling you to collect 260 berries for the Candleberry Banquet is describing the historical event, not necessarily your current objective.

What Should You Do With Candleberries Now?

If you already have Candleberries stored, their usefulness depends on the current game state and active projects.

The current item database lists Candleberries as recyclable into 2 Assorted Seeds and indicates that no current project requires them.

That creates an important practical distinction:

During the event: Candleberries were valuable progression resources.

After the event: Their event-specific purpose is no longer active, so they should not automatically be treated as something you need to farm.

This is one reason checking current project requirements is more useful than blindly following an older farming route.

Three Less-Obvious Lessons From Candleberry Farming

1. The real resource was time

The berries themselves were not the only scarce resource.

Your real costs included movement, healing items, exposure to frostbite, combat risk and the opportunity cost of spending an entire raid on low-value gathering.

A route producing fewer berries but allowing faster extraction could therefore be more efficient.

2. Secondary loot sources changed the economics

Bushes made Candleberries visible as a harvesting resource, but baskets and caches could produce much larger bursts.

That means the best strategy was closer to route-based scavenging than conventional plant farming.

3. Seasonal resources change player behavior

The low completion rate of the original event illustrates how strongly scarcity can affect an extraction shooter. Only about 8.06% of players completed the Candleberry Banquet, according to post-event figures reported by PC Gamer.

The interesting lesson is that difficulty was not simply about finding the item. Players had to compete for spawns, survive the environment and successfully extract enough times.

That combination is what made Candleberries memorable.

FAQ: Candleberries in ARC Raiders

Where do Candleberries spawn in ARC Raiders?

Candleberries originally spawned from Candleberry bushes during the Cold Snap map condition. They could also be obtained through scavenging sources such as wicker baskets. Dam Battlegrounds, Buried City, Spaceport and The Blue Gate were among the maps associated with Candleberry farming during the event.

Do Candleberries respawn after you pick them?

Candleberry bushes did not simply regenerate after being harvested during the same raid. This made efficient routing important because repeatedly returning to the same bush was not a reliable farming strategy.

How many Candleberries were needed for the Candleberry Banquet?

The original Candleberry Banquet required 260 Candleberries across its objectives. The Gathering Candleberries reward track could also provide up to 180 Candleberries through its listed milestones, reducing how many players needed to personally harvest.

Can you buy Candleberries from ARC Raiders traders?

During the original event, Candleberries were not available for direct purchase from Speranza traders. Players instead relied on gathering, scavenging and event progression rewards.

Are Candleberries still needed in ARC Raiders?

The original Candleberry event ended on January 13, 2026, and current item information lists no active projects requiring Candleberries. If you are playing after the event, you should therefore check current project requirements before spending time farming them.

Conclusion

Candleberries became one of the more unusual resources in ARC Raiders because collecting them was never just about finding a plant. During Cold Snap, players had to combine route planning, scavenging, environmental awareness and careful extraction to build a meaningful stockpile.

The most effective approach was to search Cold Snap maps, collect Candleberries while moving through useful areas, check baskets and caches rather than relying only on bushes, protect valuable finds with a Safe Pocket, and extract before the risk of staying longer outweighed the reward.

For players researching the item today, however, the most important fact is that the Candleberry Banquet and Gathering Candleberries event were temporary. The event ended on January 13, 2026, and Candleberries are currently not required by an active project according to available item data.

So if you encounter an older guide telling you to farm hundreds of Candleberries, treat it as a record of the Cold Snap event rather than a current mandatory grind. If Cold Snap and the event return in the future, the route-based farming lessons remain useful: search smart, avoid unnecessary fights, protect your haul, and extract while the run is still in your favor.