ARC Raiders' Frozen Trail update drops on October 8, 2026, and it brings three new ARC machines to fight on the way to a fallen Emperor. The Hydra is the big set-piece turret aboard the Frigate, but the two new machines you'll meet out in the field on the new Pendola Pass map are the Bully and the Skulker. They're built to attack you in opposite ways: one charges, one lurks. Learn to read them before launch day and you'll extract more than the raiders still figuring them out mid-fight.
Quick answer: The Bully and Skulker are two of the three new ARC enemies arriving with Frozen Trail on October 8, 2026. Per Embark's official First Look, the Bully is an aggressive machine that "gallops upon your position" and fights with "a host of lethal attacks" — beat it by using cover, timing your response, and hitting your shots. The Skulker is the opposite: an opportunistic ambusher that "lies in wait" at the edge of your vision and retreats out of sight the moment you're distracted — so keep eyes on it and don't let it reset. The third new machine, the Hydra, is a three-section turret found aboard the Frigate. Exact HP, weak points, and drops aren't in the official sources yet.
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Key takeaways
- Two new ground threats: the Bully (aggressive charger) and the Skulker (patient ambusher), both confirmed in Embark's official Frozen Trail First Look.
- Opposite playstyles: the Bully punishes standing still; the Skulker punishes losing track of it. Your counter to one is wrong for the other.
- Where: Pendola Pass, the new frozen map at the edge of the Rust Belt, launching with Frozen Trail on October 8, 2026.
- The third enemy: the Hydra, a three-section turret aboard the Frigate — a separate, higher-tier fight.
- Naming note: some early coverage called the ambush unit the "Lurker." Embark's official name is Skulker — use that.
The two new ground enemies at a glance
| Enemy | Role | How it attacks | Your job |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bully | Aggressive bruiser | "Gallops upon your position," cedes no ground, "a host of lethal attacks," quick on its feet | Use cover, time your response, land your shots |
| Skulker | Opportunistic ambusher | "Lies in wait," skirts the edge of your vision, gets the drop, then retreats if you're distracted | Keep it in view, don't tunnel, punish it before it resets |
| Hydra (turret, for context) | Three-part turret | Doesn't traverse, but its three autonomous sections move independently; targets multiple players at once; "triple-threat of weaponry" | A separate fight aboard the Frigate — divert its attention, get to cover, burst it |
Everything below is anchored to what Embark has actually published in the Frozen Trail First Look. ARC hasn't disclosed HP, damage numbers, or weak points for these two yet — so exact tuning is something we'll all learn live on October 8. What we can prep is how each one is designed to behave, because Embark told us plainly.
What is the Bully in ARC Raiders?
In Embark's words, the Bully is "an oppressive, aggressive beast that cedes no ground as it gallops upon your position and fights with a host of lethal attacks." The verb Embark chose — gallops — tells you a lot: this is a fast, relentless machine that closes distance and keeps coming, not a lumbering tank you can kite forever.
The design intent reads clearly: the Bully is an anti-camper. If your instinct against ARC is to hold a corner and plink, the Bully is built to walk that plan back. It "cedes no ground," so it keeps pressuring your position, and because Embark calls it "quick on its feet," don't count on simply outrunning it across the exposed stretches of Pendola Pass — treat that as the safe assumption until we see its real speed on October 8.
How to beat the Bully
Embark spelled out the counterplay directly — "use cover, time your response, and hit your shots." Unpack that into a practical plan:
- Fight from cover, not in the open. The Bully wants a clean charging lane. Break line of sight with terrain, buildings, or the vertical geometry Pendola Pass is built around, and force it to path around obstacles instead of galloping straight in.
- Time your response — don't panic-dump. A machine that cedes no ground and keeps coming will bait wasted mags. Fire in disciplined bursts as it commits to a move, then reposition; don't empty a magazine at a moving target and get caught reloading.
- Hit your shots. ARC machines have weak points (leg joints, thrusters, exposed cores depending on the unit), and the live wiki will confirm the Bully's the moment it's datamined. Until then, apply the general rule: aim for joints and any glowing/exposed component rather than spraying the chassis.
- Bring a mid-range answer. For an aggressive charger, a fast-handling weapon with strong ARC armor penetration — the kind of loadout you'd run against a Leaper or Bombardier — is the safe default. Don't commit to a slow, long-range-only kit if the Bully can be on you in seconds.
- Mind your surroundings. Pendola Pass has environmental hazards (flash freezes that force you to shelter). Getting shoved into the open by a Bully mid-freeze is a double threat — plan an exit before you engage.
What is the Skulker in ARC Raiders?
The Skulker is the Bully's mirror image. Embark: "In contrast to the Bully, the Skulker is opportunistic, lying in wait and skirting the edges of your vision to get the drop and unleash a flurry of blows. This is one you'll want to keep an eye on as a momentary distraction will see it retreat out of sight — the next time you see it, you'll be feeling it too."
So where the Bully charges, the Skulker stalks. It hangs at the periphery, waits for you to commit attention elsewhere — a firefight with a rival team, a Bully in your face, a looting animation — and then strikes. Lose track of it and it disengages and repositions, and the next hit comes from a new angle.
How to beat the Skulker
The Skulker is a target-priority and awareness problem more than a raw-DPS one:
- Keep it in your sightline. Embark's own warning is the whole strategy: "keep an eye on it." A Skulker you can see is a Skulker you can shoot. A Skulker you've lost is winding up its next ambush.
- Kill it before it resets. Because it retreats when distracted, the worst outcome is chipping it and then turning away — it simply disengages, repositions, and comes back at you from a new angle. When you engage, commit enough to finish it or drive it off decisively.
- Don't over-focus and get third-partied. The flip side: tunnelling on a Skulker while a Bully or a rival squad flanks is exactly the trap the enemy mix is designed to spring. Trade glances; don't lock your camera onto one threat.
- Use it as an early-warning tell. A Skulker skirting your vision means something in the area wants you distracted. Treat a sighting as a cue to check corners and rooftops, not just to shoot.
- Fight in a squad if you can. One player watches lanes while another deals damage. The Skulker's whole gimmick — striking when attention lapses — is far weaker against a team that never fully looks away.
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Bully vs Skulker: how to fight both at once
Embark hasn't detailed spawn rules yet, so we don't know how often the Bully and Skulker will appear together — but given how their designs pull you in opposite directions (the Bully demands you commit and hold cover, the Skulker demands you stay mobile and keep scanning), it's worth having a plan for the moment you're facing both. Treat the following as provisional prep, not tested mechanics:
- Address the Bully's pressure first — it's the immediate, in-your-face threat that forces mistakes. Break its charge with cover and create space.
- Never fully turn your back on the Skulker. Reposition so both stay roughly in your frontal arc; the Skulker punishes the exact moment you pivot to deal with the Bully.
- Win the geometry, not the DPS race. On a vertical, hazard-heavy map, the team that controls sightlines and cover beats the team that just has bigger guns.
The third new enemy: the Hydra (quick context)
Rounding out the trio is the Hydra — but it's a different class of fight. It's a turret that "may not traverse, but it sure does move": "split into three stacked and autonomous portions" with a "triple-threat of weaponry," found aboard the Frigate. So it holds a fixed position, but its three sections operate independently. Where the Bully and Skulker are field machines you'll meet across Pendola Pass, the Hydra is a set-piece aboard the Frigate for experienced Raiders. Embark's counterplay for it is to divert its attention, find cover fast, and attack in rapid windows.
Why prep for these before October 8?
Two reasons. First, information edge: on launch day everyone is learning these machines at the same time, and the raiders who already know "the Bully anti-camps, the Skulker ambushes" make fewer fatal reads in the first week. Second, loadout edge: aggressive-charger + ambusher pairs reward a flexible, well-crafted kit with good ARC armor penetration — the kind that takes materials, blueprints, and time to put together. Walking into Frozen Trail under-geared against brand-new enemies is how good loot runs end early.
If grinding the blueprints, materials, and gear to be Frozen Trail-ready before day one isn't how you want to spend launch week, our team can fast-track the loadout for you:
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FAQ
What are the new enemies in ARC Raiders Frozen Trail? Frozen Trail (October 8, 2026) adds three new ARC machines: the Bully (an aggressive charger), the Skulker (an ambush unit), and the Hydra (a three-section turret found aboard the Frigate). The Bully and Skulker are roaming field enemies on the new Pendola Pass map; the Hydra is a separate set-piece fight aboard the Frigate.
Is it called the Skulker or the Lurker? It's the Skulker. Embark's official Frozen Trail First Look names it the Skulker; some early third-party coverage referred to it as a "Lurker," but the official name is Skulker.
How do you beat the Bully in ARC Raiders? Fight from cover instead of the open, time your shots to its charges rather than panic-firing, and aim for weak points. It "cedes no ground" and is quick on its feet, so it's built to punish players who stand still — break its line of sight and reposition between bursts.
How do you beat the Skulker in ARC Raiders? Keep it in your sightline and commit to finishing it once you engage. It lies in wait and retreats out of view if you get distracted, then re-attacks from a new angle. Don't tunnel on it and get flanked — trade glances and, if possible, fight it with a squad so someone always has eyes on it.
When do the Bully and Skulker release? They arrive with the Frozen Trail update on October 8, 2026, alongside the new Pendola Pass map, the Frigate, Amplified Weapons, and the Outpost.
Where do you find the Bully and Skulker? On Pendola Pass, the new frozen map at the edge of the Rust Belt introduced in Frozen Trail. The Hydra, by contrast, is found aboard the Frigate.
Sources: Embark Studios official Frozen Trail First Look (arcraiders.com/news/frozen-trail-content-preview). All enemy behaviour descriptions are quoted or paraphrased from Embark's official reveal; exact stats, weak points, and drops will be confirmed once Frozen Trail is live on October 8, 2026.
