If you've been banging your head against the Stella Montis Matriarch since the November patch, you're not alone. She's a walking wall of noise and rockets, and the gas mortars turn most "clean" fights into a mess fast. I kept seeing people talk about the post–Cold Snap buff and how it somehow made a grenade build worth looking at, so I tried it myself while stocking up and sorting my stash for ARC Raiders Coins runs, and yeah—Trailblazer grenades aren't a joke anymore.

Why Trailblazer suddenly matters

Old Trailblazer trails felt like a minor nuisance. You'd toss one, watch a thin line of gas, and hope the boss politely stayed inside it. After the buff, the trail hangs around longer, covers more ground, and the ignition hit has real bite. The point isn't "grenade for damage" like you'd do with normal explosives. It's "grenade for space," then light it at the right moment. You'll notice the Matriarch's movement is predictable when she commits to an angle, and that's when the trail starts paying rent.

Pick a nasty arena and make her live in it

Don't fight her in wide open terrain unless you like being pinballed by homing rockets. The trick is pulling her into cramped routes: Spaceport underground, the tight lanes by the launch towers, anywhere with corners that limit her line of sight. You're basically building a burn box. First you kite. Second you stack trails across the choke. Third you force her to step through them while you keep your cover discipline. If you try this in the open, Wasps and Leapers will show up at the worst time and you'll spend your "boss" grenades fixing an add problem.

Damage windows and the part that actually melts

On shields, Trailblazer isn't magic. You'll see chunky hits, but it's not the headline. The spike happens after you crack a face plate and that red core is staring at you like a warning light. That's when chain ignitions start chunking health in big, rude numbers, especially if the Matriarch is mid-animation and can't sidestep out of the burn line. It still takes patience—my solo kill was closer to ten minutes than a speedrun—and you've got to carry a backup weapon for adds, because wasting a Trailblazer on a Wasp feels awful.

The real cost is inventory and self-inflicted pain

This build is cheap to craft and easy to restock, but it's not free. You're hauling stacks of grenades, so your bag turns into a one-purpose toolbox and meds get squeezed out. And the self-damage is no joke—one sloppy ignite at your feet and you'll delete your own run. Still, if you're tired of burning heavy ammo for a slow solo boss attempt, this is a fun pivot that actually works, and the payoff feels solid when you walk out with big XP and the reactor drop—plus it leaves you more room in the long term to plan for ARC Raiders Coins cheap shopping and crafting without living at the ammo bench every raid.