If you've been living in Stella Montis since the November patch, you've probably met the Matriarch and thought, "Right, this is where my run ends." She's huge, she's noisy, and she punishes anyone who tries to stand their ground. People keep saying you need the usual meta kit and a stacked squad, but after the Cold Snap changes I started seeing players hoard Trailblazer grenades instead. I even saw someone prepping their inventory like they were buying ARC Raiders Coins for a shopping spree, then walking in with nothing but throwables and nerve.

Why Trailblazer suddenly matters

Pre-buff, Trailblazer felt like a gimmick. A little trail, a bit of damage, maybe it scares a Wasp for half a second. Now it's a proper tool. The trail holds longer, covers more ground, and the ignition bite is the real headline. It's not "throw one and hope." It's "paint the floor, then choose the moment." You're basically building a burn zone the Matriarch has to walk through, and when she does, the fight starts to feel fair for once.

Set the trap or get shredded

This only works if you control the space. Open ground is a mistake because Wasps and Leapers will pinch you while you're busy laying trails. Tight areas are your friend. The underground at Spaceport, the lanes near the launch towers, anywhere with corners you can kite around. You bait her in, drop a trail where she has to commit, then back off and keep moving. Don't be precious about perfect placement. You'll learn fast that "good enough" beats getting stomped while you're lining up some fancy pattern.

Damage spikes and the awkward inventory tax

The numbers tell the story. With shields up, you'll see chunks that feel fine but not heroic, roughly in that 3,000-ish range on the plates. The real swing happens after you crack the face plate and that red core shows. Chain an ignition right as she steps into a fresh trail and you can push spikes north of 9,000. It's still not a speedrun; ten minutes solo is pretty normal. The cost is your backpack. If you're carrying nine stacks of grenades, you're not carrying comfort. Meds get tight. Loot gets ignored. And yeah, self-damage is brutal if you panic-ignite too close.

What to pair with it

You can't spend Trailblazers on every add, so bring something boring and reliable for cleanup. Lawnmowers do the job, and anything that clears Wasps quickly will save your run. The funny part is how accessible this whole setup is. The blueprint turns up in the dumbest places, mats aren't rare, and you're not praying for heavy ammo drops. When it works, you walk out with the XP and that Matriarch Reactor feeling like you cheated the system, which is why people are already asking about Raider Tokens for sale while they theorycraft the next weird grenade loadout.