Avowed’s rickety combat feels like the undoing of its lush fungal world

But perhaps it’ll grow on me, like the fungus

Image credit:Microsoft

I have significant reservations about Avowed , Obsidian’s first-person Pillars Of Eternity spin-off RPG, but those reservations are significantly offset by the fact that I can be an undersea mushroom woman called Mystic Meg. In Avowed, you are the god-touched envoy of a distant emperor, sent to an island realm known as the Living Lands to investigate a mysterious blight. “God-touched”, in this case, means “fungal and a bit mermaidy”. It means that you can make rainbow toadstools sprout from your eyesocket in the character creator. It means that you can accessorise your cheekbones with what look like bracket polypores, or deck your ears with staghorn coral.

I have no idea how novel this really is within the overarching Pillars world of Eora. Speaking as a newcomer to the setting, it was enough to keep me fussing around in the editor for half-an-hour. There’s a predictable price for embracing the game’s New Weird elements, however: other characters might find you repellent.

Early on, I met a lady in a jail cell who was openly revolted by my Morrowindy Davey Jones aesthetics (I let her out anyway). Later, a town guard captain confessed herself hypnotised by my sporing mug, and I had the option of slapping her down in dialogue for tactlessness. I hope the game develops these reactions into a sticky web of entangled mycophilia/mycophobia. It’s a shame Avowed doesn’t let you romance companions, because I want them to fret about developing a puffball infestation when we kiss.

Image credit:Microsoft

Mind you, I don’t particularly rate Mystic Meg’s chances of kissing anybody, even if she were granted the opportunity by Auntie Obsidian. After all, she’s an absolute plonker. Avowed’s character creator gives you a selection of backgrounds that determine your starting weapon, shape your stats and unlock unique dialogue. The backgrounds are broadly familiar. You can be a war hero, renowned for their grit and charisma. You can be a noble scion, which might give you an edge when bandying words with courtiers. Play a vanguard scout, and you’ll arrive with knowledge of wilderness survival. As an arcane scholar, meanwhile, you’ll have insight upon occult texts, legal documents and so on.

Last but not least, you can play a court augur. This supposedly means you’re an adept deceiver and manipulator, but in my experience, it just makes you sound like a chūnibyō. My preview character is fond of opening conversations with phrases like “fate has guided me to this place”. I’m not sure if she has actual prophetic abilities, or is just theatrically self-deluded. I think it might be fun finding out.

While rather quippy in that way beloved of any western fantasy RPG that prides itself on banter, Avowed’s writing is quite rich and playful with some sparky voice-acting, and the early dialogue options hint at labyrinthine consequences. One of the earlier decisions you’re asked to make is defining your relationship with a character from Pillars Of Eternity 2: Deadfire. Were you lovers, and if so, was that before or after the, aha, infamous crisis which, as a non-returning player, I had zero idea about?

I don’t think Avowed punishes Pillars newbies for their lack of experience - the “go to this weird island” premise is a narrative reset - but it wastes no time thrusting you into the jargony detail, and is probably better for it. Side stories aren’t hard to unearth: the weapons and armour merchants I met by the dock of the first major city all had a few dialogue options hitched to quests, though I wasn’t able to investigate them during my hour or two with the preview build. The game also swiftly invites discussion of your role as Chosen One Imperialist, albeit a Chosen One Imperialist with possible indigenous connections in the shape of huge, ominous crystals that talk to you inside your head.

Even if you’re familiar with Eora, Avowed’s choice of a first or third-person view obviously lends a new sensibility to art and location design hitherto experienced from a top-down view. It means you can scry the glow of a treasure chest through the cracked walls of a burning fort, and stick your head through a waterfall in search of the hidden weapons cache that - as stipulated by the 10 Commandments of Game Design - lie behind at least 25% of RPG waterfalls.

The area design so far consists of meandering corridors that split and double back on themselves occasionally at the behest of puzzles. There’s a bit of platforming and the opportunity for stealth, with enemy alertness icons and tall grass to lurk in. At fleeting intervals, the dungeon design reminded me of Dishonored , though this absolutely isn’t an immersive sim.

Image credit:Microsoft

The Living Lands make for some gorgeous scenery - with allowances for capped resolution on the preview build, anyway, which made the game look horrible blown up on my 4K display. It’s the Caribbean but high fantasy, sort of. It does box you in, however, with sloped and tumbledown surfaces that staunchly refuse to be jumped on, and some overt invisible walls. There’s a lingering sense that you’re roaming a landscape that really wants to be explored in isometric or top-down view, with simplified binary distinctions between navigable areas and scenery.

The awkwardness also applies to combat, which is real-time with dodging, blocking and cooldowns on abilities and magic. You can equip two sets of weapons and gear at once, switching between them on the go. Melee options include double-handed, guard-shattering hammers, daggers for quick strikes, and shields for the abject cowards. Spellcasters get wands and grimoires that contain multiple spells, including palmtop flamethrowers and lightning bolts that, yes, conduct through bodies of water.

There’s also a radial freeze-frame menu to help you aim fussier abilities, give your companions orders, and plan out elemental or status effect combos. Enemies, meanwhile, range from hyperactive lizard folk to magisterial, sorcery-lobbing skeletons, with the expected mix of melee, projectile and support archetypes.

Image credit:Microsoft

There’s a lot to consider, albeit nothing very exotic by RPG standards. But there’s also a broken-up sluggishness to it all. Animations don’t flow together very charismatically, which lends a curious, stuttery cadence to the ducking and diving. Dragon Age: The Veilguard - to name the obvious recent competitor - is a lot slicker from the off.

I hope this is just a question of getting used to the game’s rhythms, and venturing beyond the opening pedagogy - prologue fights tend to be stagey. It could also be that the build I have is just quite old - Obsidian haven’t dated it, but there are obvious placeholder elements such as hand-drawn cinematics with WIP labels. As things stand, I came away from my Avowed preview newly enthused to check out the Pillars games, but for the wrong reasons: I want to experience this setting without the above annoyances. Fingers crossed that the final release in February 2025 will persuade me otherwise, because Mystic Meg deserves her day in the sun.

Avowed

Xbox Series X/S , PC

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All 75 Arc Raiders Blueprints and where to get them

These areas have the highest chance of giving you Blueprints

Image credit:Rock Paper Shotgun/Embark Studios

Looking for more Arc Raiders Blueprints? It’s a special day when you find a Blueprint, as they’re among the most valuable items in Arc Raiders. If you find a Blueprint that you haven’t already found, then you must make sure you hold onto it at all costs, because Blueprints are the key to one of the most important and powerful systems of meta-progression in the game.

This guide aims to be the very best guide on Blueprints you can find, starting with a primer on what exactly they are and how they work in Arc Raiders, before delving into exactly where to get Blueprints and the very best farming spots for you to take in your search.

We’ll also go over how to get Blueprints from other unlikely activities, such as destroying Surveyors and completing specific quests. And you’ll also find the full list of all 75 Blueprints in Arc Raiders on this page (including the newest Blueprints added with the Cold Snap update , such as the Deadline Blueprint and Firework Box Blueprint), giving you all the information you need to expand your own crafting repertoire.

In this guide:

• What are Blueprints in Arc Raiders?
• Full Blueprint list: All crafting recipes
• Where to find Blueprints in Arc Raiders Blueprints obtained from quests Blueprints obtained from Trials Best Blueprint farming locations

What are Blueprints in Arc Raiders?

Blueprints in Arc Raiders are special items which, if you manage to extract with them, you can expend to permanently unlock a new crafting recipe in your Workshop. If you manage to extract from a raid with an Anvil Blueprint, for example, you can unlock the ability to craft your very own Anvil Pistol, as many times as you like (as long as you have the crafting materials).

To use a Blueprint, simply open your Inventory while in the lobby, then right-click on the Blueprint and click “Learn And Consume” . This will permanently unlock the recipe for that item in your Workshop. As of the Stella Montis update, there are allegedly 75 different Blueprints to unlock - although only 68 are confirmed to be in the game so far. You can see all the Blueprints you’ve found and unlocked by going to the Workshop menu, and hitting “R” to bring up the Blueprint screen.

It’s possible to find duplicates of past Blueprints you’ve already unlocked. If you find these, then you can either sell them, or - if you like to play with friends - you can take it into a match and gift it to your friend so they can unlock that recipe for themselves. Another option is to keep hold of them until the time comes to donate them to the Expedition.

Full Blueprint list: All crafting recipes

Below is the full list of all the Blueprints that are currently available to find in Arc Raiders, and the crafting recipe required for each item:

Note: The missing Blueprints in this list likely have not actually been added to the game at the time of writing, because none of the playerbase has managed to find any of them. As they are added to the game, I will update this page with the most relevant information so you know exactly how to get all 75 Arc Raiders Blueprints.

Where to find Blueprints in Arc Raiders

Below is a list of all containers, modifiers, and events which maximise your chances of finding Blueprints:

• Certain quests reward you with specific Blueprints .
• Completing Trials has a high chance of offering Blueprints as rewards.
• Surveyors have a decent chance of dropping Blueprints on death.
• High loot value areas tend to have a greater chance of spawning Blueprints.
• Night Raids and Storms may increase rare Blueprint spawn chances in containers.
• Containers with higher numbers of items may have a higher tendency to spawn Blueprints. As a result, Blue Gate (which has many “large” containers containing multiple items) may give you a higher chance of spawning Blueprints.
• Raider containers (Raider Caches, Weapon Boxes, Medical Bags, Grenade Tubes) have increased Blueprint drop rates. As a result, the Uncovered Caches event gives you a high chance of finding Blueprints.
• Security Lockers have a higher than average chance of containing Blueprints.
• Certain Blueprints only seem to spawn under specific circumstances: Tempest Blueprint only spawns during Night Raid events. Vulcano Blueprint only spawns during Hidden Bunker events. Jupiter and Equaliser Blueprints only spawn during Harvester events.

Raider Caches, Weapon Boxes, and other raider-oriented container types have a good chance of offering Blueprints. |Image credit:Rock Paper Shotgun/Embark Studios

Blueprints have a very low chance of spawning in any container in Arc Raiders, around 1-2% on average. However, there is a higher chance of finding Blueprints in particular container types. Specifically, you can find more Blueprints in Raider containers and security lockers.

Beyond this, if you’re looking for Blueprints you should focus on regions of the map which are marked as having particularly high-value loot. Areas such as the Control Tower in Dam Battlegrounds, the Arrival and Departure Buildings in Spaceport, and Pilgrim’s Peak in Blue Gate all have a better-than-average chance of spawning Blueprints somewhere amongst all their containers. Night Raids and Electromagnetic Storm events also increase the drop chances of certain Blueprints .

In addition to these containers, you can often loot Blueprints from destroyed Surveyors - the largest of the rolling ball ARC. Surveyors are more commonly found on the later maps - Spaceport and Blue Gate - and if one spawns in your match, you’ll likely see it by the blue laser beam that it casts into the sky while “surveying”.

Surveyors are quite well-armoured and will very speedily run away from you once it notices you, but if you can take one down then make sure you loot all its parts for a chance of obtaining certain unusual Blueprints.

Blueprints obtained from quests

One way in which you can get Blueprints is by completing certain quests for the vendors in Speranza. Some quests will reward you with a specific item Blueprint upon completion, so as long as you work through all the quests in Arc Raiders, you are guaranteed those Blueprints.

Here is the full list of all Blueprints you can get from quest rewards:

• Trigger Nade Blueprint: Rewarded after completing “Sparks Fly”.
• Lure Grenade Blueprint: Rewarded after completing “Greasing Her Palms”.
• Burletta Blueprint: Rewarded after completing “Industrial Espionage”.
• Hullcracker Blueprint (and Launcher Ammo Blueprint): Rewarded after completing “The Major’s Footlocker”.

Alas, that’s only 4 Blueprints out of a total of 75 to unlock, so for the vast majority you will need to find them yourself during a raid. If you’re intent on farming Blueprints, then it’s best to equip yourself with cheap gear in case you lose it, but don’t use a free loadout because then you won’t get a safe pocket to stash any new Blueprint you find. No pain in Arc Raiders is sharper than failing to extract with a new Blueprint you’ve been after for a dozen hours already.

One of the best ways to get Blueprints is by hitting three stars on all five Trials every week. |Image credit:Rock Paper Shotgun/Embark Studios

Blueprints obtained from Trials

One of the very best ways to get Blueprints is as rewards for completing Trials in Arc Raiders. Trials are unlocked from Level 15 onwards, and allow you to earn rewards by focusing on certain tasks over the course of several raids. For example, one Trial might task you with dealing damage to Hornets, while another might challenge you to loot Supply Drops.

Trials refresh on a weekly basis, with a new week bringing five new Trials. Each Trial can offer up to three rewards after passing certain score milestones, and it’s possible to receive very high level loot from these reward crates - including Blueprints. So if you want to unlock as many Blueprints as possible, you should make a point of completing as many Trials as possible each week.

Best Blueprint farming locations

The very best way to get Blueprints is to frequent specific areas of the maps which combine high-tier loot pools with the right types of containers to search. Here are my recommendations for where to find Blueprints on every map, so you can always keep the search going for new crafting recipes to unlock.

Image credit:Rock Paper Shotgun/Embark Studios

Dam Battlegrounds

The best places to farm Blueprints on Dam Battlegrounds are the Control Tower, Power Generation Complex, Ruby Residence, and Pale Apartments . The first two regions, despite only being marked on the map as mid-tier loot, contain a phenomenal number of containers to loot. The Control Tower can also contain a couple of high-tier Security Lockers - though of course, you’ll need to have unlocked the Security Breach skill at the end of the Survival tree.

There’s also a lot of reporting amongst the playerbase that the Residential areas in the top-left of the map - Pale Apartments and Ruby Residence - give you a comparatively strong chance of finding Blueprints. Considering their size, there’s a high density of containers to loot in both locations, and they also have the benefit of being fairly out of the way. So you’re more likely to have all the containers to yourself.

Buried City

The best Blueprint farming locations on Buried City are the Santa Maria Houses, Grandioso Apartments, Town Hall, and the various buildings of the New District . Grandioso Apartments has a lower number of containers than the rest, but a high chance of spawning weapon cases - which have good Blueprint drop rates. The others are high-tier loot areas, with plenty of lootable containers - including Security Lockers.

Spaceport

The best places to find Blueprints on Spaceport are the Arrival and Departure Buildings, as well as Control Tower A6 and the Launch Towers . All these areas are labelled as high-value loot regions, and many of them are also very handily connected to one another by the Spaceport wall, which you can use to quickly run from one area to the next. At the tops of most of these buildings you’ll find at least one Security Locker, so this is an excellent farming route for players looking to find Blueprints.

The downside to looting Blueprints on Spaceport is that all these areas are hotly contested, particularly in Duos and Squads. You’ll need to be very focused and fast in order to complete the full farming route.

Image credit:Rock Paper Shotgun/Embark Studios

Blue Gate

Blue Gate tends to have a good chance of dropping Blueprints, potentially because it generally has a high number of containers which can hold lots of items; so there’s a higher chance of a Blueprint spawning in each container. In my experience, the best Blueprint farming spots on Blue Gate are Pilgrim’s Peak, Raider’s Refuge, the Ancient Fort, and the Underground Complex beneath the Warehouse .

All of these areas contain a wealth of containers to loot. Raider’s Refuge has less to loot, but the majority of the containers in and around the Refuge are raider containers, which have a high chance of containing Blueprints - particularly during major events.

Stella Montis

On the whole, Stella Montis seems to have a very low drop rate for Blueprints (though a high chance of dropping other high-tier loot). If you do want to try farming Blueprints on this map, the best places to find Blueprints in Stella Montis are Medical Research, Assembly Workshop, and the Business Center . These areas have the highest density of containers to loot on the map.

In addition to this, the Western Tunnel has a few different Security Lockers to loot, so while there’s very little to loot elsewhere in this area of the map, it’s worth hitting those Security Lockers if you spawn there at the start of a match.

That wraps up this primer on how to get all the Blueprints in Arc Raiders as quickly as possible. With the Expedition system constantly resetting a large number of players’ Blueprints, it’s more important than ever to have the most up-to-date information on where to find all these Blueprints.

While you’re here, be sure to check out our Arc Raiders best guns tier list , as well as our primers on the best skills to unlock and all the different Field Depot locations on every map.

ARC Raiders

PS5 , Xbox Series X/S , PC

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