Could The Witcher 4’s Kelpie be the best video game horse yet? We asked an expert

“They knew what they were doing. They were like, here’s our horse.”

Image credit:CD Projekt/Rock Paper Shotgun

If you caught The Witcher 4 ’s tech demo at yesterday’s Unreal showcase , you likely spent an above-average amount of time for a Tuesday being impressed by horse muscles. Still, however excited you were about that horse, I’d wager you weren’t quite as happy as Alice Ruppert - consultant on the upcoming Windstorm: The Legend of Khiimori , and owner of the very best website about video game horses on the internet . Ruppert’s initial reaction? “Tears of joy in my eyes when they showed the slow mo horse movement”.

“I’m a big fan of the of the Witcher books, and so I knew that Ciri has a horse named Kelpie in the books,” Ruppert tells me over a call, “so, that’s part of it”. But it’s also the care that’s been put in. “Like: here’s our gorgeous horse. We care about it, and we know you care about it. And that made me feel very seen. I think that’s what brought the tears to my eyes. Of course, I am so profoundly a horse girl that you can, depending on my mood of the day, you can show me a slow mo footage of a horse galloping and I will cry in any case. That’s just my horse appreciation brain rot.”

While it might not be noticeable if you don’t already look out for the details, says Ruppert, “just the fact that all of the joints bend the right way and don’t bend when they’re not supposed to is weirdly rare. Just representing horse movement in a way that’s not immediately noticeable as incorrect like that is an achievement in itself. Which sounds like faint praise, but like, horses get get done dirty so often.”

Why is it important that game developers get horses right ? “It’s a very prominent element even if you feature it in gameplay in a relatively simplistic way”. The complicated parts are things like collisions and movement. Once that’s sorted, she says, you may as well add some character to the animals. “A petting animation is just one example of a simple thing to make the horse feel a little bit more alive than if it’s just a bicycle. There’s a lot of low hanging fruit for how to make the animal feel more alive, and in turn make your whole game world feel more alive, without completely redesigning your game to be about the horse.”

Image credit:CD Projekt

The audience for good video games horses is also a lot bigger than the market assumes, says Ruppert. “Games targeting them tend to be not very good, and not have very high production values. Which means there’s tons of horse girls (I use that as a gender inclusive term. Anyone can be a horse girl) who will pick a game just because it has a cute horse in it. For whom that is a major deciding factor.”

Do not fear: deep horse anatomy analysis is coming. But first, I need to know: could Windstorm’s horses beat Ciri’s Kelpie in a race?

“In an endurance race? Probably, because like Kelpie looks like a Friesian horse ,” Ruppert says. “She’s probably not like, gonna be called a Friesian in game, but that’s obviously what she’s inspired by. They’re a light draft horse. They’re often referred to as war horses, but the evidence for that is actually kind of thin.”

Friesians come from the Netherlands and have been around since the Middle Ages, Ruppert tells me, but are “horribly overused” in movies and settings where they don’t belong. “For example, ancient Greek settings. They just look good on film because they’re pretty and fancy and black. But I do think that The Witcher’s setting isn’t a bad place for a Friesian. We don’t know what the actual horse would have looked like around that time, so it’s not like we have a better reference to take.”

Windstorm: The Legend of Khiimori. |Image credit:Aesir Interactive

Friesians are mostly used for things like leisure riding and dressage nowadays, whereas the Mongolian horses in Windstorm are “bred for survival. They’re not as fancy or pretty, but they will survive a winter on the Steppes without getting additional food. And they’re what Genghis Khan and his armies travelled the world and conquered on. They’re very hardy, very sturdy. So, the beauty contest goes to the Friesian, but an endurance race goes to the Mongolian horses.”

Majestic looks aside, Kelpie’s name has its own storied roots, both in the Witcher novels and in folklore. “They’re kind of evil horses, which is a nice change of pace from the virginal and pure unicorn. Kelpie’s main thing in mythology is that they’re these flesh eating water horses. They offer you a ride across the river that they live in, but then when you accept, they drag you under the water and eat you.”

Ciri meets and names Kelpie in the book The Tower of Swallows. “You’re as black and agile as a sea-kelpie,” she says. “You’re as magical as a kelpie. So you’ll be Kelpie. And I don’t care if that’s pretentious or not”. Geralt and Ciri are “certified horse girls in the books,” says Ruppert, “and nobody can tell me otherwise.”

She also says you can tell from the novels that author Andrzej Sapkowski has met and spent time with horses, though Roach is “a little bit underused in The Witcher 3, very much a means of transportation and a bit of a meme.”

“Many games that have horse companions underuse them as characters. Horses react to things around them; noises and sense and changes in the environment”. This is rarely done in games, Ruppert says, though it’s easy to imagine why. “It’s additional polish work that might not be noticeable to a lot of people. But I do think that even people outside of my horse nerd bubble would profit from horses that are actually treated as characters by the narrative”. She gives the example of Agro from Shadow Of The Colossus, and Zelda’s Epona. “The horse is involved in the plot, and the whole game profits from it.”

Image credit:CD Projekt

As for all that shiny Unreal movement tech? “There’s some oddities about the hind legs,” says Ruppert. She gives the example of the hock - “the middle joint on the hind leg” - almost bending downwards when it moves forward. “That’s really strange, and I think the hind fetlock - so that’s the lowest joint - also moves a bit oddly. So that sort of, to me, breaks that illusion a little bit of this being a completely realistic horse.” But, she says, “this is complaining on a very, very high level of fidelity. On other horses in games, we’re usually pointing out: legs don’t work that way.”

Still, even Ruppert says she only noticed these things on re-watches. “Also, I have a Discord server full of horse nerds who talk about these things, who also point out additional things that I didn’t notice. It’s not literally perfect in every way, but I would say it is state of the art. I don’t think we’ve gotten any animated horses in video games that look better.”

Even Red Dead Redemption 2 (“the current holder of the crown”) gets “some things wonky that look better in this demo. Whether that applies to the game as a whole is to be seen. But Red Dead has its share of, like, the forelegs being bent in situations where they shouldn’t be. And I don’t like the faces of the Red Dead horses.”

A horse from Red Dead Redemption 2, ashamed of its terrible face. |Image credit:Rockstar

If the tech demo is anything to go by, it sounds like The Witcher 4 has the horse girl audience locked down, anyway. “They went and showed the horse in slow motion,” Ruppert says. “Like, they knew what they were doing. They were like, here’s our horse. We’re very proud of it. That’s a degree of visibility that I don’t see that often. Many games still like, very casually include their horse on the side and don’t treat it as a reveal worthy part of the game. Ciri calls the horse’s name. The horse reacts. The horse has a little bit of characterisation. It makes me hope for more things to come, that Kelpie will be more of a character than just a bicycle.”

Following our chat this morning, Alice shot right past me in getting an article of her own up on Mane Quest which you should read also. However, due to her previously established access to horses, I consider this cheating.

The Witcher IV

PS5 , 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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