Dead Rising Deluxe Remaster’s survivors are still idiots, but at least they can die horribly in style now

Hands-on with the first few cases of the upcoming remaster

Image credit:Capcom/Rock Paper Shotgun

The survivors in the upcoming Dead Rising Deluxe Remaster - itself an update of the 2016 HD version of the 2006 zombie open-mall action game - are still idiots. I’m starting to regret giving Burt a gun, honestly. Every time he bumps into a magazine rack he starts screaming like someone’s eating his face, and the little circle above his name turns red to indicate he’s in danger. That’s a mannequin, Burt. They can’t hurt you. They’re actually known for not being able to move.

Still, while I can’t exactly say I wouldn’t have it any other way, these rough edges have always been part of the game’s charm. If Burt had much instinct for self preservation, I wouldn’t need to place that pistol in his hands like a parent doing the aeroplane thing with a spoonful of mashed swede. Dead Rising put oceans of weeping, pallid flesh front and centre, but it was the fainter wrinkles that made it such an idiosyncratic gem: time limits, non-linearity, and an almost quasi-roguelike loop. It was pulpy and glossy and crass, sure, but it was also frictive and obtuse in ways that made it stand out. It felt like an anomaly.

Image credit:Capcom/Rock Paper Shotgun

If you’re new here, here’s your orientation package. The game places you in the leather jacket and white shirt (you’ll soon find much more ridiculous attire) of freelance photojournalist Frank West. He’s covered wars you know! Frank’s fuckery sense is tingling, so he hires a helicopter pilot to take him to the town of Willamette, Colorado. Upon arrival, he finds an unusually high military presence, alongside an unusually high number of zombies eating people’s faces.

The strange happenings centre on the local mall, so Frank has the pilot drop him off on the roof and return in three days. There may be no more room in hell, but there’s certainly enough storage on his camera for a big scoop. It’s those three days - each two real-world hours long - that give Dead Rising its unique structure. If you want to gorge on coffee creamer and try on sunglasses the whole time, you can. But if you want that scoop, you’ll need to follow your leads. You’ll complete ‘cases’ step-by-step, each following a linear storyline throughout the Mall. Some steps are immediately followed by the next, and some don’t kick off until a fixed time later.

You’ve often got time to wander off between steps and explore. Maybe rescue a shop assistant who’s been stuck behind a stack of cardboard boxes since before the outbreak? Maybe take out the irate gun shop owner, or go to the food court and see which blended ingredients make the tastiest smoothies? You could, of course, just grab the silliest weapon you can find - a salmon, a guitar, some dumbbells - and work on getting that ‘zombies killed’ counter in the bottom right as high as possible. There’s a guilty appeal to taking regular five minute breaks to test out your new weapon on the everpresent hordes, which tend to see-saw between threats and comedy stressballs depending on what Frank’s armed with.

Frank learns new attacks as he levels up. Most of them are basically wrestling moves. |Image credit:Capcom/Rock Paper Shotgun

Each shop yields different weapons, but if you get distracted knocking over zombies with parasols or lobbing stacks of CDs, you run the risk of failing the main story. At the same time, while you’re often notified by radio when your mate back at the safehouse spots survivors on the CCTV, they’ll also perish if ignored for too long. The time limit actually ends up being very tight if you want to see everything, so the game is really designed for multiple runs. You can NG+ over and over, carrying Frank’s experience and abilities to the new run. Still, you’ll probably find that your level is less important than what you’ve learned as a player. Once you know where everything is, you can get comically overpowered within the first hour or so. Double mini-chainsaws and several durability magazines, anyone?

Again, none of this is altered in Deluxe Remaster. What is new, of course, are the visuals. I’m about as immersed in the nuances of tech specs as a giraffe’s neck in a paddling pool, but even I’ve learned to get visibly excited each time I see the RE Engine logo pop up. Deluxe Remaster isn’t a ground-up RE Engine title (most notable in some funky facial animations) but it’s still a very sharp glow-up. The engine’s penchant for skin detail, especially, is a big leap - exactly what you want with so much rotting flesh on display. Some areas of the mall are completely reimagined. It feels vaster, with new lighting drawing out both vibrancy and gloom. It’s a place you’d actually want to spend enough time in for Romero to seed a whole genre making fun of you for it.

Image credit:Capcom/Rock Paper Shotgun

Oh, hey. I was digging behind a bin for some supplies when I found this pamphlet with all a quick roundup of new features on! Wild how I’m able to do this while still being thematic! There are nine voiced languages, alongside 14 text options. Conversations that were previously just text are now fully voiced. The UI can be made to dynamically vanish. You can turn off licensed music if you’re streaming - although you will miss out learning what colour the grass was. There’s a wardrobe in the safe room, so you’ll be able to change into any clothes you’ve found without having to locate them in the mall again.

You’ll also be able to change Frank back to his original look and face, if you prefer it. This isn’t a default option though, so it could well be paid DLC. According to some ratings bits, you should expect “in-game purchases”, although I couldn’t access them. This might just be a menu to buy extra costumes, but it could always be something like Resi 4 Remake’s microtransactions .

Image credit:Capcom/Rock Paper Shotgun

You can also find new camera parts around the mall, which add things like a flash to help you get those experience-boosting money shots in the dark. As with the original, you’re rewarded depending on the quality of the shot across different categories like horror, drama and the like. Gone is the original’s ‘erotica’ category, which you scored by snapping bums and boobs, but you absolutely did not score by capturing pendulous bulges. It was entirely gendered and entirely vacuous, and the Remaster is better for its absence. There might be an argument to be made for preservation, but the 2016 version will continue to exist, so this is the next best option if they’re not going to democratise the process and let players amass an album of artful schlong shots. The experience points are literally called PP! It writes itself!

For me, a lot of the appeal with this kind of remaster is just being there to watch an old favourite get some time in the spotlight again. Dead Rising’s back! I felt how I did when I bought tickets to Sublime touring with a new singer following the frontman’s overdose years prior. It’s about celebrating something in public with other people who love something like you do. Ultimately, that’s what the remaster is. Nothing too daring, nothing too transformative. It’s Dead Rising but prettier and more palatable. Less bumpy and, as a consequence, slightly less interesting. It’s orange juice without the bits in. Doin’ Time without the melancholy. There’s no less blood, but there is a little less pain.

Image credit:Capcom/Rock Paper Shotgun

Sometimes - like the hurt in a singer’s voice - pain makes something what it is. The game frequently autosaves now, usually before story moments or as you’re entering a new area. The zombies can still kill Frank quickly if you’re sloppy, but they can’t hurt you in the same way anymore. I can get poetic about it, but it’s honestly fine. I’m old. I’ve got emails finding me well and plants I could be watering. I can’t play stoned on the sofa for hours working on that ridiculous achievement , listening to 40 Oz. To Freedom, replaying long sections because I died. We all make concessions.

Frank’s got a new presence to him. He feels weightier and more compliant, even as melee itself feels less sluggish. He can move while aiming (guns still feel like cheap toys) and durability bars remove the creeping dread of anticipating your favourite baseball bat breaking in the middle of a flaky moshpit.

You know what? Doin’ Time without the melancholy is still a bop, and unless there are some nasty surprises the preview restrictions hid from me, this’ll be my go-to when I fancy revisiting the Willamette mall, which happens more often than you might expect. And, yes, I did carve out preview time to go wreck the jeep-driving convicts with a sniper rifle, then drove around the garden for ten minutes running down zombos. I’m excited for a whole new audience to get to sample such sweet revenge.

Dead Rising Deluxe Remaster

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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