Denuvo respond to their rep for tanking games - “I’m a gamer myself, and therefore I know what I’m talking about”

“There is only two ways to protect a game against piracy, right? Either you don’t, or use our protection”

Image credit:Capcom

Over the past week or so, you may have caught wind of Denuvo - the makers of anti-cheat and anti-piracy software - embarking on a PR campaign of sorts, intended to combat negative public perception of their software. In case you’re unfamiliar, Denuvo’s wares have become infamous for allegedly sabotaging the performance of all sorts of video games, from Resident Evil: Village to Tekken 7, though accounts of the severity vary, and there is an on-going shortage of independently supplied raw data.

Denuvo’s attempts to clear the air include opening a Discord, which they say “ is a key step in fostering closer relationships with game developers, publishers, and players, offering a dynamic, real-time platform for meaningful interaction”. On Monday, Denuvo’s media team reached out to me to offer an interview with Denuvo’s product manager, Andreas Ullmann. Here’s that interview, edited for brevity.

RPS: In a recent public statement you said “we will stop letting every claim about our product go unanswered". What claims are you referring to?

RPS: You mentioned hostility and toxicity there. Do you think there’s an element of good faith (to the concerns), and how are you aiming to instill some trust or reassure these people?

Andreas Ullmann: I definitely think there should be a level of trust built. Where it comes to open communication and transparency, we have been very closed in the past, and we will change that, and we will answer questions as honestly as possible if we can answer the question. Of course, on the Discord now. I’ve already seen a lot of people asking for our pricing and things like this. Of course, I cannot share that, but all the other questions I try to answer as open as possible and with this, try to establish a trust relationship between the average player and us as the provider for these technologies.

RPS: Why do you think Denuvo has garnered such a poor reputation?

Andreas Ullmann: I think two main reasons. First, our solution simply works. Pirates cannot play games which are using our solution over quite long time periods, usually until the publisher decides to patch out our solution. So there is a huge community, a lot of people on this planet who are not able to play their favorite video games, because they are not willing to pay for them, and therefore they have a lot of time to spend in communities and share their view and try to blame Denuvo for a lot of things - trying to make the gaming publishers to not use our solutions so they can start playing pirate copies of games for free again.

Secondly, I think it’s super hard for a gamer. I’m a gamer myself, and therefore I know what I’m talking about. I think it’s super hard to see, as a gamer, what is the immediate benefit for me that a certain game developer, game publisher, is using our anti-piracy services. For anti-cheat, for example. It’s super easy. You as a player have an immediate benefit if a game uses an anti-cheat solution, because it’s a fair environment in the game, and you don’t need to face cheaters. It’s different, though. There was a recent study about the financial impact of our protection. That study said our solution saves our customers around 20% of - or an additional 20% of revenue - if they’re using our solution.

If I, as a gamer, would read that, I see: okay, then these big corporations are just making even more money. But in the end, it’s not that easy. Especially currently, the gaming industry is going through a very tough time. Budgets for AAA games are in the hundreds of millions. The publishers and developers, they have to afford that upfront, and they need to get the money back within the first few weeks after release.

Image credit:BANDAI NAMCO

RPS: A lot of companies seem happy enough with the service Denuvo provides to keep using it. Why are you so concerned about public perception? Why not just let people have their theories and carry on doing your thing?

Andreas Ullmann: Hard to answer. So maybe it’s just… maybe it’s even a personal thing. I’m with the company for such a long time. The guys here are like my family, because a lot of the others here are also here for ages. It just hurts to see what’s posted out there about us, even though it has been claimed wrong for hundreds of times.

On the other hand, I can imagine that this reputation also has some kind of business impact. I can imagine that certain developers, probably more in the indie region or the smaller region, are not contacting us in the first place if they are looking for solutions.

Because currently, there is only two ways to protect a game against piracy, right? Either you don’t, or use our protection. There is no competitor. And I can imagine that there are developers out there who are hesitant to contact us, only because of the reputation. They would probably love to prevent piracy for their game, but they fear the hate and the toxicity of the community if they do so. And maybe they even believe all the claims that are out there - unanswered from us until today - and for this reason don’t contact us in the first place.

RPS : The study you mention showed that having Denuvo software improves revenues at launch, but also showed that a certain point after release - I think it was around three months - it evens out. Do you think publishers should have a policy of eventually removing Denuvo and making that clear to players in their marketing?

Andreas Ullmann: That’s the only point of the study where I’m not totally agreeing. The reason is: what is the data foundation for this? Because the person who made the study does not know our pricing structure, and without this information, it’s hard to calculate the break even. It doesn’t make sense anymore, if you don’t know how much somebody’s paying for it.

We totally agree with the statement that the initial release window is the most important one: our contracts are usually structured this way, so it’s up to our clients. We are not in a position to enforce or force a customer to patch out our solution after a certain period. We leave that up to our clients. I mean, they have all the numbers. They have their sales numbers. They even have the pirate numbers for games that have been cracked. They know how much they make with a game over a certain time period. So they have all the data to calculate this break even point, or when they think that it’s not worth anymore to keep our protection on. So I totally trust their view on when it it’s required to be removed.

Image credit:Rock Paper Shotgun/Square Enix

RPS : You’ve pushed back against some of the complaints about Denuvo tanking performance. Can you show us raw data and benchmarks to demonstrate that Denuvo games don’t affect performance? And is there scope for getting an agreed third-party (for example, a tech site like Digital Foundry) to audit the effects of Denuvo?

Andreas Ullmann: Perfect timing for this question, actually. This morning, I was going through the aftermath of our Discord opening yesterday, because I did not find the time to answer all the questions that came up there. And one question there was, of course, it’s always about this performance topic. And there was a very healthy discussion started there between two users and myself about what such a test could look like. I posted a long answer in there today, so I would probably mostly repeat this answer here now as well.

So basically, I think the one question was: why don’t the developers do these comparisons and post them publicly? That’s something we cannot force them to do. There seems to be reasons why they are not doing it. And also, on the other hand, probably considering the toxicity of - especially the pirate community - they would probably not accept that anyway, because it could be rigged.

Second case is: we do it. We have the unprotected execute tables, usually, for the game. So we would have both available. We could do a direct comparison. But two problems there. First is we would need the approval from our customer to do that with the game. (It would be) a public post using their franchise, their IP, so we would need the okay for that. And the other one is: again, there will be claims that this is rigged. Nobody will believe us, as we are the evil ones here.

The third option is third parties. I think that will be the way to go. Of course, again we have the problem. We cannot hand out unprotected executables to a third party, probably not even if we get the okay from our customer, because this is really crucial data. So something like this would need to happen here in our office in Salzburg. But this is definitely something we can think about. Inviting, I don’t know, Digital Foundry [to test our software].

That’s a question I asked in the Discord, to the actual players: who they have on the radar. Who they would believe if they would post something like this. Of course, it’s also important to see who is paying for the flights, who is paying for the accommodation. So this really needs to be planned carefully, so it’s not possible for any site to claim that this has been rigged or somebody got paid for saying something. But this is definitely something we are currently considering

Image credit:Capcom

RPS: Do you deny that Denuvo negatively affects performance in all cases?

Thing is, I think it’s important to understand how our solution works. And it’s also worth considering, because when these performance claims come up, it’s mostly this Tekken case that is referred to. But considering that we are protecting 60 to 70 games every year, it’s quite interesting to see that there is only - if even - a handful of games where there was an effective performance impact cost. That’s really just a minority.

RPS: You said the wrong part of the source code was selected for protection, with Tekken. Do you think you could be doing more to instruct and guide companies in the implementation of Denuvo properly?

Andreas Ullmann: It makes a lot of sense. The good thing is, most of our clients, once they start using our solution, they stick to it because they see that it’s delivering and most of our customers nowadays know pretty well how to use our tooling. And we have also improved our tooling a lot so they can better validate where our protection is used in the game or where it’s executed. So, yes, this is definitely something we are constantly thinking about, how we can improve these workflows.

RPS: Is there anything else you wanted to cover?

Andreas Ullmann: When there are reports about us, it’s mostly done in a negative way. There are rarely references to the other tests that have been done, like Final Fantasy 15 or Hogwarts Legacy . Where both of those analyses resulted in not having a performance impact by Denuvo - so that’s always interesting to see as well. And the other thing people bring up is: but there is this test. The cracked version vs. uncracked - or the the normal, protected version - and the cracked version was running faster.

That’s the thing that that’s bothering me the most, to be honest, that people take this as proof of our solution causing performance issues. Because most of these comparisons are first of all, coming from some unknown YouTube channels, or from some sources that are more related to or have relations into the piracy scene - and are more news and influences in the piracy scene than in the normal gaming scene.

Because what we’ve seen, there is really a lot of very good questions. We’ve seen already, a lot of people saying: I was concerned and hesitant about Denuvo, but thanks for this open communication. We appreciate it. Stuff like that. And this is exactly what we are looking for. Having honest, nice conversations with people. Talking about what we all love, which is gaming.

Resident Evil Village

PS4 , PS5 , Xbox One , 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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