Elden Ring: How to get to Altus Plateau

Struggling to reach the Altus Plateau? Here’s where to go!

Image credit:Rock Paper Shotgun/Bandai Namco

Not sure how to reach the Altus Plateau in Elden Ring? As you might know, the Elden Ring map is absolutely gigantic (and bound to get bigger with the Shadow Of The Erdtree expansion!). Liurnia may be the largest of the regions in terms of sheer traversable space, but the Altus Plateau just to its north is one of the most confusing to reach for new players.

The Altus Plateau is located right next to the capital, Leyndell , and it’s the main path towards the capital, which means you’ll need to learn how to reach it sooner or later. In this guide, we’ll walk you through how to get to Altus Plateau using either the Grand Lift Of Dectus or the hidden pathway through the Ruin-Strewn Precipice.

How to get to Altus Plateau in Elden Ring

There are three ways to get to the Altus Plateau in Elden Ring:

• Go through the Ruin-Strewn Precipice (BEST METHOD).
• Use the Grand Lift Of Dectus (requires both Dectus Medallion halves).
• Via the Raya Lucaria Academy Abductor Virgin .

The most obvious way to get to Altus Plateau is via the Grand Lift Of Dectus at the very north-east edge of Liurnia. This lift will take you straight up into the Altus Plateau, but it can only be activated by finding both halves of the Dectus Medallion. And that might prove a bit difficult at this stage of the game, as it requires you to enter Caelid first - an area which we consider to be more challenging than Altus Plateau itself in our Elden Ring area order guide.

Because of that, we recommend you take the Ruin-Strewn Precipice path up to Altus Plateau . This area is guarded by enemies aplenty, but none of them should be beyond your level if you’ve already fought your way through Liurnia.

How to reach the Ruin-Strewn Precipice

To get to the Ruin-Strewn Precipice, simply follow the ravine in the lake in the north of Liurnia. At the end of the pathway you’ll see a cliff face with pillars carved into it, and wooden structures going up the wall. From there you can climb a ladder into the Ruin-Strewn Precipice.

The Ruin-Strewn Precipice is, for most people, the easiest and best way into the Altus Plateau. |Image credit:Rock Paper Shotgun/Bandai Namco

The Ruin-Strewn Precipice path is fairly linear, so after a little while you’ll arrive at a boss fight with Magma Wyrm Makar . Defeat this boss and proceed out through the other side of the cave, and you’ll emerge in the Altus Plateau.

How to use the Grand Lift Of Dectus

If you want to use the Grand Lift Of Dectus, then you’ll need to gather both halves of the Dectus Medallion. The first half is located in Fort Haight in the southeast corner of Limgrave. The second half is far harder to reach; it’s in Fort Faroth in Caelid. We’ve got full details on where to find the Medallion halves in our Grand Lift Of Dectus guide.

You’ll need to venture deep into Caelid to get the Grand Lift Of Dectus working, unfortunately. |Image credit:Rock Paper Shotgun/Bandai Namco

Caelid is a much more challenging area overall than the Altus Plateau, so it makes more sense to us to go through the Ruin-Strewn Precipice. However, you can simply beeline straight to Fort Faroth and ignore everything else in Caelid if you just want to quickly unlock the Grand Lift. Even then, you’re required to get through a pretty tough ground floor of Fort Faroth, guarded by Chanting Winged Dames and Giant Bats.

How to use the Abductor Virgin to reach Altus Plateau

There’s a final secret (and not ideal) method of reaching the Altus Plateau: get abducted by an Abductor Virgin. A specific Abductor Virgin, mind you. If you’ve progressed Patches’ quest far enough, he’ll let you know that if you get caught inside one of those metallic constructs beneath the Academy Of Raya Lucaria, then they’ll bring you back to Mount Gelmir.

The Abductor Virgin in question is located below the giant water wheels which you’ll pass through on your way up to the Academy. Ride the water wheels down as far as you can go, and then get yourself killed by being grabbed and pulled inside the Abductor Virgin’s body. When you “respawn”, you’ll be in a closed-off area of Mount Gelmir.

You have to make sure you die while inside the Abductor Virgin, or it won’t transport you. |Image credit:Rock Paper Shotgun/Bandai Namco

Follow the path in front of you, and you’ll reach a boss fight with a pair of Abductor Virgins. It’s a tough fight with Mount Gelmir scaling, so this is probably the hardest method of all. But if you manage it, then just past the boss room you’ll emerge from the cave with a clear path into the Altus Plateau.

That’s every way to get to the Altus Plateau in Elden Ring. To prepare yourself for the increased difficulty there compared to Limgrave and Liurnia, check out our handy guides on the best weapons , best builds , best armor sets , and best spells in Elden Ring.

Elden Ring

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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