Everything we know about Avowed

Avowed: story, gameplay, and more

Image credit:Obsidian Entertainment

Want to know more about Avowed, the upcoming action RPG set in the Pillars of Eternity world? Avowed is Obsidian Entertainment’s newest project and serves as a spinoff game in the realm of Eora, the expansive fantasy world first detailed in Pillars of Eternity and Pillars of Eternity II: Deadfire . Instead of a topdown CRPG experience with tabletop-inspired mechanics and real-time-with-pause tactical combat, Avowed puts the player up close and personal via a first person view with fast-paced gameplay more reminiscent of Obsidian’s 2019 effort, The Outer Worlds .

If you’re intrigued by this chance to experience Eora from a fresh new perspective, you’re in the right place. Let’s dive into everything we know so far about Avowed, from the expected release date to story details to a look at all the gameplay features revealed thus far.

In this guide:

• Avowed expected release date
• Avowed platforms
• Avowed trailers
• Avowed setting and story details
• Avowed gameplay

Avowed expected release date

Avowed will release in the third or fourth quarter of 2024. An exact month has not yet been specified, but the game is expected to come out in autumn - which would mark roughly four years since Avowed was first revealed on July 24, 2020.

Avowed platforms

Avowed will be available on Steam , Xbox Game Pass, and Xbox Series X/S.

Avowed trailers

Avowed’s reveal trailer debuted in 2020 and showed off a fiery arrow descending through the sky into the darkness. The cinematic showed off the game’s first person view and had a dark veneer that somewhat faded in later trailers.

Gameplay footage of Avowed was revealed in 2023. Sporting an artstyle considerably brighter than the initial reveal, this trailer showed off the game’s world, gave more hints of the plot, and served up a healthy dollop of spell-infused combat.

The latest video of Avowed was unveiled during the Xbox Developer Direct of 2024, giving viewers an even deeper look at the game’s sword and wand combat along with interactions with NPCs.

Avowed setting and story details

Unlike Pillars of Eternity and Deadfire, which respectively took place around the center of Eora - more specifically, on the east end of Eora’s Eastern Reach and the Deadfire Archipelago - Avowed’s setting is the northern continent known as the Living Lands.

Described in the Pillars games as an untamed island with deadly wildlife and inhospitable locals, the Living Lands appears to be the perfect unpredictable setting for an action RPG. This change is obvious in the game’s visuals - whereas the first Pillars of Eternity featured relatively traditional fantasy stylings and Deadfire leaned into a pirate-inspired sailing setting, Avowed is full of a wildly diverse selection of colourful biomes, some reminiscent of the rugged frontier. One of these, identified in the Xbox Developer Direct footage, is Shatterskarp, a wasteland dotted with vibrant oases and plenty of xaurip lizardfolk to fight.

Avowed sees the player taking on the role of an envoy from the Aedyr Empire, the influential colonial power ruling over much of Eora. The Living Lands is technically under the Empire’s control, but locals presumably have mixed opinions regarding the player’s presence on their soil, as evidenced by Avowed’s gameplay trailer which shows the protagonist greeted by swords after stepping on a pier. The trailer, narrated by a coastal aumaua named Kai, hints further at this: “People don’t like you very much, do they? Sent here, to the Living Lands, by an emperor who couldn’t bother to come himself.”

Image credit:Obsidian Entertainment

Despite this harsh reception, it appears that the player’s presence in the Living Lands is warranted. A plague is spreading throughout the continent, infecting everything in its path, and Avowed’s trailers notably show bears and corpses with fungi-like boils reminiscent of The Last Of Us’ Cordyceps erupting from their skin - all likely victims of this disease.

Little else is known of Avowed’s plot at this time, other than the fact that the player will discover a personal connection to the Living Lands as they explore it - perhaps hinting at great powers that will develop over the course of the adventure, or maybe a secret origin tying the protagonist to the plague infecting Avowed’s frontier sandbox.

Avowed gameplay

Avowed features first-person RPG gameplay, with plenty of interactions with NPCs meshed with dynamic combat. Battles see the protagonist using both melee and ranged weapons along with a wide selection of magic. The following elements can be spotted in the footage released thus far, or have been revealed by Obsidian in interviews:

Ability trees : Unlike the Pillars of Eternity games, Avowed doesn’t feature classes or customisable player races. You’ll have to play as the envoy of Aedyr no matter what, and seeing as how the Aedyr Empire is dominated by humans and elves, you’re also limited to those races. Nevertheless, Avowed offers up choice in the form of ability trees that will unlock as you progress through the game, presenting enough varying playstyles to keep things from feeling too confined.

Image credit:Obsidian Entertainment

Customisable weapon loadouts : Avowed lets the player quickly swap loadouts on the fly, from a standard sword and shield combo to an axe to a bow and arrow to a flintlock pistol. Swapping weapons is speedy and necessary for coping with different enemy patterns, which leads us to our next point…

Dual wielding : Yes, you’ll be able to equip two pistols - or even better, two wands, to “feel like a gunslinging mage,” as the Xbox Developer Direct trailer puts it. Dual wielding appears to be encouraged in Avowed’s gameplay, so it’s probably safe to say that you won’t see the same tabletop RPG-style damage penalties that you might encounter when eqipping two weapons in the Pillars games.

Image credit:Obsidian Entertainment

Spellcasting : Magic is a major part of Avowed’s combat, and the trailers show all sorts of nifty spell effects. These range from the main character casting a tanglefoot spell to keep foes in place, to using a wand in one hand to freeze an enemy while a sword in the other slashes its frozen form to bits.

Companions : Avowed’s CRPG DNA will shine in companions that follow the main character on their quest. While only two companions can accompany you at a time, they’ll fight alongside you in combat and have dynamic personalities that will change over time. Considering the memorable companions in the Pillars games, it’s likely that Avowed will follow through with well-written comrades.

That’s all we known about Avowed for the moment. If you’d like to brush up on the other games set in Eora, check out our thoughts on Pillars of Eternity and Pillars of Eternity II: Deadfire. Pillars II also made the RPS readership’s list of the 25 best RPGs of all time , so take a look there if you’d like to experience other classics of the CRPG genre before moving onto Avowed’s action-packed gameplay.

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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