Harold Halibut is very hard to enjoy when everyone’s so openly passive aggressive toward you

In fairness, I would be, too, if I had to deal with hapless Harold everyday

Image credit:Rock Paper Shotgun/Slow Bros

Claymation-me-do Harold Halibut is one of those puzzle-y adventure games that instantly catches your eye when you see it in screenshots and trailers. I mean, who wouldn’t be intrigued by its beautiful handmade models and sets? They all have such a lovely texture to them, and the slightly ramshackle way they fit together gives the game a firm sense of place. But after playing an early preview build of Harold Halibut this week, I’ve been disappointed by just how frustrating it is to actually play. It’s not that it’s difficult. In fact, the tasks Harold’s assigned in the opening few hours of the game are almost insultingly easy, extending to little more than ‘feed the fish’ and ’talk to so and so’, all of which can usually be accomplished by interacting with a single button prompt to move the story along.

Rather, it’s Harold himself that makes everything feel like such a chore. He’s a bit of a dolt, you see, and everyone around him knows it, treating him with such weary and open disdain like he’s some kind of village idiot that I, too, quickly came to dislike him. Harold doesn’t help himself much either on this front, weathering everyone’s underlying frustration with him like it’s all water off a duck’s back. It doesn’t seem to faze him in the slightest, perhaps because he’s too oblivious to even notice. But while this doziness might wash in a book or TV show, taking control of such a character in a game isn’t nearly as pleasant. After all, it’s not just Harold that’s being treated like an ignoramus. By extension, you, the player, are as well, which isn’t just immersion-breaking and frustrating, but it’s also insulting to your own intelligence. And that, my friends, does not equal happy adventure game fun times.

The game starts with Harold being fined for not having enough credit on his travel card, and it only goes downhill from there. |Image credit:Rock Paper Shotgun/Slow Bros

It’s a shame, as the story hinted at during its opening hours is quite an intriguing one - even if the rough setup is one we’ve heard several times before. After leaving a dying Earth in search of a new planet for humanity to begin life afresh, lo and behold, that new planet ends up being little more than a poisonous bog with no breathable atmosphere. So they make do, building an underwater society where everyone gets around by vacuum tube, and everything’s controlled by the clearly dodgy All Water Corporation. It’s Bioshock by way of Wes Anderson, though when a message suddenly arrives from Earth supposedly saying, ‘Hey, everything’s actually hunky dory now because we somehow all pulled together and saved the planet,’ the overlords at All Water start acting very suspicious indeed.

It’s a plot I want to hear more of, but not if it’s going to be doled out between Harold’s endless to-ing and fro-ing around his watery home, trying to find X to relay a message to Y, and then give a message from Y to X and possibly also Z, all of which are never in place you expect them to be, even though you literally just spoke to them two fetch quests ago. They scurry about the place like ants, these folks, often without warning and with no discernible reason to be in any particular place at any particular time. It leaves Harold to traipse after them, laboriously going through each location to try and find where they’ve wandered off to. It’s tedious work, and it’s made worse by both a walk and jogging speed that always feel several notches too slow for any given task.

Jeez, boss, no need to rub it in… |Image credit:Rock Paper Shotgun/Slow Bros

Even when you do track these folks down, Harold’s exchanges with them are equal parts maddening and exasperating. Sometimes, for example, a timer bar will appear pressuring you to choose a certain line of dialogue Telltale-style, but the bar disappears so quickly that you barely have time to even read each response, let alone internalise what they might mean or entail. This can make choices feel rushed and careless, but that feeling pales in comparison to some of the other tasks you’re required to do. At one point, your supposed friend Cyrus asks you to fix his broken 3D printer, which involves unscrewing lots of little panels from the control box. It’s the kind of light, tactile arm manoeuvring that’s worked exceedingly well in other kinds of puzzle games - see Fixfox and Assemble With Care as just two great examples of the form - but here it’s reduced to pointless busywork, if only because at the end of the puzzle Harold is essentially forced to electrocute himself, at which point Cyrus reveals that the damn thing wasn’t really broken at all, and that he just thought it would be funny to call you down to ‘fix’ it and hurt yourself.

This is really sucky, not just because Harold’s once again the butt of everyone’s jokes, but because it also disrespects your time as a player. Puzzles should exist to further a game’s plot, not just kill dead space between tasks for a laugh at your own expense. The really infuriating thing is that Harold himself just shrugs his shoulders and carries on like this is a totally normal occurrence in his daily routine. But even when his ‘friends’ aren’t causing him bodily harm, he’s such a vacant and disinterested human being that he rarely has anything insightful to say anyway. His default response seems to be mostly just asking more questions, leading to protracted merry-go-rounds with NPCs as they try in vain to spell out what Harold needs to know but is repeatedly failing to grasp.

Minus points to Cyrus for being a turd. Plus points for having all the panels I unscrewed lying in a heap below the printer after completing the puzzle. |Image credit:Rock Paper Shotgun/Slow Bros

Most conversations you have with other people around the ship end up being very frustrating. |Image credit:Rock Paper Shotgun/Slow Bros

It all gave me terrible flashbacks to the turgid conversations I had in Outcast: A New Beginning earlier in the month, only here you can’t just hammer skip to bring the conversation to a swift conclusion. Every encounter has been carefully scripted to account for both its voice and animation work, so even if you do cut the talking short, you still have to wait for the game to play out the ensuing animation - albeit at a slightly fast-forwarded pace - until the next voice line triggers. Sure, this is marginally less jarring than having a camera whiplash between each speaker, but I’m not entirely sure it’s really saving you much time in the process. It all still feels too slow, which is a tricky thing to try and mitigate when your patience is wearing thin already.

Perhaps I’m being too harsh on old Harold. Maybe I simply have a lower tolerance level for this kind of japery than others do. But I do wish he would buck up a bit and show a bit more backbone. It might be different if Harold’s intelligence was merely being underestimated by his considerably more capable colleagues - if he expressed even a modicum of his own frustration at being treated so poorly, then the game might have the better makings of an ‘I’ll show ’em!’ comeback story. But when he simply takes it all in his stride, all it does is reinforce that you’re very much at the bottom of the food chain in this world, which makes it hard to feel like you’ll ever truly find your place within it.

Perhaps that, too, is the point - that you’re meant to feel like a fish out of water so you can go off and solve the mystery of this strange ship without anyone really worrying or caring about what you’re doing. But if that is indeed what developers Slow Bros are going for, I worry that they’ve laid it on way too thick, to the point where some players will simply get turned off by it all, and put down their controllers long before Harold gets a chance to turn things around for himself. The fate of his watery home on Fedora 1 isn’t so captivating that it will pull me through it all regardless, nor will the endless schlepping about between locations as I run increasingly pointless errands for all these passive aggressive ingrates. With its Steam launch still currently slated for early 2024, I’ll be waiting with tempered expectations for Harold Halibut’s full and final release.

Harold Halibut

PS4 , Xbox One , 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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