How Embracer’s cuts killed a potential Red Faction sequel and gutted a promising studio

The exclusive inside story of Chorus developers Fishlabs, from Project Black to Project White

An asteroid field with a ship streaking across it towards a distant ringed planet in space shooter Chorus - 1

Image credit:Plaion

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A phoenix is a mythological firebird that is periodically reborn from its own ashes, a symbol of cyclical renewal. It’s also, according to several former employees of Chorus developers Fishlabs in Hamburg, an internal title for the massive cost-cutting project begun by Swedish conglomerate Embracer Group in June 2023.

The current incarnation of a bewildering series of mergers, renamings and acquisitions that date back to the founding of Nordic Games in 2004, Embracer have spent much of the past decade buying up video game studios and licenses, from Deus Ex developers Eidos Montreal to the adaptation rights for The Lords Of The Rings. According to a February 2023 earnings report , by the end of December 2022 the conglomerate had 134 internal studios on the books (including table-top developers) and owned or controlled over 850 IPs, with 224 games in development. Our Graham warned of the perils of such consolidation in 2019 , and his misgivings have been borne out. Following the reported collapse of a billion dollar Savvy Games investment deal, Embracer set out to recover their debts by cancelling projects, laying off staff and closing whole studios . Fishlabs - acquired by Embracer in 2018 alongside their parent company Koch Media, nowadays Plaion - were among those burned by “Project Phoenix”, first losing a dozen people in September 2023, and then around half their remaining workforce in November. In the process of these reductions, Embracer also binned off two video game projects – a sumptuous sci-fi metroidvania that was in full development, and a “visual prototype” for a brand new Red Faction game.

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A scene from Chorus, Fishlabs’s well-regarded 2021 space sim. |Image credit:Plaion

We covered the November layoffs , and in the wake of that report, a former employee of Fishlabs got in touch with me to discuss life at the studio leading up to their departure. Following that conversation, I approached several other departed Fishlabs staff to corroborate what I’d heard, all of whom spoke on condition of anonymity. This article is the result, a rare insider account of a studio who, according to sources, were prosperous and pushing into exotic new territory when the axemen came knocking. Embracer and Plaion were approached for comment about this story, but did not reply.

Founded in 2004, and sold to Koch Media in 2013, Fishlabs are the creators of the Galaxy On Fire space sims for mobile, some of which have been ported to PC . In 2021, the developers opened a new chapter with the release of the eerie and charismatic Chorus, which Sam Greer praised for its “over-the-top world and tone with slick dogfighting”. My sources said that Chorus was a profitable release for Fishlabs, despite not meeting the expectations of Embracer management, and that this success was the catalyst for the studio’s transformation into a creator of console and PC games.

In June 2023, Fishlabs had two in-house projects. Project White was the “side hustle”, a team devoted to pitching games based on other intellectual properties that Embracer owned. Project Black - the “shining star” - was an original game which sources say began development in 2021. In-house projects aside, Fishlabs also operated a cross-development team taking on work for other studios, such as Powerwash Simulator developer Futurlab.

Project Black went through many mutations. By late summer 2023, it had solidified into the tale of a brother and sister exploring a planet that has fallen prey to a strange corruption. The sister has completely succumbed to this malady, while the brother has a corrupted arm. The affliction was to be a source of power, however, in that the characters could use their relationship with the corruption to alter the terrain by, for example, generating or manipulating surfaces to jump on. In broader strokes, the game would have taken the form of a third-person metroidvania, with an open-ended world that offered plenty of reasons to backtrack, including skills to unlock.

A spaceship flying through the inside of a huge derelict in Chorus - 4

Chorus may be a space shooter, but it has an eye for solid terrain - you can imagine this team making a great on-foot science-fantasy adventure. |Image credit:Plaion

Project Black was a troubled endeavour. In development for roughly two years, the game had lovely art, but my sources characterised its design as undecided and lacking cohesion, partly because it didn’t have a single game director but a board of directors. It had a flat operational structure, where ideas came from all over. This meant that everybody felt a sense of autonomy, but it could also be the basis for confusion and delays, as teams blindsided each other with suggestions.

It was a real gamble for Fishlabs - an original game in a genre the studio had little previous experience with. This was also the first time Fishlabs had worked on two major projects simultaneously, according to sources. But there were reasons to be confident. In April 2023, Fishlabs announced that they would receive public funding for Project Black - €5.5 million, the largest sum ever awarded to a video game project by the German government. And while questions remained over the game direction, Project Black was making progress, with nobody in particular at fault for the delays. It just wasn’t coming together fast enough for Embracer.

In September, as the Project Phoenix restructuring programme progressed, there was a review of all companies and their projects under Embracer’s umbrella. Project Black was assessed by a team of senior people from studios authorised to make judgements on Embracer’s behalf, including representatives of Futurlab and Crystal Dynamics. The review group ultimately decided to cancel the game. “It was getting there but they weren’t willing to give it more time,” one source summarised. Project Black was also deemed risky because it wasn’t based on one of Embracer’s other intellectual properties. In the course of the cancellation, Fishlabs laid off 10% of their staff - around 12 people.

The rest of the Project Black team were split up between the company’s other projects. Around half joined the company’s cross-dev team, working on external projects, while the other half joined Project White. Crucially, Fishlabs were able to retain their German government funding and transfer it to Project White.

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WIP environments from Project Black, as shared onArtStationby senior 3D environment artist Denis Novikov.Image credit:Denis Novikov / Plaion

The Project White team had experimented with various game ideas throughout Project Black’s development. There was a pitch for a new Lord Of The Ring game, though this didn’t get very far - license-holders Middle-Earth Enterprises (acquired by Embracer in August 2022) never really responded to Fishlabs’ overtures. “They just went quiet,” one source told me. “Never heard from them again”. Naturally, the pitching team also considered making a sequel to Chorus. But around the time of Project Black’s cancellation, one exciting pitch became the focus: a new Red Faction game.

Embracer announced the closure of Red Faction’s original creators , the wonderful Volition Inc, on 31st August 2023. At the time, the studio’s former parent group Deep Silver thanked Volition “for their unforgettable work on Saints Row and Red Faction, whose IPs will live on at Plaion”. As you might expect, my sources expressed mixed feelings about pitching a new game in a series whose creator studio had just been shuttered, with one describing it as “ghoulish”.

The pitch made sense to studio members, nonetheless. Fishlabs had ample experience in science fiction, and as a new entry in a well-known, proven series, the Red Faction game would surely be safe against cancellation. Sources added that the Red Faction universe was especially appealing to Fishlabs staff in the wake of Project Black’s demise and amid the wider news about Embracer’s butchering of their studios. Red Faction, after all, began life as a story of working people fighting corporate injustice.

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The original PC cover art for the first Red Faction, published by THQ in 2001. |Image credit:Plaion / Archive.org

While the transferred Project Black staff carried out wider research on Red Faction, the existing Project White team worked on a “visual prototype” or “fake trailer” created with Unreal Engine 5, to present to Plaion. At this early stage, there were many ideas about the project’s direction, some of which would likely have been abandoned as the game evolved. But the basic ambition was to create something similar to 2009’s open world third-person Red Faction: Guerrilla, in which you can tear down whole bases with a sledgehammer, while ignoring the events of the under-loved fourth Red Faction game, Red Faction: Armageddon . “We were trying to look at what did Guerrilla do right, what did Armageddon do wrong, and how can we marry the two and continue on with it,” one source explained.

According to one set of draft story concepts discussed by several sources, Fishlabs’ Red Faction game would have been set 100 years after Guerrilla on a more terraformed and colourful Martian world map of similar size to the previous game’s world, featuring new and redesigned locations. There were plans for a female protagonist, who would once again take part in an underground workers revolution. There would likely have been a range of factions, from predatory corporations to homegrown Martian communities, with whom you might have had to forge alliances to complete your objectives.

While the game was envisaged as a “safe sequel” with a familiar emphasis on wrecking buildings, members of the Project White team also wanted to create a more open-ended play experience - closer to an immersive sim, perhaps, with opportunities for stealthy infiltration and player disguises alongside vehicle customisation. There were pie-in-the-sky aspirations to create an extremely reactive setting with dynamic dialogue, in which characters would comment on your methods of completing quests.

A WIP design for a green and grey-coloured science fiction rifle for Fishlabs' Project Black - 7

A WIP weapon design from Project Black, as shared onArtStationby senior 3D artist Niklas Kirchmer.Image credit:Niklas Kirchmer / Plaion

Even given the grief and anger over Project Black’s cancellation and the subsequent layoffs, sources claimed that morale on the Red Faction project was good. Partly, this reflected the natural camaraderie born of sharing a painful experience. But many at Fishlabs also felt that the worst might be over. According to several people, studio leadership made sincere assurances that Fishlabs were safe from further cuts because they had independent government funding, and were making money for Embracer through their cross-dev team. Lessons had also been learned from the problems of Project Black’s development. The Red Faction project had a clearer hierarchy, with a game director and an art director working closely together. There was less ambiguity about the game’s direction because, again, Red Faction is an established narrative universe with many precedents to build on.

Fishlabs pitched the Red Faction game several times to Plaion, the studio’s immediate corporate parent. The most elaborate pitch came in mid-November, and involved an element of cosplay. In addition to screening the “fake trailer”, team members posed as characters from the game, with the Red Faction resistance group “hacking” a presentation given by a sinister corporate agent. Plaion’s immediate feedback was positive, and sources say there was wide confidence that the game would be greenlit. But it wasn’t to last.

During the week of 20th November, there was another internal vote on the Red Faction project’s future. The vote was split 50-50, which meant that the Red Faction game was immediately cancelled. In the wake of the cancellation, Fishlabs studio leadership were told to lay off almost everyone not attached to an active game project. The crucial email came on a Friday, with Fishlabs bosses then working over the weekend to draw up a list of people who would be let go.

Early the next week, there was a surprise all-hands meeting, encompassing on-site staff and remote workers. If you have any experience of being mass laid off, you’ll know that a surprise all-hands meeting is seldom great news. But many staff went into the meeting nonetheless with high hopes. People had been told that Plaion and Embracer liked the Red Faction game, and some assumed the meeting would bring confirmation that it had been greenlit for full development.

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Even today, Volition’s Red Faction Guerrilla is legendary for its terrain destruction systems. |Image credit:Deep Silver

When staffers entered the meeting, however, it was obvious what was coming. “You could see that both the company chiefs had been crying a lot, and there was a representative from Plaion there as well,” one person told me. Around 50 people were laid off, cutting across departments - level design, narrative, game design, programming, audio, art and animation. As with the previous cuts, a handful of staff were transferred to Fishlabs’ cross-development team. Even as they announced the layoffs, studio development director Tobias Severin and managing director Stefan Beier both declared that they would step down.

In gutting Fishlabs, Embracer have done a colossal injury to one of the industry’s kinder creative communities. My sources painted the picture of a studio with a transparent and supportive working culture, in which the leadership were visible and involved day-to-day, staff trusted each other, people weren’t guilt-tripped for taking time off, and everybody felt like they had a chance to contribute in a meaningful way.

It wasn’t paradise: there were conflicts and tricky personalities, but in general, all my contacts looked back on their experiences at the company very fondly. People also characterised Fishlabs as a studio on the make, following the warm reception for Chorus. Project Black was supposed to be the next big pivot, a step beyond the space sim genre that might have opened the way for all kinds of game concepts, whether original in-house creations or licensed adaptations.

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Above all, Fishlabs was a studio whose leaders were prepared to fight for their staff. While it’s hard to go into detail without breaking confidentiality, several sources told me that the studio’s management and especially Severin and Beier worked hard to save positions and soften the blow for those leaving Fishlabs, both following Project Black’s cancellation and after the rejection of the Red Faction pitch.

The November layoffs were more chaotic. Some people had recently moved to Germany, meeting part of the relocation costs themselves. Others were still on probation, meaning they were strictly speaking entitled to only two weeks severance under German law. Certain team members were based in different countries, which affected their severance packages. According to several people, however, Fishlabs leadership and the company’s embattled HR team were able to arrange a better deal in some cases.

Concluding each interview, I asked my sources whether they agreed with the now widely-reported tale behind Embracer’s need to “restructure” - that they were banking everything on an eventual blockbuster investment deal such as the reported Savvy Games cash injection to offset their debts after so many acquisitions. All broadly echoed this narrative. I also asked for general thoughts on what Embracer were like to work under. Sources described the parent company as “hands-off”, with most communication arriving through Plaion, and not much communication with other studios under Embracer’s umbrella. While the company was aloof, this is hardly unusual for parent organisations, and nobody had any complaints about Embracer’s overall management prior to the beginning of Project Phoenix.

Forsaken flies through asteroids on the Path To The Enclave in Chorus - 10

Chorus is on some level a horizontal open world, with environments that feel like huge arenas full of floating structures. |Image credit:Plaion

I also asked my interviewees for their thoughts on why the past year and a bit have been so terrible for game developer livelihoods, with thousands of people laid off, a grisly procession of studio closures and hundreds of project cancellations across the industry. The overall verdict was a familiar one: companies overhired and overspent during the boom period created by Covid lockdowns, with much investment going towards web 3.0 technologies, NFTs, metaverse projects and latterly, generative artificial intelligence tools that haven’t delivered the desired growth, even as global interest rates have risen and scared away investors.

Sources also pointed out that the most expensive “triple-A” projects have never been more expensive, requiring enormous returns to break even. But several people also noted that the games industry goes through cycles of mass layoffs , because simply having a stable business isn’t enough for investors. Revenues must grow by a chunky margin: if they don’t, costs must be cut. Embracer’s mishandling of their business might be grotesque, but it’s business as usual nonetheless. “We make a shitload of money, but it doesn’t go back into the games,” one person commented. “It goes into a lot of now very wealthy peoples’ pockets, and the people who actually make the games kind of scrape by, most of the time.”

I haven’t spoken to anybody who is currently employed at Fishlabs for this feature - for clarity, all of my interviews were carried out across winter 2023 and spring 2024. But according to my sources, the studio essentially lives on as a cross-dev team working to support other Embracer companies. As of March 2024 and the sale of Gearbox to Take-Two , Embracer have supposedly concluded their “restructuring”, though they still found time to close Pieces Interactive just this week . They have also announced plans to retire the now-poisonous Embracer brand and divide their empire of video game and tabletop publishers and developers into three organisations, overseen by many of the same executives. It’s possible that Fishlabs will rise phoenix-like from the ashes and work on in-house projects again - the studio survived bankruptcy prior to being acquired by Embracer as part of the latter’s acquisition of Plaion. But it won’t be the same Fishlabs who developed Galaxy On Fire and Chorus, tried their hand at metroidvania with Project Black, and who might have given us another Red Faction.

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Red Faction

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Red Faction Guerrilla

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All 75 Arc Raiders Blueprints and where to get them

These areas have the highest chance of giving you Blueprints

An establishing shot of the Blue Gate map in Arc Raiders, with a blueprint grid and a Vulcano shotgun superimposed over the centre of the screenshot. - 16

Image credit:Rock Paper Shotgun/Embark Studios

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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
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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:

BlueprintTypeRecipeCrafted At
BettinaWeapon3x Advanced Mechanical Components 3x Heavy Gun Parts 3x CanisterGunsmith 3
Blue Light StickQuick Use3x ChemicalsUtility Station 1
AphelionWeapon3x Magnetic Accelerator 3x Complex Gun Parts 1x Matriarch ReactorGunsmith 3
Combat Mk. 3 (Flanking)Augment2x Advanced Electrical Components 3x ProcessorGear Bench 3
Combat Mk. 3 (Aggressive)Augment2x Advanced Electrical Components 3x ProcessorGear Bench 3
Complex Gun PartsMaterial2x Light Gun Parts 2x Medium Gun Parts 2x Heavy Gun PartsRefiner 3
Fireworks BoxQuick Use1x Explosive Compound 3x Pop TriggerExplosives Station 2
Gas MineMine4x Chemicals 2x Rubber PartsExplosives Station 1
Green Light StickQuick Use3x ChemicalsUtility Station 1
Pulse MineMine1x Crude Explosives 1x WiresExplosives Station 1
Seeker GrenadeGrenade1x Crude Explosives 2x ARC AlloyExplosives Station 1
Looting Mk. 3 (Survivor)Augment2x Advanced Electrical Components 3x ProcessorGear Bench 3
Angled Grip IIMod2x Mechanical Components 3x Duct TapeGunsmith 2
Angled Grip IIIMod2x Mod Components 5x Duct TapeGunsmith 3
HullcrackerWeapon1x Magnetic Accelerator 3x Heavy Gun Parts 1x Exodus ModulesGunsmith 3
Launcher AmmoAmmo5x Metal Parts 1x Crude ExplosivesWorkbench 1
AnvilWeapon5x Mechanical Components 5x Simple Gun PartsGunsmith 2
Anvil SplitterMod2x Mod Components 3x ProcessorGunsmith 3
????????????
Barricade KitQuick Use1x Mechanical ComponentsUtility Station 2
Blaze GrenadeGrenade1x Explosive Compound 2x OilExplosives Station 3
BobcatWeapon3x Advanced Mechanical Components 3x Light Gun PartsGunsmith 3
OspreyWeapon2x Advanced Mechanical Components 3x Medium Gun Parts 7x WiresGunsmith 3
BurlettaWeapon3x Mechanical Components 3x Simple Gun PartsGunsmith 1
Compensator IIMod2x Mechanical Components 4x WiresGunsmith 2
Compensator IIIMod2x Mod Components 8x WiresGunsmith 3
DefibrillatorQuick Use9x Plastic Parts 1x MossMedical Lab 2
????????????
EqualizerWeapon3x Magnetic Accelerator 3x Complex Gun Parts 1x Queen ReactorGunsmith 3
Extended BarrelMod2x Mod Components 8x WiresGunsmith 3
Extended Light Mag IIMod2x Mechanical Components 3x Steel SpringGunsmith 2
Extended Light Mag IIIMod2x Mod Components 5x Steel SpringGunsmith 3
Extended Medium Mag IIMod2x Mechanical Components 3x Steel SpringGunsmith 2
Extended Medium Mag IIIMod2x Mod Components 5x Steel SpringGunsmith 3
Extended Shotgun Mag IIMod2x Mechanical Components 3x Steel SpringGunsmith 2
Extended Shotgun Mag IIIMod2x Mod Components 5x Steel SpringGunsmith 3
Remote Raider FlareQuick Use2x Chemicals 4x Rubber PartsUtility Station 1
Heavy Gun PartsMaterial4x Simple Gun PartsRefiner 2
VenatorWeapon2x Advanced Mechanical Components 3x Medium Gun Parts 5x MagnetGunsmith 3
Il ToroWeapon5x Mechanical Components 6x Simple Gun PartsGunsmith 1
Jolt MineMine1x Electrical Components 1x BatteryExplosives Station 2
Explosive MineMine1x Explosive Compound 1x SensorsExplosives Station 3
JupiterWeapon3x Magnetic Accelerator 3x Complex Gun Parts 1x Queen ReactorGunsmith 3
Light Gun PartsMaterial4x Simple Gun PartsRefiner 2
Lightweight StockMod2x Mod Components 5x Duct TapeGunsmith 3
Lure GrenadeGrenade1x Speaker Component 1x Electrical ComponentsUtility Station 2
Medium Gun PartsMaterial4x Simple Gun PartsRefiner 2
TorrenteWeapon2x Advanced Mechanical Components 3x Medium Gun Parts 6x Steel SpringGunsmith 3
Muzzle Brake IIMod2x Mechanical Components 4x WiresGunsmith 2
Muzzle Brake IIIMod2x Mod Components 8x WiresGunsmith 3
Padded StockMod2x Mod Components 5x Duct TapeGunsmith 3
Shotgun Choke IIMod2x Mechanical Components 4x WiresGunsmith 2
Shotgun Choke IIIMod2x Mod Components 8x WiresGunsmith 3
Shotgun SilencerMod2x Mod Components 8x WiresGunsmith 3
ShowstopperGrenade1x Advanced Electrical Components 1x Voltage ConverterExplosives Station 3
Silencer IMod2x Mechanical Components 4x WiresGunsmith 2
Silencer IIMod2x Mod Components 8x WiresGunsmith 3
Snap HookQuick Use2x Power Rod 3x Rope 1x Exodus ModulesUtility Station 3
Stable Stock IIMod2x Mechanical Components 3x Duct TapeGunsmith 2
Stable Stock IIIMod2x Mod Components 5x Duct TapeGunsmith 3
Tagging GrenadeGrenade1x Electrical Components 1x SensorsUtility Station 3
TempestWeapon3x Advanced Mechanical Components 3x Medium Gun Parts 3x CanisterGunsmith 3
Trigger NadeGrenade2x Crude Explosives 1x ProcessorExplosives Station 2
Vertical Grip IIMod2x Mechanical Components 3x Duct TapeGunsmith 2
Vertical Grip IIIMod2x Mod Components 5x Duct TapeGunsmith 3
Vita ShotQuick Use2x Antiseptic 1x SyringeMedical Lab 3
Vita SprayQuick Use3x Antiseptic 1x CanisterMedical Lab 3
VulcanoWeapon1x Magnetic Accelerator 3x Heavy Gun Parts 1x Exodus ModulesGunsmith 3
WolfpackGrenade2x Explosive Compound 2x SensorsExplosives Station 3
Red Light StickQuick Use3x ChemicalsUtility Station 1
Smoke GrenadeGrenade14x Chemicals 1x CanisterUtility Station 2
DeadlineMine3x Explosive Compound 2x ARC CircuitryExplosives Station 3
TrailblazerGrenade1x Explosive Compound 1x Synthesized FuelExplosives Station 3
Tactical Mk. 3 (Defensive)Augment2x Advanced Electrical Components 3x ProcessorGear Bench 3
Tactical Mk. 3 (Healing)Augment2x Advanced Electrical Components 3x ProcessorGear Bench 3
Yellow Light StickQuick Use3x ChemicalsUtility Station 1

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.
A raider in Arc Raiders kneels down in the grass and opens a grey raider cache container. - 19

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.

The Weekly Trials screen in Arc Raiders, with the five trials of the week shown as having been completed to three-star quality. - 20

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.

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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.

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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.

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ARC Raiders

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