How S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2 moves the series forward – and why it reflects Ukraine’s “rebellious” spirit

A play and a chat with GSC Game World

Image credit:GSC Game World

Oh, S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: Heart of Chornobyl . Mere weeks from release after years of delays, plopped in front of me at a cramped, lightly vibrating Gamescom booth, and you still won’t reveal your secrets. I did get to play a brief whizz through GSC Game World’s eerie FPS – enough to feel encouraged, even – but be it time constraints or the darkness of my nighttime raid into the radioactive Zone, I would have liked to have quite literally seen more.

Then again, keeping the mystery intact may have been the point all along. “As a game director, I want to hide everything from the player”, GSC’s CEO Ievgen Grygorovych had told me minutes earlier. “I’m fighting with the marketing team because they want to show as much as possible!”

Grygorovych seems to have won this latest round: after a cutscene has me driven into the Zone by a helpful nerd, the demo barely gives me time to investigate a wrecked outpost, flick bolts into some classic S.T.A.L.K.E.R. anomalies, and dump AK rounds into a snarling mutant before a roving bandit gang puts me down. Not exactly an illuminating safari through Heart of Chornobyl’s open world. And yet, there are glimpses here of what this sequel is trying to achieve. For one thing, and while I can scarcely believe I’m saying this about a S.T.A.L.K.E.R. game, there’s a noticeable absence of jank.

Image credit:GSC Game World

My Stalker moves heavily, but not clumsily. Weapons have a ferocious, meaty kick, but don’t handle awkwardly in the slightest. Even inventory management, which maintains a version of the series’ grid-based system, is snappy and intuitive.

That’s not to say that this is S.T.A.L.K.E.R. with the edges sanded off. There’s little of the narrative or UI handholding that modern shooters are so fond of, and my encounter with the bandits shows how quickly this place will kill the rushing or inattentive. But it’s polished, for sure, and generally does feel like a modern FPS. Fifteen years since the original trilogy concluded, is that a natural product of its environment, or more specifically an olive branch to the series newcomers that will have taken up games in the interim?

“Our first goal”, says Grygorovych, “was to make the game for players that don’t know anything about the first games. We understood that we will have a huge part of new players, and we want to make the game good for them.

“Old players will see connections – like with some characters, S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Shadow of Chernobyl players will say ‘Oh, I know this character!’. So they will have a deeper and more interesting experience, but [playing previous games] is not necessary to play S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2 .

“Also, we are reaching for the console audience and the Game Pass audience, which will be huge. We are totally aiming for the new players. And we knew from the start that this was our goal.”

Image credit:GSC Game World

This kind of thinking might understandably set off alarm bells for fans of what has always been a fiercely idiosyncratic series, especially one where weirdness and unpleasantness are practically USPs. Rarely has a game sought a wider audience by knowingly being unwelcoming. Again, though, even my brief demo suggests that the signature atmosphere will survive intact. There’s no music as I break into the Zone via a creaking old tunnel or skulk through the grass towards that outpost; the soundtrack is footsteps and crickets in the darkness, being all the more spooky for it. And when I’m set upon by a Bloodsucker – the same kind of fleshmawed, cloaking ambush predator that plagued previous games – it happens suddenly and violently, without any cheesy cinematic intro to announce him. It plays more smoothly, sure, but it’s still recognisably S.T.A.L.K.E.R..

According to Grygorovych, the series’ distinct tone and friction still form the foundation of the sequel, even if mechanical changes are applied on top of it. If anything, he’s more concerned that those same newcomers GSC are courting might be put off by its quirks.

“We’re building a new game on the legacy we have”, he explains. “It’s hard to find something to compare [to the original games]. You can’t find a game that S.T.A.L.K.E.R. is similar to, because it’s unique. It’s not been copied by anyone in its design and scale. But it is a good start point to bring new, modern design parts for S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2.

“So the game, for me, is unique, and maybe some players wouldn’t laugh because it’s different from what they play each day! But I guess it’s good to have more unique games that are different from others.”

Image credit:GSC Game World

Where S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2 is definitely unique is the circumstances of its development. Despite a promising preproduction, which Grygorovych describes as “the best moment” of the process for the creative freedom it afforded, years of reworks and delays would follow – and then, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022. For the Kyiv-based GSC, this meant a hasty relocation to Prague, direct attacks on the game by suspected Russian hackers, and outright tragedy when game designer and Armed Forces of Ukraine volunteer Volodymyr Yezhov was killed defending the besieged city of Bakhmut.

Among GSC’s responses was the decision to effectively remove the Russian language from the game; everything from dialogue to road signs would, unlike in the original trilogy, use Ukrainian. (My demo began with the option to play either with English subtitles, or a fully English replacement voiceover; I chose the former and, having heard the latter in subsequent B-roll, would recommend the same.) Still, S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2 is not an anti-war game – Grygorovych and the rest of GSC simply wanted rid.

“There was nothing like… we put something in the game because of the war”, he says. “It was more like we didn’t want to have something in the game, and we just put it away. Not injecting something new. But yeah, we removed the Russian, we didn’t want to see it in the game.”

“An important bit of context here”, adds GSC’s PR manager Zakhar Bocharov, “is that for Ukraine, the war started in 2014, with the annexation of Crimea and the proxy war by Russia in Donetsk and Luhansk. So all the people working on the game, for them, it’s a long-going war, which became a full fledged war in 2022. So the influence… I guess it’s what Ievgen says, that it influences the people creating the game, but not the game itself. So they’re bringing something or bringing something out.

“I guess that’s been going for quite some time already.”

Image credit:GSC Game World

There will, however, be at least some additions that might not have made it in but for the war. Instead of going on the attack, GSC have – within the limits of what makes sense for a grim shooter – looked to celebrate Ukraine in S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2, such as with mosaics highlighting Ukrainian culture. Grygorovych and Bocharov agree this had to be approached “naturally”, though suggest that it’s also natural to have a little national pride.

As Grygorovych puts it: “We, as Ukrainians, have our own identity. We identify ourselves as Ukrainians. We have a totally different story and identity than other countries around us, and for us. Historically, we’ve been a very rebellious nation, with a lot of revolutions, and those revolutions were mostly moved by the will to be free, and to get more freedom.

“First it was against the Polish Commonwealth with Lithuania, and then it was against Russia occupying Ukrainian territories, and even in the modern age it’s continuing. We had two revolutions since the USSR was destroyed. It’s definitely in our code.”

In hindsight, it’s possible to see that yearning for liberty in the very first S.T.A.L.K.E.R, with its lone hero pitched against an ex-Soviet plot to develop global mind control. Will Heart of Chornobyl – and yes, that is the Ukrainian spelling – prove a worthy successor? That depends on how well it pulls off that balancing act, marrying classic S.T.A.L.K.E.R. tension and brutality with modern polish and slickness. I think it has a decent shot, but to be sure… well, I’d need to see more of it.

S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: Heart of Chornobyl

Video Game

Rock Paper Shotgun is better when you sign in

Sign in and join us on our journey to discover strange and compelling PC games.

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

Rock Paper Shotgun is better when you sign in

Sign in and join us on our journey to discover strange and compelling PC games.