How to beat Arkveld in Monster Hunter Wilds

Learn Arkveld’s weaknesses, drop list, and more

Image credit:Rock Paper Shotgun/Capcom

Need help with how to beat Arkveld in Monster Hunter Wilds? Arkveld is a flying wyvern that will give you trouble regardless of whether you’re fighting them for the first time or not. As the flagship monster for Monster Hunter Wilds , they’ve got a lot of power and fast moves to catch you off guard.

If you’re fighting the Guardian Arkveld for the first time, this is the normal version but many of their attacks are still the same. Using our guide we’ll help you learn how to beat Arkveld in Monster Hunter Wilds by going over their weaknesses, the best gear to use, tips and tricks, and the rewards you can get.

In this guide:

• How to beat Arkveld in Monster Hunter Wilds
• Where to find Arkveld
• Arkveld weaknesses
• Best weapon and armor to fight Arkveld
• Arkveld tips and strategy
• Arkveld rewards and drop list

How to beat Arkveld in Monster Hunter Wilds

We’ll go into more detail on all of Arkveld’s weaknesses further down and how to exploit them. For now, here are our top tips on how to beat Arkveld in Monster Hunter Wilds:

1. Know when to play defensively and when to be aggressive.
2. Don’t underestimate superman dives and sprinting.
3. Break Arkveld’s chainblades.
4. Use traps and environmental hazards.
5. Use Flash Pods if Arkveld grabs you.
6. Position behind Arkveld or to the side if you don’t know their attacks well.
7. Beware the glowing red enhanced state.

Skip ahead to our tips and strategy section for more details on each of these points!

Where to find Arkveld

Arkveld is a unique case of a Monster Hunter Wilds monster that can be found in every region. This includes the Windward Plains, Scarlet Forest, Oilwell Basin, Iceward Cliffs, and the Ruins of Wyveria. However, the first time you’ll find Arkveld is as their guardian variant in Chapter 3-1 .

After this point, you will need to reach the very last mission in Chapter 6 before you can fight Arkveld again. After this point, it will begin to appear randomly in any region, just like a regular monster - and can even appear in Tempered variants which will give you special rewards like Hunter Symbols and Artian Materials .

Arkveld weaknesses

Arkveld’s weaknesses are relatively even across the different parts of their body from physical attacks. Although, they take less damage to their torso and legs. |Image credit:Rock Paper Shotgun/Capcom

Arkveld’s weak points are their chainblades. You can typically hit Arkveld’s chainblades by attacking the side of their body or where their arms are. Otherwise, they’re occasionally vulnerable after an attack where Arkveld whips their chainblades forward.

While their chainblades are a weak point, you won’t benefit from targeting them with elemental damage. Based on Arkveld’s weaknesses, their chainblades are only vulnerable to physical damage . And after dealing enough damage, you’ll break them.

The best element to use against Arkveld when not targeting their chainblades is Dragon. Other elements are similarly effective. As far as the best status effect to inflict, each of them has medium effectiveness. I recommend Exhaust if you can build it.

Best weapon and armor to fight Arkveld

Using a Dragon element weapon will help you deal more damage to Arkveld. Regardless of which weapon type you use, it’s only a matter of what body parts you focus on to deal more damage. For example, projectile attacks are great against chainblades but not as strong against Arkveld’s wings.

With that said, slower weapons will always be tougher since you need to know when it’s safe to use a delayed attack. But, that doesn’t make them worse, it merely means you need to know the monster well.

The best armor you can wear against Arkveld is anything with Dragon Resistance. However, this can be difficult when you’re also trying to increase your overall defense. I like to balance my build by equipping decorations that give me resistance to an element I’m low in. Otherwise, you can use armor like Dober, Artian, or Guild Ace for Dragon Resistance.

If you want to go a step further, you can build certain skills to counter Arkveld as well. Such as Blight Resistance, Windproof, and Earplugs . These will help with Arkveld’s Dragonblight, Minor Wind Pressure, and Weak Roar.

Arkveld tips and strategy

Below we’ll further detail the main tips and overall strategy you need to beat Arkveld. These tips take advantage of their weaknesses while helping you survive the tough enraged state of Arkveld.

Image credit:Rock Paper Shotgun/Capcom

1. Know when to play defensively and when to be aggressive

An energetic Arkveld is a deadly one where you’re better off playing evasively. I like to create a gap between Arkveld and me while circling so I can easily dodge incoming attacks. They’ll close the gap frequently but their attacks will take longer to hit if you’re farther away. And if you see them coming, that makes them easier to follow up on.

If Arkveld is enraged, you may want to wait for them to become exhausted. This gives you an opening to play aggressively because their attacks become infrequent and much slower. However, if your quest has a low amount of time to complete, you may have to play more riskily. Or you can build the Stamina Thief skill to exhaust Arkveld quickly. But, this won’t work on the guardian variant since they’re resistant to Exhaust.

2. Don’t underestimate Superman dives and sprinting

Sprinting away from a monster and dodging with your weapon sheathed is commonly known as a Superman dive. It makes you temporarily invulnerable and is a great way to survive dangerous attacks. Between Superman dives and sprinting with your weapon sheathed, you can avoid many attacks. Sometimes I’ll sprint while circling Arkveld to dodge an attack and move in on a vulnerability.

3. Break Arkveld’s chainblades

Aside from Arkveld’s chainblades being a weak point, it’s worth breaking them. Breaking certain monster parts can make a monster weaker and thus easier to fight. Plus, breaking a chainblade drops one Crushing Chainblade Shard. This becomes a Heavy Slicing Pod upon picking it up. It’s another quick chunk of damage that doesn’t require you to do much.

Mounting Arkveld is also a good way to create wounds so you can knock them down and target their chainblades afterwards. |Image credit:Rock Paper Shotgun/Capcom

4. Use traps and environmental hazards

Arkveld is vulnerable to both trap types so you’ll want to take full advantage of using them. However, if you’re trying to capture them , make sure you keep a trap on you. I recommend using traps if you’re struggling with an enraged state or to try and open wounds early on. The beginning of an Arkveld hunt is tough because they’re full of energy.

Since Arkveld can appear in any region, you’ll have a variety of environmental hazards to use. This includes everything from Vine Traps hanging in a tree to Paratoads for stunning monsters . Always watch for anything you can use to make your hunt easier.

5. Use Flash Pods if Arkveld grabs you

It’s terrifying any time a monster grabs you and even worse if you don’t know what to do. If Arkveld grabs you, you can use Flash Pods and certain slinger ammo types to break their grip. And if you’re playing with other people, they can do the same thing to help you. Fortunately, if your defense is high enough, this isn’t a one-hit attack even though it may scare you into thinking it is.

6. Position behind Arkveld or to the side if you don’t know their attacks well

Knowing the right spot to be when fighting any monster can be tricky and unfortunately, it especially is with Arkveld. This is because they have enough attacks that they can hit you regardless of where you are. However, a big part of Arkveld’s kit is using chainblades to attack forward or create massive explosions in front of them. If you position yourself to their side or behind, you won’t have to worry about as many attacks.

But it is important to mention that you’re still far from safe in those places. Arkveld can still poke you with their tail, do a full spin attack, and a few other tricks to keep you on your toes.

7. Beware the glowing red enhanced state

Arkveld’s whole shtick is that they drain energy from other monsters to enter a stronger enhanced state. If their chainblades and body start to glow red, this is because they’re now infused with the Dragon element, which - aside from dealing more damage - allows them to generate a massive explosion attack in front of them that continues to extend forward.

There are a few tricks to survive that giant explosion depending on your position. If you’re right in front of Arkveld, you can run underneath them and attack while the explosion continues. If you’re far away, you’ll need to run to the side since it continues forward. Or you can try your luck at doing a Superman dive if you have the timing right.

A huge explosion like that would make you think this screenshot is from the Oilwell Basins. |Image credit:Rock Paper Shotgun/Capcom

According to a hint in-game, there is a trick to breaking Arkveld out of this enhanced state. You can hit them repeatedly with elemental attacks to overload them. Whereas if you want to prevent it altogether, you can attack their wings to drain their energy.

Arkveld rewards and drop list

Here are all the rewards and drops you can get from Arkveld and its broken parts.

In addition, if you break the following Arkveld parts during the fight, you may get these rewards immediately or upon carving:

• Broken Left Chainblade: 1x Arkveld Calloushell
• Broken Right Chainblade: 1x Arkveld Calloushell
• Broken Head: 1x Arkveld Horn+
• Severed Tail: 1x Arkveld Tail
• Severed Tail: 1x Arkveld Gem

That wraps up our strategy guide on how to beat Arkveld in Monster Hunter Wilds. To help prepare yourself against the mighty White Wraith, be sure to consult our Monster Hunter Wilds weapons guide, along with our primers on the best starting weapons and best solo weapons in the game. You can also read up on how to capture monsters and how to craft Tranq Bombs if needed. And for everything else, look no further than our Monster Hunter Wilds walkthrough !

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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

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