How to connect a Steam Deck to a TV

It’s not quite plug and play

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Even if connecting your Steam Deck to a TV takes the “portable” out of “portable PC,” big-screen play is yet another of the handheld’s many talents. As far as lounge-based gaming goes, it’s certainly preferable to hauling several kilos of desktop from your desk to your telly and hooking that up instead.

As for the particulars of marrying Deck and TV, Steam Remote Play veterans may immediately turn their thoughts to the Steam Link . This can indeed enable wireless beaming of your handheld-installed games onto the living room screen, but sadly, the Steam Link itself has been discontinued for years, and while it lived on as a smart TV app, this isn’t widely available either - especially after Samsung cut support for it in 2023. Nowadays, your best bet is to connect your Steam Deck to your TV using physical hardware, and this here guide will show you how.

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Essentially, you can either employ a USB-C-to-HDMI adapter to directly connect to your TV, turning the handheld into a controller, or you can have it settle into a dedicated Steam Deck dock and let that handle the display output. Me? I prefer the latter, which delivers more of the laid-back, sofa-enveloped playing experience you’d get from a traditional console, but I’ll explain the ins and outs of both approaches further down. They’re also applicable, by the by, to connecting a Steam Deck to a smaller monitor, so take heed if you intend to press yours into service as a desktop PC as well.

Whatever kind of screen you’re dealing with, be forewarned: the picture that comes out of your connected Steam Deck might not look perfect on the first try. In my experience, teaming up with an external display usually requires a trip into the Deck’s settings for some visual fine-tuning. I’ll cover any potential changes you might need to make, though, so don’t worry too much. S’fine. Honest.

• How to connect a Steam Deck to a TV with an adapter
• How to connect a Steam Deck to a TV with a docking station

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How to connect a Steam Deck to a TV with an adapter

This is, technically, the simplest and most direct method for playing your Steam Deck on the telly: all you need is an HDMI cable (ideally HDMI 2.0-compliant) and an active (but not passive) USB-C-to-HDMI adapter. Once everything’s hooked up, you can just use the Steam Deck itself as a controller – no need to buy or even connect another gamepad, or attempt mouse and keyboarding on a settee.

Points for straightforwardness, then, though keep in mind that the HDMI cable and adapter will add some weight to the Deck, making it less comfortable to hold for long sessions. If, indeed, you can have one before running out of battery. The repurposed laptop adapter I’m using in these photos has a USB-C port for pass-through power delivery, but most USB-C-to-HDMI dongles do not, so there might be no way to keep your Deck charged as you play it. That’s not an issue with a full dock.

Still, this guide is to teach, not to preach. Want to use an adapter? Go for it, like this:

Step 1: Connect your HDMI cable to your TV at one end, and plug it into the USB-C adapter at the other end. Then, simply push the adapter into your Steam Deck’s USB-C port.

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Step 2: Switch everything on, and using your TV remote, select the HDMI port you connected to as the active input. After a moment, your Steam Deck screen should appear mirrored on the TV.

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If you’ve got your Deck in its default Gaming Mode, its own display will turn black. Be not afraid! That’s totally normal, and should help with battery life if you’ve got got an adapter with a power-carrying USB-C port. If, on the other hand, the Deck was in Desktop Mode when you connected the TV, the screen will stay on.

Step 3: Press the Steam button on the Deck, go to the Settings menu, and open the Display submenu. Uncheck “Automatically Set Resolution” and select the option that matches your TV’s resolution – mostly likely either 1920x1080@60 or 3840x2160@60.

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Why bother with this step? Firstly, it seems to fix an issue the Steam Deck has with external displays where game framerates are needlessly locked to 30fps. Secondly, it’s mainly just for the benefit of making the SteamOS UI look nice and sharp. While the Steam Deck actually running games at 4K is out of the question – even 1080p will be a stretch at best – you might as well have its menus and the like at native resolution, even if you have in-game resolutions at 720p or so.

Step 4: If the outputted image doesn’t fill your screen properly, stay in the Display menu, uncheck “Automatically Scale Image,” and adjust the slider until the picture fits.

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From there, you’re good to go.

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How to connect a Steam Deck to a TV with a docking station

Steam Deck docks are in their element here. Although they preclude you using the Deck itself as a controller, their supply of USB ports mean you can switch to any gamepad, mouse, or keyboard you want, and battery life isn’t a concern as any Deck dock worth its solder will support pass-through power delivery. Just plug the handheld’s own USB-C charger into the back of the dock, and it’ll keep you topped up as you play.

There’s no need for any further adapters either, as docks typically include their own HDMI output. Some even have a DisplayPort, though living room TVs don’t share these nearly as often as desktop monitors do.

Step 1: Set up the Steam Deck in its dock, ideally with the Deck’s USB-C power supply plugged into the dock’s USB-C port. Connect any peripherals or gamepads you want to use, either via USB or to the Steam Deck via Bluetooth, then finally connect the dock to the TV via HDMI. This cable should ideally match the specification of the HDMI output on the dock, which is most likely HDMI 2.0.

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Step 2: Change your TV’s active input to the HDMI port that the dock is connected to. If you see static, try unplugging the power cable from the dock, waiting a few seconds, then plugging it back in. Either way, you should see the Steam Deck mirrored on the big screen.

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As with using a simple adapter, the Deck’s own screen will go black in Gaming Mode, or stay on in Desktop Mode.

Step 3: Open the Steam menu and navigate to Settings, then Display. Also like with the adapter method, I recommend you uncheck “Automatically Set Resolution” and select either 1920x1080@60 or 3840x2160@60 instead. Again, this won’t force the poor Steam Deck into trying to run games at 4K or anything. It just makes SteamOS look nicer, while fixing the 30fps cap issue that the auto setting can suffer from.

Image credit:Rock Paper Shotgun

Step 4: Check that the outputted image actually fits your TV screen. If it’s too big or small, uncheck, “Automatically Scale Image” and adjust the slider to get it fitting perfectly.

Image credit:Rock Paper Shotgun

Aaaaaand you’re away, free to enjoy your Steam Deck on a screen several times the size of its own.

On that note, do remember the principles of pixel density, and that games that look decently sharp on a 7in display may not on something upwards of 40in. Those with intentionally simple and/or pixelly visuals – think Vampire Survivors or Signalis – work best, I find. Plush games that need a lot of help from upscalers just to hit 30fps, like Horizon Forbidden West , should probably stay confined to the smaller screen.

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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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