How to get Sword Of Light and Sword of Darkness in Elden Ring DLC

How to transform the Stone-Sheathed Sword into the Sword Of Light and the Sword Of Darkness

Image credit:Rock Paper Shotgun/Bandai Namco

Looking for the Sword Of Light or the Sword of Darkness in Elden Ring: Shadow Of The Erdtree? With the addition of the Shadow Of The Erdtree expansion, From Software’s gargantuan Elden Ring now has over mind-boggling 400 weapons to choose from. But the Sword Of Light and its sister sword, the Sword Of Darkness, are unique even among unique weapons, because they are twins that morph into one another at will. And both are first transformed from a third weapon, the Stone-Sheathed Sword.

Obtaining these blades is a confusing little puzzle which requires you to seek out the three Altars Of Light And Dark strewn about the Land Of Shadow. In this guide, we’ll break it all down so you can easily find the Stone-Sheathed Sword, and understand where to go in order to transform it into the powerful Sword Of Light and Sword Of Darkness.

In this guide:

• Where to find the Stone-Sheathed Sword (All Altar locations) Fog Rift Catacombs Altar location Ruins Of Unte Altar location Ancient Ruins Of Rauh Altar location
• How to get the Sword Of Light
• How to get the Sword Of Darkness

Where to find Stone-Sheathed Sword (All Altar locations)

Before you can get either the Sword Of Light or the Sword Of Darkness in Elden Ring, you first need the Stone-Sheathed Sword. There are three possible locations where the Stone-Sheathed Sword can appear , and it will always appear at the first location you look.

To get the Stone-Sheathed Sword, you need to visit one of the following three Altar locations:

1. Inside the Fog Rift Catacombs in the Gravesite Plain.
2. Inside the Ruins Of Unte in Scadu Altus.
3. At the end of the invisible bridge in the Ancient Ruins Of Rauh .

These are the three locations the Stone-Sheathed Sword can spawn. Go to one of them to get it! |Image credit:Rock Paper Shotgun/Bandai Namco

1. Fog Rift Catacombs Altar location

The easiest Altar to reach at the start of the DLC is in the Fog Rift Catacombs . To reach these Catacombs, cross the Ensis Greatbridge and then follow the path northwest from the Castle Front Site Of Grace . At the far north end of the path is the entrance to the Fog Rift Catacombs.

Inside the Catacombs, follow the path until you reach a long room with three sets of spike traps descending from the ceiling. Proceed to the platform at the end of the room where the mage is standing, then stand on the very edge to bait the traps into descending again. When they come down, you’ll see a little cubbyhole you can jump into, which transports you up to a higher platform when the trap ascends back up to the ceiling.

Jump off onto this ledge (and pick up the Blinkbolt Ash Of War while you’re here), then turn around and perform the same baiting trick to jump on top of the spike platform. Once you’re on top, run over to the far right corner of the room, and you’ll see a final platform that you can jump down into once the spike traps have ascended back to the ceiling. Inside this secret area is an Altar Of Light And Dark which you can loot to obtain the Stone-Sheathed Sword.

2. Ruins Of Unte Altar location

The second Altar where you can loot the Stone-Sheathed Sword is located inside the Ruins Of Unte in Scadu Altus. To reach the Ruins Of Unte, you need to pass through the main gate of the Shadow Keep, beyond the Golden Hippopotamus boss. Once you’re on the ramparts outside, stop at the bottom of the stairs guarded by the Fire Knight which lead up to the Specimen Storehouse.

Near to this staircase, next to the boats guarded by Vulgar Militiamen, there is a ladder that leads down to a small waterfall. Pass through the waterfall and follow the path, and you’ll end up in a room with the “Domain Of Dragons” Painting.

Hit the wall on your right in this room, and another secret passage will be revealed. This passage leads you to a stone coffin that you can interact with to get inside and transport your character to the Castle Watering Hole in Scadu Altus below the Shadow Keep. Right in front of the Castle Watering Hole Site Of Grace, you’ll find the Ruins Of Unte.

To get inside the Ruins Of Unte, lob a Hefty Furnace Pot inside the basket of the dead Furnace Golem blocking the entrance. Inside the Ruins and slightly to the right, you’ll find an Altar Of Light And Dark where you can obtain the Stone-Sheathed Sword.

3. Ancient Ruins Of Rauh Altar location

The final Altar where you can get the Stone-Sheathed Sword is located in the Ancient Ruins Of Rauh, a sub-region of Rauh Base which you can only access via the Shadow Keep. To reach it, you’ll need to head through the Living Jar area beneath the Specimen Storehouse, and use the long bridge heading west out of the Shadow Keep to reach the Ancient Ruins Of Rauh.

After that, progress through the ruins and beyond the Furnace Gole to reach the “Rauh Ancient Ruins, West” Site Of Grace. From here, head southwest into the nearby ruins and go up the stairs. Exit into the garden to the north, and cross the garden to enter the rotted area of the ruins, guarded by Kindred Of Rot.

Head straight forward through the rot area, then turn right, and head straight on again, out into the outdoor ledge. You’ll see at your feet one end of a broken bridge, and in the distance, the other end of the bridge connects to a tower. As it turns out, the bridge isn’t broken; it’s just invisible. Ride straight across it and you’ll reach the third and final Altar Of Light And Dark where you can find the Stone-Sheathed Sword.

How to get the Sword Of Light

Use one of the other Altars to transform the Stone-Sheathed Sword into the Sword Of Light. |Image credit:Rock Paper Shotgun/Bandai Namco

Once you have the Stone-Sheathed Sword, you can transform it into the Sword Of Light, a much more powerful unique version of the sword with a powerful and unique area-of-effect Holy damage skill simply called “Light”.

To get the Sword Of Light, you must take the Stone-Sheathed Sword to an unused Altar Of Light And Dark , and interact with the Altar. You cannot use the Altar where you first found the Stone-Sheathed Sword; you need to use one of the other two Altars. So if you found the Stone-Sheathed Sword in the Fog Rift Catacombs, you can only get the Sword Of Light from the Ruins Of Unte or the Ancient Ruins Of Rauh.

Once you’ve found an unused Altar Of Light And Dark, walk up to it and interact with it while the Stone-Sheathed Sword is in your possession. You’ll get a prompt that reads: “Raise the Stone-Sheathed Sword to the light?”. Click “YES”, and the Stone-Sheathed Sword will transform into the Sword Of Light.

How to get the Sword Of Darkness

Use the only remaining Altar to transform the Sword Of Light into the Sword Of Darkness. |Image credit:Rock Paper Shotgun/Bandai Namco

You might think that the Sword Of Light is the Stone-Sheathed Sword’s final form, but there is in fact one more form after that: the Sword Of Darkness. The Sword Of Darkness is very similar to the Sword Of Light, with the same scaling, attacks, and Holy Damage. Where it differs is its unique skill, “Darkness”, which spews forth clouds of damage-dealing darkness as opposed to rays of holy damage conjured by “Light”.

To get the Sword Of Darkness, you must take the Sword Of Light to the final unused Altar Of Light And Dark in the Land Of Shadow. To recap, the three Altar locations are:

• In the Fog Rift Catacombs.
• In the Ruins Of Unte.
• In the Ancient Ruins Of Rauh.

You will already have used two of these Altars to unlock the Sword Of Light. To get the Sword Of Darkness, find the final Altar and interact with it to “Raise the Sword Of Light to the dark”, transforming it into the Sword Of Darkness.

Afterwards, you can change the Sword Of Darkness back into the Sword Of Light at any time , simply by revisiting the Altar that you used to get the Sword Of Light in the first place. You can also change the Sword Of Light back into the Sword Of Darkness at any time by interacting with the final Altar again. This way, you can keep switching between the two powerful versions of the sword to best fit your needs.

That concludes this guide on the Stone-Sheathed Sword, the Sword Of Light, and the Sword Of Darkness in Elden Ring: Shadow Of The Erdtree. If the thought of travelling to all these places in the Land Of Shadow is a bit daunting, make sure you’re up for the task by following our guide to all the Scadutree Fragment locations . You can also check out our list of all the other new weapons in Shadow Of The Erdtree , along with our primer on the best DLC weapons . If you find yourself stuck on any of the DLC’s new quests, then we’ve also got walkthroughs for the Leda , Ymir and Thiollier questlines that will help you out.

Elden Ring

PS4 , PS5 , Xbox One , Xbox Series X/S , PC

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All 75 Arc Raiders Blueprints and where to get them

These areas have the highest chance of giving you Blueprints

Image credit:Rock Paper Shotgun/Embark Studios

Looking for more Arc Raiders Blueprints? It’s a special day when you find a Blueprint, as they’re among the most valuable items in Arc Raiders. If you find a Blueprint that you haven’t already found, then you must make sure you hold onto it at all costs, because Blueprints are the key to one of the most important and powerful systems of meta-progression in the game.

This guide aims to be the very best guide on Blueprints you can find, starting with a primer on what exactly they are and how they work in Arc Raiders, before delving into exactly where to get Blueprints and the very best farming spots for you to take in your search.

We’ll also go over how to get Blueprints from other unlikely activities, such as destroying Surveyors and completing specific quests. And you’ll also find the full list of all 75 Blueprints in Arc Raiders on this page (including the newest Blueprints added with the Cold Snap update , such as the Deadline Blueprint and Firework Box Blueprint), giving you all the information you need to expand your own crafting repertoire.

In this guide:

• What are Blueprints in Arc Raiders?
• Full Blueprint list: All crafting recipes
• Where to find Blueprints in Arc Raiders Blueprints obtained from quests Blueprints obtained from Trials Best Blueprint farming locations

What are Blueprints in Arc Raiders?

Blueprints in Arc Raiders are special items which, if you manage to extract with them, you can expend to permanently unlock a new crafting recipe in your Workshop. If you manage to extract from a raid with an Anvil Blueprint, for example, you can unlock the ability to craft your very own Anvil Pistol, as many times as you like (as long as you have the crafting materials).

To use a Blueprint, simply open your Inventory while in the lobby, then right-click on the Blueprint and click “Learn And Consume” . This will permanently unlock the recipe for that item in your Workshop. As of the Stella Montis update, there are allegedly 75 different Blueprints to unlock - although only 68 are confirmed to be in the game so far. You can see all the Blueprints you’ve found and unlocked by going to the Workshop menu, and hitting “R” to bring up the Blueprint screen.

It’s possible to find duplicates of past Blueprints you’ve already unlocked. If you find these, then you can either sell them, or - if you like to play with friends - you can take it into a match and gift it to your friend so they can unlock that recipe for themselves. Another option is to keep hold of them until the time comes to donate them to the Expedition.

Full Blueprint list: All crafting recipes

Below is the full list of all the Blueprints that are currently available to find in Arc Raiders, and the crafting recipe required for each item:

Note: The missing Blueprints in this list likely have not actually been added to the game at the time of writing, because none of the playerbase has managed to find any of them. As they are added to the game, I will update this page with the most relevant information so you know exactly how to get all 75 Arc Raiders Blueprints.

Where to find Blueprints in Arc Raiders

Below is a list of all containers, modifiers, and events which maximise your chances of finding Blueprints:

• Certain quests reward you with specific Blueprints .
• Completing Trials has a high chance of offering Blueprints as rewards.
• Surveyors have a decent chance of dropping Blueprints on death.
• High loot value areas tend to have a greater chance of spawning Blueprints.
• Night Raids and Storms may increase rare Blueprint spawn chances in containers.
• Containers with higher numbers of items may have a higher tendency to spawn Blueprints. As a result, Blue Gate (which has many “large” containers containing multiple items) may give you a higher chance of spawning Blueprints.
• Raider containers (Raider Caches, Weapon Boxes, Medical Bags, Grenade Tubes) have increased Blueprint drop rates. As a result, the Uncovered Caches event gives you a high chance of finding Blueprints.
• Security Lockers have a higher than average chance of containing Blueprints.
• Certain Blueprints only seem to spawn under specific circumstances: Tempest Blueprint only spawns during Night Raid events. Vulcano Blueprint only spawns during Hidden Bunker events. Jupiter and Equaliser Blueprints only spawn during Harvester events.

Raider Caches, Weapon Boxes, and other raider-oriented container types have a good chance of offering Blueprints. |Image credit:Rock Paper Shotgun/Embark Studios

Blueprints have a very low chance of spawning in any container in Arc Raiders, around 1-2% on average. However, there is a higher chance of finding Blueprints in particular container types. Specifically, you can find more Blueprints in Raider containers and security lockers.

Beyond this, if you’re looking for Blueprints you should focus on regions of the map which are marked as having particularly high-value loot. Areas such as the Control Tower in Dam Battlegrounds, the Arrival and Departure Buildings in Spaceport, and Pilgrim’s Peak in Blue Gate all have a better-than-average chance of spawning Blueprints somewhere amongst all their containers. Night Raids and Electromagnetic Storm events also increase the drop chances of certain Blueprints .

In addition to these containers, you can often loot Blueprints from destroyed Surveyors - the largest of the rolling ball ARC. Surveyors are more commonly found on the later maps - Spaceport and Blue Gate - and if one spawns in your match, you’ll likely see it by the blue laser beam that it casts into the sky while “surveying”.

Surveyors are quite well-armoured and will very speedily run away from you once it notices you, but if you can take one down then make sure you loot all its parts for a chance of obtaining certain unusual Blueprints.

Blueprints obtained from quests

One way in which you can get Blueprints is by completing certain quests for the vendors in Speranza. Some quests will reward you with a specific item Blueprint upon completion, so as long as you work through all the quests in Arc Raiders, you are guaranteed those Blueprints.

Here is the full list of all Blueprints you can get from quest rewards:

• Trigger Nade Blueprint: Rewarded after completing “Sparks Fly”.
• Lure Grenade Blueprint: Rewarded after completing “Greasing Her Palms”.
• Burletta Blueprint: Rewarded after completing “Industrial Espionage”.
• Hullcracker Blueprint (and Launcher Ammo Blueprint): Rewarded after completing “The Major’s Footlocker”.

Alas, that’s only 4 Blueprints out of a total of 75 to unlock, so for the vast majority you will need to find them yourself during a raid. If you’re intent on farming Blueprints, then it’s best to equip yourself with cheap gear in case you lose it, but don’t use a free loadout because then you won’t get a safe pocket to stash any new Blueprint you find. No pain in Arc Raiders is sharper than failing to extract with a new Blueprint you’ve been after for a dozen hours already.

One of the best ways to get Blueprints is by hitting three stars on all five Trials every week. |Image credit:Rock Paper Shotgun/Embark Studios

Blueprints obtained from Trials

One of the very best ways to get Blueprints is as rewards for completing Trials in Arc Raiders. Trials are unlocked from Level 15 onwards, and allow you to earn rewards by focusing on certain tasks over the course of several raids. For example, one Trial might task you with dealing damage to Hornets, while another might challenge you to loot Supply Drops.

Trials refresh on a weekly basis, with a new week bringing five new Trials. Each Trial can offer up to three rewards after passing certain score milestones, and it’s possible to receive very high level loot from these reward crates - including Blueprints. So if you want to unlock as many Blueprints as possible, you should make a point of completing as many Trials as possible each week.

Best Blueprint farming locations

The very best way to get Blueprints is to frequent specific areas of the maps which combine high-tier loot pools with the right types of containers to search. Here are my recommendations for where to find Blueprints on every map, so you can always keep the search going for new crafting recipes to unlock.

Image credit:Rock Paper Shotgun/Embark Studios

Dam Battlegrounds

The best places to farm Blueprints on Dam Battlegrounds are the Control Tower, Power Generation Complex, Ruby Residence, and Pale Apartments . The first two regions, despite only being marked on the map as mid-tier loot, contain a phenomenal number of containers to loot. The Control Tower can also contain a couple of high-tier Security Lockers - though of course, you’ll need to have unlocked the Security Breach skill at the end of the Survival tree.

There’s also a lot of reporting amongst the playerbase that the Residential areas in the top-left of the map - Pale Apartments and Ruby Residence - give you a comparatively strong chance of finding Blueprints. Considering their size, there’s a high density of containers to loot in both locations, and they also have the benefit of being fairly out of the way. So you’re more likely to have all the containers to yourself.

Buried City

The best Blueprint farming locations on Buried City are the Santa Maria Houses, Grandioso Apartments, Town Hall, and the various buildings of the New District . Grandioso Apartments has a lower number of containers than the rest, but a high chance of spawning weapon cases - which have good Blueprint drop rates. The others are high-tier loot areas, with plenty of lootable containers - including Security Lockers.

Spaceport

The best places to find Blueprints on Spaceport are the Arrival and Departure Buildings, as well as Control Tower A6 and the Launch Towers . All these areas are labelled as high-value loot regions, and many of them are also very handily connected to one another by the Spaceport wall, which you can use to quickly run from one area to the next. At the tops of most of these buildings you’ll find at least one Security Locker, so this is an excellent farming route for players looking to find Blueprints.

The downside to looting Blueprints on Spaceport is that all these areas are hotly contested, particularly in Duos and Squads. You’ll need to be very focused and fast in order to complete the full farming route.

Image credit:Rock Paper Shotgun/Embark Studios

Blue Gate

Blue Gate tends to have a good chance of dropping Blueprints, potentially because it generally has a high number of containers which can hold lots of items; so there’s a higher chance of a Blueprint spawning in each container. In my experience, the best Blueprint farming spots on Blue Gate are Pilgrim’s Peak, Raider’s Refuge, the Ancient Fort, and the Underground Complex beneath the Warehouse .

All of these areas contain a wealth of containers to loot. Raider’s Refuge has less to loot, but the majority of the containers in and around the Refuge are raider containers, which have a high chance of containing Blueprints - particularly during major events.

Stella Montis

On the whole, Stella Montis seems to have a very low drop rate for Blueprints (though a high chance of dropping other high-tier loot). If you do want to try farming Blueprints on this map, the best places to find Blueprints in Stella Montis are Medical Research, Assembly Workshop, and the Business Center . These areas have the highest density of containers to loot on the map.

In addition to this, the Western Tunnel has a few different Security Lockers to loot, so while there’s very little to loot elsewhere in this area of the map, it’s worth hitting those Security Lockers if you spawn there at the start of a match.

That wraps up this primer on how to get all the Blueprints in Arc Raiders as quickly as possible. With the Expedition system constantly resetting a large number of players’ Blueprints, it’s more important than ever to have the most up-to-date information on where to find all these Blueprints.

While you’re here, be sure to check out our Arc Raiders best guns tier list , as well as our primers on the best skills to unlock and all the different Field Depot locations on every map.

ARC Raiders

PS5 , Xbox Series X/S , PC

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