How to record game clips on the Steam Deck

Clip and share your Steam game adventures (or mishaps) on the move

Image credit:Rock Paper Shotgun

Image credit:Rock Paper Shotgun

Steam Deck Academy brings together all our guides and explainers on getting the most out of your Steam Deck, no student loans or sweaty dormitories required.

Anyone looking for how to record game clips on their Steam Deck will have, until recently, been starved for decent options. Decky Loader allows for a decent screen capture plugin, for instance, but even that’s on the overly basic side. Enter Steam’s own Game Recording feature – a flexible bundle of game-clippin’ tools that’s now emerged from beta and is available to all Steam Deck users on the SteamOS Stable branch.

As far as handheld recording majiggers go, there’s currently little reason to use anything else, not least because Game Recording is built right into the Steam Deck’s operating system. As such, it’s highly configurable and, once you get to grips with the recording process, easy to use and share clips with. Its only problem is that it doesn’t explain itself all that well at first, but good news: you’re reading a guide. Here, I’ll walk you through how to capture footage using both of Game Recording’s two modes, as well as how to save and share those highlights with pals.

While certain interfaces have been reworked for SteamOS, these are essentially the same recording tools that you get with Steam’s desktop client. There’s also a newly-added shortcut for instantly clipping the past 10 seconds you’ve played in Record in Background mode, which is extremely useful for capturing those amusing moments that you didn’t see coming. Even if the shortcut, Steam + Up, seems like it was chosen specifically for people with three hands.

Game Recording on the Steam Deck has also become much better at correctly capturing games opened via non-Steam launchers, like the Xbox Cloud Gaming app for streaming. In the beta, trying this would just record a black screen, but now it can record non-Steam games just as well as native fare.

The only potential drawback, then, is the performance hit. Whereas beefy desktop PCs can offload the strain of game clip recording to a dedicated graphics card , the Steam Deck – and its fully integrated APU – doesn’t have that luxury. As such, you’re more likely to see a slight performance dip when recording. Anecdotally, I seem to lose about 3-4fps while Game Recording is active; that might not sound like a lot, but if your game is a tough AAA number that can only just run at 30fps normally, that lil’ reduction could take you down into the sluggish twenties. Conversely, games that can comfortably hit 50-60fps (or higher, on the 90Hz Steam Deck OLED ) won’t really feel it.

How to record game clips on the Steam Deck

Step 1: You’ll need to begin by enabling Game Recording in your Steam Deck’s setting. Press the Steam button, select Settings, then scroll down to the Game Recording section in the sidebar. Just like in the desktop client, you can choose between either Record in Background or Record Manually modes.

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Step 2: Upon choosing a mode, some additional settings will appear below. Most of these you can leave on their defaults, but feel free to customise the recording quality – higher-quality footage will look clearer, but eat up more storage space – and, for background recording specifically, the recording length and size limits. If you exceed these, background recording won’t stop, but will start overwriting older footage. Be warned.

You can also change the timeline marker shortcut ( Steam + Y by default) and, in Record Manually mode, the start/stop recording shortcut ( Steam + A by default).

Once you’ve selected a mode, you’re ready to launch a game and get recording. First, we’ll go over how to use Record in Background most effectively, then switch to Record Manually mode.

How to record game clips on the Steam Deck: Record in Background

Step 3: Simply launch a game and Steam will start recording in – yes! – the background. This is fully automatic, and recording will end itself whenever you close the game. At any point, you can use the timeline marker shortcut ( Steam + Y ) to drop a blue marker on the background recording’s timeline – to help you find a particularly entertaining moment, say – but you don’t need to worry about manually starting and stopping the capture process.

The exception would be if you want to use the Steam + Up shortcut to instantly create a clip of the past 10 seconds, which you can do at any time. This won’t stop or otherwise interfere with the background recording, so feel free to snap these snippets liberally.

Image credit:Rock Paper Shotgun

You also don’t need to wait to start viewing, editing, and sharing clips. While playing, hit the Steam button, then navigate to the right and down to the Game Recording section. Here, you can select “View Background Recording” to immediately review your current recording-in process, or “View Recordings” to watch back older recordings. The “Recording Settings” button will also let you tweak the Record in Background settings mid-game, or to switch to Record Manually mode.

Step 4: When viewing a recording, tap the Y button to bring up the timeline and editing menu. Full details on clipping and publishing are below, in the " How to edit and share clips " section, but in short: use the L2 and R2 buttons to skip forward and back, and separate clips can be saved by using the scissor-icon Start Clip and End Clip tools to highlight a section of the timeline in yellow. From there, tap the big yellow Save/Share button in the bottom-right corner; you’ll be offered options to save the clip to your Deck, share it online, or send it to another PC that you’ve signed into Steam with.

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How to record game clips on the Steam Deck: Record Manually

Step 3: While playing a game, press your “Start/stop recording” shortcut – remember, unless you changed it that’s Steam + A . Just use the same shortcut again to stop recording, and boom, you’ve got a clip. You can look out for the pop-up in the bottom-right corner to confirm that clipping has started and finished.

Image credit:Rock Paper Shotgun

To watch clips back without leaving your game, press the Steam button, navigate to the right and then down so that you can access the Game Recording overlay menu. Select “View recordings” and you’ll get a library of all your previous clips for that game.

Step 4: Press the Y button to bring up the full playback and editing interface. You can use L2 and R2 to rewind and fast forward, or select the scissors icon to snip the clip into a shorter version. More on this in the next section, but do make sure that if you make any edits, be sure to save the new clip by tapping the yellow Save/Share button and choosing one of the options.

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How to edit and share clips

Step 1: Open up your clip, or background recording. All of these are accessible either from within the Steam overlay (using the aforementioned Steam button > Game Recording > View recordings route) or in the Library page of the game they were recorded in. Recent recordings are clearly visible at the top of the Activity section; older clips will be under the Your Stuff tab. Scroll down to the Media section if you can’t immediately see these.

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Step 2: Select your clip and press the Y button to open the timeline interface. If you just want to share a clip as it is, with no additional editing, tap the button on the very far right (with an arrow point upwards). If your clip is under 60 seconds long, you can select “Sent to Other Devices”, which sends the clip to another PC you’ve signed into Steam with; “Send to Phone”, which send it to the Steam app on your phone; “Create QR link”, which provides a QR code you can scan with your smartphone camera to view the clip in a browser; or “Share to a chat”, which can pop the video directly to your Steam friends and group chats.

Image credit:Rock Paper Shotgun

Step 3: If, on the other hand, you want to trim down a clip (or extract one from a background recording), you’re gonna need the editing interface. Start by selecting the scissors icon that appears on the Y button menu. Here, use L2 and R2 to move the timeline’s playback indicator to where you want to start the clip. Tap the “Start Clip at Current Playback” icon, which is the pair of scissors cutting through a dotted line on the left.

Then, move the playback indicator to where you want to end the clip, and tap the “End Clip at Current Playback icon” – that’s the scissors cutting into a dotted line on the right. The blue timeline bar should now have a yellow section, representing your clip.

Image credit:Rock Paper Shotgun

Step 4: Tap the yellow Save/Share button and choose an option. “Save clip” will replace the full-length clip with your new, shorter version, while “Save new clip” (or “Save clip to Media” if you’re editing a background recording) keeps both the new clip and the original footage. The other four sharing options are the same ones explained in step 2 above.

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Sadly, the Steam Deck has no way to export your clip as an MP4 file, like the desktop client’s Game Recording feature does. You could, however, use the “Send to Other Device” option to share it to your PC, then access and create an MP4 from it there.

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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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