I learned Tai Chi from a bear in Where Winds Meet

An ambitious, overstuffed wuxia simulator with gacha cosmetics

Image credit:Rock Paper Shotgun/NetEase

Back in my university days, a few friends and I played Yulgang Online, also known as Scions of Fate . An early 2000s Korean MMORPG with a Chinese martial arts theme, Yulgang was one of dozens of free MMOs we dabbled in. While we never got beyond the “kill X number of things to level up” grind, it was novel to run around in a wuxia-themed world, which was a rarity in localised-into-English PC gaming back then.

Fast forward to 2025 and I find myself a dozen hours into another free-to-play wuxia game, Where Winds Meet. Though a lot has changed in the intervening decades. A far cry from the MMOs of my younger days, instead of repetitive fetch and kill quests, Where Winds Meet has almost too much stuff in it to absorb. Ed (RPS in peace) described it in a preview two years ago as impressive, but with the potential to be a " disjointed, overstretched mash of things ," and that’s pretty much spot-on.

A quasi-gacha game, Where Winds Meet is similar to Genshin Impact and Wuthering Waves , though its anime characters have been swapped out for the more realistically-styled heroes of the Jianghu. (That’s a word this game uses a lot; it literally means “rivers and lakes,” but on a broader level in Chinese fantasy fiction, it refers to a world inhabited by righteous adventurers and outlaws who live by their own rules.) Like most modern gacha games, through its “Lone Wanderer” mode, Where Winds Meet can be experienced largely as a single-player open world affair with the opportunity to engage in occasional co-op PvE and PvP shenanigans, such as instanced raids and dungeons. However, there’s also a full-on MMORPG mode (“Shared Journey”) that I didn’t get a chance to test, but appears to mostly be for socialising, with a distinct lack of mobs or main story quests.

Speaking of the plot, while there is a overarching mission that sees you tracking down your missing mentor, I hope he’s happy to wait, because I’ve been distracted by every sidequest and activity that’s peppered my journey. In my first five hours I’d entered a sparring contest, gone fishing, shot birds out of the sky, and played a mini-game of “Pitch Pot” where me and a fellow degenerate got wasted on booze and attempted to chuck arrows into a large vase. And that’s not even mentioning the dozens of chests and collectible items I kept finding, all designed to fill a completionist’s head with dopamine.

The standout world events are when you learn certain Mystic Arts. Ever seen a Shaw Brothers film or listened to a Wu-Tang album with mentions of “Tiger Style” or “Praying Mantis Style” in the margins? You’ll embrace these animal-influenced moves in-game by observing certain creatures in the wild - a frog, bear, or goose, for example. Hit the right buttons in a brief quicktime event and you’ll learn a new technique inspired by their movements. An early highlight was when I learned Tai Chi from a bear, before immediately putting it to use and sending him flying over the horizon.

First, I studied the way of the bear. Then I lobbed that furry bastard skyward. |Image credit:Rock Paper Shotgun/NetEase

Unfortunately, this originality doesn’t shine through in the dungeons of Where Winds Meet. They seem more like cast off Elden Ring B-roll - a feeling exacerbated by the Signpost feature, which lets players leave FromSoft-esque messages on the ground. As the game has already been out in China for a year, many of the current messages are in Chinese. Though, a machine translation function is in play, so English players can learn that the Chinese guy who wrote “猫猫” - literally “cat cat” - was just referring to the feline NPC nearby and not making a cryptic metaphor. Derivative or not, the dungeons are well-constructed labryinths full of traps and mobs, and I enjoyed an early instance when I descended a well, searching for a kid’s ball, only to discover a bandit hideout stuffed with explosive barrels.

Where Winds Meet’s combat also cribs FromSoft’s style, with parry windows and dodge mechanics. There aren’t as many weapons as a Soulslike, but you can still find a generous selection, including my favourite: a parasol of death. Battles seem designed for both MMO players and Souls fans, with a number of adjustments to appeal to either end of the spectrum. If you’re more comfortable with the former, turning on Assist Deflection means you’ll get a big, handsome button telegraphed on screen whenever you can clash your weapon against your foe’s. It makes fights become a matter of watching your cooldowns and healthbars, a la World of Warcraft or Final Fantasy XIV . On the other hand, if you prefer the latter, ramp up the difficulty, remove all traces of Assist Deflection, and enjoy the experience of dying repeatedly against behemoth bad guys. If you’re having a tough time, you can summon NPCs to your assistance - but you’ve got to find them and finish their quests first.

Combat is a selling point for sure, and it’s about as hard as you want to make it. Note the Assist Deflection button in the second screenshot here. |Image credit:Rock Paper Shotgun/NetEase

The accessibility of Where Winds Meet’s combat highights the complexity of its other systems, however. There are dozens of ways to advance your character, all of which are only partially outlined in the tutorial. These include at least three different types of Mystic Arts (martial techniques like palm strikes or hovering in the sky), Internal Arts (debuffs and buffs), Sects (guilds, but they also serve as schools to learn new techniques), multiple branching skill trees for each weapon, and a Career system the surface of which I have barely scratched.

What makes these different systems harder to parse is a poor UI that feels like a remnant from the game’s Chinese mobile release. To see how my character’s attributes are affected by an illness debuff, I can’t just pull up a simple stat screen. Instead, I need to open the menu, hit the “Develop” button, navigate over to “Details”, and then open the “Constitution” tab. There’s an in-game glossary presumably meant to help find things, but it (along with the entire script) suffers from a mediocre English localisation. You can expect more than a few untranslated bits, and the English voiceover is reminiscent of a bad anime dub. NetEase has said that all of this will be straightened out prior to the final release, but I suspect that Where Winds Meet’s rough edges will still alienate many folks, especially those who already shy away from gacha experiences.

Character creation is robust, though options are initially separated into “Elegant” and “Realistic” categories that are meaningless in the long run. Outfits, meanwhile, constitute the main gacha element of Where Winds Meet. |Image credit:Rock Paper Shotgun/NetEase

On the topic of gacha mechanics, these are limited to cosmetic outfits and kept separate from your stat-enhancing gear. While you earn some cosmetics from completing quests, the more extravagant threads require successful gacha “pulls” - the gambling RNG aspect of these games when you spend in-game currency and real world money to try to nab nifty items or characters. Though, considering pulls are where Where Winds Meet makes its money, it’s surpising how hidden they are. Every time I advance further into the world I seem to unlock a new currency which can only be used for one hyper specific purpose, so I’ve had very few opportunities to make pulls.

Frequent Genshin players will be right at home and may have more success finding ways to rake in the cosmetics, but for the rest of us, know that you can totally enjoy Where Winds Meet without spending a penny, even if the game encourages you to pay $99 for a big bag of fake money so you can wear sexy robes to look like the lead of the 2005 C-Drama Chinese Paladin.

So if you’re a fan of the HoYoverse, hungry for an MMO wuxia simulator, or simply think Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon was a decent film, Where Winds Meet might be what you’re searching for, as long as you don’t mind a large degree of complication. Everyone else will probably find themselves frustrated, but at the very least, I’ll say this - Where Winds Meet is a great deal more engaging than Yulgang Online ever was. So you might as well dip your toes into the Jianghu and toss those bears into the heavens.

Where Winds Meet

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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