I tried to recreate Stray in Lethal Company, with disastrous results

You know what they say about curiosity and the cat

Image credit:Rock Paper Shotgun/Zeekerss

Lethal Company is a fun game but I know what you’re thinking: it lacks feline energy. Whilst the simplistic game loop of collecting scrap on monster-infested moons and selling it to an equally monstrous company is enjoyable at first, it can get old pretty fast. As both Alice and James have attested with their experiences of this month’s RPS Game Club pick, Lethal Company is a game that lacks a certain direction the more you play. I soon found myself settling into an existential crisis, reminiscent of my tumultuous stint in retail. A recurring thought back then was why bother stacking shelves, only to have someone buy the products and make me re-stack them again?

In the vain hopes of gaining a higher purpose in Lethal Company, I stumbled across the ‘Needy Cats’ mod. Essentially this mod adds a variety of cats to your game that will wander around the facilities and yelp for attention.

Perhaps I’m just a glutton for heartbreak, but I decided that the game needed a galactic sanctuary full of adorable balls of floof. I hearkened back to my time playing Stray, the adorable cat adventure set in a post-apocalypse where humanity was all but wiped out. Could this be the prequel to Lethal Company? What if all Apocalypse games share the same universe, all orchestrated by The Company secretly pulling the strings of fate? Or maybe I just wanted to look at cute cats instead of terrifying mannequin monsters. Either way, the cats needed help. What follows is a diary log of my adventures which soon lead to increasing madness and ultimately, disaster.

Day one: So it begins

“Welcome to your first day on the job!” cheerfully loops through my ship’s intercom. I set a course for Dine. Whilst this moon usually costs a hefty fee to visit, I believe in free travel for everyone. So, I dip into my charity funds to get me there (also known as a the infinite money mod ).

The planet is flooded. Reminds me of the UK.

I gain access to a creepy, abandoned mansion and start to scan each room. Not a single cat in sight. I’m starting to question if I’ve installed the mod correctly. I collect a few golden chalices for my trouble; after all, I still have a quota to meet.

Day two: A lesson from Icarus

I won’t be disheartened, so I set a course for Rend. There’s currently an eclipse but my day can’t get much worse.

Nevermind, it can. There’s a giant death dog outside. I’m not afraid though - I have just the thing to handle this. I dip into the cat charity funds and get myself a jetpack. It’s for a good cause. I zip past the devil dog and soar into the sky. “I haven’t actually tested this out before,” I think absentmindedly, as I crash into a cliffside.

Day three: No more jetpacks

Death is for dummies. I decide to sell my soul to the devil for the gift of immortality (named in the small print as ‘God Mode’). I set a course for Dine, with the hope it will go better this time. My logic is that rich people usually keep cats, so there’s bound to be one inside one of those mansions.

As I enter the mansion I’m full of confidence. Nothing can stop me. A butler comes out of the woodwork and we just stand and stare each other for a while (I assume he was staring, it’s hard to tell with those sockets-for-eyes). He carefully slips his hand into his shirt pocket and reveals a knife. He brandishes it at me and starts running. Jeez, these fellas can move fast .

I laugh and let him come at me. What do I have to fear now? But as the butler keeps thrashing at me wildly, it becomes annoying. The music is going crazy, trapped in a repetitive screech. I try to bob and weave out of his way, only for a face-hugging bug to drop onto me from the ceiling. It’s a sensory nightmare. My vision is mostly obscured but from what I can see, it’s just a knife constantly stabbing me and music so loud now, that I need to adjust my headphones.

I asked for immortality. This nightmare will never stop. I try to wriggle, jump and slide out from under the bug but it’s no use. Like Tithonus of old who was given immortality but not eternal youth, I feel the sting of a trickster’s bargain.

I would like to name this photo ‘The Butler’s revenge’. |Image credit:Rock Paper Shotgun/Zeekerss

Day one: So it begins, again

“Welcome to your first day on the job!”, the game mocks me. This is a parallel universe, one where I find at least one cat in this cursed galaxy. I land on a moon called Experimentation and wander through the dark corners of an abandoned factory of some kind. It starts to feel oppressive; I can hear a screech and the sound of a door unlocking behind me. “Pull yourself together,” I tell myself. “It’s for the kittens!”.

The music swells and I hear the coil of a spring. My blood runs cold. As I’m about to give up for good I hear it… A little meow. I search everywhere, getting frantic. It sounds like it’s coming from the other side of the wall, but the way forward is locked, so I rush back to the ship for a key and to recharge my flashlight.

And as I re-enter the facility, I see her! A beautiful black kitty. I grab her immediately and in my gusto, I don’t notice another face-hugging bug drop from the ceiling. It lands on me, completely obscuring my vision as I flail around with the poor cat still in my arms. It squeezes the life out of me. I swear to myself that I will start looking at ceilings before moving from now on.

Day two: My precious

I decide to land on Experimentation again. I doubt I’ll see the same black kitty, but clearly the place is capable of spawning them. I sweep the facility, feeling more and more depressed - until I walk into a storeroom and see him.

A beautiful white cat called Felix (how fitting) yelps from atop one of the shelving units. Not wasting any time, or daring to tempt fate, I snatch him up and leg it out of the facility. I make it back onto the ship and immediately start to make a home for him, ordering a welcome mat for his bed and a goldfish so he has entertainment whilst I’m scrap collecting. I also place a can of cat food beside him - but now there’s one more problem. I have one day to meet the scrap quota or we’ll both be ejected from the airlock.

Felix is a good boy. |Image credit:Rock Paper Shotgun/Zeekerss

Day three: Desperate measures

I get straight to business. Not wanting to take any unnecessary risks, I set a course for a relatively peaceful moon named Vow. It feels fitting, as I now vow to Felix that I will meet the quota and protect him at all costs. In what I can only describe as a fugue state I collect scrap like my life depends on it (which it kind of does). With an assortment of bells, glass beakers and gears I load up the ship and take my plunder to The Company HQ. I’ve only gone and done it!

Day four: Chaos is a ladder

I have a new quota and a new kitty companion. My priorities now are to fulfil the scrap order on day one, and then spend the remaining two on finding cats, so I go back to Vow with the sole purpose of collecting scrap. With a beaker and whoopie cushion in my pockets, I feel good about my run so far. But then I met Ziggy.

Yes, I once agan hear the telltale meow of a cat in distress. A black cat called Ziggy is wandering in the basement of a facility, near a bunch of lockers. I grab him with no hesitation, and bring him back to his new adoptive sibling. I have the vague thought that I only need an orange cat now to have a complete Aristocats set, which provides double the amount of motivation. But I really need to meet the new quota. Rather disturbingly, I realise that the cats count as ‘scrap’ and can be sold. I make another vow never to test this theory out. I cannot deal with the image of a cat getting snatched by The Company’s tentacled monster.

I also gave them a Boombox. |Image credit:Rock Paper Shotgun/Zeekerss

Day five: All is lost

I start the day with a bit of light decorating. A little plushie for Ziggy and Felix to cuddle up to. A cute Jack-o-lantern lamp. Then I go back to Vow, not wanting to risk my run at this point. As I explore the facility I see a large blob of sentient goo, sliming towards me. “Hmm,” I think, “No problem. The Godmode protects against slime”. I walk forward. My heart sinks as the screen goes red and I see the death cutscene. I had forgotten to reactivate Godmode.

My heart sinks, but I’m hopeful. That is until I load back into the ship with Ziggy and Felix nowhere to be found. Nothing remaining but the silly Jack-o-lantern, his cheerful smile now seeming to leer at me and my stupidity. It dawns on me that the game registers the cats as scrap, and when you die in Lethal Company your scrap is forfeit. I’m not sure what the game does to said scrap. I pray that Ziggy and Felix have simply been confiscated and rehomed by The Company, and they’re now living their best lives. But it seems unlikely.

I think it’s safe to say that the cat rescue life just isn’t for me. Upon reflection, there were no humans in Stray for a reason, and perhaps cats are just better at rescuing themselves. I can only hope that the next adventuring player will have better luck than me and if someone does manage to set up a cat sanctuary in Lethal Company, I hope they name it after Felix and Ziggy.

Lethal Company

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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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