Life By You early access release date, gameplay and more

All the latest details on the upcoming rival to The Sims

When is Life By You going to be released? Speaking as a fan, I’m the first person to acknowledge that it’s super weird how there’s never been a major competitor to The Sims , the blockbuster life simulation franchise that’s closing in on its quarter-century of dominating the genre. That’s all starting to change, though, thanks in no small part to the recent announcement of Life By You: a Sims-inspired sandbox from the studio behind Cities: Skylines .

As RPS’ in-house life sim fanatic, it is my pleasure to bring you all the latest news on this game as soon as I learn it. So read on below for everything we know right now about Life By You, including the release date, system specs, gameplay and development details, and more.

Life By You release date

Life By You will be released into early access on June 4th, 2024 , which is nine months later than originally planned. Early access for The Sims rival was initially meant to launch in September 2023 , before getting delayed to March 2024 and then delayed again to June .

Following the latest delay, pre-orders have been suspended and refunds will be offered to those that have already paid money for Life By You on the Epic Game Store. The Life Begins and Nightlife Vibes DLC packs will also be offered as an extra apology during early access. When it does come out, it’ll be available via Steam and the Epic Games Store . If you’re thinking of getting it on Steam, just bear in mind that it hasn’t been optimised or tested for the Steam Deck yet.

Life By You developers

Life By You is being developed by Paradox Tectonic, a team helmed by Rod Humble, best known among life sim fans for his work on The Sims 2 , The Sims 3 , and Second Life . The publishers are Paradox Interactive, known for previously knocking off EA’s crown when their lauded 2015 city builder Cities: Skylines put 2013’s SimCity reboot to absolute shame.

Life By You system requirements

Life By You is expected to carry the following system requirements on PC:

These requirements are a hefty ask, and mark one of the major differences between Life By You and The Sims series, the latter of which has emphasised accessibility to players on lower-spec systems throughout The Sims 4 generation, and seems set to continue doing so with The Sims 5. Life By You is taking a different path , and it’s no secret that you’ll need a pretty darn good gaming PC in order to take part in the fun.

However, one definite saving grace is the confirmation that Life By You won’t require a constant internet connection in order to play.

Life By You gameplay

The big boast of Life By You is that every aspect of the game’s script will be customisable and moddable, with the central draw of the game being complete freedom for the player to create the world they want on any scale — from designing full public amenities to choosing the colour swatches on individual items — and to tell the parts of any given character’s story they find the most compelling without resorting to cheats. The trailer also showed even things like character skills and traits will be freely adjustable by the player, with Paradox going into further detail in a later video .

In the lead-up to the game’s early access launch, the official YouTube channel for Life By You has taken a deep dive into different aspects of the game, like Build Mode, Crafting, Relationships and Quests.

You can watch a selection of these videos below:

Katharine observed following her interview with Rod Humble that this level of freedom seems to come at the expense of goal-oriented play for those who like their life simulation with a bit of challenge, since the promise of a sandbox without restrictions does by necessity remove some of the requirements for lateral thinking and careful planning that management-oriented Sims players thrive on. Humble seems confident, however, that test players have responded very positively to the game’s flexibility, often choosing to set their own boundaries to tell stories in their own preferred way.

How does it compare to The Sims?

While it feels unfair to lean too hard on the Sims comparison, it’s not like Life By You is going out of its way to hide its biggest influence, with a lot of emphasis being put on the places where Life By You will differ from The Sims.

While in The Sims your characters progress through “life stages”, with a varying number of in-game days representing a whole chunk of the human lifespan, Life By You aims for more realistic ageing. An “agent” (the work-in-progress name for the game’s simulated characters) will display their age in years lived, much like a real human. Although it’s not yet clear quite how long each in-game year will last in terms of gameplay time, it does seem that impatient players will be given some freedom to skip forward (but not back) through a character’s life span if they don’t feel like waiting around for the next lifetime milestone.

Another big departure will be the inclusion of real conversations. Instead of pleasant babble in a made-up language with just enough variation to keep its repetitiveness from hitting the ear, Life By You aims to present dialogue between its characters in the player’s language (albeit seemingly in text boxes rather than recorded speech).

Characters will respond to various contextual factors like pre-existing relationships, the location in which the conversation is taking place, and the personalities of the interlocutors to result in what the developers hope will be a unique exchange every time. You’ll also be able to edit dialogue options from within a conversation, as seen in the video below:

You’ll also be able to switch from a pulled-back view to an over-the-shoulder camera while you control your little simulated people in third-person, a feature which hasn’t been seen in The Sims series since they stopped making console-only spin-offs. Have a look at how switching between direct and indirect control of characters will work in the video below:

You’ll be able to pick up to 10 traits for your character, and one trait category will be “Family Background”. This looks to let you establish what sort of childhood your adult characters had and how it affected them, which is certainly something new! Screenshots of a conversation between two characters working in an office seem to suggest that you’ll be able to accompany your agents to work, a feature that has been available throughout The Sims series but only sporadically (and never for anything as prosaic as an office job).

That’s all we know about Life By You right now, but we look forward to bringing you more details as they emerge! For more on the upcoming Sims rival, find out why it’s one of our most anticipated PC games in 2024 . Check out also why we found some of the game’s NPCs a little bit creepy in a demo we saw at Gamescom last year. If you love life sims, you might also be interested in our everything we know about The Sims 5 page, so you can compare and contrast it with Life By You and see how the competition’s shaping up.

Life by You

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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