Monster Hunter Wilds: How to beat Ajarakan

Learn the Ajarakan’s weaknesses, drop list, and more

Image credit:Rock Paper Shotgun/Capcom

Need tips on how to beat the Ajarakan in Monster Hunter Wilds? The Ajarakan is the apex predator of the Oilwell Basin, and definitely looks and acts the part. Resembling a bear encased in a rock-hard armoured shell with fiery blazes surrounding it, the Ajarakan attacks with great speed and fury. A hit from this monstrosity is enough to knock your hunter sideways, and the first time you encounter Ajarakans in Monster Hunter Wilds’ story, you’ll be up against multiple opponents, making the fight all the tougher.

Victory against the Ajarakan will prepare you well for the other opponents that await in Monster Hunter Wilds’ later chapters, and will also net you a very cool armor set that makes your hunter look like a ferocious demon. In this guide, we’ll explain how to beat the Ajarakan , revealing useful intel including the monster’s weaknesses, the best gear to use against it, combat tips and tricks, and post-fight rewards.

In this guide:

• How to beat Ajarakan
• Where to find Ajarakan
• Ajarakan weaknesses
• Best weapon and armor to fight Ajarakan
• Ajarakan tips and strategy
• Ajarakan rewards and drop list

How to beat Ajarakan

We’ll go into more detail on all the Ajarakan’s weaknesses below and how to exploit them. For now, here are our top tips on how to beat the Ajarakan in Monster Hunter Wilds.

1. Utilise all manner of heat-resistant items and equipment.
2. Use Watermoss to cool the Ajarakan down.
3. Focus on the forearms, back, and tail.
4. Watch out for the Ajarakan’s fist strikes.
5. Beware the Ajarakan’s lava throw and lava slam attacks.

Skip ahead to our tips and strategy section for more details on each of these points!

Where to find Ajarakan

Image credit:Rock Paper Shotgun/Capcom

The Ajarakan is found in the Basin region of Monster Hunter Wilds. The first time you’ll run into the Ajarakan in the story of Monster Hunter Wilds is during the Chapter 2-4 main quest “Long-forgotten Flame.” The Ajarakan can be found wandering around the Oilwell Basin afterwards, usually around Area 4.

Ajarakan weaknesses

Probably obvious, but be sure to use Water or Ice here, not Fire! |Image credit:Rock Paper Shotgun/Capcom

The Ajarakan’s weak points are its arms , making it relatively easy to attack this monster compared to other foes in the region, like the Hirabami . (The problem comes in dealing with the Ajarakan’s fiery hide and lava attacks.) Use any physical weapon to attack the forelegs, or focus on the head and tail if you can’t reach those.

The Fire Element is obviously useless on the Ajarakan, so don’t even bother with it. Water is the Element to use if you truly want to make a dent in this beast. Barring that, Ice is also a good shout. We’ll go into detail further below on exactly what items work best for dealing damage with the Water and Ice Elements.

Poison, Sleep, Paralysis and Stun are all useful Status effects against an Ajarakan. You’ll also benefit from bringing Flash Pods, Shock Traps, and Pitfall Traps on your hunt. Sonic Bombs are completely ineffective, so leave those behind. Since the Ajarakan also lives in a very hot environment, stock up on Nulberries, Deodorant, Chillmantle Bugs, and Cool Drinks , all of which will help you resist overheating, not to mention the effects of Fireblight and Blastblight. You’ll also greatly benefit from having a nice supply of Watermoss , which will cool down the Ajarakan’s fiery exterior.

Best weapon and armor to fight Ajarakan

Blunt, Cut, and Ammo damage are all good against the Ajarakan. Go with something swift, like the Dual Blades , if you want to be mobile as lava shoots around the arena. Alternately, a hefty weapon like the Long Sword or a ranged weapon like the Bow are both good.

Craft weapons from the Uth Duna Tree if you can, as all of Uth Duna ’s weapons have Water affinity that will come in handy in this very hot battle. Avoid the Quematrice Tree, since all of those weapons are associated with Fire.

You’ll benefit from any armor with high defence stats, but if you’ve got it, the Kranodath set offers especially high Fire resistance. The Quematrice set is also a fine choice.

Ajarakan tips and strategy

Below, we’ll go in-depth with the main tips and overall strategy you need to beat the Ajarakan. Follow these hints closely to win the fight and claim the spoils of war with ease.

If the Ajarakan catches you in its nasty grip, you can wriggle out of there…but get ready to take some damage. |Image credit:Rock Paper Shotgun/Capcom

1. Utilise all manner of heat-resistant items and equipment

Bring out all of your Water and Ice big guns against the Ajarakan. Puddle Pods, Frost Pods, and Frostburst all work fabulously to damage this beast’s hot hide without getting too close. If you’re using a bow, Water Ammo is an absolute necessity. If you find yourself using up all of these items too quickly in the fight, pull out some old standbys like Flash Pods and Shock Traps, which will both give you a breather.

2. Use Watermoss to cool the Ajarakan down

The Ajarakan sets itself alight over the course of the battle, which is no fun at all. Toss Watermoss at the Ajarakan to put a damper on its fiery skin, letting you approach and whack away with your weapons without catching Fireblight. I’ve had most luck finding Watermoss around Area 14, in the caves of the Oilwell Basin map.

3. Focus on the forearms, back, and tail

Go for the Ajarakan’s arms, back, and tail whenever possible. If you can sever the tail and break the Ajarakan’s back, the monster will be slowed down considerably, which comes in very handy as this is a highly mobile opponent. If you’re having trouble, lay down a Shock Trap to paralyse the Ajarakan and give you more time to focus your strikes.

4. Watch out for the Ajarakan’s fist strikes

Pay attention to the Ajarakan’s fist movements over the course of this battle. The Ajarakan will dig up rocks from the ground and smash you with them, and it’ll also dig one fist into the ground before sliding it your way, necessitating careful dodging. Then there’s its fist slam attack, which will potentially juggle you into the air. If this happens, the Ajarakan will catch you in its grasp before tossing you like a ragdoll - be sure to wiggle if you’re stuck in its grip!

5. Beware the Ajarakan’s lava throw and lava slam attacks

When it’s ablaze, the Ajarakan will chuck a gob of lava your way with one hand, and occasionally go down on all fours and send out a long stream of lava that goes across the battlefield in a line. Try throwing a Watermoss with your slinger when this happens, or backing up and unleashing fury with a ranged weapon if you’re out of Watermoss. These attacks are well telegraphed and you’ll get used to them over the course of the combat, but they sure hurt the first time around.

Keep up your assault on the arms, head, and tail, and eventually the Ajarakan will fall. |Image credit:Rock Paper Shotgun/Capcom

Ajarakan rewards and drop list

Here are all the rewards and drops you can get from Ajarakan and its broken parts.

Low-Rank Materials:

High-Rank Materials:

In addition, if you break the following Ajarakan parts during the fight, you’ll get these rewards for carving them:

Low-Rank Materials:

• Back: 1x Ajarakan Ridge

High-Rank Materials:

• Back: 1x Ajarakan Ridge+

That wraps up our strategy guide on how to beat the Ajarakan in Monster Hunter Wilds. For more help, head to our Monster Hunter Wilds walkthrough and our expansive list of all monsters in the game!

Monster Hunter Wilds

Video Game

Rock Paper Shotgun is better when you sign in

Sign in and join us on our journey to discover strange and compelling PC games.

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

Rock Paper Shotgun is better when you sign in

Sign in and join us on our journey to discover strange and compelling PC games.