Mouthwashing is the most horrifying game of 2024
KILLS 99.9%
<img loading=“lazy” src=“https://assetsio.gnwcdn.com/mouthwashing-best-horror-game-of-2024-8.jpg?width=690&quality=85&format=jpg&dpr=3&auto=webp" onerror=“this.onerror=null;this.src=‘https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhe7F7TRXHtjiKvHb5vS7DmnxvpHiDyoYyYvm1nHB3Qp2_w3BnM6A2eq4v7FYxCC9bfZt3a9vIMtAYEKUiaDQbHMg-ViyGmRIj39MLp0bGFfgfYw1Dc9q_H-T0wiTm3l0Uq42dETrN9eC8aGJ9_IORZsxST1AcLR7np1koOfcc7tnHa4S8Mwz_xD9d0=s16000';" alt=“Curly faces Jimmy and says “We all tried to escape.” - 1”>
Image credit:Rock Paper Shotgun / Critical Reflex
In 2015 a flight by Germanwings carrying 144 passengers and six crew crashed into a mountain in the French Alps. Later, the authorities who investigated the crash judged it was intentional - somebody in the cockpit had purposefully crashed the plane in an act of suicide, killing themselves and everyone on board. Mouthwashing begins with the same premise, albeit in a sci-fi setting. You’re piloting a spaceship with a crew of five, clicking on its various controls to override the safety and turn the ship towards a nearby heap of space rock. You mean to crash. The words that appear moments before this sequence are chilling in their simplicity: “I hope this hurts.”
Ed has already reviewed this first-person sci-fi horror, and he’s done it without spoiling the story. So if you’ve never heard of the game, I implore you to start there. Because I’m going to discuss a lot about the characters and plot. For me, everything interesting about Mouthwashing happens in the dialogue and the body language of its castaways, in the camerawork and set dressing that fills the claustrophobic, submarine-like corridors of the Tulpar. To celebrate why I think it’s one of the best and most horrifying games this year, I have to get deep into its dithered guts.
To sum up: the ship has crashed. The captain, Curly, lies covered in bandages, his face a mess of blood, muscle, and exposed teeth, with a single eye rolling around in grotesque watchfulness. It seems the cockpit was the worst place to be during the crash, and he has been horrifically burned and injured, unable even to speak. You now play as Jimmy, the co-pilot who has taken charge of the remaining crew. Everyone else seems to have survived the crash - gruff engineer Swansea, high-spirited intern Daisuke, and nervous nurse Anya. Tensions are high and they are arguing. Eventually, they agree to open the cargo hold (against company policy) to see if there’s anything useful that will help in their rescue on this remote interstellar rock.
But inside the cargo hold, they just find millions of bottles of mouthwash.
Image credit:Rock Paper Shotgun / Critical Reflex
“Mouthwash was the first idea,” said the developers in a Steam post , “but we briefly considered hand sanitizer, rubbing alcohol or just straight up hard liquor. Mouthwash just has that vibe of being the worst and most absurd option… We considered having a few variants of different flavours but the uniformity of all the bottles being the exact same kinda adds to the sad horror of it all.”
Aside from the existential terror that comes from knowing your job (and life) is worth little more than an ocean of minty fresh oral hygiene, the mouthwash is a comically tragic symbol of everything to come. No matter how much of this high-alcohol solution you chug or swish, some stains do not come out. “Kills 99.9% of all germs” says the bottle’s label with unconvincing enthusiasm.
From this point, the story flips back and forth between post-crash and pre-crash scenes. These scenes might take place hours or minutes before the crash, or at various stages many months after it. The crew bicker and mope, they make future plans or have charged conversations. There is an undercurrent of dread throughout, helped in part by the horror-suited PS1-era visuals and an incredibly effective soundtrack. Sometimes the game judders to a halt, or words fill up the entire screen in distorted text. TAKE RESPONSIBILITY, the game might yell at you, and you’ll wonder: what does that mean?
<img loading=“lazy” src=“https://assetsio.gnwcdn.com/mouthwashing-best-horror-game-of-2024-13.jpg?width=2048&height=2048&fit=bounds&quality=85&format=jpg&auto=webp" onerror=“this.onerror=null;this.src=‘https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhe7F7TRXHtjiKvHb5vS7DmnxvpHiDyoYyYvm1nHB3Qp2_w3BnM6A2eq4v7FYxCC9bfZt3a9vIMtAYEKUiaDQbHMg-ViyGmRIj39MLp0bGFfgfYw1Dc9q_H-T0wiTm3l0Uq42dETrN9eC8aGJ9_IORZsxST1AcLR7np1koOfcc7tnHa4S8Mwz_xD9d0=s16000';" alt=“A barrier with the word “Responsibility” written on it. - 5”>
Image credit:Rock Paper Shotgun / Critical Reflex
There is also a lot of “funsettling” comedy in the day-to-day exploration of the ship. Swansea gets shatterblasted on mouthwash, and you use an axe to dig clumsy intern Daisuke out of the Demolition Man-like crash foam that fills the ship. The crew might struggle to survive on meagre food supplies following the crash, but in a scene before the disaster, you’ll make a birthday cake using a sci-fi mixing machine.
But it’s at that birthday scene that the game’s biggest structural strength starts to shine - the regular changing of perspective. As you go about the game, you’ll switch back and forth between two characters. In the post-crash scenes you play as the put-upon Jimmy, but before the crash you inhabit the questionable captain Curly - before he becomes the mutilated cause of all this survival horror. We see Curly’s various actions as leader, and we wonder exactly how this seemingly mild pilot goes from being vaguely discontent at work to fully self-destructive and dangerous.
Image credit:Rock Paper Shotgun / Critical Reflex
The twist is: he does not. As the disjointed narrative falls together, and each of the crew come to distinctly tragic ends, we learn that Jimmy was the one to intentionally crash the ship. The captain, rushing into the cockpit to try and prevent the crash, is caught in the worst place and mutilated to the point of being unable to speak or tell the crew the truth about what happened. Jimmy blames everything on Curly, takes command of the shipwreck, and - in sequences that become increasingly uncomfortable to listen to - he force feeds the injured captain painkillers to keep the mutilated man from moaning.
As acting chief, Jimmy is now in a position of authority he has perhaps wanted but has never been able to reach. Looking on during all these events is a statue of the ever-freakish mascot of your company, Pony Express, whose tinny corporate voice becomes a lodestone for the classic horror game scares that are threaded through the story.
Image credit:Rock Paper Shotgun / Critical Reflex
It’s not just a disturbing horse mascot that could easily guest star in a Five Nights At Freddy’s game. There is a running motif of horses throughout. The monsters that hunt the player during gamey “stay quiet or die” moments are awful, long necked ponies or centipedes made of mangled mascot. The ship - the Tulpar - is named for the winged horse of Turkic mythology. And during one psych evaluation, Jimmy jokes that he is becoming “sexually excited at the sight of cartoon horses”. The captain writes this off as Jimmy being Jimmy, a joke about the company mascot. Anya finds it discomfiting. In fact, if we look closely at all Anya’s dealings with Jimmy, we see a woman whose crossed arms, hunched shoulders, and stuttering responses suggest someone who is often uncomfortable in her co-worker’s presence.
Again, the flipping perspectives tell a story. In a post-crash scene, Jimmy talks impatiently with Anya, who is unsettled by his anger. In a pre-crash scene, Anya asks the captain why the crew quarters don’t have a lock. In another scene, Anya is confiding something in engineer Swansea and hastily tries to change the subject when you (as Jimmy) walk into the room. Back before the crash, Anya asks the captain to do the co-pilot’s regular psych evaluation in her place, because she’d rather not have to speak to Jimmy. In one twisty horror sequence, we take an ultrasound scanner to a huge womb-like growth to find, swimming inside, the bony x-ray figures of (ah) baby horses.
Image credit:Rock Paper Shotgun / Critical Reflex
You might not notice all these signs on your first playthrough, you might not put the fear and quiet nods to trauma together piece by horrifying piece. But you will once Anya tells captain Curly, before the crash, that she is pregnant.
The implication is that Anya has been raped by Jimmy, who never acknowledges or admits to that act. Anya, pregnant and trapped in a shipwreck with the man who assaulted her, eventually locks herself in the medical bay and commits suicide by overdosing on the last of the painkillers used to keep the heavily bandaged captain Curly from groaning. This sets in motion the final cascade of accidental death and panicked murder that sees Daisuke get an axe to the face; Swansea, a bullet to the skull (god, I wish I had the space to talk about Swansea in more depth here…) Throughout all this, your time spent as Jimmy becomes more and more psychotically surreal, the full weight of the horror descending on the player with a long, horse-like face.
<img loading=“lazy” src=“https://assetsio.gnwcdn.com/mouthwashing-best-horror-game-of-2024-6.jpg?width=2048&height=2048&fit=bounds&quality=85&format=jpg&auto=webp" onerror=“this.onerror=null;this.src=‘https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhe7F7TRXHtjiKvHb5vS7DmnxvpHiDyoYyYvm1nHB3Qp2_w3BnM6A2eq4v7FYxCC9bfZt3a9vIMtAYEKUiaDQbHMg-ViyGmRIj39MLp0bGFfgfYw1Dc9q_H-T0wiTm3l0Uq42dETrN9eC8aGJ9_IORZsxST1AcLR7np1koOfcc7tnHa4S8Mwz_xD9d0=s16000';" alt=“Anya curls up and says “I’m pregnant” against a fully black background. - 9”>
Image credit:Rock Paper Shotgun / Critical Reflex
Having recently played Silent Hill 2 , it’s interesting to look at both games side-by-side. A tale of two Jimmys. The bloody monsters of James Sunderland’s descent into Silent Hill are often interpreted as manifestations of a guilt and shame that the protagonist carries with him. But the snakelike horsebeasts and gullet corridors of Mouthwashing suggest an even scarier possibility when it comes to Jimmy’s inner world. It’s possible he feels no shame at all, or that he feels shame but is incapable or unwilling to understand it as shame. Silent Hill 2 sees many endings in which the penny of repression drops for James Sunderland, and he confronts the deed he has done, shaking off the denial that has harangued him the whole game, like so many bloodsoaked nurses.
In Mouthwashing, though, Jimmy never admits or faces his actions, never escapes his state of denial. He will take responsibility in practical, physical ways for every post-disaster task, but he won’t “TAKE RESPONSIBILITY” in a more meaningful, emotional sense for any of the pain he has caused. Even when you enter the medical bay after Anya overdoses, the game washes out the sight of the nurse’s death with an ugly smear of pixels. Jimmy chooses not to see the wreckage he has caused. He literally blurs it out of his own eyesight. Anya, who has some of the most heartbreaking dialogue in the game just by musing on a dead pixel in a ship display, is effectively and intentionally made quiet, cowed and unheard, even by captain Curly, until she is essentially erased.
Image credit:Rock Paper Shotgun / Critical Reflex
The disfigured face of the captain, in the meantime, takes on new meaning. A swivelling eye that seems monstrous at the start of the game becomes an eye of terror once you know Jimmy is responsible for the crash. It swivels round the room helplessly looking for the man who is a danger to everyone. Eventually it becomes an eye of judgement - unblinkingly watching Jimmy as he navigates the steel corridors of his own psyche.
In the end, Jimmy puts the bandaged Curly in a cryostasis pod and puts a gun to his own head, believing that “saving” the captain in this way makes him a hero, that it absolves him of wrongdoing. We know where he got this idea. Anya once said to him that she must believe “our worst moments don’t make us monsters”. She was talking about the captain - she wanted to believe a man who could intentionally crash a ship could still be a good person. Jimmy repeats this line later when defending himself against a shadowy figure of judgement. But the Pony Express horse he is talking to (ah) is not convinced by a contrition that conveniently ignores one very important victim. Mouthwashing presents us with the frightening possibility that Anya’s words of hope are simply not true. What if we are defined by our most heinous moments?
Image credit:Rock Paper Shotgun / Critical Reflex
Mouthwashing’s horror underpins how hard it is to truly know the inner workings of another person’s mind. Even when we are immersed in Jimmy’s own body, seeing the world through his eyes, it still takes us the whole game to understand what he did, if not 100% the reasoning for why he did it. There is something very Iago-like about Jimmy, in that his motivation comes from resentment, but the origin of that resentment is a cloud of mixed vapours. He is implied to be poorer than the other crew members. He is going to be laid off with the rest of the crew, we find out. He’s on a lower “rung” at work, he says to the captain - a man he sometimes seems to look up to and sometimes chops up to eat.
But it is his act of sexual assault, and the consequences of it, that sets Jimmy’s doom spiral into motion. He only steers the ship into that rock after he finds out Anya is pregnant, we discover. Exactly what is going through his head when he directs the ship doomward, it’s hard to know. Fear? Anger? Despair? Self-loathing? Some hideous mouthwash-flavoured cocktail of all these emotions? The words that appear - “I hope this hurts” - could be interpreted as both “I hope this hurts me” or “I hope this hurts all of us “. Self-destruction, we’re reminded, does not exclude the destruction of others.
<img loading=“lazy” src=“https://assetsio.gnwcdn.com/mouthwashing-best-horror-game-of-2024-1.jpg?width=2048&height=2048&fit=bounds&quality=85&format=jpg&auto=webp" onerror=“this.onerror=null;this.src=‘https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhe7F7TRXHtjiKvHb5vS7DmnxvpHiDyoYyYvm1nHB3Qp2_w3BnM6A2eq4v7FYxCC9bfZt3a9vIMtAYEKUiaDQbHMg-ViyGmRIj39MLp0bGFfgfYw1Dc9q_H-T0wiTm3l0Uq42dETrN9eC8aGJ9_IORZsxST1AcLR7np1koOfcc7tnHa4S8Mwz_xD9d0=s16000';" alt=“Jimmy says “I’m taking responsibility”. - 12”>
Image credit:Rock Paper Shotgun / Critical Reflex
The Germanwings flight that crashed in 2015 was not crashed by its pilot, it turned out. Investigators found that co-pilot Andreas Lubitz locked the cockpit while his pilot colleague went to the bathroom. He then began the plane’s fatal descent . Lubitz had a history of severe depression and, along with other medical conditions, his doctor had written that he was unfit to fly. For some reason or another, the airline wasn’t informed, and Lubitz went on to crash the plane. Some of the last words on the black box recording of the flight are sounds of the pilot trying to break back into the cockpit, screaming: “For God’s sake, open the door!”
This is the horror that Mouthwashing channels. Not just one of panic and helplessness as a victim - but the horror of legacy as a perpetrator. The father of the co-pilot who crashed the above flight has always rejected the findings of the investigators, perhaps not wanting to see his son defined by his last, worst actions. But for the families of all those who died, that is exactly how such a man will always be defined.
Mouthwashing
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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:
| Blueprint | Type | Recipe | Crafted At |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bettina | Weapon | 3x Advanced Mechanical Components 3x Heavy Gun Parts 3x Canister | Gunsmith 3 |
| Blue Light Stick | Quick Use | 3x Chemicals | Utility Station 1 |
| Aphelion | Weapon | 3x Magnetic Accelerator 3x Complex Gun Parts 1x Matriarch Reactor | Gunsmith 3 |
| Combat Mk. 3 (Flanking) | Augment | 2x Advanced Electrical Components 3x Processor | Gear Bench 3 |
| Combat Mk. 3 (Aggressive) | Augment | 2x Advanced Electrical Components 3x Processor | Gear Bench 3 |
| Complex Gun Parts | Material | 2x Light Gun Parts 2x Medium Gun Parts 2x Heavy Gun Parts | Refiner 3 |
| Fireworks Box | Quick Use | 1x Explosive Compound 3x Pop Trigger | Explosives Station 2 |
| Gas Mine | Mine | 4x Chemicals 2x Rubber Parts | Explosives Station 1 |
| Green Light Stick | Quick Use | 3x Chemicals | Utility Station 1 |
| Pulse Mine | Mine | 1x Crude Explosives 1x Wires | Explosives Station 1 |
| Seeker Grenade | Grenade | 1x Crude Explosives 2x ARC Alloy | Explosives Station 1 |
| Looting Mk. 3 (Survivor) | Augment | 2x Advanced Electrical Components 3x Processor | Gear Bench 3 |
| Angled Grip II | Mod | 2x Mechanical Components 3x Duct Tape | Gunsmith 2 |
| Angled Grip III | Mod | 2x Mod Components 5x Duct Tape | Gunsmith 3 |
| Hullcracker | Weapon | 1x Magnetic Accelerator 3x Heavy Gun Parts 1x Exodus Modules | Gunsmith 3 |
| Launcher Ammo | Ammo | 5x Metal Parts 1x Crude Explosives | Workbench 1 |
| Anvil | Weapon | 5x Mechanical Components 5x Simple Gun Parts | Gunsmith 2 |
| Anvil Splitter | Mod | 2x Mod Components 3x Processor | Gunsmith 3 |
| ??? | ??? | ??? | ??? |
| Barricade Kit | Quick Use | 1x Mechanical Components | Utility Station 2 |
| Blaze Grenade | Grenade | 1x Explosive Compound 2x Oil | Explosives Station 3 |
| Bobcat | Weapon | 3x Advanced Mechanical Components 3x Light Gun Parts | Gunsmith 3 |
| Osprey | Weapon | 2x Advanced Mechanical Components 3x Medium Gun Parts 7x Wires | Gunsmith 3 |
| Burletta | Weapon | 3x Mechanical Components 3x Simple Gun Parts | Gunsmith 1 |
| Compensator II | Mod | 2x Mechanical Components 4x Wires | Gunsmith 2 |
| Compensator III | Mod | 2x Mod Components 8x Wires | Gunsmith 3 |
| Defibrillator | Quick Use | 9x Plastic Parts 1x Moss | Medical Lab 2 |
| ??? | ??? | ??? | ??? |
| Equalizer | Weapon | 3x Magnetic Accelerator 3x Complex Gun Parts 1x Queen Reactor | Gunsmith 3 |
| Extended Barrel | Mod | 2x Mod Components 8x Wires | Gunsmith 3 |
| Extended Light Mag II | Mod | 2x Mechanical Components 3x Steel Spring | Gunsmith 2 |
| Extended Light Mag III | Mod | 2x Mod Components 5x Steel Spring | Gunsmith 3 |
| Extended Medium Mag II | Mod | 2x Mechanical Components 3x Steel Spring | Gunsmith 2 |
| Extended Medium Mag III | Mod | 2x Mod Components 5x Steel Spring | Gunsmith 3 |
| Extended Shotgun Mag II | Mod | 2x Mechanical Components 3x Steel Spring | Gunsmith 2 |
| Extended Shotgun Mag III | Mod | 2x Mod Components 5x Steel Spring | Gunsmith 3 |
| Remote Raider Flare | Quick Use | 2x Chemicals 4x Rubber Parts | Utility Station 1 |
| Heavy Gun Parts | Material | 4x Simple Gun Parts | Refiner 2 |
| Venator | Weapon | 2x Advanced Mechanical Components 3x Medium Gun Parts 5x Magnet | Gunsmith 3 |
| Il Toro | Weapon | 5x Mechanical Components 6x Simple Gun Parts | Gunsmith 1 |
| Jolt Mine | Mine | 1x Electrical Components 1x Battery | Explosives Station 2 |
| Explosive Mine | Mine | 1x Explosive Compound 1x Sensors | Explosives Station 3 |
| Jupiter | Weapon | 3x Magnetic Accelerator 3x Complex Gun Parts 1x Queen Reactor | Gunsmith 3 |
| Light Gun Parts | Material | 4x Simple Gun Parts | Refiner 2 |
| Lightweight Stock | Mod | 2x Mod Components 5x Duct Tape | Gunsmith 3 |
| Lure Grenade | Grenade | 1x Speaker Component 1x Electrical Components | Utility Station 2 |
| Medium Gun Parts | Material | 4x Simple Gun Parts | Refiner 2 |
| Torrente | Weapon | 2x Advanced Mechanical Components 3x Medium Gun Parts 6x Steel Spring | Gunsmith 3 |
| Muzzle Brake II | Mod | 2x Mechanical Components 4x Wires | Gunsmith 2 |
| Muzzle Brake III | Mod | 2x Mod Components 8x Wires | Gunsmith 3 |
| Padded Stock | Mod | 2x Mod Components 5x Duct Tape | Gunsmith 3 |
| Shotgun Choke II | Mod | 2x Mechanical Components 4x Wires | Gunsmith 2 |
| Shotgun Choke III | Mod | 2x Mod Components 8x Wires | Gunsmith 3 |
| Shotgun Silencer | Mod | 2x Mod Components 8x Wires | Gunsmith 3 |
| Showstopper | Grenade | 1x Advanced Electrical Components 1x Voltage Converter | Explosives Station 3 |
| Silencer I | Mod | 2x Mechanical Components 4x Wires | Gunsmith 2 |
| Silencer II | Mod | 2x Mod Components 8x Wires | Gunsmith 3 |
| Snap Hook | Quick Use | 2x Power Rod 3x Rope 1x Exodus Modules | Utility Station 3 |
| Stable Stock II | Mod | 2x Mechanical Components 3x Duct Tape | Gunsmith 2 |
| Stable Stock III | Mod | 2x Mod Components 5x Duct Tape | Gunsmith 3 |
| Tagging Grenade | Grenade | 1x Electrical Components 1x Sensors | Utility Station 3 |
| Tempest | Weapon | 3x Advanced Mechanical Components 3x Medium Gun Parts 3x Canister | Gunsmith 3 |
| Trigger Nade | Grenade | 2x Crude Explosives 1x Processor | Explosives Station 2 |
| Vertical Grip II | Mod | 2x Mechanical Components 3x Duct Tape | Gunsmith 2 |
| Vertical Grip III | Mod | 2x Mod Components 5x Duct Tape | Gunsmith 3 |
| Vita Shot | Quick Use | 2x Antiseptic 1x Syringe | Medical Lab 3 |
| Vita Spray | Quick Use | 3x Antiseptic 1x Canister | Medical Lab 3 |
| Vulcano | Weapon | 1x Magnetic Accelerator 3x Heavy Gun Parts 1x Exodus Modules | Gunsmith 3 |
| Wolfpack | Grenade | 2x Explosive Compound 2x Sensors | Explosives Station 3 |
| Red Light Stick | Quick Use | 3x Chemicals | Utility Station 1 |
| Smoke Grenade | Grenade | 14x Chemicals 1x Canister | Utility Station 2 |
| Deadline | Mine | 3x Explosive Compound 2x ARC Circuitry | Explosives Station 3 |
| Trailblazer | Grenade | 1x Explosive Compound 1x Synthesized Fuel | Explosives Station 3 |
| Tactical Mk. 3 (Defensive) | Augment | 2x Advanced Electrical Components 3x Processor | Gear Bench 3 |
| Tactical Mk. 3 (Healing) | Augment | 2x Advanced Electrical Components 3x Processor | Gear Bench 3 |
| Yellow Light Stick | Quick Use | 3x Chemicals | Utility Station 1 |
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
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