Nioh 3: How to find and beat the Bloodedge Demon

How to find the direction of the Revenant’s malice, and defeat its secret boss

Image credit:Rock Paper Shotgun/Koei Tecmo

Want to find and defeat the Bloodedge Demon in Nioh 3? One of the most notorious optional enemies in Nioh 3 is the Bloodedge Demon, a manifestation of evil energy whose location is randomised. The Bloodedge Demon only appears if you continuously summon and defeat Revenants and then manage to track their dispersed malice energy to a spot on the map which varies depending on which stretch of Nioh 3 you’re playing through.

This random nature means that it’s very possible to encounter the Bloodedge Demon early in your quest when you’re weak and underlevelled. It also means that you might not find this foe at all. Personally, I encountered the Bloodedge Demon for the first time at Level 65 and still found fighting it to be a thoroughly painful experience, so whether you find this evil entity early or late, you’re in for a heckuva combat.

In this guide, we’ll explain how to find and beat the Bloodedge Demon in Nioh 3 , hopefully making the task of tracking down and surmounting this elusive boss a little more doable.

How to find the Bloodedge Demon

To find the Bloodedge Demon, go to an area rife with Bloody Graves, those red glowing marks on the earth that summon Revenants when you interact with them. These are often in front of boss arenas, but in order to track down the Bloodedge Demon, it’s best to head to an area full of Bloody Graves that doesn’t lead to a boss - in front of an Enemy Base, perhaps.

Note the dispersing red energy that appears after killing a Revenant, as well as the arrows on the map. Keep following the arrows and you’ll eventually come across the Bloodedge Demon’s huge purple grave. |Image credit:Rock Paper Shotgun/Koei Tecmo

Once you’ve found a Bloody Grave, beat the Revenant that it summons, and be on the lookout for the following notification once you kill it: " The direction of the Revenant’s malice has been marked on the map. " You should also see the Revenant’s red essence dispersing.

Here’s an extra tip from Jeremy…

Beating Revenants summoned from Bloody Graves by boss arenas don’t always lead to the malice notification, hence my advice to start elsewhere.

Open up your map and you will now see a red arrow showing you the direction that this malice energy traveled. Go in that direction and interact with any other Bloody Graves that you come across, killing the Revenants that emerge. Each time, the malice will continue to move, and you should keep on referring to your map to see where the arrows lead.

It’s important to note that the arrows show the general direction that you need to travel in, and it’s not an exact science. Expect to enter other zones of a map and fight multiple Revenants until you manage to pinpoint a singular location. You should receive a message telling you that “the malice held by all Revenants defeated thus far has gathered and taken form as one hulking Revenant yokai.”

Once this message appears, you should be relatively close to a giant purple spire of energy surrounded by additional Bloody Graves. This is the Bloodedge Demon’s spawning zone. Go up to it and interact with it if you’re ready for a brutal combat.

How to beat the Bloodedge Demon

This guy is a real pain in the rear. |Image credit:Rock Paper Shotgun/Koei Tecmo

The Bloodedge Demon is a massive headache. It attacks you with elemental magic, and its arms will glow with the color of whichever element it has at its disposal. ( Green for wind, red for fire, yellow for lightning, and blue for water .) All of its melee attacks are fast and furious, and it has a tendency to throw screen-filling projectiles in your direction, such as green wind slices that are difficult to avoid.

Beating the demon will earn you a collection of high quality randomised loot, typically of the purple variety, along with other goodies like Yokai Teardrops. Also, you can get bragging rights knowing that you beat one of the most annoying bosses in the Nioh 3 demo.

I recommend stocking up on Ochoko Cups and bringing along a summoned Acolyte of a high level if you can, because having a buddy around to absorb aggro makes the demon a lot more beatable. That said, Acolyte helpers can die pretty fast during this fight if you don’t keep the following tips in mind:

Samurai need to deflect and poke

This fight is easier as a Ninja, mostly because fighting the demon as a Samurai requires very precise parrying via Deflect . The timing on the parries is unorthodox and hard to figure out, as those four arms never seem to stop attacking long enough to let you breathe. Since each arm is imbued with elemental energy, if you mess up a parry, there’s also a high chance you’ll pay the price with massive elemental damage on the demon’s next strike.

Parrying your way through this combat can be done, but I recommend switching into a Low Stance with your Samurai weapon of choice (I use an axe) to maintain high defense. Poke away in between your deflections and unleash heavy charged attacks when possible.

Ninjas should abuse ranged Ninjutsu

If you’re playing as a Ninja, try running around the arena and tossing a wide variety of Ninjutsu projectiles (I used Gunpowder and Shrapnel Projectiles , but Shuriken and Kunai are also viable as long as you can aim at the demon’s back). This might be the “cheap” way to win, but whittling down the demon’s health will still be no easy task. If you have no Ninjutsu, consider respeccing your character , at least for this battle.

To refresh your projectile slots, also be sure that you have the Evade Ninjutsu, and use it religiously. Generally, the attacks that are easier to evade are when the demon summons fire spurts or tornadoes from the ground, since you can at least see those coming.

The area that you face the Bloodedge Demon in can make or break the fight - especially if you’re playing as a Ninja and need lots of room to run around and chuck projectiles. |Image credit:Rock Paper Shotgun/Koei Tecmo

You might be able to cheese the demon depending on the arena

This is another “cheap” tip, but sometimes the Bloodedge Demon summons in fairly crowded areas. In my case, I fought one in a confined village square where there were rooftops and carts aplenty, along with a few enemy soldiers. The demon’s AI is abusable, and it’ll sometimes get stuck behind carts or stay in place if you veer far away enough to interact with another enemy. (Don’t go too far, though, as this will cause it to disappear and regain all its health if you summon it again.)

If all else fails, cheesing your way by kiting the demon around a wagon, or perhaps blasting it in the face with a hand cannon is possible. Honourable, perhaps not. But hey, this boss deserves no such respect!

Elemental Onmyo magic works well

The Bloodedge Demon comes at you with a flurry of elemental attacks, so take a page out of its playbook, especially as a means to complement Ninjutsu projectiles. Equip a good Soul Core that deals elemental damage in the Yang Position of the Onmyo Box. (If you don’t have any with elemental damage, the Gaki Chief Soul Core is a decent fallback option for much of the early game.)

Supplement this with Soul Cores in the Yin Position that grant ranged elemental magic, such as Water Shot Talismans or Fire Shot Talismans . You want to build up a solid arsenal of ranged options to complement your Ninjutsu projectiles, in other words.

Whew! If you made it this far and managed to find and beat the Bloodedge Demon, congratulations. If you’re in need of more info on the basic fundamentals of Koei Tecmo’s latest massive Soulslike, be sure to check out our other guides, including how to get past Spirit Veins , how to use Hot Springs , and how to defeat the first boss, Yamagata Masakage .

Nioh 3

PS5 , 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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