Performance quirks, both good and bad, make Avowed a real trickster on PC hardware

Here’s a settings guide nonetheless

Image credit:Rock Paper Shotgun/Xbox Game Studios

Avowed has more The Outer Worlds DNA in it than just the Obsidian link, and from a technical perspective, that might be worrisome – the latter RPG ’s Spacer’s Choice Edition was one of the most wretchedly broken releases of 2023.

Happily, Avowed does at least launch in much better shape, and with some genuinely fetching fantasy visuals that may even justify flicking on ray tracing . The PC version does, however, still seem to have a few loose wires, which are worth watching out for even if you can tidy some up with the right settings.

Image credit:Rock Paper Shotgun/Xbox Game Studios

Avowed system requirements and PC performance

Avowed’s recommended specs don’t state which settings or monitor resolution they have in mind, so sadly I just don’t know if I’m supposed to spit with indignant rage at them wanting an RTX 3080. Alas. Still, there’s nothing here that’s especially new (and thus more expensive), and 75GB of storage space isn’t as bad as I’ve come to expect for a big, glossy RPG. Note the lack of an SSD requirement too.

Avowed minimum PC specs

• OS: Windows 10/11 with updates
• CPU: AMD Ryzen 5 2600 / Intel Core i5-8400
• RAM: 16GB
• GPU: AMD Radeon RX 5700 / Nvidia GeForce GTX 1070 / Intel Arc A580
• DirectX: Version 12
• Storage: 75GB available space

Avowed recommended PC specs

• OS: Windows 10/11 with updates
• CPU: AMD Ryzen 5 5600X / Intel Core i7-10700K
• RAM: 16GB
• GPU: AMD Radeon RX 6800 XT / Nvidia GeForce RTX 3080
• DirectX: Version 12
• Storage: 75GB available space

These reqs seem broadly accurate too, neither overegging Avowed’s hardware needs nor giving false hope for spud rigs. In my free-roaming benchmark tests, the GTX 1070 could handle Low settings at 37fps on native 1080p, and 50fps with Quality-level FSR 3. About what you’d want from a minimum spec GPU, in other words. There might be some wiggle room in the recommended tier, depending on your tolerance for upscaling: the RTX 3070, two levels down from the listed RTX 3080, produced 48fps at 1080p with the Epic preset enabled. After adding DLSS on Quality mode, that rose to 67fps.

Tools like DLSS, FSR, and Unreal Engine 5’s built-in TSR don’t feel outright essential in getting Avowed’ performance wheels turning, though they evidently can deliver a sizeable burst of speed. I suspect DLSS might be a wee bit bugged out, though: on my RTX 4060 , if I launched Avowed having previously disabled Nvidia’s upscaler, it would quietly re-enable it without saying so in the settings. Hence much confused benchmarking where my manually ’enabling’ DLSS in the graphics settings didn’t appear to do anything.

Image credit:Rock Paper Shotgun/Xbox Game Studios

With the upscaling brought to heel, the RTX 4060 would go on to average 39fps on Epic and 61fps on High, both at native 1080p. Not amazing for this particular GPU, though it could be worse, and it likely will be if you have an Intel graphics card. The Arc B580 , which can often outpace the RTX 4060 in other games, only managed 46fps at High, and suffered from even more frequent stuttering than the GeForce cards I tested.

Ah yes, traversal stutter, the bumbling spectre that haunts many a UE5 game. Expect at least some of this regardless of your specs, though it is at least easier to cushion the jabs when you’re running at generally higher framerates. Whether that means forgiving DLSS’ trickery – the RTX 4060’s 39fps on Epic shot up to 59fps with Quality upscaling – or just, y’know, having a hench PC. The RTX 4070 Ti , for instance, could combine Quality DLSS with maxed-out visuals for a smooth 73fps at 73fps at 1440p, and that included ray tracing. It could even take these settings to 54fps at 4K, albeit by simultaneously dropping DLSS to Balanced mode. The new RTX 5080 , unsurprisingly, proved hardier at this rez, averaging 62fps with Epic visuals, ray tracing on, and DLSS on Quality.

Ray tracing, I must say, is a lot more tempting in Avowed than in most games, almost entirely because its performance tax (versus the Epic-level lighting and reflection effects it replaces) isn’t all that steep. While not a night-and-day difference in terms of looks, I do like how ray tracing gives daytime scenes a more vibrant, higher-contrast pop, which works well in a game where even your character’s face is splashed with fantasy flora. And, while hardware grunt helps with the stuttering, you don’t strictly need a new, high-end GPU for RT effects. At 1440p, the four-year-old RTX 3070 only dropped from 52fps to 47fps after adding ray tracing to its Epic/DLSS Quality config.

Truly lower-end PCs should still steer clear, mind. My MSI GF63 Thin laptop, with its 8GB of RAM and RTX 4050 , could just make it over the 30fps line, scoring 32fps at native 1080p with the Low preset. However, DLSS suddenly lost its magic here, with Quality mode only bumping Avowed up to 35fps. The Steam Deck needs major concessions as well, only barely staying playable with the Low preset and FSR on Performance mode.

These systems also see the worst stuttering of the bunch, which is unfortunate when they also don’t get as much help from upscaling. Avowed might not be as buggy as Starfield or as brutal as S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2 , but it does strike an unusual balance between fidelity and wonkiness that almost actively encourages a fine-tuning approach to its various settings. So, let’s do that.

Image credit:Rock Paper Shotgun/Xbox Game Studios

Avowed best settings guide

As has apparently become PC game custom, only a slim minority of Avowed’s individual graphics settings have much of a bearing on performance. If you’re playing fast and loose with the minimum specs then it’s still worth starting with Low settings, but for more capable components, it should be possible to keep most on their best-looking Epic levels while claiming a nice performance upgrade from the few that you do cut.

In Avowed’s case, it was only shadow quality and global illumination quality that bumped performance up once I lowered them on an RTX 4060. All the other quality settings either didn’t improve on Epic preset performance at all, or only added an imperceptible 1-2fps on Low. Those might add up to make the difference when you’re struggling for 30fps, but again, most modern PCs won’t be.

I’m also recommending DLSS and TSR for upscaling; FSR isn’t a terrible alternative for non-RTX graphics cards, but TSR looks a smidge cleaner to my eyes, and isn’t significantly slower. Here’s the detailed list:

• Motion blur: 0%
• Upscaling: Nvidia DLSS 3 on Quality / TSR on 67%
• Shadow quality: Medium
• Global illumination quality: Medium
• Everything else: Epic preset equivalent

These setting got my RTX 4060 up to 82fps, more than double the Epic preset’s native 1080p performance and a good 23fps higher than Epic with DLSS by itself. If your own rig has the headroom for it, consider enabling ray tracing as well: that only dropped average performance down to 75fps, so it’s hardly a path tracing -style devourer of frames.

There’s also one last setting we haven’t discussed, partly because I’m still not quite sure what to make of it myself. On RTX 40 series GPUs and newer, Avowed also supports DLSS 3 frame generation , which can smooth out the visuals even further: again on the RTX 4060, with those custom settings and ray tracing, frame gen sent average performance from 75fps up to 111fps. The added input lag is manageable too, with total system latency rarely spiking above 50ms even when I tested it at more demanding quality settings.

Image credit:Rock Paper Shotgun/Xbox Game Studios

There was, however, one occasional yet very distracting issue with frame generation. It’s weirdly terrible at accurately generating Avowed’s dialogue choices box, producing momentary flashes of misplaced text as you mouse over the options. It’s not as bad as that screenshot makes it look – it doesn’t appear as if the box is melting under a heat lamp, in other words – but there’s clearly something amiss. Frame gen doesn’t trip up on any other UI elements, but still, I wouldn’t fully endorse enabling it until Obsidian (or Nvidia) work out a fix.

That’s suboptimal, sure. But at least it’s not another Spacer’s Choice Edition.

Avowed

Xbox Series X/S , 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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