Rally Point: The wonderful vibes of Aetheris are a hint about its design goals

Time to diorama

Image credit:Rock Paper Shotgun/Wild Wits/Hawthorn Games

The first striking thing about Aetheris is its strange and colourful look. The second thing that strikes about Aetheris is the gorgeous animations and storybook trappings of its presentation, even in its loading screen transitions. The third is the strange vulnerability radiating from the village of lizardy people you’re responsible for, and the parties you form with them. The fourth striking thing is that this a roguelike, it’s a bloody roguelike isn’t it, oh goddamn it.

It also binds the spacebar to “accept”, something I learned by accidentally starting a bossfight in a terrible position that threw a whole party away. Or would have, if not for the ol’ ctrleffor. I will never be stopped .

The fact that I kept playing instead of sulking and libelling a random CEO is a hint: I bloody love Aetheris.

I’ve slammed a game for being “the corruption is spreading” again, but that’s not innately bad. Here you’re told little beyond “the Shade is coming! Pick four villagers and send them towards the distant pillar of light”, and then you’re off on a series of sometimes random events and turn-based battles, with all the hexes and the action points and that. But Aetheris immediately makes that engaging with its captivating presentation, and limited context. There’s no dreary In The Ancient Times backstory, and no (ugh) “lore”. There’s no map, or any indication of how far away your goal is: each area, and its residents, are a fresh mystery.

You might find mention of outside groups like the “Noseys” or “Hostiles”, but little elaboration. The almost childlike directness of the names might suggest something about your people (vazzards), but it’s open to interpretation. At no point have I even been told what a “normal” vazzard is, what they value, or what’s expected of them. Are they ignorant isolationists? Naive innocents? Calculating and vicious little bastards? If your party is particularly pragmatic, is that typical for warriors? Do they even have warriors or are these level 0 rubes just whoever’s un-lottery ticket came up?

These are not central questions. Aetheris is not an introspective or philosophical game. But they play into its greatest strength: an atmosphere and sense of a unique world that doesn’t explain itself to or your vazzards. They’re slightly odd, dramatic little guys, taunting and fretting through speech bubbles in combat, bickering during events. Even when racking up a body count, they feel vulnerable, desperate, and sad. Instead of photocopying the FTL travel map again,you’re given upfront the exact order of upcoming events and fights. This gives you room to plan, especially for the campfires, at which the party rest, pray, or train as one. The first two restore everyone’s resources, encouraging risktaking or blasting if one member is in bad shape. The latter rewards XP if you need neither. The fourth option is to keep moving. You’ll get used to the odd feeling of your party being off-centre when the Shade starts to catch up, because, you see, they don’t just blink to the next event. They walk .

Your little guys walk past looming statues and ruins, alien forests and vistas, colourful abstract skies, across multiple parallax layers. Even the ground sometimes moves up into place beneath your vazzards like a theatre profile during scene transition. You don’t know what any of this is, and neither do they. But it’s beautiful. You can hurry them along, but seldom will. It feels wrong . It’s the long travelling montage parts that seldom feel like a journey in games, with the theatrical air of a diorama cut and painted by hand over hundreds of hours, just to bring a little extra magic into your life.

Where Wildermyth ’s characters were a cartoony paper cut-out, Aetheris’s creatures are several overlapping ones, limbs swinging, heads bobbing, monsters whirling arms up in dismay when surprised by a snare. Each piece is absurdly detailed - stop to look sometime at their armour, the headdress, the rich variety of their skin. This is a game that is really going for it visually. The music is similarly excellent, building up military march beats from tense strings and slightly mournful horns, and just a hint of those mischievous twinkly motifs that you think of when there’s old-fashioned fairy nonsense afoot, gently steering it away from the sombre vibes of The Banner Saga . I haven’t even got into the dramatic screen-warping effects when you’re hit by a spell, or the way everyone leaps high in the air for every critical hit.

Image credit:Rock Paper Shotgun/Wild Wits/Hawthorn Games

I’ve spent a lot of words on aesthetics, because that character and sense of exploring the unknown primes you to approach its strategic challenges like that. Its lack of defined norms extends to developing a party: it’s strictly one weapon and two items per character (there are no consumables at all, a huge improvement), but those can be anything you have, because there are no prerequisites or classes. Each level asks you to choose from four attitudes: empathy, brutality, rationality, or mysticism. Two related (somewhat randomised) stat improvements are then offered, of which you pick one. And then the cards come out. Oh no.

Fellow card resenters, fear not . The cards are fully contained to this screen. The last part of levelling shows two piles, face down, representing passive and active skills. You take two cards in whichever combination you like, then turn them over, and pick one. The other is lost for that character forever. You are shown the WoW-style rarity of the next two cards in each pile, however, introducing questions of whether to ignore passives to gun for a rarer active skill now, save it for a later level, or ignore it since you want passives more.

There’s really no gaming it. There’s no guarantee you’ll ever be offered something specific. This has obvious downsides, sometimes lumping you with unhelpful or redundant abilities, and an early rare skill could require more action points than a vazzard’s entire capacity. Do you write that skill, or gamble that you’ll find a way to bring it online?

Image credit:Rock Paper Shotgun/Wild Wits/Hawthorn Games

But a party can do well despite those inefficiencies, and it can lead to some powerful or amusing combinations. Even common skills can be disproportionately useful (conversely, some are too costly to bother) with the right pairing, and since the options are drawn from a deck rather than a tree or linear upgrade path, and the available possibilities within each attitude diminish each time you select it, you’re naturally encouraged to choose a mix of attitudes rather than minmax one for each party member. Individual vazzards don’t reach the poignancy or personal resonance of Wildermyth’s characters, but they tend to become their own weird little thing you have to figure out how to work with.

The oddness and variety of enemy skills and behaviours also encourage reciprocating with a “be ready for anything” approach to levelling and fighting. My “bad luck” with repeated Empathy picks, ostensibly the healing-focussed choice, produced a vazzard with no active healing powers but a heap of passives that, with the right equipment (all of which is quite particular; a sack of tools rather than a number transmitter), let them wade in while their health regenerated and poison drained the enemy’s. It was funny enough walking directly up to a boss, ignoring the summoned lackeys, before picking Rational later added the power to set traps behind them, punishing retreat as well.

Many enemies, and especially boss fights, are unorthodox but not overly gimmicky - though a few feel rather overtuned. I’ve some fantastic screenshots I won’t share, because you too deserve to experience the genuine “Oh my god what is that ? We are so hosed” moments. Some of which I survived, once with a dramatic last ditch gambit that cost a vazzard’s life. The remaining three survived a surprisingly long time afterwards. They’d have made it through another boss fight too, if only they weren’t one down. Or I’d come up with a better plan than “keep its attention on Catmes” (RIP).

Image credit:Rock Paper Shotgun/Wild Wits/Hawthorn Games

Perhaps most boldly, risky choices during events don’t, I am fairly confident, lean on stats. They’re a raw 50/50 every time. You can always choose a safer course, and that’s often wise, because while a lucky toss could skip a fight or lend a whole team of AI-controlled allies, really bad ones could permanently weaken your whole party. But the love and dedication put into its art and strange personality tells me that all this uncertainty, the unpredictable and sometimes disastrous unknowns, aren’t just the usual unexamined roguelike trappings. It could easily have done that and made a generic roguelike with a pretty face, but the tone it sets is meant to encourage interpretation, and carry that over to how you play. Its otherworldiness and style invited me to inhabit Aetheris, to discern its unusual design, despite some familiar elements. To really sit with each party and try to strategise a way for their particular mess to work, instead of trial and erroring my way to an ideal.

Aetheris

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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