Should you bother with… gaming earbuds?

The bell tolls for Bluetooth

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In hindsight, it’s surprising that it took so long for hardware manufacturers to start making “gaming” earbuds. If the likes of chairs, glasses, and chewing gum can be painted stealth-bomber black and prefixed with the G word, why not something that can actually get off its harshly angled bum and help pipe the games themselves into your head?

Then again, maybe gaming earbuds were just waiting for their moment. Obviously the Nintendo Switch is the Nintendo Switch, but the rise of handhelds like the Steam Deck and Asus ROG Ally has driven desires for more portable (yet games-friendly) noise-deliverers ‘round these PC parts as well. Thus, for another edition of Should You Bother With – the RPS column where a diaphragm of testing vibrates advice directly into the cochlea of understanding – let’s have a listen of these wireless buds and find out whether they’re a worthy replacement for your current go-to headphones.

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A good starting point would be how exactly these are, in fact, gaming earbuds. Ask their makers – heavy gaming hitters like Asus, Sony, SteelSeries, Razer, and HyperX all have skin in this game, as do more generalist audio brands like JBL – and they’ll probably tell you it’s down to latency, perhaps also muttering something about better mic quality for voice comms. Which does make sense, as with the exception of very specific Bluetooth 5.4 earbuds paired to very specific Qualcomm Snapdragon devices, true wireless buds can easily add hundreds of milliseconds to audio lag.

Not a big deal for music, but potentially a source of audiovisual iffiness for portable games, where what you hear won’t perfectly sync with what you see onscreen. Upgrading to a set of conventional Bluetooth 5.4 buds won’t help either, as besides their lack of Qualcomm APUs, handheld PCs have so far stuck to older and slower standards: the most up-to-date are the Steam Deck OLED and Zotac Zone , which can only manage version 5.3.

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Testing out my own everyday earbuds, the otherwise sonically excellent Sennheiser Momentum True Wireless 2, confirmed the issue. With these Bluetooth 5.1 buds paired to a Steam Deck OLED, there was more than enough lag for games to feel off. Bordering unplayable, sometimes. Elden Ring spell sounds clearly played out of sync with their visual flourishes, while in Half-Life 2 I could watch the pistol’s entire firing and cycling animation complete before the shot rang out.

Wired earbuds are one solution, albeit with the defining advantage of modern earbuds removed. Another, the one posited by gaming earbuds, is to use something other than Bluetooth. And the mutually agreed-upon alternative, it seems, is a 2.4GHz radio connection. The kind favoured by almost every wireless PC peripheral under the sun, from full headsets to mice, keyboards, and controllers.

That’s why the most interesting gaming earbuds include, nestled away in their charging cases, a dinky USB-C dongle for connecting over 2.4GHz. That includes the SteelSeries Arctis GameBuds you can see in these pictures, and which quickly make a compelling argument for carrying your Steam Deck around with a blackcurrant Wine Gum sticking out the top.

Image credit:Rock Paper Shotgun

The latency issue? Gone. It might be physically impossible for 2.4GHz to be completely lag-free but as far as my naked eyes and ears are concerned, it comes close enough, matching sounds to sights far better than on Bluetooth. Those delayed Half-Life 2 gunshots could now pop off on cue, and the chimes of my Glintstone sorceries were much more in-sync as well.

It’s not like the Arctis GameBuds have cracked the secret to universal wireless speed upgrades; they’re just using a long-established connection technique that nonetheless happens to work better than the previous default. They can demonstrate this themselves by switching to their Bluetooth mode, which uses the same 5.3 version as the Steam Deck OLED. Despite this upgrade over my Sennheisers, the ’toothed-up GameBuds also exhibited noticeable latency, with even Hades II gaining a certain sluggish feeling from its various dash/slash/exploding skull SFX not quite matching up with the animations.

2.4GHz isn’t just better for latency either. Despite having a much higher polling rate than Bluetooth – meaning it can communicate with the receiver far much frequently, to the tune of up to 1000 times per second versus 125 – it also enjoys more data bandwidth, so audio isn’t as compressed as when it gets squeezed through a Bluetooth connection. On the Arctis GameBuds, at least, this manifests as a slightly cleaner sound on 2.4GHz mode, without the fuzzy white noise in quiet moments that Bluetooth suffers from.

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Again, this won’t be particularly astonishing if you already own any 2.4GHz wireless peripherals for your desktop. Still, this headsettificationn did get me wondering: could the Arctis GameBuds, or similarly high-performance gaming earbuds, supplant a proper pair of over-ears?

…No, not really. Microphone-wise, the Arctis GameBuds are actually as good as a top headset at picking up crisp, clear speech, but also struggle to filter out the sound of mechanical keyboard clicking or the noise from a nearby TV. For comfort, I’d prefer a nice set of leatherette cushions than having a silicone nozzle filling up my ear canal; the GameBuds are fine to wear for about an hour at a time, but ultimately draw fatigue faster than a well-shaped headset.

Battery life is a concern too. With the GameBuds, you’re looking at a maximum ten hours per charge with up to 30 hours’ worth of backup juice in the case. That might not lead to many interrupted game sessions, but my HyperX Cloud Alpha Wireless headset can go for hundreds of hours between charges, and even in the rare event that they run dry, I can just plug in a charging cable and top them back up as I wear them. That’s just not possible with any set of true wireless buds, which need popping back into their case to recharge.

Still, any handheld PC is likely to run out of steam well before your earbuds do, and for travelling/commuting it’s far more practical to drop a pair like these in your pocket than it is to pack an entire headset, or even to untangle a classic set of wired earbuds.

Image credit:Rock Paper Shotgun

Verdict: Should you bother with gaming earbuds? Not if they’re just a regular set of Bluetooth-only buds masquerading as specialist gaming hardware, nor if you need something for at-home desktop audio. I am, on the other hand, completely sold on 2.4GHz earbuds for ambulatory Steam Decking, and portable PC usage in general. The USB receiver isn’t some huge imposition, yet it helps solve the biggest problem with conventional earbuds lagging behind on audio sync.

While I’m not saying every pair will match them on quality, it helps that the Arctic GameBuds are a fine set of earbuds in their own right, their steep price of £159 / $160 being offset by their strong overall sound (not quite as bassy as my Sennheisers, but nicely balanced), and high build quality. The latter extends to actual physical buttons on each bud, all too much of a rarity for a headphone form factor that typically deals in finicky touch sensors, as well as splashproofing and snug fit that in turn helps with the effectiveness of their very decent active noise cancellation. I can definitely see myself alternating between these and the Momentum True Wireless 2, depending on if I also have a portable PC in my satchel.

Other 2.4GHz earbuds are available, including the Sony Inzone Buds, the JBL Quantum TWS Air, and the Razer Hammerhead Hyperspeed, and you can expect more to come. The aural equivalent of a gaming chair, these are not – they make functional changes that produce tangible benefits to games specifically. Good stuff.

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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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