Sons Of The Forest best base locations

Discover the best base locations in Sons Of The Forest

Image credit:Rock Paper Shotgun/Endnight Games

Looking for the best base locations in Sons Of The Forest? Sons Of The Forest chucks you onto an island that’s almost idyllic, until you come face-to-face with those nasty cannibals. They’re going to spend most of their time hunting you down, which means you need to hastily construct a nice, warm base. Of course, the safest bases make use of the best base locations in Sons Of The Forest, which we’ve scouted out just for you.

If you’re planning on exploring the game’s nightmarish world now it’s out of early access, then here are the 5 best base locations in Sons Of The Forest. We’ll point out where to find each of the best base locations on a map, and break down their pros and cons.

In this guide:

• North-West island base
• Water base
• Mountain cave base
• Beach base
• Endgame bunker base

Looking for ways to survive your first few days in Sons of the Forest? Watch the video above for 15 essential tips.Watch on YouTube

North-West island base

The island is found in the middle of a lake on the North-East side of the map. |Image credit:Rock Paper Shotgun/Endnight Games

This base location might only offer a small island, but where there’s water , there’s safety. Enemies cannot swim in Sons Of The Forest , so the deep water around this island offers easy protection from their attacks.

Here’s the amount of building space that you’ll have on the island. |Image credit:Rock Paper Shotgun/Endnight Games

This North-West island, which you can see on the map above, is an excellent early-game base, because the enemies roaming the island won’t be able to reach you until Winter. There are also plenty of trees on the island that you can cut down to quickly whip up a base on the first night without needing to haul logs from far away.

You’ll need to be prepared, though, because when the cold comes, the water around the island will freeze and allow enemies to finally mount attacks on your fort.

Of course, the water around this base does also offer a slight disadvantage. Kelvin , the best boy that everyone loves, cannot carry stuff over to or from the island, as he also can’t swim.

This means you’ll need to build a bridge if you want to give Kelvin easy access. This opens you up to enemies earlier, but it’s still an easily defensible chokepoint to kill baddies as they approach.

You can transport logs across water by placing them on a zipline. |Image credit:Rock Paper Shotgun/Endnight Games

If you’re not bothered about having him cross over to the island, you can make a handy zipline system using the Rope Gun , as shown above. Simply ask Kelvin to gather logs on the shore nearby, and then build a zipline crossing over to the island. Interact with the zipline while holding logs to send them rocketing over the water and onto the island.

Water base

The lake we used is found on the East side of the snowy mountain. |Image credit:Rock Paper Shotgun/Endnight Games

If you want to build a base anywhere on the water, then you’re in luck! There’s an easy way to do it, but you’ll need to wait until Winter.

When Winter arrives, head to a large body of water to find that it has frozen over. We used the large lake on the East side of the snowy mountain, near where you find the Golden Armor , but you can use any lake around the island.

The base built on ice during Winter.

Once the lake has frozen over (this happens immediately when it becomes Winter), you can haul logs onto the ice and start building. It seems that you cannot use pre-constructed bases on ice, so you will need to build it yourself the hard way. Take the Winter to build a base, and make sure it has floors.

When Winter passes and the lake thaws out, your base will automatically add struts underneath to support it on the water, allowing you to have a base that floats. This is one of the best base locations in Sons Of The Forest because, as with the island base above, enemies won’t be able to attack outside of Winter.

Of course, this comes with the same caveat - outside of Winter, Kelvin also won’t be able to haul items over to your water base, so you might want to build a bridge so that he can run over all year round. Just make sure to build something thin and easily defensible, so that you can quickly kill any cannibals that use it to attack.

Mountain cave base

The cave is found on the South side of the snowy mountain. |Image credit:Rock Paper Shotgun/Endnight Games

There is one cave in Sons Of The Forest that is directly connected to the overworld without a loading screen. There’s no cracks to shuffle through here - you just waltz on in.

That means, as shown in the image above, that you can build inside the cave. That makes it one of the best base locations, as there is only one entrance/exit to defend from enemies.

Our shoddy base built in the cave. |Image credit:Rock Paper Shotgun/Endnight Games

This cave is found on the South side of the snowy mountain, as shown on the map above. As you approach, you’ll see the usual cave symbol marking it on your in-game map. Upon entering, you should also find some wooden crates that you can smash to get a few cans of food.

While the space here is a little tight, you can easily place down everything that you need, such as a tent and a fire . The cave walls offer natural protection, and the tight tunnel entrance means cannibals will usually stream in one-by-one when they attack.

Beach base

The Northern beach offers the best base location for those wanting to live by the sea in Sons Of The Forest. |Image credit:Rock Paper Shotgun/Endnight Games

The Northern beach is one of the potential crash sites in Sons Of The Forest, and it’s also one of the best base locations. While transporting logs over to build the base might be a nuisance, the beach offers a wealth of advantages that make it a top spot for your base.

Our beach base has plenty of flat, empty land so that you can see enemies all around. |Image credit:Rock Paper Shotgun/Endnight Games

The beach marked on the map above is largely flat land, with a creek running through the middle. This allows you to easily build structures on the beach, and they’ll be near a water source so you don’t need to worry about thirst. You can even bring Kelvin along and ask him to fish there while you build!

It’s also very open, with no trees looming over your base. This means cannibals can’t climb trees and spring out at you as you leave your base, offering a bit of extra safety. The flat land also means you’ll see any cannibals coming, so you’ll know when they’re on the attack before they arrive.

Of course, the lack of trees does make actually building the base a bit of a pain, but you can use a zipline from the nearby forest to propel logs over to the beach, hopefully speeding up the process a bit.

For those early on, this is also a handy base location because it’s near the Rebreather , which you’ll need if you want to get the Shovel , and the Machete is also found nearby.

Endgame bunker base

This hill is found in the North-East corner of the map. |Image credit:Rock Paper Shotgun/Endnight Games

Our final pick for our list of the best base locations is a hill near the secret bunker in which the Sons Of The Forest ending takes place. The top of this hill has a long, flat stretch that’s empty, with plenty of trees around the edge that you can use to build.

This flat stretch of empty land is situated perfectly near the secret endgame bunker. |Image credit:Rock Paper Shotgun/Endnight Games

The hill is found on the North-East side of the island, as shown on the map above. The flat land makes this an excellent spot to build a base near the endgame bunker, and there’s even a short path that you can walk down to find a creek flowing past the bottom of the hill.

This area is also largely safe from cannibals. The nearest camps are South of the nearby creek, so they’d have to trek up the hill to reach your base. That gives you plenty of time to see them coming and start defending.

This base has almost everything you’d want, with one clear caveat. Lots of key weapons and tools in Sons Of The Forest are found on the West side of the island, so making this your starting base will lead to lots of long adventures back and forth.

That’s why we recommend this as an endgame base, as it’s situated perfectly for playing through the ending whenever you’re ready.

That wraps up our guide on the best base locations in Sons Of The Forest. If you’re after some top weapons that you can use to defend your base, take a look at our guides on how to get the Shotgun , Pistol , and Revolver . If you run out of ammo for your guns, you can also get Virginia as a companion in Sons Of The Forest and hand them over to her. She’s a crackshot, and has unlimited ammo with which to mow down any enemies that approach.

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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

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How to find the 3D printer in Sons Of The Forest

Learn where to find the 3D printer in Sons Of The Forest

Image credit:Rock Paper Shotgun/Endnight Games

Looking for the 3D printer in Sons Of The Forest? Sons Of The Forest is a tough survival game, but you can make it a little easier with the 3D printer. No, you won’t use it to make your own custom Warhammer miniatures! Instead, you can use it to print crucial items, such as the flask to store water , or the mask to pacify enemies. If you’re itching to find the 3D printer and don’t know where to look, that’s where we come in.

We’ll break down how to find the 3D printer in Sons Of The Forest, which is no longer in early access after the release of the version 1.0 update. We’ll explain exactly where you need to go to get the 3D printer, and list all of the items you can print.

In this guide:

• How to get the 3D printer in Sons Of The Forest
• How to use the 3D printer in Sons Of The Forest

Looking for ways to survive your first few days in Sons of the Forest? Watch the video above for 15 essential tips.Watch on YouTube

How to get the 3D printer in Sons Of the Forest

The 3D printer is found in a cave that’s marked by a green pulse on the map. You can find the exact location in the image below.

Follow the green pulse above the player in this image. |Image credit:Rock Paper Shotgun/Endnight Games

Once you arrive at the marker, simply head down the slope and into the cave. Shuffle through the gap to get in, and then continue into the darkness until you see a light up ahead. You’ll find yourself in a corridor that seems kind of like a mysterious underground lab, and the light up ahead leads into a safe room.

When you enter the safe room, you’ll find the 3D printer on a desk by the wall. It’s already loaded with some resin, but you can find more on the shelves nearby.

The exact 3D printer location in Sons Of The Forest. |Image credit:Rock Paper Shotgun/Endnight Games

How to use the 3D printer in Sons Of The Forest

To use the 3D printer in Sons Of The Forest, you must press “R” on the nearby computer to cycle through the various items that you can print. When you’ve settled on an item (and checked that the 3D printer has enough resin), you can hit the “E” key to start printing.

Below, you’ll find a list of items that you can make using the 3D printer:

• Arrows (50 resin)
• Flask (100 resin)
• Mask (150 resin)
• Grappling Hooks (100 resin)
• Tech Mesh (250 resin)
• Sled (1000 resin)

With the resin available in this room alone, you should be able to make most of the cheap items, or a single sled. We’d recommend getting the flask and mask first, along with some arrows if you prefer ranged weapons.

Before heading out, make sure to also search the rest of the room. You’ll find some Carbon Fiber arrows in the corner, and there is also a bed here that you can use to save and sleep. It’s the perfect shelter!

If you’re not comfortable with lighting a fire and making a tent in Sons Of The Forest to survive in the outdoors, then this is the ideal base.

That wraps up our guide on how to find the 3D printer in Sons Of The Forest. Of course, the items that you can 3D print aren’t the only important tools that you’ll need to survive. If you want to explore underwater, for example, you’ll need to get the Rebreather in Sons Of The Forest . This also allows you to get the Shovel in Sons Of The Forest , which you can use to dig up hidden items. If you’re scared of exploring, consider learning how to get Virginia in Sons Of The Forest first, as she makes an excellent combat companion.

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