Star Wars Outlaws tips and tricks for beginners

Here are the fundamentals to know before playing Star Wars Outlaws

Image credit:Rock Paper Shotgun/Ubisoft

Looking for a list of Star Wars Outlaws tips and tricks? If it’s your first time journeying with Nix and Kay Vess in Star Wars Outlaws , we have a list of top tips to help you get started.

This covers a range of early mechanics like the Wanted system and the best ways to reach an ’excellent’ reputation with all four syndicates in the game (which in turn, means you can secure all syndicate rewards). To see our tips and tricks for Star Wars Outlaws , see below.

This guide covers the following Star Wars Outlaws top tips:

• Contracts are the best way to increase reputation
• You can clear your ‘Wanted’ status
• You can earn Credits from Imperial Outposts
• Upgrade the Blaster, Speeder and Trailblazer
• You must find ‘Experts’ to unlock skills
• Prioritise stealth upgrades
• Visit food stalls for Nix upgrades
• Hyperspace travel takes a while to unlock
• Additional tips

Contracts are the best way to increase reputation

Certain Contracts can only be picked once you have a high enough reputation with the associated group. |Image credit:Rock Paper Shotgun/Ubisoft

Once you progress through the main questline enough to have completed the ‘Underworld’, ‘New Tricks’ and ‘False Flag’ quests, you’ll unlock the ability to pick up Contracts from Contract Brokers. These Contracts range in risk and rewards but the best ones to pick up first are the low-stakes ones.

These usually entail you stealing something or gathering intel from a syndicate base and reporting back. These quests are quick and easy to complete and if you do enough of them you’ll quickly build up a ‘good’ reputation with all syndicates.

I recommend making these Contracts a priority as soon as you unlock them as you’ll find that being on a ‘good’ meter with everyone will greatly help you in Star Wars Outlaws. It means you’ll be able to traverse freely in syndicate territories without being stopped every other minute and it will unlock additional fast travel points and landing bays for the Trailblazer.

You can clear your ‘Wanted’ status

There’s usually a corrupt officer on every planet. |Image credit:Rock Paper Shotgun/Ubisoft

It’s inevitable that you’ll get put on the ‘Wanted’ system at some point. This is the Empire’s way of keeping tabs on Kay Vess and most Imperial units will become instantly hostile to you if you’re ‘Wanted’.

Luckily, there are several in-game ways to clear your name off the Wanted List and allow Kay to enter imperial territory with much less fanfare. You can either approach corrupt imperial officers and pay for their services, or hack into Imperial Satellites in space.

You can find a corrupt Imperial Officer pretty much straight away in Star Wars Outlaws. They hang outside of Makal’s Gambling Parlor in Mirogana City.

You can earn Credits from Imperial Terminals

Imperial Terminals are light on security and can be a quick score. |Image credit:Rock Paper Shotgun/Ubisoft

There are many Imperial Terminals dotted around Toshara. They are usually large tower structures with a handful of Stormtroopers guarding the area. If you lockpick the door and ‘slice’ the terminals inside you can earn thousands of credits at a time.

These confiscated Credits will replenish every few days, so you can hit the same outposts repeatedly for some extra cash. If you solve the slicing puzzle before it reaches the red line, you’ll make more Credits. See our guide to making Credits fast for more money tips.

How to upgrade the Blaster, Speeder and Trailblazer

You can also upgrade the appearances of these devices through these menus. |Image credit:Rock Paper Shotgun/Ubisoft

You can access a list of upgrades from the main menu but you cannot upgrade directly from here. Instead, if you want to upgrade these various systems in Star Wars Outlaws, you need to journey to these places:

• Blaster: This can be upgraded via the workstation within the Trailblazer.
• Speeder: You must visit a Speeder Garage (look for the Speeder and spanner symbol on the map).
• Trailblazer: You must visit a Ship Mechanic (look for the ship and spanner symbol on the map).

Essentially, the ‘Vehicles’ tab can tell you how close you are to an upgrade and what materials you need but you’ll need to go to the above places to actually upgrade your vehicles/tools. The Ship Mechanic services won’t be available until you progress to the ‘False Flag’ main quest. See our best Speeder upgrades and best Trailblazer upgrades guides for more information on the ones to prioritise first.

You must find ‘Experts’ to unlock skills

Expert missions are some of the more important quests in Star Wars Outlaws. |Image credit:Rock Paper Shotgun/Ubisoft

The skill tree in Star Wars Outlaws curiously, is not a tree at all. Rather, to learn new skills you must find various ‘Experts’ throughout the galaxy. Each Expert, once unlocked, will teach Kay new skills once she meets the necessary requirements.

When you get a hint as to the whereabouts of an Expert, you’ll have to follow a trail of clues and complete a quest to ‘recruit’ them. These quests should be one of your main priorities for game progression.

We have a list of the best skills to pick up first if you need additional help, as well as a list of all the Experts we’ve encountered so far and their locations in-game.

Prioritise stealth upgrades

When upgraded, Nix can trap alarms and set them to stun anyone who uses them. |Image credit:Rock Paper Shotgun/Ubisoft

Following on from the previous point, stealth skills are the most important, particularly in the earlier game sequences. Star Wars Outlaws is full of stealth sections and many of them are not optional. This means you’ll receive a ‘mission failure’ if you’re caught by even one person.

For this reason, we recommend prioritising stealth skills. In particular, Smoke Bombs and Nix’s ability to sabotage alarms are good ones to focus on. Speaking of Nix, make sure you activate Nix vision often and utilise their ‘distract’ feature on guards.

Use the terrain around you and if all else fails, you can use the ‘Fast Talk’ perk to take out anyone that does spot you. Just make sure you have your blaster set to ‘stun’ before attempting stealth sections or it’s much more likely to turn into a bloodbath.

Visit food stalls for Nix upgrades

The upgrades are usually worth the quick time events. |Image credit:Rock Paper Shotgun/Ubisoft

Nix isn’t just a cute sidekick, they are extremely useful in combat too and can gain unique upgrades called ‘Nix Treats’. These upgrades are available at specific food stalls. Unfortunately, you’ll have to participate in a quick time minigame to unlock them, but the animation of Nix reaching for food is quite adorable.

You can change out Nix’s ’treats’ via the kitchen in the Trailblazer or the ‘Loadout’ menu. The first food stall you’ll likely encounter is located south of the Mirogana Market District. So far, we’ve encountered one on each of the major planets in Star Wars Outlaws.

Hyperspace travel takes a while to unlock

Naturally, you’ll need to fix the Hyperdrive to enter Hyperspace. |Image credit:Rock Paper Shotgun/Ubisoft

If like me, you were 10 hours into the game and still hadn’t been to space (outside of the opening sequence) don’t fear - it will happen! Star Wars Outlaws takes time to get you used to Toshara, the first major planet you visit. It takes a hefty amount of progression into the main questline before you unlock the ability to take the Trailblazer into both space and hyperspace .

The latter of the two allows you to visit different star systems and planets. As such, take your time to explore Toshara and get used to the various systems before hopping off-world. You’ll eventually explore other planets once you complete ’ The Wreck’ main quest.

Additional tips

Sabacc is a jolly good time. |Image credit:Rock Paper Shotgun/Ubisoft

Here are a few additional tips I gathered from my time with Star Wars Outlaws:

• You can call your Speeder to you with the ‘Y’ key.
• Sabacc is incredibly fun and an easy way to earn Credits once you figure it out.
• You can access all Contract Broker quests via a terminal in the lounge quarters of the Trailblazer. This eliminates the need to trek back and forth to pick up new Contracts.
• There is an ‘Opportunities Nearby’ message that flashes yellow (top right corner of the screen) when there is a quest in the area. Speak to people or lean on bars to overhear intel.
• Always sabotage alarms first when breaking into bases.
• Items are marked as ‘Safe to Sell’ in the item descriptions. You can group sell all your junk at once at shops.
• Always wait to sell goods at shops that you have a good reputation with. You’ll get more money for them this way.
• The whistle feature is infinitely useful for silently taking down guards.
• Save before entering syndicate territory. If you’re found in a restricted area you’ll be thrown out and your reputation with them will be lowered.
• There is always an alternate way to get into syndicate regions if you are barred access due to a ‘poor’ reputation.
• The only gun you can keep is the Blaster. Other guns you pick up are temporary until you run out of ammo. You’ll also automatically drop these guns when grappling or going down ladders.
• You can toggle on or off the environmental clues. This means you can get rid of the ‘yellow paint’ if it takes away your immersion.
• Each syndicate has a vault that contains 5,000 Credits and special Speeder skins. You need to collect three keycards from members to access them.

That rounds up our top tricks for beginners in Star Wars Outlaws. For more Star Wars Outlaws content, check out our guide to unlocking the black market in Mirogana or see our walkthrough of getting into Gorak’s base . Additionally, we have a guide to getting the Slicing Kit , needed to hack into advanced areas.

Star Wars Outlaws

PS5 , 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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