Still Wakes The Deep’s authentic horror aims to channel Ken Loach by way of Stanley Kubrick

“In obscurity comes horror,” says lead designer Rob McLachlan

Image credit:Secret Mode

Set in 1975 on an oil rig in the Scottish North Sea, horror game Still Wakes The Deep is less about supernatural events, and more about the people who experience them. Here, that’s Scottish electrician Caz McLeary and the crew of the Beira D rig. In bringing the rig to life, The Chinese Room turned to archival footage, oil and gas legislation, blueprints, and photographs. For lead designer Rob McLachlan, though, it was conversations with former platform workers that painted the clearest picture of what life on the rigs was really like.

“There were two main things that were, for me, the most meaningful,” says McLachlan, “One was the isolation. Some of the people we talked to, it was like them talking about being in the army, because they felt like the were. They had a real sense of camaraderie, of professionalism. They were all operating at the limits of engineering.”

The other detail that stuck with him, says McLachlan, was “their description of the senses.” There was, said the workers they spoke to, always machine noise. Turbines. Drilling. Pumps. Fans. A constant cacophony. It’s these details that the team tried to bring into the “before the event” feeling of the rig - prior to the more overt horror you’ll encounter in the game.

“When you open a door, you get that gust of wind in your face, that sound of the deck and clanking metal and people shouting and work being done, but then you have this lovely contrast where after the event, we can dial that down,” McLachlan explains. “Suddenly things go quiet and you realise that you just hear the wind and the waves and all the machines have died down and you think; wow, this whole rig is dying. Sinking into the sea.” McLachlan doesn’t claim that they got everything right, but the aim was to get as a close as possible to the genuine experience, so that someone who’s been on a platform would recognise it - even if liberties have been taken for it to all work in a game.

Still Wakes The Deep is, says McLachlan, “a return to what The Chinese Room is known for,” a story-first, tightly paced horror game. “It’s a game that’s designed for people to complete it, and it’s a game that we’ve consciously created an atmosphere of both authenticity and humanity.” I’m interested in completion being enough of a design goal to merit mention. Surely, all developers would like players to finish their games.

“You can’t help but be dismayed sometimes when you look at, even something as basic as achievement stats on many games,” McLachlan says - though there are games he’s played where, despite respecting what they’re trying to do, he feels he’s seen everything after a certain point. Still Wakes The Deep, then, is approximately six hours long, intended to be played over a couple of evenings.

Image credit:Secret Mode

McLachlan says that it’s “crafted to pull you through from chapter to chapter so you don’t forget what you’re doing. It’s not a punishing experience, so it’s not something where you feel like it’s just luck or relentless perseverance that’s getting you through, but it’s more the story carrying you.” To support this, the game includes a story mode, so you can experience it without the hassle of dying. But the team still took steps to maintain tension, even without the fear of tangible consequences.

McLachlan thinks that the core of any survival horror or systemic game is in “that kind of mechanic in where the player is balancing demands.” In this case, that’s threats like dwindling oxygen, being eaten, falling, drowning, or becoming cold or exhausted. “We’ve brought all those things into the experience in a way that we feel chimes in meaningfully to the story,” he explains. “We ensure that it’s a thrilling experience with the fear of death, but without that kind of relentless reloading and retrying that I strongly feel punctures the story of its momentum and its authenticity, really.”

The team also added some random elements, which keeps things surprising even to developers who might get a bit blasé when they know what’s going on under the hood of their horror game. But randomness also runs the risk of some players on either end of the bell curve having it either too difficult, or too easy. “What we’ve spent time doing is crafting the encounters. We want everyone to be chased at that moment. We want everyone to have that surprise,” McLachlan explains. “So we we bake those moments in, but we still keep that procedural wild card of the monsters in the game. They do have a mind of their own, and they can go and do different things.” He mentions games the team admire, like Alien Isolation and Amnesia: The Dark Descent , but says that Still Wakes The Deep is tuned more towards an engaging story than pure procedural terror.

Image credit:Secret Mode

Then there’s the sea itself, which McLachlan says was always intended to be the game’s second enemy. “Even going back to the history of the UK, the North Sea has been really important; socially, economically and culturally,” says McLachlan, “Scotland was the gateway to the North Sea.” It’s quite a shallow sea, but with very large waves, and it’s cold and windy, even before you get to the social challenges. “You leave your family for weeks or months at a time, and you’re on your own there. It’s almost like going on a warship, really, or a submarine, where although you can phone home, you’re stuck there,” McLachlan tells me. “That’s a really interesting setting for a horror game.”

But Still Wakes The Deep is a period game, too, and I wanted to know why the team chose to set the game in the 70s rather than present day. There were two factors at play there, explains McLachlan. The first is technology. McLachlan points out that working on the rigs now is much safer: theres always a service ship and attendant; GPS; better radio links; better safety in general. Instead, they wanted to take things back to when a lot of these precautions weren’t fully implemented, so “we could play a little bit around it being more dangerous, make it make more sense that things go so badly wrong without it.”

The second factor was down to the what McLachlan calls the “cinematic and stylistic atmosphere we wanted to make.” He says studio art director and project creative director John McCormack and associate art director Laura Dodds did “a massive amount of work on this, talking about the films from the 70s.” Influences cited include Abigail’s Party , Care , movies by Ken Loach, and That Sinking Feeling . “We got photos of Porridge with Ronnie Barker and photos of actors from the 70s. That whole feeling of ordinary people, there was something beautiful about that, with working class actors who looked like characters,” McLachlan says. “It was the heyday of the character actor, when the people you saw on screen, they really looked people that could be on oil rigs.”

Image credit:Secret Mode

McLachlan says one of the taglines for the art was “what if Ken Loach started making a movie then Stanley Kubrick took over. Pushing that kitchen sink realism out into a cosmic - people get cross at me if I use ‘cosmic horror’ - but pushing it out into a realm of experience that’s completely alien.”

So, what does that (not) cosmic horror look like in Still Wakes The Deep? If you’ve seen the latest trailer , you’ll know things get grisly, but the team still wanted to maintain a sense of the unknown and unknowable. “In obscurity comes horror,” explains McLachlan. “It’s the not being quite able to see something and allowing the player to infer and fill in the gaps themselves with their own worst fears. We use things like fog, mist, and darkness to feel that obscurity. But at the same time, we wanted there to be a starkness to the horror, that you go: ‘Wow, this is really happening.’”

“One of the reasons that people get activated by horror,” he continues, “is to go, ‘Oh, that’s a human body, something horrible has happened to it.’ It ties into deep brain things like the fear of disease, the fear of death. It’s part of the major key of horror to have that body horror, but things that we admired were the treatment of the movie Annihilation as an example, where the horror - although its sometimes gruesome - there’s a beauty to it. There’s an alienness and starkness.”

Image credit:Secret Mode

McLachlan did say that the team intended Still Wakes The Deep to be a return to the sort of games The Chinese Room are known for. But The Chinese Room of today, for all intents and purposes, aren’t the same studio that made its name with games like Amnesia: A Machine For Pigs, Dear Esther , and Everybody’s Gone To The Rapture. In 2017, the studio laid off their development team and went dark, before being bought by Sumo Group in 2018. In 2020, they released cinematic platformer Little Orpheus . More recently, it was announced last year that they’d taken over development of the troubled Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines 2 from Hardsuit Labs. So what does it mean to make a classic Chinese Room game in 2024?

“Speaking personally, when the chance came up for me to interview to and join The Chinese Room, this is the kind of game I wanted to make,” says McLachlan. “This is the game I joined The Chinese Room to make, and I think that carries across a lot of the team as well. We wanted to make a game that carried on the legacy of this sense of authenticity, Britishness, being true to a cultural and human atmosphere in a story, but to bring it into a type of game that as many people as possible will experience.”

“So,” he continues, “I don’t want to use any pejorative terms that might reflect badly on our legacy. We want as many people as possible to play this game, and if if that means that we bring more interactivity, more mainstream ideas about what a game should be, then, that for us is a good thing. It means more people experience our story.”

Still Wakes The Deep is out on the 18th of June, 2024.

Still Wakes The Deep

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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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