The Finals weapon tier list: Best weapons for each class

These are the best weapons in The Finals right now

Image credit:Embark Studios

What are the best weapons in The Finals? Your choice of weapon in The Finals is based on a few things. Chief among them is the question: what class are you playing as? Light, Medium, or Heavy? They all have their own unique roster of guns and melee weapons, and they’re all very powerful in the right hands and under the right circumstances.

Whether you’re new to The Finals or a player with a few dozen wins under their belt who wants to get a solid grasp of the current meta, you’ve found the right guide. Below we’ll walk you through our The Finals weapon tier list , grading all 21 weapons in the game from S Tier down to C Tier. Scroll further down, and you can read our writeups on each of the guns we consider to be currently the best weapons in The Finals for each class.

If you’re new to The Finals, prepare yourself for some extremely destructive environments. Catch a glimpse of the destruction in the Season 1 trailer here.Watch on YouTube

The Finals weapon tier list

With a total of 21 weapons to choose from in The Finals split across the three classes, there’s a lot of choice when it comes to picking your guns each match. Here’s our up-to-date The Finals weapon tier list, ranging from the very best weapons in the game to the very worst in the current meta.

Top Tip: While you can only carry one weapon at a time in The Finals, you can also place weapons in your reserve slots, allowing you to switch weapons between lives in the same match. Make the most of this! It’s generally a better idea to fill your reserve slots with weapons than gadgets, so you can switch from short to long range (or vice versa) as the situation demands.

The SH1900, a devastatingly powerful Shotgun in The Finals available only to Light players. |Image credit:Rock Paper Shotgun/Embark Studios

Best Light weapons: V9S, SH1900

The Light class has access to the most weapons of any class in The Finals, but the two weapons that rise to the top are the V9S Pistol , and the SH1900 Shotgun . Let’s go over each one in turn and explain why they’re so dominant in the current meta.

The V9S Pistol may not seem particularly special at first glance, but its stats are absolutely fantastic across the board. Great damage, fast fire rate, low recoil, high accuracy, large magazine size… It’s a versatile and potent tool for any Light player who doesn’t want to limit themselves in any one manner. If you use the V9S, you can be effective in any situation, and thanks to the V9S’s amazing damage potential you can quickly take down even a Heavy with just a second or two of successive shots.

However, if you don’t mind committing to a purely close-range build as the Light character, then there’s no weapon better than the SH1900 Shotgun . This double-barrel shotgun is fairly unforgiving to use, but its damage is off the charts. You can burst down a Heavy player in an instant by getting up close and personal with any one of the Light class specialisations, and pumping them full of buckshot. The range, accuracy, and fire rate are of course all fairly low, but that’s irrelevant when you can take down nearly any enemy with a single shot. This gun is dominating the meta right now at the higher levels of play, and once you get used to the playstyle it requires, you’ll see why.

The R.357, arguably the best gun in The Finals for Medium class players. |Image credit:Rock Paper Shotgun/Embark Studios

Best Medium weapons: FCAR, R.357

In our opinion, the best weapons for the Medium class are the FCAR Assault Rifle and the R.357 Revolver . Both offer very different options which nevertheless allow you to stay very versatile and able to deal high damage at any range.

Many newer players prefer the default AKM to the FCAR because of the former’s higher magazine size. But once you learn to use your bullets with a little more economy, you’ll find the FCAR’s increased range and less demanding recoil to be a serious upgrade over the AKM. Not to mention the FCAR’s holographic sight, which allows you to track enemies more easily in the chaos of battle. The FCAR has more than enough damage potential to take down any threat, but it’s the ease of use which makes it one of the best weapons in The Finals for us.

But despite this, it’s the R.357 that’s stolen my heart personally. The big drawback of the Revolver is that you really need to hit those shots. Otherwise, you can feel like a detriment to your team. But if you’ve a good eye and can pick out those headshots, the R.357 bursts down enemies in millseconds. It’s essentially a miniature sniper rifle that you can also happily use in close quarters. Take it from me, if you’re up against an excellent Revolver player, it almost feels unfair.

The Lewis Gun, one of the two best weapons in The Finals for the Heavy class. |Image credit:Rock Paper Shotgun/Embark Studios

Best Heavy weapons: Lewis Gun, SA1216

The Heavy class has six meaty weapons to choose from, and while they’re all very effective in the right hands, there’s no denying the best Heavy weapons in The Finals right now are the Lewis Gun and the SA1216 .

The Lewis Gun is the most versatile weapon on offer for the Heavy class. It’s a pan-fed machine gun that’s easy to use and hits like a truck. While not quite as fast-firing, The Lewis Gun outshines the default M60 with its greater accuracy and range, allowing you to deal some real damage to enemies any distance away. It’s a very popular choice for Heavy players at every level of play, because it’s just so easy to master, and it gets the job done.

The absolute best Heavy weapon in the game, however, requires you to give up some of the Lewis Gun’s flexibility and range. The SA1216 Shotgun , much like the Light class’s own shotty, has taken the meta by storm recently. But while the Light’s SH1900 is fairly unforgiving, the Heavy SA1216 is incredibly forgiving and easy for anyone to use. It deals staggering damage-per-second over the course of a very long (16-strong) magazine, the only downside being a brief pause after every fourth shot before you can fire again. For a shotgun, it also has an impressive range, making it very hard for enemy players to escape the danger of a SA1216-wielding Heavy who wants them dead.

That wraps up this guide on our The Finals weapon tier list, and the very best weapons in the game for each class. But what’s better than one top-tier weapon on your team? Three top-tier weapons at once! So why not check out our guide on how to invite friends in The Finals so you can all join in on the chaotic, destructive fun together?

The Finals

Video Game

Rock Paper Shotgun is better when you sign in

Sign in and join us on our journey to discover strange and compelling PC games.

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

Rock Paper Shotgun is better when you sign in

Sign in and join us on our journey to discover strange and compelling PC games.