The Maw - 3rd-9th June

This week’s most auspicious game releases, plus our weekly news liveblog

Image credit:Gibson & Co / Wikimedia Commons / Rock Paper Shotgun

This week is the week of Summer Game Fest 2024 . Ah, SGF! The Geoffers, as they call it down Los Angeles way. The Not-E3s. The Midsomer Keighleys. Jumping G.K’s Game-a-Palooza. The AAAArghs. The Second Fall Of Babel. Trailarmageddon. The Sparkling Stink. SGF is sort of already in motion - last week, Sony kicked off the proceedings with their latest State of Play showcase , but you can expect the majority of new videogame announcements from Friday 7th June with the Summer Game Fest 2024 Opening Showcase, a two-hour livestreamed event which starts at 10pm UK, 5pm ET and 2pm PT. I’ll be out there covering the whole sorry affair in LA from Thursday to Monday while the remainder of Rock Paper Shotgun hold the fort on London time.

It’s a period of frightful bounty for the Maw, our resident Hadean icon of videogame news consumption. Look forward to trailers, celeb cameos, surprise demo releases, around a million hours of interlude music, and hands-on impressions fresh from the creaking furnace chambers of my jetlagged brain. Still, SGF isn’t All She Wrote this week. A few brave developers and publishers are releasing new games alongside the event, like individual rockets plunging into Uncle Geoff’s Fervid Fireworks Show. Here are a few that have caught our eyes.

Monday 3rd June sees the release of Elder Scrolls Online’s Gold Road expansion , which Katharine (RPS in peace) considers a solid gateway drug to MMOs in general , together with lurid 90s room-escaper Tamarindos Freaking Dinner , in which you deliver pizza to a mansion full of Tim Burton-esque munsters. On Tuesday 4th June, there’s Destiny 2’s Final Shape expansion , a project whose success or lack thereof will reportedly determine whether Sony mounts a full takeover of Bungie , together with a pair of fairly handsome strategy games, Songs Of Silence (which looks a bit like a deck of Tarot cards) and Field Of Glory: Kingdoms (which looks a bit like a medieval manuscript). There’s also asymmetrical horror outing Killer Klowns from Outer Space: The Game , which Nic will be upset if I don’t mention. Wednesday 6th June sees the release of Chornobyl Liquidators , which is “not a fantastic tale of exploring the Zone” but “a story about real people facing a real threat”, and Kristala , a Soulslike with a touch of Robin Jarvis. And on 7th June, finally, the “deceptively cute” (aren’t they always?) factory sim Star Stuff .

As ever, let me know if we’ve missed anything I would feel deeply embarrassed about missing, and enjoy the week. You can follow our routine news coverage in the liveblog below, which I’m going to extend into Sunday so you can follow the deterioration of my writing abilities in real-time. Onward, to SGF! Keighley & Friends! The Endless June! The Geoffervescent Circus!

Our live coverage of this event has finished.

• 08:19 am 06/07/2024 FOR FRIDAY!
• 08:00 am 06/06/2024 COR, THURSDAY!
• 08:21 am 06/05/2024 SORE WEDNESDAY
• 08:01 am 06/04/2024 LORE TUESDAY
• 10:11 am 06/03/2024 MAW MONDAY

MAW MONDAY

Megacopter is a satirical sci-fantasy homage to EA’s old Desert Strike games. I’ve played the demo and there’s much to like.

Baldur’s Gate 3’s official modding tools land in September alongside the game’s next major update.

Here’s a demo for Hollowbody , “a tech-noir survival horror” from Chasing Static developers Headware Games, whose influences include Ghost in the Shell, Blade Runner Silent Hill, Kuon and Haunting Ground.

Take-Two are reportedly about to sell off or close their Private Division label , whose publishing projects include Moon Studios’ No Rest for the Wicked and Wētā Workshop’s Tales of the Shire.

One we missed from last week: you can now play the original text adventure prototype for Outer Wilds in a browser.

Super VHS looks fun.

a VCR but it shoots VHS tapes and the tapes are gravity detonators https://t.co/VacwV4Co4y pic.twitter.com/SY2oVGDxyP — jon | super vhs (@reaction105) June 2, 2024

LORE TUESDAY

Just Cause developers Avalanche have announced 50 layoffs and the closure of two studios, encompassing roughly 9% of their workforce.

Lemming-alike puzzler Humanity is on Game Pass. This ranks pretty highly on my backlog of shame. Backlog of shame? Backlog of ripening in the fullness of time, more like. My backlog is so ripe I’m pretty sure it’s alcoholic. Anyway! Humanity is on Game Pass!

SORE WEDNESDAY

Bungie have apologised for connection issues that are preventing Destiny 2 players getting their fill of The Final Shape expansion. The responses to the tweet below dig into a few of the problems they’ve encountered and fixed.

Hey everyone, if connection issues have blocked you from playing or enjoying The Final Shape today, we want to apologize. We’re hard at work trying to resolve each of these issues as quickly as possible, and many of the connection issues from this morning have already been fixed. — Destiny 2 Team (@Destiny2Team) June 5, 2024

Hades 2 done got patched again. This one’s pretty comprehensive - I fear I must summon the dark god Brendy to make sense of it.

Baltic Folk is about managing a pub for forest gods. Forget the brews - what flavours of overpriced gastro-crisp would you serve?

Warden’s Will is a flippy-divey third-person shooter with roguelite and bullet hell elements. It’s got a demo live for Steam Next Fest.

As Edwin mentioned earlier, Dead by Daylight makers Behaviour are laying off nearly 100 staff - months after cutting almost 50 devs - as part of what they’re calling “strategic changes for future growth”.

Summer Game Fest may not be abundant in Big New Game Announcements but it will at least give us more of Slitterhead, the horror-me-do from Bokeh and erstwhile Silent Hill, Siren and Gravity Rush developer Keiichiro Toyama.

Don’t miss the gameplay world premiere of SLITTERHEAD, from the mind of Silent Hill creator Keiichiro Toyama and @BokehGameStudio during #SummerGameFest live this Friday. Catch the global livestream at https://t.co/59xiIzf5AN at 2p PT / 5p ET / 10p BST / 11p CEST. pic.twitter.com/qxTQhO9DcS — Geoff Keighley (@geoffkeighley) June 5, 2024

Sony has official unveiled its PlayStation VR2 PC adapter with a release date, price and confirmation of SteamVR compatibility , but a lot of the headset’s best features won’t work on PC - raising the question of whether it’s worth the price if you don’t already own one.

Fucksweeper is not Minesweeper, not just porn, and not safe for work. “UNEMPLOYED ADULTS ONLY (25+)”

The Last of Us Part II will reportedly follow Part 1 onto PC , but potentially not until next year - development apparently finished months ago, according to reliable leaker Billbil-kun, suggesting it might wait until the next season of the HBO show in 2025.

ICYMI: Baldur’s Gate 3 will add official mod tools this September , making it even easier to play dungeon master.

Polyaris might be the first dedicated survival skiing game. Can a polar bear outrun a skier? Can polar bears ski? Pressing questions to which I currently have no answer.

COR, THURSDAY!

Here’s a full post on the new games coming to Game Pass in June .

And here’s a full post about Dragon Age 4 getting a name that reflects its protagonists, not an antagonist .

FOR FRIDAY!

Dusk publisher New Blood have shelled out the big, based bucks for this downtown L.A.billboard tribute to some of the studios shuttered recently:

“We love you. We miss you. We hate money.” An electronic billboard from New Blood Interactive in downtown LA mourns the closure of Arkane Austin, Tango Gameworks, Roll7, Sony’s London Studio, Volition and more “Gone but not forgotten” pic.twitter.com/1zCeD4KEEw — Stephen Totilo (@stephentotilo) June 7, 2024

As teased yesterday, Nightdive Studios are remastering 2002’s The Thing video game, with Steam and GOG pages live now. No date yet, but as someone who has replayed it twice (!) in the last year, I’m delighted to see one of the best movie-to-game adaptations get a proper re-release.

🩸❄️ Get ready to rejoin Cpt. J. F. Blake at Outpost 31 because The Thing is BACK with… The Thing: Remastered! ❄️🩸 pic.twitter.com/ok2iYtbA40 — Nightdive Studios (@NightdiveStudio) June 7, 2024

Opening Summer Geoff Fest, Lego Horizon Adventures follows Forbidden West with a co-op spin-off - and we won’t have to wait for it on PC.

The Wholesome Direct 2024 showcase happened with dozens of delightful, colourful games to peruse.

The Finals’ third season takes players to 16th-century Kyoto and adds katanas, bows and Scorpion-from-Mortal-Kombat’s big get-over-here chain on June 13th .

Lost And Found Co. is a delightful, animated hidden object adventure in the Where’s Wally/Waldo mode, and there’s a demo to play now .

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.