The Maw: what’s new in PC games this week?

Dynasty Warriors, Tales Of Graces, Hyper Light Breaker, and maw

Image credit:PLAYISM / WSS playground / Rock Paper Shotgun

Happy mid-January all! The year is picking up pace in terms of new PC game releases, and the symptoms of the Maw’s hunger are everywhere. For example, my fridge has started bleeding an iridescent fluid. Peering into the oily green depths, I see a much older, cyborg version of myself dressed in spiked leather against a background of burning oceans. The other Edwin mouths and gesticulates urgently, but I have no time for his dire warnings of global calamity. There are new entertainment products to discuss! Here’s what’s coming down the pipe this week.

We open Monday 13th January with Airborne Empire , sequel to the flying city builder Nate Crowley hailed for its “arabesque steampunk” aesthetics and called “a weird, mirror-universe counterpart to Frostpunk “. Forging onward to Tuesday 14th January, we are transfixed by the spectacle of a billion spaceships doing battle in early access RTS Annihilate The Spance . What is “spance”? I don’t know, but it involves “minimal micromanagement”. Also on Tuesday, the early access launch of action-RPG sequel Hyper Light Breaker , which I have mixed feelings about based on a demo at GDC last year, but am rooting for based on its pedigree. If you prefer your Arrrrpegging top-down, there’s also attractive pixelart roguelite Heroes Of Hammerwatch 2 . On Wednesday 15th January, there’s Osaka-set metroidvania Blade Chimera and Might & Magic-esque strategy-RPG Broken Alliance . On Thursday 16th January, it’s time for a remaster (in this case a “f remaster”) of Tales Of Graces . And on Friday 17th January, it’s time to musou in Dynasty Warriors: Origins .

Our live coverage of this event has finished.

• 09:09 am 01/17/2025 FRIDUCK
• 09:14 am 01/16/2025 THURSNESDAY
• 08:17 am 01/15/2025 WEDNESDAY
• 09:08 am 01/14/2025 PIKACHUESDAY
• 10:56 am 01/13/2025 PIKMONDAY

PIKMONDAY

This weekend I learned of Takara Cards , which is a handsome space roguelike cardgame with 80s anime-inspired aesthetics. They’re calling it FTL meets Slay The Spire. Who are “they”? I… don’t know. I don’t know.

The Death Stranding 2 developers are crunching, it seems.

The most demanding period of game development—both physically and mentally—commonly known as “crunch time.” On top of mixing and Japanese voice recording, there’s an inevitable pile of other tasks: writing comments, explanations, essays, interviews, discussions, and… https://t.co/FrXRgaS748 — HIDEO_KOJIMA (@HIDEO_KOJIMA_EN) January 10, 2025

AGDQ 2025 has wrapped up, raising $2,556,305 for the Prevent Cancer Foundation. The best thing in gaming continues to be the absolute best.

A video from Grinding Gear about the next Path Of Exile 2 patch. Proper patch notes are coming later this week.

Minecraft players are horrifying me with images of slanted buildings. Minecraft isn’t supposed to look like it’s balancing on one corner! BAD. WRONG.

My attempt at a slanted building style, what do you guys think? by u/Jonhson_Jonh in Minecraft

PIKACHUESDAY

thanosi says: itch.io has a Venturing 2025 bundle witha mix of 129 digital/physical games and books for $25+ https://itch.io/b/2831/venturing-2025

Friend, I am in your debt.

SeekerX says: Coming Thursday 1/16 is Fragrance Point. Last year, Alice O liked the Playstation-style retro 3D art on display in the Next Fest demo, as well as the game’s very odd vibes: https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/my-eyes-hurt-from-the-extreme-90s-cgi-style-of-this-next-fest-demo-and-i-couldnt-be-happier

This looks pleasantly addled. Thank you for seeking it out, SeekerX.

A trailer for Rebel Wolves’ action-RPG The Blood of the Dawnwalker, which is being made by him wot did Witcher 3. You know, that guy. What do you mean, hundreds of people worked on The Witcher 3? I refuse to believe it. Konrad Tomaszkiewicz is described as “game director” so he clearly directed the whole thing. Anyway, Blood Of The Dawnwalker is an open world single-player RPG set in 14th century Europe, at the height of the Black Death. As the title suggests, there are vampires.

WEDNESDAY

As a reminder, Episode 8 will be the final update to #SuicideSquadGame . The title will remain playable in both Online and the recently released Offline Mode for players to continue to wreak havoc in Metropolis 💥 — Suicide Squad: Kill The Justice League (@suicidesquadRS) January 14, 2025

Forest Reigns is an “emergent FPS” from VG Entertainment, a team led by former S.T.A.L.K.E.R. developer Ruslan Didenko. It takes place in a post-apocalyptic Paris that has been overrun by a sentient forest you can use as a volatile terrain mechanic in combat.

Gamejam project Stretchmancer - summarised by Alice0 as “a first-person puzzle-platformer which uses one neat trick to change how you see the world, and builds on that while a baddie taunts you” - is being turned into a full game.

A message from the Beyond: “Hi! My friend just released this very short, free point & click adventure on Steam . I’m sure you get a squillion emails like this every day, but it only takes about 30 minutes to complete the game and I think RPS readers would probably appreciate the game’s sense of humour, so if there’s any way you could give it a shoutout I think my friend would be thrilled and surprised.”

The Maw thanks you for your offering, reader. Helpfully, half the team are off sick right now, but perhaps we can find time for it later in the week.

THURSNESDAY

Retailer GOG have joined the European Federation of Game Archives, Museums and Preservation Projects - the largest game preservation organisation in Europe, according to itself. “We are also discussing exciting new game preservation projects, which we look forward to sharing soon,” said GOG managing director Maciej Gołębiewski.

Our Video Game Preservation efforts continue! We’re thrilled to announce that today we’ve joined the European Federation of Game Archives, Museums, and Preservation Projects (EFGAMP), making us the first Polish institution to do so. This marks another important step in… pic.twitter.com/JBbDxN0MGw — GOG.COM (@GOGcom) January 14, 2025

Bullet Noir is out 12th February. As the name may suggest, it’s sort of Hotline Miami meets Sin City.

Here’s the full schedule for this winter’s Frost Fatales , an all-women and femmes speedrunning event hosted by Games Done Quick.

Former hosts of the Electronic Wireless Show Alice Bell and Nate Crowley have teamed up with Jon Hicks, former big boss of Gamer Network (and thus of RPS, too), to launch a new gaming podcast. Episode 0 of Total Playtime is out now .

FRIDUCK

According to Bloomberg , two Sony live service games - one from Days Gone developer Bend and one from Bluepoint - have been cancelled following a review. Allegedly, one of the games was a God Of War.

Uurnog and Ynglet developer Nifflas is swinging for the pupper-packing crowd with Rhythm Doggo, a rhythm platformer featuring a Very Good Boy. It looks a bit like Animal Well.

Path Of Exile 2’s latest patch is upon us. It is vast . I pity the poor soul who has to read all that and turn it into an article. DMs Brendy

Some end of week music, care of Double Fine. We’ve had a few absences this week (in addition to the sad departure of bestest best reviews editor Edders ) so things have been slow. Hope it’s been a gentle one at your end.

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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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