The Steam Frame is real, and Valve want it to be the last VR headset you’ll ever buy

But would you?

Image credit:Rock Paper Shotgun

Deckard lives . Valve have officially announced the long-leaked Steam Frame virtual reality headset, and as rumoured, it is indeed a hybrid VR kit: one that can play both high-fidelity games streamed from a PC, and simpler stuff that’s installed on the headset itself. A departure, then, from the Valve Index ’s pure focus on cabled-up PC VR.

Yet neither is it a Meta Quest 3 with a Valve badge on it. Besides its smartphone-spec internals breaking new ground for the kind of hardware that Steam games can run on, the Frame is built with modularity in mind, potentially making it as upgradable and long-lived as an actual PC. As well as their other new gear, the refreshed Steam Machine and Steam Controller , I gave the Steam Frame a test run during a recent Valve visit, and mostly liked what I saw – though it’ll need to make sure its ambitions to do everything in the VR space are more firmly realised than they are right now.

There’s certainly a lot of design cleverness evident here, including some tech that Valve have invented themselves. The whole thing weighs 435g, 80g less than the Quest 3 and only around half of the Index, while the battery pack is mounted on the rear of the headset to balance the bulk. It’s totally wireless, which for steaming PC VR games normally means latency, but Valve’s newly developed ‘foveated streaming’ technique cuts down on data usage by tracking your eyes and only beaming full-resolution details to where you’re looking. The best thing I can say about this is that I couldn’t notice when it was working – in Half-Life: Alyx it was fast enough that there was no visible transition between high-rez and low-rez streaming, even when I intentionally darting my eyes back and forth, trying to catch it out. Between this and the general efficacy of the Frame’s USB streaming dongle, HL:A felt as crisp and looked as sharp as it would on a wired connection.

Image credit:Rock Paper Shotgun

The lenses have also had a healthy resolution upgrade from the Index’s, their LCD screens coming in at 2160x2160 (up from 1440x1600, though the Index does have a slightly wider-on-paper 130-degree field of view than the Frame’s 110). Mind you, they might not stay at that spec forever. Both lenses are affixed to a clip-on module that can be popped out and, so say Valve, replaced in the future by something even higher-tech.

Now, there’s quite a lot of what-ifitude around the Steam Frame’s modularity, as none of the Valve staff I spoke to would commit to concrete plans for alternate modules. But the potential, at least, has been knowingly built-in, with the lenses, battery, and even the speakers (which, in another change from the Index, are now contained within the straps) all mentioned as upgrade possibilities.

“Our customers, as well as ourselves, have a bunch of viewpoints on how these things could be arranged,” hardware/software engineer Jeremy Selan told me. “So for example, [the Frame has] a single battery that’s been optimized to be lightweight, but there are certain constraints because of that weight. Some people are excited about hot-swappability. Some people want to put it in their pocket. This type of modular design certainly opens the path for us in the future, or for other partners in the future, to have other designs that plug in.

“It’s similar with the audio. This has great integrated audio, but we know and love the Index audio as well, with those off-ear speakers. That’s another thing that, you could imagine, could be explored in the future with this type of modular design.”

This see-through lens module also raises the possibility of purely aesthetic replacement parts, though I’m told Valve won’t be selling this specific design. |Image credit:Rock Paper Shotgun

I’d hope that more specific details emerge at least before the Frame’s early 2026 release window, though even now, anyone who’s swapped out the graphics card in their desktop rig will know the appeal of piecemeal upgrading over full-system replacement. This move to make a VR headset more PC-like also makes sense when remembering that, for all intents and purposes, the Frame is a PC.

It runs SteamOS, like the Steam Machine and Steam Deck . It’s got an SSD – your choice of 256GB or 1TB – for installing games or, via Desktop Mode , almost any software you fancy. It’s got a microSD card slot for quickly transferring games from a Deck or Steam Machine, and the same SteamOS quality-of-life gubbins (quick suspend/resume, cloud save support) as you’d get on those devices. It’s only unusual among Valve’s growing hardware menagerie for two reasons: one, you wear it on your head, and two, it’s running of an ARM chip.

This is a bigger deal than it might sound, especially if you’re not familiar with the technical drudgery I’m about to subject you to. Currently, the state of play is that PC games, including the entire Steam/SteamOS library, are designed to run on processors built on the x86 architecture; your gaming PC or laptop, as well as the Steam Deck and Steam Machine, are all x86-based. The ARM architecture is distinct, being far more commonly fitted to phone and tablet chips – not to mention hybrid VR headsets like the Quest series, which can ‘run’ PC games if they’re being piped from an x86 system, but not straight off the onboard hardware.

The Frame’s ARM-based Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 chip, which also happens to power the Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra smartphone, would therefore appear to be a poor match for SteamOS. Except just as Valve’s Proton compatibility layer instantly makes Windows games work on Linux, SteamOS is now also integrating FEX : an x86-to-ARM emulator. This, too, I saw in action for myself, playing Hades 2 and Hollow Knight: Silksong in a 2D theatre mode with zero signs that it was running on strange new internals.

Image credit:Rock Paper Shotgun

The implications for this compatibility breakthrough stretch far beyond the Steam Frame’s straps. Besides for the potential for thousands of Steam games to seamlessly run on all kinds of ARM devices, it goes the other way too: if FEX makes it feasible to use ARM processors in PC gaming machines, then with just a little more OS help, ARM-native Android games could be installed right alongside our familiar, made-for-Windows libraries. And that’s not just a hypothetical: Valve confirmed to me that they’re actively inviting the makers of Android VR games to publish on Steam, where they could be bought and installed onto Steam Frames in a few VR clicks.

Still, the more immediate function of all this compatibility goodness is that the Frame can be used to play essentially every game you own on Steam ( and a few more besides ), either streamed from a more powerful PC or running internally. The new controllers reflect this approach too: unlike the Index’s ‘Knuckles’ controllers, which focused hyper-specifically on VR games alone, these include a D-pad and full set of XYAB face buttons. The finger tracking isn’t as sophisticated, losing the Knuckles’ wraparound sensor arrays in favour of solely capacitive sensors in the handles, but by more closely mimicking a conventional gamepad layout, the Frame’s controllers are more easily usable in a much wider range of games.

In fact, Valve themselves say they see the Frame not so much as a pure VR kit, but as another way to play (almost) any PC game, regardless of whether it’s VR or not. The idea is that you can sit on your sofa, or lay on your bed, or – if you’ve sufficiently little shame – recline in a plane seat with the Frame on your face, playing non-VR games with a much bigger view than you’d get from a Steam Deck or monitor. Valve are even planning to run a Deck-style compatibility programme where they’ll test Steam games for their Frame suitability, marking their store pages with either a seal of approval or an ‘Unsupported’ warning.

Image credit:Rock Paper Shotgun

This has become a consistent theme across the company’s post-Index hardware output. The Steam Deck was originally pitched as something that can play your existing Steam games, but on a handheld. The new Steam Machine is intended as something that can play your existing Steam games, but in a living room. And now the Frame is promising to play your existing Steam games, but half an inch from your irises. That’s fair, although so many machines sharing the same mission statement could prove risky. When the Deck, in particular, can already take your non-VR games anywhere from an armchair to 35,000ft, the Frame seems to be banking an awful lot that enough people would prefer a big-screen view. Even if it is only virtual.

To me, it still seems more appealing as a simplified and responsive PC VR kit; foveated streaming is genuinely impressive tech, and the lack of cables or base stations gives the Frame a likeable pick-up-and-play quality. Mercifully, it’s also going to be cheaper than the £919 Index; as with the new Steam Machine and Steam Controller, exact pricing won’t be announced for some time, but Selan confirmed to me that the Frame’s positioning will be “Premium, but less than [the] Index.”

The catch there, however, is that the Index could keep its place as the go-to headset for primo VR at home. The Frame’s finger sensing, for one thing, makes a decent effort, but doesn’t match the Knuckles controllers for accuracy, repeatedly getting my ring and middle fingers mixed up in Half-Life: Alyx. The Frame also misses an opportunity to be wearable over big glasses, which forced me to switch to prescription lens inserts. This doesn’t sound so bad, but as with specifics on the Frame’s upgrade modules, Valve declined to say whether these inserts would actually go on sale. Beyond, that is, a mild assurance that it’s something they’re “looking at.”

I dearly hope these details are ironed out soon; the Frame has oodles of potential, both as a PC VR workhorse and as a more casual tool for playing old Steam games in a new way. And if it can be kept relevant through smaller, cheaper module replacements instead of the usual obsolescence, all the better. But while the new Steam Machine and Steam Controller are both reasonably convincing prospects right now, months from release, much of that Frame potential is based on things that might happen, might exist, might go on sale. And it’s specifics, not promises, that make for worthy hardware.

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.