The Sunday Papers

Image credit:RPS

The Sunday Papers is our weekly roundup of great writing about (mostly) videogames from across the web.

Which is a terribly self-indulgent way of talking about another human being, who I didn’t know and who is gone, but it feels like a necessary precis to explain why this week’s Sunday Papers contains several articles to old pieces of music writing.

Here’s the one I’ve been quoting the most on WhatsApp, on the revisionism of the BBC’s recent Britpop documentary , which builds to an important argument but opens with some gleeful vitriol I’ll quote in full.

Actually before we even get to that - there IS something more enraging and that’s because it’s more enraging than any other sound on earth. It’s the sound of Jo Whiley’s voice. Every time I hear it I can picture her insufferably smug expression, I can picture her grinning and nodding in agreement with another legendary bit of Noel Gallagher bants, I can her utterly revolting dismissal of Lily Allen as just a daft girl who doesn’t deserve an opinion on music, I can picture her struggling with Mark E.Smith’s refusal to join her in speaking the corpse-breathed corporate-spiel she thinks passes for communication - I can hear ultimately the sound of someone who perhaps kindalikes music, but who blatantly loves money and business and marketing more, someone whose indiscriminate endless sycophancy around musicians (and consequent snotty snobbery around anything that wouldn’t coincide with her grisly ‘real music played by real people’ conservatism) percolates into everything she does, everything she plays, everything she’s ever said and done in nearly three decades of co-opting the independent and ‘alternative’ into the corporate deathspiral of her soul. Who knows what Whiley thinks or feels about music? Who can recall a single thing she’s ever said about music? For Whiley, if you’re an indie band/bloke, and you’re signed/successful/willing to join her live from Maida Vale that’s all that matters, and it deserves cheerleading and applauding for the sheer effort and success in and of itself and nothing else. Her voice is the living embodiment of the word ‘iconic’, the word ‘legendary’, and the words ‘coming up, Snow Patrol live from the Livelounge’ and I will die happy knowing I will never ever have to endure hearing it emit a single simpering syllable again.

I feel a great temptation to make every young games journalist I work with in future read Kulkarni’s guide to being a music critic , much of which applies regardless of subject matter.

4. Teenagers. Read. By which I mean devour. Listen. By which I mean hollow yourself out until you only exist in the spaces between the pop you love. Then, try and find yourself again, or at least create something tangible in the gaps. Find the unique thing you have to say, the unique way you have of saying it, and hone the fucker until you can hear yourself talking on the page, until you can recognise yourself a line in. Your voice is easier found with a chip on your shoulder and a pain in your heart. Think about those writers who you feel weren’t just writing for you but who come to live in your life, a constant over-the-shoulder presence yaying or naying the choices you make. If you don’t want to be that important to your readers get out the game.

From there, you might move to his tear-it-all-down excoriation of the ten most overrated albums in pop history , but I’d rather recommend A New Nineties, a series for The Quietus , which instead attempts to build a new narrative of ’90s music that incorporates more than what was on Radio 1 at the time. The Quietus have, to their shame, seemingly changed their URL structure in a way that makes all old links to this series instead redirect to their general Interview category, but the whole series remains live if you do a bit of digging.

Whenever a musical epoch has been retrospectively looked at, being part of that generation that found itself in the wrong place at the wrong time, I’ve been suckered into the visions of others who were ‘there’. In the first flush of my love for 60s music that sustained me through the appalling sonic Blue-Stratos-bath of the mid-80s, even a dick like me could tell he was being sold a mixture of magic and snake-oil. Stuck up in Cov I was well aware of how a swinging capital can convince itself it’s the only story, how it’s easy to see a time as golden if you’re on the right end of the class & income scale (and especially if you’re paid to come up with such mind-lint about what an ‘era meant’), how for most people out beyond NW1 those supposedly revolutionary moments in pop culture passed by unregistered in the shitty business of survival. But c’mon now, in the usual 20-years-on retro-pattern that pop keeps on sticking to, things have now swung into an era I at least vaguely recall – the 90s. And you can’t fool me with this bullshit any more because I was there.

Hard pivot, but I enjoyed this YouTube video explaining the process of remaking the early levels of Super Mario World in 3D .

Cabel Sasser is the co-founder of Panic, manufacturers of the Playdate and publishers of Untitled Goose Game and Thank Goodness You’re Here! . This blog post he wrote isn’t about any of those, it’s about the new snacks and cereals of 2024 (in America). I am always here for this kind of ’00s blog energy.

Every year brings at least one or two nearly-inedible novelty products, and this was a big one. There’s not a single person on the planet that wished their potato chip would taste like “world famous breakfast flavor”. But here we are, regardless, suffering endlessly at the hands of flavor scientists.

Speaking of ’00s blogs, here’s a button you can press to load a random blog post somewhere on the “indie web” . It mostly gives me blog posts about coding, which is not what I was hoping for but which is probably illustrative of that “indie” corner of the internet as it survives today.

I once used a website called HARO, which stands for Help A Reporter Out. The idea is straightforward: reporters doing research for a story make a request, and experts in the relevant field respond, offering information and answers. The incentive for someone like me is that perhaps that reporter writes a story that quotes me and links back to Rock Paper Shotgun, and that backlink is a ranking signal for Google that tells it that this site is credible. Isn’t online publishing fun?

Anyway, here’s a story about HARO, now called Connectively, connecting a reporter with a therapist who seems to be an AI-generated fiction .

The stories I’ve seen quoting someone identified as therapist Sophie Cress are typically about relationship topics, like improving your marriage. In those instances, her advice, while technically not bad, is not particularly groundbreaking: “Don’t overlook red flags or compromise your standards due to the fear of being alone.” “Engage in open and honest communication with your partner to identify values and aspirations that you share.” But she’s also been tapped to comment on more specific, high-profile news stories: In February, at least one UK-based outlet used quotes attributed to Cress to speculate on how the Princess of Wales’s mental health was faring after abdominal surgery. Her comments—including Very Powerful Quotes like: “From a psychological perspective, it’s critical to acknowledge that surgery is a major source of physical and emotional stress”—were picked up by multiple international outlets.

Music this week is Fireworks by The Whitest Boy Alive , which is one of Erlend Øye’s many musical projects. I have also, for reasons I now no longer recall, been listening to a bunch of old Janelle Monáe tracks this week, so here’s Q.U.E.E.N. , which I had on repeat for weeks in 2013.

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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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