What’s on your bookshelf?: Leverage Head of IP and former Deck 13 narrative director Christian Fonnesbech

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Hello reader who is also a reader, and welcome back to Booked For The Week - our regular Sunday chat with a selection of cool industry folks about books! I once read in a book that you shouldn’t really believe anything you read in a book until you’ve checked at least two other books. Unfortunately, those two books both said the same thing, meaning I had to check four more. If anyone knows what every book ever written says on the subject, do let me know. I’m trapped now.

This week, it’s head of IP development at Leverage, former Deck 13 narrative director, and former head of artistic research at Norway’s Centre for Interactive Media Arts, Christian Fonnesbech! Cheers Christian! Mind if we have a nose at your bookshelf?

What are you currently reading?

Books and games were my first loves – then came the movies (and pen & paper role playing). I sometimes think my entire career is about recreating those emotional journeys with friends. I usually read several books at the same time, I have a “to be read” pile in my bookshelf, and there’s usually more books incoming in the mail. The Last Samurai by Helen DeWitt I ripped through this funny, surprising, moving novel in a couple of days - finishing it now. I don’t use the word “astounding” much, but Wow! This is so smart and wholly originial (how often can you say that?). It’s about a neurodivergent single mother raising a genius child on a diet of 8+ languages, mathematics, and the movie The Seven Samurai. It made me think about storyworlds and what they do to us and to the characters in them in completely new ways. Read it – you won’t regret it. The Lord Of The Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien I’m ashamed to admit that I’ve never read it cover to cover. The shame is real, because I work in Tolkien’s house every day; he pretty much invented the whole idea of an alternate fantasy world – and I’m involved in developing three of those right now. Robert E. Howard may have lit the fuse first with Conan – but Tolkien took the idea of an alternative world to the moon. Will I finish LOTR this time? Honestly, I’m not sure. While I admire his brilliance and monumental orginality in his time, the whole “following ancestral heroes of destiny” thing has dated badly. Also, Peter Jackson’s movies are note-perfect, and it’s a very, very long road trip when you already know the story. Finally, well… I always preferred Dune. Play Nice by Jason Schreier Blizzard Entertainment is one of the few studios who have consistently built lasting IP- universes. Reading it made me realise why so many other game studios and publishers always wait too long to develop an IP vision for their games. In the old days, gameplay was enough, it sold itself; this has meant that the process of building emotion I sonly rarely part of the culture of games companies. I speak from experience when I say that very, very few studios bake emotions into their development process from the start. Back in the day, this didn’t matter: back then, the competition was about gameplay and tech. But today? Emotion is critical, and Blizzard was part of making that happen. Great book.

What did you last read?

MCU: The Reign Of Marvel Studios– by Robinson, Gonzales and Edwards If you’re interested in building IP-universes, there’s really no escaping the MCU. I read this on and off while revisiting some of the Marvel movies in phase 1-3. Even though they built the Marvel Cinematic Universe on the backs of 1000s of existing comic books, it is still an incredible feat of content engineering. I doubt we’ll see its like again in our lifetime. Imagine, from Iron Man in 2008 to End Game in 2019, there’s 23 movies! Each one a massive complex of interconnected writing, casting, contract negotiations, visual design, effects, shooting, marketing, and so on. Reading the book and watching the movies again made me realise that the biggest shift was to flip these superheroes from niche comics to mainstream movies. Each superhero went from being a bunch of features (Shoots webs! Flies! Has adamantite claws!) and attitudes (Angry! Tells jokes!) to being directly relatable to a broad audience. Suddenly, Iron Man’s daddy issues were front and center over 22 movies. Thor and Loki became all about brotherly rivalry, and don’t get me started on The Guardians of the Galaxy (the best Marvel movie ever?). This is very similar to the challenge most game characters have today: they’re mainly a bunch of cool features, and that isn’t going to be enough.

Outcast – graphic novel by Kirkman and Azaceta I’m going to reread this as inspiration for a project about supernatural possession. Kirkman was the writer behind the original Walking Dead graphic novels. I’m fascinated by how he and GRR Martin brought “shocking main character death” into the mainstream. Before Walking Dead and Game Of Thrones, the heroes in mainstream stories always made it out alive. But, suddenly, all bets were off – these days, nobody is safe. Outcast doesn’t disappoint. It’s about a man stalked by possessions that target those he loves. It’s possession as trauma – and a great example of how mainstream genre stories can also be deeply personal and original. This is an important balance to aim for, if you want a big audience: the story in your game needs to respect the expectations for a genre story (Exorcisms! Disturbing body contortions!), but it also needs to bring enough emotional connection and originality to connect and stand out (in this case generational pain, psychological scars, and more).

What quote or scene from a book sticks with you the most?

I collect quotes, so here’s a couple… “As long as you get the emotion right, you can throw in all the other stuff.” - Edward P. Jones Jones said this in an interview about his Pullitzer-prize winning novel, The Known World. The book is about a Black slave owner, and Jones was asked about how extensive his research had been. His answer was that he hadn’t done any – he focused on the emotion and let the rest bloom from that. This is a huge part of the work I do with games companies: from an artistic point of view, as well as for positioning the game in the market – we need to get the emotion right. “I had left the door of my mind open to the thoughts of others, which I mistook for my own.” - David Diop, At Night All Blood Is Black This is a good one, but tough to live and work by. Game universes often work within existing genres, attempting to repurpose existing ideas for a proven audience into something that is fresh but still familiar. The trick is to understand what has gone before, without letting your project be overtaken by it. If you don’t free yourself, you’ll create something generic and forgettable. On the other hand, if you free yourself too completely, the audience will think you’re weird (this might mean it is art, which is wonderful, but also very difficult to sell). “I can’t go on. I’ll go on” - Samuel Beckett Devoting yourself to creating anything new, in a nutshell.

What book do you find yourself bothering friends to read?

The Wager by David Grann I was at Gamescom with 8+ meetings a day for a week, and whenever I had minute to myself I just had to read what happened next. It is an absolute horror of a tragedy, that just keeps going deeper and deeper. A big part of what makes it work is the feeling of authenticity. This is something I try to bring to all my work: gameworlds are by nature almost completely artificial. If we want people to get emotionally involved in them, we need to find an authentic foundation for what is happening in the game. That doesn’t mean it has to be true, but it has to be rooted in something that is true. The Masks Of Nyarlathotep by Larry DiTillio & Lynn Willis Chaosium’s magnum opus, and perhaps the crowning achievement of pen & paper rpg scenarios. I don’t have time to play pen and paper anymore, but read RPG scenarios for their world-building. This monumental Call of Cthulhu campaign is a global adventure spanning decades, with everything you could want from an existential horror world – cults, conspiracies, ancient secrets, cosmic forces. It is an enormous campaign, but also super detailed. It is full of epic spectacles and unique characters, and of course the constant threat of insanity. I could forget that I’ve read it, just to experience it as a player, but the thought of running it is just too overwhelming. I think I keep pushing it on people so I can live it through them. A true RPG legend.

What book would you like to see someone adapt to a game?

The Player Of Games by Iain M. Banks This is the only one that springs to mind. Banks wrote a whole series of novels set in the “Culture” universe, but this is the only one of them I really like. The others are too loose and slapdash for me, but this one is tight as a drum, brilliantly structured - and for a gamer it is endlessly engaging (perhaps because it builds an entire civilization around being skilled at games?). In the book, a renowned game player is bored, until he is introduced to a new game, Azad, in a far off civilization. In Azad, every move on the board mirrors the social and political dynamics of the alien empire, which is steeped in oppression, and the stakes turn out to be… high. This is a novel that really understands games. There’s endless potential for an interactive adaptation, although the challenge of designing a working version of Azad is pretty daunting. I’ve read it more times than Dune - and that’s saying something.

New year, new slate, so do let me know which guests you’d like to see in upcoming entries. Not that Spector fella, though. He’s had enough . Book for now!

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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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