WolfEye’s new first-person RPG is “an evolution” of Prey and Dishonored featuring mechs, magnets and a continuous world

The Weird West devs on becoming the “alt-Arkane”

Image credit:WolfEye Studios

WolfEye’s debut game Weird West attempted to pack a little of Dishonored ’s immersive sim sorcery into a top-down action-RPG. For the studio’s next game, co-founders Raphaël Colantonio and Julien Roby are leaning into comparisons with their old endeavours at Arkane more earnestly. The new game - currently untitled and without a release date - is a first-person sci-fi RPG set in an alternate-1900s North America, which ostensibly combines the ingenuity and gadgetry of Dishonored and Prey with a “real RPG” experience redolent of Skyrim and modern-day Fallout .

“The structure is very freeform, and you can explore whatever you want,” Colantonio tells me over videocall. “But the mobility and the type of gameplay is very reminiscent of games that we’ve worked on in the past, like Prey or Dishonored. So you have this blend between an RPG, like an open experience, where you can go wherever you want, and level up, and there’s branching etcetera, but at the same time, the physicality and the types of gadgets and powers that you’ve seen in games from Arkane before. So if you look at the continuum from Dishonored to Prey, and then we imagine, how would it be if it was even more open than that, even more RPG than Prey.”

Image credit:WolfEye

Colantonio and Roby aren’t saying much about the game’s story right now, but the announcement screens give you a sense of the ambience and stakes: industrial brickwork, big smoky skies, automatons of delicately embossed steel. There are Gatling guns and water silos, canyons lined with rickety gantries, and workshops sliced into what seem like convenient shady hiding spots by the setting sun.

“It’s a world where you can recognise the scenery, but then the types of technology are futuristic, even though in a style of fabrication that would have made sense in the 1900s,” Colantonio says. “That’s why you have this really unique look - it’s not really steampunk, but some people will say it’s steampunk. And part of the story is that at some point you will realise why this alternate timeline was created.”

The developers aren’t quite ready to talk about specific gadgets at your disposal, either. The project entered pre-production in 2022, and Wolfeye have only just finished the first vertical slice - that is, an internal demo which gives a sense of every aspect of the experience. But you can expect to get your grubby mitts on automatons of various kinds, together with firearms such as shotguns and one particular fancy traversal tool which sounds like it wants to be this game’s Blink.

“We have this thing that is a magnetic rope, so it sticks to any metal in a very systemic way,” Colantonio says. “If there is any metal in the scene, like a bin or anything, it sticks to it and spawns a rope you can use to climb, for example.” You’ll also get abilities that appear more supernatural in nature, such as one that lets you “set a point that allows you to escape from the middle of combat later”.

In general, Colantonio goes on, the game is about “going deeper into the space of possibilities” offered by his and Roby’s previous projects at Arkane, while stirring in concepts and approaches from traditional role-players. “If you think about our games, I think they have, one, interesting worlds to explore that are very - I don’t know if realistic is the word, but even though they are not real they are grounded, there’s full coherence and lore that players will enjoy discovering. And the other aspect is play your way. There’s a very sandboxy aspect to it, where you can customise your playstyle and the game responds to it as well as branching the story. If you did some things, there are consequences now and then - there are multiple ways to do things.

“So we are doing this again, but I think putting this in an RPG structure gives even more possibilities. It’s a little more free, in a way, and that’s new for us and I think our players will enjoy it. Because our games have always been adjacent to RPGs, but this time we’re going real RPG - so dialogue trees, level-ups and stats and other things that you can grow.” Colantonio seems especially enthused about the addition of proper branching dialogue, noting that this is relatively unexplored territory for Wolfeye. “If you have [a high enough speech skill] or if you’ve done something specific, you can tell something to someone to access new options and possibilities.”

The character stats, meanwhile, will be familiar to genre aficionadoes, though Colantonio again cautions me that everything is still WIP. “We’ve just finished a vertical slice, and the detail of the stats will change as we make progress in the game, because if you think about it, the stats are guiding all the underlying systems. They can change name, they can encompass more mechanics than one, so all of this is still very flexible. So it’s too early right now to describe all of the stats. But yeah, it would be that kind of thing - maybe it’s not “Strength” but “Fortitude”. We’re still trying different things and adapting, so that might change all the way until alpha.”

Image credit:WolfEye

Is the game still recognisable as an immersive sim in the Arkane mold, given all these additions to the formula? “Definitely, people who are into our past games will enjoy that layer,” Colantonio assures me. “So yes, it is on the page of an immersive sim, even though from a genre perspective, people will perceive it as an RPG.”

He gives me a tentative example of an in-game scenario that brings abilities, gadgets and obstacles together into an open-ended, Dunwallian melange. “In the current vertical slice, it’s the beginning of the game, and so there are different things you do to understand who you are and the story’s inciting incident. But before that, one of the challenges is to go through a factory that’s protected by automatons, and here there are, again, many ways you can do things, whether it’s the more direct approach with dynamite you’ve found on the way, or shotguns and protective gear or protective drones - because you might have drones. Or you can be sneaky and find the security room and disable the automatons.”

As to which RPGs have proven influential, there are some obvious big hitters. “I would definitely mention Fallout,” Colantonio says. “I can tell you a list of RPGs that we’ve been very impressed with in general, but it doesn’t mean that they are a direct comparison or inspiration for us. Skyrim has been a very good one, Baldur’s Gate 3 , of course, a really fantastic game, and the Fallout series, from when it was 2D and since it came to 3D with Fallout 3, New Vegas and Fallout 4 . That kind of structure is really what we like.”

All of this comes with the caveat that WolfEye aren’t trying to make anything nearly as sprawling as an Elder Scrolls game. “The scope, the size - historically we’ve always created games that are more dense, higher density, and less about size,” Colantonio says. “So that is something we always favour - more possibilities and more detail, more craft, over endless repetitive dungeons. We’re not going for that - it’s going to be more of a crafted world. It will land somewhere between Fallout, Prey and Dishonored, if you wanted to try to pinpoint it.”

The game’s world won’t have any discrete exploration, combat or town areas; it’ll be a steadily unrolling sandbox that supports a multitude of methods, nice and nasty. Unlike Weird West , it won’t have any loading transitions between areas. Definitely don’t call it an open world, though. “It’s not like Weird West, it’s more of an evolution of Prey, if we were to look at the game structure,” Colantonio notes. “Prey, technically it would be considered continuous, some people would say ’no, it’s an open world’. The reason we don’t want to say open world is that it comes with expectations that it’s going to be gigantic - you know, it takes six months to ride a horse from A to B - which is not at all what we do. But technically, it’s an open world in the sense that it’s so continuous, you can go anywhere, there’s no loading, etcetera.”

Colantonio and Roby’s old outfit Arkane isn’t in a great place, at present. Parent company Microsoft recently shut down Prey’s original creators, Arkane Austin , following a poor reception for the studio’s vampire shooter Redfall (and more importantly, following Microsoft’s $68.7 billion splurge on the acquisition of Activision Blizzard). Arkane Lyon have survived these “strategic repositionings”, and are working on a new immersive sim featuring Marvel’s vampire hero Blade . The future of the Dishonored series - which technically includes spy-fi extravaganza Deathloop , a game set in the same universe - remains ambiguous, though the words “Dishonored 3” appear on a leaked Microsoft planning document from 2020 .

Wolfeye have long traded on their Arkane associations for publicity. But in the wake of Microsoft’s reductions, they increasingly resemble an Arkane rescue mission, clawing back that legacy of immersive sim design from Bethesda and Microsoft. According to Roby, the studio has “essentially doubled” in size since the release of Weird West, and they’ve hired a lot of former colleagues from Arkane Lyon and Austin, these being people “who know already the value of the kind of game we’re doing from a design standpoint, and from a pure experience standpoint”.

Wolfeye has become the “alt-Arkane,” suggests Colantonio in closing. “I think it’s the spirit of Arkane, for sure, but Wolfeye is its own company. We do have so many people from Arkane at this point that it does feel like being at Arkane prior to being acquired. So yes, it’s an unleashed Arkane. It’s a free Arkane.”

Look out for a limited private alpha test for WolfEye’s new game next year.

Dishonored

PS3 , Xbox 360 , PC

Prey (2017)

PS4 , Xbox One , PC

Weird West

PC

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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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