Blueprints in Arc Raiders are collectible crafting schematics that allow players to unlock and create new weapons and equipment at their workbench. They can be obtained as random loot from raider caches, high-tier chests, or event rewards, but you must extract from the battlefield with the blueprint in your inventory to keep it.
Once unlocked, the blueprint permanently adds the recipe to your crafting menu. Players can then gather the required materials and components to craft the item at the appropriate workbench. Different workbenches hold different types of blueprints, and unlocking higher-tier benches along with rare materials gives access to better and more powerful blueprints.
1. What Are Blueprints
Exploring
Blueprints are permanent crafting recipes. They let you build items repeatedly as long as you have the required materials. High-tier blueprints unlock advanced gear, including energy weapons and stealth tools, giving you an edge in raids.
How to Learn Blueprints
After finding a blueprint during a raid, go to your inventory and select “Learn”. This adds the blueprint to your crafting menu forever, allowing you to craft it anytime you have the materials.
Crafting Gear
With blueprints, you can rebuild gear whenever needed. Prioritize upgrading your workbench to access epic and advanced items, and combine materials smartly to maximize your crafting output.
Managing Duplicates
Extra blueprints can be sold for coins, helping you fund your next raid or gather resources. Managing duplicates efficiently is key to keeping your stash organized and optimizing your crafting strategy.
Tip: Some high-tier items cannot be crafted without their blueprint. Focus on farming rare blueprints first to unlock essential gear and dominate your raids.
2. Best Ways To Farm Blueprints
Arc Powercell Arc Raiders
Farming Blueprints efficiently in Arc Raiders requires focusing on high-value sources. Prioritize the methods below to maximize your chances of getting rare and epic blueprints quickly.
Hidden Caches
Hidden Caches are your golden ticket for rare and epic blueprints.
- Often spawn in high-risk areas; some require power cells or keys to access.
- Prioritize locations like Dam Battlegrounds, relay stations, abandoned buildings, and elevated structures.
- Run efficient loops: hit multiple caches in 10–15 minutes per circuit.
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Go light and fast to avoid PvP, or team up with a squad for cover.
Events and Missions
Timed events and missions are excellent for targeted blueprint farming.
- Harvester cycles and boss events can drop rare blueprints like the Jupiter energy sniper or Equalizer.
- Faction missions often reward blueprints, especially if you’ve built up reputation.
- Completing faction quests can unlock vendor recipes for later crafting.
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Solo stealth runs work, but squad coordination speeds up rewards.
Looting Raider Bodies and Random Containers
Raider drops and random containers are consistent sources for blueprints.
- Always loot downed raiders, as they often carry blueprints.
- Containers like red lockers, desks, and raider stashes can drop blueprints.
- Maps such as Olive Grove and Morano Park have plentiful container spawns.
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Events like Lush Blooms increase the number of containers and spawn rates.
3. Fastest Blueprint Farming Routes
Exploring Underground
Blueprint farming can be time-consuming if you don’t follow an efficient path. Focusing on high-yield zones, events, and dedicated routes will maximize your haul. The goal is to complete loops quickly while hitting the highest-value containers and rare events. Follow this guide to farm blueprints efficiently and safely.
Where and How to Farm Blueprints Efficiently
Dam Map Circuit
- Start at the Dam Battlegrounds for cash and blueprint farming.
- Hit the Control Tower first and move to close locations like the Water Treatment Plant.
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Complete each run in 10–15 minutes to minimize risk and maximize efficiency.
Other Maps & Contested Zones
- Focus on high-tier areas like Checkpoint in Blue Gate and Departure Building in Spaceport.
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Contested zones often contain rare drops like the photoelectric cloak, perfect for stealthy farming.
Time-Limited Events
- Harvesters should be your top priority—they are short-lived but loaded with high-tier blueprints.
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Join event cycles whenever possible for guaranteed chances at rare items.
Rotate Maps Regularly
- Switch between maps to avoid burnout.
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Keeps farming fresh and increases chances of rare spawns.
Dedicated Blueprint Runs
- Run raids solely for blueprints; avoid mixing with general material farming.
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Bring basic gear to reduce losses if you die during the run.
Prioritize Refinement Blueprints
- Focus on arc circuitry and advanced mechanical components early.
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These allow conversion of junk into valuable materials, accelerating overall progression.
Crafting & Resource Management
- Batch craft at your base to save materials.
- Keep emergency reserves of ammo and healing items.
- Plan your routes and prioritize containers that drop the most valuable blueprints.
Squad Farming Tactics
- Split responsibilities: one person grabs caches while others provide backup and PvP cover.
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Coordinate farming zones to maximize efficiency and minimize risk.
PvP Opportunities
- Eliminating rival raiders can sometimes be the fastest way to acquire rare blueprints.
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Balance aggression with caution to avoid losing progress.
4. Craft After Getting Blueprints
Bandage Blueprint Arc Raiders
Start With Essential Items
During raids, you can often find items used to craft healing items, such as Bandages. If you’re specifically looking for healing items, focus on white bags, which contain all medical equipment, from Herbal Bandages to Shield Rechargers.
- Begin by crafting basic healing and defense gear to stay alive during early raids.
- Unlock Refiners as soon as possible — they let you convert raw materials efficiently (e.g., 5 Metal Parts → 1 Mechanical Component).
- Keep at least one Utility Station active for crafting entry-level support tools.
Best Utility Gear to Craft First
Utility gear boosts mobility and access across difficult terrain.
Prioritize crafting these early upgrades:
- Snap Hook – Enables 20 m grappling for reaching hidden areas and shortcuts.
- Light Stick – Useful for dark or underground raids.
- Lure Grenade – Distracts enemies and opens stealth opportunities.
Weapons and Combat Gear to Prioritize
Once essentials are ready, move to offensive options that handle multiple enemy types:
- Anvil Hand Cannon – Delivers high burst damage against armored targets.
- Ferro – Reliable all-rounder weapon suited for most raid encounters.
- Hornet Drivers – Excellent for stunning robotic enemies.
- Jolt Mines – Effective for trap setups and defensive choke points.
Week-by-Week Crafting Goals
Week 2: Add mods and utility gear to improve mobility and versatility.
Week 3: Refine builds, sell extra items for coins, and reinvest profits into advanced blueprints.
Workshop Optimization Tips
Efficient workshop management turns your crafting bench into a long-term progression engine:
- Always craft items that boost survival, mobility, or raid efficiency first.
- Plan upgrades in advance to minimize wasted materials.
- Keep track of which Workshop level unlocks your next tier of weapons or utilities.
5. Things To Be Aware of
Searching Blueprints in High-Tier POIs
When farming blueprints in Arc Raiders, you need to be cautious of ARC enemies and PvP scenarios as well. Losing loot, hoarding materials unnecessarily, or overextending in high-risk zones can waste time and resources. Understanding what to prioritize and how to manage your stash is key to efficient farming and crafting.
Blueprints Are Investments
Each Blueprint you find is added to your inventory, and it can be learned by right-clicking on it.
- Blueprints are permanent, so focus on quality over quantity.
- Sell unneeded duplicates immediately for a quick 5,000 coin boost.
- Keep a balanced stash to avoid clutter and maximize efficiency.
Materials Management
During raids, you can sometimes find an overwhelming amount of loot, but not all items will be of use. Therefore, it’s better to plan your runs and focus on high-tier items like blueprints.
- Avoid hoarding materials without blueprints; use them to craft high-priority items.
- Learned blueprints remain safe even if you lose loot during a raid.
Solo vs. Squad Play
Solo runs have a better chance of you getting your hands on even weapon blueprints. As squads, you will need to communicate with your team for the loot you’re looking for. Loot can be pinged by pressing the middle mouse button to check if anyone needs it in your squad.
- Practice solo to improve stealth and movement skills.
- Squad up for efficiency and safety during tough events or high-risk zones.
New Player Tips
Each map holds valuables in Arc Raiders. It’s very important to master starting maps like Dam Battlegrounds and learn all the loot runs to earn 50,000 to 100,000 coins in a run and get a better chance with blueprints.
- Start on easier maps to build confidence.
- Gradually move to more challenging zones like the Blue Gate once you’re familiar with the mechanics.
6. Acquire Blueprints From Different POIs
Chest in Arc Raiders
Make sure to search in the areas with the highest loot rarity to get yourself a chance of finding blueprints. Search containers in areas like the Control Tower in Dam Battlegrounds and the Departure Building in Spaceport. They give you a decent chance at finding a blueprint. Locked rooms will also generally have a lot of containers to search through.
Best Locations to Farm Blueprints on All Maps
Below is the list of places where Blueprints drop on maps like Buried City, Spaceport, and The Blue Gate.
- Pilgrim’s Peak: Located in Blue Gate, and has the highest drops of Blueprints. Be aware of the ARC enemies and hostile Raiders in this area.
- Adorned Wreckage: Located in Blue Gate. Acquire the Raider’s Cache that contains the Blueprint from where you complete the With a Trace Quest.
- Village: This area has a high chance of dropping blueprints, but you can ambush rival Raiders here.
- Control Tower (A6): Get the Blueprints from the containers on the first floor. Stay alert because it’s a highly contested zone.
- Shipping Warehouse: The Blueprints spawn in the containers in this zone.
- New District: Blueprints drop from the three caches in the fallen pipes.
- Dam cache circuit: Go from the southern relay, sweep three nearby cache spawns within roughly 400 meters. After that, rotate to the dam structure. The loop is short enough to repeat on a 10–12-minute interval.
7. Tips and Tricks for Blueprints
Below are the best tips and tricks for farming Blueprints in Arc Raiders.
- Permanent Unlocks: Blueprints permanently unlock crafting recipes when extracted; select “Learn & Consume” in your inventory to add them to your workshop.
- Drop Locations: Hidden and locked raider caches, weapon cases, red/green lockers, and contested zones; some drop only during events or missions.
- Vendor Access: Build a reputation with vendors to sometimes purchase or unlock blueprints directly.
- Looting Strategy: Focus on high-tier caches, avoid looting indefinitely, and extract immediately after grabbing blueprints.
- Workbench Importance: Higher-tier workbenches allow crafting more valuable blueprints; materials are required to craft unlocked items.
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Farming Routes: Pick zones with high-loot spawns, hit 2–3 high-value containers, then extract; use safe slots or stashes if available.
