How to Get Blueprints in ARC Raiders: Complete Guide

ARC Raiders is a third-person co-op extraction shooter released in October 2025 for PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X|S. Since its launch, the game has been dominating Steam charts as players dive into its intense survival gameplay.

Raiders explore surface zones, fighting hostile AI and possibly other players while looting gear and materials. Your goal is to gather valuable resources and extract alive. Success means keeping your hard-earned loot, while failure means losing everything you've had.

Blueprints are special loot items you can find during raids that offer permanent benefits. Once you learn a blueprint, the recipe allows you to craft that particular item indefinitely as long as you have the required materials and the appropriate crafting bench leveled up.

In this article, we'll explore how to get your hands on these blueprints and how to increase your chances of obtaining them during your raids.

Also Read: ARC Raiders Scrappy Upgrades: Complete Guide

How to Get Blueprints

Let's be real: there's no such thing as "go to this specific map, in this certain location, and you'll find a Tempest blueprint." The game's looting system relies entirely on RNG, meaning you can find an Osprey blueprint in Dam Battlegrounds while another player finds the exact same blueprint in a completely different map. Any guide claiming you can follow specific steps to find specific blueprints is basically misleading.

Blueprints drop randomly from containers, defeated ARCs, and loot caches scattered throughout every map in ARC Raiders. The system doesn't assign specific blueprints to specific locations, so your chances of finding a particular blueprint remain consistent regardless of where you're raiding.

There are certain practices you can follow to increase your chances of finding blueprints, but you need to understand that RNG still controls everything. Some players might find their desired blueprint on their first raid, while others might keep trying without success even after their 100th raid. This randomness is frustrating, but it's how the system works. The next section covers the methods that improve your odds of obtaining blueprints during your raids.

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1. Scavenge Everything

This might sound like common sense, but many players skip certain loot areas thinking they only contain low-value items. That's a mistake that could cost you valuable blueprints.

I've had a friend who found a Snap Hook blueprint twice in the same raid just by looting old computers in the Control Tower area in Dam Battlegrounds. These computers usually give you nothing but Batteries or Processors, so most players ignore them completely. But blueprints can drop from literally any lootable object in the game, regardless of what that container typically offers.

Loot every box, container, and bag you come across during your raids. You can open them up and collect nothing if the contents don't interest you, but checking everything maximizes your chances of finding blueprints. As an added bonus, you'll earn XP for scavenging each location even if another player has already looted it.

2. Security Lockers

Security Lockers are special loot containers in ARC Raiders that remain locked by default. To open them, you must first unlock the Security Breach perk in the game's Survival skill tree, which requires a total of 37 points.

Investing those skill points is worth it. Security Lockers consistently offer high-value loot, including blueprints, making them some of the best containers to target during your raids. Even after the recent nerf that reduced their loot quality, these lockers still provide better rewards than standard containers.

Once you've unlocked the Security Breach perk, prioritize finding and opening Security Lockers whenever possible. They won't guarantee blueprint drops, but they significantly improve your odds compared to regular loot sources.

Also Read: How Many Blueprints Are in ARC Raiders?

3. Map Conditions

Different map conditions like Night Raids and Electromagnetic Storms, offer a higher chance of finding blueprints. The game rewards the increased difficulty with better loot drops, making these challenging raids worth the risk if you're hunting for blueprints.

However, these conditions come with significant drawbacks that make survival and extraction much harder:

• Fewer Active Return Points

• Lightning strikes that can damage or kill you (only during Electromagnetic Storm raids)

• Reduced visibility that makes spotting enemies more difficult

Basically, better blueprint chances in exchange for a more dangerous raid. You'll need to decide whether the improved loot odds justify the extra risk, especially if you're already carrying valuable gear that you don't want to lose.

4. Hidden Bunkers (When Available)

Hidden Bunkers are a special map condition that appears on the Spaceport map. This event transforms your standard raid into a higher-stakes mission with significantly better loot rewards, including a much higher chance of finding blueprints.

The bunker itself is located southwest of the Departure Building, between Fuel Lines and Fuel Processing. However, you can't just walk in. The bunker remains locked until players activate four rooftop antennas scattered randomly across the map. These antennas are marked on your map with white satellite dish icons, making them easy to locate.

Activating an antenna requires two interactions. First, you establish a connection, which spawns waves of hostile ARC units like Wasps and Hornets. After defeating them, you interact with the antenna again to send the unlock signal. Once all four antennas are activated, the bunker opens for everyone in the lobby.

Inside, you'll find weapon crates, ammo, and multiple containers that can drop blueprints. Most importantly, the overall loot quality inside Hidden Bunkers is substantially higher than standard containers, making this one of the best events for blueprint farming.

The main downside is competition. Every player in the lobby gets notified when the bunker opens, creating a race to loot it first. You'll also face heavy resistance from Bastions, Bombardiers, and other powerful ARC enemies guarding the entrance and interior.

Also Read: All Raider Deck One Rewards in ARC Raiders

5. ARC Surveyor

ARC Surveyors are large, armored rolling ARC units that periodically stop to transmit signals. You can easily identify their locations by looking at the sky for blue beacons that they shoot upward while scanning. This makes them incredibly easy to spot from long distances.

After taking damage, Surveyors will immediately dash away at high speeds, so you'll need to either chase them down or wait until they stop to scan again. After defeating a Surveyor, there's a chance to obtain blueprints from both the main loot drop and the armor panels that fall off during combat.

Keep in mind that only one Surveyor spawns per raid if it spawns at all, making this method less reliable than focusing on containers. Still, if you spot that blue beacon in the sky, it's always worth the effort to take one down for the potential blueprint rewards.

Final Words

Blueprints in ARC Raiders rely heavily on RNG, but you can improve your odds by focusing on the right strategies. Scavenge everything you come across, prioritize Security Lockers once you've unlocked the Security Breach perk, and take advantage of challenging map conditions like Night Raids and Electromagnetic Storms for better drop rates. Hidden Bunker events offer some of the best blueprint farming opportunities when they appear on Spaceport, while ARC Surveyors provide additional chances if you spot their blue beacons.

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