How to Get Blueprints in Arc Raiders – Complete Farming Guide

If you’re playing Arc Raiders and wondering where everyone is getting all these cool weapon blueprints while you’re stuck crafting the same basic loadout, you’re not alone. Blueprints are some of the rarest and most valuable items in the game, but they’re also one of the most poorly explained systems. Once you know where to look and how the system actually works, you’ll be swimming in crafting recipes instead of hoping for lucky drops.

Highlights & Takeaways

• 74 total blueprints unlock permanent crafting recipes for weapons, attachments, and gear
• Night raids dramatically increase blueprint drop rates across all maps
• Security Lockers offer highest drop chance but require Level 36 Survive skill
• Duplicates sell for 5,000 coins automatically, so copies aren’t wasted

What Blueprints Actually Do

Blueprints are permanent crafting recipes that unlock in your Workshop. Find one, extract with it, and select the “Learn and Consume” option in Speranza. From that moment forward you can craft that item forever as long as you have the materials. This is huge because it means you’re not relying on finding a good weapon in the field or waiting for the shop to rotate. You build what you need, when you need it.

There are roughly 75 blueprints in the game, covering everything from weapons and attachments to grenades, medical supplies, and utility items. Each one requires a specific crafting station level and materials, but the blueprint itself is the permanent unlock. Duplicate blueprints sell for 5,000 coins, so even copies aren’t worthless.

The Blueprint System Explained

Here’s how it works: blueprints are physical items you find in containers during raids. If you die before extracting, you lose them. Once you successfully extract and return to Speranza, the blueprint shows up in your inventory. You then have three options: learn it for yourself, sell it for 5,000 coins, or trade it to another player (this requires dropping it in-game and trusting the other player, as there is no official system).

The most important thing to understand is that blueprints can drop from almost any container in the game, but the drop rate is extremely low. The way to improve your odds is to open more high-value containers per run.

Where to Farm Blueprints

There are two primary ways to farm blueprints: checking in game containers or doing Trials. The former you can do all you want, the latter is limited by RNG, but as you can see in the image above, you can make a ton of progress with some luck.

As our tips guide mentions, Trial progress is shared throughout the entire squad so the easiest way to maximize your blueprint earnings each week is to squad up with some friends and grind these out.

For solo players that can be rough so instead people usually turn to the other method: just checking a whole lot of containers.

Blueprints have a higher chance of dropping from specific container types: raider caches, weapon cases, medical duffel bags, grenade cylinders, and the black raider containers. Security Lockers (which require level 36 in the Survive skill tree) are also an excellent source.

The best farming strategy is targeting areas with high container density rather than chasing specific loot zones. More containers opened equals more chances at blueprints. Here are the most reliable farming spots:

Dam Battlegrounds – Highway Gap: This is probably the single best blueprint farming spot in the game. Under the raised highway where it ends, between Raider Outpost East and East Broken Bridge, there’s a gap that consistently spawns raider containers. You can zipline up from the ground or drop from the highway and vault to catch the ledge. It’s quiet, low-traffic, and the spawn rate is reliable enough that experienced players check it every single run.

Blue Gate Village: If you have the Blue Gate Village Key, the village west of the Blue Gate zone is a goldmine. Use your key on the large double doors near the center, and you’ll find multiple high-tier containers with strong blueprint drop chances. The downside is that you need the key and it’s a more contested area, but the results make it worth the risk.

Buried City – Marano Station: A quiet spot on the edge of the map that always spawns rare caches. It’s behind a breach door, which makes noise and can attract attention, but the container quality is high. Good for mid-game when you’re looking for something more reliable than random world spawns. You can find this one directly labeled on your map.

Night Raids – Residential Areas: This is where the community tips actually pan out. Night raids dramatically increase blueprint spawn rates across all container types. The apartments in Dam Battlegrounds and residential buildings in Blue Gate seem to have particularly good results during night missions. While the increased ARC activity is a challenge, the improved loot tables make night raids worthwhile.

Farming Routes and Strategies

If you’re serious about blueprint farming, you need to run efficient routes instead of wandering aimlessly. The Dam Battlegrounds has the best route for beginners because it has high container density and relatively low ARC presence compared to other maps.

Start at whichever end of the map you spawn closest to and work along the edges. Hit every raider cache, check the highway gap spot, sweep through the Control Tower containers, and extract. The goal is volume: open as many high-value containers as possible in 10-15 minutes, then get out. Don’t overstay trying to collect every last piece of loot. If you find a blueprint, immediately put it in a secure inventory slot if you have one.

For Night Raids, the strategy shifts slightly. Focus on residential and commercial buildings with lots of lockers, drawers, and cabinets. These individual containers have the same low drop rate as everything else, but when you’re opening 20-30 of them in a single building, your chances increase significantly. The Blue Gate apartments are particularly good for this.

Event and Quest Blueprints

Some blueprints only come from specific sources. The Harvester Event guarantees drops for the Jupiter rail gun and Equalizer energy weapon blueprints. These are some of the most powerful weapons in the game, so don’t skip Harvester cycles even if you’re farming other stuff.

Faction quests also reward guaranteed blueprints. Four specific blueprints come from trader questlines, and completing the main story missions will grant you several more. These aren’t random; they’re guaranteed rewards for completing the objectives.

The Bottom Line

Blueprint farming in Arc Raiders is about efficiency and volume. Hit areas with high container density, prioritize raider caches and weapon cases, run Night Raids when possible, and don’t skip Harvester Events or faction quests. The more high-value containers you open per hour, the more blueprints you’ll find. There’s no secret spot where they just rain from the sky; there’s just smart routing and understanding which containers matter most.

Once you’ve got a solid collection of blueprints, your options expand significantly. You’re no longer at the mercy of random drops or shop rotations. You craft what you need for each raid, adapt your loadout to the situation, and extract with the confidence that comes from knowing you can rebuild whatever you lose. That’s the real power of the blueprint system, and that’s why it’s worth putting in the time to farm them properly.

Frequently Asked Questions