Extraction shooter and recent Game Awards winner Arc Raiders just dropped a massive, winter-themed update. Cold Snap, as it’s called, adds a map condition that can cause frostbite, a timed event that lets players earn rewards (including Raider Tokens), a Candleberry Banquet project that also offers up some currency and cosmetics, and, apparently, way more generous blueprint drops.
A popular post on the official Arc Raiders subreddit titled “Keep the blueprint drop rate” argues for developer Embark Studios to make the alleged changes to said drop rate permanent. “Instead of sitting on gear and going with free loadouts, this incentivizes players to use loadouts with safe pockets and get some skin in the game,” the post reads. “What this game needs is to better incentivize bold play.”
In Arc Raiders, you have the option to venture up to the dangerous surface with either a free loadout of random, low-tier loot that you won’t mind losing if you get jumped by another player or zapped by a Hornet, or a custom loadout that often includes a safe pocket, in which you can store one precious item in case you die aboveground or fail to extract. The benefit of the custom loadout is that you’re guaranteed to leave with something, so long as you put it in your safe pocket, but the downside is that you run the risk of losing an upgraded gun or a higher-quality shield.
Many Arc Raiders players prefer to play conservatively, avoiding conflict with enemy squads at all costs. I can understand this, as I often run around the game with proximity chat on, yelling, “I’m doing a quest, please leave me alone!” But if there’s an elusive blueprint tucked away in my backpack, I can feel my trigger finger itching—this might mean that the next few weeks of Arc Raiders gameplay are more ruthless than ever before…
I played a bit yesterday after the Cold Snap update and got three blueprints over the course of a few matches, which is definitely more than I’ve seen before. In one match, I was in a pure panic trying to get to an elevator with a shiny new gun, several stacks of Candleberries (which are found outside in the cold), and two blueprints, all while frostbite steadily depleted my health and a damn Wasp flitted overhead. I made it out, knuckles whiter than the layer of snow covering my backpack.
When asked if the blueprint drop was adjusted, a spokesperson for Arc Raiders pointed me to two bullet points in the most recent patch notes:
- Increased some item and blueprint spawn rates in Stella Montis.
- Expanded blueprint spawn locations to improve availability in areas that were underrepresented.
It’s not clear if this change is intended to be permanent, but of course Embark Studios may adjust the blueprint drop if it finds it’s become too easy to grab them. After all, avarice is a sin, and the greed on display by this player with 15 blueprints in their backpack sickens me.
For now, there are more blueprints out there. Go forth and be merry, Raiders. Please don’t shoot.
