For many players, the best bit of Arc Raiders‘ new Cold Snap update isn’t the gorgeous winter scenery, the new frostbite mechanic that punishes extraction campers, or the new items. It’s that blueprint drop rates appear to be sky high. Some of the most desirable items in the game, blueprints need to be found and learned so that you can craft new weapons and equipment. Normally, they’re quite rare, but since Cold Snap began, they’ve become much more common. Now, a new Arc Raiders update delivers both good news and bad news. On the one hand, Embark just nerfed those wild blueprint drop rates, but on the plus side, you’ll still find them more frequently than before Cold Snap arrived.
On the whole, Cold Snap has been a blast. Snowball fights, elaborate puzzles on Buried City, fireworks displays, and more have helped set a very festive tone for what is, in my view, one of the best multiplayer games of the decade so far. As mentioned, it’s also inadvertently seen the drop rates for blueprints skyrocket, which is great news if you’re trying to complete your collection like me. However, Arc Raiders patch 1.7.2 has been rolled out today, Thursday December 18, sorting out a few hangovers from the huge winter update earlier in the week, including the blueprint bonanza.
In a post on the game’s website, Embark shares the short and sweet patch notes for 1.7.2, which begin with a compromise that I think is more than fair: “Blueprint drop rates have been slightly lowered, but are still higher overall than before the 1.7.0 update,” the post reads. I’ve seen some pretty ridiculous screenshots of players with five or more blueprints in their inventory on a single run, and that’s probably a sign that things are too generous and need turning down. However, still giving players like me a better chance to fill in the gaps in our collections deserves a tip of the hat.
Elsewhere in today’s update, the Hidden Bunker event has been re-enabled, giving something for the most hardcore loot fiends to fight over once again. While all buildings should provide shelter from the cold and the new frostbite mechanic in Cold Snap, some were buggy and wouldn’t protect you from the debuff, so “missing volumes” have been added to interiors to ensure that doesn’t keep happening.
An issue causing the required items for the Unexpected Initiative quest to not spawn has also been fixed, so there’s no more headaches if you’re trying to complete that one. There are a couple of other small changes too, which you can check out in the full patch notes here.
So, even though the early Christmas gift of increased blueprint drops has been downgraded a bit, you’re still in a net benefit versus how things were before Cold Snap. But to be honest, even if Embark decided to revert things back exactly to how they were, there’s still dozens of other reasons to have a very big smile on your face while playing Arc Raiders right now.