If you’ve been playing ARC Raiders lately and feel like loot has been terrible — especially in those supposedly “high loot zones” and key rooms — you’re not imagining things. Many players have voiced frustration with the game’s loot system, and recent testing by content creator backs up that feeling with some surprising data buy ARC Raiders items.
Night Raids Don’t Actually Give You More Blueprints
For a long time, the ARC Raiders community has believed that night raids were the best way to get more blueprints. After all, darker missions should be riskier — so you’d expect better rewards, right?
But when content creator looted over 3,000 containers across day, storm, and night raids, the results told a different story. The blueprint drop rate was almost identical in every condition: around 1.3% on average, with only minor variations well within the margin of error. In other words, the time of day doesn’t matter — you’re just as likely (or unlikely) to grab a blueprint during a sunny raid as during a stormy one.
Why Loot Feels So Bad in High Loot Zones
If all raid types offer the same drop rates, why does looting feel worse lately — especially in the most popular areas? The answer comes down to player behavior and competition.
Because so many players believe night raids and key rooms are “better,” these places get overcrowded fast. That means fewer unopened containers, more PvP encounters, and a lot of wasted time running into empty rooms. The result: you end up spending twice as long for the same loot.
So while the loot rates themselves haven’t changed, your experience feels worse because everyone’s fighting for the same scarce resources.
The Secret of Map Differences
Interestingly, not all maps perform equally. The same tests showed that Bluegate and Dam had noticeably higher blueprint drop rates, while Spaceport and Buried City lagged behind.
- Bluegate: ~2.13% (highest)
- Dam: ~1.11% (good balance)
- Spaceport: ~0.66% (lowest)
- Buried City: ~1.1% (average but PvP-heavy)
The key takeaway is that loot quality seems tied to how many items a container can hold, not the container type itself. Bluegate, for example, may have containers with more total items inside, giving you slightly better odds for blueprints.
How to Actually Improve Your Loot
Instead of chasing the “best” map or time of day, focus on these smarter strategies:
- Pick quieter events where fewer players are looting. The less competition, the more containers you’ll find untouched.
- Experiment with different areas instead of crowding into one hotspot. Spread out — that’s how you maximize your chances.
- Loot efficiently, not aggressively. Get in, grab what you need, and move on before PvP draws attention.
Final Thoughts
Loot in ARC Raiders might feel worse lately, but it’s not because the game secretly reduced drop rates. The real issue is that the community has funneled itself into the same zones and key rooms, creating loot bottlenecks. Ironically, the best way to find more blueprints is to go where others aren’t looking.
Maybe it’s time to leave the floodlights of Bluegate behind and rediscover the quiet corners of the Dam.
