Weekend Drop - 
The PvE test runs from October 13 to 20, 2026. It removes player damage but keeps shared loot and dangerous ARC encounters. Its lower overall rewards make choosing the right source and reaching extraction more useful than filling your backpack with unrelated materials.
For Bettina and Venator blueprints, search Raider Containers on a map you can navigate efficiently; Spaceport is one option, not an exclusive source.
For the Aphelion blueprint, choose Stella Montis and include ordinary containers in your search. For Matriarch Reactors, enter an active Matriarch encounter and work toward lootable leg sections or the defeated boss's remains.
PvE Loot Changes
ARC Raiders PvE still offers blueprint and valuable-item opportunities. Start by matching ARC Raiders Items you need to their sources: Raider Containers for Bettina or Venator blueprints, Stella Montis containers for Aphelion, and Matriarch encounters for Reactors. Move on when an area is depleted, and extract once you secure your target.
The official adjustment lowers overall loot value. It does not publish a reduction percentage or specify how container numbers, stack sizes and item quality contribute.
Early players describe fewer searchable containers and smaller stacks, while others still report blueprints and rare equipment.
Treat those observations as reasons to adapt your search, rather than assuming every empty room has a different loot table. A poor opening area calls for another search area; a found blueprint calls for a safe exit. Neither requires a full-map sweep.
Where to Farm Blueprints
Bettina and Venator Blueprint Containers
Both recipes are listed for multiple maps and any map condition. Spaceport Lush Blooms has early PvE drop reports, but you do not need that combination to begin searching.
Blueprint | Map Choice | Containers to Search |
Bettina Blueprint | Spaceport or another familiar map | Raider Containers, including Backpacks, Ammo Cases, Raider Caches and Weapon Cases |
Venator Blueprint | Multiple maps; choose a manageable search circuit | The same Raider Container category; prioritize caches and cases you can reach safely |
Aphelion Blueprint | Stella Montis | Ordinary searchable containers, including drawers and trash containers; no single container type is required |
Not every container holding ARC Raiders Items belongs to the Raider Container category, so choosing the right container type matters when farming weapon blueprints.
Medical Bags belong to that category but are excluded from the general weapon-blueprint guidance. Searching medical supplies alone is therefore a poor plan for Bettina or Venator.
Use this practical search order:
1. Check nearby Backpacks, Ammo Cases and Weapon Cases before committing to a distant landmark.
2. Continue toward another cluster of suitable containers along a route you already know. Search available Raider Caches on the way.
3. If the next cluster is depleted, change direction toward an unsearched area or extraction instead of retracing emptied rooms.
4. Once the missing recipe is secured, stop extending the circuit for unrelated loot.
This is a flexible search plan. It avoids spending most of the raid crossing ARC Raiders maps for a location whose container may already be empty. Familiarity helps you reach more suitable searches without paying for unnecessary fights.
Aphelion Searches on Stella Montis
Aphelion's blueprint is a Stella Montis scavenging target. Its recipe and Matriarch Reactor are separate requirements: search Stella if you lack the blueprint; plan the boss encounter if the recipe is learned and the Reactor is missing.
Start with ordinary containers near your spawn, including drawers and trash containers along your path. Players have reported Aphelion discoveries in Stella's trash containers, and an early PvE player reported finding it in their first container.
These examples justify checking convenient containers; they do not establish a superior drop rate for bins.
After that opening sweep, consider Medical or Assembly if either fits your spawn and onward route. Search accessible rooms and connecting spaces, then head toward an available extraction.
These are optional search areas, not proven Aphelion hotspots. Do not cross the entire map just to reach one while passing unopened containers elsewhere.
When Containers Are Empty
Search Problem | Next Action |
Few containers in the first area | Move to another nearby cluster; avoid repeating the same empty circuit |
Bettina or Venator searches produce only supplies | Check that you are searching weapon-capable Raider Containers, rather than only Medical Bags |
Stella's busy rooms are depleted | Check ordinary containers along a different path toward extraction |
ARC encounters consume your remaining healing | End the search and extract with what you have |
After extracting a missing blueprint, return to Speranza and use Learn and Consume. Check that the recipe is unlocked before planning its crafting-material run.
How to Farm Matriarch Reactors
Break Armor and Target the Joint
Choose a PvE session with the Matriarch map condition active. Bring an armor-breaking option, a weapon for exposed weak points, enough ammunition, healing and shield recovery. A mobility tool can help with the approach to debris, but choose cover and a retreat path before firing.
On October 8, ARC Raiders' Frozen Trail 2.0 moved higher-tier Queen and Matriarch loot from leg armor pieces into the leg pieces themselves.
Detached armor can still hold other loot. Identify three separate targets: the protective plate, the yellow leg joint beneath it, and the detached leg section you can search.
For a leg-focused attempt:
1. Select one leg you can shoot from solid cover, with a reachable approach to any fallen section.
2. Break the armor obstructing your shots at the joint.
3. Focus fire on the exposed yellow joint. Post-update players report detaching whole legs this way before the boss dies.
4. Watch where the leg section lands. Approach only when you can avoid active attacks and return to cover.
5. Search the lootable section, take a Reactor if present, and leave once your material goal is met.
Hullcracker-style explosives gained armor damage in 2.0 while losing damage against fragile parts. Use that distinction when allocating ammunition: strip plates, then aim your weak-point weapon at the exposed joint. No fixed shot count or guaranteed Reactor follows from breaking a leg.
Check Legs and Core Remains
If you only collect common ARC Raiders Items such as ARC Alloy, check whether you searched an armor plate instead of the lootable leg section. An armor plate yielding basic materials does not mean you exhausted the higher-tier leg loot. A leg section can also fail to provide your target.
If the Matriarch dies before you collect anything, inspect reachable remaining legs and the main core remains. Stay alert for surviving ARC.
If sections are already emptied, move to another accessible part; leave when no useful search remains rather than spending more supplies circling the wreck.
Reach Loot before It Is Emptied
PvE prevents another Raider from shooting you, but it does not reserve boss loot for your squad. Before a leg breaks, agree which reachable section each teammate will check and identify an alternative if strangers arrive first.
Avoid a distant firing perch when the descent would leave you far behind other looters. Also avoid standing under the boss to catch debris: stomps and summoned ARC can turn that shortcut into a lost loadout.
Choose a position that balances cover with access, and count Reactors extracted when judging whether the attempt paid off.
Choosing PvE or PvPvE for Farming
For ARC Raiders blueprint hunting, choose PvE when player attacks repeatedly cost you recipes or interrupt searches.
If you already extract reliably in PvPvE, its higher baseline loot value may better suit general resupply. That advantage does not prove higher odds for each blueprint.
For Reactors, PvE suits players who can handle the boss but lose pickups to ambushes.
If your problem is arriving after every section has been emptied, improve your position and collection timing first; removing player damage cannot solve shared-loot depletion.
Night Raid, Locked Gate, Hidden Bunker, Frigate and Redirection are unavailable in PvE during this test. Use PvPvE for targets requiring those conditions. Once you have your missing blueprint or Reactor, prioritize extraction over another room or another boss part.
