The Research Workbench in ARC Raiders lets you spend Research Points on selected unlocks, including a number of crafting blueprints. You no longer have to rely entirely on getting the recipe you want from a random container. This guide explains how to unlock the Research Station at your Outpost, where Research Points come from, and what to check before buying a research project. We also explain why unlocking a recipe does not mean the weapon itself appears in your stash for free.
ARC RaidersARC RaidersBefore Frozen Trail, hunting for one specific blueprint could turn into a long lottery. You could keep extracting loot and building up Coins while the recipe you actually wanted simply refused to drop. The Research Station provides a second route. Items found Topside can contain Research Points, and those points can then be spent on specific research projects, including selected weapon and item blueprints.The important word is selected. Research does not replace every blueprint drop in the game. You need to open the station and check whether the recipe or unlock you want is actually part of the research catalog before farming specifically for it.As of the live Frozen Trail update, community-tracked data already lists 128 research projects spread across Research Station levels 1 through 4. These include blueprint research, item unlocks, Outpost Designs, and weapon perks used by Amplified Weapons. The exact catalog can change with updates, so use the current station menu as the final source for cost and requirements.The system arrived with the Frozen Trail update and the new Outpost. Its purpose is to give Raiders more control over long-term progression without completely removing discovery and loot RNG from the game.
How to unlock the Research Station
ARC RaidersARC RaidersAccess to the Research Station is unlocked together with the Outpost. The Outpost itself is obtained through a project. Embark specifically warns players to accept the quest and bring a Camera for the first stage, called Research Topside Living Conditions.That objective requires you to photograph a farmland house. A Camera can be bought from Shani, crafted at the Workbench, or found Topside. Do not head into a raid relying only on memory. Open the current project stage first and verify what the objective actually asks for.A practical order is:
Open the Outpost project and accept the associated quest.
Check the current stage requirements and bring a Camera when the objective calls for one.
Complete the project requirements to unlock the Outpost and access to the Research Station.
Open the station and review the available research projects, their costs, station-level requirements, and required materials.
Do not confuse initial access to Research with fully upgrading the station. A fully upgraded Research Station has a separate role in Weapon Amplification. Normal research projects are divided by station level, so follow the requirement shown on the specific project you want rather than assuming every research unlock requires a maxed-out station.
How to get Research Points
The confirmed source of Research Points is loot found in the game world. Embark describes these as items that contain a certain amount of research value. This is a separate progression currency. Normal character XP does not automatically turn into Research Points, and random junk from your backpack should not be treated as research currency unless the item explicitly says so.Read the description of unfamiliar loot before automatically selling or recycling it. If an item is connected to Research, check how much research value it provides and whether you need it for another project or crafting requirement. The game now tracks research costs directly in the station, so the safest approach is to decide what you want to unlock and then compare what your extracted items are actually worth toward that goal.If you are farming on Pendola Pass, make sure you also understand how Flash Freeze and Avalanche Shelters work. A valuable research item only matters if you extract with it.For your first research-focused raids, we recommend this approach:
Choose one target research project first. That gives you a clear reason for collecting Research Points and specific materials.
Read new item descriptions before selling or recycling them.
Plan your extraction after finding something valuable instead of filling the backpack forever.
Judge a farming route by what you actually extract with, not by how many containers you opened before dying.
There is no reason to declare one region the universal best Research Point farm without comparing the live item pool and your own extraction rate. For early farming, a familiar route with a reliable exit is usually more useful than a supposedly optimal route you cannot survive consistently. That is advice about preserving progress, not a claim that one zone has a secret Research Point multiplier.
Which points do not work for Research?
ARC RaidersARC RaidersFrozen Trail also introduced Reward Points. These replaced the old Cred progression currency and automatically advance whichever Reward Pass you currently have active. Feats and weekly milestones award Reward Points. They are not the currency used to buy projects at the Research Station.Check which counter actually increases when you claim a reward. If the points went into your active Reward Pass, that is pass progression rather than currency for a blueprint. Do not grind weekly Feats specifically for Research unless a reward explicitly gives the Research Points or materials you need.The distinction is simple: Reward Points advance Reward Passes, while Research Points are used for Research Station projects. The names are similar enough to confuse at a glance, but the systems serve completely different purposes.
How to unlock the blueprint you want
The first step is to find the recipe among the Research Station's available projects. The new system lets you target progression, but the exact blueprint still needs to be present in the catalog at your current station level. Once you find it, check the full cost and every prerequisite before spending anything.Before confirming the research, verify:
The reward itself. Make sure you are unlocking the crafting blueprint or item you actually want rather than a similarly named perk or upgrade.
Access requirements. Confirm that your Research Station level and any prerequisite research are complete.
The total cost. Make sure you have enough Research Points and any additional materials listed by the project.
Crafting requirements afterward. Check which Workbench or Gunsmith level and which materials are needed to actually build the item.
Researching a blueprint and crafting the gear are two separate costs. Research gives you the permanent unlock, but it does not place a free weapon in your backpack. Before spending a large amount on a recipe, check whether you can realistically craft and replace that item on a regular basis.That matters especially in an extraction shooter. A weapon you can afford to rebuild after a bad raid is often more useful than a technically stronger recipe that empties your storage every time you lose one copy.
Which Research projects should you unlock first?
ARC RaidersARC RaidersStart with an unlock whose absence is genuinely limiting your normal raids. If you regularly use one weapon but still depend on finding complete copies as loot, researching its blueprint is an obvious long-term improvement. If your favorite weapon is already craftable, look for gadgets, utility items, or other research projects that solve a recurring problem in your loadout.A sensible priority order is:
Gear for your normal raids - equipment you already know how to use and are willing to craft repeatedly.
An unlock for a specific problem - for example, gear that helps with ARC encounters or PvP if the relevant project is available.
Experimental options - new playstyles and unusual upgrades once your basic needs are already covered.
This prevents you from spending your entire research reserve on a flashy novelty while still lacking the equipment that makes ordinary runs comfortable. Research for its own sake can easily become another collection screen full of things you never actually use.
Blueprint Research vs. Weapon Amplification: how are they connected?
The Research Station has another major role once fully upgraded: it unlocks access to Amplified Weapons. Amplification is the new fifth quality level for 15 existing weapons and introduces branching upgrades that can fundamentally change how a gun behaves.These are related systems, but they solve different problems. Blueprint research helps you permanently unlock selected items and recipes. Weapon Amplification develops supported weapons beyond their normal I-IV quality progression and adds specialized perks such as new firing modes, ammunition behavior, optics, reload changes, and mobility options.If your main problem is that you still cannot craft a basic weapon, start by checking its blueprint research. If you already own and regularly use the weapon and want to change its capabilities, move on to Amplification. One research purchase does not automatically solve both goals.Before spending Research Points or rare materials, read the reward description one more time. That is much cheaper than realizing afterward that you researched a perk when what you actually wanted was the weapon blueprint. The next step is covered in our Weapon Amplification guide, including modules and useful upgrade paths for ARC and PvP encounters.
