The Canto SMG is currently one of the most talked-about weapons in ARC Raiders. Introduced in the Flashpoint update, this rare, fully automatic submachine gun runs on medium ammunition and bridges the gap between the high fire rate of the Bobcat and the low recoil of the Stitcher. At max level, it boasts the highest damage-per-magazine in its weapon class and features moderate arc armor penetration.
However, getting your hands on one requires tracking down its elusive blueprint. The Canto blueprint does not drop at a fixed set of map coordinates. Instead, it is tied directly to a specific server-wide map condition and a brutal layer of random number generation (RNG).
The Only Way It Drops: First Wave Caches
The Canto blueprint drops exclusively from First Wave Caches (frequently referred to by the community as "Hurricane Caches"). These are upgraded, physically larger variants of the standard, everyday Raider Caches. They resemble half-buried metal tins and are stuffed with high-tier loot, premium healing items, and epic recipes.
There is a strict catch: First Wave Caches only spawn when the Hurricane major map condition is active. If you drop into a match during standard weather or during other specialized events like Close Scrutiny, these elite containers will not exist on the map.
Even when a Hurricane is active, finding a cache is a numbers game. They do not appear at every single landmark. Instead, they occupy the exact same spawn points as regular Raider Caches but only have a 1-in-5 to 1-in-10 chance (roughly 10% to 20%) of replacing them in any given raid.
High-Yield Farming Locations
While Hurricanes rotate across almost every map except the indoor Stella Montis complex, the community uses specialized tools like the MetaForge App to pinpoint the highest-density routes. If you want to maximize your chances, focus your search around these specific landmark nodes:
Dam Battlegrounds (Highest Density): This is the statistically best map for raw cache volume. Run loops through the Hydroponic Dome Complex, the Control Tower, and search the wreckage of vehicles at the base of the Pale Apartments.
Blue Gate (Community Favorite): Highly favored for its linear, efficient pathing. Focus heavily on Gate Approach and Pilgrim's Peak.
Spaceport: Check the entry and exit corridors of the Arrival Building and the Departure Building.
Buried City (Lowest Density): Harder to farm, but caches can consistently appear near the Space Travel building, the Hospital, and the Town Hall.
The "Naked Meta" Farming Strategy
Because the Canto blueprint is arguably the rarest drop in the active Hurricane loot pool, random distribution means it takes an average of 1 to 2 hours of targeted farming to successfully pull it. To avoid losing expensive kits to rival players or high-tier ARC bots, the community relies entirely on the "naked run" method.
Drop Empty-Handed: Queue into an active Hurricane match with zero weapons, zero armor, and a few Adrenaline Shots. Your character has a built-in Safe Pocket that remains functional regardless of your gear score.
Check the Match Timer: If you load into a lobby where the raid timer is already well past the 25-minute mark, someone has likely cleaned out the route. Save your time: immediately open your menu, hit Surrender, and re-queue.
Run with the Wind: The howling gales of a Hurricane significantly impact player physics. Running against a headwind cuts your movement speed. Check the wind direction immediately upon spawn and plan a circular routing path that flows with the storm to outpace rival Raiders.
Listen, Don't Just Look: Visual scanning is incredibly difficult in low-visibility storm conditions. First Wave Caches emit a highly distinct, rhythmic electronic humming or pulsing sound. Turn your in-game audio settings to "Night Mode"—which compresses the dynamic range and dampens the sound of the wind—and listen for that loop.
Pocket and Surrender: The absolute second you loot a Canto blueprint, drag it directly into your Safe Pocket. Items inside this pocket are completely secure. Once it is tucked away, you don't need to risk a stressful trek to a standard extraction point. Simply press Escape, click Surrender, and you will instantly return to the Speranza base with the blueprint completely intact.
Farming recipes via random drops can occasionally turn into a frustrating bottleneck, especially when the hourly map rotations don't align with your free time. If you want to skip the high-wind RNG entirely and start upgrading your weapon bench immediately, you can head over to platforms like U4N to buy arc raiders blueprints directly from trusted sellers, allowing you to bypass the grind and jump straight into crafting.
Crafting and Upgrade Resource Breakdown
Once you have secured the blueprint and brought it back to your Tier 3 Gunsmith workbench, you won't need to farm complex boss drops like Queen or Metro Reactors to build a baseline model. The Canto is surprisingly cheap to put together, but it requires common mechanical hardware:
2x Advanced Mechanical Components: Sourced by scavenging mechanical high-loot zones or recycling spare Rare (blue) and Epic (purple) gear.
5x Magnets: Can be scavenged or bought directly from Celeste at Speranza.
3x Medium Gun Parts: Found inside random lockers and cupboards, or purchased as a crafting recipe from Celeste.
Canto SMG Progression Metrics (Levels 1–4)
Level Base Magazine Size Durability Component Cost
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Level 1 18 Rounds -- Baseline Crafting
Level 2 24 Rounds -- 1x Adv Mech / 2x Medium Gun
Level 3 30 Rounds -- 1x Adv Mech / 2x Medium Gun
Level 4 36 Rounds 130 2x Adv Mech / 2x Medium Gun
A freshly minted Level 1 Canto is a bit of a glass cannon; its base magazine is tiny (only 18 rounds), meaning a high fire rate will empty the clip before you can secure a PvP kill. However, upgrading the gun through Levels 2, 3, and 4 gradually tightens the bullet dispersion bloom, lowers reload times, raises durability to a rugged 130 points, and pushes the base magazine up to 36 rounds before you even factor in extended mag attachments.
