To get the Canto SMG in ARC Raiders, you must find its blueprint inside First Wave Caches (Hurricane Caches) and craft it . These special caches only appear when the Hurricane map condition is active.
You can also earn a pre-made Canto SMG by completing the "Collision Course" mission after defeating the Comet ARC drone.
Step 1: Track the Hurricane Condition
The blueprint will not drop in standard matches. You must wait for the Hurricane event to be active on your chosen map before you queue up.
Step 2: Hunt for First Wave Caches
Once you load into a Hurricane match, look for the containers.
What they look like: They are small, buried tins usually hidden on the outskirts of the map.
How to find them: Listen closely. The caches make a distinct ticking, electric, or beeping sound when you are nearby.
Spawn Rate: They replace normal raider caches at a rate of about 1 in every 5 to 10 locations. The Canto blueprint is a rare random drop inside them.
Step 3: Use the "Naked Run" Meta Strategy
Because farming this blueprint can take a few hours, the community uses a specific trick to stay safe:
Load in "naked" with no gear equipped. Your character has a built-in safe pocket.
Pull up an interactive map on a second screen to sprint straight to known cache spawns.
If you find the Canto blueprint, put it in your safe pocket immediately.
Open your menu and hit Surrender. You will exit the match instantly and keep the blueprint without losing anything.
If you do not find it within 5 to 8 minutes, surrender and queue right back up.
Step 4: Craft the Weapon
Once you successfully extract with the blueprint, go to your crafting bench. You will need the following materials to build your new weapon:
Farming the Hurricane caches or grinding the "Collision Course" mission can take hours of repetitive runs with no guarantee of a drop. If you want to skip the tedious RNG and jump straight into the action with this powerful SMG, the fastest shortcut is to buy Arc Raiders Canto blueprint directly from our secure marketplace. Save your time for the actual fights, get instant delivery from a trusted seller, and unlock your weapon today without the endless grind.
Arc Raiders Canto Blueprint Location
The Canto blueprint does not have a fixed, permanent map location because it spawns as random loot inside First Wave Caches (Hurricane Caches) . These caches only appear on maps when the Hurricane map condition is active.
However, you can target specific high-probability cache spawn zones on each map to find it quickly.
Best Farming Locations by Map
When the Hurricane event is live, use an interactive map layout tool like the MetaForge Map Tracker to run straight to these hot zones:
Dam Battlegrounds: Search the Northeast corner nook and check the Control Tower secret ledge. Look for small buried tins along the cliffsides.
Buried City: Scale the roofs to check the top of the Marino Metro Station and the top of the Library.
Spaceport: Take the ziplines to the top of the South Trench Tower and the North Tower. Also, check the industrial ducts near the Rocket Assembly building.
Blue Gate: Walk the perimeter of the Southwest broken highway or drop into the underground ducts to find tucked-away caches.
Speed Up Your Search
Track the Storm: Check the Arc Raiders Hub Event Tracker to ensure you only drop into matches with an active Hurricane.
Follow the Sounds: Ignore normal large weapon chests. Walk the map outskirts and listen for a distinct electric ticking or beeping sound coming from the dirt.
Reset Early: Most caches are looted within the first few minutes of a match. If you do not find a First Wave Cache within 5 to 8 minutes, open your menu, click Surrender, and immediately queue up for a fresh match.
How To use Canto In Arc Raiders?
To use the Canto SMG effectively in ARC Raiders, you must upgrade its magazine and equip heavy recoil-reduction attachments . Because the Canto uses Medium Ammo, it hits much harder than standard light-ammo SMGs, but it has a tiny base magazine and intense kick.
Step 1: Fix the Small Magazine Bottleneck
The base Tier I version of the Canto only holds 18 bullets.
The Problem: In PvP, it takes exactly 19 body shots to break a light shield. If you do not upgrade the mag, you will empty the gun and have to reload before you can kill your target.
The Fix: Take the Canto to Tier II or higher at your bench, or equip an Extended Medium Magazine mod right away. This gives you enough bullets to "one-clip" enemies easily.
Step 2: Equip Recoil Control Attachments
The Canto is a hybrid between an assault rifle and an SMG, meaning it has massive vertical and horizontal shake. To stop the gun from bouncing, use the top community-recommended build:
Muzzle: Compensator III (or Muzzle Brake)
Underbarrel: Angled Grip II or Epic Horizontal Grip
Stock: Padded Stock
Step 3: Master the Agile Playstyle
The Canto is classified as an Agile weapon. This gives you a massive advantage during gunfights:
Max Speed Strafing: You suffer zero movement penalty when you aim down your sights (ADS).
How to play it: Do not stand still. Hold down the trigger and aggressively strafe left and right while aiming. You will move at full speed, making it very hard for enemies to track and hit you.
Step 4: Manage Your Upkeep
Because the Canto fires heavy medium ammo at a rapid pace:
Pack extra ammo: It eats through bullets incredibly fast. You can burn through 300 rounds in just a few minutes of combat.
Watch the durability: The Canto loses durability quickly. Its damage drops off a cliff once the gun gets damaged, so make sure to repair it after every 2 or 3 runs.
Arc Raiders Canto Best Attachments
The best attachments for the Canto SMG focus entirely on maximizing its magazine capacity and reducing its intense horizontal bounce .
The community has settled on two highly dominant Tier III setups depending on your input device and aiming style.
The Meta "Laser Beam" Build (Highly Recommended)
This is the overall top-performing setup featured on Warzone Meta and top YouTube guides. It eliminates side-to-side sway, allowing you to simply pull straight down to melt targets.
Muzzle: Compensator III (Substantially drops overall recoil and bullet spread)
Underbarrel: Angled Grip II (Targets and reduces unpredictable horizontal shake)
Magazine: Extended Medium Mag III (Absolutely mandatory; expands the tiny base 18-round mag)
Stock: Padded Stock (Keeps your weapon steady and reduces bullet bloom during sustained fire)
Ammunition: Medium Ammo
The Vertical Recoil Variant
If you are playing on a controller or find that the weapon kicks upward too aggressively for your liking, parts of the community on Reddit recommend swapping the underbarrel grip:
Underbarrel Swap: Vertical Grip III (Trade horizontal stability to heavily tame the initial vertical upward kick).
Why These Specific Mods Matter
The Extended Mag III is non-negotiable: Without it, the Canto does not have enough bullets in a single clip to break a standard player's shields and kill them.
Compensator vs. Muzzle Brake: While some niche builds use the Muzzle Brake III, most high-level players avoid it because it lowers your bullet velocity and damage over distance. The Compensator III offers a much cleaner TTK (Time-to-Kill) at mid-range.
Arc Raiders Canto Vs Bobcat
When deciding between the Canto and the Bobcat in ARC Raiders, your choice comes down to cheap PvE utility versus expensive PvP dominance.
The Bobcat is a top-tier, pink Epic weapon that rules player-vs-player fights. The Canto is a blue Rare weapon that serves as an affordable "baby assault rifle" built to shred machines.
Weapon Comparison
Feature
The Canto SMG
The Bobcat SMG
Ammo Type
Medium Ammo (Heavy punch)
Light Ammo (Common, cheap)
Primary Use
PvE / ARC Machine hunting
PvP / Melting players
Base Base Cost
Cheap (~7,000 Value to craft)
Expensive (~13,000 Value to craft)
Recoil
Extreme kick, major horizontal sway
Lasers straight, easy to control
PvP Time-to-Kill (TTK)
Slower (~1.38 seconds)
Faster (~1.13 to 1.25 seconds)
ARC Penetration
Strong armor damage
Very Weak armor damage
The Case for the Bobcat (The PvP King)
If you value winning intense, high-stakes gunfights against other Raiders, stick with the Bobcat.
Insane Speed: The Bobcat dumps its whole magazine in a fraction of a second. Its faster TTK means you will win straight up 1v1 face-offs.
Perfect Accuracy: It barely has any kick compared to the Canto. You can track moving targets without fighting your mouse or analog stick.
The Catch: It is incredibly expensive to craft, upgrade, and repair. It also struggles heavily against armored ARC robots because light ammo bounces off them.
The Case for the Canto (The Versatile Budget Build)
The Canto is the best option if you want a reliable "do-it-all" gun that doesn't risk your most expensive loot.
Machine Shredder: Because it fires Medium Ammo, it tears through robot armor. It melts heavy targets like Vaporizers in half the time a Bobcat takes.
Eco-Friendly: It costs almost half the price of a Bobcat to build and maintain. If you die and lose it, it won't break your bank.
The Catch: The horizontal kick is wild. You must invest in high-tier attachments like the Compensator III and Extended Mag III just to make it competitive in close-range PvP.
Community Perspectives
According to veterans on r/ArcRaiders:
Players generally view the Canto as a versatile, low-risk, "do-it-all" gun ideal for fighting machines in areas like Stella, as noted in user discussions. While the Bobcat is recognized as the superior PvP option, some find its inability to efficiently handle ARC robots to be a drawback, especially when trying to avoid drawing attention to themselves in certain areas.
The Verdict
Bobcat: Best for PvP-focused players looking to dominate in high-stakes, player-heavy areas.
Canto: Recommended for farming and tackling heavily armored machine threats without risking high-cost gear.