The Flashpoint update for ARC Raiders introduced a handful of new weapons, and the Canto SMG has quickly become one of the most talked-about additions among raiders. This medium-ammo submachine gun fills a gap between the Bobcat and the Stitcher, offering a compelling mix of damage, fire rate, and affordability that appeals to both PvP and PvE players.
ARC Raiders Canto SMG Stats & Blueprint Locations
The Canto is a rare (blue) rarity fully automatic submachine gun chambered in medium ammo. It functions as a hybrid weapon — not quite as fast-firing as the Bobcat, but packing noticeably more punch per shot than the Stitcher. Think of it as blending the Ventor's caliber feel with the Stitcher's compact SMG handling. It carries four full modification slots (barrel, stock, ammo capacity, and grip), giving it more customization room than many weapons in its class. It is cheaper to craft than the Bobcat, cheaper to repair, and cheaper to upgrade, which makes it an attractive everyday carry for raiders who want strong PvP performance without burning through resources.
Below, you will find the full stat profile for the Canto SMG and exactly where to find its blueprint.
ARC Raiders Canto SMG Stats
The Canto is classified as a rare-tier SMG. It uses medium ammo, which sets it apart from the Stitcher and Bobcat that run on light ammo. This ammo type choice affects both its damage profile and its logistics — medium ammo is shared with rifles like the Ventor and Rattler, so inventory management during raids requires some planning.
Base Stats at Level 1
A freshly crafted level 1 Canto starts with a base magazine of just 18 rounds. That is lower than the base Stitcher (20 rounds) and considerably lower than what most players expect from an SMG. Equipping an extended medium magazine on a level 1 Canto bumps the capacity to 30 rounds, which makes it far more usable. Without the magazine attachment, you will run dry mid-fight in PvP very often.
The damage per shot matches the Stitcher, but the Canto fires faster. This gives it higher raw DPS than the Stitcher out of the box. The Bobcat still tops both in pure DPS due to its extreme fire rate, though it deals slightly less damage per individual shot.
Damage Per Magazine at Max Level
When all three SMGs are fully upgraded to level 4, the Canto has the highest total damage per magazine of any SMG in the game. The Bobcat fires faster and technically has a quicker time-to-kill, but it requires you to land nearly every shot to one-clip an opponent. The Canto is more forgiving — you can miss a few rounds and still have enough bullets in the magazine to finish the fight.
Arc Armor Penetration
The Canto carries a moderate arc armor penetration rating. This is the first SMG in the game with that level of penetration. Against lighter arc enemies like Wasps, the Canto drops them quickly — often in well under a full magazine. Against tougher enemies like Hornets, it is doable but ammo-hungry. Shooting the front thruster armor off a Hornet burns through rounds fast. Against Fireflies, the Canto performs surprisingly well — it takes less than a full clip to remove a wing.
For Shredders, the Canto handles them respectably at close to medium range. It is not going to replace a dedicated arc-killing weapon like the Rattler or Anvil, but for an SMG, the moderate penetration gives it more PvE versatility than any other option in the class.
Fire Rate and Recoil
The fire rate sits between the Stitcher (slower) and the Bobcat (faster). In practice, the gun feels snappy and responsive — multiple players have compared the sensation to firing a real-world Tech-9.
Recoil is the Canto's main skill check. The first few bullets kick noticeably, and if you do not pull down to compensate, the spray pattern climbs quickly. In comparison, the Stitcher has almost no recoil and high dispersion, while the Bobcat sits somewhere in between. Players who are comfortable controlling vertical recoil in shooters will find the Canto easy to manage. Players who struggle with recoil may want to swap the compensator attachment for a muzzle brake, which tames the vertical climb at the cost of some horizontal stability.
Modification Slots
The Canto has four attachment slots, which is generous for a rare weapon.
Barrel — affects dispersion, range, and recoil behavior. An extended barrel improves accuracy at range.
Stock — influences recoil stability and handling. A padded stock or kinetic converter both work well, with the kinetic converter providing faster follow-up shot accuracy.
Ammo Capacity — the most important attachment, especially at lower weapon levels. An extended medium magazine level 3 pushes the capacity to 42 rounds at max weapon level, giving you comfortable room for extended fights.
Grip — affects handling speed, aim-down-sight time, and sway. A horizontal grip helps with horizontal recoil control during sustained fire.
Upgrade Path and Costs
Crafting the Canto requires medium gun parts, advanced mechanical components, and five magnets — the same magnet cost as a Ventor. No queen reactors, no metro reactors, and no rare materials beyond the magnets.
Level 1 to Level 2 — 1 advanced mechanical component and 2 medium gun parts.
Level 2 to Level 3 — 2 medium gun parts and 1 advanced mechanical component.
Level 3 to Level 4 — 2 medium gun parts and 2 advanced mechanical components.
Each upgrade level improves durability, reduces maximum shot dispersion (bloom/spread), increases magazine size, and speeds up reload time. A max level 4 Canto has 130 durability and a base magazine of 36 rounds before attachment bonuses.
Durability
At level 4, the Canto tops out at 130 durability. This is solid for a rare weapon and means you can comfortably run it through a full raid without worrying about it breaking mid-fight. Repair costs are low compared to the Bobcat, which is another point in the Canto's favor for players who raid frequently.
PvP Performance
The Canto is a PvP powerhouse. It breaks shields fast — light and medium shields melt under sustained fire at close to medium range. Multiple players have reported downing opponents before even emptying a full magazine at level 4 with good accuracy. The time-to-kill is competitive with the Bobcat, and the extra damage per magazine means you have a larger margin for error.
At level 1 without attachments, it takes roughly 19 bullets to break a light shield. That is tight with only 18 rounds in the base magazine, so the extended mag is practically mandatory at lower weapon levels.
At level 4 with an extended medium mag 3 and a kinetic converter, the Canto becomes devastating. Players go down fast, and the weapon rewards aggressive pushes in close quarters.
PvE Performance
Against arc, the Canto is decent but not a primary arc-killing weapon. It sits above the Stitcher and Bobcat for arc damage thanks to its moderate armor penetration. Wasps die quickly. Rocketeers take a reasonable number of shots. Firefly wings come off in under a magazine. Shredders are manageable at close range.
For dedicated arc hunting — Bastions, Matriarchs, and other heavy targets — you will want a proper rifle or heavy weapon. But for clearing smaller arc threats while primarily running a PvP loadout, the Canto handles the job well enough to be your only weapon in many situations.
How the Canto Compares to the Bobcat and Stitcher
The three SMGs occupy distinct roles despite sharing a weapon class.
The Stitcher is the entry-level option with the lowest DPS, almost zero recoil, and the cheapest crafting cost. It is forgiving for new players but falls off against skilled opponents in PvP and struggles with arc armor.
The Bobcat is the fire-rate king with the highest raw DPS. It demands precise aim to one-clip targets, and it costs more to craft, repair, and upgrade. It uses light ammo, keeping your inventory separate from rifles.
The Canto lands in between. It has more damage per magazine than either competitor at max level, moderate recoil that rewards skill, medium ammo logistics, and the lowest overall cost for its performance level. For most players, the Canto offers the best balance of power and economy in the SMG class.
ARC Raiders Canto SMG Blueprint Location — How to Get the Canto SMG
Where the Canto Blueprint Drops
The Canto blueprint drops exclusively from hurricane caches found during the Hurricane map condition. These are the raider-style supply caches that appear throughout the map during hurricane events. They are not tied to any specific map — any map running the hurricane condition can produce the blueprint.
As of the Flashpoint update, no one has confirmed the Canto blueprint dropping from normal raider containers like weapon cases, med bags, or grenade cases. It appears to be limited to hurricane caches only. There is speculation that cold snap caches and uncovered caches events might also drop the blueprint once those conditions rotate back in, but this has not been confirmed yet.
How to Find Hurricane Caches
Hurricane caches are scattered across the map during a hurricane event. They emit a distinct beeping sound that you can hear when you are nearby. Listen carefully as you move through the map, the beep is your primary indicator that a cache is close.
The caches look like standard raider supply containers. They spawn in various locations and are not always in the same spot from game to game. Community tools like the MetaForge app can help by showing community-contributed spawn points, which gives you a more efficient route to follow rather than wandering randomly.
Drop Rate and RNG
The blueprint drop rate from hurricane caches is low. Multiple players have reported opening anywhere from 5 to 20+ caches before the Canto blueprint appeared. One player spent two full hours doing nothing but opening hurricane caches before finally getting it. Another pulled it within the first few attempts. The RNG variance is wide.
Hurricane caches have a high overall blueprint drop rate, but the pool of possible blueprints is large. You will receive Tempest blueprints, Volcano blueprints, gun parts blueprints, spray blueprints, and other items before the Canto eventually shows up. Patience and repetition are the name of the game here.
Farming Strategy
Load into any hurricane condition map. Prioritize speed — move quickly from cache to cache, loot each one, and move on. You do not need to fight every arc or engage every player. The goal is to open as many hurricane caches per raid as possible.
If you do not find the blueprint in one raid, queue into the next hurricane map immediately and repeat. While the hurricane condition remains in active rotation (it has been consistently appearing across maps since the Flashpoint update launched), take advantage of the availability. Once it moves to its standard rotation schedule, opportunities to farm will become less frequent.
Bring enough healing and shields to survive the raid, but keep your loadout light. You are not here for PvP fights or arc bounties, you are here to open caches. If you happen to find good loot along the way, that is a bonus, but the priority is volume.
Why Hurricane Caches Specifically?
The Flashpoint update tied new weapon blueprints to specific map conditions. The Canto blueprint was placed in hurricane caches, while the other new weapon — the Dolabra legendary shotgun — drops from assessors in the Close Scrutiny condition. This design gives each map condition a unique reason to run it.
The hurricane condition was previously considered a lower-priority event with limited incentives. Placing the Canto blueprint inside its caches gives players a strong reason to engage with hurricane maps, which has noticeably increased activity in those lobbies since the update.
After Getting the Blueprint
Once you have the blueprint, you can craft the Canto at your workbench. The crafting requirements are straightforward: medium gun parts, advanced mechanical components, and five magnets. No rare drops from bosses are needed, and no queen or metro reactors are required. Compared to higher-rarity weapons, the Canto is quick and cheap to get into your loadout.
Prioritize attaching an extended medium magazine immediately. The base 18-round magazine at level 1 is too small for reliable PvP engagements. From there, upgrade the weapon level as resources allow — each level adds noticeable improvements to spread, magazine size, and reload speed. A level 4 Canto with full attachments is a completely different experience from a base level 1.