Among the three core modes in MLB the Show 26, Road to the Show (RTTS) is arguably the least focused on pure competition; instead, it emphasizes the personal development of the player character rather than the outcome of any individual game.

Consequently, whether you achieve ultimate success in this mode depends entirely on your ability to guide your player, the avatar you control, all the way into Hall of Fame.

In this guide, drawing upon the specific changes and gameplay mechanics introduced in MLB the Show 26 RTTS, we will provide you with the essential tips you need to master in order to reach this ultimate goal.

RTTS basic gameplay

When you first embark on your RTTS journey, you begin as a high school player. Your performance in the high school league will directly determine your subsequent draft position or the university offers you receive.

The ideal outcome is to be drafted directly into a professional organization; however, if that does not happen, you have the option to enroll in one of several fictional universities to continue your development.

Each university offers a unique set of recruitment packages that serve as sources for various player attribute boosts.

From there, you will manage your amateur career by participating in games until you eventually turn professional and begin pursuing more specialized, career-defining achievements.

What's new in MLB the Show 26?

Building upon the foundation mentioned above, MLB the Show 26 introduces several key changes.

First, the number of selectable universities has been expanded to 19, more than the number available in the former. This wider array of collegiate options means there are now even more possibilities regarding your future draft prospects.

Additionally, a new objective system called Road to Cooperstown has been introduced; this system activates once you reach Major League Baseball level.

Once active, you will use this system to manage both your short-term goals and long-term career milestones, all of which directly influence your professional trajectory and your eventual eligibility for Hall of Fame.

Furthermore, during the amateur collegiate phase of the game, MLB the Show 26 has added NCAA Men's College World Series to RTTS.

This allows you to participate in highly competitive, official tournament play before turning professional, thereby significantly enhancing the value and depth of the collegiate experience within RTTS.

Choose your university wisely

With this basic information in hand, you are now ready to officially embark on your Road to the Show journey. It is quite difficult to jump directly from high school into a professional career; advancing to university is a much more common path.

When selecting a university in the game, the primary factors you should consider are the specific benefits and perks offered by each institution. These benefits typically include increased exposure, skill development bonuses, and various other advantages.

For instance, if your goal is to unlock No. 1 In Your Heart achievement as quickly as possible, you would be better off choosing a university that offers enhanced early-game exposure and specific bonuses designed to boost your draft stock.

Furthermore, schools that offer comprehensive development programs can help you plan your career path in a more balanced and well-rounded manner.

However, regardless of which path you prefer, the prerequisite for receiving an acceptance letter from a high-quality university is to perform exceptionally well in your high school amateur games; otherwise, you'll end up with nothing but a pile of rejection letters upon graduation.

Mastering new batting strategies

MLB the Show 26 also features updates to specific gameplay mechanics; therefore, if you plan to play as a hitter in Road to the Show, you need to understand the changes made to PCI.

Previously, PCI would drift back toward the center of the strike zone whenever you released the analog stick, a design intended to prevent you from locking in on a specific pitch location.

Now, however, this drift has been eliminated, allowing you to keep PCI precisely where you've positioned it at all times.

This change offers a distinct advantage: when facing a dominant pitcher while ahead in the count, you gain more time to wait for a fastball.

Additionally, it allows you to slightly expand your effective hitting zone and reduce the need to swing with maximum force, thereby helping you avoid blindly chasing pitches outside the strike zone.

Building upon this, we recommend lowering your PCI sensitivity setting to around 70%. By reducing sensitivity, you minimize the risk of over-correcting with the analog stick during pitch delivery, which helps prevent you from swinging and missing.

How to use Bear Down?

This new feature is designed specifically for pitchers. If you find yourself struggling with your pitching angle or timing, you can activate this ability to filter out ambient noise on the field, allowing you to focus on the sound of your own heartbeat to enhance your pitching accuracy.

However, to ensure fair gameplay, Bear Down ability has limited uses per game. Therefore, you should activate it at the most opportune moments. For instance, when the very next pitch could be the one that helps you tie the game.

Changes to the perks system

In Road to the Show, the perks system provides additional attribute boosts as your player progresses over time, with specific perks unlocking as you achieve various in-game milestones.

Expanding on this foundation, MLB the Show 26 introduces several new mechanics.

For example, you can now preview the specific requirements needed to unlock the next available perk, allowing you to decide in advance whether you wish to pursue it. This makes planning your career progression much simpler and more transparent.

Generally, we recommend prioritizing perks that complement your player's specific archetype. Once acquired, you should combine these perks with the skills you've cultivated during your college career to accelerate your overall development and progress.

That wraps up our overview of the new features in this update. If you're the kind of player who enjoys taking a big-picture approach to your career, you definitely won't want to miss out on the newly revamped Road to the Show!

Whether you are a casual ARC Raiders player or a dedicated veteran who participates in every expedition, if you have been playing for a while, you will realize that certain basic materials are just as important, if not more so, than high-tier weapons!

This is because ARC Raiders features a robust, tiered crafting system; all advanced gear obtainable via the workshop requires a significant upfront investment of materials, such as Steel Springs.

To help you avoid wasting time on unnecessary pitfalls while farming, we present this detailed guide to Steel Springs.

What are Steel Springs?

Every item in the game possesses its own rarity tier. Based on this, ARC Raiders Steel Springs belong to the green Uncommon tier, meaning they drop relatively frequently.

What are Steel Springs' specific uses?

In-game, Steel Springs are required for submitting expedition supplies and for crafting a wide variety of higher-rarity items; therefore, you must ensure you always maintain a sufficient stockpile.

Currently underway is Expedition 3. It consists of six stages, the first of which, Stage 1 Foundation, requires you to collect 15 Steel Springs.

Other items that require Steel Springs to craft, along with the specific quantities needed, are listed below:

• 1x Advanced Mechanical Component: 2x Steel Springs
• 1x Extended Light Mag I/II/III: 1/3/5x Steel Springs
• 1x Extended Medium Mag I/II/III: 1/3/5x Steel Springs
• 1x Extended Shotgun Mag I/II/III: 1/3/5x Steel Springs
• 1x Mod Component: 2x Steel Springs
• 1x Shrapnel Grenade: 2x Steel Springs
• 1x Torrente I: 6x Steel Springs

Please note: the list above details only Steel Spring requirements for these items; completing the actual crafting process will also require other materials and the corresponding blueprints.

You can also recycle or salvage Steel Springs to obtain Metal Parts, yielding two parts for recycling and one for salvaging. If you choose to sell any surplus Steel Springs later in the game, each unit is worth 300 coins.

Additionally, the currently ongoing Shrouded Sky update introduced Weather Monitor System project upon its release. This project is divided into five stages, and Stage 3 Precipitation requires 3 Steel Springs among other materials.

How to farm Steel Springs?

There are currently three known methods for farming Steel Springs: scavenging during raids, trading them from the vendor Celeste, and recycling/salvaging other items (excluding the crafting).

Sold by Celeste

From a narrative standpoint, Celeste serves as the leader of all Raiders; within the trading system, she is the only trader who accepts Assorted Seeds as currency.

In Celeste's shop, each Steel Spring needs 6 seeds, and you can make up to 10 trades per day. As for the sources where seeds can be obtained, they include:

• Looting various containers
• Recycling other natural items, such as lemons, mushrooms, etc.
• Waiting for Scrappy to spawn

Recycling / salvaging other items

We recommend this method only if you possess duplicate recyclable items and are in urgent need of Steel Springs to craft other gear. The detailed list is provided below:

• Advanced Mechanical Component (Recycled): 1 Steel Spring
• Cooling Coil (Recycled / Salvaged): 2 / 2 Steel Springs
• Extended Light Mag II (Recycled): 1 Steel Spring
• Extended Light Mag III (Recycled): 2 Steel Springs
• Extended Medium Mag II (Recycled): 1 Steel Spring
• Extended Medium Mag III (Recycled): 2 Steel Springs
• Extended Shotgun Mag II (Recycled): 1 Steel Spring
• Extended Shotgun Mag III (Recycled): 2 Steel Springs
• Magnetron (Recycled): 1 Steel Spring
• Mod Component (Recycled): 1 Steel Spring
• Ruined Accordion (Recycled): 3 Steel Springs
• Rusted Tools (Recycled): 1 Steel Spring
• Spring Cushion (Recycled / Salvaged): 2 / 2 Steel Springs
• Turbo Pump (Salvaged): 3 Steel Springs

Looting containers

Whenever you head out on a raid, you will encounter various containers scattered across the current map; however, Steel Springs typically appear only within Metal Crates.

These containers are commonly found in the industrial zones of every map. If you wish to farm them more efficiently and with greater focus, you should prioritize traveling to the following POIs:

• Dam Battlegrounds: Power Generation Complex and Water Treatment
• Spaceport: Vehicle Maintenance
• Blue Gate: Warehouse

Among these locations, Water Treatment area offers the advantage of a compact layout, allowing you to complete your looting quickly and minimize the risk of being spotted and robbed by other players.

Power Generation conversely, is more expansive and may yield a larger quantity of supplies.

In terms of overall value, Dam Battlegrounds stands out as the optimal map for farming Steel Springs, as it features a higher concentration of industrial structures.

If you feel up to the challenge, we highly recommend waiting until events capable of boosting both the quantity and quality of loot, such as an Electromagnetic Storm or Hurricane, appear on the map before you begin farming; this approach is significantly more efficient.

It is also worth noting that IGGM is currently hosting March ARC Raiders blueprints free giveaways. By participating in this activity, you stand a chance to use your accumulated Steel Springs, combined with these new blueprints, to immediately craft brand-new gear!

Optimal farming strategies

Once you have mastered all the methods outlined above, if you wish to maximize the efficiency of your Steel Springs farming, consider adopting the following strategies:

• Trade with Celeste 10 times every day.
• Consult the map event rotation schedule to determine the optimal times to undertake raids.
• While farming for other items, do not forget to set aside some time to scavenge the industrial zones.

That concludes our guide for today. We hope this information proves helpful as you continue your journey through Speranza!