Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 campaign review

All sillied up

Image credit:Rock Paper Shotgun / Activision / Treyarch

A morass of jumped-up dream sequences, a repurposed multiplayer map, and poorly implemented coop, Black Ops 7’s campaign is a contender for the worst Call of Duty adventure yet.

• Developer: Treyarch
• Publisher: Activision
• Release: November 14th, 2025
• On: Windows
• From: Steam , Xbox Store , Xbox Game Pass Ultimate
• Price: £69.99/$69.99/€79.99
• Reviewed on: AMD Ryzen 5 3600, Nvidia RTX 2080 Super, 32GB RAM, Windows 10

It is strange to imagine – I thought as I battled a giant vomit-spewing plant monster in a hallucination induced by a biological weapon – that Call of Duty was once, at least notionally, about the human cost of war. That was a long time ago, admittedly. There are full grown adults who have never experienced CoD’s original idea that you played an ordinary soldier snarled up in a terrifying post-industrial war machine. But I don’t think the series has ever been further away from that concept than in Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 ’s hideous mess of a campaign.

In fact, part of me wonders whether this latest military misadventure features not-so-optional co-op simply so people like me can’t call it the series’ worst single-player offering yet. As it happens, I wouldn’t be willing to commit to such a statement anyway, but only because there’s some stiff competition within Call of Duty’s back catalogue .

As mentioned, the biggest change to Call of Duty’s campaign this year is that it is fully playable solo or with up to three other players. I’m not against this in principle – Call of Duty has long been a multiplayer-first experience, so bringing this to the campaign is a logical evolution. Unfortunately, in this case it’s an evolution that drags the whole experience down, like a human arm growing out of a fish’s arsehole.

Image credit:Rock Paper Shotgun / Activision / Treyarch

The most obvious problem is a small but significant mechanical change. To compensate for the additional firepower coming their way, all your opponents now have health bars that must be tediously whittled down. This dramatically reduces the sense of your weapons’ lethality – something that’s been central to the series since we first parachuted into Normandy. Now, many enemies require clips upon clips of ammo to take down, particularly the robots, but it’s evident with human enemies too. It makes Call of Duty’s hitherto lithe and snappy gunplay feel mushy and unsatisfying, whether or not you’re rolling with a full squad.

The implementation of coop also leads to a bunch of nuisance issues. Even if you’re playing solo (which I did for about half the campaign), you cannot pause the game, and if you quit during a mission you must restart from the beginning. Moreover, while you can technically play solo, the experience is noticeably diminished when you do, especially in the Avalon levels which I’ll get to in due course.

Meanwhile, the co-op element isn’t substantial enough to compensate for the problems it creates. While there are a few scenarios where actual teamwork is rewarded, such as an objective where you must defend a server bank from an attack at all angles, co-op mainly comes into play when whittling down the enormous health bars of bosses – such as the aforementioned plant monster. Many of its co-op or co-op adjacent systems feel perfunctory, particularly the ARPG-style loot system that features uncommon, rare, epic and legendary guns. Since these tiers are unlocked as hard upgrades through the course of the campaign, it renders finding a rare or legendary weapon pretty much redundant.

Ultimately, the co-op is a net negative for the campaign. But there’s a bigger problem which may or may not be related, which is that the campaign is almost entirely devoid of substance – an impressive feat given Call of Duty has carried all the weight of a bucket of popcorn for at least 15 years.

Image credit:Rock Paper Shotgun / Activision / Treyarch

Canonically, Black Ops 7’s campaign is a sequel to Black Ops 2, with the series resuming its focus on BO2’s near-future co-protagonist David Mason. Since Black Ops 2’s future is now, disconcertingly, the present, Black Ops 7 pushes the timeline ahead another ten years, with Mason on a mission to investigate a group known as The Guild. This leads to the release of man-made toxin called The Cradle into the city of Avalon, which Mason and his team then pivot to stop.

In case that wasn’t enough proper nouns for you, The Cradle interferes with special microchips called C-Links that Mason and his squad are implanted with. These are supposed to be for operational purposes. But they really exist so the squad can suffer collective hallucinations when affected by the Cradle.

Now, I’m aware that Black Ops has always existed on the sillier side of Call of Duty. But the last two Black Ops games were at least sporadically in touch with reality, producing entertaining espionage thrillers from their alt-history shlock. I guess you could argue Black Ops 7’s missions are memorable too, albeit in the way seeing a person get sucked through a jet engine is memorable.

Image credit:Rock Paper Shotgun / Activision / Treyarch

Structurally, the campaign comprises three different mission types. The first, and least common, are a couple of near-traditional Call of Duty missions. These include the opening raid on a secret Guild laboratory and a mid-campaign mission set in Japan, where you play as a completely different set of characters from the rest of the campaign. This latter mission, which sees you darting through subways and across neon-drenched rooftops, is probably the campaign’s highlight, even if it only exists to set up a big plot twist that the game casually reveals over a radio call about two missions later.

The bulk of the campaign is given over to those collective hallucinations, which generally tie back into Mason’s past and the preposterously convoluted lore of the Black Ops series. The giant vomit plant I mentioned, for example, is supposed to represent the guilt of Frank Woods, who killed David Mason’s father by mistake in Black Ops 2. But Frank Woods is canonically dead in 2035 (though he does get resurrected in…actually let’s not get sidetracked) and hence only exists in David’s head.

So in fact, the plant monster represents the guilt of a hallucination of the man who accidentally killed David’s father. I think the sequence is supposed to be more about David forgiving Woods, But David already understands and accepts that his father’s death was an accident, saying as much during the mission. Hence, the only character development that occurs is for a man who is already dead and exists as a figment of your imagination.

Image credit:Rock Paper Shotgun / Activision / Treyarch

Are these playable hallucinations visually interesting, at least? Occasionally. One mission sees you battle through the connected minds of your own team, commencing with a sequence where you fight along a Los Angeles highway that twists and spirals like the Milkman Conspiracy from Psychonauts . It’s a decent mission, even if it does end in a boss fight that is somehow even stupider than the plant monster. But too many of these sequences involve navigating game design’s favourite shorthand for weird environments – floating islands – or callbacks to earlier Black Ops game in the virtual equivalent of a clip show. It doesn’t help that most of the hallucination-induced enemies, which include spider monsters and zombies, are about as tactically engaging to fight as a houseplant.

But I will happily snort any of Black Ops 7’s psychoactive gobbledegook over the missions I haven’t discussed yet, which take place in Avalon itself. This is a large, open map that will eventually serve as the setting for Call of Duty: Warzone ’s upcoming Blackout mode, repurposed here to bulk out the campaign like adding sawdust to porridge.

The Avalon missions are downright abysmal, with perfunctory combat encounters that are terribly paced and spread across large, empty expanses of terrain. It plays like you’ve been tasked with putting down feral mobs on an abandoned MMO server, giving you neither the emergent joys offered by a properly designed open world game, nor the tightly choreographed action of a traditional Call of Duty campaign.

Image credit:Rock Paper Shotgun / Activision / Treyarch

Should you make it to the end of this inane fever dream, Avalon returns for Call of Duty’s new Endgame mode, a cooperative hybrid of an extraction shooter and Just Cause without the destruction. With your team, you cavort about Avalon embarking on missions like chasing down convoys, fending off waves of enemies to download data from black boxes, and, er fending off waves of enemies to some crates. It makes better use of Avalon than the campaign does, but I cannot stress enough what a low bar that is to clear.

I wish I could say I was surprised by the sloppiness of Black Ops 7’s campaign, but the sad reality is it’s part of a long-running pattern with Call of Duty’s annualised releases that has only exacerbated in recent years, with direct sequels to the series’ various offshoots feeling like warmed up leftovers from a twelve-month old meal. That said, it is still disappointing considering the comparative quality of the last two Black Ops campaigns, and at a time when old-fashioned linear shooters are extremely scarce, Black Ops 7’s failure to offer up something even modestly enjoyable is keenly felt.

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Call of Duty: Black Ops 7

PS4 , PS5 , Xbox One , Xbox Series X/S , PC

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All 75 Arc Raiders Blueprints and where to get them

These areas have the highest chance of giving you Blueprints

Image credit:Rock Paper Shotgun/Embark Studios

Looking for more Arc Raiders Blueprints? It’s a special day when you find a Blueprint, as they’re among the most valuable items in Arc Raiders. If you find a Blueprint that you haven’t already found, then you must make sure you hold onto it at all costs, because Blueprints are the key to one of the most important and powerful systems of meta-progression in the game.

This guide aims to be the very best guide on Blueprints you can find, starting with a primer on what exactly they are and how they work in Arc Raiders, before delving into exactly where to get Blueprints and the very best farming spots for you to take in your search.

We’ll also go over how to get Blueprints from other unlikely activities, such as destroying Surveyors and completing specific quests. And you’ll also find the full list of all 75 Blueprints in Arc Raiders on this page (including the newest Blueprints added with the Cold Snap update , such as the Deadline Blueprint and Firework Box Blueprint), giving you all the information you need to expand your own crafting repertoire.

In this guide:

• What are Blueprints in Arc Raiders?
• Full Blueprint list: All crafting recipes
• Where to find Blueprints in Arc Raiders Blueprints obtained from quests Blueprints obtained from Trials Best Blueprint farming locations

What are Blueprints in Arc Raiders?

Blueprints in Arc Raiders are special items which, if you manage to extract with them, you can expend to permanently unlock a new crafting recipe in your Workshop. If you manage to extract from a raid with an Anvil Blueprint, for example, you can unlock the ability to craft your very own Anvil Pistol, as many times as you like (as long as you have the crafting materials).

To use a Blueprint, simply open your Inventory while in the lobby, then right-click on the Blueprint and click “Learn And Consume” . This will permanently unlock the recipe for that item in your Workshop. As of the Stella Montis update, there are allegedly 75 different Blueprints to unlock - although only 68 are confirmed to be in the game so far. You can see all the Blueprints you’ve found and unlocked by going to the Workshop menu, and hitting “R” to bring up the Blueprint screen.

It’s possible to find duplicates of past Blueprints you’ve already unlocked. If you find these, then you can either sell them, or - if you like to play with friends - you can take it into a match and gift it to your friend so they can unlock that recipe for themselves. Another option is to keep hold of them until the time comes to donate them to the Expedition.

Full Blueprint list: All crafting recipes

Below is the full list of all the Blueprints that are currently available to find in Arc Raiders, and the crafting recipe required for each item:

Note: The missing Blueprints in this list likely have not actually been added to the game at the time of writing, because none of the playerbase has managed to find any of them. As they are added to the game, I will update this page with the most relevant information so you know exactly how to get all 75 Arc Raiders Blueprints.

Where to find Blueprints in Arc Raiders

Below is a list of all containers, modifiers, and events which maximise your chances of finding Blueprints:

• Certain quests reward you with specific Blueprints .
• Completing Trials has a high chance of offering Blueprints as rewards.
• Surveyors have a decent chance of dropping Blueprints on death.
• High loot value areas tend to have a greater chance of spawning Blueprints.
• Night Raids and Storms may increase rare Blueprint spawn chances in containers.
• Containers with higher numbers of items may have a higher tendency to spawn Blueprints. As a result, Blue Gate (which has many “large” containers containing multiple items) may give you a higher chance of spawning Blueprints.
• Raider containers (Raider Caches, Weapon Boxes, Medical Bags, Grenade Tubes) have increased Blueprint drop rates. As a result, the Uncovered Caches event gives you a high chance of finding Blueprints.
• Security Lockers have a higher than average chance of containing Blueprints.
• Certain Blueprints only seem to spawn under specific circumstances: Tempest Blueprint only spawns during Night Raid events. Vulcano Blueprint only spawns during Hidden Bunker events. Jupiter and Equaliser Blueprints only spawn during Harvester events.

Raider Caches, Weapon Boxes, and other raider-oriented container types have a good chance of offering Blueprints. |Image credit:Rock Paper Shotgun/Embark Studios

Blueprints have a very low chance of spawning in any container in Arc Raiders, around 1-2% on average. However, there is a higher chance of finding Blueprints in particular container types. Specifically, you can find more Blueprints in Raider containers and security lockers.

Beyond this, if you’re looking for Blueprints you should focus on regions of the map which are marked as having particularly high-value loot. Areas such as the Control Tower in Dam Battlegrounds, the Arrival and Departure Buildings in Spaceport, and Pilgrim’s Peak in Blue Gate all have a better-than-average chance of spawning Blueprints somewhere amongst all their containers. Night Raids and Electromagnetic Storm events also increase the drop chances of certain Blueprints .

In addition to these containers, you can often loot Blueprints from destroyed Surveyors - the largest of the rolling ball ARC. Surveyors are more commonly found on the later maps - Spaceport and Blue Gate - and if one spawns in your match, you’ll likely see it by the blue laser beam that it casts into the sky while “surveying”.

Surveyors are quite well-armoured and will very speedily run away from you once it notices you, but if you can take one down then make sure you loot all its parts for a chance of obtaining certain unusual Blueprints.

Blueprints obtained from quests

One way in which you can get Blueprints is by completing certain quests for the vendors in Speranza. Some quests will reward you with a specific item Blueprint upon completion, so as long as you work through all the quests in Arc Raiders, you are guaranteed those Blueprints.

Here is the full list of all Blueprints you can get from quest rewards:

• Trigger Nade Blueprint: Rewarded after completing “Sparks Fly”.
• Lure Grenade Blueprint: Rewarded after completing “Greasing Her Palms”.
• Burletta Blueprint: Rewarded after completing “Industrial Espionage”.
• Hullcracker Blueprint (and Launcher Ammo Blueprint): Rewarded after completing “The Major’s Footlocker”.

Alas, that’s only 4 Blueprints out of a total of 75 to unlock, so for the vast majority you will need to find them yourself during a raid. If you’re intent on farming Blueprints, then it’s best to equip yourself with cheap gear in case you lose it, but don’t use a free loadout because then you won’t get a safe pocket to stash any new Blueprint you find. No pain in Arc Raiders is sharper than failing to extract with a new Blueprint you’ve been after for a dozen hours already.

One of the best ways to get Blueprints is by hitting three stars on all five Trials every week. |Image credit:Rock Paper Shotgun/Embark Studios

Blueprints obtained from Trials

One of the very best ways to get Blueprints is as rewards for completing Trials in Arc Raiders. Trials are unlocked from Level 15 onwards, and allow you to earn rewards by focusing on certain tasks over the course of several raids. For example, one Trial might task you with dealing damage to Hornets, while another might challenge you to loot Supply Drops.

Trials refresh on a weekly basis, with a new week bringing five new Trials. Each Trial can offer up to three rewards after passing certain score milestones, and it’s possible to receive very high level loot from these reward crates - including Blueprints. So if you want to unlock as many Blueprints as possible, you should make a point of completing as many Trials as possible each week.

Best Blueprint farming locations

The very best way to get Blueprints is to frequent specific areas of the maps which combine high-tier loot pools with the right types of containers to search. Here are my recommendations for where to find Blueprints on every map, so you can always keep the search going for new crafting recipes to unlock.

Image credit:Rock Paper Shotgun/Embark Studios

Dam Battlegrounds

The best places to farm Blueprints on Dam Battlegrounds are the Control Tower, Power Generation Complex, Ruby Residence, and Pale Apartments . The first two regions, despite only being marked on the map as mid-tier loot, contain a phenomenal number of containers to loot. The Control Tower can also contain a couple of high-tier Security Lockers - though of course, you’ll need to have unlocked the Security Breach skill at the end of the Survival tree.

There’s also a lot of reporting amongst the playerbase that the Residential areas in the top-left of the map - Pale Apartments and Ruby Residence - give you a comparatively strong chance of finding Blueprints. Considering their size, there’s a high density of containers to loot in both locations, and they also have the benefit of being fairly out of the way. So you’re more likely to have all the containers to yourself.

Buried City

The best Blueprint farming locations on Buried City are the Santa Maria Houses, Grandioso Apartments, Town Hall, and the various buildings of the New District . Grandioso Apartments has a lower number of containers than the rest, but a high chance of spawning weapon cases - which have good Blueprint drop rates. The others are high-tier loot areas, with plenty of lootable containers - including Security Lockers.

Spaceport

The best places to find Blueprints on Spaceport are the Arrival and Departure Buildings, as well as Control Tower A6 and the Launch Towers . All these areas are labelled as high-value loot regions, and many of them are also very handily connected to one another by the Spaceport wall, which you can use to quickly run from one area to the next. At the tops of most of these buildings you’ll find at least one Security Locker, so this is an excellent farming route for players looking to find Blueprints.

The downside to looting Blueprints on Spaceport is that all these areas are hotly contested, particularly in Duos and Squads. You’ll need to be very focused and fast in order to complete the full farming route.

Image credit:Rock Paper Shotgun/Embark Studios

Blue Gate

Blue Gate tends to have a good chance of dropping Blueprints, potentially because it generally has a high number of containers which can hold lots of items; so there’s a higher chance of a Blueprint spawning in each container. In my experience, the best Blueprint farming spots on Blue Gate are Pilgrim’s Peak, Raider’s Refuge, the Ancient Fort, and the Underground Complex beneath the Warehouse .

All of these areas contain a wealth of containers to loot. Raider’s Refuge has less to loot, but the majority of the containers in and around the Refuge are raider containers, which have a high chance of containing Blueprints - particularly during major events.

Stella Montis

On the whole, Stella Montis seems to have a very low drop rate for Blueprints (though a high chance of dropping other high-tier loot). If you do want to try farming Blueprints on this map, the best places to find Blueprints in Stella Montis are Medical Research, Assembly Workshop, and the Business Center . These areas have the highest density of containers to loot on the map.

In addition to this, the Western Tunnel has a few different Security Lockers to loot, so while there’s very little to loot elsewhere in this area of the map, it’s worth hitting those Security Lockers if you spawn there at the start of a match.

That wraps up this primer on how to get all the Blueprints in Arc Raiders as quickly as possible. With the Expedition system constantly resetting a large number of players’ Blueprints, it’s more important than ever to have the most up-to-date information on where to find all these Blueprints.

While you’re here, be sure to check out our Arc Raiders best guns tier list , as well as our primers on the best skills to unlock and all the different Field Depot locations on every map.

ARC Raiders

PS5 , Xbox Series X/S , PC

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