Darkest Dungeon 2’s free Kingdoms mode is out now, and it’s got its red hooks in me already

A strategy game adaptation that uses the same party combat system

Image credit:Red Hook / Rock Paper Shotgun

In regular Darkest Dungeon 2 , your mind, body and soul are fixed upon the points of a horrible mountain, looming over the inn at the end of every foetid wagon ride. It’s sort of Journey for plague doctors, or possibly The Hobbit : Cosmodick Turpin Edition. I enjoy feeling the weight of those distant peaks upon my brain and eyeballs, but it’s nice to fire up Kingdoms, the new free DD2 game mode that’s launched just today, and have a choice of disasters to trundle toward.

Over here is an inn being overrun by slathering beastmen. Over there is another, safer inn, but it’s inconveniently perched behind a nest of tentacular cultists. In the middle there is you, with the customary DD party of half-dead, half-mad adventurers, equipped with an exciting smorgasbord of sharp edges, cursed artefacts, phobias and diseases. Let us proceed laughing and wailing to the launch trailer.

I spent around an hour with Kingdoms today ahead of launch, and while I’m not sure it’ll rejuvenate your interest if you’re absolutely sick of Darkest Dungeon 2, it feels well-wrought. Briefly, it’s a turn-based digital boardgame with a worker placement element, in which you travel back and forth between upgradeable inns to stave off sieges and complete quest objectives in the face of an escalating threat. It begins with a choice of layouts and difficulty settings (see below). Then you compose a starting party at the Crossroads and set off through a relatively laidback borderlands region, as in vanilla Donkey’s Dingdong 2.

Image credit:Red Hook / Rock Paper Shotgun

Having reached and liberated the inn at the end of that trail, you’re cut loose upon the full playing board. Pretty much every turn, at least one of the map’s inns comes under siege from dark forces (that’s the berserking Beastmen at first, with other factions to be unlocked). It’ll fall in a handful of turns, depending on how much you’ve strengthened it using construction resources gathered on the road. You can rumble over to assist the inn, which means surviving any hazards enroute, or you can send one of the supporting heroes you’ve stationed at other inns to rally the defenders and drag out the siege.

The trips between map nodes are similar to the regions of the main game - you steer your stagecoach with WASD according to a murky minimap, attempting to siphon loot from roadside nasties without stressing or damaging your heroes too much - but the paths between inns seem much shorter, with fewer branches, encounters and bosses.

This is compensated by the fact that you might have to string together a few regional runs to reach your destination. Some roads lead to campsites, which afford you rest but don’t offer progression facilities or protection against nocturnal ambush. There’s also what I think is a new fatigue mechanic that lowers hero max health based on how far they’ve travelled. As such, you’ll want to shuffle people out of your hand now and then, stationing exhausted party members at inns to recuperate.

In amongst all this, you’ll need to complete those quest objectives before all the inns fall and the map’s threat level becomes unmanageable. During my opening game, this started with transporting a telescope to a watchtower so that I could map out the Beastfolk menace.

Image credit:Red Hook / Rock Paper Shotgun

The ability to leave heroes at the inn together with the campsites recalls the original Darkest Dungeon ’s town/dungeon format, but this isn’t just a DD1 mode within DD2, obviously. It reminds me more of the likes of Armello , in that you have some pervading strategic capacity but are fundamentally lost within a large, weird world.

The Kingdoms map has all of Red Hook’s usual thickly etched floridity, but I could do with, dare I say, a bit more illumination. I’m not asking for Dirkest Dragon to suddenly come over all Wind Waker, but after hundreds of hours in this setting, I’m ready for some refreshed presentation. IDK. What would a Lightest Dungeon look like? How would you maintain the essential dungeoniness in a universe without shadow? It’s a deeply perverse question, and one I will therefore be asking Red Hook as and when they fail to avoid encountering me at an expo.

Image credit:Red Hook / Rock Paper Shotgun

I’ve enjoyed what I’ve played of Kingdoms. If you don’t, the better news is that it’s launching alongside a new regular (paid) Darkest Dungeon 2 DLC pack, Inhuman Bondage. This adds the underground Catacombs region and a new hero, the Abomination, whose air of self-loathing and Hulkish tendencies you may again recognise from Darkest Dungeon 1. The OG Abomination was one of my favourites. He’s pretty reliable even in sulky human form, chain-whipping skulls and spewing gastric juices from the midline. Mind you, I would always overdo it with his monster transformations and cause another party member to freak out. I’m not sure how the DD2 incarnation differs.

Anyway, the Inhuman Bondage additions will also be available in Kingdoms. I haven’t encountered them yet myself, but there are underground shortcuts to discover between certain inns, and I imagine that’s where you’ll get your fill of Catacombing.

What’s next for Dankest Sturgeons? Anything and everything and nothing and something. “We’ve spent over a decade working on Darkest Dungeon,” the developers write on Steam . “We’ve delighted in our explorations and iterations, and we’re nowhere near done.”

Darkest Dungeon 2

PC

Rock Paper Shotgun is better when you sign in

Sign in and join us on our journey to discover strange and compelling PC games.

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

Rock Paper Shotgun is better when you sign in

Sign in and join us on our journey to discover strange and compelling PC games.