Drop Duchy review

Block party

Image credit:Rock Paper Shotgun / The Arcade Crew

• Developer: Sleepy Mill Studio
• Publisher: The Arcade Crew
• Release: May 5th, 2025
• On: Windows
• From: Steam
• Price: £13/$15/€15
• Reviewed on: Intel Core-i7-11700F, 16GB RAM, Nvidia GeForce RTX 3060, Windows 10

Excuse me, waiter, there is a Tetris in my deckbuilding soup. As a combination of roguelike deckbuilder, tactics game, and tetramino tile-builder, Drop Duchy is an interesting mash-up when it works and a somewhat messy experiment when it doesn’t. It’s intriguing to see the parts of these many genres falling towards a grander strategic goal, even if they don’t always click into place as neatly as expected.

You play as a wee nation devoted to bricklaying and advancing up an oft-branching road towards an end-of-act boss fight. Along the way you’ll hit encounters which manifest as a familiar Tetris-style tile-dropping screen. Except every tetramino you plop down has special properties. Some are covered in forest, others form rivers, and the most important are buildings. Little L-shaped harbours or big 2 x 2 block strongholds. Some of the smallest are single-tile farms, windmills, or watchtowers. And each has its uses, be it for the production of resources like wood and wheat, or for the gathering of troops.

You’ll need them. Because you’re not only slapping down your own military buildings, but also those of your red opponent. This gives you control over where they’ll land, meaning you can often prevent your foes benefitting from the landscape around them. But sometimes, thanks to the chaotic nature of the drop order, there will simply be no good place for a piece to go. It’s a mixed game of both careful planning and improvising with the tiles you’ve got.

When you complete a “line”, it doesn’t vanish, it’s just totted up for resources. |Image credit:Rock Paper Shotgun / The Arcade Crew

You do this until you’ve hit the ceiling of the board. But what heralds a game over in Tetris just starts a big fight in Drop Duchy. The building phase ends and a quick ruckus ensues. You have to choose the order in which units brawl. This is mostly a rock > paper > scissors matter, in which archers are stronger than axemen, axemen are stronger than swordsmen, and swordsmen wreck archers. But sheer numbers can also overwhelm, so it’s not always a straightforward case of dunking on the right enemy type. You can simply march your troops into one big gang before assaulting the enemy, but you’ll have to be wary, because a gang of 40 rowdy archers will assimilate a band of 12 axe wielders to create 52 archers instead. An all-out assault with the wrong type of troop can end poorly.

These tactical tit-for-tats can feel like dryly going through the motions next to the forthright battlefield building. Fights are simple in principle, but contrived enough that every battle phase has to come accompanied with a screen-filling cheatsheet reminding you of the combat rules. It’s not unmanageable, just very boardgamey. Part of me wishes the military side of things was more streamlined - a brawl that would simply auto-resolve. By the time the armies are facing off, I found the encounters’ true brain-tickles were over.

You draw a dotted line between armies during the battle phase to determine the order of a fight. |Image credit:Rock Paper Shotgun / The Arcade Crew

In true roguelike metamanner, you gather more cards along the way. These basically unlock more tile types to drop. A training ground will send extra troops to nearby military buildings. The water fortress will fill up with soldiers so long as you lay enough river tiles. An old tower will gain a huge number of watchmen if you manage to completely surround it with mountain terrain.

You begin to use these buildings and tiles in clever combinations. A watchtower will create archers for every unobstructed plain around it. So you can use a wood clearer’s hut to cut down adjacent forested tiles, meaning more archers. Even better, throw down a farm next to those plains to turn the land into golden wheat, and the watchtower will recruit yet more bowmen in thanks.

This is the simplest example of how terrain-changing and careful placement is key to boosting your soldier count. But there are dozens of other buildings to unlock and figure out, from money-grubbing tax collectors to riverside guardposts. The prison offers a hefty 40 fighters right off the bat, but if the enemy manages to muster even slightly more men next door to it, all those cowardly inmates will vanish before the fight even starts. Pah!

As a Tetris fiend, a few things threw me off. You’ve got the existence of off-brand tetramino shapes (single squares, small L-shapes) which always feels weird to traditionalists. And you now have to think about the “material” of the shape you’re dropping. Forested longboys won’t necessarily be as useful as a longboy made of wasteland. Blunders of placement in Tetris can often be triaged and fixed thanks to the ongoing vanishing of completed lines. Here, you can’t do that (at least it’s not a power I’ve yet encountered). Which means simple errors and slippy fingers in Drop Duchy can be devastating, resulting in a quick loss or a massive waste of resources. In Tetris that feeling of having fluffed it does happen, but it doesn’t affect your next game. Here, bloopers can stack. I’ve had a few instances of knowing my run was doomed halfway through a fight. This can be, at times, a very give-uppable game.

There’s a boss fight at the end of each act. |Image credit:Rock Paper Shotgun / The Arcade Crew

That is especially true when it comes to boss fights. These break from the usual pattern and flow of other encounters, and most are not well explained. One boss, the Dungeon, informs you it will spit out mercenary pieces filled with soldiers unless you pay a bribe. But how you actually pay that bribe to prevent the influx of enemies isn’t explained (you’re supposed to harvest resources with production cards - a playing style I rarely adopted, because military cards are simply more useful). Some bosses can feel reliant on getting lucky with the drop order. And heaven help you if you’re fighting the first boss (a low wall that restricts the play area) as the slow-burning Republic faction.

This faction encourages you to build a bigger and bigger city, stomaching early defeats while gathering enough money, citizens, and other resources to power you through later fights. But it relies a lot on upgrading cards, a much more cumbersome process than the simpler piece gathering of the default Duchy faction. Playing as the Republic feels like being unable to use the game’s most interesting tactics. Beating that first boss becomes a matter of grinding through tickboxy tasks to climb the progress tree in a search for ripe fruit that may help future runs.

Between acts you can wipe out one type of terrain entirely from the game, meaning no more rubbish forest pieces will drop if all you care about is a mountainous riverfolk. |Image credit:Rock Paper Shotgun / The Arcade Crew

Oddly, Drop Duchy doesn’t kill you outright for losing an encounter. Instead, you have an overworld health bar, and you’ll lose an amount of health equal to the number of enemy troops left behind on the board. With a default of 50 health you can technically scrape through an encounter with 49 enemy axe dudes wailing on you when the final whistle blows. It feels a little strange to sometimes fail spectacularly but remain alive. It’s forgiving in parts, but to some that might sap away some of the central brutality of a roguelike.

I have a small heap of other misgivings. Pieces could be a lot more visually distinct from one another (is this little log cabin the hunting lodge, road house, wood clearer, or lumber camp?) and the messy symbol-strewn rules text on cards can sometimes slide right through my brain without ever finding purchase. You also can’t read the effects of locked cards further ahead in the skill tree, so forget precisely planning how to spend your skill points.

You’ll also land on nodes that grant you passive bonuses and other rewards. |Image credit:Rock Paper Shotgun / The Arcade Crew

Ultimately, Drop Duchy is an intelligent bit of work, and it’s admirable as an example of elevator pitch creativity (“what if Tetris but a medieval deckbuilding roguelike?”). The trouble is that, in design terms, I find that the elegance of Tetris clashes with the complexity of both deckbuilding and tactical numberwang. Drop Duchy feels like it is trying to force itself into the “endlessly replayable” box by adding more to what is, already, the most endlessly replayable game on planet earth. Playing novel takes on Tetris always feels like playing a variation of chess. I love to see it, but in the act of adaptation something is often lost.

Except in this case, too much is gained. Tetris is a game of removal, of emptying a space - not filling it. The explicit goal is to have as empty a field as possible. Some deckbuilders do mimic this philosophy. Think of the way Slay The Spire encourages removing cards from your deck, paring things back, streamlining your loadout until you are flicking out the same five cards on hypereffective repeat. Drop Duchy doesn’t go for this at all. It is an additive game, not a subtractive one. Here, cards and coins and troops and numbers all hang off the leanest colt in video games history, like some wild ass Buckaroo. This approach doesn’t make the game bad by any means, but it does explain why it feels, to me, at odds with its principle puzzle inspiration. It’s a smart roguelike for anyone who loves the core ingredients, but not everything lines up.

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Drop Duchy

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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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