Eiyuden Chronicle: Hundred Heroes review: a relaxed JRPG adventure with a few old school quirks, but even more pals

And the love Kickstarts again

Image credit:Rock Paper Shotgun/505 Games

• Developer: Rabbit and Bear Studios
• Publisher: 505 Games
• Release: April 23rd 2024
• On: Windows
• From: Steam , Game Pass
• Price: £45/€50/$50
• Reviewed on: Intel Core i7-12700F, 16GB RAM, Nvidia RTX 3080, Windows 11

Eiyuden Chronicle: Hundred Heroes is the spiritual successor to a classic JRPG called Suikoden , and it came to be thanks to a very successful Kickstarter campaign. As someone with little knowledge of Suikoden, I went into Hundred Heroes thinking it was going to be a dense, old-fashioned, and slightly impenetrable time. And yes, some of it is annoying and obtuse and will almost certainly suit veterans who enjoy those quirks, but it has a surprisingly easy going nature. Hundred Heroes accomodates new players like me with combat that’s simple to grasp and a story that’s emotional and sprawling and absolutely worth your time.

If you’ve not played Suikoden, or Hundred Heroes’ prequel Eiyuden Chronicle: Rising , there’s no need to worry. The game’s story stands on its own as a sprawling continent-wide war that’s not only welcoming to newcomers, but told in a way that’s manageable for folks like me who struggle to keep up with who’s fighting who and for what.

There’s this land called Allraan, right. And there’s these folks called the Galdean Empire led by a conniving king called Dux Alric. He’s not very nice. Why? Because Allraan is home to these things called Rune Lenses (powerful magic things) and he wants to harness their power for evil . You play as Nowa, a member of a band of generous mercs. Nowa gets caught up in Dux Alric’s evil plans and decides - a pushy leader who almost certainly has a crush on Nowa gets involved, as well - to put a stop to it. To dismantle Alric’s plans, Nowa must travel around Allraan amassing an army of powerful heroes. One-hundred-and-something, to be semi-precise (the game’s title, despite sounding definitive, is inaccurate).

Both Japanese and English voice acting is ace and gives each of its many, many heroes a distinctive voice (literally, too). Dialogue isn’t too anime, either. Yes it’s upbeat and jovial and can be overly earnest at times, but for the most part it’s surprisingly mature. |Image credit:Rock Paper Shotgun/505 Games

The main story is what steers you to new places with quest markers, so you’ve forever got somewhere to travel. For the most part, exploration sees you progress through regions of Allraan, where you’ll bounce between bustling towns filled with Chinese-inspired architecture, cutesy ice villages, and Shi’arc infested desert oases. Like say, the original Final Fantasy 7 , these places exist as blocky bits on a condensed 3D map, which you’ll run between as titan-sized Nowa avatar to give off the impression you’re covering great distances.

One of the first things you’ll notice is the game’s presentation, which is downright lovely. It pairs 2D pixel art characters with more detailed 3D backgrounds, and great camera angles bring out the best of both. |Image credit:Rock Paper Shotgun/505 Games

A pattern does establish itself fairly quickly, in the sense that you’ll visit some towns, get involved in that region’s story, then inevitably find yourself travelling to a dungeon. Here you either navigate some corridors to get from A to B, or you navigate some corridors with bonus puzzling. Hooray!

Early on there are a lot of forest paths that lie between you and mystery things , and these are largely fine, with some chests to crack open and resources to harvest. Some dungeons, where you’ve got to activate glyphs to rotate paths, or find keys to open coloured doors, can grate a bit, though. I found their combination of empty corridors and traditionalist puzzles a little tedious, made all the more frustrating when my to-and-froing was interrupted by constant random encounters.

It’s to be expected, right? Eiyuden is old school: you’ve got to save at specific points (there’s an autosave feature, although it’s infrequent enough to make me distrustful); you’re forever dragged into fights wherever you go. JRPG stalwarts won’t mind these things, and will no doubt enjoy scraps that crash onto your screen like YouTube ads. I’ve grown used to them, but I wish there was a speed up button to whizz through the simpler tasks during travel.

There’s a fairly in-depth party behaviour system, that lets you decide how certain heroes will act when they engage in an “Auto” battle. You can tell them to only heal, fight cautiously, and loads more. It’s incredibly versatile. |Image credit:Rock Paper Shotgun/505 Games

Fights themselves are turn-based, with a bar filled with both friendly and enemy portraits letting you know who’s next. At the start of your turn, you cycle through your party of six and select each of their moves one by one. Click “finish” and combat commences, with everyone doing their thing; rinse and repeat. It’s clear and easy to grasp, with added strategy in how you position your party members. Three members go at the front, while three go behind them (one extra exists as a support buff that doesn’t fight), so it’s crucial you pop burly lads at the front, for example, while squishier rangers or spellcasters can do their thing from a relatively safe distance.

Once I set up my party, though, I opt for the “auto” button - which just lets everyone do their own thing - for 90% of the fights. Even including some bosses. Honestly, I respect the auto function’s power in making it easier for the story-oriented player who want to crack on with minimal fuss, but I’ve found its potency exposes the combat’s limitations.

Communication is what it comes down to, I think. Aside from when your heroes take their turns, you can’t tell who the enemy is going to target and with what. Your options are to spam the same few moves over and over, occasionally waiting for your SP bar to fill up so you can perform a fancy Rune Lense-powered move. Sometimes your characters leap to take hits aimed at someone else, seemingly of their own accord. Sometimes they’ll stun enemies, seemingly out of nowhere. Effects and the like aren’t communicated enough either, if at all (most are buried in an in-game menu), so even without the auto system fights take on an auto-battler feel: a double shot of attrition with a dash of randomness.

There’s also no system where you exploit enemy weaknesses to build up extra turns like Shin Megami Tensei 5 , or in-depth buildcrafting to offset some turn-based fatigue like Final Fantasy 8 ’s Junction system. Instead, Hundred Heroes’ equivalent is hero combos, where certain matey party members can perform super duper moves, like Nowa and the plucky Lian who can expend 2SP each to rinse enemies with a slash and a punch. They are wonderfully animated and seeing large numbers pop up is great, but man, it doesn’t add any other dimension to combat besides, “I guess I’ll wait a bit so I can use it again”.

The difference with Boss battles is that they often have “Gimmicks” that take better advantage of your turns. One fight against a huge crab has you expend turns to hit its legs, toppling it and exposing its pale belly for a round of more powerful smacks. Others have you wrestle over a lever that causes an enormous boulder to crash onto whoever it looms over at the end of the turn. A handful make for the most memorable fights in the game by placing more weight on your actions.

Image credit:Rock Paper Shotgun/505 Games

Combat is switched up a bit by changing your roster. On your journey across Allraan you’ll recruit lots of pals, mainly by exploring areas until you bump into a more colourful character model than everyone else around, a bit like when you spot a cosplayer getting off the tube. Some don’t take much persuading, while others demand you fight them, or fetch them things. It’s endlessly exciting when you add someone new and rejig your optimal setup. For instance, I have a particular fondness for a beer-bellied guy who calls me “COUSIN!!” and hurls cannonballs. A shinobi who hurls shurikens is my ranged go-to, as she’s able to evade attacks like no-ones business. And I’ve levelled one healer from the start who’s capable of raging, which turns her from a healbot to a certified Tyson Fury.

But while having lots and lots of heroes means great variety in who does 90% of your auto-battling, it’s a bit of a shame that variety can only be injected at inns or save points (at save points if you’ve got a special seventh support character equipped), where swapping mid-combat - even from a small pool, as opposed to everyone - might’ve made adaptation more interesting. Often you commit to a setup, then regret your decision, or you commit to a setup and stick to it, because some heroes are clearly better than others. I will say that the game handles levelling your heroes well, as underleveled folks get tons more EXP until they’ve caught up, so new heroes aren’t immediately written off.

Climactic story moments are often determined by a different sort of turn-based battle that also encompasses your heroes, albeit in a way that’s not all that clear. Things go a bit Fire Emblem in War, a mode set on a grid where you try and anticipate your opponent’s moves by positioning your leader chips in advantageous spots. Once the turn begins, the camera zooms in on an automated battle where you see dinky troops swipe halberds and tussle with fireballs. It’s unclear, because despite being able to switch battalion leaders to confer benefits to your soldiers, there’s very little info on how your various other heroes truly contribute to the fight as it’s happening. I find I just kind of move some pieces and the battle resolves itself, or it goes a certain way because the story predetermined it.

Image credit:Rock Paper Shotgun/505 Games

Image credit:Rock Paper Shotgun/505 Games

As someone who’s not the biggest strategy head, so I appreciate the game’s relaxed nature in letting me press a button, watch the action unfold, and, from time to time, take the reins. But, as with the turn-based combat, some folks who like pure, total control over the stats may rue its relative simplicity.

Off the battlefield, Heroes find a home in your Castle, which exists as a centerpoint for your army, and a settlement you invest in over the course of the game. It’s an enormous thing, a bit like Yakuza’s Dondoko Island, that could have its separate mini-review. But I will say that it’s a lovely place to see your pals get together, an easy way to harvest resources more reliably later on, home to fun minigames (cooking, racing, Beyblade) and its development acts as an embodiment of your progress.

Eiyuden Chronicle: Hundred Heroes has some old school habits, and they can be difficult to live with at first, but once you settle into those quirks, it’s a story you’ll struggle to put down. The sense of journey is magnificent, as you march across snowy valleys, lush jungles, and dusty deserts, sweeping up buds along the way. And you regularly partake in moments that’ll genuinely surprise, forever keeping your quest from getting stale. Expect one-on-one fights, cinematic song, and races of some description. If you’re a fan of Suikoden, it’s a no-brainer. And if you’re a fan of JRPGs or struggle a bit with old-fashioned things, I’d still urge you to give it a shot. It’s a really lovely hang.

This review was based on a review build of the game provided by the developers.

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Eiyuden Chronicle: Hundred Heroes

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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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