Hades 2 early access review: a roguelike of witchy crowd control with a sparkling new cast

What fresh hell this is

Image credit:Rock Paper Shotgun/Supergiant Games

• Developer: Supergiant Games
• Publisher: Supergiant Games
• Release: May 6th 2024
• On: Windows
• From: Steam , Epic Games Store
• Price: £25/€29/$30
• Reviewed on: Intel Core-i7-11700F, 16GB RAM, Nvidia GeForce RTX 3060, Windows 10

Scylla and the Sirens are a rock band of mythical boat wreckers who insist they have tons of fans. (They do not.) As a boss battle in Hades 2 they are a deadly trio that has bested me more times in the last few hours than I care to admit. But as a sign of things to come for this early access roguelike sequel, they are an encouraging bunch of characterful malcontents. The harbingers of a confident, slash-happy action game, and another poppy adaptation of classic Greek japes.

Something sinister has happened in the underworld (no way!) and the pantheon of Gods is in disarray, along with all attendant heroes and hellions. Zagreus, our nippy protagonist of the previous game, is missing in action. So is helldaddy Hades and various others. Into this absence steps Melinoë, forgotten baby sister of Zag. Her goal in life is to kill the guy who allegedly tore her family asunder: Chronos, the Titan of time.

Image credit:Rock Paper Shotgun/Supergiant Games

Should be easy. Off you go on a dungeon-running jaunt of encounters, boss brawls, boon scrounging, and character questioning. Those familiar with the first Hades will feel at home in the lush realms of Erebus, Oceanus and beyond. Newcomers will find their feet quick enough thanks to straightforward tutorialising. At least when it comes to hacking and/or slashing. As for the story, there might be more head-scratching. I’ve already said I admire Supergiant’s dismissal of once-pivotal characters in our impressions of the Hades 2 tech test . Even so, the sequel definitely benefits from at least some existing knowledge of the previous cast.

Not that the current cast disappoints. The voice acting is satisfying and clean. The dry mothering of Amelia Tyler’s witch goddess Hecate will be doubly powerful to anyone who enjoyed her as narrator in Baldur’s Gate 3 (those sinister bedtime-story tones). Other actors put in the work. The skeptical harrumphs of Becca Q. Co’s Nemesis. The comforting Yorkshire chatter of Dave B. Mitchell as Hephaestus, implying he is not only the god of smithing but also the god of pints.

Image credit:Rock Paper Shotgun/Supergiant Games

There’s a lot of fun to these performances. Melinoë interprets Charon’s indecipherable groans (“Rrrrrrrgggghhhhhh”) with the breezy insight of someone translating Lassie’s barks. Scylla and the Sirens perform their songs with gusto; the inviting diegetic music we’ve come to expect of Supergiant’s soundtracks. Nemesis fulfills her namesake by showing up in runs and challenging you to a goon-bashing contest (whoever wins takes the other’s coin). Then she dashes off, blocking one path and stealing your choice of doorways away from you. A wonderful jerk move.

But the biggest teller of the game’s confidence is in meeting Narcissus. He has an unmistakable Kenergy about him, somehow managing to portray a sad, lovable himbo even without final character art. You see, unfinished character designs currently appear as a dark figure in a placeholder shroud. Some of these gods are so hot, you dare not yet look upon them.

But I hear you. You bray to know of the game’s violence. Let’s see. You have more tricks up your bare arms than Zagreus did. Every attack now has a charged alternative version, giving every weapon four attacks by default (five if you count a dash attack). These supercharged “omega” attacks cost magick, and the management of this magick bar makes up a hefty portion of your upgradey decisions in the underworld. For me? I’m getting the most out of Melinoë’s broad and debilitating Cast ability.

Image credit:Rock Paper Shotgun/Supergiant Games

Previously, Zag would fire little bloodstones that lodge inside enemies, giving baddies a negative status effect as you go about your fight. But Melinoë instead gets a wide area-control ward that stops enemies in their tracks. It can get buffed as you go on, turning it into a whirlwind of constant damage, or a ward that follows you around instead of being imprinted on the spot.

As someone prone to panic on busy screens full of VFX and enemy sprites, I’m grateful for the crowd control. When the pressure is on and I’m surrounded, it becomes a go-to instinct to drop a ward and dash away to catch your breath; a much-needed “I’m overwhelmed” button. Melinoë’s ability to sprint (hold down the dash button) also helps me feel more mobile and slippery than Zag ever was.

It’s a case of having old problems with some new solutions. Like before, encounters become a hectic flow of priorities as you flit around the battlefield like an excited wasp in a sauna. These room-by-room scraps do feel, to my taste, more controlled than in the first game. But the sense of gut-following amid pressure is the same. Trap the wailers in place, chase down the worms, clean up the slowfolk with a few light strikes, then finally go focus on the big lad with the shield. Pat off the dust, you’ve just earned a boon.

Image credit:Rock Paper Shotgun/Supergiant Games

This is where the on-the-hoof character builds come in. We’re still deep in roguelike turf after all. As in OG Hades , boons are tokens sent by the Gods which buff your usual moves in some way. Many supplement that jealous control of space. A boon from Demeter lets you freeze enemies in place with distant knife throws, for example. One of Poseidon’s powers grants your normal attacks a splashing knockback effect. Another augments your sprint with a blast of minty fresh air, repelling all foes you pass by.

Others focus on hurt. Zeus might give your special attacks thunderous damage or electrify your body so that you auto-zap any enemy that hits you. Other gods may grant bonuses like a speedy restoration of your magick in exchange for a much shorter bar. Hephaestus, the blacksmith god of Guinness, might provide armour (temporary extra hit points) or imbue your weapons with infrequent, powerful swipes.

Things get more complex when Selene the moon goddess eventually shows up alongside the other boon-gifting gods, granting you a Hex ability. This is a powerful magical attack that might allow you to transmogrify enemies into critters, or fire a hideously powerful beam of energy, or become a nightmare version of yourself with whole new attacks. There is a trade-off, though. To perform a Hex you first need to burn through a ton of magick, which means you have to enter encounters at full tilt, magick akimbo, if you want to get the most out of Selene’s gifts. It’s basically like enacting the “make it rain” gesture. But instead of blithely upending stacks of paper money you are spamming arcane death.

My favourite randobuild so far was coupling Demeter’s freezing capabilities with some backstabby nonsense that let me beat Melinoë’s adoptive mum Hecate by frostifying her and sticking her in the kidneys over and over while she was unable to move. I haven’t yet found the perfect combination of boons, upgrades, keepsakes and what-have-you to gain victory over the second boss - those troublesome Sirens. But I’ll give it a few more shots before I resort to the returning “God mode”, which makes things easier following each death.

Image credit:Rock Paper Shotgun/Supergiant Games

Those dungeon dives are only part of the craic, of course. The many currencies and bartering mechanics of the game’s hub zone require a broker’s mindset and possibly a big spreadsheet. You don’t get the depth of Hades without a certain amount of complexity when it comes to upgrade materials and required items. At one point I was thinking: “Okay, I can swap Bones for Nectar, then use that to schmooze more Gift Card Thingys from Charon, then exchange those for a shipment of Fated Fabrics…”

So yes. There’s a feeling of getting caught up in archaic underworld economics. Hades 2 wants you to have a long and varied to-do list (literally - the three Fates still give you a list of prophetic tasks to accomplish) and part of this is making sure you have a wide spread of resources to scrounge. That to-do list of arithmetic did start to feel a bit overwhelming. But then again, I hate sums.

There are quality of life things to help with this. At the cauldron you can mark recipes with a “forget-me-not”. This means a little icon (a finger with a knot tied around it) will appear on certain doors during your run, marking the optimal path for whatever resource you’re gathering. It’s a small but helpful touch that I don’t remember from the first game. Environmental conditions also cause certain items to crop up more often. Rainfall, for example, means you will find lots of mushrooms. It all adds more depth to the rando-gen possibilities of a run.

Image credit:Rock Paper Shotgun/Supergiant Games

There are misgivings. As with the first game, I like it less the more bullet hellish it gets. The trade-off for beautiful and flashy effects is that sometimes the battle becomes hard to read. Much of this is a matter of getting used to exact splash ranges of gassy attacks. The imprecision of these painful clouds does keep you on your toes but it can also feel a little unfair. Sometimes you’re simply certain you weren’t in range of that puff of scarlet smog. Likewise when some small element of the environment - a cluster of roots or a stray outcrop - hampers a critical escape. It’s hard to know what among these frustrations is accidental and what’s intentional, designed to reward the growing expertise you’re certain to accrue with hundreds of runs.

But it’s encouraging that these worries are so few and far between. Roguelikes, I feel, don’t suffer as much as other genres from the early access path. The first Hades did it and it quickly became one of our best action games . So, I hereby grant you permission to crack through as much as this follow-up has got to offer, to get briefly obsessed, and then to put it aside for months. The piecemeal, adaptive storytelling is still there too, eschewing anything so simple as the classic three-act structure. Which, for me, makes long absences that much easier to bear. Like the game’s own shrouded Narcissus, Hades 2 is already inviting and attractive, even in its unfinished form.

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Hades II

PC , Nintendo Switch , Nintendo Switch 2

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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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