I followed this ox around in Manor Lords for a day to see what wisdom it could teach me

Quite a lot, it turns out

Image credit:Slavic Magic

While playing Manor Lords for review, I kept making mental notes to spend time watching the individual routes its villagers and beasts take each day. It’s one of those interestingly granular games that actually becomes more so by remaining a bit mysterious in ways I’m sure will annoy some, so I reasoned some people-watching would be illuminating. And by people, I mean oxen.

I guarantee that, unless Alice Bee edits this article with laser-like precision, there will be at least one instance of me writing ox as ‘Ox’ like it’s a proper noun. This is because I have a childish brain that defaults to “Ox big, Ox important” when I’m not paying attention. However, I will defend this instinct by reminding you that oxen are big and, in Manor Lords at least, very important. Say hello to Thomas.

Image credit:Slavic Magic

Thomas is what the game named this ox. It suits him well. His central personality trait is that he snorts a lot. His guide is an idiot that keeps shouting “come on lad” or “come along laddie” at him, even when Thomas is making perfect pacing. I had originally planned to follow this man around for the day, but I was already bored of his noises. I made a mental note to load up this save whenever the game adds privy cleaning jobs, and sat back to watch Tom the ox do his thing, hoping to perhaps learn something about myself along the way.

The sun shines, and Tom trundles along. Occasionally the music stops, and the ambient sound of the village reveals its multilayered scope; shrill and curious children or baritone adults rising above the din of chatter, tools, and carts dragging along dirt roads. Sometimes, Thomas and his guide teleport through a fence. I do not blame the game for this. No one but an idiot writer with a ravenous content cycle to appease would spent this long zoomed in this close. Sometimes they teleport through houses, though. Someone might actually want to get that looked at. Or, even better, add ox-based destruction as a hazard mechanic. Maybe they could get pissed on fermented apples like those deer do.

Soon, Tom gets led to a trading post. A new guide, Grethlein, parks her ox, Jacob, and takes Thomas with her. Thomas changes his status to ‘gathering’, and the pair walk off to the woods to gather some timber. Amazingly, this does actually teach me something I didn’t know. It turns out your woodcutters don’t take all the timber they cut down with them, that’s a separate task for a separate family guiding a separate ox. As I said, granular.

While they hoof the timber, I thought it would be nice to revisit a hallowed RPS tradition that hasn’t seen the light of day recently. I am, of course, referring to OxFacts™

Oxen typically live between 18 and 22 years, can travel up to 16 mph, and can weigh up to 3,000 pounds, which is the equivalent of 75,000 floppy disks, or over 36,000 Kit Kat Chunkys. The predators that most threaten oxen are bears and wolves. I’m no expert, but I feel an ox might be able to take a bear in the right circumstances. Say, with a decent run up? Any veterans of the great ox/bear wars, feel free to chime in below. Ox feature prominently in the strategy game ‘Manor Lords’

Right, that’s your lot for today. Back to work.

Little clouds of dirt poof up as the log drags along the ground. You didn’t have to add those, Greg Manorlords, but I see and appreciate them. After a while, very sad music begins to play. Haunting vocals. Ethereal , somber strings. I’m starting to think Tom deserves a nice rest and a biscuit. Unfortunately it’s the 14th century and no-one yet knows how get chocolate to stick to Hobnobs, so he’ll have to have hay and superstition juice. Say what you want about this diet, but it does appear to be giving Tom some pleasingly shiny textures and defined muscles. Like the dirt poof effects, the model work here is much, much nicer than it probably needed to be.

Image credit:Slavic Magic

Look at how many oxen are in this picture. As yet, I’ve not seen but a single ox clipping incident. This tells me that, on some level, the oxen are aware of each other. They’re code mates! Lovely. I just watched two horses clip through each other earlier, but the oxen - a superior life form - do not. I think this is something to do with them being named entities, while e.g unnamed horses are treated like scenery. This is known as ‘putting respect on the oxen’s names’ in coding terms, I believe.

Another observation: villagers carrying hand carts and oxen traveling in opposite directions will slow each other down as they try to navigate around one another. If you’re looking to completely optimise your village then, you might want to give some thought to a vast network of dirt roads that minimises such encounters. This does sound like a very boring way to spend time though, unlike ox watching.

Image credit:Slavic Magic

After delivering the log to the sawpit, Thomas goes to get that rest. I notice Jacob the ox behind him, also going to rest - so perhaps all the oxen rest at the same time of day? I looked everywhere for my third ox to verify but he’s hiding somewhere, perhaps off charging bears. It’s a fine, chill time for the oxen, but when Thomas arrives at his post, I notice something terrible. His status does not change to ‘resting’ but instead to ‘waiting’.

Has this ox been so indoctrinated by the puritan work ethic that he no longer perceives leisure time, only time in which work must either be performed or anticipated? His deep, sad eyes say more than words ever could, which is handy for me, because he can’t speak. And this, I believe, is the true ox wisdom of Manor Lords: Do not simply wait for toil to roll back around. Instead, live free as a logless ox. Bless you, Thomas. Bless your cotton ox socks.

Manor Lords

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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