Manor Lords early access review: a sturdy and immersive builder that feels incomplete yet alive with promise

Captain Morgens

Image credit:Rock Paper Shotgun/Hooded Horse

• Developer: Slavic Magic
• Publisher: Hooded Horse
• Release: April 26th 2024
• On: Windows
• From: Steam
• Price: £26/€30/$30
• Reviewed on: Intel Core i5-8600K, 16GB RAM, Nvidia RTX 2070, Windows 10

When, in town building simulation Manor Lords , you erect your first manor, it feels natural to place it in the center of your humble 14th century European settlement. It presents as a locus of power, where your character avatar resides. Also, it’s right there in the title. I built mine down a side road, between oxen posts and granaries, for no real reason but free space. The more I play, the more it feels a fitting place. Not sidelined, exactly, just not especially loud. I need the taxes it brings to pay mercenaries to see off bandits, but lords - their whims and ambitions - don’t set the tone here. Parchment and seals aren’t as important as tilled earth; as winter snow, spring thaws and autumn harvests. So, despite the title, this sedate, curious, and intricate sim isn’t really about lords, nor manors. Not half as much, anyway, as it is about manure.

Or at least things manure-adjacent, anyway. Farming. Cattle. Manor Lords is possessed of an earthy, knees-in-the-dirt presence that wafts potent throughout, despite the usual sterile genre concerns around efficiency and logistics occasionally doing their best to obscure it. There’s still spreadsheeting and checklists, sometimes quite literally in the case of trade or the residential needs of your population, here represented as individual families, each assigned to their own job or structure. There are stockpiles and survival elements, too. A helpful UI icon condenses all the different foodstuffs - garden-grown veg or hunted wild deer, honey or bread - into a single counter of how many months your settlement could survive if everything ground to a halt. This is all engaging enough to optimise, sure. But the real drive here is to watch things grow and flourish from a handful of tents and dirt roads to a place so lively, thriving and rustic you can almost smell the hay and droppings.

This may be a happy accident of early access, where objectives to survive or conquer territory do exist, but sit absent of enough additional progression systems to make them seem especially tempting, at least over the meditative and curious digital custodianship in which Manor Lords’ true joys lie. On the map level, sure. There are opposing forces and regions to lay claim to. But on the ground level, you’re encouraged to exist alongside your surroundings rather than overcome them. Hunt greedily, and there will soon be nothing left to hunt at all. Cut down trees without planting more, and you’ll soon find woods dwindling. Force the soil to provide in perpetuity, with no time to fallow, and any efforts to rise, grind, and get that good bread will come to naught.

Image credit:Rock Paper Shotgun/Hooded Horse

Ever owned a breadmaker? A life-changing tip: put it on before you go pub. Skip the kebab, and come home half-cut to the smell of a fresh baked loaf you can immediately demolish in a blissful frenzy. I reminisced on this singular joy as I decided that, since explaining the game’s every intricacy would be exhausting, beer and bread make for a good lens. To upgrade your burgage plots - houses, effectively - you’ll need to meet the residential needs of the residing families. This starts simple. Water from a well, a church, a few different foodstuffs. Clothing is trickier, but hunted game provide hides, so plonk down a tannery and you’re sorted. But eventually, as is the trajectory of so many civilisations, god will stop listening, and everyone will want to get pissed.

For beer, you’ll first want to find fertile ground for barley specifically, since each of the four crops have different needs. Then, you’ll need to place and populate a farmhouse, maybe with a designated oxen for faster tilling if you’ve got the upgrade. Once autumn arrives, you’ll harvest and transport the barley to another building which turns it into malt. Lastly, you’ll transport it to the tavern, although you can turn a burgage plot into a brewery, which still acts as a residence but locks the family that live there from taking on any other jobs. For bread, you’ll grow wheat, then the farmhouse will turn it to grain, the miller to flour, and then finally the communal over to bread. Throughout all this, you’ll need to keep the separate buildings fueled with firewood, and ideally have oxen and guides to transport everything around, lest villagers with handcarts have to do it much slower.

Image credit:Rock Paper Shotgun/Hooded Horse

So, that’s several buildings and up to a dozen families just to keep everyone in a single foodstuff and the occasional pint. I think it’s this, even more so than the wattle and daub homes and the monkish diets, that keeps things feeling humble, even for such a technically lush and lavish digital world. There are no real incentives to hoard wealth save mercenary insurance to keep your village safe, no options for luxury or even decoration save a few simple cosmetics. Joy here is where the aesthetic and ascetic meet: rows of well-fed, warm homes. Sensible road networks buzzing with foot and hoof traffic from tiny industries. They all make the humble feel like a worthwhile achievement.

Sometimes it feels like an achievement because Manor Lords seems deliberately obtuse, mind, although never nonsensical. Your villagers do have minds of their own, so while you can set tasks and priorities, you can never fully plot out individual routines. After one harvest season, my mill and oven just wouldn’t start producing again, despite multiple workers assigned to each. All it took for this clog in the pipeline was a single field out of five set to ‘high’ priority instead of ‘medium’. You’ll have the luxury of an RPS stuffed to the gills with life-changing guides , of course. But my first couple of sessions were effectively just learning the ropes, since the most obvious omission from this early access launch is a proper tutorial.

There is a military industry, but I don’t see myself ever really engaging with it unless forced to. Mercenaries are capable and plentiful enough for my needs, which are building in peace and occasionally handing out spears to the baker and chums so they can go attack a bandit camp, giving me enough money to set up another trade route. We really do grow some nice carrots round these parts, and I’d like more people to try them.

Image credit:Rock Paper Shotgun/Hooded Horse

When Manor Lords does require violence, it’s Total War combat without that series’ context. Put your bows behind your spears. Don’t rush your lads around too much or they’ll get tired and fight worse. It’s very impressive to behold, but I feel it’s almost similar to Total War by accident. That is, a continuation of the ethos found elsewhere; of course you can see every individual combatant, because we don’t do abstraction ‘round here if we can avoid it. The most exciting thing about combat is the music, which is to say that combat is quite good - the music is excellent.

Manor Lords’ real personality is not in its conflicts, but in the place where it transforms from a very pretty logistical puzzle into something more idiosyncratic; where life peeks out from the blueprints like a summer sun from behind a plastic globe. During harvest season, you’ll want to take families off other jobs and assign them to the farm, then just sit and watch as hunters and traders and millers and miners all pitch in to bring in that years’ yield, the whole village working as one. Elsewhere, the nuances of life do give way to that abstraction otherwise avoided. No fistfights in the street over goat theft. No accusations of witchcraft. Public order isn’t really a concern. Disease feels minimal and underdeveloped. But that’s part of the deal at this stage. I’m left not entirely sure what sort of game this wants to be, aside from one that feels sturdy and real and convincing, but I’m excited to find out.

The main challenge Manor Lords faces as it evolves through early access is, I think, how to be more transparent with its inner workings without fully showing its hand; lessening some of its magic. I don’t want to know exactly what the ants in the farm are thinking as they carry leaves to and fro, after all, but I’d probably like to know a bit quicker why they’ve all suddenly stood still. And, to an extent, I do think figuring out these inner workings is part of the intended challenge. Such basic rules can seem an unusual thing to obscure for a management sim, but then again, Manor Lords is a much more unusual game than it might first appear. It definitely doesn’t feel even close to complete, but it does feel alive. That’s much more important.

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

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Manor Lords

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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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