Manor Lords: Which starting scenario and difficulty should you choose?

Here is the best starting scenario for new Manor Lords players

Image credit:Rock Paper Shotgun/Hooded Horse

Which is the best scenario for new players in Manor Lords? Slavic Magic’s gorgeous and hotly anticipated city-builder Manor Lords gives you a fair bit of freedom for customising your new game setup. After you hit New Game and create your Lord and coat of arms, you’ll be treated to a Game Setup screen where you can select between three scenarios, and customise the difficulty with three templates or a host of individual game options. But which is the best scenario for you?

This guide is aimed at first-time Manor Lords players who aren’t sure which scenario or difficulty to choose. Below, we’ll walk you through each of the three starting scenarios and the three difficulty options available, and offer our thoughts on where you should start with your first Manor Lords playthrough.

Check out the release date announcement trailer for Manor Lords here. Check out those lovely roads.Watch on YouTube

What is the best Manor Lords scenario for new players?

In our opinion, the best starting scenario in Manor Lords for new players is Restoring The Peace (the second option). This scenario offers a balance between relatively risk-free city-building, and later skirmishes with bandits, raiders, and the illegitimate Baron’s regions.

However, if you’re less interested in Manor Lords’ Total-War-style combat and just want to play it as an endless city-builder, then Rise To Prosperity (the first scenario) is a great option which turns off all enemies, allowing to to play at entirely your own pace.

Below we’ll explore each of the three Manor Lords scenarios in more detail so you can make an informed decision about how to spend your first playthrough.

Rise To Prosperity (easiest, no combat)

This starting village will become a familiar sight to Manor Lords players in the coming months. |Image credit:Rock Paper Shotgun/Hooded Horse

Rise To Prosperity is the first scenario in Manor Lords, and it is designed to familiarise players with the various city-building aspects of Manor Lords. In this game mode, combat is essentially turned off; there are no bandits stealing your livestock, or illegitimate lords pressing claims on nearby territory.

The sole focus in Rise To Prosperity is expanding your settlement. The end-goal is to reach the “Large Town” settlement level, which is the highest settlement level in the game. The order is as follows:

• Settler’s Camp
• Small Village
• Medium Village
• Large Village
• Small Town
• Medium Town
• Large Town

Once you reach the “Large Town” level, you’ll have the option to continue your game in Endless mode, without any goals except the ones you create for yourself. It’s a great scenario for players who aren’t interested in combat, and don’t want annoying obstacles like wars or banditry getting in the way of their towns.

Restoring The Peace (balanced, some combat)

Restoring The Peace offers a focus on city-building, but with mid-to-late-game combat. |Image credit:Hooded Horse

Restoring The Peace is the second scenario in Manor Lords. This scenario introduces bandits who will occasionally steal resources from you, and whom you must attack and defeat in order to scatter them. But the main challenge is the Baron, a hostile AI ruler who begins the game with claims on two of the eight regions on the map.

At first, this scenario doesn’t feel much different from Rise To Prosperity, with only the occasional bandit theft marking any difference. However, later on, once you’re at the level of a Medium or Large Village, you’ll have to start raising armies to defend yourself against periodic raider attacks from the Baron. The eventual goal is to conquer every region of the map, thereby freeing the entire land from the Baron’s influence.

This is personally my favourite game mode to play. While combat is not the main focus of Manor Lords, it’s still a key selling point that differentiates the game from most other city-builders, and I personally find it adds to the challenge without adding too much pressure (unless you crank up the difficulty, of course).

On The Edge (hardest, lots of combat)

For the greatest challenge in Manor Lords, play On The Edge at Challenging difficulty. |Image credit:Hooded Horse

The final and most challenging scenario in Manor Lords is On The Edge, and it’s suited more for experienced players, or those who have perhaps come from more combat-focused strategy games. The aim, as with the first scenario, is to expand your settlement all the way to the “Large Town” settlement level. But it’s far more difficult here, because from as early as your second year, you’ll be plagued by the kinds of raider attacks that befall you only in the mid-to-late game in Restoring The Peace.

The focus in On The Edge is very much on building up your town, resources, and army reserves as quickly and efficiently as possible so you can repel the first invaders. This scenario, when cranked up to the hardest difficulty, is an extreme challenge that requires a bit of luck and a lot of experience with some very particular strategies and build orders. As such, it’s not what we would recomend for players new to Manor Lords.

Which difficulty should you choose in Manor Lords?

There are three difficulty levels for each scenario in Manor Lords: Relaxing, Default, and Challenging. But it’s important to understand that these difficulties are only templates, and you can configure the difficulty of the game in much more specific and granular ways by interacting with the various settings just below the difficulty settings in the Game Setup screen.

Here’s what each of the difficulty settings mean for each scenario:

Rise To Prosperity:

Restoring The Peace:

On The Edge:

For your first playthrough of Manor Lords, we would recommend you start at the Default difficulty level for Rise To Prosperity and Restoring The Peace, or Relaxing for On The Edge (to give yourself some more time and starting resources before the raiders arrive).

But if you don’t want to stick to Default, you should ideally make use of the individual game settings to create your own challenge, rather than simply using one of the three preset difficulty options. You can hover over the text of each setting in-game to find out what it does.

That’s our breakdown of the different scenarios and difficulty levels in Manor Lords concluded. If you’re interested in playing with a friend, unfortunately you won’t be able to do so yet; but you can check the full details in our Manor Lords multiplayer guide. Take a look at our Manor Lords beginner’s guide for additional information on your first in-game year.

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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

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