Mechabellum review: impeccably designed and maniacally moreish mech strategy

Mexcellent

Image credit:Game River/Rock Paper Shotgun

• Developer: Game River
• Publisher: Paradox Arc
• Release: Out now
• On: Windows, Linux
• From: Steam
• Price: £13/€15/$15
• Reviewed on: Intel Core i5-12600K, 32GB RAM, Nvidia RTX 2070, Windows 1

Mechabellum is not the first autobattler or autochess of its type, and these aren’t really RTS. But, by doing away with that genre’s demands for reaction timing, uberclicks per dinosecond, and similar skill concerns that make my wrist and face ache before I’ve even left the tutorial of most traditional RTS, Mechabellum feels as if its let me enjoy my imagined thrills of an entire genre that it doesn’t even really belong to. More than a genre, even. I don’t play competitive multiplayer games, ever. I’ve played nothing but 1v1 matches here, despite available co-op and single player modes, and I’ve loved every one. Mechabellum feels tense and fiery even while easygoing; instantly accessible and temptingly solvable, even in the face of its oubliette-tudinous depth.

Let’s talk about robots though. Let me reach across the gingham tablecloth, slap your china teacup from your hands mere millimetres from your parched and expectant lips, and scream the word ‘robots’ in your face until I’m hoarse. Etymologically derived from ‘robota’ - a word for ‘servitude’ or ‘forced labour’ in old Slavonic - the robot is a servant by nature. In Rossum’s Universal Robots - the Czech play in which modernity’s conception of the clanker was first conceived - the robots eventually stage a worker’s rebellion, breaking free of their confines, and also learning how to shag somehow. Not Mechabellum’s robots. They can neither shag nor shed themselves of their pre-destined role on the battlefield. This is good: In many ways, Mechabellum is a game made out of constraints.

A resource earned playing matches can be spent on unlocking new abilities for each mech, which you can then slot in to their four available slots. |Image credit:Game River/Rock Paper Shotgun

Hurtling chance might sometimes offer up a turn where you can do everything you want, but usually, you’re watching one stretched, imperfect round play out while mentally queuing up priorities for the next. Very quickly, if this is your first autobattler, as it was for me: both you and your opponent have what’s effectively a HP score. Your HP: gorgeous. Perfect. Their HP: a disgusting abomination. Get rid of it. Kill all your foe’s units in a round, and you’ll knock off some life corresponding to how many of your mechs you’ve got left on the field. With the exception of one limited ability I’ve never used, you can’t give your bots orders. They’ll move forward, and fight whatever’s in their path. Place units. Upgrade. Use abilities like shields or missiles. Then, when you and your opponent are ready, you watch those decisions play out.

The positions of previously placed units stay the same from round to round, but the current planning phase is hidden. Triumphant skirmishes where you previously watched your rockbots smash enemy scissorbots to bits are now devastating losses as your foe’s newly placed paperbots make short work of your rockbots, creating a new opening for those reprobate scissorbots to get right into your backline. That’s where your command structures live! If they get destroyed, all your units are slowed and made vulnerable.

And so it’s about making those contraints work for you. Supplies are the first. You’re given exponentially more to spend each round, but it’s never enough. You get one upgrade, special ability, or bonus unit, then you can place two bots. Higher tiers of units need to be unlocked with supplies before paying again to recruit them. You can then place them anywhere on your side of the field. Starting on turn two, you can also place them on your opponent’s flanks, but they take time to spawn in, during which they’re extremely vulnerable.

Image credit:Game River/Rock Paper Shotgun

You can also spend supplies on permanent or temporary upgrades. A shield dome will nullify incoming attacks over a chosen area until it’s worn down. A missile might take a big chunk of your foe’s weaker chaff if placed cannily. A seemingly piddly 12% attack power bonus might be just be the crest that swells your wave to the proportions needed to smother your opponent’s. When you’ve got a better sense of just how far to stretch those supplies to make riskier plays, you might want to pay extra to recruit a third unit. Or take bonus supplies this turn to pay them back with interest the next. Or even recruit higher ranked versions of standard mechs, skipping the need to get them kill experience on the field and paying to level them up.

Or you might want to grant new abilities to the units you already have, expanding their utility and opening up whole new approaches, altering the state of play in an instant. Maybe your opponent has a line of Stormcallers - a long range but immobile missile launcher with such destructive power that several of them can delete entire armies. That’s when you look to the humble Mustang. Spend the requisite funds, and each of your Mustangs - usually meant for munching through swarms - can now shoot those missiles out of the sky. Or maybe you want your sniper Marksman to spawn a unit of tiny Fangs when the battle starts, perfect for screening enemy shots. Or maybe you’d like your Steel Ball’s searing lasters to also restore their health as they fire, bulwarking up vulnerable battle lines. It makes each match feel incredibly distinct - especially when you pop into the workshop between games and start theorycrafting some nasty synergies.

If I’m conveying anything here, I hope it’s how deftly Mechabellum draws wonderful asymmetry from an initially symmetrical set of choices - ensuring you know your opponent’s capabilities while still having such a wide array of options that you’ve always got a response. And it’s that readability - effectively perfect information - that allows for such wonderfully dramatic moments. When you know what each mech does, it’s that much more thrilling to engineer situations where they make the most out of their capabilities, whether that be through spacing, timing, or just the hardest of hard counters.

Image credit:Game River/Rock Paper Shotgun

But it’s truest joys lie in wanton destruction; so unbelievably tactile for a game in which not a single shell casing is spent without minutes between the locked-in trigger pull and muzzle flare’s crescendo. Watching for weak spots, applying the thriftiest dash of pressure without overextending, and watching entire flanks crumble as several rounds of planning pay off - planning that might just have looked like panicked flailing to your opponent. Having the merest snack-sized premonition of a hunch vindicated as you scry the patterns in your foe’s placement, and having already answered their plan with a hearty “not today, fucko” before they’ve even got close to pulling it off.

The cherry on top is how Mechabellum is so very crunchy and rules-based that it easily could have gotten away with much more basic presentation. Instead, dust clouds, searing lasers and glorious explosions herald every victory. Each of its 26 units roll and stomp and wriggle and writhe in vibrant mechanised motion, and audio design belts out catastrophic requiems for each scrapped mech to pierce through the already cinematic score. It is the clattering, cacophonic sound of two giant god mechs punching each other in the face forever, lending so much delicious drama to every decision.

Twice this year I’ve felt such a strong need to support a game that I’ve bought a copy for a friend as soon as I’d finished my review copy. Alongside Tactical Breach Wizards , Mechabellum is the best fifteen quid I’ve spent all year. At this rate, it’ll still be best fifteen quid I’ve spent next year too. It’s sometimes hard to tell if my love for Mechabellum comes from its place as an entry point to a genre I always would have loved, but I strongly suspect it’s simply because this is such an thoughtfully constructed and impeccably designed bit of strategy. I’d call it loving, almost, if it wasn’t so incredibly cuthroat that I almost feel guilty each time I do what mechs do best: stomp another opponent into dust with little more than a single, well-considered click.

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Mechabellum

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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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