Rally Point: This year’s low-intensity strategy game for when it’s too hot is… two! Of them. Two games.

Twice calor

Image credit:RPS

The heatwave has won this time, readers. The plan this year… oh god, let’s not talk about The Plan, it’s too upsetting. For several years now, we’ve fought back the heatwave with a low-intensity strategy game, defying the evil fire orb with games that are manageable even for a brain composed partially of plasma. I’d hoped, this year, to move beyond, and fight back the sky with three such games. But. It warm.

Still, you’re getting two. This year’s Low-Intensity Games For To Do Strategy Despite Grotesque Hot are Hyper Empire and High Strategy: Oradros.

Both are lightweight, quick-play games by design. Close as I’ve come to being devoured by Captain of Industry or the recent-ish Zephon DLC, I am having a pretty horrible time, and today’s recommendations might well double as year-round micro-hits of strategamine to keep us both from overdoing it as we both know we’re prone to. It’s okay, reader. We must work with ourselves.

Image credit:RPS / Fair Weather Studios

So. First up, it’s Hyper Empire. Space is there, so you must build spaceships and spacefight some other spacemen to secure spacevictory. This means building infrastructure that generates resources, and building spaceships with those. There’s a faint similarity to the tower defence dynamic here, as you establish the basic economic foundation then aim for the right balance between reinvesting and building up the fleet. There are enemy attacks every so many turns, whose escalation marks out how well you’re doing. The maths make growth near inevitable, and merely surviving for enough turns counts as an “endurance” win, so it becomes a question of how fast you can snowball, and gunning for alternative victories like amassing spacerocks or spaceresearch.

Each of its five factions has unique ships, strengths, and economics (unfortunately you can’t see much information about the enemy’s), and access to two upgrade trees via research or “faith”, some of which are uselessly trivial if unlocked later but a significant boon early on. The relationship between various installations is just complex enough to reward familiarity without demanding it, adding up to enough replay value for every faction to be worth a few experiments with a different emphasis or different capital ship loadout.

Image credit:RPS / Fair Weather Studios

Oh, right, yeah. You get to watch the battles. Much as in Songs Of Silence , when you defend or attempt to conquer a sector (and if you’re the pirates, you attack a convoy) you’re treated to an auto-battle where everything you’ve built starts blasting. Control is limited to a formation system and firing off the flagship’s powers, and truth be told, there’s minimal feedback. But this is mostly spectacle as reward. Unfortunately though, a strategy game hobby makes us superior megabrained genius people who are above getting any satisfaction from watching a cool spaceship light show.

Normally I’d play this kind of game once or twice, get the idea, and not feel like going through the motions again. Hyper Empire feels different. Sitting back to enjoy the battles has obvious appeal, but there’s also the underrated factor of its interface feeling nice (plus some mildly charming animations, like one faction’s robot feeding population icons into its maw when you convert them into data), and above all its lack of timewasting. Everything is instant (except trade, which gambles resources against a delayed payoff/loss that makes things less purely additive), and emphasises fast and loose decision making. It’s okay to be sub-optimal, it’s okay to have everything wiped out if you can replace it. It’s lightweight, but not weightless. But what if we took out the spectacle? What if you never even saw your armies? What if I stopped listing contrasts and got on with the next one? Well, fine.

Image credit:RPS / Iron Boar Labs

High Strategy Colon Oradros is another that I half expected to enjoy once, and leave it at that. Instead, its playthroughs are short and easy enough for a few clicks to get you several turns in, and by then you might as well see where it goes.

When I say its armies can include slingers and firelancers and several dinosaurs, I should ward against disappointment, since that detail is purely for flavour. All its cultures, factions, and soldiers carry brief but colourful descriptions, but in practice it’s all basically irrelevant, and seldom noticed when you’re conquering and reorganising things. I like that it’s there. It adds the lightest of flavours to a game that pares down the fiddly, overwhelming grand strategy detail, condensing every turn into a strict rule: you can take one action.

You must conquer 5 specific cities before the turn limit. Each of 40 factions has a unique position and targets to pursue in local conflicts, while the simulated world mostly never affects you. There are no limits to to how many cities you can hold… except the need to hold them. Unhappy ones may declare independence, or switch sides if sufficiently espionaged. Cities can be developed with administrative actions lasting several turns, and the more you have, the more you must defend. But defending takes up your action.

If two neighbours attack at once, you must choose. They operate by the same rules, so you can exploit that too, and tailor your army to best suit their terrain. Your army is made of five units of archers, spearmen, skirmishers, brontosarusesesi, or many more, each most effective on certain terrains. Attackers with a higher relative bonus are more likely to “break through” to victory, but undefended cities automatically fall.

Image credit:RPS / Iron Boar Labs

Available types aren’t determined by faction or production buildings, but by which cultures live within your realm. Every population point lives somewhere, producing one resource (automatically converted to money or growth, with some regional modifiers affecting e.g. grapes or ceramics), and claiming a warrior tradition that grants access to their flavour of wardude. But the useful new stablads you integrated will disappear if you lose the cities they live in, forcing you to reorganise the army. Unhappy people may also leave (or be forcibly displaced with an action - perhaps you lack the gold to placate them). Everyone also belongs to a sect that practices certain rituals, and once beyond basic familiarity, you’ll dig into an optional menu to choose one of these traditions to encourage and one to suppress. The obvious play is to make an already comfortable and dominant group slightly more comfortable in exchange for making a minority significantly worse off. What? No, I just like sharpening knives. Don’t worry about it. Vote!

You don’t have to manually recruit, just choose 5 fightman flavours to comprise your single army, with diminishing returns on experience gain for duplicates. Experience means improved performance on some terrains, but the available options vary, making some initially limited killboys a versatile investment if you do enough fighting.

Numbers can be bumped with a “recruit” action that burns a population point in the chosen city, more efficiently if you use “assert” first, at the cost of happiness. Then there’s trading with neighbours for mutual profit, more so if you set your attitude to “friendly”. Relations aren’t the usual peace/war or “+5 you have a cool hat!”; you can always see each neighbour’s attitude, and how much they covet your land, trust you, and consider you a threat. There’s no breakdown of why, nor diplomatic actions as such, making it impersonal but fairly unrestrictive; with no formal status, a tiny bit like Fragile Allegiance , relations are what you do. You’re not deathmatching with the AI, just trying to hit those 5 cities before the turn limit (which varies per faction!), so they act somewhat rationally, not playing “stop the human”.

<img loading=“lazy” src=“https://assetsio.gnwcdn.com/high_strategy_oradros_6.jpg?width=2048&height=2048&fit=bounds&quality=85&format=jpg&auto=webp" onerror=“this.onerror=null;this.src=‘https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhe7F7TRXHtjiKvHb5vS7DmnxvpHiDyoYyYvm1nHB3Qp2_w3BnM6A2eq4v7FYxCC9bfZt3a9vIMtAYEKUiaDQbHMg-ViyGmRIj39MLp0bGFfgfYw1Dc9q_H-T0wiTm3l0Uq42dETrN9eC8aGJ9_IORZsxST1AcLR7np1koOfcc7tnHa4S8Mwz_xD9d0=s16000';" alt=“The traits of an AI in High Strategy, including a “Coexist” stat explained as their willingness to accept your border with them. - 7”>

Image credit:RPS / Iron Boar Labs

It sounds like an awful lot, doesn’t it? But this is a very simple game at heart, with minimal pondering. You can, and probably will, mostly ignore the details for a game or two, still mostly repeating similar patterns. Army goes up, conquer city, recruit, appease, change army, develop. But it all sits in the background, lending a little irregularity, some sense that you can try other things, that each faction could play out quite differently. I’ve struggled in a tiny corner for a whole game, finally coming within two battles of a full 5/5 win, only to lose two of them in terrain that my new army couldn’t retake. Another game saw a random plague hollow out half my land, exposing my complacency about my apparently inexhaustible army for a sudden era of retraction and fortifying.

Oradros is not a difficult game, but there’s enough dynamic simulation for surprises even if you don’t see it all, and although your income and army typically grow exponentially, there’s less sense of inevitability than usual, and it feels less arbitrary or unfair when you lose out. That crucial “one action per turn” system gives it just enough depth to make things interesting and hint at some reality to the world, while keeping it firmly within reach of that state of mind where you’re researching how cold a saline drip can be before it gets dangerous.

We’ll get you next time, Sun.

High Strategy: Oradros

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Hyper Empire

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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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