Songs Of Conquest 1.0 review: occasionally demanding but often rewarding fantasy warlordery

Frog factions

Image credit:Coffee Stain Publishing

• Developer: Lavapotion
• Publisher: Coffee Stain Publishing
• Release: May 20th 2024
• On: Windows 10
• From: Steam , GOG
• Price: £30/€34/$35
• Reviewed on: AMD Ryzen 5 Pro 3400G, Radeon RX 590, 24GB RAM, Windows 10

Two years of early access have been kind Songs of Conquest . Its strategy fundamentals were already strong enough to impress me in 2022 that it’s been quite tricky to even remember what’s changed. But there’s more of it, and although after much reflection I think it’s not quite, quite for me, more of a good and unusual thing is definitely enough to push me into a very nearly wholehearted endorsement.

This full release is more a case of offering more for your money than dramatically expanding how it plays. Two new story campaigns take us to four (one per faction), each with four very long and elaborate levels. There are now multiple skirmish modes with preset or randomised maps (with an interesting option to have “find the object” as a win condition, tilting a game’s focus towards exploration and fighting side battles over the traditional direct massacre), and a set of challenge maps that - no thank you, my life does not need more challenges. Thanks to its editing tools, there are already a few player made campaigns and maps, too.

These are all centred on one concept: to gather a handful of magical warlords (wielders) and have them alternate between hoovering stuff up on a big world map, using that stuff to build and raise armies, and taking those armies to tell the other wielders what stupid ugly jerks they are via interpretive stabbing. Players of Heroes of Might and Magic probably don’t need the reference, but it’d be remiss not to make it.

Image credit:Coffee Stain Publishing

Image credit:Coffee Stain Publishing

The hoovering is the big thing, as it gives XP, resources, and artifacts to beef up your wielders. Thanks to some excellent sound effects, there’s always a tiny satisfaction in picking wood or magical rocks up even when you don’t really need them. Troves are often guarded by neutral, static armies where you can try out new tactics. Meeting hostiles triggers a turn-based mini-battle on a hex grid, where the already gorgeous and vibrant pixel art lends itself to lovely animations and effects. Even the borders feature lovely animated scenery you might never stop to notice.

Wielders don’t join the ranks, but cast spells based on the schools you’ve trained/equipped them for, powered by mana from many sources, the most significant and tactically flexible being your soldiers themselves. Each unit type generates ’essence’ to power spells for specific schools (about half the spellbook is for multi-school spells), even if that unit is down to its last dude, which adds more tactical variety to your ability to either pile all your crossbowmen, say, into one hardy unit that can endure and distribute more damage, or to split them into two or even three weaker ones that generate more magic (and potentially bog the enemy down in melee or a slower action economy).

Your wielders’ skill bonuses apply to their whole army too, so you might specialise one for extra-powerful spellcasting, heavy melee offence, or even economics, either by passively generating resources or raiding and pillaging enemy settlements. You might even have one whose role is mostly to ferry reinforcements from your towns to your combat wielders. Map control is everything, as towns (which are static, with strictly limited building slots) are generally easily taken without a wielder in defence, but wielders sitting in defence aren’t going out earning XP and goodies. You need to be expanding and pushing always, because anything you don’t hoover up can go to the enemy instead. But they can’t be everywhere, so even a weaker side can sometimes use harassing raids and feint tactics to unnerve and undermine a stronger one.

Each faction’s unit roster is small but unique, and varied enough to resist reducing them to one gimmick or playstyle. Take the Rana, an alliance of oppressed swampy frog and lizard people, whose mix of very slow defenders and fast cavalry are backed by strong ranged spell chuckers, and spider riders who weaken adjacent enemies. They seem contradictory, because you’re not really meant to recruit everything; it’s generally better to have a large force comprised mostly of one or two key types paired with a wielder who can push their strengths further. Some troops (especially the undead faction’s) are at their best not even fighting, but sitting at the back generating extra magic for your spells.

Image credit:Coffee Stain Publishing

Between which skills and magic your wielders level into, their equipment, what troops you focus on, and what opposition you’re up against, Songs of Conquest is very much a game about learning all the combinations. But as each unit has only one or two quirks, and the rules are generally clear and straightforward, it doesn’t get too overwhelming or pedantic (although the battle log is disappointingly uninformative, and it’s sometimes hard to see a hex behind a line of huge monsters, and with no order confirmation and such condensed battles, an occasional misclick can cause serious damage).

The game rewards learning your way around, but it doesn’t demand scholarship. You might, however, stack your chips all wrong and not find out until quite some way into a match (pro tip: protection against spell damage is priceless). The level up options being partly randomised works less well than in e.g. Wildermyth , partly because some skills are dramatically worse than others. A little extra wood, or more powerful magic? Are you joking.

But that variety means that taking a few knocks while you learn how to plan your forces in advance is part of the fun. And Songs of Conquest is a heap of fun. I even enjoyed the story, as each faction’s campaign centres their own conflict and throws some fresh light onto the wider one. I appreciate that there’s no bog standard Human Empire or goddamn elves. Even the undead faction are a blend of cultists, rats, and spirits, with more interesting motivation than “hey let’s awaken the Dark Lord lol oh no my soul” again. The Baryans, who could have been generic evil slavers come across like a forward thinking, curiously legalistic culture in contrast to the old kingdoms, but with a mercantile bent that means that, yeah, even their main campaign wielder was enslaved.

I like Songs of Conquest a lot. I may not quite love it, but it’s colourful and rich in flavour and has more strategic depth than at first appears. Its main inspiration is clear, but it more than earns its own place in the sun.

This review is based on a copy of the game provided by the publisher.

Find out how we conduct our reviews by reading our review policy .

Songs Of Conquest

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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