The first 45 minutes of Dragon Age: The Veilguard feel as much like Mass Effect 2 as Inquisition

A more focused action-RPG with the promise of complexity deeper in

Image credit:EA

Good news, everybody! Dragon Age: The Veilguard - previously Dragon Age : Dreadwolf, strictly speaking Dragon Age 4 - is not the bantzy heist romp suggested by its debut trailer . Less Good News for returning players: going by the 45 minute segment I was shown at Summer Game Fest, Dragon Age: The Veilguard is more of a single-character action- RPG plus entourage, than a proper party-based affair in the vein of 2014’s Dragon Age: Inquisition . You do get a party, drawn from a retinue of seven, larger-than-life, romanceable companions encompassing a range of classes, abilities and go-faster hairdos, but control of that party has been streamlined, and there’s a God Of Warlike emphasis on booting Fade demons into pits. Hmmm.

If you were fondly hoping for a top-down table-topper like the BioWare RPGs of auld, you may be disappointed. But wait, there is yet More News: the slice of the game’s intro I saw reminded me of the amazing Mass Effect 2 , partly because it starts in the middle of a catastrophe - as creative director John Epler put it during our presentation, “a beginning which feels like the ending of another game”. Beware spoilers for Inquisition and its DLC in the paragraphs ahead.

The proper reveal trailer for Dragon Age: The Veilguard.Watch on YouTube

The catastrophe is the work of Solas - Inquisition’s wry and unreadable Elf mage, who is eventually revealed to be an ancient god of deceit in The Trespasser DLC. Many centuries ago, Solas imprisoned the other, even naughtier Elf gods in another dimension, the Veil, sealing them away at the cost of the magic, freedom and immortality of the Elven race. Now, Solas is performing a ritual to rip the Veil down, a change of heart that threatens to render Thedas uninhabitable for anybody who isn’t an Elf god or a demon.

You play Rook, a new protagonist who has teamed up with Varric, Dragon Age’s velvety crossbow-fancying dwarf chronicler, to put a stop to the Solapocalypse. Thus the origins of the titular Veilguard, a fellowship of world-savers who include familiar faces like Scout Harding from Inquisition and newcomers like Neve Gallus, a rakish wizardress with a cocked hat and a stiletto wand.

Rook is a custom protagonist, and Dragon Age’s character creator has seen a massive glow-up. It allows you to shape your character’s body shape for the first time in the series, by twiddling around with what BioWare absolutely aren’t calling “the triangle of girth”, though the creator does explicitly let you customise your “bulge size”. The character creator includes a suite of sample lighting conditions that show you how your Rook appears standing in blazing forest sunshine versus the glare of an underground temple.

This chance to test out your character’s aesthetics is amply justified. In addition to adding posh flourishes such as newly mobile, extra-hairy hair, BioWare have revised Dragon Age’s art direction to make character models a little more consistent with the series’ lovely Tarot-inspired menu art. Flesh is ruddy to the point of painterly; facial features and bodily proportions are thicker and more striking, as though the characters had been cut from clay. While the saturated colours can be a bit cloying, I think the new character designs are gorgeous. Hopefully the same will prove true of the costumes, because Inquisition had some absolutely hideous armour. My warrior qunari Inquisitor dressed like a bargain-bucket Xmas tree, pretty much. It might seem a superficial complaint, but when you have to spend 100+ hours with a character you want them to look their best.

Aside from selecting a skin tone for all seasons, you’ll choose your race - elf, dwarf, human and qunari - and starting class - warrior, mage or rogue, each of which has three specialisations. The warrior, for instance, can be specialised into a Reaper, equipped with lifesteal and other freaky powers, a Slayer who can wield the biggest blades, or a tanky Champion. You’ll also choose an origin story and a factional association such as the nosy Antivan Crows or the Blight-busting Grey Wardens. Choice of faction may give you specific dialogue options, and also confers statistical boons - the Shadow Dragons deal extra damage to Venatori blood cultists, for example. It’s very much of a piece with the character backstory ramifications of Origins and Inquisition.

Image credit:EA

The combat, though? That’s more of a departure. Like chess-boxers in spiked shoulderpads, the Dragon Age games have long alternated between real-time fisticuffs and freeze-time planning. Veilguard is still about collaborating with party members and pulling off those precious synergies where you prime an enemy with an ability or spell and detonate it with another. But going by the skirmishes I saw, it’s much less elaborate. Our old friend the ability wheel is back, but it only has slots for three abilities from each party member, and there doesn’t appear to be much scope to position characters on the field or set up terrain traps and the like.

The ability design itself is closer to that of a purebred actioner, with quick-recover prompts, boss battles in which you roll through puddles of incoming AOE, and the aforesaid hoofing of baddies into crevices. It’s recognisably a continuation of Inquisition, which also let you shove enemies into things, but it’s more focussed and reflex-driven. The introductory areas - set in the mageocracy of Tevinter, where there are literal castles in the sky - support this with a brace of corridor-shooter devices such as ziplines between levels.

How much of this is a reflection of our demo being taken from the early game? I can’t really comment on how the battles might evolve, but Epler told me that the introductory Tevinter geography is definitely not representative of later regions. Veilguard is no open worlder, but you can expect Hinterlandy areas that are designed for exploration - and it’s here, I hope, that the revised combat might rediscover some of Dragon Age’s older complexity. Veilguard also brings back base management from Inquisition, though Epler says it’s not on the same level as ruling over Skyhold. Makes sense: you’re leading a crack squad, not a rogue nation. I’ll miss being able to choose Skyhold’s curtains, though.

If I have misgivings about the fighting, it’s an unambiguous pleasure to return to the comfortingly dark fantasy world of Thedas and reunite with some of Inquisition’s finest. Our demo included some encounters with Solas himself, who is still one of BioWare’s most engaging creations in being at once empathic and calculating and sorrowful and sinister - though he’s less enthralling, of course, now that we know who he really is.

I’ve never liked Varric as much as BioWare does - his twinkly-eyed roguishness has always felt rather phoned-in - but he performs well as a kind of north star when navigating the saga’s louder, brasher or tricksier personalities, such as Sera (who I really hope is in this one). I also approve of BioWare’s classic party trick of upgrading a side character like softly-spoken Scout Harding into a front-row badass. And to circle belatedly back to those Mass Effect 2 comparisons, I like that Veilguard’s opening dialogue choices engage immediately with the prospect of losing major characters. The whole game has the makings of another Suicide Mission, given that you are up against a god with the ability to collapse dimensions.

Image credit:EA

I am definitely in mourning for the less kinetic, more strategic Dragon Age that might have been, but I’m more excited for Veilguard than I thought I’d be after copping the first trailer, which makes the whole thing look like the origin story for a C-list Marvel team. It’s worth remembering that Inquisition was often too knotty and expansive for its own good: its battle system is unwieldy, its story is a classic example of midgame bloat, and while Skyhold is a grand and imposing place, it’s also a managerial nightmare in which you routinely forget where the crafting tables are, 70 hours in. If Veilguard can carve out the cruft without reducing party members to sidekicks, it could be the soft reboot this long-absent RPG series needs. Just, please lay off with the ghastly tinted chainmail this time. The qunari deserve better.

The flurry of summer games events are now underway! Hit up our Summer Game Fest 2024 hub and our Day Of The Devs roundup for all the news worth caring about from the shows so far.

Dragon Age: The Veilguard

PS5 , Xbox Series X/S , 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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