With 50 playable heroes, indie RPG Zoria: Age Of Shattering wants to “marry XCOM to Baldur’s Gate”

Tiny Trinket Games tell us why they’re trading deeper characters for more involving exploration

Image credit:Anshar Publishing, Surefire.Games

The success of Baldur’s Gate 3 is a double-edged sword for other CRPGs launching in its wake. On the one hand, there’s arguably a hungry new audience for such games; on the other, you’re going up against one of the best RPGs ever made. Expectations are high , but Tiny Trinket Games’ co-founder Stefan Nitescu remains unfazed as his three-strong team prepare to release Zoria: Age Of Shattering on March 7th. Zoria is carving an altogether different path through the RPG landscape, fusing isometric exploration with XCOM-like combat and 50 playable characters who are more like unit classes than personalities. The latter is a decision that comes with its own “repercussions”, says Nitescu, but he’s confident that it will help Zoria stand apart, with character abilities being unusually central to exploration.

“This ’exploration + characters’ structure is how you marry XCOM to Baldur’s Gate ,” he tells me. “You have the base, you have a lot of characters, but you don’t go on those tiny missions. You have the system and you apply it to a world.” The game treats your RPG party more like a squad of XCOM soldiers than a web of conflicting personalities, but party member abilities aren’t just about combat - they all have their own tools for unlocking parts of Zoria’s map to let you explore it further. It’s an intriguing proposition, and an ambitious goal for a studio of just three people.

This class-based exploration immediately makes itself apparent as I play through the Steam Next Fest demo . As I lead my own custom-made wizard into battle to defend our home’s keep from invasion, I get the choice to pick a battle cleric or a lancer to come with me. Each are equally capable in battle, I’m told, but since it’s the battle cleric (who’s also my commanding officer) posing the question in the first place, I go with her mostly out of politeness. It was a good choice, not least because she’s able to heal as well as dole out damage, but later on in the demo I come across a large wall of debris that can only be cleared by the superior strength of a lancer.

Image credit:Anshar Publishing, Surefire.Games

Obstacles like this are Zoria’s bread and butter, Nitescu tells me, and reforming your party often to complete quests and push further into Zoria’s world is all part of how Tiny Trinket Games are putting their own spin on RPG exploration. The wizard, for example, can conjure bridges, while priests can purify cursed areas and ward off evil magic. My choice of battle cleric also let me interact with various shrines to restore my party’s health and stamina as I made my way around the castle courtyard. All 50 characters will be able to have some kind of impact on the environment as you get further in the game, Nitescu continues, and later on you’ll be able to return to areas that may have been previously inaccessible the first time you encountered them due to your party composition.

“Usually these kinds of games, and, sure, we can think of Baldur’s Gate - it’s only been all over the news for the last six months! What usually happens is you have a fixed or somewhat fixed party, and they get you through the whole game,” he says. But for Tiny Trinket, their priority was giving players the freedom to explore Zoria in whatever way they wanted, whether that’s with a traditional and varied party of melee, magic and ranged characters, or a squad composed entirely of healers.

“If you want to go all healers, it’s going to work,” he laughs. “It’s probably not going to work how you think, and it will probably take you longer, but you can. And the idea behind it is exactly that: you can do that. That’s why we went with so many characters.”

Battles are intended to be quick and breezy affairs, Nitescu says, and there is a definite zippiness to them in the Next Fest demo. Each character has two action points at their disposal, and you can either move freely around the environment in a similar fashion to Baldur’s Gate 3 , or deploy one of your abilities - assuming you have a clear line of sight to your target, that is. Side and back attacks also deal more damage, so strategic placement of your party is key. Admittedly, I often fell into a tempting pattern of simply pelting the rank and file fodder enemies with spells where I stood rather than spend a point moving to a more strategic position, but tougher enemies weren’t so accommodating. These will need more nouse and tactical planning if you’re going to walk away from them unscatched, and these encounters will no doubt be where Zoria’s many hero options really come into their own.

Having such a large cast in an RPG does, of course, come with some trade-offs when your development team is as small as Tiny Trinket, and Nitescu is upfront about Zoria’s shortcomings during our chat. “A lot of the characters aren’t going to have very much depth to them,” he admits. “They’ll have a bit of a backstory and they’ll make sense where they come from and why they’re there, but they’re not going to have their own personal saga.” Everything multiplies when you’re dealing with 50 characters, and “you can do that if you’re Bethesda, but we’re a teeny weeny bit smaller,” he says.

Nitescu also says he would have liked to have done “more branching” in the game’s story, but given the limits of what they’re able to work with, he says his main goal has been to create a world that “feels like it’s lived in”. Indeed, this is still a game whose NPC schedules are governed by a day/night cycle, for example, and one that only lets you craft new weapons and items when you happen upon a blacksmith. “You usually don’t go round with a bucket of coal and a hammer and do that on the road,” Nitescu chuckles, “so we’re trying to reference the real world a bit and act accordingly”.

Image credit:Anshar Publishing, Surefire.Games

You will, of course, be able to rest and cook food around your campfire, and perform a bit of alchemy to craft potions and objects with the items you’ve got in your stash. But resting also consumes resources and supplies - “kind of like camping does!” Nitescu says - so you’ll need to manage your party’s survival with how you explore the world and the pace at which you engage with its turn-based battles. Resting wasn’t really a problem in the Steam Next Fest demo, admittedly, which gave me ample supplies to heal up as often as you like, but cooking and resting also give you extra class and food-based bonuses to play with. I hope the final game is similarly generous with camping supplies so you can take advantage of these buffs, without having to stretch yourself too thin on your adventure.

Ultimately, Nitescu wants players to feel “like you’re there” and that you’ve left some kind of dent on the world you’ve spent so much time in. That’s one of his main bugbears with RPGs: the question of, ‘Well, now what?’ when everything’s said and done. “You save the world, but there’s no mark that you’ve really been on the spot where you exist,” he says. “You don’t really have a house, and practically nothing you do leaves any kind of tangible mark, so this is why we went with having a base, and let’s make it upgradeable, like you feel you have been there.” Again, it comes back to how “real life usually works,” he muses. “You’re probably not going to save the world, but you’re going to leave a mark where you are.”

Image credit:Anshar Publishing, Surefire.Games

Image credit:Anshar Publishing, Surefire.Games

• Developer: Tiny Trinket Games
• Publisher: Anshar Publishing, Surefire.Games
• Release: March 7th 2024
• On: Windows
• From: Steam , GOG
• Price: £TBC/$25

That base will morph and change over time as a result, too - not just as you house more heroes, but also as you build more facilities and upgrade the capabilities of your outpost. “Almost all the upgrades are visual,” Nitescu notes, and he hopes players will be able to “feel [their] evolution in the world as you’re playing.” You’ll have plenty of chances to admire your handiwork as well, as you’ll need to return to your base reasonably often to rid yourself of the fatigue you accumulate from travelling on the road, with Nitescu saying that after two or three camps, you’re going to start missing your proper bed back at home.

Add to this a loot and crafting system that gives you Diablo levels of loot to pick and choose from across your 50-strong cast, and Zoria really does feel like it’s punching about its weight. There are still a number of rough edges you can see in the Next Fest demo - its small text boxes and large font sizes make its dialogue tricky to parse at times, and its battle animations and environmental effects aren’t quite as flashy and characterful as you might see in other games, perhaps. But it’s an impressive feat nonetheless for a team of just three, though whether the public and their Baldur’s Gate-tinted glasses will agree is another matter. Zoria had a successful Kickstarter campaign at the end of 2022, but after the studio ditched their original plans to first launch into early access, it’s under more pressure to get things right at launch on March 7th. In the meantime, you can try its demo for yourself on both Steam and GOG .

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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.

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ARC Raiders

PS5 , Xbox Series X/S , PC

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