What does BP stand for in Forge of Empires?

Hey friend! As a fellow Forge of Empires enthusiast, I know how confusing some of the terminology in the game can be at first. Today I want to provide you with a detailed guide to understanding one of the core resources in FoE – blueprints, commonly abbreviated as BP.

An Overview of Blueprints

Blueprints are special items that allow you to construct new buildings in your growing settlement. Without blueprints, you won‘t be able to expand and advance to new ages. Each building in the game requires 1-5 specific blueprints to unlock.

So when you see BP mentioned by experienced players or in the game interface itself, it‘s referring to these invaluable blueprints. Collecting blueprints and spending them wisely is crucial to building an efficient city layout.

Why Are Blueprints So Important?

Blueprints give you access to new structures that generate resources, units, and provide bonuses. Here are some key reasons you need a steady supply of them:

• Construct Resource Buildings – With blueprints you can build production buildings like iron mines, lumber mills, and farms. These generate the resources needed to expand your domain.

• Train Troops – Barracks, stables, and other military buildings require blueprints. These produce the foot soldiers, mounted units, artillery, and more that compose your army.

• Advance Ages – To progress from one age to the next, you‘ll need to research technologies only unlockable with certain blueprints. Advancing ages unlocks new building eras with more efficient structures.

• Improve Economy – Special buildings like the Trade Office and Treasury require blueprints but provide major economic boosts like tradeRoutes and tax collection.

• Defensive Buildings – Blueprints allow constructing walls, traps, and guard posts to better defend your city against enemies.

Without a healthy stock of blueprints, your city will stagnate. You‘ll lack resources, troops, technologies, and defenses to progress. Making blueprint collection a priority is the key to long-term success.

How Many Blueprints Are Needed Per Building?

Not all buildings require the same number of blueprints to construct. Here‘s a breakdown of how many blueprints are needed based on building type:

• Residential Buildings: 1 blueprint
• Resource Production Buildings: 1 blueprint
• Units Production Buildings: 1 blueprint
• Cultural Buildings: 2 blueprints
• Decorations: 2 blueprints
• Great Buildings: 5 blueprints

As you advance to higher ages, the number of blueprints required for key buildings tends to increase. For example, early houses may only need 1 blueprint while later era houses require 2 or more.

Great buildings like the Lighthouse of Alexandria are particularly blueprint intensive, costing 5 to unlock. The blueprint cost scales with the unique bonuses provided by these special structures.

On average, expect to spend at least 5-10 blueprints per day as you‘re building up your city and advancing ages. The costs really add up over time!

How Can You Get More Blueprints?

Now that you see how vital blueprints are, let‘s discuss the main ways to acquire them:

Completing Quests

Daily quests provide a reliable way to earn blueprints. Certain story and recurring questlines also reward blueprints at key milestones.

Guild Expeditions

Contributing resources to expeditions earns you expedition points. These can be exchanged in the expedition store for blueprint packs.

Random Rewards

Some recurring quests, challenges, and events have a chance to reward blueprints as a random prize. The odds are around 5-15%.

Premium Purchase

You can directly buy blueprint packs with diamonds via the in-game store. But this premium currency is difficult to acquire without spending real money.

Antique Dealer

The antique dealer is a special merchant that appears randomly and sells rare goods – including expensive blueprints!

Tech Research

Advancing your age through research projects occasionally unlocks new era blueprints as a reward.

As you can see, blueprints have a cost associated with acquiring them. Time, effort, resources, and sometimes real money may be needed.

My recommendation is to focus on expeditions and quests as your main blueprint sources. Purchasing blueprints with premium currency is helpful but expensive if you‘re not buying diamonds.

Smart Blueprint Management Tips

Here are some tips from my experience to help manage your blueprints effectively:

• Set blueprint goals – Have a plan for which buildings you want to unlock next. This lets you track the resources needed.

• Prioritize economic buildings first – Spend those hard-earned blueprints on resource generators rather than decorations. A strong economy funds future growth.

• Contribute to 1-2 guilds – Active guilds offer more options for earning expedition points to exchange for blueprints.

• Monitor the antique dealer – Check back often for rare blueprint offers. But weigh the cost vs. value before purchasing.

• Save blueprints – Don‘t spend blueprints frivolously. You‘ll kick yourself if you‘re short when a key technology blueprint appears.

• Use 1.9 threads – The 1.9 caching strategy maximizes blueprint efficiency. Only build when you have 1.9x the blueprints needed.

Follow these tips and you‘ll have the blueprints you need to construct an unstoppable city. Let me know if you have any other questions! Building an efficient domain in Forge of Empires takes strategy.