Blue Prince Permanent Upgrades and How to Unlock Them

Unlocking the secrets of Mt. Holly in Blue Prince is no easy feat, but the game rewards your persistence with four powerful permanent additions that enhance your daily adventures. From unlocking hidden paths to gaining extra steps and daily gems, these upgrades transform your roguelike journey by carrying benefits across runs, making each new day a little less daunting and a lot more rewarding. Dive into our comprehensive guide to discover what these permanent additions are and how to unlock them, turning your exploration into a lasting legacy.

Update (April 17): Added two more permanent additions.

All permanent additions in Blue Prince

Blue Prince features several permanent additions that provide lasting benefits across your daily runs, enhancing your gameplay experience. The main permanent additions include the West Gate Path, which unlocks new areas like the Outer Room; the Gemstone Cavern, granting two free gems at the start of each day; the Apple Orchard, adding 20 extra steps daily; and the Blackbridge Grotto, which allows access to one offline terminal per day. Additionally, there are other upgrades like the Blue Tents and Satellite Dish that further enrich your progress. Unlocking these requires solving puzzles and exploring different parts of the Mt. Holly estate, rewarding persistence and ingenuity with valuable, persistent bonuses that carry over from one day to the next.

There are six permanent additions in Blue Prince. You’ll find them listed in your pause menu below your items.

They are (in the order the game uses):

West Gate Path– unlocks the Outer Room
Gemstone Cavern – starts every day with two gems
Apple Orchard – adds 20 steps
Blackbridge Grotto – allows you to use one offline terminal per day
Blue Tents – adds hidden blue memos to each blue room drafted on the 8th rank
Satellite Dish – unblocks inbound electronic mail and communications and adds new experimental data packets to the Laboratory

Read on to see how to unlock each of these permanent additions, or click the links in the list above to go directly to the one you’re interested in.

How to unlock the West Gate Path in Blue Prince

To unlock the West Gate Path in Blue Prince, you need to draft both the Utility Closet and the Garage rooms in the same run. The Utility Closet allows you to activate the power switch for the Garage, which is essential to open the Garage door. Once the Garage door is open, exit the building and follow the outside path south, then take the left fork to reach the West Gate. Interact with the gate to unlock it permanently, granting access to the West Path and enabling you to draft special Outer Rooms each day. This permanent addition enhances your runs by providing valuable bonuses through these Outer Rooms.

Unlocking the West Gate Path requires you to draft both the Utility Closet and the Garage on the same day. In the Utility Closet, turn the power on to the Garage, and then you can open the Garage door and head outside.

Take a left and you’ll find your way back to the front of the house where you can (permanently) unlock the West Gate. Heading west from there will bring you to the Outer Room where you can draft a new set of rooms like the Trading Post and the Shelter.

How to unlock the Gemstone Cavern in Blue Prince

To unlock the Gemstone Cavern in Blue Prince, you need to solve the Utility Closet puzzle involving the V.A.C. indicator lights on the breaker box. First, draft the Mail Room to find a document with clues on how to manipulate the colors of the indicators from green to blue and then to purple by combining blue and red lights. Next, draft the Office to access an email containing the password “SWANSONG,” which allows you to log into the network and get more detailed instructions. Using these clues, you must set all six indicators to purple in the correct sequence, which will open a secret door revealing a switch. Activating this switch permanently unlocks the Gemstone Cavern, granting you two extra gems at the start of each day in the game, providing a significant advantage for unlocking rooms during runs.

Speaking of the Utility Closet, you’ll need that to unlock the Gemstone Cavern. You’ll find hints for the V.A.C. Indicator puzzle in the Mail Room and the Office’s computer’s emails.

Solving that puzzle gets you access to a switch that turns on the Gemstone Cavern benefit of two gems at the start of each day. (You don’t have to visit the Gemstone Cavern over by your campsite on the east side of the house.)

How to unlock the Apple Orchard in Blue Prince

To unlock the Apple Orchard in Blue Prince, head outside the mansion to the campsite east of it, where you’ll find the Orchard gate secured with a four-digit padlock. First, draft the Dark Room and the Utility Closet, then use the Utility Closet’s circuit breaker to turn on the lights in the Dark Room. With a Magnifying Glass, examine a photo of the Orchard inside the Dark Room to find a date carved into a tree-11-28-which is the code to unlock the gate. Opening the Orchard grants a permanent upgrade of 20 extra steps each day, along with access to the Gardner’s Logbook and a gas valve useful for future puzzles.

You can find the Apple Orchard behind your campsite on the east side of the house, but the gate is locked with a four-digit code. To find it, you’ll need to draft the Utility Closet (again) and the Darkroom. You’ll also need to have a Magnifying Glass.

Use the Utility Closet to turn the power back on in the Darkroom. Inside, use the Magnifying Glass on the pictures inside to find the code to the Orchard gate. Once it’s unlocked, you’ll get 20 extra steps per day.

How to unlock the Blackbridge Grotto in Blue Prince

To unlock the Blackbridge Grotto in Blue Prince, you first need to draft and power the Boiler Room, which serves as the power source. After activating the Boiler by manipulating steam valves and pipes to direct power, you must connect the Laboratory to the Boiler Room either directly or through other rooms with overhead ducts. Once the Laboratory is powered, enter it and solve two puzzles by flipping specific switches (#9 and then #3) in the small switch room. Completing these steps will permanently unlock the Blackbridge Grotto, granting access to an additional terminal each day that can be used remotely from other rooms, enhancing your gameplay flexibility. This process involves some trial and error with power routing and room drafting, making it one of the more challenging permanent additions to unlock early in the game.

Unlocking the Blackbridge Grotto takes a bit of work and a lot of luck. You’ll need to draft the Boiler Room and then connect the Laboratory to it either directly or via rooms with ducts along the ceiling. Once you do, you’ll have to solve both Laboratory puzzles.

To get the benefit of the Grotto, you’ll also need the terminal password. With that, you can choose the “login to network” option at any computer and use the remote terminal access option to get at a computer you haven’t drafted yet.

How to unlock Blue Tents in Blue Prince

To unlock the Blue Tents in Blue Prince, you must first reach Room 46 and complete the game, which unlocks the Mount Holly Gift Shop as a draftable room. After drafting the Gift Shop, you need to purchase all other items available there, such as the Mt. Holly Tee, Lunch Box, Swim Trunks, Dirigiblocks Console Edition, and Swim Bird Plushie. Only after buying these items will the price for the Blue Tents be revealed, which is 400 gold coins. Once you have enough coins, you can buy the Blue Tents, unlocking this permanent addition for your estate.

To unlock Blue Tents, you’ll first need to reach Room 46 to unlock the Mount Holly Giftshop, which is only available after you’ve seen Blue Prince’s credits. Next, you’ll need to earn eight trophies by completing various challenges like solving 40 dartboard puzzles or winning 40 Parlor games.

With those said and done, you can finally get your hands on the Blue Tents permanent addition by purchasing the souvenir from the Mount Holly Giftshop for a measly, uhhh. 400 coins. The permanent addition definitely has a hefty cost, but will assist you in finding information for post-credits puzzles.

How to unlock the Satellite Dish in Blue Prince

To unlock the Satellite Dish in Blue Prince, you first need to collect three Microchips scattered throughout the game: one in the Blackbridge Grotto, another hidden inside a broken vase in the Entrance Hall, and the last buried near the small bridge by the West Gate. After gathering all three, head to the Apple Orchard, which must be unlocked beforehand, and use a Burning Glass to scorch the base of the sundial there. Twist the sundial to open it and place the Microchips into the revealed slots. This action unlocks the Satellite Dish, a permanent upgrade that enables new laboratory experiments and allows you to remove crates blocking progress in the tunnel, enhancing your gameplay significantly.

The Satellite Dish can be unlocked after solving the puzzles found in the book “A New Clue,” which can be purchased from the Bookshop. The puzzle require you to find a major key, find other books around the estate, and reveal the hidden message, “Turn scorched sundial base.”

The sundial can be found in the Apple Orchard, but you’ll first need to scorch the base with a Burning Glass (Magnifying Glass and Metal Detector combination). Turn the scorched base to reveal three microchip sockets, which you’ll need to bring from the Blackbridge Grotto or find in their hidden locations. Once the microchips have been slotted in, the Satellite Dish will rise up from behind the hills and establish a connection to the outside world.

What secret strategies will help me unlock all Blue Prince upgrades faster

To unlock all Blue Prince upgrades faster, focus on these secret strategies:

Prioritize solving key puzzles like the 3 Boxes Puzzle in the Parlor and the breaker box puzzle in the Utility Closet, as they reliably grant gems and rewards essential for upgrades.
Hunt for special items such as the Watering Can found in the Grounds rooms, which multiplies gem drops when used in Green Rooms, especially combined with the Patio’s gem-spreading effect.
Collect Upgrade Disks scattered randomly and use them at terminals to permanently upgrade rooms; repeatedly starting new days and re-rolling upgrades at terminals can help you get the best room buffs.
Unlock the Apple Orchard early by inputting the code 1128 at the Campsite Gate to gain a permanent +20 steps daily, significantly increasing your exploration capacity.
Explore thoroughly to find hidden rooms and terminals, as some upgrades require accessing secret areas like the Blackbridge Grotto and Gemstone Cavern, where you can activate switches for permanent buffs.
Manage your keys wisely to open locked safes and doors that hide gems and upgrade-related items; common keys can unlock unexpected rooms, so experiment with their use.
Draft specific rooms like the Sauna to gain extra steps the next day and use items like the Sleep Mask and Salt Shaker to increase steps during runs, helping you conserve resources and progress faster.

By combining puzzle-solving, efficient exploration, item usage, and strategic room drafting, you can accelerate unlocking all permanent upgrades in Blue Prince.

What are the most effective ways to find hidden gems quickly in Blue Prince

The most effective ways to find hidden gems quickly in Blue Prince include:

Scour high-value rooms such as dens, storerooms, and upgraded rooms like the Courtyard, which often contain one or two hidden gems; always check shelves, safes, desks, and trunks carefully as gems blend subtly into the environment.
Prioritize solving key puzzles like the 3 Boxes Puzzle in the Parlor, which grants two gems, and the breaker box puzzle in the Utility Closet, rewarding two gems per run.
Use the Watering Can item found in the outdoor Grounds rooms; it has three charges that, when used in Green Rooms, spawn bonus gems, especially effective when combined with the Patio room’s gem-spreading effect across connected Green Rooms.
Draft special item rooms such as the Closet, Walk-In Closet, and Toolshed, which often contain multiple gems among their items, though these rooms are dead ends and should be planned carefully.
Open locked safes and trunks with keys or sledgehammers, as they frequently contain gems; safes always have gems once unlocked, making key management crucial.
Visit the Commissary shop early when it stocks gems at lower prices, allowing you to buy gems reliably if you have enough coins.
Explore thoroughly and revisit areas like the Patio and Green Rooms to collect scattered gems, and always draft unexplored rooms to uncover new gem sources.

By combining puzzle-solving, strategic drafting, item usage, and careful exploration, you can maximize gem collection speed in Blue Prince.