Today I want to take another look at one of the (at least to me) most promising blockchain games currently in developement - eXode. In case you still haven't heard about the game, I've already written several articles detailing what the game is going to be about and what we can expect to see in its future. I've discussed their game manifesto here and I took a closer look at the first playable Alpha build they released here. Last weekend the game had it's Origin opening event where the 3 starter packs were opened, revealing 14 unique cards each. The next big step to follow is the Contract opening event, scheduled to be this Friday. So lets take a look at what to expect from that event:
So what the hyperdrive are Contracts!? Contracts are sold exclusively in the eXode shop and right now there are 3 different Contracts available. Tom Settlers Premium Buddies, Rekatron Weapon Drops, and of course the infamous Syndicate Sponsorship. Each of these three Contracts provides you with three weekly drops (chosen randomly from its unique loot) for life.
Tom Settler focuses on providing you the finest products for your day to day colonization needs. Become premium buddies with Tom Settler and you'll never have to worry about getting stuck with an empty cargo hold again. Rekatron on the other hand specializes in getting the biggest and meanest guns into your hands just when you need it. Scared of those nasty aliens? Rekatron always has your back! The Syndicate are a special breed of their own. Being the most important, not fully legal organization in the known universe, they'll provide you with everything you'll ever need. Crew, ships, narcotics, untimely deaths - you just name it and the Syndicate has it... at a price of course.
While we don't have any details regarding the cards to be found in the Tom Settler and Rekatron packs, eXode already released some cards that will be found in the Syndicate contract:
The Kumicho is the first legendary card to be revealed so far. Legendary is going to be the highest rarity in eXode, so this card is going to be as rare as it gets. The Kumicho is the acting leader of the Syndicate and thus has a lot of interesting stuff going for her. First of all, she has the Passenger trait. She's not going to be part of your crew and instead will be added as one of the passengers on your ship. As a leader she won't be interested in doing any routine jobs for you like loading cargo or picking up fuel. In return for not really doing anything for you she comes with a +1 Syndicate and +1 Narcophile traits. This translates to an increase in quality level of +1 for all your other cards that either come with the Syndicate or Nacrohpile trait. She's their leader after all, so everybody is going to work just a little bit harder while she's around.
Another trait that's highly intriguing to me is the Secret Agenda. She sure comes with a lot of boons and will be very valuable to you and your colony. But you can never know if she's really loyal to you or if she's just using you to fulfill her hidden agenda. I really love the concept of having those little (or big) stories around the characters you bring to your ship. You'll never know what's going to happen when you pick her to be on your ship. For all you know, the Secret Agenda could even benefit you in the long run... or she could aim to sell your whole crew as slaves. There's really only one way to find out - bring her with you and see what happens.
The Battle-Trained Socialite is another character available in the Syndicate contract. First of all, I really love her artwork. The determination in her eyes, the dagger hidden behind her back, the hilt of the sword in her other hand - it just all adds up. Regarding her abilities I really like the combat action Approach and Kill. This showcases how eXode is trying to create uniqueness with every playthrough. All crew members get to use certain abilities like upgrading the hyperdrive or defending your cargo, but having additional abilities only available to special cards makes the game a lot more interesting. Approach and Kill sounds like she can get close to an unsuspecting victim and quickly take him out before anybody realizes what's happening. The fun thing about this is that this doesn't have to be stronger or weaker than just shooting at your enemies - it's just different. I'd imagine that the ability will be fantastic to take out isolated high profile targets. But if there are 10 enemies shooting at you this ability probably won't do anything for you, bringing a blade to a gun fight seldom is a good idea after all.
Personally I managed to get my hands on a copy of each of the contracts and I really can't wait to see what my first drops will be. As of now eXode still is in a very early Alpha stage and we'll have to wait and see how everything is going to play out in the end. Still I have to admit that I'm growing more interested in the game every day. They have so many fun and interesting concepts that it's mind blowing to me. I'm sure it will take a long long time to implement even half of what the developer already thought of but I'll enjoy being part of this journey as much as I can.
As I really like eXode and want to help it grow its community I'm doing a little referral incentive program. All you need to play the game is an origin pack which is currently sold at 8$ each. If you join using my referral link you'll get 2 boosters for free from eXode and I'll send an additional booster your way. Each booster contains 5 random cards chosen from more than 200 unique cards in the Alpha collection. They are currently sold at 2$ each.
As always, thank you all for reading and please let me know what you think about eXode in the comments. See you all next time.
