In the depths of HIVE a gem has grown into a complex strategy game with incredibly unique aspects of playing the game over and over again in a multitude of variations. Pack your crew and ship, load cargo, passengers and vehicles up and get ready for colonizing new planets.
To Bravely Seek Out New Worlds to Avoid Annihilation
EXODE is a browser-based space colonization CSG (Collectible Strategy Game) built on the Hive blockchain. In the year 2325, an overwhelming, aggressive alien race has invaded human space. Small pockets of humanity are banding together and setting out into unknown space in search of new worlds to colonize as part of a desparate bid to avoid extinction.
The core experience begins with players being alerted that alien forces are rapidly approaching the starbase they're presently docked at. Using customized decks of cards, players are in the role of ship captains tasked with...
- Tracking down crew members on shoreleave.
- Upgrading their hyperdrive for launch.
- Fueling up for the journey ahead.
- Loading cargo for the colonization effort.
- Boarding passengers to support the cause.
. . . and otherwise preparing their ship for immediate departure. Periodic events such as panicked citizens attacking the crew or aliens firing upon the ship will create moments of tension wherein important decisions need to be made. Will the Trooper find the last missing crew member in time? Can the Tactical Officer finish loading cargo before angry citizens kill them? Each game will require sacrifices in order to succeed.
After a successful evacuation (it is possible to die while docked at the starbase), the next hurdle involves quickly taking in the surroundings of an unknown galaxy. Players will choose how they wish to approach a potential planet (ranging from recklessly charging in to steathily meandering) and assign crew members to repair the ship, perform planetary scans, assist the pilot, etc.
Upon safely reaching the planet, they'll be able to land and begin the colonization part of the game. This aspect is still under development, but it is intended to be an open-ended period of time after the initial introduction, where players can complete various play2earn mechanics such as crafting, harvesting, and exploring their planet(s).
The Story So Far
EXODE was first announced early in 2020 with a playable demo being released shortly thereafter. Gameplay soon shifted to a browser-based experience with a long-term goal of providing a downloadable client. The first major induction of players began with a presale of booster packs offering alternative "Origin" characters for players to begin games of EXODE with. This sale concluded with the release of the "Evacuation Scene" that ushers players into each new game.
Since then, EXODE has introduced the EXOFUEL token, that will eventually be used once colonization is live, issued periodic challenge modes, and inched closer to the primary game mode with planetary scanning and planet NFTs.
Tokens
EXOFUEL is the only existing token for EXODE with a currently released supply of 24,000. The stated goal is to bring its value as close to $1 as possible, and its intended purpose is to fuel ships participating in space exploration and provide power to certain colony buildings. The remaining 600,000,000 supply will be distributed to players through game rewards, tournaments, top rankings and promotions.
NFT Cards
The characters and assets players use during standard gameplay are represented by cards in a customized deck created prior to starting a new game. These cards come in four rarities: Common, Rare, Epic, Legendary, with a small chance for any card to be an Elite version.
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Characters
A player's captain and crew are represented by Character cards. These cards determine the abilities, bonuses, and interactions of the "generated" Characters players use for the duration of each game. Generated Characters gain all of the attributes represented by their card and store them in their "profile". These profiles contain the following:
- Background (place of origin and/or affiliation, partially overlaps Factions)
- Faction (cultural/tribal "keyword" that determines which characters can use matching faction equipment)
- Skills (determine success rating for related in-game tasks)
- Traits (provide thematic access/modifiers to skills)
Origins represent the attributes a player has during the game. Each Origin limits which cards the player can include in their deck (Civilian, Criminal, Military or Scientific) unless they have the "Versatile" keyword.
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Each Origin has a set of Synergies that give the stated Quality bonus (higher Quality provides higher rated Skills during Crew Generation) to matching Characters along with numbers representing their own Quality (top-right), maximum number of officers (bottom-right) and current level (bottom-right). Non-Starter Origins also have additional abilities such as Inspire (bonus for Characters with stated Skill(s)) or bonus Ship Capacity.
Officers / Crew represent the Characters the player is responsible for managing during the game. Officers have a minimum rarity of Rare (and the "Officer" keyword) while Crew have a maximum rarity of Epic, as Officers are usually more powerful but limited in number.
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Elite Officers and Crew have +3 Quality and +3 maximum Quality (or 13).
Equipment
The items Characters can wield are represented by Equipment cards, which grant Characters additional bonuses and abilities that are applied in various circumstances ranging from basic combat to future colonization efforts.
Weapons determine the Range (text box), Power (bottom-left), Accuracy (bottom-left), Ammo (bottom-right) and Magazines (bottom-right) a Character has when weilding them.
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Characters can hold one Sidearm and one Main Weapon, and some non-Weapon Equipment cards can occupy one of these slots. Elite Weapons have most of their stats increased by up to +3.
Armor provides general protection against incoming damage and planetary hazards, but some Armor also includes additional abilities/bonuses related to Character stats and Skills.
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Equipment Sets allow Players to load Weapons, Armor or other non-combat gear either in sets of three or as some form of Console or limited-use consumable.
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Ships
Starships serve as the player's "home" during the game's initial phases before later being used for Exploration when Colonization goes live. Starships determine the number of Crew (bottom-left), Equipment Sets (bottom-left), Cargo (bottom-right) and Passengers (bottom-right) the player can bring on board.
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Most will also provide additional abilities or restrictions such as defensive weaponry or No Officers, and have a Quality (top-left) that can be influenced by your Origin. Elite Starships have +3 Quality and +3 maximum Quality (or 13).
Escorts exist for no other reason than to buy time during Evacuation for completing additional tasks. There's no reason not to use them if you have them, but you'll need to keep an eye on their status to know when their "Interception" bonuses are waning.
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Cargo / Passengers
During the Evacuation phase, players can attempt to load Cargo and/or escort Passengers onto their Starship. If they successfully evacuate the starbase after doing so, these Cargo/Passengers will provide various bonuses and/or cards intended for use during subsequent phases.
Alternatively, Cargo/Passenger cards can be slotted directly into the Starship without needing to rely on the RNG associated, without loading random Cargo or escorting unknown Passengers onto the Starship.
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Prefabs
Much like Cargo and Passengers, Prefabs can be loaded into a Starship prior to beginning the Evacuation phase. Their primary purpose is to facilitate the efficient colonizing of a planet.
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Vehicles are intended for use during Colonization by serving as transports and defensive tools
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Installations provide specific functionalities for the colony.
Layouts are currently only defensive improvements for colony Installations that either form walls around them (more visible to aliens and protect two Installations) or move them underground (less visible to aliens but protect only one Installation).
NFT Planets
For now, planets slowly unlock thousands of attritibutes based on the player's Scanning phase testing. Their purpose and functionality will change once colonization is released.
What's the State of Play?
Until colonies have been released, anyone that successfully completes the Scanning phase will receive a free Planet NFT of the planet they found. Players will eventually receive weekly rewards (like Contract Packs) from their planet based on how much of it has been explored. This means anyone wanting to give EXODE a try is encouraged to rush through at least one playthrough of the Scanning phase to ensure you receive your planet.
What the Future Holds
EXODE is currently preparing to re-release the Away Teams Challenge ahead of the pending Colonization release as explained in the latest road map:
- Release Investigation missions
- Re-release the Away Teams Step 2 (previously released as a challenge)
- Open new player registration for Away Teams Step 3
- Unlock Colonization Challenge
- Polish Evacuation phase
- Season test before launching 1st Season
- Beta Release
Additional thought has been put into the following gameplay mechanics:
- Missions unlocked by specific cards for immediate/conditional rewards. For example: Faction cards triggering "Faction Missions" or Faction leaders unlocking major plots/quest for Faction Reputation Points that will eventually have their own currency.
- Colony Rewards gained by discovering/collecting materials, crafting card "projects", and producing resources.
- Legacy Rewards received as "loot" whenever an EXODE game ends. Longer games means better rewards.
- Achievements tied to specific objectives and/or cards that provide one-time Legacy Rewards.
- Weekly Rewards earned as experience for progressing your collection OR generated character(s).
- Seasonal Rewards distributed on a monthly basis based on activity and ranking.
Longer-term goals include staking Evacuation Fleets for rewards based on the performance of Starship groups (with Crews), Alliance Fleets formed by multiple players, and even Starbase Ownership.
To support these pending play2earn mechanics, additional work will go into referral Squadrons for closer planetary starting points, player-formed Alliances, and eventually Alliance Projects. The ultimate goal for EXODE is a deeply immersive PvE atmosphere designed to encourage and reward cooperative play without the usual PvP hindrances that can motivate players to gang up on each other. Players will instead compete, indirectly, for top scores through Colonization efforts and Challenge events.
Colonization
Once colonies can be formed, Colonization will form the main game loop for players. It will involve choosing what to research, produce, or explore and strategically reacting to triggered events. Unique assets produced on your planet will later be tradable with other players, and repairing the Starship will allow for exploring nearby space.
Card Upgrading
After abandoning or losing a colony to aliens, any gained duplicate cards can be burned to upgrade a matching card. Burned cards are lost forever in exchange for upgrading the value of one stat. A card's stats can only be upgraded to two times its base value unless it has the keyword "Upgradable X Times". This determines the maximum number of times the card can be upgraded. Upgrading Elite cards requires Elite duplicates.
Card Leveling
Any card with a Quality value gains experience after each game of EXODE rather than being upgradable. Burning duplicates will also provide some amount of experience. Upon obtaining enough experience to gain a level, the card can be imporved by picking new Traits and gaining 1 Quality. Additionally, Origin cards will be able to pick a second Faction upon gaining three levels. This will allow for hybrid decks such as Military/Scientific or Civilian/Criminal.
Where Do I Sign Up?
As a Hive game, EXODE requires access to a Hive wallet such as the Hive Keychain browser extension. This is particularly important for obtaining your first cards, as the game is not currently free to play.
While you can technically obtain all the cards needed to start playing through Booster Packs, they can no longer be purchased from EXODE directly, and are not guaranteed to provide what you need. Starter Packs, however, have three different choices available through "Get Packs" on the official site and provide an Origin and Ship with the additional cards required to launch your first game. The triple pack offers the best deal for those wanting to try each of the Civilian, Military, and Scientific Origins.
Getting Started
EXODE games boil down to the following gameplay cycle:
- Build your chosen Origin's deck.
- Generate Characters using chosen cards.
- Evacuate the starbase.
- Scan a planet for suitable landing sites.
- Choose your landing site.
- Manage your Colony.
- Whatever comes next.
- Profit!
A game of EXODE ends when you are defeated or choose to abandon your Colony. Once your Colony is established, you'll begin to earn passive rewards (i.e. "Weeklies") until the game ends and you receive Legacy Rewards based on your performance and any completed achievements.
Test Run
Once your collection includes enough cards to start, head back to the official site and click "Play". This will prompt you to login with your Hive Keychain and take you to the Starbase Market where you can buy some cheap weapons and ammo not included in your Starter Pack(s).
The Starbase market is also currently the only place where you can buy Booster packs in which you’ll be able to find up to four more (non-Starter) Origins among many other cards!
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Your First Deck
When you're ready to move on, clicking "Game" in the top-right corner and then "Launch a new Game" in the top-left corner will bring you to the deck construction screen. Once there, you'll select your Origin to determine which cards you'll be able to use. Only one Origin may be used per game.
While your card choices won't matter during your first game if you chose to launch the Navy Starter demo (highly recommended!), EXODE includes a card explorer you can use to research useful upgrades for your deck(s).
Origin
Your Origin determines the Faction the rest of your cards must be picked from, excluding Versatile cards which can be used with any Faction, and how many Officers you can include in your deck. The Starter Origins are Civilian, Military and Scientist, each with their own strengths and weaknesses:
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The Civilian Starter excels at leading large colonies/production lines while the Scientific Starter is more inclined to analyze that vampire rabbit over there to perhaps turn its toxins into medicine than they are to neutralize the "threat". Alternatively, the Military Starter can surpass others when it comes to shooting first and asking questions later. This is because anyone from a non-(Criminal)/Military faction gets a penalty when using guns; not everyone knows how to use them.
Starship
Initially, your Starship choice will be random as each Starter only provides one Starship. As your collection expands, other Starships will become available that can further specialize your playstyle depending on their abilities and stats. For example, the "Claymore" Hyperfighter can't fit Officers, Equipment Sets or Passengers, and it has limited space (2) for Crew and Cargo. Since you can run multiple EXODE games at once, such a restrictive Starship might be ideal for running shorter "farming" games alongside your primary Colony's game.
Equipment Sets
Depending on your Origin, the Starter packs provide defensive Equipment Sets (bundles of stored Weapons/Armor) or "loot chest" Equipment Sets (i.e. Diplomatic Gifts) that provide randomized cards from a set drop table upon completing the Evacuation phase. If you purchased Weapons/Armor from the Starbase Market (or pulled them from Booster Packs), you'll be able to equip your Characters with them, individually, as you choose them.
Characters
Your Origin determines how many Officers you can bring while your Starship determines your maximum Crew size. Pay attention to the Synergies listed on your Origin card, as Characters with matching keywords gain bonus Quality when used in the same game.
There are a couple essential roles you'll need on board to be effective:
- Pilot (without one, expect your ship to be easily detected/take heavy damage upon landing)
- Maintenance Officer (+Cybernetics/Mechanics for upgrading your hyperdrive faster)
The rest of your Characters can be chosen to fit your needs, but there will be more roles to fill during the Evacuation phase that benefit from certain skills:
- Shield Handler (+Warfare for "wiring into" your Starships shields and protecting against Aliens; prolonged shield handling can kill the character)
- Fuel Loader (+Cybernetics/Manual Dexterity for loading fuel faster)
- Cargo Loader (+Awareness/Manual Dexterity/Speed for loading Cargo faster/safer)
- Appeaser (+Charisma/Conversation/Speed for escorting Passengers faster/safer)
- Guards (+Cover/Shooting to protect Cargo Loaders/Appeasers by fighting Hostile citizens; requires a weapon)
- Investigator (+Leadership/Intimidation/Investigation to quickly find Crew on shoreleave with ther comms off)
These roles represent key interactions you may want a strong answer to at various points during a game.
For example: Norah has many Skills and Traits on her card. Her Charisma and Conversation will make her good at escorting Passengers from the station halls into the ship’s cabins, but her Planetary skill grade won't be useful until later. You may also notice her card says “Veteran”. This means you can only bring one of her. On the other hand, you can load multiple Administrative Officers, but you'll need to beware of future drawbacks related to their Secret Agenda.
Cargo
If your Starship has room for Cargo and/or Passengers, filling as much of it as you can ahead of time might make your life in 2325 a little easier. It'll also limit how much RNG you expose your Characters to during the Evacuation phase. Simply click the red circle in the center of the screen during deck construction to switch to your Starship's Cargo slots.
Unfortunately, Passengers will hide away in their cabins and will not help during the the pre-Colonization phases. They'll have an opportunity to shine later on. Keep in mind that although they'll add to your workforce, they also count as more mouths to feed!
To prepare for Colony life, Cargo should be made up of prefabricated Installations that provide shelter, food, power, and protection. Each cargo point on your Starship equates to 2 Cargo slots. Manage your space well, as some large prefabs will take up 3 Cargo slots. Any unfilled Cargo slots can be filled through the "Load Cargo" action during the Evacuation phase.
Lastly, while not technically Cargo, you have room to bring deployable Escort fighter squadrons used to intercept attacking alien ships. They serve to buy you precious time, but in the end, even they are doomed. Load as many as you can and don’t forget to deploy them during Evac.
If you think you have everything you need to start a small settlement on a distant planet, go ahead and press "Launch" in the bottom right corner.
Launch
For your first game, it's highly recommend you begin with the Navy Starter demo. All of the cards you just picked will be replaced with a Military Origin "tutorial" deck that will help guide you through the Evacuation process. Once you see yourself flying through space, click "Begin your Adventure" on the right to iniate your approach of the starbase.
(See "Crew Generation" down below before continuing if you opt out of the demo.)
Evacuation
As you approach the station, you have time to review the crew manifesto (it helps to write everyone’s names down with the role you want them to fill to avoid total chaos later). You can even see what needs to be done to the hyperdrive from here. When you are ready, you can dock immediately.
Note: Gameplay occurs in real-time from the moment evacuation begins. The starbase is under attack, but you can decide when you want to leave. If you stick around too long, you WILL be blown to pieces, so make sure you're ready before you begin!
All Hands On Deck!
A number of messages will appear in the bottom-left corner warning you that an alien fleet is on its way. Future warnings and status notifications will be shown here.
In order to escape, there are only three things you must do:
- Upgrade your hyperdrive (caps out at 100% warp chance)
- Load fuel (more fuel means more time during the Scanning phase)
- Click "LAUNCH" to warp to safety.
As you walk through the following recommended steps, keep in mind that you are technically able to complete the Evacuation phase at any time after the above requirements have been met. Additional time spent should be focused on obtaining additional resources for subsequent phases. If you don't have anything to gain by hanging around longer, it's time to get outta Dodge!
Prep the Ship
From the cockpit, click “Starfleet” on the right and deploy your Escorts right away! The alien attack is imminent, and you have limited time to prepare and escape! There is where you'll eventually brain-wire a Character to the ship's shields, but that will not be necessary until you actually start taking damage. Your ship's integrity (status) is shown in the bottom-right corner, and alarms will go off every time your ship is damaged.
At the bottom of the screen, you can switch between the ship’s rooms. The first room icon (looks like a horizon) is the Cockpit. Go through the other rooms and recover crew lost on shoreleave by clicking active Characters and selecting “Find Missing Crew” before selecting who they'll bring back.
The next room is the Ship Interior. Tell your "Maintenance Officer" and Pilot to go here right away. Once there, start them on upgrading the hyperdrive and loading fuel, respectively. If your Maintenance Officer isn't the best, you can try fixing it again (Tony), and the result might turn out better (or worse). Once the hyperdrive is maxed out, you can switch the Maintenance Officer over to helping your Pilot load fuel. They'll be safe here, for now.
Note: Travelling between rooms takes time, but you can rush actions. Rushing an action may fail, however, which negatively affects that Character’s stress.
Raiding Party
The next room is the Cargo Hold. Don’t linger in the Ship's Interior waiting for tasks to finish, as you have many other actions to take. The key is to multitask.
Your Cargo Hold will likely start with the most Characters. Start all of them loading Cargo, at first (if you have the space), then have your "Guard" Characters equip Weapons and protect the other loaders. Looters will eventually appear to attack your Characters or steal your Cargo. Looters will continuously come, so best keep an eye on the health of your Characters in case you need to switch some out before they die. The Cockpit and Interior are safe spaces, but Characters can die in transit.
Permission to Come Aboard?
The last room is where your Starship connects to the starbase: the Station Halls. This is where you'll interact with citizens by appeasing them or escorting them onto your Starship. Salvation (for some)! Understandably, this will anger some citizens to the point of violence.
If you have a Guard to spare, it's worth immediately tasking then with guarding this room, as they have the ability to set up defenses that take time to assemble. You'll also likely have one or more Characters on shoreleave that need to be sent for from this room. How you go about bringing citizens (if any) onto your ship is up to you, but examples of when you could start include:
- After your "Appeaser" has loaded at least one Cargo (if not on shoreleave).
- Once your fuel capacity has been reached using the now idle Characters.
- When your Cargo Hold has enough pending Cargo to be filled to capacity.
Ship Launch
When you're ready to skidaddle (hopefully before aliens blow you to bits), switch to the Cockpit and hit "LAUNCH". Depending on how upgraded your hyperdrive is, your first attempt may fail. If so, each subsequent attempt is 10% less likely to succeed. If you manage to successfuly warp away, you'll receive your score for the Evacuation phase based on how well you performed and whether or not any crew members died.
(If you opted to play through the Navy Starter demo, the game will end here.)
The Real Deal
Now that you've experienced the madness of Evacuation, you can navigate to the Evacuation "Testroom" by clicking on “Access your Colonization Pass” instead of "Launch a new Game" directly. This will take you to a new interface where you'll want to click "My Games" on the left and then “Launch a New Evacuation”. This menu area is where the majority of your gameplay experience will start once more aspects of EXODE are fully released.
Crew Generation
One major difference when using your own cards rather than the demo deck is the ability to "investigate" your chosen Characters before the Evacuation phase starts.
This process has no timer, so you can take all the time that you need.
During this last phase of preparing your deck (which is skippable), you may augment the Skills of your Characters ("+" buttons), change their names if you like (extremely useful for identifying roles!), and investigate (discover) new Skills/Traits using your pool of investigation points (bottom-left). Characters with the Investigation Skill provide additional investigation points during Character generation
The three numbers on the left represent Skills that are always revealed to you. You can hover over them to see the Character's success rates for tasks of various difficulties. On the right, you'll reveal their Background, personality, and/or a minor Skill (can be re-rolled) using investigation points. For three points, you can choose a minor Skill to assign by clicking one of the "?"s or revealed Skills along the bottom. It's recommended that you set a budget for each Character ahead of time to ensure you don't spend all of your points on the first few Characters.
You can also promote one Officer to "XO", the captain's right-hand person, to give the chosen Character an additional bonus of +10 to Discipline and Loyalty and ensure they're never lost on shoreleave when the Evacuation phase starts.
Scanning
After completing the Evacuation phase and warping to a new galaxy, you'll begin the process of approaching a colonizable planet. Make sure to click "OK" properly on the dialogue boxes that pop up or else a nasty bug will prevent you from taking actions. If this happens to you, refreshing the page can sometimes reload the UI and allow you to try again. You can also replay the Scanning phase through your Colonization Pass by clicking "Try Last Scanning" in the "My Games" section you started the Evacuation phase from.
Flight Pattern
Your first task is to give your Pilot control of the ship. A list of your Characters will appear with their overall proficiency scores in order from best to worst. In most situations, you'll want to pick the best possible Pilot available to you.
Once a pilot takes over, you may choose a flight pattern. Perhaps you want to race full throttle towards the planet you just discovered? Better play it safe and do a slow burn. Besides, this gives you more time to perform scans which cannot be done from the surface. While your pilot uses their knowledge of Spaceships, Awareness, and Stealth to evade detection from aliens (and meteorites), your other Characters can begin filling various supportive roles
Scans
While approaching the planet, you can initiate each of the following scans to gain information about your new potential home:
- PRIMSCAN (Primary Scan) reveals the size of the planet and the sectors that are exploitable. (Skills: Awareness, Piloting, Planetary, Signals & Radar (SRT))
- CFR Scan (Colonization for Research) reveals the number of biomes as well as relevant wildlife and minerals. (Skills: Open-Mindedness, Planetary, Science, SRT)
- CFP Scan (Colonization for Profit) reveals the variety of exploitable food, minerals, and energy. (Skills: Administration, Open-Mindedness, Planetary, SRT)
- CFH Scan (Colonization for Habitability) reveals how “harsh” the planet is for human life by providing details about lethal risks and the quality of life on the planet. (Skills: Open-Mindedness, Planetary, Science, SRT)
Scans can be performed individually or even simultaneously by the same person, but this is riskier and more exhausting for the multi-tasking Character.
Support Roles
Is there still plenty of time before landing? Assign a Navigator to speed things up. You can see the distance to your planet (in Veilscan Units) below the name.
Your idle Characters can each be assigned a role to contribute towards your success in safely scanning and approaching the planet. If your ship was damaged during the Evacuation phase or from warping, you can assign one or more Engineers to hotfix any damage to your Starship. You can even assign someone to check the welfare of the Passengers and everyone on board!
Landing
Finally, after closing in on the planet and entering orb, options on how to land become available depending on your Pilot Skill and personality. For now, all you can do is choose an option that ends the game until Colonization gameplay is live.
If this is your first landing as a tester, you'll also receive your free Planet NFT that you can continue scanning and learning about with repeated Scanning phases.
Good luck out there!
Considering how deep this strategy rabbit hole goes, it's highly recommended that you check out the official FAQ and Wiki for more concrete details (and spreadsheets!). You can also keep informed by joining the EXODE community:
- PeakD: @elindos (Creator)
- Discord: https://discord.com/invite/GZcYNXz
- Hive.Blog: @exodenews
This article was written by @proto26 and @entrepidus, edited and proofread by @francis.melville.
Our Cartel operator for EXODE is @proto26.