Greetings Pilots!
Today we are stuck in that strange day between #rekatronfriday and #syndicatesunday. But fear not, even on this drop-less Saturday we still have some excellent eXode news for you!
We are going to provide you with a comprehensive list of all the Origins available in the eXode Alpha Edition. We will show you where to get them, what to expect from them and give you some ideas how to make the most of their capabilities!
First of all - lets talk about what Origins actually are and how to use them.
Whenever you start a new game in eXode, you first have to make it through Evacuation. To do so, you choose the Origin you want to use this time around. This determines your starting cards, crew and ship. You can then go ahead and add more cards from your collection to that game. This way you can swap out crew members or choose another ship.
The cards you are allowed to add are dictated by your Origin. You may only add cards that share at least one trait with your Origin. So if you go with a Civilian Origin, you may only use cards with the Civilian or Versatile trait. Versatile works like a wildcard and allows the card to be used with any Origin. Choosing the correct Origin for what you want to achieve in eXode might be the single most important step when you start a new game.
Now that you know the basics, lets take a look at the Origins we have in store for you!
Name: Ark Scientist
Rarity: Epic
How to get it: Sold in the shop
Where it shines: Research and Development
Where it lacks: Getting out of a fight alive
How to make the most of it: The Ark Scientist is your obvious choice if you want to build a colony that specializes in research and peaceful exploration. With her Synergies she will make every Scientist perform at peak efficiency. Fighting petty wars is way beneath the Ark Scientist so don't expect her to fare well in any armed conflict. Getting out of Evacuation with an intact ship and a healthy crew will be a challenge. Consider bringing a Versatile combat specialist with you to help protect your ship while you stock up on fuel and prepare the hyperdrive.
Once the colony has been established most colonists will be preoccupied with researching, so bringing some Autonomous vehicles for exploration could be a huge boon. Also, don't expect some of the most brilliant scientists (still alive) to descend into a mineral mine or do any other mundane work for you. If you want something build or extracted you'd better bring someone or something for that job as well.
Name: Cruise Ship Captain
Rarity: Epic
How to get it: Dropped from Alpha Edition Boosters
Where it shines: Rescuing Civilians
Where it lacks: Combat and Planning ahead
How to make the most of it: The Cruise Ship Captain is better suited than any other Origin to be the savior of mankind. He can take in more passengers and does it faster than anybody else. If you want to establish a densely populated colony and build a new society, this Origin is the best choice you could make. Not only will you rescue a lot of civilians, you also will boost their quality level thanks to the Cruise Ship Captains Synergy. He does have two weak spots though.
First of all, even with the boost to taking in passengers, filling up your ship is still going to take quite some time. With the aliens relentless assault getting everyone to safety in time will be a real challenge. Bringing some escorts like the Ion Guards or Vega Space Security almost seems like a must for the Cruise Ship Captain. They will buy you the additional time you will need to get everyone on board.
There is another potential issue to consider though. You can never know who you will end up finding in the station halls so planning ahead will hardly be possible. You will have to evaluate everybody you encounter on the fly and make sure to only bring the civilians that can actually contribute something to your colony. Otherwise you might end up with a colony full of Pr0-Gamers and Justin Takeover on top. You don't want that, trust us! So bringing a Galvin-4 Diplomatic Droid with you seems to be a great idea. He will have everybody screened in no time and could give you some hints whom to accidentally throw through the wrong airlock.
Name: Elected Leader
Rarity: Epic
How to get it: Sold in the shop
Where it shines: Leading the People
Where it lacks: Combat and Science
How to make the most of it: The Elected leader is the Peoples Champion. With his Synergies he is going to make any civilian administrator perform on a level not deemed possible before. He is the perfect choice if you want to build a real colony. You know, a thriving colony with production, mining operations and a well built administration where everybody does his job. No scientists spending the day locked away in their laboratory, no ex-soldiers wondering what an exospanner is actually meant to do. He has the respect and loyalty of his citizens and if he successfully manages to finish Evacuation there is not much stopping his colony from flourishing.
That is not going to be easy though. His spaceship is built for diplomatic duty, not for combat. And while he brings a security detachment with him they are more trained in shoving away the occasional protester than fighting off actual aliens. Anything that helps the Elected Leader get through Evacuation alive and help to keep his colony safe later on will be of high value to him. This is going to be a trade off that has to be balanced well. Every piece of equipment and every crew focused on combat will take space away from civilian cargo and crew. So the better he prepares for Evacuation the worse he will be prepared for Colonization.
Picking the Elected Leader will result in the most classical colony management experience. You will develop a great colony with many content colonists and an ever expanding production chain. Just don't expect to see any scientific breakthroughs or fight glorious battles on far away planets.
Name: Navy Lieutenant
Rarity: Epic
How to get it: Sold in the shop
Where it shines: Shooting stuff
Where it lacks: Doing anything else
How to make the most of it: The Navy Lieutenant is your perfect choice if you are looking for a straight forward Origin that heavily focuses on combat. He will have an easier time getting out of Evacuation alive than any other option. Every member of his crew is combat-proven and highly specialized in at least one school of combat. Space combat, ground combat, you name it and the Navy Lieutenant has it.
The thing is, there is not much else this Origin is good at. His crew was trained to fight pirates in space, not to establish a colony or maintain complex machinery. More than anybody else the Navy Lieutenant needs a plan on what to do once he evacuated successfully. Without the help from rescued civilians or some versatile specialists he will have a hard time to get anything done on his new homeworld. There are two possible options to pursue for this Origin: Either concentrate on rescuing as many people and salvaging as much cargo as possible or swap some of your crew and equipment for personal that will actually help you with day-to-day colony live.
If you manage to repair your ship and get your hands on some fuel you can start to explore your part of the galaxy again. So if you are looking for someone to do a little more than just rebuild society, then the Navy Lieutenant is going to be your ideal choice. Just don't expect him to ever really do well with his colony.
Name: Repentant Pirate
Rarity: Legendary
How to get it: Dropped from Alpha Edition Boosters
Where it shines: Uniting the worst scum the universe has to offer
Where it lacks: Reestablishing a working society
How to make the most of it: The Repentant Pirate is a legendary Origin indeed. Note that he is not a pirate anymore himself. He repented for his deeds shortly before the alien attack and he has sworn to save as many people as he can. Still, he is a criminal and he is surrounded by some of the worst the universe has to offer. His Synergies will help those bad boys to really shine and since he instills Loyalty and Discipline he will at least have the theoretical chance to keep his bunch under control. Picking the Repentant Pirate will reward you with quite a different game from what you would get from the other Origins. Your crew and colonists will be unruly, prone to violence and disobey orders on a regular basis. Don't expect to see colonists working towards a common goal, everybody is going to put themselves before the colony.
There are two possible routes to follow for the Repentant Pirate. He can focus on changing these ex-criminals into better persons, building up a colony that might not have the ethical standards but is still working towards a common goal. Or he could just try to ride the chaos and really bring the worst of the worst with him. With The Kumicho as one of his passengers the quality level of criminal Syndicate members could reach unknown heights. Going that route you will never know what tomorrow brings. You would end up with a colony full of intrigue and plotting where everybody follows his own secret agenda.
Going with the Repentant Pirate will be a high risk high reward game. If you manage to keep your criminal society under control you will be rewarded with a very special gameplay and possibly some of the highest average quality ratings any colony can achieve. You always need to watch your back and fight for the survival of your colony every day though. Bringing some robots that you can trust unconditionally might be a great idea. With a Programmed Transactor or even a KB-119 Assassin Android by your side your chances of not getting killed by one of your subordinates would increase dramatically.
Name: Secret Agent
Rarity: Epic
How to get it: Dropped from Alpha Edition Boosters
Where it shines: Operating in the shadows
Where it lacks: Day-to-Day Colony Management
How to make the most of it: The Secret Agent might be our most special Origin. She's military just like the Navy Lieutenant but she prefers are a more subtle approach to everything. Operating out of stealth instead of going for an all out confrontation she will have an easier time during Evacuation than most. The Secret Agent is the only Origin that can decrypt Encrypted Federal Cargo. Not much is known publicly about this special cargo. There are rumors about a secret weapon conceived by the Federation and scattered across these Federal cargo crates. If you choose the Secret Agent, finding and decrypting Federal Cargo is probably going to be your main focus.
With that in mind it is in the Secret Agents best interest to secure as much cargo as possible during Evacuation. So both bringing additional escorts to the battle as well as picking a ship that can store enough cargo is going to be vital. It will be possible to find Encrypted Federal Cargo during Colonization as well, but it might take some time until you are able to find any more crates. So if you do not find anything during Evacuation it might be quite some time until you can start your work. Solving the mystery these crates present will be an epic journey exclusively available to the Secret Agent!
Name: Stranded Trader
Rarity: Epic
How to get it: Dropped from Alpha Edition Boosters
Where it shines: Salvaging Cargo
Where it lacks: Putting it all to good use
How to make the most of it: The Stranded Trader has some things in Common with the Cruise Ship Captain. Instead of saving lives he prefers saving cargo though. He has a lot of space in his cargo hold and he is not going to leave the station until it is filled to the roof with precious crates. Like his passenger counterpart he can load more cargo than anybody else but also has to deal with the same shortcomings. Loading all that cargo is going to take him awhile and he will have to make sure that his crew gets the time it needs. So bringing an escort to the station would be a great idea.
The Stranded Trader potentially could have to deal with another issue though. He will end up with a lot of cargo after the Evacuation but there is no telling what that cargo might be. If he is unlucky he could find a lot of valuable metals, chemicals and other stuff but not a single life support system to keep him alive until he can put his cargo to any use. That is why it might be a smart move to reserve some cargo space for some basic colony prefabs and resources provided by Tom Settler's.
That is all from us today. You now have all the information needed to decide what Origin to pick. Since every Origin comes with its own gameplay and mechanics we still encourage you to give every single one a try some time - maybe you'll learn that you have a heart for Criminals after all...
With Booster opening and single card trading getting closer every day, expect to see a lot of new cards revealed in the coming days!
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