We have released on June 2nd a new gameplay demonstration of EXODE Factions.
This was in an update called Factions M1.
We are continuing with development of M2, its next iteration!
What can you expect?
And how exactly does Factions contribute to card utility?
Read and find out!
M1 released and already tested!
We were so busy developing the next iteration of this gameplay that we did not yet take the time to share an article!
M1 shows a global overhaul of Faction screens both in managing your roster (the Activate screen) and setting up a Mission (the Mission screen).
It reveals the power slots of agents.
It also introduces a major feature in blockchain staking, as it creates a persistent "Mission Location" procedurally generated just for you, which can evolve through every mission.
One important element is the Colony Leader and his procedurally generated tastes (as pictured above). It can include liking specific factions (or not), roles, etc. Other colony attributes can influence mission conditions!
There is a lot more to say about M1 - if you haven't tested it yet, you can still do it right after logging in.
As it was lacking a gameplay loop, we are soon moving to M2 already with a list of new features!
M2 is getting ready!
Factions M2 will add a number of very important features:
one of the most important being Mission Resolution.
Other features include:
- When promoting an Agent with +1 star, it will show everything you will gain from that promotion!
- Promotion will now show that you gain Quality Level, Stamina and other attributes with every star
When setting up a mission: a new critical information will be added to the "Pick your Role" screen: it will display the number of dice your character will roll thanks to his or her skills!
It will add "notification badges" ; something very important in mobile games: ie. seeing when you have a mission ready to execute
It will display ongoing missions and their timers before they execute
And among other fixes:
- In the ACTIVATE screen (your Agent roster) it will fix the display of equipment slots
- fixes a possible error when adding agents.
- fixes a jquery internal error.
- reworks API engine & messaging.
The update is currently in development final steps but will then engage some polish for some proper mission FX and displays. The entire process will take a few more days (more likely 5 days or so).
Now let's get back to mission resolution, the main topic of M2!
How a mission is executed
A mission requires you to complete a number of objectives: each of these objectives contributes a number of stars to the mission completion system. This number of stars is then used to calculate your rewards.
Every objective has its own DIFFICULTY, and another attribute called STEPS.
STEPS is the task resilience, which means the number of rolls which must beat the difficulty to complete the task.
To complete an objective, some of your Agents will make rolls. They need to have a compatible role for that: some roles mostly work as support, whereas others work to directly complete the tasks at hand.
Please note that rewards will also be influenced by the time you took to complete the objectives.
But also, by the mission context and reputation system ; for instance, some NPCs like some factions, some roles, and increasing your reputation will progressively increase your rewards in a mission location.
Missions as a growth hacking tool
Our new version of Mission Resolution is much different than the one we had planned 15 days ago.
For that reason, we cannot share yet its new visuals - but will be sure to do so in just a few days, when ready!
We try to polish it a bit - hence the additional time we need - but also, and that's more interesting, it will be something we will be able to share with a link on any social network.
Developing it with this feature as a separate autonomous client window to display a mission execution, is better done since the start even if this takes a little more time.
Missions are also going to be multiplayer (meaning to have your team of friends fighting another team), to have leaderboard rewards and so on. Being able to share a mission resolution and see it will be very fun and very useful to your teammates and guildmates!
It is also excellent for transparency in rewards.
And very practical too for EXODE growth!
Agents, and why card duplicates should be highly looked for!
Activating and Promoting Agents
Activating and promoting Agents uses EXOCREDITS and ensures a solid economy.
Agents target a card model. This means an "Ayumi" agent collects the utility of all your Ayumi cards into one single entity. We may even allow later to merge and burn all copies into one!
Duplicates
The number of cards you own and its rarity define the maximum stars ou can promote an Agent to.
| Agent Rarity | Duplicates for 1 star | 2 stars | 3 stars | 4 stars | 5 stars | 6 stars |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Common | (*) | 3 | 12 | 24 | 40 | 60 |
| Rare | - | (*) | 3 | 9 | 18 | 30 |
| Epic | - | - | (*) | 2 | 6 | 12 |
| Legendary | - | - | - | (*) | 1 | 3 |
Or to get from one step to the next:
| Agent Rarity | Duplicates for 1 star | 2 stars | 3 stars | 4 stars | 5 stars | 6 stars |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Common | (*) | +3 | +9 | +12 | +16 | +20 |
| Rare | - | (*) | +3 | +6 | +9 | +12 |
| Epic | - | - | (*) | +2 | +4 | +6 |
| Legendary | - | - | - | (*) | +1 | +2 |
All cards are activated at star level 1, but ( * ) means that it already has this maximum star level when you activate it.
Right now we plan to push the maximum number of stars progressively.
There may be limits to the number of stars you can play at a moment (ie. "5 stars allowed until September") before introducing the next star and its powers.
Stars increase the Stamina and Quality Level of the Agent but also give specific powers which we will reveal later, as some of them may be related to projects or crafting.
Elite cards
The table above is about requirements in non-elite cards.
Elite cards contribute to the same Agent profile in EXODE Factions, but in different and more powerful ways.
As long as you have enough ELITE cards in your collection, promoting an Agent automatically gives an orange star instead of a yellow.
We are still finalizing the powers of ELITE stars, and the number of card required.
To max out all your 6 stars in orange, requirement should be right now at 7 elite cards for common, 4 for rare, 2 for epic or 1 for legendary.
Power slots
Agents can develop Powers in a specific Power slot when they level.
M1 reveals power slot names.
As confirmed previously, the REFIT Talent packs will also unlock a TALENT+ slot, where you will be able to pick powers from the refit cards you possess! This means REFIT cards have additional options in Factions.
Mission Timers and Mission Areas
Missions take time to complete!
So to cover more mission areas you will always need more Agents.
Stamina
Stamina means that an Agent loses some of it when participating to missions.
This system ensures that players can enjoy both vertical performance (as the most promoted Agents also have a lot more Stamina) but also horizontal utility in their collection (as you always need more Agents to cover more mission areas).
When your team A is spent, then you start looking for your team B, or C, even for the same location.
Synergy and Faction
Team Synergy also works in favor of more horizontal utility, and this is because of the number of factions in EXODE!
As you can set up a Military Team, a Syndicate team and so on. But you can also proceed by role by setting a team with a proper leader, another with workers, or shooters.
Some missions also have direct Faction requirements or ways to use a number of cards of a given faction to unlock th mission itself.
Mission Context
Another element ensuring horizontal utility is the Mission Location system and more especially the tastes of the Colony Leader.
An important element is that it is procedurally generated and unique to every player.
The procedural engine spreads utility in as many ways as traits can be combined together... which is many.
This has an immense impact on ensuring a dynamic economy: as player market will have a real life quite different than "one meta of just 5 characters".
And fortunately, every mission area can have its own location!
So if one location does not suit you, maybe another will!
In closure
We all know strong legendaries and epics will definitely be useful!
So it is important that the system rewards you for "vertical" epics and legendaries you upgrade; but without leaving the rest of the player collection aside.
We really pack EXODE factions with a lot of ideas and features, as you have seen. EXODE Factions allows you to pick any character for any mission.
And as a blockchain collection system, it is important to not forget that players and investors are in a web3 game. It is important to protect the utility of their collections, as any design error will immediately impact player market.
EXODE Factions focuses on protecting player valuation by giving a lot of horizontal and vertical utility and plenty of player fredom.
EXODE is a science fiction game currently played on HIVE.
Feel free to try it here or to join our Discord if you have any question!
