Greetings Pilots!
This weekend saw the implementation of our new launch screen. This has been another important step towards playing with your own cards. Up next on our roadmap is our Booster Opening event and single card trading for our marketplace. We cannot give you the exact date yet, but we aim for a release within the next week.
We still have a lot of cards to reveal that are waiting for you in the Alpha Edition Boosters. Today we will show you three new cards and discuss some of the mechanics they showcase. Please keep in mind that this is still a work in progress, so minor tweaks and balance changes are still possible and likely to happen.
The Genetician Console is a completely new breed of Equipment Set card. It is Versatile, so it can be used with any Origin. What it does is granting the Genetician trait to your Origin, your Officers and all Crew. This is the first revealed card with such an effect. As you may remember from our Comprehensive Guide to all eXode Alpha Edition Origins only cards that share a trait with your Origin may be used for you game. With the Genetician Console installed on your ship they are all going to share at least the Genetician trait.
So if nothing else, this will allow you to combine any crew and officer with the Origin of your choosing. That is not all though, there are other cards in the Alpha Edition that come with the Genetician trait. You might remember this little beauty we revealed some time ago:
The Coetus has the Genetician trait so it can only be used with an Origin that has the Genetician trait as well. So far, the only way of giving this trait to your Origin is by installing the Genetician Console. Note that the ship itself only comes with two Equipment slots. Since you need to have the console installed in order to use the ship, you can effectively only bring a single piece of equipment with you.
Modifying and balancing the traits your Origin has will play a huge role when preparing for a new game. If you decide to stick with the traits your Origin has anyways, you won't have to waste any cards on granting additional traits. By doing so, you will be able to really focus on the strengths your Origin has. At the same time you will have to live with its weaknesses and shortcomings, though. If you use cards like the Genetician Console, you will be able to better balance out your Origins abilities. This will grant you more options and allows for a more balanced build. At the same time though you will have to sacrifice some cards and thus some overall quality in order to gain these additional traits.
The possibilities are almost endless and we can't wait to see what combinations you will come up with once Booster opening is possible!
Talking about ships you might remember - the Baldie Shuttle was the first ever ship card we revealed to you back in April. A lot has changed for this tiny ship since we have first seen it. With a crew of two and only one equipment slot your options will be very limited if you decide to use the Baldie. Making it through Evacuation alive will be a true challenge with the few options available to you. Even if you do survive, establishing a colony with so few survivors and little cargo will be an even bigger challenge.
So why would you even consider using the Baldie Shuttle? Well, first of all, some players love to be challenged and we have you covered on that. But there is more - the Baldie is our first card to showcase the Achievement trait. In the future we will have more details on exactly how Achievements are going to work, but basically you can decide to bring cards that make your run more challenging and in return receive additional rewards if you still manage to succeed. If you bring the Baldie to your Evacuation and succeed you are awarded with additional rewards from its very own loot-table!
Now you obviously don't want to focus on Colonization with this ship. But how about using an Origin that has other plans anyways? The Secret Agent, for example, is not really that interested in establishing a colony in the first place. After all, using a small stealthy shuttle instead of a bulky freighter might not be the worst thing for somebody operating from the shadows!
Did somebody just mention bulky freighters? The Colombus might not be a freighter but it sure is bulky. Coming with a whopping 17 passenger cabins it is by far the biggest colony ship we have seen so far. It also is a legendary card and has a whole array of traits. Like the Coetus, it features another fantastic artwork created by Ignacio (
The first thing to note is that The Colombus is an Achievement card just like the Baldie. As we learned there, cards with the Achievement trait are meant to make your game more challenging. It is important to understand that concept: In the eXode universe a higher rarity does not automatically translate to a higher power level. The rarity is more about what the card does and how complex the interactions it enables are.
The Colombus is a quality level 5 card, that is only slightly better than an Origins default ship. It also has the Old technology trait, reducing its performance by another 30%. The biggest issue it faces is the fact that it is Easily Detected though. Because of its immense size, it is a lot easier for the aliens to keep track of the ship. So even if you manage to make it out of evacuation alive, they will have a pretty good idea where you went. Being attacked by the aliens is a real threat to any colony but for colonies founded by The Colombus it is a certainty. The aliens know where you are and they will be coming for you!
Still The Colombus has a lot going for it, especially if you choose a certain Origin:
If you use it together with the Cruise Ship Captain, you will be able to house an unbelievable number of 21 passengers! Even with its obvious downsides, a successful Evacuation with The Colombus could be a dream come true. That won't be an easy task though. With the three officers from the Cruise Ship Captain and the six crew from The Colombus, you will only have nine people available to get all those civilians on board your ship. Even though taking in passengers takes 20% less time with this Origin, you are still looking at a lot of work to get done before possibly being destroyed by the aliens.
Playing with The Colombus is the epitome of a high risk high reward scenario, challenging you every step of the way. Filling up the ship will be just as hard as taking care of all those rescued civilians or defending your colony against the never ending wrath of the alien fleet. But if you somehow manage to make it work, you will be rewarded with the biggest colony possible in the eXode universe (yet).
It is another great example of how we try to create uniqueness and make choices felt and matter in eXode. If you establish your colony with The Colombus, you know what is coming right from the start and your whole game will shift towards the singular goal of preparing your colony for the inevitable attack of the aliens.
That's all from us today, we hope you are enjoying these new cards as much as we do. We'll be back soon with another set of new cards for you.
As always, your input is valued and appreciated so we would love to hear it!
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