🍉 [MELN] 1UP Operator Lab Report: eXode

Hello, pilots and civilians! Welcome to the twentieth installment of the eXode lab report! Last week we saw the triumphant return of the proto26's famous lab report. Well, maybe it's famous in our little corner of the galaxy! This report brings you new updates to the game and a few hints at some updates to come. Let's dig in!

New Gameplay Mode!

Some final tests are being carried out now and by next weekend we should see eXode's "biggest game update" yet, EXODE Factions!

What will EXODE Factions gameplay be like?

Factions is a new and separate card game from the base game. It adds much value to your collection because it takes into account all your cards (including duplicates) and tallies them up, basically giving you a favor ranking with each respective faction. The more contract packs you have (like Tom Settler), the more access you have to different and more powerful rooms.

What are rooms?

Rooms will be like 'mission areas'. For example, maybe a room for, let's say, the Rebel faction could be something like 'Raid a Federation depot'. You have a slot where you can put up a character for this objective. Say you want to assign the Cornered Rebel Agent character card for this particular endeavor. The more copies of that card you own in your collection, the more stars it will have. More stars means that character has better abilities and will probably grant better chances of success and therefore better rewards.

Factions will surely make for an addictive minigame. It will even have its own game loop. Yes, you heard right, a daily loop.

Don't own any contracts? That's OK; Factions can be played with just a starter. If you still haven't acquired your starter, choose wisely! Also (disclaimer) below is a referral link you may want to use if buying your first starter.

Scientific faction banner

In Other News...

Talents have been revealed for 2 more legendary cards: Crypto-Eater and Captain Cranium. I feel I have been getting lucky with my refits lately, especially when it comes to cards like these in which I only own a single copy. The mysterious dark boss Crypto-Eater normally comes with 2 bound henchmen who will constantly watch his back. The talent I discovered adds a third bodyguard while also doubling the ammo clips they carry. The three guards are a double- (or maybe triple-) edged sword. On the one hand, the boss will be very heavily guarded. Maybe two can be stationed outside his residence and one inside with him in case things get ugly. Speculation aside, we must take into account that this third guard will take up another passenger slot for a total of 4 for this single card. Furthermore, just because the guards have locked actions, it doesn't mean they don't eat. That's one more mouth the colony needs to feed and as we saw back during the Away Teams missions testing, gathering food is no walk in the park!

Cranium's grade III talent is pretty powerful, in my opinion. It makes all ammunition on the colony premises (as far as I'm concerned) of Cranium brand. This adds the explosive trait to them! And if any ammo already had this trait, then their damage output is increased by 20%! This should prove invaluable against the local wildlife and may even level the playing field against some first alien attacks (if they find our colony, that is)!

Deck Expert Updates

The deck expert tool (link below) has been updated to version 2.4. Now you can toggle the filter options to show either alpha, beta, and/or contract content. This was implemented thanks to a suggestion from a fellow eXode pilot. A new feature was also deployed to allow all players to check which talents are yet to be discovered.

Simply look up a card as you normally would, and click the "Check Talent Discoveries" button. You will see something like this:

For The Kumicho, leader of the Syndicate faction, you are able to see that two of 🍉 [MELN]'s very own have discovered grades III and IV and are forever immortalized. To the Melon! You might also notice that the two rarest grade talents have yet to be discovered by anyone. This is your chance (or mine)! On that note, and for the purposes of this special 20th lab report, I will remove my last base Kumicho from the market and use up one of my remaining refit packs on her. I'm feeling lucky today.

Results

All I got was a grade III (Mizu), the one where she no longer needs to eat. That makes my second Kumicho of that variety. Oh well. Does anyone want to trade? I still need a grade IV version...

That just about wraps up this week's lab report. I hope to see many players testing factions next week. I will definitely be there to report on it. See you all then!

Corporate banner

What is eXode?
eXode is a real-time strategy space colonization game here on the Hive Blockchain. If you still have not purchased your starter pack, use this referral code (de7ed45) and you'll also receive 2 free Alpha Booster Packs with 5 NFT cards each along with a free Epic Alpha Character!

In the future, these lab reports will contain much more substance (and numbers!) including season objective rewards, legacy rewards (when your game...ends), and of course 🍉 [MELN] activities.
🍉 [MELN] is the alliance I co-founded with @birdbeaksd , the Market Expansion Leaders Navy.
For a in-depth eXode guide, you can take a look at this post.

Other Useful Links
Lead developer's Blog
EXODE Discord Hub
Deck Expert Tool

What is The 1UP Cartel?
The 1UP-Cartel is a mix between a gaming guild like YGG (that invests into gaming assets and creates scholarships for gamers, sharing the gaming revenue), a dividend token (similar to BRO, LBI, INDEX and UTOPIS, paying out regular dividends to token holders from part of the revenue stream) as well as one of the most extensive curation service initiative on the Hive-Engine ecosystem thus far.