Cross The Ages Announces Blast Closed Playtest Phase 1

Web3 trading card game Cross The Ages (CTA) has announced Blast Closed Playtest Phase 1 is starting April 23rd, but you’ll need to qualify earlier if you want to participate.

What’s New in Cross The Ages Blast Closed Playtest Phase 1?

The Blast Closed Playtest Phase 1 introduces new TCG gameplay rules for Cross The Ages, significantly altering the core blockchain gaming experience for this web3 title.

While the previous iterations came with no HP, the new changes now bring with them the addition of health points for each player to lower to 0 to win the match. The points system that consisted of 65 points via Trinities is getting replaced with a new objective that simply revolves around dealing damage by the end of every turn. Players can now also look forward to utilizing an energy bar, meaning that you will no longer play only 1 card per turn, but will actually be able to make use of multiple cards depending on the amount of energy you have and the amount of energy the cards use. Special abilities are also getting replaced with special attacks called Blasts that come in 3 different levels that differ by cooldowns and costs. The Trinity system however is getting removed, though affinities look set to stay.

Up to now, the Heptagram came with 2 advantages and 2 weaknesses, but that is now being reduced to 1 advantage and 1 weakness per element while the order of both has undergone some changes to make it easier for new players to start playing. Extended captures via Leader have been replaced with a capture by chain of 1 only, and unlimited hands will not be present in this version either, as each player will now have a total of 6 cards in hand instead, with the 7th one getting destroyed.

The goal of this playtest is to simply enjoy tactical PvP card gameplay where the goal is to just bring your opponent’s HP down to zero. This closed build is said to be a lightweight version of the game that only includes the core features in order to help the developers test the most important aspects while having players provide constructive feedback to help the team create an engaging web3 gaming experience. Other elements such as visual effects, animations, and secondary menus will be added back in for future playtests.

As you take part in this test phase, you’ll get used to new gameplay mechanics such as Blasts. For this playtest, there will be 2 different special attacks that you can activate: Arkhante and Mantris. Two more, Rift and Watch Dogs, are planned to be added in the second closed playtest.

If you play at least one match during this playtest, you will get an exclusive test card as a reward: Palmer – Cult Leader (Standard Version – ID: 1020310007002). An alternate version is set to be available in a different test phase in the future.

How to Participate in CTA’s Blast Closed Playtest Phase 1

To participate in CTA’s Blast Closed Playtest Phase 1, players need to own a Mint Pass in their CTA Wallet or Custom Wallet, have a KYC-verified account, and have logged in to the web3 game at some point from April 1st, 8 AM UTC, to April 16th, 8 AM UTC. A snapshot will be taken on April 16th at 8 AM UTC to determine eligible accounts. The team will only pick one account per user, with the player’s highest-level account set to be selected.

Eligible players will get an email on April 23rd containing a unique access code to redeem on the Epic Games Store, while whitelisted accounts will also get links for the Android and iOS version to play via the Play Store and App Store respectively, according to the official blog post. This means that the CTA launcher is no longer supported, requiring players to migrate over to the Epic Games Store. The PC and mobile platforms will now be used for all future updates, including all upcoming BLAST playtest phases.

This playtest for Cross The Ages begins on April 23rd and will end on May 7th. Everyone participating will have all cards unlocked on their test account. The Mint Pass can be found on the market section of the game’s official website, with the cheapest one at the time of writing being the Red Mint Pass for $42.4 USDC on Immutable X.