Web3 game developer Pixcape Games has announced the launch of Playtest #3 for their on-chain shooter Hive Invasion, giving everyone a free chance to win NFTs and USDT by ranking to the top until August 21.

What Is Hive Invasion?

Hive Invasion is a free to play blockchain-powered roguelite set in a dystopian future in which rogue AI has merged with biological evolution to create endless mutations threatening the extinction of humanity. Step into the shoes of an Echo-9 unit, part human and part war machine, and defend the remnants of the human race from the overwhelming forces of the Hive.

Playable for free on web browsers, players venture into diverse pixelated biomes while battling hordes of aliens in frenetic top-down gameplay to unlock new abilities and trade loot and skills on-chain. The game is currently in development in Unity, and as such can only be played in limited time bursts during playtests. As of writing, two playtests have been held so far, and the game was also live as a participant of the Somnia Gaming Week. For the second official playtest, more than 27k players participated and collectively spent over 800k minutes destroying more than 120 million enemies. Pre-register with your email address on the studio’s official website to stay updated on future playtests and other development news.

What’s New in Hive Invasion Playtest #3?

The third playtest for Hive Invasion features a prize pool of $1600 worth of Genesis Pass NFTs and USDT rewards up for grabs for the top 10 players on the Kill Count Leaderboard.

From August 14 to August 21, 6 PM UTC, the focus of this playtest is on getting the highest kill count possible in a single play session. Players step into the alien-infested fray solo and attempt to kill as many enemies as possible in an effort to rank to the top of the leaderboard. This makes this test phase a purely skill-based gameplay event, one that you can try to compete in completely for free.

By ending up among the top 10 players with the highest kill count before the end of the event, you are guaranteed to win a Genesis Pass NFT. If you rank in the top 3, you also get USDT alongside the NFT, with the winner receiving $100 USDT, while 2nd place snags $50, and 3rd place also wins $50. With the current floor price of the NFT, this means that the best playtester might potentially be getting around $200 worth of rewards.

What’s not clear from the provided reward distribution breakdown is the type of trait the NFT you win has; does the particular Genesis Pass awarded feature a MycoSynth Bloom trait (the most common type), the Nexus Veil trait, or the rarest trait: the Forgeborn Ember? Aside from the supply differences that could influence pricing, the traits do seem to be purely cosmetic. While they seem the same on the surface, watching the full animated GIF of the NFT shows the big eye transforming into a different color. Either way, it’s great to see everyone having an equal chance of getting the NFT in the first place simply through gameplay. Here’s how you can get started.

How to Win NFTs and USDT in Hive Invasion Playtest #3

You can win Genesis Pass NFTs and USDT rewards by being among the most skillful players in Playtest #3 of Hive Invasion.

To get started, simply head to the official playtest page to load up the browser-based 2D game. Once loaded, connect your wallet via Ethereum to be taken to the main menu screen. From there, you can add up to 5 skills to use in battle, and at least one of them needs to be an active skill. First-time players will have 1 active and 1 passive skill unlocked from the start. The active skill is a full auto weapon that shoots at the nearest enemy on its own, while the passive skill upgrades your Health and Fuel. These skills will randomly drop throughout your playthrough, and picking the same one up again allows you to level it up for the playthrough. You can level up permanently to unlock more weapon skills, though progress in this case may get wiped considering that this is a playtest.

Next to picking skills, you can also change the Echo-9 unit you’d like to play with. Each consists of a human character piloting a floating vehicle. There are 3 Echo-9 operatives to choose from for this playtest, with 2 unlocked from the beginning. Each of them differs in their core skill perk, base stats such as Health and Movement Speed, and more.

With your character chosen and skills set up, you’re ready to start playing and competing for the top 10 leaderboard spots. Simply press Play to be thrown straight into a playthrough in which you attempt to survive as long as possible in order to try and kill as many enemies as you can in chaotic gameplay inspired by Vampire Survivors.

As you play, the weapon you wield consumes a certain amount of Fuel every second. If you run out of Fuel, you start consuming Health, so you best make sure you have enough Fuel at all times. You can gain more Fuel and HP by simply taking down enemies.

Overall, if you enjoy these kinds of games and want to become a Genesis Pass NFT holder for free and possibly earn some USDT along the way as well, then you better start playing as soon as possible to try and get enough kills to rank in the top 10 before August 21, 6 PM UTC, all without needing to pay for anything to participate. You can take a look at leaderboard standings directly in-game. Check out the official documentation to learn more.

Pixcape launched the Genesis Pass NFT mint in June this year, giving the community a chance to own a useful asset that provides various benefits within the studio’s gaming ecosystem, including access to exclusive upgrade packs, free Hero and Weapon NFTs, and more. If you missed out on the mint of 777 NFTs, you now have a chance to win the NFT by ranking among this playtest’s best players. Alternatively, you can buy one on OpenSea on the Ethereum network at the current floor price of 0.019 ETH.