The team behind blockchain-powered TCG and transmedia ecosystem Cross The Ages (CTA) has announced that the Closed Alpha Phase 1 playtest for their upcoming new game, Arise, is set to start on May 28. Here’s what to expect from this test phase and what you can do to join while there’s still time for the snapshot.
This is the very first Closed Alpha playtest phase for Cross The Ages’ co-op action RPG, Arise.
During Phase 1, participants will get a very early glimpse of this new in-dev web3 game, and will be able to explore one dungeon as one hero, using only one weapon. While it’s set in the same universe as the ecosystem’s card game, there’s no need to know any CTA lore to playtest, as the focus is on helping the developers garner feedback and suggestions on the core gameplay loop.
This phase is said to mark a “crucial milestone” in the game’s ongoing development, as it is the first time the blockchain gaming community will have a chance to try out a slice of the new title. Anyone who gains access will be testing the core gameplay loop, which means that the developers are looking to receive feedback on aspects such as the overall dungeon experience, control fluidity, combat feel, and action readability. This will also serve as a nice server load test to help the team ensure they can scale and handle a larger number of players in the future.
The official announcement post states that you will be able to use a limited version of the character creation system, through which you will be able to choose from 2 different hairstyles while having the ability to customize hair color and eye color as well. There is a short tutorial to help get you to grips with the mechanics, after which you can go on a dungeon run solo or together with up to 4 players. Before embarking on a run, it looks like there will also be a starting area in which you can interact with 4 buildings for now. These structures are said to include the leaderboard, the talent board, a crystal opening place, and the Artellium map. There will be no daily quest system for this playtest.
The game loop is simple: once you complete the tutorial, you can go on a dungeon run to earn crystals and a new key. The higher the dungeon level that you manage to complete, the rarer the crystals you get to collect. These crystals can be opened to potentially drop a stronger weapon. From there you can choose to equip your weapon and customize your skills before heading back into the dungeon once again, this time with the new key. Speed seems to be important, as the faster you manage to complete a dungeon, the higher level increase your key gets. If you’re too slow, your key level will decrease instead.
Should you gain access to the Closed Playtest, your goal, in terms of gameplay, will be to unlock the Tier 7 Mythical Fire Weapon, the strongest weapon in this phase, while attempting to make the best run possible. If you manage to reach level 10 before this phase is over, you will be rewarded with an exclusive currency called the Founder’s Coin, which you will be able to use only in the Founder’s Shop. This store won’t be available in closed playtest phases, but you can look forward to it appearing exclusively in Early Access.
The official announcement also reveals that the second closed playtest is already planned, and that you can expect this future test phase to offer a “much wider game scope” in which you can explore a full dungeon, play as 2 different characters, and try out 5 different weapons while using crafting and fishing systems for the first time. A new dungeon is planned to be ready for Closed Playtest 3.
From Wednesday, May 28, 8 AM UTC, to Monday, June 2, 8 AM UTC, all holders of the Mint Pass will be able to participate in Cross The Ages’ first Closed Alpha Playtest for Arise. Only one account per user will be picked, meaning that holders can expect to receive an email with an access link to the test phase on the address associated with the account of the highest level.
Eligible emails and wallet addresses will be determined via a snapshot that is scheduled to take place on May 26 at 8 AM UTC. If you don’t own the Mint Pass and would like to participate in this playtest, then you will want to get the NFT before the snapshot takes place. You can find the Mint Pass on CTA’s official marketplace, with the cheapest one currently being the Red Mint Pass for the floor price of $40.24 USDC. Your email needs to be associated with an account holding the required asset.
In terms of system requirements, due to this being a development version of the game, the team recommends having an RTX 3070 or higher and 32 GB RAM for the most optimal experience at the “High” graphics preset. Testing in this phase will only be done on Windows via the Epic Games Store while using Central European servers. Users in Australia, Brazil, China, and South Korea cannot play this closed alpha version. In the future, this Unreal Engine 5 game will be a free to play title that will be available on Mac and other platforms as well.