Crypto Raiders: The Review
I was not alive when The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past was initially released, but I am aware of its legacy. It revolutionized console video games, it was a seismic shift in video game development. The first time I ever watched a friend stream Crypto Raiders, I said that it looked like A Link to the Past in the best way. Crypto Raiders is taking the art style and familiarity of LoZ, and bringing it to a new age.
The age of blockchain gaming is here, and it has its Zelda.
In Crypto Raiders, you play as a Raider in the world of Airium, a mysterious world filled with monstrous creatures and valuable loot. As a Raider, it’s your job to vanquish those monsters and plunder that loot to power yourself up. There are nine races to play as, ranging from the incredibly common Human to the extremely rare and valuable Tigress. Starting the game requires you to purchase a Raider, and Human New Recruits (the cheapest Raider currently available) can be purchased for $28 (subject to change). You can own as many Raiders as you like, but only one is required to start playing.
Your First Raider
Once you purchase your first raider you’re ready to start playing the game. The main story mode consists of a three-act structure, in addition to this there’s a mode called endless dungeon which is exactly what it sounds like. Monster after monster and creature after creature, only stopping when you’re vanquished. Try to beat your best floor and earn some epic loot in the process. New dungeons are being added every week and the game is constantly updating. In fact, just the other day a new a new dungeon was added. You never know what new surprises are around the corner.
After you purchase your your raider off of the marketplace, you can continue to play the game for free, or you can purchase dungeon keys. Dungeon keys are required to enter dungeons and earn experience. If you choose the free-to-play route, every Wednesday you’re provided with seven dungeon keys and every day you get one free run of the endless dungeon game mode. When you exhaust your dungeon keys you have the option to buy more using an in-game currency called $AURUM. Dungeon Keys cost 25 AURUM, or around 25 cents a key ($AURUM is trading at 0.009 as of this review).
When you’re out of dungeon keys and have Raiders waiting to enter their next dungeon, you can send them out on a quest to gather materials, and you can even purchase mounts for them to speed their quests up. Just keep in mind that you have to wait for them to come back for you can use them again.
Level Up
Clearing a dungeon rewards you with one piece of loot and experience points based on the level of the dungeon. When your experience bar fills up, you level up.
The current level cap in the game is 10, and there are six main stats for you to level up. These are strength, intelligence, agility, wisdom, charm, and luck. There is currently no class system beyond these six primary stats but one is in the works.
Do you prefer to hit things hard and do you want to clear dungeons in just a couple of hits? Dump all of your points into strength and become the barbarian you were born to be. If you fancy critical attacks with big damage, and your go-to weapon is a wand or a staff, then intelligence might be more your style. Stealthy players who never want to get hit and dodge every attack should focus on agility.
Each piece of loot also comes with some stats. The rarer and higher level the gear, the bigger the stat boost. Say you just found a rare piece of gear that increases your strength but your main stat is intelligence, what do you do then? Fortunately, Crypto Raiders has you covered with an item called the Scroll of Knowledge. The Scroll of Knowledge can be purchased for 250 AURUM and can be used to reset your character, allowing you to re-allocate your skill points.
The Ability System
In addition to your armor and weaponry, there are also abilities for you to equip to your Raider. There are three types of abilities: Offensive, Defensive, and Utility. If you favor a strength type character, the Offensive abilities might be more up your alley. Big critical hits, constant damage with Magic Missiles or a devastating counterattack that your enemies will never see coming.
Glass cannons who want to output big damage but are left with a smaller health pool may favor the Defensive abilities. Taking less damage, increasing your health, and boosting your rate of evasion and crit chance for a deadly sneak attack.
In the Defensive category is an ability called Magic Armor and this is an ability I find equipped to all of my Raiders. You will never find me without Magic Armor. What Magic Armor does is it provides you with armor power equal to 30% of your maximum health and provides a 10% increased to damage. A constant shield and a damage buff all with one ability.
The third category of abilities are the Utility abilities (say that five times fast) and these include things like lowering your enemies damage resistance, increasing your attack, or increasing hit chance in crit damage.
You can select up to two abilities on each character and I would recommend one from the Offensive or Defensive categories and one of the utility abilities. Alternatively, choose Magic Armor and then any other random ability in the second slot and you’ll be good to go.
Gameplay and Accessibility
Crypto Raiders gameplay is very simple: You have two abilities, you have a weapon, you click or press a key to attack and then your enemy takes their turn. The gameplay loop is incredibly simple and that’s what makes it very approachable for gamers of all skill types. If you’re familiar with RPG games you’ll love building out your raider and grinding for new gear, changing up your skills and making sure you’re using the best loadout possible. Finding a better piece of gear than what you currently have equipped is an incredible feeling. And for newcomers, it’s as easy as selecting a dungeon, clicking attack and hoping you emerge victorious.
I always believe that gaming is better with friends and Crypto Raiders seems to agree with their introduction of the Guild system. If you have a friend that’s interested in Crypto Raiders but they don’t feel like spending money on a Raider of their own, have them join their your guild and they can run dungeons on your Raiders for you.
A Guild was my first introduction to Crypto Raiders, it allowed me to play the game and see if I liked it before spending any money of my own. Now, you or your friend won’t get to keep any loot they earned on a Raider that you don’t own, but it still gives you a good taste of the game before you decide to jump in.
What’s Next
Crypto Raiders is still very early into the development cycle as I said earlier, with new dungeons being added almost every week and constant updates to the gameplay. But I think that’s one of the most exciting things about the game, you never know what’s around the corner and you can play and grow as the game does.
And speaking of growth, Crypto Raiders recently announced a $1 million tournament which is the largest prize pool in blockchain gaming. Blockchain gaming is going to be integral to the growth of Web3 and the decentralized world, and right now this is one of the best examples of a blockchain game. It’s approachable and ready for mainstream adoption, easy to pickup and play for anywhere from ten minutes to two hours, and most importantly it’s a blast to play.
Verdict
Crypto Raiders is a game I would recommend to any gamer, or even someone who doesn’t call themselves a gamer and just wants to learn more about Web3, Crypto Raiders is a great first introduction. Once you earn that first piece of loot, you’ll be hooked. Crypto Raiders earns an eight out of ten.
