Season 6 of Eternal Paradox is nearing its epic conclusion. Are you prepared to fight for The Ring?
Alex: Fight is basically all I do, mysterious voice.
Emma: Yes, that is apparent from all the giggling and horseplay.
Alex: Oh yeah? And meanwhile you’re blinding us all with your constant cheeriness.
Emma: I was indeed cheering when I defeated you at the Storm Ruins last weekend.
Alex: Hey! That one wasn’t fair. The sun was in my eyes!
Emma: Indeed… it was bright. Good thing I can beat you with my eyes closed.
The Road to Conquest
The second Conquest event of Season 6 has wrapped up… and it was definitely an interesting battle!
This Conquest involved battles all across Elysium and some unexpected results. While S12 has historically controlled 4-5 ruins for the first 30 minutes and forced everyone to play catch up, this time they encountered extreme resistance from other guilds early on. The result was the Ring of Ruin opening with all 4 guilds at the top of the leaderboard in surprising proximity to each other.
It was a hard fought conquest again and we were again fighting the whole server. We are proud of our members who did a great job. In the end it was a close result.
-CaptWusl, leader of S12
While the leaders were close, it was GFX sitting in front at the end of the first period. Through the second period, BTB and EPX continued to challenge each other and S12 so that none of them were really able to break away. During this time the Ring exchanged hands several times with Ozknights (OzK) getting in on the action and holding the central point for significant amounts of time. Throughout the second period, three of the four guilds fought each other while GFX went largely unnoticed as they quietly held ruins and extended their lead.
We can do it guys! Just need a final push!
-HumPlays, Leader of EPx
During the third period the action heated up, but for most guilds it was too little too late. S12 made huge gains on their point total relative to other guilds during this time, but they were unable to hinder the other guilds enough to catch up. Each GFX ruin they took seemed to be replaced with another right away. In a photo finish at the end, EPx nudged BTB out of second place with just a handful of points to further shake up the rankings!
Score with ~13 minutes to go. S12 made a valiant and explosive bid to catch up at the end, but fell short in the final minutes.
The conquest was tough and challenging, the score was tight and the last seconds decided the ranking to a great extent.
-OMH, leader of BTB
Congratulations to all the top guilds and captains!
GFGroup (GFX)
Eternals (EPx)
BTB-I (BTB)
SQUARE12 (S12)
Whether a player’s season is awful, good or great, everyone enjoys when his guild places good on a leaderboard. Over the course of the few seasons we all have built up relationships. It Is sad to see players leaving because of “imbalances”. Especially when a “game” is so time consuming… And make no mistake, Top 1 would mean nothing if there are very few left to play with and enjoy the ride together.
-Domin0, leader of GFX
The Coming Battle
While the reigning champs may have been unseated for two conquests in a row, they’re probably not planning on staying out of the top spot.
It’s no secret that S12 has dominated the last few seasons… but it seems like their rival guilds are trying out new tactics to see how competitive these battles can really be. S12 is powerful, however. They will adapt and come back hard in the third conquest, when their power is at its full zenith.
With the top four spots in the rankings being thoroughly scrambled up compared to the first conquest, we’re somewhere we haven’t been since maybe season 1 or season 2… there really is no favorite for the season win at this point. It’s anybody’s game. Whoever wants it the most and strategizes the best in conquest 3 will take the Season 6 title.
The top 64 places on the individual conquest leaderboard are all a mishmash of EPx and GFX, but S12 and BTB are biding their time just below. If the first two conquests this season are any indication, absolutely anything could happen in the third… it’s still anyone’s game!
Time will tell though. The final conquest of season 6 is only 10 days away. Will you be ready?
Battle Looms
Alex: …And frankly Emma, I’d have beaten you any other day! You had to get the help of multiple guilds to beat me!
Emma: It is not help, boom man. You have simply made too many enemies and now you reap your harvest.
Alex: Well, to show you that I’m not too salty I’ve gotten you a present Emma. I hope you like it.
Emma: That is very thoughtful of you, pirate. I accept your gift. You honor my – BOOOOOOOOM
Alex: Mwuahahahahha… buhbye Emma! It was fun hosting with you! Roll credits, disembodied voice!
It was a glorious playtest, adventurers! The rolling hills were alive with exemplars crafting, hunting and exploring this great land!
The test was fun, but brutal. Wolves were waiting to devour unwitting exemplars who got too focused on chasing the golden rabbit… but that’s how it goes in Mirandus. This land is as dangerous as it is enchanting.
Adventure carefully. Keep your wits about you and Mirandus will lead you to the prosperity it offers!
So Much Fun. So Much Death
937 brave adventurers took part in this playtest over the course of four days. Each and every one of you will receive “A Terrifying Sight” – an all-new commemorative NFT unique to this playtest.
Players crafted a total of 403k items during the event… Including 347k arrows, many of which could be seen stuck in various objects around the zone.
Players died a total of 5696 times ☠️, with four exceptionally squishy players dying over 100 times each!
104 players successfully looted the golden rabbit. Each of these victorious adventurers will receive the exclusive “The Covenant of the Wild” commemorative NFT.
All participants will receive their commemorative NFTs before the end of September.
The Future of Mirandus
The future of Mirandus is nothing but potential, and this is but an early foreword to the much greater story coming.
Development continues to race ahead, and in our next playtest we’ll have more than ever before to show off to players taking their first steps in this mysterious land.
Expect to hear more updates before too long, and don’t let the adventure stray too far from your mind – soon it will be time once again to sail to the shores of Mirandus together.
Last week it was reported that OpenSea, the world’s leading NFT marketplace, received a Wells notice from the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), leading to lots of noise in the crypto space.
What is a Wells Notice?
The name of this type of notice comes from the Wells Committee, a legal advisory group created by the SEC in 1972 to review the agency’s enforcement practices, named after the SEC general counsel at that time, John A. Wells.
A Wells notice is given to a person or company following a completed investigation. It is a formal notice used to inform the subject that infractions have been discovered by the SEC, giving the investigated company or person an opportunity to publicly address and respond to the investigation prior to any rulings that might follow.
While the SEC neither confirmed nor denied any such regulatory investigation of OpenSea, in the NFT platform’s August 28th response, it stated that the notice “indicates that the SEC is considering bringing a lawsuit against OpenSea.”
OpenSea’s Position
OpenSea has received a Wells notice from the SEC.
We're shocked that the SEC would make a move that threatens creators and artists, and we're ready to stand up and fight for our industry. https://t.co/7FyFH3NLdm
OpenSea has not wavered in its position that NFTs on its platform should not be regulated as securities. Openly taking a stand for the rights of creators, artists and innovators who use the OpenSea platform, CEO Devin Finzer has pledged $5M (in addition to its own defense) to assist with legal fees for any creators or developers who have also received a Wells notice related to their NFT activity.
“NFTs are fundamentally creative goods: art, collectibles, video game items, domain names, event tickets, and more. We should not regulate digital art in the same way we regulate collateralized debt obligations.”
“We hope that the SEC will reconsider its stance and approach this issue with the open-mindedness it deserves.” –Devin Finzer, OpenSea CEO
Ongoing Debate
The question of whether regulatory agencies would consider treating non-fungible tokens as securities has been looming over the web3 space for the last few years.
While the debate has attracted the attention of the wider crypto world and concern from NFT collectors, the consequences of classifying NFTs as securities under US law would fall primarily on the creators and sellers of NFTs.
The SEC’s mission is to protect investors by maintaining fair, orderly and efficient markets. If NFTs were considered securities, then those who purchased them would be considered “investors” – The SEC would then be obligated to protect them.
Previous Enforcement Actions
While this is the first Wells notice from the SEC to target an NFT marketplace, several exchange platforms have received Wells notices, including Coinbase, Kraken, Robinhood, and decentralized exchange protocol Uniswap.
The question of whether or not certain types of digital goods will be regulated as securities has been approaching for some time, and veterans of the space have seen it coming.
Looking Ahead
Like regulation of cryptocurrency, regulation of non-fungible tokens on some level is inevitable. The majority of web3 innovators welcome such regulation with openness and compliance, because it allows the clarity needed to create and effectively execute projects.
At Gala, we stand with OpenSea that NFTs are not securities and their owners are not investors. We are however fully committed to regulatory compliance as these questions are settled over the coming months and years.
Ultimately, coming regulations should be seen as a sign of web3 adoption and we look forward to a world where such issues are settled, where we can fully focus on the empowerment and progress made possible by blockchain technology.
Playing the games in our growing tApp (Telegram mini app) ecosystem is more rewarding than you may think.
Sure, when you play Music Coin you’ll position yourself for seasonal and daily $TREZ distribution (more details in the $TREZ Litepaper). But there is more to the Music Coin reward system than that.
$GALA on TON
We bridged a nice pile of $GALA over to TON (4 Million $GALA to be precise) where it’s now designated as the Music Coin referral reward pool. The bridged version of $GALA on TON is called $TGALA, and you can view the wallet containing the 4M $TGALA on TONviewer at the link below:
Collecting $GALA through referrals is almost a game of its own within the already rewarding world of Music Coin.
As you invite new users who join the game, you will continue to build up $GALA rewards, in addition to the standard in-game rewards that will determine your share of the first seasonal $TREZ distribution.
As you unlock new levels, you’ll have a chance to collect even more $GALA per referred user.
Once wallet integration is complete, you’ll be able to get your accumulated $GALA rewards out of the game and use them however you like in the Gala ecosystem!
But you’ve been warned… Once the 4M $GALA referral reward pool runs out, no more $GALA rewards will be available for Music Coin players, so hurry and invite your friends to ensure you get reward credit!
Music Coin Tips
When you build up a lot of Music Coin, don’t forget to use it on the various Quest options, upgrading your Lifestyle, Location and Instrument skills to enhance your passive profit per hour!
Always check for new reward opportunities in the Rewards tab. These amount to quick and easy Music Coins in-game and they update frequently! And remember to check in and claim your Daily Streak reward, also found in the Rewards tab and worth up to 200K Coins!
Challenge your friends as often as you like! There are no penalties for losing a challenge and it’s all automatic.
Greetings Captains! Hopefully your battles in Season 6 are going well. The first Conquest is just behind us, but there’s always a battle raging in the arena!
We’ve discussed arena tactics and team composition in the past, but today we’re going to talk about the shifting landscape of teams in PvP within Eternal Paradox. What may work in one season may not in another. You’ve got to be in touch with the meta strategy to really be competitive within the arena.
Arena Meta
The arena meta is somewhat flexible. Unlike other games that have shifting rulesets, Mercenaries are pretty consistent in their abilities in the arena. You can reliably assume that your team from last season will fill about the same role in the next, and battles themselves don’t really change.
There are, however, a few reasons that the meta strategy shifts over time. First, there’s season features. Each season, three Mercenaries have a huge boost to their stats. This makes them exceptionally suited to winning in the arena.
In the case of Season 6, Laila, Laction and Bianca are all boosted for the season.
That 100% bonus is pretty significant. For Bianca, that represents more attack than she’ll get from a 7* Weapon. Laction has incredibly powerful crits this season as well, and Laila’s boosted HP makes her shields a HUGE factor in arena combat.
In addition to these seasonal buffs, there are also the season special features that can influence the balance of power within the arena.
In season 6, this means a significant attack speed boost to all water mercenaries. Definitely more in favor of Bianca and Laila here.
Team Evolution
While the abilities of Mercenaries are consistent from season to season, the buffs and features of each season combined with the appearance of new Mercenaries can slowly shift what teams are popular.
In season 1 and 2, you were very likely to see a lot of the following strategy at the top levels of arena combat:
That fast Val meta is definitely still around. As more Mercenaries are introduced though, new strategies arise to combat the reigning teams.
Just a few seasons ago, you were far more likely to see battles that started like this:
When Jin Ryu entered the battle as a new Mercenary, his leader skill with a full team stun after their first hit changed the arena meta entirely! This strategy is still incredibly useful, but the evolution of the game has also brought new tactics.
The Laila Meta
This season Laila has 100% increased HP. She also has this monster of a leader skill. It definitely gains more power from that seasonal buff:
So right away at the start of the battle, your team gets a shield as big as Layla’s health and almost guaranteed evasion from attacks. That’s big. The one hit KO Val strategy is stopped in its tracks entirely by this gambit.
Throw in Laila’s ultimate skill on her first move, and you’ve got an even bigger defensive bulwark. Even if you’ve chiseled away that shield to damage one opponent, they’re getting a full heal. That’s not even mentioning the two hit barriers or the debuff immunity – that puts a serious limit on strategies like Alex’s bombs or Laction’s stacking debuffs.
Suddenly, the meta starts to look a lot like this:
It’s not impossible to fight to victory against a Laila team with a different team composition, but the fast KO strategies of previous seasons have definitely been slowed down.
The rise of Laila makes a lot of other Mercenaries useful in ways they weren’t before. Lucas or William’s shields can refresh or match up to Laila’s, giving you as much endurance as your enemies! Getting a sleep or stun across with Zarkhan or Wang could stop Laila’s ultimate skill before that second set of shields… in fact, why not hop in with Camilla and just silence everyone from the start?
Fighting for Victory
The arena is calling, Captains! How will you fight in this season’s meta?
Get out there and try different combos. See what works with this season’s popular teams. Who knows? Maybe you’ll find a new OP combo that dominates everybody!
