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🔑 Key Concepts

Blitz Key Concepts

Realms: Blitz is a real-time strategy variant of Eternum designed for rapid, competitive play. In each two-hour match, players strategically manage resources, explore territories, and engage in high-intensity military confrontations. Blitz's streamlined mechanics and accelerated gameplay require swift decision-making and adaptability, resulting in a high skill ceiling that rewards skill and experience. The no-stakes Recruit bracket allows new players to learn the game, while experienced Lords can sharpen their skills in preparation for higher-stakes games. Lords can compete for $LORDS token stakes in Gladiator bracket, while Warrior bracket games form the core of a Blitz 'series'—where success brings additional rewards and qualifications for the coveted Elite bracket, which offers even greater prizes!

Rule Summary

Game Duration

Each Blitz game runs for exactly 2 hours. Time is measured in Eternum Days, which are six minutes long and divided into six 'phases'.

Realms

  • Three Starting Realms: Each player starts with three Realms, evenly spaced apart in a triangle formation.
  • Equal Capability: At the start of the game, all Realms in Blitz are functionally identical.
  • Free Building: Players can construct any resource building they wish, restricted only by build space and population.
  • No Wonders or Villages: Wonder bonuses and the Village system are not present in Blitz.
  • Conquest Mechanics: All Realms are vulnerable to capture by other players, encouraging constant vigilance and strategic interaction.

Materials

  • Simplified Resources: Only 9 resources are available - Wood, Coal, Copper, Ironwood, Cold Iron, Gold, Adamantine, Mithril, and Dragonhide.
  • Simplified Food: Only 1 food type - Wheat.
  • Essence: New material found by exploring the map and interacting with World Structures, required for some production, buildings and upgrades.
  • Labor: Produced by each Realm at a fixed rate, required for all construction and 'simple mode' production.
  • Donkeys: Required for moving materials around the world, essential for logistics.
  • Troops: 3 types (Knights, Crossbowmen, Paladins), 3 tiers (T1, T2, T3).
  • Restricted Bridging: Players may only bridge Relics into the game (not out). Other materials can't be bridged.
  • Donkey Cost: Donkeys only cost food to produce (no $LORDS cost).
  • No P2P Transfers: No direct transfers or trade between players.

Buildings

  • Construction: Standard and simple mode building systems.
  • Building Types:
    • The Keep: Central structure automatically constructed at game start.
    • Resource Buildings: Specific buildings for each of the 9 resources.
    • Economic Buildings: Includes Farms, Worker Huts, and Markets.
    • Military Buildings: Nine different buildings for producing three tiers of each troop type.
  • Placement & Population: Buildings require buildable hexes and population capacity, with more unlocked as Realms are upgraded.

Production

  • Production Types:
    • Food: Wheat can be produced without inputs.
    • Resources: Require combinations of other resources (standard) or labor (simple).
    • Labor: Produced by the Keep at a steady rate.
    • Troops: Essential for exploration and warfare, with production of higher tier troops requiring lower tier troops as inputs.
    • Donkeys: One-time-use transport, consumed after a single journey.
  • Altered Rates: All production rates are increased relative to production requirements for the fast-paced game format.

World Map

  • Exploration System: Players must explore unrevealed hexes to find essence, claim Hyperstructures, and attack neighbors.
  • No Resource Discovery: Players will no longer find resources when exploring.
  • Essence Discovery: Players primarily find essence when exploring, along with small stacks of donkeys, T1 troops and labor.
  • Relic Discovery: Powerful Relics can be found in Relic Crates that occasionally appear on the world map.
  • Biomes: 16 unique biome types affecting combat effectiveness and troop movement.
  • Movement & Stamina: Armies move using stamina (regenerating at +20 per Phase, +120 per Eternum Day), with costs varying by biome and troop type.

Military

  • Army Composition: Armies consist of a single troop type and tier.
  • Troop Tiers: T1, T2, and T3 troops with increasing stamina and combat strength.
  • Combat Factors: Battles are resolved based on army damage, stamina modifiers, and biome effects.
  • Army Types:
    • Field Armies: Deploy onto the world map for exploration and conquest.
    • Guard Armies: Deployed to defense slots to protect structures.
  • Stamina System: Armies recover +20 stamina each Phase (6 phases per Eternum Day, totaling +120 stamina per day).
  • Biome Effects: Each troop type has advantages (+30% damage), disadvantages (-30% damage), or no change (0%) in specific biomes.
  • Reinforcement Movement: Players can't transport troops by donkey to World Structures - reinforcements must be moved across the map from a Realm.

Scoring System

Leaderboard placing is determined by total accumulated Victory Points, a measure of a Lord's ability to explore the map and control World Structures. Victory Points are awarded for:

  • Exploring tiles
  • Claiming World Structures
  • Claiming Hyperstructures
  • Holding Hyperstructures throughout the game

Victory

Victory Points (VP) determine leaderboard ranking. The players with the highest number of VP at the end of the two hours share in the $LORDS prize pool. This pool is made up of the cumulative entry fees that players pay to enter the game.

Blitz Variants

Blitz games come in many forms, and can be configured and deployed by anyone. But the majority of Blitz games are deployed by the core team in the following forms:

Recruit Bracket

  • No Stakes: Free-to-enter bracket for introduction, playtesting and practice.
  • No Entry Cost: No $LORDS required to participate.
  • Frequency: Games run multiple times per day on a rotating schedule.

Gladiator Bracket

  • $LORDS Stakes: Competitive games with $LORDS stakes.
  • Entry Cost: Players pay a 250 $LORDS entry fee, contributing to a prize pool.
  • Prize Distribution: Top 20% of players share the prize pool.
  • Frequency: Games run twice per day on a rotating schedule.

Warrior Bracket

  • Series Games: These games form part of a competitive Blitz Series.
  • $LORDS Stakes: Competitive games requiring a $LORDS entry fee.
  • Entry Cost: Players pay a $LORDS fee, contributing to a prize pool.
  • Prize Distribution: Top 20% of players share the prize pool.
  • Additional Rewards: Relic Chests and Blitz Rewards Chests.
  • Special Invites: Highest placing players win tradable NFT invites to the Elite bracket.
  • Frequency: Games run a few times weekly during prime time for key timezones (USA, Europe, Asia-Pacific).

Elite Bracket

  • Series Games: These games represent the highest level of play in a competitive Blitz Series.
  • Ticket Entry Cost: Entry requires an NFT invite from Warrior bracket (no additional $LORDS cost).
  • Prize Pool: Large, DAO-funded prize pool (pending BIP).
  • Rewards: Relic Chests, Blitz Rewards Chests and Elite Blitz Rewards Chests.
  • Frequency: A limited number of games run at the end of a Blitz series.

Blitz Series

While Recruit and Gladiator games can be deployed and played as frequently as the player base demands, games with stakes (Warrior/Elite) are organized into 'series'. Each series takes place between Eternum seasons to bridge the gap in gameplay and provide continuous competitive opportunities.

Rewards

Successful Blitz players can earn various rewards including:

  • $LORDS Token: Prize pool distributions for top players.
  • Loot Chests: Relic Chests, Blitz Rewards Chests and Elite Blitz Rewards Chests containing consumables and cosmetic items.
  • Entry Tickets: NFT invites to Elite bracket games for top Warrior bracket performers.