The play-to-earn (P2E) landscape continues to grow. This month, turn-based strategy game Dragon War becomes the latest title to conduct an IDO ahead of a full mainnet release on the Solana blockchain. The gamefi title, which follows a cast of human, elf, wizard, and orc characters, features a number of fun elements common to P2E releases: equipment systems, boss raids, farming, PvP tournaments, guild wars, and more.
While the gamefi space is undoubtedly crowded, there are more than a few reasons to believe Dragon War could be the next runaway success.
Rich Gameplay, Rich Rewards
This year marks two decades since the release of the acclaimed real-time strategy game Warcraft III, and it’s safe to say players’ appetite for immersive gameplay has only risen in the intervening period. Although much has changed since the third installment of Warcraft dropped in July 2002, gamers continue to embrace the same aspects: the obsessive focus on building, battling, and collecting; the emphasis on legend and lore; and the opportunities to explore fantastical virtual worlds.
These familiar touchstones are easily identifiable in Dragon War, which is the brainchild of a team of Singapore-based gaming veterans. Collectively, the title’s founding trio – comprising a blockchain tech lead, game developer, and execution lead – boasts over 50 years’ gaming experience, with several apps and releases under their belts. Dragon War’s advisory team, meanwhile, includes the likes of Icetea Labs founder Thi Truong.
In light of its strong team, it’s perhaps no surprise that Dragon War is backed by two dozen high-profile blockchain VCs including Athena Ventures, RedKite, and AU21 Capital. What’s more, over 100,000 users have participated in and supported the product development, with Dragon War boasting almost 70,000 Twitter followers and close to 100,000 on Telegram.
Designed with a focus on user experience, technology, security, and economy, Dragon War is a turn-based strategy game that offers players the chance to join the Alliance of Eragard and fight the Lord of Destruction, Morgoth. Along the way, they can equip their hero with items such as armor, helmets, swords, and shields to level up their stats, with the rarity of items determining their value. Dragons can also be summoned, with the ‘class’ of your dragon (Tanker, Support, Damage, Dealer, Magic) affecting which ability/skill card you can use in battle. With all dragons having six body parts, and five levels of rarity for each, the opportunities to create the most fearsome – and valuable – NFT are legion.
There are many ways to earn in Eragard, from winning PvE and PvP battles to completing quests, ascending the leaderboard, and selling rare and enhanced NFTs on the marketplace. As well as equipment, heroes themselves can be sold onwards, meaning the more battles you win, the more valuable your hero becomes. That being said, the game’s creators are at pains to emphasize that their priority is user experience; while the play-to-earn mechanisms are great, the goal is to create an immersive, enjoyable game that satisfies dedicated gamers over the long term.
It’s little wonder Solana has been selected as the blockchain of choice. The high-performance network is notable for its ultra-fast transaction throughput, low fees, and energy efficiency, making it an easy choice for developers. A number of crypto gaming projects already operate on the platform, among them race, Cryowar, and Star Atlas.
There are two in-game tokens up for grabs in Dragon War: DRAW and ERA. While the supply of the former is capped at 1.5 billion, the latter is unlimited. Both assets can be used for play-to-earn purposes and to mint NFT items within the game. However, only the DRAW token has governance status, entitling holders to a share return (dividend). As more users enter Eragard, competing in tournaments, forming guilds, and breeding dragons, demand for these native tokens is likely to increase in turn.
The IDO Whitelist Open Schedule will follow this plan:
- Starpunk: March 6
- Dragon War Community Pool: March 10
- Solanium: March 16
- Red Kite: March 18
The $DRAW token distribution details are as follows:
- Claim time: March 23
- Vesting schedule: TGE 20%, cliff 1 month then unlock monthly over 4 months
- Listing time: March 23
- Listing platform: Raydium
The IDO Sale Schedule, meanwhile, will open with Solanium on March 20 before concluding three days later. On the same day the sale ends on Solanium, March 23, IDOs will simultaneously commence on Red Kite and Starpunk.
Ready for War
With its dual-token economy, familiar mythical tropes, and countless P2E opportunities, Dragon War is one to watch in 2022. After the IDO is done and dusted, a mobile version of the game is expected to drop in Q2 ahead of features like land sales and yield farming later in the year. There’s even talk of a fully-fledged Eragard metaverse, which gives rise to the possibility of interacting via wearable technology. One thing’s for sure, we’ve come a long way since Warcraft III.
Media Contact: Huy Van, hi@dragonwar.io
Website: https://dragonwar.io/