What happens when you combine Path of Exile with Diablo and sprinkle some steampunk into the mix? Well, you get Crystals of Naramunz. Developed by a team of ARPG veterans, the game tries to mix up the genre by creating a rewarding gameplay loop while leveraging modern technology to find new sustainable monetization models that put players first.

Lords of Gaming had a chance to sit down with Åke André, CEO of Crypto Rogue Games, and get an extensive preview of the game, its classes, skill upgrades, and Web3 implementation.

Post-Apocalyptic Meets Steampunk

Set in a post-apocalyptic world, Crystals of Naramunz takes place in a ravaged world of ancient ruin. The world came about when a crystal meteor struck Earth and reshaped the world. The cataclysmic event mutated humans and animals into a new species of hybrids. Naturally, these hybrid creatures are able to harness the power of crystals that are found across the ruined world.

During the preview, Åke André specifically mentioned that the steampunk world is underserved in the ARPG market. Traditionally, most of the games within the genre heavily focus on a dark fantasy setting. But in CoN, we see a lot of different droids, and heavy industry settings that help distinguish its environments.

Diablo and PoE Sitting in a Tree… Crystals of Naramunz is Born

Built on the Unity engine, Crystals of Naramunz is a free-to-play action RPG in the vein of Path of Exile and Diablo. The game is all about its loot and skills system. Obviously, loot is tiered and will play an important role in character upgrades. However, the latter is quite interesting and has its own unique spin on it.

Instead of predetermined skills, players will collect skills as if they are in-game loot. Each skill is equipped just like gear and has its own procedurally generated skill trees. Some skill trees are basic, while others can be quite sprawling. When leveling up, players will be able to invest in these skills, fine-tune them, and switch between them effortlessly. There are also talent trees that are permanent and class-specific that players can upgrade.

Four Classes to Rule Them All

Crystals of Naramunz will have four characters to choose from: Knight, Gunner, Marauder, and Sorcerer. The Knight is a melee-focused hero that will weil different types of blades and shields. They will be focused on damage and crowd control. The Gunner is naturally focused on ranged attacks and relies on kiting as well. While the Marauder wields daggers and specializes in damage output and mobility.

Lastly, the Sorcerer is magic-focused but has its unique spin on the traditional class. In Crystals, sorcerers will also have elements similar to a necromancer, instead of raising the dead it will raise droids in true steampunk fashion. The sorcerer will be available to players at a later date.

Crafting, Aethereal, and Web3

No doubt the elephant in the room is the Web3 application in Crystals of Naramunz. When you reach the end-game, players can craft any piece of gear into Aethereal class items.  Aethereal gear makes gear much more powerful, granting additional stats. Similar to PoE’s league system, characters reset with every season, except for Aethereal gear. They will be permanently available for players.

Seasons in Crystals are expected to last every three months. Since the game is free-to-play there will be a battle pass and microtransactions in place. However, no further details were provided during the preview. Conversely, if players don’t want to engage in aethereal crafting they can do so without any issue and can just normally grind the game every season.

Finding the Right Balance

During the preview, André went into detail about finding the right balance for loot-centric game economies. He understands the stigma around Web3 in general discourse. But he was adamant that when used properly and in service to players, Web3 tech can help alleviate many issues that commonly arise when players want to trade gear.

Oftentimes, players will be greeted by dodgy players trying to sell currency or gear or provide links to external marketplaces. However, in some instances, players can and have gotten scammed in these situations. Sellers will sell bogus items or purposefully disconnect to void the transaction but collect payment. However, Crypto Rogue Games wants to remedy these circumstances with blockchain tech.

In Crystals of Naramunz, players can search for and trade Aethereal gear directly through the game’s systems. According to Åke, this helps eliminate external marketplaces and ensures that players trade safely and transparently.

It’s no secret that the industry has been going through massive layoffs. What Crystals is trying to do is find alternative sustainable monetization solutions. Time will tell if the experiment pays off in the long run.

Crystals of Naramunz Beta and Release Window

Crystals of Naramunz is slated to launch sometime in 2025. There will be a beta period sometime during this summer. The game is expected to launch on Epic Games, Wemix, Steam (TBC), and Amazon Games (TBC).

The post Breaking the Web3 Stigma – Crystals of Naramunz Preview appeared first on Lords of Gaming.