How to Exode: Cargo Selection

Today I continue my series of articles about the upcoming blockchain based space colonization game Exode by focusing on cargo selection. If you are still unfamiliar with the game, you can learn more about the game at the official webpage as well as reading the developers hive blog. You can also find my previous two articles here on Hive.

If you haven’t already, I encourage you to buy a starter and give the game a try. If you buy using my referral link we both get 2 free (account bound) boosters.

The core gameplay of Exode will start once you successfully evacuate and find a new planet to call home. Being some of the last remnants of humanity, it is vital for those on your ship to survive. As much of colonization is still shrouded in mystery we don’t know what we’ll be able to do with this second chance at life yet, but I believe we have enough information to begin determining what cargo will help you survive regardless of goals.

What we do know is that somehow you HAVE to land on a planet. You will likely need to repair your ship, treat any injuries, and refuel. Whether you plan to call your new planet home and fully explore it, or repair your ship and launch as soon as possible, you will still need to survive for some time on your new planet.

We know that your ship has limited resources. You only have so much fuel, food, water and air. One way or another you will need more, your life depends on it. Even if you find a habitable world you will most likely need some sort of shelter and various supplies. You will be at the mercy of your planet unless you are properly prepared, and even then you may face any number of natural disasters to further complicate your survival.

This is where cargo comes in. You have three ways of getting supplies for your colony.

You can preload cargo you own during deck building. This guarantees you will start with the bare necessities and removes a lot of reliance on luck.
You can search the station during evacuation. This is a dangerous ordeal and you cannot be sure what you will find. You can find some truly useful items though.
You can burn cards permanently to drop them to your colony. This lets you decide after seeing your new world on what you need, but cards used this way are lost forever.

Personally I prefer preloading the necessities. I would only drop stuff if it was literally the difference between life and death. Ultimately it is up to you to determine your level of risk/cost.

Regardless of how you get the items, there are things you absolutely need:

Food
Water
Air
Shelter
Energy

Food

Most likely you will need to find some source of food on the planet or somehow make your own. The “Strategic Foodie-Moodie” is the most common source of food by far. It is available from the TOM Settler Contract and is both upgradable and droppable. There also is the much rarer “Soup and Cook” which gives you a large stockpile of food and water to begin with. You could also try growing some “Rare Plants (x6)” and hope they may be editable. The final option, at this time, is attempting to farm by bringing appropriate buildings and skill.

Water

Water is a vital resource and you can only artificially recycle it for so long. The easiest to obtain source of water is the "WHC Unit". Like most items from the TOM Settler Contract it is both upgradable and droppable. Not only that, but it provides energy, air, and water. The downside is you will somehow need to replenish its oxygen crystals while on the planet. The previously mentioned “Soup and Cook” also provides a stockpile of water and presumably you can find a source of water on the planet.

Air

Air, also referred to as life support on the cards, is another vital resource. The previously mentioned "WHC Unit" is your main option here. You can also bring a stockpile of “TOM Beauty Air” with you, but most likely you need to somehow obtain it on the planet.

Shelter

Shelter has a lot more options than the other basic needs and will be heavily influenced by how many people you have.Not only do your people need shelter, there are items to provide storage and workspaces as well. The TOM Settler Contract provides three different sized options. The “TOM Custom” is the most flexible as you can use it for lab space instead if you find a particularly habitable planet.The “Shelter Happy Five” has the largest capacity.

In general the options available in the alpha boosters are inferior compared to those from the contract. That being said, for the right crew the defensive bunker is an amazing choice. Unfortunately it is not upgradable so it can’t hold many people.

Energy

Almost all the other items are worthless without energy. You can burn some of your ship's fuel, but that will only last so long. In addition to the earlier mentioned WHC Unit, you have three options from the alpha booster packs. The “X-Gen” cards can provide a lot of energy, especially once we are able to upgrade them. You could also grab a handful of “Energy Cells” to get your started.

Those are the vital needs that you need to supply somehow. For the alpha of colonization I am focused on having as large a buffer as possible before my people die, so I’m taking “Soup and Cook”, “TOM Beauty Air”, “Shelter Happy Five”, “X-Gen TR100” and a “WHC Unit” to meet my basic needs. Once we know how colonization actually works I may pair that down in the future.

The rest of your cargo will depend on your play style. The major types are:

Tools / Facilities: Cargo used to help you complete tasks.
Vehicles: These help you to explore.
Defenses: These will help you defend yourself.
Supplies: These are usually consumables which will keep you in peak condition.

Tools / Facilities

There are a lot of different tools and facilities. These can range from labs to farms to entertainment. There are a lot of options to consider and at this point we don’t know for sure which will be useful for what. In the interest of being prepared, I am taking a “Radar Array”, “Preservation Dome”, and “Drilling Machine”. I hope the radar will help me explore, the dome help me raise food and animals, and drilling get me valuable resources.

Vehicles

Planets can have multiple regions and each region has multiple sectors. I have seen planets with 40 sectors to explore and planets with 80-100. This is a lot of space, and each sector can be some sort of planetary event. I seriously doubt you will fully explore them all on foot, and that is where vehicles come in. There are numerous drones which can be used to explore, cars, and even tanks. I expect everyone will want at least one vehicle, and personally I’m taking two. I’m taking a “TOM Explorator X4” to help me explore by land and a “Exploration Dropship” to help me explore from the sky.

Defenses

If you use a civilian or scientist origin you may find yourself with a particularly vulnerable team. This may also be the case if you don’t have access to many guns or armor. In these instances you fortify your base with robots or other defenses. My crew is a bunch of criminals though, so I’m not too worried. We have more than enough firepower.

Supplies

Things break and it takes knowledge to repair or build them. Sometimes it's easier to simply bring spare parts.

That is a basic summary of Cargo Selection and the choices you face. There are a lot of items to choose from, and you can easily customize your approach to reflect your play style. What are your top choices? What do you feel is critical for survival?

Thanks for taking the time to read this. Stay tuned for future articles!

If you haven’t already signed up for Exode and want to give it a try after reading this, please use my referral code! You only need a $10 starter (payable in Hive or Paypal) to start, or you can get on all three starters for $20. We will both get two free (account bound) booster packs if you do.

Perhaps I’ll see you while colonizing the universe!