Starknet has a gem in @RealmsEternum — an onchain Civ-style game built on Dojo and Cartridge that launched its Season 0 in December 2024 and quickly drew hundreds of players.
Now, with Season 1 underway, Eternum is entering its next gameplay phase. Here’s what’s new and how to jump in. 👇
~~ Analysis by @wmpeaster ~~
🆕 What’s New in Eternum S1
Season 0 laid the foundation here, so Season 1 is all about expanding and finetuning the gameplay.
Of course, one of the biggest changes in S1 is the arrival of @daydreamsagents, i.e., AI NPCs that will now wander Eternum's map.
Each agent is randomly generated with its own personality and goals, so unpredictability will reign. You can talk to them, fight them, and take their loot, or even try to turn them against your enemies.
"The agents this season are NPCs, not one-to-one equivalents of players," @lordOfAFew, one of the creators of Eternum and Daydreams, told me via Telegram. "They appear on the map as armies that can explore, attack, pillage, and communicate with players while carrying a bounty."
"Their behavior is fairly simple," he continued. "Each agent is aware of its surroundings and chooses what to do next based on a set of generative traits assigned when it spawns. An agent might be ultra-aggressive and refuse to negotiate, or ultra-passive and avoid combat entirely. I haven’t hand-designed any specific agents. Instead, onchain randomness from the Cartridge VRF determines their traits."
Another major update in S1? A more casual onboarding process. Players now have two distinct ways to enter the game:
→ 🛖 Village Lords can jump in quickly using cash or stablecoins via a streamlined Cartridge Controller wallet, no NFT required. Villages are cheap, can be pillaged but not conquered, and offer a low-stakes way to explore the world, hunt agents, or support a larger Realm. This is the way to go for casual players and newcomers.
→ 🏰 Realm Lords, on the other hand, mint a free S1 Pass using a Realms NFT or buy one via secondary market. This approach unlocks full control of a Realm city-state, including managing multiple armies, creating resources, and taxing surrounding Villages. Realms can be conquered, so it’s a more advanced, higher-risk player experience.
Additionally, there are a series of core gameplay improvements to look forward to in S1. One of the biggest shifts has been integrating real-time combat.
This means in-game battles are now rapid and stamina-based, complemented by other tweaks. For instance, you can now block rivals' movements by positioning your armies shrewdly, and terrain now affects battle stats.
Troop tiering has also been overhauled, along with the game's production system. Eternum's Troops now have power tiers (T1, T2, T3), and production has been simplified with a new Labor mechanic. You can still micromanage your supply chain, but Labor allows casual players to focus on strategy without being overwhelmed by resource management.
🧭 How to Get Started
Another notable shift from Eternum S0 to S1 is the introduction of gameplay phases.
The first is the Season Pass phase, which begins today, April 30th. Realms NFT holders can mint their free passes during this period, and anyone else who wants to play as a Realm Lord can buy one on Element's secondary marketplace. If you plan to play as a Village Lord, you can skip this window.
Next is the Settling phase, starting on May 7th. During this period, players can start placing their Realms and Villages on the map. There’s no combat during this phase, only scouting and preparation.
Finally, the Empire phase begins on May 14th. This is when gameplay officially kicks off, and players can start gathering resources, trading, forming alliances, and battling for dominance. This phase will run indefinitely until a player earns enough Victory Points to end the season.
"In Season 0, we seriously underestimated demand across the entire stack," Loaf told me. "Since then, we’ve re-engineered everything from the smart contracts to the server architecture to handle the load this time around."
"Breaking the launch into stages spreads traffic, but it also adds strategy to where you place your Realms," he added. "You could cluster them to gain economic strength, yet that same concentration can make you more vulnerable to destruction if you’re not careful."
👀 What to Watch For
If you're planning to jump into the Eternum S1 campaign, remember you can take various strategic approaches to your gameplay.
Conquerors focus on dominating territory with their armies. Merchants aim for economic superiority via resources. Hunters track Daydreams agents to steal their $LORDS and $STRK loot.
Of course, you can blend these strategies. They are overarching paths, not fixed classes. Plus, hunting Daydreams agents isn’t the only way to earn token rewards in-game, as S1 features a hefty war chest: 1 million $LORDS (the native token of the Realms World multiverse) and 100,000 $STRK are up for grabs across four pools.
There’s a Victory Pool for top tribes (player guilds), an Achievement Pool for leaderboard grinders, a Hunt Pool for players who defeat or ally with agents, and an Arts & Emissaries Pool for creatives contributing to the world’s lore and culture.
All in all, there are plenty of incentives to dive in, test new strategies, and leave your mark on S1’s chaos. With new mechanics and smoother onboarding, Eternum is now better positioned for a breakout as one of the most compelling experiments in fully onchain worldbuilding to date.
"If players engage as they did in Season 0 and we nail performance and scaling, Eternum will be a wild success and a platform we can keep building on," Loaf said. "The first 1,000 users are always the hardest; Season 0 attracted about 800 sign-ups."
Personally, I have a feeling that milestone will be easily surpassed this season. If you’re eager to join the fray, follow Eternum’s communications for updates ahead of the Settling phase on May 7th, and check out the game’s docs to brush up on key concepts like settling, resources, and managing armies.
In the meantime, I wish you good fortune in the wars to come, milords and miladies.