Announcing Ertha Beta v0.7 - Research & Exploration for Landowners

Hey Erthans! Ready to dig deep into the wild world of Ertha Beta v0.7? We’re thrilled to introduce some game-changing mechanics that are bound to spice up your landowning experience. This update, aptly titled "Exploration & Research for Landowners," brings a treasure trove of new ways to discover and utilize resources on your HEXes. Let’s break it down!

Resource Categories and Rarity

First up, let’s talk resources. In Ertha, resources are grouped into various categories, each brimming with valuable items. For example, under the ‘Fish’ category, you might find Salmon, Trout, Shark, Swordfish, and Bluefin Tuna.

Every resource has a set rarity: Common, Uncommon, Rare, Super Rare, Epic, and Legendary. So, finding that Legendary Bluefin Tuna is going to be quite the catch!

Resource Levels

Resources also come in different levels, though these levels are shown to players as percentages. Here’s the lowdown:

Level 1: 0-20%

Level 2: 21-40%

Level 3: 41-60%

Level 4: 61-80%

Level 5: 81-100%

The higher the level (percentage), the more abundant the resource and the higher the chances of finding rare resources within that HEX.

Water & Land HEXs and their Levels

Water HEX resources depend on proximity to the nearest land. The further it is from land, the higher the chance for you to find valuable resources. However, the exploration time is longer the further away you go.

Land HEX resources vary based on the distance from the nearest city. Once again, the further away from a city your HEX is, the higher the chance to find more valuable resources. This also comes with a cost of longer exploration time.

All HEXs also have a level system, similar to resource levels. 

For example, a Land HEX that is two or less HEXs away from a city is Level 1. On the contrary, a Land HEX that is more than 10 tiles away from a city is Level 5.

For Water HEXs, a HEX that is two or less tiles away from land is Level 1. But any Water HEX that is 15 or more tiles away from land is Level 5.

Exploration Mechanics

Initially, a HEX will be shrouded in mystery, showing only a question mark [?] for any undiscovered resources. Some HEXs might have pre-explored resources, like Fish or Wood, or specific resources like Titanium or Crude Oil. To uncover what lies beneath, you’ll need Exploration Permits.

Exploration Permits come in different rarities, just like items. The higher the rarity of the permit, the longer it can be used to explore.

Each HEX level requires a different amount of time to explore:

Level 1: 7 days

Level 2: 12 days

Level 3: 18 days

Level 4: 24 days

Level 5: 35 days

After exploration is complete, your HEX will now show a resource category that will need to be researched.

Example: You have a Level 3 HEX that needs 24 days to explore. You could use an Epic Exploration Permit (30 days) and once the exploration is complete, you have 6 days of the permit left over. The newly explored resource category, like ‘Fruit’ with a certain percentage, is now ready for research.

Or, instead, you could use three Rare Exploration Permits (10 days each) to achieve the same result.

Exploration Permits will be available in the Ertha Marketplace.

Research Mechanics

After exploring a resource category, it’s time to dive deeper with Research Permits. Just like Exploration Permits, Research Permits have rarities that impact the amount of time it can be used to research a resource category.

Each Resource Level requires a different amount of time to research:

Level 1: 12 hours

Level 2: 28 hours

Level 3: 52 hours

Level 4: 90 hours

Level 5: 145 hours

Example: HEX shows ‘Fruits’ at 54% after exploration. To research it, you need 52 hours. You use a Rare Research Permit (50 hours) and a Common Research Permit (6 hours). The research reveals Apples with 54% availability, and you get back the Uncommon permit with 4 hours remaining.

After completing research on a resource category and discovering an available resource, players will be able to build resource extraction companies in further game updates.

Research Permits will also be available in the Ertha Marketplace.

Exploration & Research Boosts

If you’re impatient and would like to accelerate either the exploration or the research process on your HEX, you can do so with boosts.

Using Ertha Tokens, you can decrease the amount of time it will take to discover or research new resources. But keep in mind - this route is much more expensive than simply using permits and waiting it out!

Final Thoughts

Ertha Beta v0.7 is a big update for landowners. With the new Exploration and Research mechanics, landowners have a whole new world of strategy and discovery at their fingertips. So grab those permits, start exploring, and may the rarest resources be with you!

Got questions or need more tips? Join the Ertha community.