🩸 SEASON 1 PREP: FIRST BLOODS & RALLIES 🩸

Commanders of ENDD,

Today we are covering two core game mechanics that you have been living with in pre-season and you probably already understand, but your full understanding is essential to your success in Season 1.

1. THE TWO TYPES OF "FIRST BLOODS"

Killing a new target gives a "First Blood" reward. But it has been so long since many of you have had a first blood on a Doom Elite, that a refresher on how they differ from Doom Walker first bloods may be helpful.

• ⏱️ One-Time First Bloods (Doom Elites):

  • Rallying Doom Elites is essential to gaining key virus resistance materials when Season 1 starts. Specifically, the vital Mutant Crystals you need to develop virus resistance are provided by Doom Elites, but only as a result of a first blood kill.
  • First Blood on a Doom Elite is only paid out once per level, ever.
  • You only get First Blood from leading these rallies, not from joining them.
  • Since most of us have already used all First Blood kills on Doom Elites up to level 30, Season 1 raises the level cap up to level 60, giving you 30 new First Bloods you can gain. You must climb the ladder (Level 31, then Level 32, etc.) to get these vital, one-time drops of Mutant Crystals and Immunity Proteins.
  • Attacking a level for a second time will still give you regular rewards, but not the key resource drops.

• 📅 Daily First Bloods (Doom Walkers):

  • Doom Walkers have a daily First Blood and also provide Mutant Crystals.
  • Under most scenarios, there is only one Doom Walker First Blood per day, so you should be intentional about the level you target (based on your squad power/readiness) and be diligent about getting one every day.
  • You do not need to lead these rallies—all commanders in the rally gain First Blood rewards.

2. RALLY STAT INHERITANCE: WHEN TO LEAD, FOLLOW, OR STAY OUT

Rallies are more complex than most players understand. When a rally is formed, the entire squad inherits the stats, tech, and VIP bonuses of the Rally Leader.

In Season 1, the rally also inherits the leader's Virus Resistance. Since virus resistance is the strongest dictator of success in Season 1, this is vital to respect. Here is when that matters, and when it doesn't:

• ⚔️ When you MUST Lead (Doom Elites):

  • To get your One-Time First Blood rewards for Doom Elites, you must be the one to initiate the rally.
  • Your stats still matter, but you have to lead to get your drops. Stronger players will join to help you secure the kill.
  • We expect you to start a rally you know your own squad can't win, but we expect you to coordinate. Call it out in Alliance Chat (e.g., "Level 45 DE coming up, need a carry - anyone online") so our heavy hitters know to jump in.

• 🚫 When you MUST NOT Lead (Strongholds, Map Objectives):

  • When the alliance is attacking corrupted Strongholds or heavy seasonal targets, shared immunity is everything.
  • If you lead a rally with low Virus Resistance, everyone in your rally will take massive virus damage.
  • In most cases, the entire rally's troops will be instantly wiped out and everyone's hospitals will fill up immediately. The debuffs will be punishing.
  • For these alliance objectives, let our heavy hitters lead the rallies so we can shelter under their high Virus Resistance, and simply join their rallies with your troops.

• ⚠️ When you MUST NOT Join:

  • Recently, we have been hitting level 160 and 170 Doom Walkers. These rallies have largely been invite-only to train for Season 1 mechanics.
  • There will be times when we are explicit about who is allowed to join a rally (by name or key stats). You are expected to read alliance chat actively. Blindly joining unfamiliar rallies is frowned upon.
  • If you are booted from a rally, do not rejoin. If you are told you should not have joined, make sure you understand why and learn from it.