Welcome to Riftborn Tactics: A Five-Year Journey to Open Beta

The Rift is open, Tactician.

The Seals still hold, but the old alliances have cracked. Skirmishes are breaking out across all seven continents, and every faction is reaching for its Sigils. The field is waiting for someone to take it.

Stepping out of character for a moment: Hi! I'm Cav. I've been building Riftborn Tactics for about 5 years, and today it's officially in open beta, free to play, right in your browser. This post is the story of how it got here, what you'll find when you sign up, and what I'm hoping to hear from you!

Five years to get here

Riftborn Tactics started life as a digital card game. The further I got, the clearer it became just how much work a full digital game was going to take, with getting online game functionality working, realtime battles, and a bunch of interconnected systems. So I changed course and turned it into a physical card game, with a Tabletop Simulator mod so people could still play it online.

The game went through multiple iterations along the way. Eventually, I came back to where it all started: the browser.

I'm a web application developer by trade, and building Riftborn Tactics as a web game gives me something a physical game never could: the freedom to change things easily. If a card is too strong, I can fix it. If a mechanic isn't fun, I can rework it. No reprints, no errata sheets, no restock and shipping costs.

It also opens the game up to everyone: A physical card game only reaches the people who have the cards and can sit down at the same table. Now anyone, anywhere in the world, can make an account and play!

What's waiting for you

The open beta launches with over 1,000 playable cards. After five years of work, reaching that number feels like a big milestone.

If you've played other TCGs or CCGs, the biggest difference with Riftborn Tactics is the board. Instead of lining up across from your opponent, your creatures enter play at your corners of a 7×7 grid, then march out and fight over ground. Two towers sit halfway up the sides and holding them earns you extra experience, experience raises your level, and your level decides how many Resources you get to spend each turn. Where your creatures stand matters as much as what's in your hand.

Here's what's in the game right now:

• Over 1,000 cards across four types: creatures, spells, weapons and armour
• 20 factions to build around, from the Holy Order and the Shieldbearer Dwarves to the Old God Cult and the Goblins
• Three modes: Standard, plus Blitz and Guardian (both in beta), which unlock after your first few Standard games
• A gentle start: 2 free pre-constructed decks, a tutorial that walks you through your first steps, and a practice opponent to try them against before you queue for real

The full rules are on the How to Play page, with nothing held back for sign-up. You can browse every card in the Armoury, and the Chronicle tells the story of the Worldscar, the seven continents and the factions fighting over them.

What "open beta" means

Everything above is live and playable right now. "Beta" means the game is still being tuned: cards will be rebalanced, bugs will turn up, and things will change based on feedback I receive. Every balance change will be listed on the Patch Notes page, along with what the card looked like before, so you'll never have to guess what changed.

The most important part: there will be no wipes. Not during the beta, and not when it ends. Your account, your cards and your decks all carry over.

A word on money

Riftborn Tactics is free to play. Right now, the only thing you can buy with real money is card packs, and I'm not planning to add anything more for the time being. Everything, including card packs, can be purchased via Gold, which is earned purely from playing the game.

Further down the road, there might be a kind of Battle Pass and some one-time bundles with things like packs, titles and card backs. That's a while off yet, and I'll share details when it's closer.

What's coming

Alliance, a fourth game mode, is on its way. Additionally, the 20 factions you can play today won't hold the field alone for long. More are already in the works, and I'll share more about them when they're ready!

Tell me everything

This is where you come in! I want to hear about anything and everything: the mechanics, the look and feel of the site, card ideas, the meta, all of it. No piece of feedback is too small.

There are two ways to reach me:

• The Support page, for bug reports and anything you'd rather send privately
• The Riftborn Tactics Discord, where you can also talk with other players

5 years ago this game was just an idea. Thank you for being here as it finally opens its doors. If you haven't already, create a free account, take up a Sigil, and I'll see you on the field, Tactician!

Thanks,

Cav