We’re committed to transforming the digital horse racing experience with ZED Champions. After years of invaluable insights from ZED RUN, we've pinpointed the core areas that needed transformation. ZED Champions is our answer: a highly engaging and scalable gameplay experience that directly addresses player feedback. We're implementing cutting-edge racing mechanics and unique speed animations for each horse, ensuring it’s more dynamic and engaging.

What happens to my old horses from ZED RUN?

They are still in your wallet, you will always own the NFTs. However, Zed Champions will be using new mechanics and thus new digital horses for the new game. Simply put: we could not make this new game with the old horses. We understand that old players will be frustrated with this decision, but we have made our best efforts to reward returning players coming into the new game.

What are the Rewards for Returning Players?

We created a Legacy Leaderboard to reflect player engagement, ownership and contributions to the ZED RUN ecosystem.

Stable owners on the leaderboard will receive a Rewards Badge with contents varying by tier, bloodline, and $ZED balance—all determined by position on the leaderboard. Read more about it here .

Initial Reward Badges were capped at Rank 2000, but breeding horses will also be distributed to all remaining players, ensuring every wallet receives at least one horse.

Here's a graphic to breakdown the rewards per badge:

What happened to the ZED RUN Treasury prize pool?

The ZED Treasury supported the legacy ZED RUN during the transition and the remainder is being carried over to ZED Champions.

New Game Loop TL;DR

ZED Champions features a race pool of 4,320 horses.

Each horse races twice daily (that's a live horse race every 80 seconds!)

After retirement, horses move into the breeding pool, where they can either breed with other horses or be auctioned, with the owner earning bidding fees.

Core Features of ZED Champions

24/7 Automated Races

All newly bred horses are automatically entered into a fixed-size racing pool of 4320 horses. Races are automatically scheduled, with horses competing based on their leaderboard positions. There’s no more waiting for races to fill or searching for races; each horse must complete one race before moving to the next round.

Races are scheduled automatically, but you’ll retain control over breeding, retirement, and strategic decisions about your horse’s career.

Will players be able to pick our distances in ZED Champions?

No, all newly bred horses are automatically entered into a fixed-size racing pool with the same distance track. Races are automatically scheduled, with horses competing based on their leaderboard positions.

No more waiting for races to fill or searching for races.

Will ZED Champions have levels or XP?

No, ZED Champions will have a racing pool and breeding pool where horses will move up and down the leaderboard based on their ranking and $ZED balance.

How will breeding work?

In ZED Champions, new horses are introduced into the racing pool exclusively through the Dynamic Auction Breeding system, which takes place in the stud marketplace. Here’s how it works:

Male horses, or studs, are entered into the marketplace with their value determined through an auction.
Mare owners bid on the studs using $ZED Tokens to secure a breeding opportunity.
If the mare owner's bid is successful, they gain ownership of the resulting offspring.

Additionally, when another horse in the racing pool is retired, the highest bid for a stud at that time effectively sets the market rate for future breeding.

Breeding

By understanding these processes and strategically engaging in the auction marketplace, players can breed top-tier racehorses and enjoy a competitive edge in ZED Champions.

Breeding Slots and Forge Tokens

Horses start with a default number of breeding slots based on their generation: (5 - generation, with a minimum of 0 slots). Each time a horse is bred, one breeding slot is consumed.

If a horse runs out of slots, additional breeding slots can be unlocked using Forge Tokens, up to a maximum of 10 total breeding actions:

Generations 0–5: 1 Forge Token per slot.
Generations 6+: 2 Forge Tokens per slot.

Forge Tokens are primarily earned by burning retired horses but may also be granted as static rewards. Strategic management of breeding slots and Forge Tokens is essential for building a competitive stable.

Stud Marketplace

The stud marketplace is where all new horses are bred and is the only entry point for new horses into the racing pool. Similar to ZED RUN, male horses are entered into the marketplace, and mare owners must bid to breed with them.

Breeding Eligibility

A horse must be racing-retired and have at least one available breeding slot to be eligible for breeding.

Creating Auctions

Auctions are automatically created for each stud when it enters the marketplace, spending one breeding slot. Stud owners can only cancel the auction when it has no bids; however, the used breeding slot will not be refunded.

Placing Bids

Mare owners place bids in $ZED. The bid reserves one of the mare’s breeding slots and can be increased but not decreased or cancelled, expiring after seven days if not settled.

Auto Bids

Players can enable automatic bidding, where their bid automatically increases by the base amount whenever outbid, up to a set maximum.

Auction Settlement

Auctions are eligible for settlement after 72 hours and are settled from highest to lowest bid. A replacement horse must be selected from the racing pool before the auction can be settled. For more on how this works see: Racing Pool/retirement.

Breeding Revenue Allocation

Once an auction settles, the payment is split among the internal balance of the new racing pool horse (50%), the stud owner (5%), the player treasury (30%), and VHS (15%).

How often will auctions be held?

Auctions in ZED Champions are ongoing and continuous. When a stud enters the marketplace and meets the eligibility criteria, an auction is automatically created and remains open for bids. Auctions are eligible for settlement after 72 hours and can stay open indefinitely until the highest bid value reaches the top of the eligible auctions list. This ensures a dynamic and constant opportunity for breeding new horses.

How many auction slots are there?

There is no fixed limit on the number of auction slots. Auctions are created continuously as eligible studs enter the marketplace.

How can I breed the best racehorses?

Mare owners can strategically place bids on studs that possess desirable traits. The auction system allows for competitive pricing and ensures that only the highest bids result in new offspring. Owners can use insights from the horse's performance and lineage to make informed breeding decisions.

Does bloodline matter?

Yes, bloodline continues to play a role in ZED Champions. While the specific mechanics of how bloodline influences performance may evolve, it remains an important factor for breeders to consider when making breeding decisions. The new auction system adds an extra layer of strategy, making it crucial for breeders to understand the potential impact of bloodline on their horses' racing abilities.

Nakamotos = strong starters Szabo = consistent racers Finney = strong finishers Buterins = random racers

Racehorse Characteristics

We are making Racehorse DNA more intuitive, with each racehorse having a specific character for how it runs. Horse characteristics will be visually represented and connected to their speeds. There will be no class system, no breed types, only generation numbers.

Will horses be able to breed better foals than their parents?

Yes, this is where a lot of the strategising will come into play. The new breeding and racing mechanics encourage a variety of horse types to excel based on strategic breeding.

Matchmaking

How does matchmaking work?

Matchmaking is done in rounds where each horse completes one race per round. Horses are matched into races based on their MM leaderboard ranking, in descending (last horses scheduled first) order. After each round, horses move up or down the leaderboard, determining the matchups for the next round.

The Matchmaking leaderboard ranks all horses in the racing pool based on points. Each horse starts with 1000 points and gains or loses points depending on their race finish positions. Points are awarded from first to eighth place.

1st place: +55 points

2nd place: +17 points

3rd place: +8 points

4th place: -6 points

5th place: -14 points

6th place: -17 points

7th place: -20 points

8th place: -23 point

Leaderboard-based matchmaking in each round ensures the best horses compete with the best – and a pathway exists to rise up the ranks.

Race Payouts

Racing Balance

Each horse enters races with an internal racing balance initially set at 50% of its breeding price.

Stake per Race

Horses automatically stake up to 10% of their current racing balance each time they race.

Race Structure

Races consist of a fixed number of 8 horses automatically matched by rankings on the Matchmaking (MM) leaderboard.

Payout Distribution from Initial Prize Pool

Stakes from all competing horses are combined into a prize pool, distributed among the top finishers:

1st Place: Largest share

2nd and 3rd Place: Smaller shares

Horses finishing below 3rd receive no payout from that race's initial prize pool.

Side Pots

If horses have significantly different balances, multiple "side pots" form aside from the initial prize pool. Side pots create a race within a race, horses with large balances staking equal amounts within each pot. Each pot pays out independently, based on finish positions within that pot.

Placing but Still Losing

Because of side pots, a horse placing 2nd or 3rd overall might lose money if it loses in large value pots, despite earning smaller amounts from initial prize pools.

Strategic Gameplay

While the racing loop will be automated, ZED Champions is still a game of skill. If you love your deep data dives, there are still plenty of pre-race decisions around augment choice and balance analysis horse owners can make that will inform the trajectory for your horse.

Racehorse Retirement

You can retire your racehorse strategically after maximising its potential or it will automatically get retired if the balance drops too low.

Augments

Augments are items that impact the characteristics of a horse's performance within a race. This can help you amplify, support or modify the behavior of your horse. When used effectively with breeding strategy every horse has the opportunity to push beyond the limits of its ancestry.

How do Augments work?

Augments are used between races to provide specific boosts or advantages. There are two types of Augments:

Passive: These provide simple, straightforward boosts.

Conditional: These activate only under certain race conditions; like boosting speed if the horse is in last place or needs to hold the lead for a certain time.

Why are Augments important?

The augment system is critical for adding depth to gameplay, especially between races. It is designed to cater to different types of players, from those who want to optimise every detail to those who prefer a more hands-off approach.

Do Augments replace a horse’s natural abilities?

No, Augments are designed to complement a horse's natural traits and breeding, not replace them. They offer strategic boosts, but the core performance of a horse is still driven by its inherent characteristics.

Who benefits from Augments?

Augments appeal to different types of players. Whether you’re a hands-on strategist optimizing every race or a casual player looking for a simple boost, there’s an augment type for you.

Treasury and Game Economy

Where does $ZED Token fit into this?

$ZED is the primary currency for purchases (racehorses & breeding auctions), real-money retirement rewards, and a participation-based bonus system (transferable & locked tokens). Additionally, each horse will have an internal balance of $ZED Token. Official token whitepaper coming soon™.

If you made it this far, congrats! Read a more in depth game design guide here

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Table of contents

ZED Returning Player FAQ

Why are we making a new game?