Is Cromon Quest free?

Why "free to start" and not the usual promise?

Because the usual promise, that a game costs nothing forever and paying changes nothing, is one we would break. You can play every mode forever with the three starters, and many Keepers do. But the starters are Kindlekin, Pladdle and Sproutara at a flat 8 on every one of their six stats, off-chain and non-tradeable, and a minted Cromon rolls its stats between 3 and 30. Staying competitive at the top of the Arena ladder eventually runs through minting, and we would rather say so on the page you read before you connect than let you find out in a fight.

What can I do without spending anything?

Everything below is paced by an energy that refills by itself. None of these pools can be bought with CRO:

• Arena: one Aether per attack. Aether refills one point every 60 minutes up to a cap of 10, and two camp buildings (paid in Shards you earn) raise the cap and speed the refill.
• Expeditions: a Common expedition costs 0 Aether. Uncommon costs 1, Rare and Epic 2, Legendary 3.
• Shadow Run: its own energy, 500 at the cap, 40 back every hour, one run a day.
• World Boss: 3 raid attacks per boss, one back every 6 hours, and everyone joins with a full bar.
• The Pit: 10 energy, one point back per hour, one point per wave attempted.
• The Deeps and the Camp: no energy at all. Mines dig while you are away, and the nine camp buildings are permanent upgrades (more expedition slots, more Aether, a better maze kit) paid in Shards and CroCoin, the two in-game currencies you earn by playing.

The idle modes are the ones that reward showing up rather than paying: an expedition sent before bed and a mine left digging in The Deeps are exactly as productive for a Keeper with three starters as for one with thirty NFTs.

What costs CRO, and how much?

Four things, all of them optional and all of them priced on the page before you click:

Plus a few cents of gas per transaction, which is what Cronos charges, not us. The full price list for Rifts is on the minting page, rendered from the same values the contract enforces.

Can I get more Cromons without paying?

Yes, through three programmes that all end in a real NFT mint at no cost to you:

• Discord free mints. Giveaways and community events hand out free mints on the official Discord. They are minted by the same contract as a paid Rift.
• Referrals. Recruit a Keeper with your link and, once they have opened 3 paid Rifts, you receive a free mint. Both of you are credited Shards and CroCoin at their onboarding as well.
• The Ultra milestone. Every 20 paid Ultra Rifts earn one free Ultra, tracked per Keeper from the day the programme opened.

None of these replaces minting for someone in a hurry, and that is the honest shape of the game: time gets you far, CRO gets you there faster, and the two never cross into a paywall.

Does connecting a wallet cost anything?

No. Logging in is a signed message, which your wallet produces for free and which never touches the chain, so there is no gas and nothing to approve. You do not need any CRO in the wallet to create your account, claim the starters, or play. CRO becomes relevant on the day you open your first Rift, and only then. The start-playing guide walks through the four steps.