The third season of Aphelium started on March 10th and will last for 45 days, offering players a shortened tournament in a free-to-play format, introducing new features such as PvE battles and new quests, with a prize pool consisting of $2500 USD, 1.5 million $AFG, and rewards in the form of NFTs. Following the release of new useful details about weapons and armor for battle, the team behind the science-fiction game on Discord, Aphelium, officially launched the 45-day tournament of the third season with rewards in USD, tokens, and NFTs. The season began on March 10th at 18:00 UTC and is now in full swing, leaving plenty of time for anyone to join as it is a free-to-play tournament. While any new player can start their journey in this game, which runs on WAX, for free, the game is more of a freemium, meaning you'll probably want to pay for certain NFTs to unlock specific features and get the full experience for better chances at a share of the rewards.

In response to community feedback, the developers decided to make this season shorter compared to previous tournaments, which lasted 90 days. In terms of gameplay mechanics, the team introduced mobile combat and PvE for this new season, along with new quests to complete. It was also announced that level 2 tools would be added after the first week of the season, so you can expect them to appear this week (if they haven't already by the time of your reading).

As for the rewards, developers introduced a live leaderboard on the game's website to make it easier for players to know how much they can earn if they finish the tournament at their current positions. The prize pool includes $2500 USD, 1.5 million $AFG, and various NFTs, all distributed through a non-linear reward system consisting of different categories. In the leaderboard for top performers, the first 30 players will be awarded $AFG, with the winner receiving 100,000 $AFG, and the top 10 also each receiving an NFT trophy. It is also mentioned that WAXP prizes will be included as usual. There is also a category of strategic places where players at 'zero points' (40th, 50th... up to 100th) receive $10 each, and players in the tenth places from 110th to 200th receive $5 each.

Players also have the chance to earn USD and NFTs in 5 special categories: Hostile Alien Pleaser, Alien Pleaser, Coffee Addict, Popular, and Trustworthy. Even if you don't make it to the top rankings of any leaderboard, you can still earn 35,000 $AFG by having at least 25,000 AP, as the team believes that 'every effort should be rewarded.' If you are a newcomer to the game, the guide, the link to which is provided below, will help you quickly understand how the game works so you can enjoy the current and future seasons.