If CryptoKitties is high up there in the list of your favorite games, you are absolutely going to love Axie Infinity.
While play-to-earn games couldn’t garner the attention of mainstream gamers, it is alive and thriving in the world of cryptos. And by raising $2.97 million Axie Infinity Shards (AXS) in governance token sale on Binance Launchpad, Axie Infinity bears testimony to this.
Excited to know more about it? I promise I won’t keep you waiting for long. But before we dive into it, here’s everything you’ll find in the article:
If you’re new to Axie Infinity, I’d recommend you to read through the entire article. But if you already know about the platform, feel free to skip to a section of your choice.
What is Axie Infinity?
Axie Infinity is an Ethereum-based decentralized game that allows players to breed, raise, and battle fantasy creatures called Axies. You can even trade these creatures in the marketplace.
If you’re reminded of Pokémon, you’re not the only one. A lot of players find it eerily similar to the popular franchise. That said, it is only the concept of fantasy creatures that makes the two games alike.
The game boasts of more than 10,000 monthly active users, making it the only Ethereum-based NFT project to do so (at least, right now).
What’s that you’re asking about? The people behind the game? Sky Mavis is the Vietnam-based startup that made the game. It is one of the recent Binance Launchpad projects. The governance token, AXS (which we’ll talk about in detail later), however, isn’t recent. In fact, it has been in the making for more than two years.
And the hard work paid off as the company raised almost $3 million in the governance token sale.
The reason why it was able to raise that huge sum was the experience it delivered to players on the platform. While being a play-to-earn game, it is one of the most innovative games out there. And nothing laments this better than the fact that every single one of the Axies are unique.
In fact, Axies have more than 500 body parts, all of which are customizable. So you have virtually no limit to the number of combinations you can try out in the game. This alone promises hundreds of hours of gameplay.
What are Axies?
Axies are the cute little fantasy creatures that you see everywhere in the game. But don’t be fooled by their adorable looks. Much like cats, these creatures are well-equipped to deal quite a lot of damage. In fact, it is these creatures that you use for fighting opponents. You can also breed them and if you’re interested, trade them in the marketplace.
The artificial environment that the Axies live in is called Terrarium. It is here that our fantasy creatures battle each other and gain valuable experience that allows them to evolve into a more powerful Axie.
For you to win, you need to really know your Axies. You need to know their strengths and weaknesses and pit them only against enemies you think are weaker than them. Since your Axies have more than 500 body parts which you can change, you can always experiment to find what works best for you.
To make things even more interesting, the bodies and parts of the Axies are classified into different classes: Beast, Bug, Plant, Bird, Aquatic, Moon, Nut, Star, and Reptile. In future releases, you can expect to find more types of Axies. But for now, let’s talk about these classes.
Let’s start with the first one. Axies from the Beast class have 31 HP, 35 Speed, 31 Skill, and 43 Morale. Beast class deal 15% more damage when they battle Reptile, Plant, and Moon class Axies.
For Bug class Axies, the numbers go something like this: 35 HP, 31 Speed, 35 Skill, and 39 Morale. Much like the Beast class, Axies from this class deliver 15% more damage when they fight Reptile, Plant, and Moon class Axies.
Coming to the Plant class, Axies have 43 HP, 31 Speed, 31 Skill, and 35 Morale. Axies from this class deal 15% more damage when put against Aquatic, Bird, and Star class Axies.
Moving on to Bird class Axies, we see the following numbers: 27 HP, 43 Speed, 35 Skill, 35 Morale. Axies belonging to the Bird class deliver 15% more damage while battling Axies from the Beast, Bug, and Nut class.
Next up, we have Axies from the Aquatic class. These Axies have 39 HP, 39 Speed, 35 Skill, and 27 Morale. They deal 15% more damage when they’re up in arms against the Beast, Bug, and Nut class Axies.
The Moon class Axies have 43 HP, 39 Speed, 27 Skill, and 31 Morale. These Axies have the ability to deal 15% more damage against the Aquatic, Bird, and Star class Axies.
Axies from the Nut class have 31 HP, 39 Speed, 43 Skill, and 27 Morale. These Axies perform exceptionally well and deliver 15% more damage against the Reptile, Plant, and Moon class Axies.
The numbers for the Star class Axies look something like this: 35 HP, 35 Speed, 39 Skill, and 31 Morale. These Axies perform exceptionally well and deliver 15 more damage against the Reptile, Plant, and Moon class Axies.
Finally, the Reptile class Axies have 39 HP, 35 Speed, 31 Skill, and 35 Morale. Axies belonging to this class deal 15% more damage to the Aquatic, Bird, and Star class Axies.
And if that wasn’t enough, you have four levels of rarity on which the Axies are divided: Common, Rare, Ultra Rare, Legendary.
A rarer one is more likely to fetch a high price in the marketplace than a more common one. That is if you’re planning to sell the Axies. If not, you can always evolve them to grow better.
How to Earn Money With Axie Infinity?
Earning money with Axie Infinity is more of a journey than a quick task. While you can use it for yield farming, be prepared to give it some time before you see the profits roll in. But if you’re here to earn money by playing the game and winning in it, read on!
The first thing you need to do is select at least three Axies to use in PvP (Player vs Player) and PvE (Player vs Environment) battles. These Axies could be from any of the nine classes we talked about earlier.
It is worth mentioning here that you would have to buy these Axies instead of the game giving them to you, to begin with. And since their attributes would decide whether you win the battles or lose them, you must consider buying good ones.
You could buy the cheapest ones out there, but they won’t help you win any battles. And if you’re not winning battles, you’re probably not going to play the game long enough to even break even.
Think of it as a cryptocurrency investing device. Except for the fact that you’re no longer drifting in the currents of the traditional crypto markets. In fact, you’re influencing its values with your time and skills.
But if you still think that spending that sort of money on it is not a wise idea, you could always wait for the free-to-play mode. It is scheduled to come out with the full, mainstream release of the game in 2021.
That said, if you’re willing to make the investment, try to get in at least one pure-bred Axie. Abilities and statistics stack up, so it makes more sense to create specialists rather than generalists.
In case you’re wondering how you can make specialists, it all comes down to the six body parts you have the choice to decide. If you choose all the body parts from the same class, you have yourself a pure-breed Axies. If not, you have a generalist.
Once set, you need to make another choice – player or environment. I would recommend going for the PvP mode. As you battle other players, you get valuable knowledge that improves your skills.
Even if you do end up beating the most difficult AI opponents in the PvE mode, the moment you switch to PvP mode, it’ll be like learning to walk again. That said, don’t be disheartened when you lose out to opponents in the PvP mode. It takes time to build up the skills and the Axies to win.
So pick your fight carefully and begin. You’ll have three energy points and six play cards in the beginning. With each turn, you can spend the energy points by playing a card. That said, there are plenty of cards that are completely free to play. Moreover, you would get two new energy points and three new cards in every turn.
The cards available have different uses. Some have a defensive score while some have an offensive score. Some cards have additional effects including buff, energy, and heal.
The Axies’ speed stats determine the play order, with the target of the card generally being the Axie closest to the attacker. That said, things can change if certain card effects are put to use.
Winning the battle would reward you with a few small love potions (SLPs) that you can then use to breed Axies. And that is a topic for some other time. For now, just know that the more you win, the more chances you get to breed. And as you breed, the costlier it gets to do so.
So how do you earn money? By selling the SLPs and Axies! And I’m not even kidding, there are Axies in the marketplaces that are selling for upwards of $1 million.
What are AXS Tokens?
Axie Infinity Shards (AXS) tokens are the governance tokens of the Axie Universe. AXS holders can claim rewards when stake their tokens, participate in governance votes, and play the game. They’ll also be able to earn the tokens while playing different games in the Axie Infinity Universe.
Before You Go…
Thus far, Axie Infinity is advancing play-to-earn gaming in the right direction. Looking at its success and the energetic team, it is quite likely that the game would be a lot better and more successful in the future.
That said, if you think you’ll find an instantly addictive game that’ll blow your mind away, you might want to look elsewhere. It grows on you slowly but surely. And once you learn it and get good at it, there’s a lot to be earned here.
So I leave it up to you to decide whether you wish to check it out or not. But if you do end up playing it, please make sure you know what you’re getting into.