Axie Infinity is a Pokemon and Tamagotchi inspired NFT game which is comprised of characters called Axies. Axies come in nine categories.
Each category has advantages over others in much the same way Pokemon operates.
There are numerous ways the Axies can be utilised to earn rewards in different modes of gameplay which includes battling, breeding, and raising Axies. Players can also formulate land-based kingdoms for their pets.
The key differentiator between Axie Infinity and conventional games is the usefulness of the rewards players earn. Unlike conventional games – where players earn virtual rewards – Axie Infinity rewards known as ‘SLP tokens’ can be exchanged on decentralised exchanges for other Ethereum tokens (ERC 20).
Or they can be exchanged for fiat currency via centralised exchanges like Binance. This way, real economic incentives drive users to play the game to sustain the project.
AXS is another token – a governance token – used in Axie Infinity. This ERC 20 token is useful for players to vote on proposals for updates within the ecosystem as well as for breeding. Much like SLP, AXS is earned through participation in voting for important governance votes, playing Axie infinity and staking which is yet to be completed.
How does Axie Infinity work?
As previously mentioned, different modes of gameplay provide unique user experiences. To begin with, Metamask and Ronin wallets are necessary for creating an account and earning. Next, teams of three Axies are required to be purchased from the Axie Inifinity Marketplace before commencing to play.
Competitive gameplay of Axies include the PvP Arena which has two modes of play. Arena mode and Adventure mode. Arena mode allows player to battle other players whereas Adventure allows players to battle with NPCs (non player characters).
The ethos of ‘play-to-earn’ by the founders means SLP tokens are awarded upon victories. However, when choosing to play in the adventure mode, there is a daily limit of 100 SLP tokens one can attain because there is a much higher probability a player can win against NPCs compared to playing against real players.
Breeding and selling Axies using SLP tokens is another special feature on the game. SLP tokens are short for ‘smooth love potions’ and are needed to breed Axies. It does what it says on the tin!
Axies are valued based on the number of times they have bred increasing in value the higher their breed count. The cost for Axies which have never bred costs 150 SLP and can range upwards to 3,150 SLP before it becomes sterile at a breed count of seven. This rule is to prevent hyperinflation and prevent the Axie population from becoming too large.
Moreover, the valuation of an Axie is also based on physical characteristics of the Axies themselves. Statistics of the different kinds of features an Axie has is displayed in groups of three: Dominant (D), Recessive (R1) and Minor Recessive (R2).
The features that are within these groups should be considered carefully before choosing which Axies to breed. Avoid fewer desirable characteristics in the dominant group as they decrease the value of your Axies. Should more, less desirable characteristics be present on your Axie, the chances of a less desirable feature will have a probability of 37.5% being passed down to the new Axie upon breeding if it is dominant which will result in the decrease of the Axie’s value.
To further help with selective breeding, there is a calculator present in the Axie Infinity website to calculate the probabilities of what two Axies could produce.
Any unused Axies can be sold on the marketplace in a peer-to-peer market but if one can’t afford to buy their own Axie, the Axie Infinity community have crafted a new scheme. It is known as the Axie Infinity Scholarship where ‘scholars’ are loaned an Axie. Any tokens they accumulate, the owner takes a portion while the lender takes their share of the wins so they can save their tokens to buy their own Axies.
This system is useful in increasing adoption as this attracts new players. The start-up costs of buying Axies as a barrier to entry are lowered, particularly for players in developing countries with the likes of the Philippines seeing a 40.5% daily active use.
Virtual land on Axie Infinity is known as Lunacia which is still being developed and yet to be rolled out. The roadmap projects that Axie Infinity will be fully completed by 2022.
Features on the land will include resource gathering and crafting to provide opportunities for players to upgrade their Axies. Real time game play will also be possible along with Lunacia SDK, a map editor which allows players to incorporate their own game which will be saved on the blockchain.
Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed by the author should not be considered as financial advice. We do not give advice on financial products.