How to Play Axie Infinity: Ultimate Beginner’s Guide

Axie Infinity, a play-to-earn game inspired by the popular video game franchise Pokemon, was released in 2018 by Vietnamese developer Sky Mavis. Check out our detailed guide.

In recent years, the word “Blockchain” has been on everyone’s lips, thanks in large part to Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies. Some game creators have also incorporated the technology, and there are already many blockchain games available. One of the most intriguing aspects of such games is that you can possess NFTs within the game. For example, if you unlock a rare item, you might utilize an NFT to show that you truly own it. NFTs enabled the ownership of digital objects outside of the game, allowing users to participate and make money from the game. The current state of blockchain gaming is primarily focused on producing assets for valued transactions, and it has already attracted a brewing community, but its future depends on attracting a far bigger one.

This new class of games is emerging in which playing can be viewed as an investment opportunity – and even a chance to earn a living. Yes, living, these games are now more than simply for entertainment. The Play-to-Make documentary, shot in January 2021, tells the story of a rural Filipino community that began playing Axie Infinity to earn money during the COVID-19 pandemic, with top players earning up to $400 per month.

Play-to-earn games such as Axie Infinity and The Sandbox have lately grown in popularity. According to the Blockchain Game Alliance’s (BGA) most recent Blockchain Game Report, over 804,000 unique active players connected to Blockchain-based games in July. Notably, the Blockchain-powered game “Axie Infinity” tops the industry, with over $1 billion in trade volume — $600 million of which occurred in July — making it the most expensive collection of non-fungible tokens (NFTs). 

According to similarweb.com data, traffic to axieinfinity.com has increased by 375 percent, with 22.9 million visits. So you’re probably wondering what all the fuss is about with this game.

Axie Infinity: An Introduction

According to Google Trends, online searches for Axie Infinity more than doubled those for Activision’s (ACTI) massively successful first-person shooter game franchise, “Call of Duty.” Axie Infinity, a play-to-earn game inspired by the popular video game franchise Pokemon, was released in 2018 by Vietnamese developer Sky Mavis.

Source: Google Trends

Axie Infinity is a Blockchain-based trading and combat game in which users can collect, breed, raise, battle, and trade token-based monsters called “Axies.” They are digitized as non-fungible tokens (NFT). The game is built on the Ethereum Blockchain, with the support of Ronin, a sidechain that helps decrease costs and transaction delays. According to TheTie analysis, Axie Infinity has swiftly become one of the most profitable projects on the Ethereum Blockchain.

What exactly is an Axie?

Axies are Pokemon-like characters in Axie Infinity, and each Axie has its own set of powers. Players can fight, breed, and nurture these creatures. Each one has its NFT that can be raised, battled, and exchanged. To begin, participants must purchase or borrow at least three Axies. Axies’ values, like those of other cryptocurrencies, are very volatile and change owing to a variety of causes. They start at US$190 (£138), but the current average is over US$350, and higher level, uncommon, or mysterious Axies can sell for much more. The worth of an Axie is determined by its capabilities, which include bodily parts, stats, and abilities.

Angel, a triple mystic, was the most expensive Axie ever sold for 300 Ether (ETH) in late 2020. Back then, the purchase was about $130,000. Not only that, but earlier in 2021, a piece of in-game real estate sold for US$1.5 million.

Players can also begin for free by borrowing Axies from lenders, formally referred to as ‘managers’ in the game. While these managers are ready to give out their Axies, they also have the right to a percentage of the player’s revenues. This provides them with a passive source of income. Axies, like Pokemon, can be classified into several sorts, precisely nine varieties known as Axie base classes in the universe of Axie Infinity.

Players can also level up their Axies by climbing a ladder and progressing through several stages in the Adventure Mode. They can also pick the Arena Mode, which pits gamers against other users on the site using their Axies.

Understanding Axie base classes

Axies have several characteristics, one of which is the Axie’s base class. There are nine distinct Axie classifications. They are classified into one of six normal classes

• Aquatic
• Beast
• Bird
• Bug
• Plant
• Reptile

and three secret classes 

• Dawn
• Dusk
• Mech

Different classes have advantages and disadvantages that make them more or less successful versus other classes. Aquatics, for example, are effective against Beast, Bug, and Mech Axies but ineffective against Reptile, Plant, and Dusk Axies. They also affect Axie’s stats.

Axie stats

Stats are the four key aspects that control each Axie in Axie Infinity. These metrics are mostly used during combat.

• HP: The amount of damage an Axie can absorb before being knocked out.
• Speed: Turn order and priority are determined by speed. It affects how frequently an Axie suffers Critical Hits from the opponent.
• Skill: Determines the damage bonus of combos by dealing with several abilities/cards.
• Morale: This determines the Critical Hit chance, the Last Stand chance, and the number of Last Stand ticks.

Each of them is important in Axie’s fighting dynamics since they determine how much damage the Axie can take, who strikes first, and how much damage it can deal out, and so on.

Axie body parts

An Axie has six bodily parts: the back, ears, eyes, horns, mouth, and tail. Each bodily component adds a total of four stats, which are distributed across HP, Speed, Skill, and Morale. An Axie can attain its maximal stat distribution if a bodily component matches its class. Because Axie Infinity is a skill and strategy game, combining body parts, classes, characteristics, and abilities/cards can generate unexpected and wonderful results.

Axie abilities

The Axie Infinity Universe contains over 132 cards. Each card has its own set of powers that do much damage, protect, set up, apply buffs and debuffs, and some of them work well when paired with other cards. A good Axie should have a well-rounded set of skills that allows it to fulfill its duties effectively. An Ability Card will reveal three stats to you:

• Energy: The amount of energy required to play this card. You begin with three energy and gain two energy with each turn.
• Attack: The amount of damage a card can do.
• Shield: The amount of harm you can withstand.

If players wish to attain a high victory rate in the Arena Mode, they must be familiar with these cards, their effects, and combinations. Each ability adds two cards to your deck. Each squad has three Axies and four abilities. This implies that each Axie has eight cards, for a total of 24 cards in a deck. Aqua Cards, for example, have an edge versus Bug, Beast, and Mech but are weak against Plant, Dusk, and Reptile, whereas Bird and Beast cards are nearly always strong damage dealing cards.

Axie infinity combat

When the battle begins, each player has 3 Energy and 6 Cards. They have 60 seconds to choose a card for their turn. Turn order is determined by speed. This implies that the quickest Axie will be the first to attack. If two Axies have the same speed, the order of attack is decided as follows: Low HP trumps high skill trumps high morale trumps low fighter ID. 

When in battle, you will see the turn order at the top of your screen. The fight will begin once you have chosen your cards. When the cards are selected, Shield is instantly applied. When the Axie attacks during its turn, the effects are applied. Speed buffs that alter attack order are applied the next turn. Unless they use an ability with an Effect to choose a different target, Axies will attack the closest target.

What are Axie Infinity Shards (AXS)?

“We just witnessed one of the most brutal crashes in crypto history,” Ashwath Balakrishnan, an associate at Blockchain research firm Delphi Digital, said. “Honestly, everyone was in disbelief at the beginning of this month when AXS started pumping. Many traders thought it was just a random market movement.” Let’s learn more about Axie Infinity’s primary token.

Axie Infinity Shards (AXS) are the Axie universe’s ERC 20 governance token. It is the primary cryptocurrency connected with the game, and it can be purchased and traded on exchanges. The AXS coin is worth $1.85 billion in market capitalization. According to data source Messari, the market value of the NFT-gaming section is $4.78 billion, or barely 10% of the market cap of the decentralized finance industry. These AXS tokens are used to vote on critical governance issues and offer holders a say in how money in the Axie Community Treasury is spent. But how can you obtain them?

AXS has been listed on several cryptocurrency exchanges, but unlike other major cryptocurrencies, AXS cannot be purchased directly with fiat money. However, you can still easily purchase this currency by first purchasing Bitcoin, ETH, or USDT from any big exchange and then transferring to an exchange that trades this coin.

The price of Axie Infinite tokens, often known as “shards,” has continued to rise, hitting new price highs. Investors in AXS vote in the game’s ecosystem governance and can utilize it to obtain a portion of the community treasury. AXS has also experienced a notable recent increase, more than about sixfold in recent weeks. It is the most popular gaming cryptocurrency on the market.

What exactly is SLP?

Players receive a second token called Small Love Potion (SLP) for spending time in the game. It is an in-game currency that can produce more Axies and is acquired through playing the game, particularly by winning battles. Players can earn SLPs by defeating an opponent’s Axie or completing in-game objectives. The more they play, the more SLP they can accumulate. SLP is an uncapped utility token, which means that its supply increases as more participants join the game.

Investing in Axie Infinity

According to Token Terminal, the game’s governance token, AXS, contributed more income to Axie Infinity in July than any other cryptocurrency, including Ethereum (ETH) and Bitcoin (BTC). AXS’s price has nearly doubled since the beginning of August, from $38 to $74. On August 11, AXS was listed on Coinbase, the largest cryptocurrency exchange. According to Token Terminal data, Axie Infinity has generated the most income in the previous 30 days of any Blockchain-based protocol, with about $148.7 million trailing only the Ethereum Blockchain, which has generated $172.8 million. The cryptocurrency market is notoriously volatile, and some experts are skeptical of this asset since it is acquiring too much momentum in such a short period.

Before investing in Axie Infinity, it is recommended that you understand crypto gaming. Axie is also not yet listed on the major cryptocurrency exchanges in the United States, which some investors find unsettling. However, considering its popularity, it may be included shortly. The game has earned over $780 million in sales over the previous 30 days, with 1.4 million transactions.

Things to consider before buying Axies

Because of its popularity and high revenue, investors are debating whether or not to invest. If you’re thinking of purchasing Axie Infinity, here are some things you should know.

Price

It is an important factor to consider when purchasing an Axie, especially for a novice on a tight budget. A newbie would not purchase one Axie for 1 Ethereum (ETH) when they might buy an entire team for 1 ETH or even less, depending on the player’s preferences and budget. It is okay to do if you have enough for a high-budget team because it almost certainly implies that you will get excellent quality. The more money you spend, the higher the likelihood of receiving a higher-quality Axie.

Stats

The metrics HP, Speed, Skill, and Morale influence how well an Axie performs in combat. Stats characterize an Axie, and it is critical to remember each of the statistics stated because having some severely low is likely to make the Axie a terrible choice in-game.

Purity

Purity is another important consideration. When buying an Axie, it is essential to search for the highest purity Axie possible. The Axie will not perform what its class describes with poor purity since its stats and abilities will become jumbled up. It also reduces the value of breeding since the following Axies are mixed up like their parents. However, this might vary based on the parents. The Axie’s class has the same number of body parts as the number of body parts class. If an Axie has one body component class the same as its class, it is one-sixth pure. If an Axie has all of the identical body components of its class, it is 6/6 pure.

Class

One of the essential factors to consider when buying, not only do classes influence how Axies appear, but they also decide the benefits you’ll receive while facing other trainers.

Stage

Axies have two stages: eggs and adults. Adults are battle-ready Axies – look for these while seeking your first Axies while eggs are simply eggs. They will appear differently based on the class into which they are born, but we will never know what parts they will be born with.

Breed count

This indicates how many times an Axie has bred. All Axies can breed a maximum of seven times, therefore select the ones with 0 breeds if you want to breed later. Otherwise, select those with a larger breed count, as greater counts are typically less expensive. To avoid Axie inflation, each breed grows more costly, so breed count is essentially just a decision about whether or not you want to breed the Axie in the future. Breeding costs SLP (Smooth Love Potion), with breed rates listed below. It costs 4 AXS plus the SLP to breed an Axie.

How do games and gamers make money?

The protocol generates income by charging 4.25 percent to players who purchase and trade Axie NFTs in its marketplace and collect fees for breeding Axies to create new ones. Fees are paid in Axie Infinite shards (AXS) and silky love potion (SLP). While AXS is the governance token, SLP is an unbounded utility token utilized to create new axes. Both tokens are exchangeable for fiat currency or other cryptocurrencies. Gamers in the Philippines, Venezuela, and other developing nations earn money through the play-to-earn economy.

Staking will be introduced soon by Axie, allowing token owners to tie up their coins for income. However, staking Axie tokens is linked to the owner’s active engagement. When contemplating the purchase of Axie, one should also evaluate whether or not they intend to play the game.

Buying your first Axies on the Axie Infinity Marketplace

Introducing a specialized marketplace, NFTs, and a Blockchain makes Axie Infinity trade safer and ensures that players truly own the issue. According to a Wax study, around 75% of online gaming players desire to trade their virtual assets for money that they can use to purchase and sell on other platforms.

Purchasing Axies costs money in the form Ethereum. To get started, new players will need to buy (or borrow) a minimum of three Axies. Axies with desired body parts, abilities, or skills will almost certainly cost much more. For new players, this can be a substantial barrier to entry. So, how do you go about buying your first axis on the Axie Infinity Marketplace? Things get easy for you as a gamer if you are completely informed of all elements you should consider before buying your first Axies.

• The very first thing you should do is conduct some study and determine which Axie you desire.
• Then go to the marketplace and configure all of the filters to meet your needs.
• Now, click on any of the listed Axies to learn more about them. You can see pricing, stats, body parts, sale history, about, abilities, and parent information on the screen.
• When you’re through reviewing the information, click the “Buy Now” button.
• A Ronin wallet will appear; verify the data and, if all is well, hit Confirm.
• Another pop-up will appear, stating that the transaction was successfully processed. You can clear the pop-up by clicking close, or you can go to your activity by clicking “Go to my Activity.” Let’s proceed to the Activities page by clicking there.
• Return to the Axie website and verify whether the owner’s name mirrors your name to see whether the transaction was successful.

CONGRATULATIONS! You are now the proud owner of an Axie!

How to start playing Axie Infinity

The game centers around Axies, charming fuzzy animals that players can breed, acquire, teach, utilize to complete challenges and combat online. The game’s goal is to collect small love potions (SLPs), which can breed more Axies, which can then be deployed inside the game. On August 6, the game’s creator announced that they had surpassed 1 million daily active users (DAUs). So, now that you’re all aware of the game, how do you get started?

Remember that the game’s app for mobile platforms is not yet available in their respective app stores. Android users must download the APK from the supplied link and side-load the program on their phones, while iOS users can join the game’s beta test group via the provided link. The Axie Infinity game can be found on their official website. It can be accessed through PC, Mac, Android, or iOS.

1. Players will need to establish an Ethereum wallet or use their current wallet to purchase ETH. ETH can be obtained from any major cryptocurrency exchange that provides it, depending on what choices are available in your region.
2. Create an account on Axie Infinity’s marketplace.
3. If you generated your Ethereum wallet with Metamask, you could use it to log into Axie Infinity directly.
4. Since Axie Infinity has transferred assets from Ethereum to its Ronin sidechain, download the Ronin wallet browser plugin.
5. Click “Attach Ronin to Account” under the Activate Ronin Wallet box in the middle of the Dashboard.
6. Players can utilize the Ronin bridge to move ETH to Ronin, where it becomes WETH (Wrapped ETH). after they have a Ronin wallet set up.
7. Axies can be obtained via the Axies Infinity marketplace.
8. To begin playing, users must purchase at least three Axies from the game’s marketplace.
9. After that, players can “breed” new Axies, which costs part of the game’s two native cryptocurrencies, Axie Infinity Shards (AXS) and Small Love Potion (SLP), as previously explained. The price of an Axie is determined by the current price of ETH and a variety of other variables.
10. Finally, by successfully defeating other players and completing tasks, gamers can gain SLP.

How to earn money by playing Axie Infinity

Unlike in other games, here, currencies can be transferred into other cryptocurrencies, making them useful for transactions in the real world. Aside from Axies, other in-game goods such as real estate, flowers, barrels, and lamps can also be traded as NFTs.

These are all purchased and sold using ethereum, the second most popular cryptocurrency after bitcoin. There are several methods to earn in the game, and we will attempt to explain everything in the simplest way possible for you to comprehend.

Using breeding Axies

The body parts, stats, and abilities of a baby Axie are typically predetermined. The Axie has three genes in each body part, making it distinct from the others. If you’re a lucky breeder, you could end up with children with high stats. That is what makes Axie breeding enjoyable. High-level Axie breeds require more SLPs to reproduce than lower-level Axie breeds.

You must now consider the expense of breeding Axies. The cost of breeding Axies varies significantly. Everything is dependent on the price of Ethereum. However, when all of the benefits are considered, it can be an excellent source of income. You can, for example, breed Axies, then sell their kids and breed them again, or breed Axies, then sell the parents and breed the children again. You can choose to keep both the parents and their offspring and utilize them in fights or for scholarships. It is all up to you.

By flipping lands

Axie Infinity is played in a virtual space called Lunacia, where tokenized land plots serve as bases and residences for Axies. Landowners can make SLP by selling their property. Participating in boss fights and PvE combat can gain AXS tokens and other resources from land plots. Furthermore, land plots in Lunacia, like real-world Real Estate, can be freely exchanged on the market. Players can buy a plot of land, wait for it to appreciate, and then sell it.

Through Axie Infinity scholarships

The play-to-earn features of Axie Infinity have even resulted in the development of the Axie Infinity scholarship economy, in which well-heeled players known as Managers rent out a team of three Axies to employees known as Scholars. Scholars are those who desire to play the game but lack the financial means to do so. Managers in the opposite situation primarily fund them: they have many resources in terms of currency, or Axies already bred but don’t have the time to play with them all.

A scholarship is where a manager gives scholars part of their unused Axies in exchange for them playing the game for them, sharing whatever profits the scholar earns while doing so. The Scholarship program is a regular occurrence in Axie Infinity since it is usually a win-win situation for both sides. Everyone benefits, and it all relies on the agreement reached between the manager and the scholar. However, in most cases, the customer receives 40% of the SLPs while the scholar receives the remaining SLPs.

By flipping Axies

Flipping Axies is another way to earn, and it’s not as popular as it could be since not many people do it. However, the procedure is as follows: go to the marketplace and seek an Axie to purchase.

• Players can hunt for an underappreciated Axie with some potentially useful skills.
• Buy the Axie at the relatively low price mentioned.
• Place the Axie on the marketplace for sale, but at a higher price.
• You will not fail to land a consumer after some time or, at worst, days.
• If you can acquire clients for your Axie in a short period, you can make much money quickly by flipping Axies.
• It would help if you simply kept an eye on the Axies you believe are undervalued. In the long term, it is well worth it.

We’re dealing with actual money here! The initial outlay can be too expensive for something you are doubtful will work for you. As a result, the odds are that you will either win or lose money. Aside from the money, Axie Infinity also provides you with the necessary experience to navigate the cryptocurrency market. That’s all there is to know about making money with Axie Infinity.

Conclusion

Despite all of Ethereum’s usual growing pains, such as onboarding difficulties and rising gas fees, this video game has captured the hearts and minds of an entire Blockchain community, demonstrating a strong use case for dapps and teaching players a range of complex concepts ranging from NFTs and DeFi to smart contracts and tokenomics – all in the space of a few months. Although many more similar games are accessible now, Axie Infinity has had the upper hand over the previous three years due to its brewing community. Although the application of Blockchain technology in online gaming is still in its infancy, the future appears bright.