A Beginner’s Guide To Axie Infinity Gameplay

Source: Steemit

Thanks to the very inviting tagline “Play To Earn”, Axie Infinity, along with other NFT-based games, has recently gained a lot of popularity and hit the mainstream world of cryptocurrency. The tagline doesn’t lie, players can actually make some cash playing the game. The gameplay is fairly easy to understand but you’ll really have to grind for it.

In this guide, I’ll be talking about all that a beginner needs to know about the game. So, first, let’s take a quick look into what exactly Axie Infinity is.

An Overview of Axie Infinity

Axie Infinity is an NFT-based (Non-Fungible Token) game created by Sky Mavis. The game was originally released somewhere around 2018 but since NFTs weren’t that popular at that time, the game didn’t receive much attention. But 2021 turned out to be a lucky year for it as NFTs experienced a burst in popularity and its player count increased drastically.

This game derives its inspiration from the super-popular video game series by Nintendo- Pokemon. Just how Pokemon has pokemon, Axie Infinity has tiny monsters called Axies. Players can raise, breed, trade, buy and sell these Axies. They are also used to battle with other players to earn rewards which, let me remind you, can be used in the real world.

Just like any other video game, Axie Infinity also has its own economy. It uses two Ethereum-based cryptocurrencies, Smooth Love Potion (SLP) and Axie Infinity Shard (AXS), as its in-game tokens. The players earn SLPs after each battle and they can then choose these SLPs to either breed more Axies or sell them in the marketplace for real money.

All About the Axies

Axies come in all shapes and sizes and have different levels of value. The more expensive an Axie is, the more chances it has to win battles. Since an Axie inherits around 50% of its attributes and skills from its parent Axies, players can also grind to produce the Axies they feel will make a good match in producing stronger Axies. To avoid hyperinflation of the digital creatures in the game, each Axie can only be bred seven times.

Each Axie’s value depends on its attributes. They are divided and classified according to their class and body parts.

1. Axie Base Class: There are 9 Axie classes-

• - Aquatic

• - Beast

• - Bird

• - Bug

• - Dawn

• - Dusk

• - Meck

• - Plant

• - Reptile

 

Each class is stronger or weaker than another so choosing the right class is important for combat. Axies with the class advantage will deal 15% more damage and Axies with class disadvantage will deal 15% less damage to the opponent. To ensure that all classes are balanced, the game employs a rock-paper-scissors method in which one class can be stronger or weaker than another.

Source: LevelSkip

2. Axie Body Parts: Aside from their class, the body parts of the Axie also affect its level of abilities. The Axies have 6 different body parts- Eyes, Ears, Horns, Mouth, Back, and Tail that can be customized. 

Because each body part has its own class, combining particular body parts with specific classes may result in additional stat boosts based on the part's class. An Axie can be made up of a variety of pieces from several classes. This is what distinguishes each Axie.

3. Axie Abilities/ Cards: The Axies have 4 abilities or moves or talents that they use while battling with other Axies. These abilities are represented by cards. An Axie’s talents depend on the type of body parts it has.

4. Axie Stats: Each Axie has 4 stat attributes-

• Health- It indicates the Axie’s HP (Hit Points) which is the amount of total damage it can take.

• Speed- It determines the turn order in which the Axies attack. Higher Speed means attacking first.

• Skill- It amplifies the damage dealt by the Axie, especially in combo attacks.

• Morale- It boosts the likelihood of landing a critical hit as well as entering "last stand," allowing them to attack a few more times before being knocked out.

How to Start Playing Axie Infinity

The first and foremost thing you need is Axies. To begin the game, the player must have at least 3 Axies to form a team. You’ll have to buy these Axies from the Axie marketplace using Ether (ETH). So, first, you need to create an Ethereum wallet where you’ll deposit the Ether you’ve bought. 

You can also use your existing wallet if you have one (eg. Binance, MetaMask). Then, create an account on Axie Infinity. If your wallet was made through MetaMask, then you can directly log in using that.

Axie Infinity uses Ronin as its side-chain which decreases the transaction costs connected with the Ethereum blockchain. So, you’ll need to create a Ronin wallet too. Add Ronin Wallet browser extension to Chrome and create your wallet through it. Then, click on the “Attach Ronin To Account” in the Dashboard and connect it to your Axie Infinity account.

Transfer the ETH from your main wallet to your Ronin wallet using Ronin Bridge. Now, login to your Axie Infinity account from the Axie Marketplace using your Ronin wallet and you’re all set to buy the Axies you want to start the game.

The cheapest Axies might cost you anywhere between $150 to $300 each. So, just to begin the game, you’ll have to spend at least $600 but look at it as an investment you’re making since these $600 Axies might repay you with triple the amount in a short time. You’ll be collecting, raising, and using these Axies to battle against other players to earn rewards i.e. SLPs.

After buying the Axies, download and install the Axie Infinity game application on whatever device you’re using and start playing.

Ways of Earning Smooth Love Potion (SLP)

Smooth Love Potion is the in-game reward you get. Farming SLP is the easiest way to earn money. After earning a certain number of SLPs, the players can then sell them for real-world money. But SLP can only be withdrawn after 14 days to prevent and keep the economy balanced.

The Battle System is a turn-based card game in which you must defeat your opponents' Axies. To win, you must use your cards strategically every turn. There are two modes in the game- Adventure and PvP. 

Source: LevelDash

In adventure mode, you level up your Axies by completing quests while also earning SLPs. This is best for beginners. But you can only earn a max of 50 SLPs. In the arena or the PvP mode, players battle their Axies. The higher your rank on the leaderboard, the more SLP you earn per win. You can also earn SLP by doing daily quests.

Source: The Coinbase Blog

Another way of earning SLP is through breeding your Axies and selling them in the marketplace. But this breeding also costs SLPs. The higher the breed count of the Axie, the more SLP will be consumed. This keeps the hyperinflation of supply in check. This method is mostly for experienced players.

Written By - Sanjana Chaudhary