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Today you can earn money by playing games and breeding virtual pets with ease. Axie Infinity is a blend of Pokémon Go and CryptoKitties. Do you remember Tamagotchi? So it is something like that but an advanced version, of course.
To be more precise, Axie Infinity is an NFT game and ecosystem based on the Ethereum blockchain. It has its native cryptocurrency which is the ERC-20 tokens called Axie Infinity Shard (AXS) and Smooth Love Potion (SLP). AXS is a governance token, and SLP is utilized for breeding new Axies. There is a BEP-20 token option on the Binance Smart Chain (BSC).
Every Axie creature has a particular class and is made up of different body parts, stats, and other items. If you want to play, you’ll need a team of Axies that you can buy or take from another player. You can store your tokens and NFTs in an Ethereum wallet, for instance.
To start with…
CryptoKitties showed a way to others, and Axie Infinity is not an exception. It’s an Ethereum-based collectible game created in 2018. The game was designed by Vietnam-based startup Sky Mavis, starting as a perspective project before becoming a widespread Ethereum game.
Axie Infinity Shard (AXS) is the token of the Axie Infinity ecosystem. AXS is an ERC-20 governance token launched in November 2020. AXS tokens can be bought, traded, or earned while playing the game. Those players who are top-ranked, have an opportunity to be rewarded with AXSs.
There are also other Axie Infinity tokens including game assets (your Axies) in the form of ERC-721 tokens and Smooth Love Potion (SLP), an ERC-20 token. SLP is a part of the play-to-earn movement, that empowers gamers to earn a passive income by playing Axie Infinity.
What is Axie Infinity?
Axie Infinity ecosystem has various game characters that are called Axies. By their nature, they are non-fungible tokens you have and control. You can store them in your crypto wallet, send them to other Ethereum addresses, or trade on a blockchain-based marketplace. Besides, there are such things as virtual land and items, which are also ERC-721 tokens you can buy, store, or send.
Players can use Axie teams in the Adventure mode (PvE – Player vs. Environment) to conquer monsters in the so-called Lunacia – the Axie Infinity kingdom. There is also the Arena mode (PvP – Player vs. Player) to struggle with other real-life Axie trainers. If you win, you get a Smooth Love Potion (SLP) asset, which players need to breed their Axies. SLP is also an ERC-20 token, so can be easily traded on various exchanges.
There can be an entry obstacle for new players because of pretty high Axie prices and quite high Ethereum gas prices.
What is Axie Infinity Shard (AXS)?
The AXS coin (Axie Infinity Shard) is a governance token, that lets holders stake and receive AXS rewards. These rewards come from the Community Treasury, which is stuffed by marketplace fees and in-game purchases. The overall supply of AXS will be 270,000,000. Some tokens were placed to the public sale, some for the play-to-earn features, and some to Sky Mavis and project advisors. The initial supply at the first public sale was something under 60,000,000.
AXS use cases
Axie Infinity wants to be a high-quality game that gets players driven by a strong, loyal community of enthusiasts and a prosperous ecosystem. For those who love such games as Pokémon or Final Fantasy, Axie Infinity could be a wonderful gaming experience.
No wonder, that in August 2021, Axie Infinity reached one million daily active players. Two months later, the number of active players was almost two million. While playing Axie Infinity, players can earn both AXS and SLP tokens. The tokens can then be exchanged for other cryptocurrencies.
Overview of an Axie
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Each Axie is a tiny digital creature made up of a combination of different details and characteristics. These are their class, stats, and body parts. At the moment of writing, there are 9 different classes of Axies.
What are the Axie base classes?
As we mentioned above, there are nine classes, of which three are special classes without unique Body Parts or Class Cards.
An Axie’s class is an essential part of how it fights. Each class has a weakness fighting another class type but is more powerful against others. Cards are associated with particular classes, gaining them a 10% attack bonus when they use the card against weak types.
For example, Aquatic, Bird, or Dawn Axies will do extra damage against Bug, Beast, or Mech Axies, but they take extra damage from Plant, Reptile, and Dusk classes.
What are Axie Abilities/Cards?
These are 132 cards in Axie Infinity associated with six out of nine of the available classes. You can divide the cards into related body parts, their range, and cost. While any Axie class can use a card, there is bonus damage if it’s associated with their specific class.
Players can provide their Axies with additional statistics and abilities by using those cards. They can be divided into six major classes, including Plant, Bird, Reptile, Bug, Beast, and Aqua. Plus, three secret classes, Dust, Mech, and Dawn. Each class is then divided into different body parts, such as horns, eyes, ears, tails, etc.
How much does it cost to start playing Axie Infinity?
The cheapest Axies cost around $130 US dollars. Your Axie team will have three creatures, meaning that you can get started for about $390. The best way to check on how much it costs to start the game is to go to the Axie Marketplace and sort the options by price.
What affects Axie prices?
Axies can range in price from around $130 to over $100,000. For instance, the Mystic Axie was sold for $1.1 million. While their value depends on their in-game power and use, there’s also a lot of speculation in there. Origin Axies from the game’s first days are usually cost more. There are also Mythical Axies that look more bright and colorful, so they are especially rare. Usually, rare attributes also provide the most utility in-game and are way more expensive. The vast popularity of Axie Infinity game brought NFT collectors, as well.
How to start farming SLP on Axie Infinity
It’s possible to start farming SLP from both, Arena matches (PvP) or the Adventure mode (PvE). Battling in both of these activities will cost you energy. Once you’re out of energy, you’ll then only can complete adventures to farm your SLP.
The amount of energy you have depends on how many of Axies you have. You can monitor how much energy you have via the game’s main menu at the top of the screen.
Daily quests will earn you 25 SLP. These tasks include making a daily check-in, completing 10 Adventure mode levels, and winning at least 5 Arena matches.
With the Adventure Mode (PvE) you can earn up to 50 SLP daily. The definite amount changes based on the level you’re playing on. The first time you play a level, you’ll get SLP. Keep in mind, the following plays of a certain level aren’t guaranteed to reward SLP. Beating bosses can also reward you with SLP.
Arena (PvP) matches you against the players based on your ranking. Your ranking also brings the amount of SLP you gain for a victory. Each match costs you energy, so the amount of SLP you earn per day will directly depend on the number of matches you play using energy.
The good news is you can still play the game even if you don’t have the energy anymore. However, PvP matches won’t give you SLP rewards, and PvE matches can’t provide you with any experience. But you can still achieve the ranks or just do daily quests.
New Axie Infinity Update And Latest News
Sky Mavis team wants to decrease the SLP supply or its demand. Here are the latest methods that were proposed:
- Re-balance SLP rewards from quests, PvP and PvE.
- Distribute more AXS in Leaderboard rewards and make SLP rewards less.
- Minimize SLP rewards from automated or "non-skilled" gameplay, such as PvE battles.
- Submit a burning mechanism for Axies.
- Buyback SLP scheme using the Marketplace fee.
How to claim your SLP from Axie Infinity
When you’ve earned SLP, you’ll need to claim it manually. You can only ask for your SLP once every 2 weeks.
- Create an online account
To invest in AXS, you need a cryptocurrency exchange account with a platform that supports the Axie Infinity token. - Get a wallet (optional)
If you are going to trade your crypto actively, using a cryptocurrency wallet is a vital tool for you. Cryptocurrency wallets provide you with an opportunity to control all your assets, not a random middleman from a centralized platform. - Buy your item
Once you have both — an account and a wallet, you can buy your Axie. - Claiming of SLPs
Login to your Axie Infinity account and go straight to the ‘My account’ tab. Then click on ‘Claim Tokens’, and then claim your SLPs.
Closing thoughts
The future of the AXS and SLP tokens is fully dependent on the level of popularity of Axie Infinity. The game is really fun, it’s involving and still has space to grow. There is no doubt, the project is a success, and the team behind the game is always working on updates and new features to get even more players to join the community. It’s mainly a question of time if Axie Infinity will continue to grow successfully, but it is one of the most interesting and exciting games for sure.