Play to earn gaming is here, and while it still has a long way to go in its infancy, no name has made a bigger splash than Axie Infinity. On the surface it isn't to difficult to see why, cute and colorful characters that feel vaguely familiar enough to be attractive, a solid play (pay) to earn model with tokens that have exploded in value in the past year, ownership of your beloved characters and perhaps most importantly, a community that is dedicated and passionate about the project. While it might be easy to dismiss it as some kind of Pokemon knock off at first glance, the game play is sophisticated and deep, and it's goals are entirely different. Axie Infinity isn't a game about catching them all, it's about culling the weak, and it's newest players are just the latest victims in the unforgiving world of Axie.
Axie costs a lot to buy in, but it actually costs more
Axie Infinity can cost a pretty penny to buy into. If you don't own at least 3 Axie, you can't play the game, period. Axie vary in price, but "floor" Axie are typically between $75-80 in WETH each, on the Ronin network. This means that even though you may be thinking $250 gets you started, the Etherium gas fees are likely to set you back further. Then consider just having any 3 Axie probably isn't going to cut it long term, you are likely better off spending more on your initial team, only to learn you probably should have spent even more. Axie with 3/4ths of their moves in the current meta can generally be had relatively close to the floor, but perfect Axie with all 4 moves in the meta and ideal stats, those Axie can get very pricey, and you will face them in the PvP Arena. At the time of this post, I would say the minimum you should buy into Axie with is $1000-1500 worth of WETH (and even that could be low) to build a team that can compete in the arena, and even then, there are still plenty of pitfalls for newer players once they have their first Axie.
Your in meta Axie may not be in the meta tomorrow
Axie is currently on their 19th season, and the game is still being updated and tweaked for balance, among other things. This means your once expensive in meta Axie is constantly at risk of being nerfed and potentially thrown out of the meta. There is an upside, it means potentially a weaker Axie may have a move buffed and it's value go up on you, but the risk of having moves that are dominant in a meta being tweaked with are higher than any specific random move set you may have getting improved by those tweaks. This is a relatively common complaint in the Axie discord, and while the floor price of Axie could certainly go up, allowing you to recoup your investment back over time, it also means you are going to need to shell out more money to get back into the Arena meta.
Isn't there an Adventure mode, can't I stay out of the arena?
Yes! but your potential for earnings are going to be limited to 50 SLP (Smooth Love Potion) per day, which is a little underwhelming to say the least. Your potential daily earn is going to quadruple if you become proficient in the Arena, and the game is going to point you in the direction of the Arena right from the get go with a daily quests of 25 additional SLP for winning 5 matches. Once you enter the arena for the first time, you are very likely to be thrown into an environment you have almost no hope of succeeding in, unless you put in a ridiculous amount of study before playing your first match. Even then putting yourself in the drivers seat is a lot different than watching someone who knows what they are doing. You might take right to the game and it becomes immediately intuitive to you, more likely than not you will struggle to get those first 5 wins, and when you do, you will feel some pride in cashing out for the day, ready to take what you learned and apply it to tomorrow. Tomorrow you spend your energy getting your 50 SLP from Adventure then head to arena. You might do a little better but still struggle again, and win 5 in a few less losses but there is an issue this time, you can't get that 25 SLP anymore from the daily quest, instead you just have a message "Sorry your elo must be 800 to collect this reward"
Ok, no big deal, no more arena, back to adventure mode for me!
Oh you poor summer child, tomorrow is going be your next gut punch. You no longer earn SLP from adventure mode because.... your Arena elo is under 800! Yup, you are now faced with three choices, play to not earn, head back to arena and dig yourself a deeper hole, or git gud. Don't expect a warning for any of this in the game, not before you queue for arena, not after you collect 0 SLP in an adventure mode match you won. It can be found in the patch notes, which as we are quickly learning are going to just about be the Axie bible. Getting good is going to take some time, practice and a full understanding of the games attacks, mechanisms and over arching strategy. You will quickly learn that what seems like a cute relatively simple card game on the surface, is actually a sadistically deep game more aching to choosing first or last before an event in the Squid Games. Expect tracking every movement, and knowing every attack in the meta (and even some out of it). You will lose until you can count energy, cards and attack damage, with a relatively good understanding of how to play around your opponents attacks, and even predict what they are going to do (or hopefully you have forced them into) on a consistent basis. It isn't uncommon to read on various forums you can get around this elo preventing you from earning problem by transferring your Axie to a new wallet, but SkyMavis, the makers of Axie Infinity, have come out and said this is a bannable offense.
Oh by the way, they love the ban hammer
Axie is rife with cheating. It isn't hard to see why that may be the case, the game exploded in popularity and in value, and where money goes, so do the bots. Unfortunately, while many of the recent roll outs and ban waves to combat bots have effected them, they have also effected normal players playing the game and the rules in effect have had more of an impact on new player than any other group. There are constant captchas being shown in game, which if you don't complete could get you banned. Actually, so can just being AFK in general, it's bannable to hold up matches in this manner as well, even when the captcha doesn't pop. Sharing accounts? That's a banning. Owning more than 1 account, that's a banning. Changing your systems clock? You better believe that's a banning. On the one hand, these are all generally easy rules to follow and they do help preserve the value of the assets the game is played for. On the other, it's unsettling the game is so easily manipulated changing your system clock qualifies as a problem. Some of these problems even scale with your commitment level, if you take on scholars in the scholarship program, they will be responsible for playing the game correctly in order for your Axie to not get banned.
Axie Version 2 is coming, and it promises to shake things up massively
Yup, version 2 is already in the works, including more features and the possibility of free entry into the world of Axie, opening up the possibility of a major shake up to Gen 1 values. I am not going to begin to speculate, but I think it's safe to say Version 2 is going to impact Version 1, but how exactly, is anybody's guess. There is also a lot of speculation this is going to impact SLP, which as of version 1 is at a point where way more of it is exiting the game through exchanges than it is through in game functions. Currently SLP is only used for breeding and selling/exchanging, and as conditions for breeding more Axie aren't ideal, even more gets sold off at cheaper prices. More functions for SLP or moving to a system that allows you to earn AXS are possibilities in Version 2.
There is still a lot to be bullish about regarding Axie
Axie Infinity had an absolutely massive year in 2021 and saw it's native coin AXS sky rocket in value, as well as SLP hit some relatively modest peaks itself. The Axie team believes in their product, as does the community, and appears to have some very ambitious goals for the universe with version 2 already being announced. This almost certainly means new avenues for entry, as well as opportunities for long time players to capitalize on their time spent in the game. The success of the AXS token is also attracting people to the game and the options surrounding it are attractive as well, giving it out of game utility few other pay to earn game tokens have at the moment. The growth of AXS, on top of the clear business model set up and laid out for players to play, earn and even set up passive income streams has made Axie Infinity the biggest winner in the Crypto gaming space of 2021. New players are the prey in this ecosystem at the moment, and while version 2 may do wonders to address this issue, it isn't here yet and struggling players are paying but not earning.
Of course none of this is financial advice, if you are extremely bullish on Axie and believe you will have in your possession the Black Lotus of the NFT generation in a version 1 Axie, definitely don't let me stop you. If you are on the cusp of buying into Axie, definitely consider all of the variables and goals and if they are achievable in the environment you are getting into with the amount of investment you have. Don't be surprised to find out the game earning the most in the play to earn space is also the most cutthroat.
