Axie Infinity: preparing to buy an axie team

We continue our experiment on investing in Axie Infinity. The game, earning opportunities and benefits are described in detail in the previous CryptoProGuide.com editorial.

In this step, let’s focus on opening an account in the Ronin wallet, registering on the Axie Infinity marketplace and selecting a team of Axies. We’ll buy them and then outsource game farming and see how quickly we can get a return on our investment.

Registering an account in the Ronin wallet

Axie Infinity runs on a sidechain of Ethereum called Ronin. The project has a blockchain wallet of the same name, as well as a decentralized exchange (DEX) called Katana.

You can register an account with the vault on PCs and mobile devices. Links to browser extensions and apps on Google Play and App Store are available on the game’s official website.

We recommend downloading the Chrome browser extension. To do this, you can simply type the query Ronin wallet into the search bar in the app store. The first in the output falls out the product you are looking for, which you need to add to your computer.

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Making sure that this is not a fake extension is very easy. The screenshot shows that the application has over 2 million users. The publisher is Sky Mavis, the developer of the game.

Add the application to your browser by clicking Add to Chrome. Next, you need to agree to the installation and go to the settings, to the “Extensions” tab to enable the wallet.

To make it appear to the right of the browser search bar, you need to activate the paperclip in the extensions settings on the front panel. Next, we proceed to register an account. Click on the wallet icon and click Get started. The extension will redirect you to the browser.

If you have not previously had an account in the Ronin sidechain, choose the top option. And if you need to restore your wallet, choose the bottom one. You will need a mnemonic phrase consisting of 12 unrelated words. It is obtained when creating a cryptocurrency account.

Since the wallet of the gaming product is non-custodial (without centralized management), only the user has access to it (keys and passwords). We advise you to securely save the mnemonic phrase, so as not to lose funds.

The registration process itself is very simple:

1. Enter a suitable password, confirm it.
2. In the next window, using a special button, automatically copy the mnemonic phrase and save it in a safe place.
3. Confirm it by entering the words requested by the sequence number in the next window.

This completes the registration. Our wallet in the browser is active. We can use it.

After registering the browser version, you can install Ronin mobile wallet on your gadget. It is downloaded via Google Play and App Store.

Registering an account on the Axie Infinity website

Open the game’s website axieinfinity.com and create an account with the wallet. To do this, go to the Marketplace tab, click on the Login button in the top right corner.

Choose the first position to bind the wallet to the created account. Click Confirm and get to the internal market of the game project. The system will offer to change the name. You can choose any name that has not been used by others. You can do it later.

We set up an account by specifying an e-mail and password for quick login to the site. That’s it. You now have a wallet and an account to play Axie Infinity. However, until you buy 3 Axies to form a team, you won’t be able to start playing.

How to start playing Axie Infinity

At this stage, we have an account and wallet. Next it is necessary to:

1. Download the program on PC (Mavis Hub) or the mobile client on your gadget to start the game.
2. Fund the account with Wrapped ETH (WETH) token to buy game characters.
3. Select and buy the axes you like.

Installing the program on PC or mobile client

All necessary tools can be found on the website page (Mavis Hub for Windows and macOS + mobile client for Android and iOS platforms) or in your account. Here you can also download the program for PC.

Install it on your PC by following the step-by-step prompts. After that, having opened Mavis Hub, you can find a button to start the gameplay on your computer, a QR code to activate the account on your mobile device and other options.

Note that Axie Infinity is quite demanding in terms of PC resources, and may not work well on outdated models of laptops and computers. Therefore, we recommend using the mobile client. The installation will not cause any difficulties. You just need to follow the prompts.

How to avoid a ban for multi-accounting

To combat bots, Axie Infinity developers prohibit multi-accounting. This means that from the same device you cannot log in to different accounts within a day.

Violators are banned for a few hours or days for the first time, and if the problem is detected again, the account is simply blocked without the right to restore access. In this case, you can lose all your investment. So read the tips below carefully:

• For 1 phone 1 account. Never log into different accounts from the same gadget.
• Try not to do the same on your PC or laptop for 24 hours without an urgent need.
• If you register multiple accounts – do it 24 hours apart or from a different PC and IP.
• If you plan to play from multiple gadgets and accounts at home, it is better to have different IPs (as an option – one from Wi-Fi and another from mobile internet).

The permissible use of gaming accounts and prohibitions are clearly depicted in this illustration.

Details about the reasons for blocking an account can be read on the official website.

Funding your account to buy Axie

You can make a deposit to your wallet in two ways:

• With a commission via Ronin Bridge (crosschain bridge between the main ETH network and the sidechain), transferring coins from the Metemask wallet. In this case, the account will receive the analog – Wrapped Ethereum (WETH).
• No fee from the Binance exchange if you have the AXS token. It is not traded on this platform, so you will need to fund your account from another source (exchange or wallet).

Since not everyone has WETH, many people use Ronin Bridge. Transferring funds is not too problematic, but there are a couple of important points to consider. First, connect the Metamask wallet by clicking “approve” in the pop-up window. Correctly fill in all the parameters, making sure that the address starts with the prefix ronin:. It’s best to simply copy the wallet account by clicking here:

We transfer funds, wait 5-10 minutes for the transaction to receive confirmation in the Ethereum blockchain, check the arrival of tokens and can proceed to the selection of the aksa team.

Selecting game characters

Buying axes for the game is a simple process. It is much more difficult to choose a good team. There is no single top 3 character lineup because:

• Each user has different skills and play style.
• Game mechanics, and therefore the balance of forces in the arena, regularly change after updates.

Therefore, we will give general recommendations, as well as advise you to get additional information from official sources in order to make a justified choice.

Let’s start with the basics. Team selection should be done by:

1. Types of axes.
2. Game cards.
3. Additional effects.

Types of game characters

In Axie Infinity there are 6 main classes of game characters, as well as 3 additional ones that appeared by crossing 3 pairs of the main ones. These are:

• Plants + Reptiles = Dusk.
• Fish + Birds = Dawn.
• Beasts + Insects = Mech.

They have appearance traits and body parts (plus game cards implanted on them) specific to their class. For example, beasts are furry, birds have feathers. These are the so-called purebred animals.

Until the summer of 2021 there were only them, and as hybrids were unique classes (Dusk, Dawn, Mech). Then the developers introduced the possibility of cross-breeding. Now in the in-game store or arena you can often find a beast that looks like a fish and has a water elemental card, a bird with a plant shield card, or other impressive hybrids. This allows for additional effects and stronger playable characters.

Each class has its own unique characteristics. They are divided into 4 categories:

• Health (how many lives the character has).
• Speed (determines which axi will be the first to make a move in a round in the arena).
• Skill (affects the damage increase when a combination of cards is rolled).
• Morale (characteristic responsible for super strikes with increased power – krits).

Game characters in Axie Infinity are endowed with these qualities unevenly, so that the balance is maintained. If some of them are given to the maximum, the other will be less.

Examples include:

• Plants are 1st in health and 3rd in morale. But their speed is low, and they are usually the last to discard their cards.
• Birds are first in speed and in 3rd place with plants in morale. However, they have the lowest health.
• Beasts are 1st in morale (their damage is often doubled), but their speed and skills are lower.
• Pisces are second in speed and third in health. They usually go first, but rarely deal critical hits.
• Insects are 2nd in morale. The rest of the stats are average, so this class is not too popular.
• Reptiles are second in health and third in speed.

The table below shows the key characteristics of the 6 main classes of purebred axes (not hybrids). The information can be relied upon to understand how they differ:

Class	Health	Speed	Skills	Morale
Pisces	45	57	35	27
Beasts	31	41	31	61
Birds	27	61	35	41
Insects	41	31	35	57
Plants	61	31	31	41
Reptiles	57	41	31	35

For balance, the game is also made cross damage. Each class has opponents that hit it 15% harder, and can itself attack with increased or decreased axy damage of other classes. How it works in practice, see the picture.

Damage and defense increase by 10% if the axie uses a card of his class. This is especially beneficial for purebreds. For example, if a hybrid plant has a fish card, it will not give increased attack and shield stats during the turn.

Game Cards

Every character has game cards implanted one per 4 body parts (horn, beak/jaws, tail and spike on the back). There are a total of 132 of them in the game (22 per main classes). Each has these characteristics:

• Mana. The energy required to draw this card during your turn. It can be 0 or 1.
• Attack. The damage dealt during the turn. A minimum amount is specified. When multiple cards are combined and a critical hit occurs, the parameter may increase. For cross damage it varies from +15% to -15%.
• Shield. Protects the character during the turn. First the enemy’s damage is applied to it, and then it takes the health of the axi.
• Buffs/debuffs. Hybrids and purebred axi have them. The full list can be read on the cards.

The last item is very extensive, and often depends on it game tactics and victory in the arena, so let’s consider it in detail.

Additional card effects

Buffs and debuffs range from the simplest, working autonomously when you discard one card, to complex ones that require certain conditions to activate. For example, for an axi to deal more than 50% damage, you need to collect 2-3 special cards to activate this effect or fulfill other requirements of the game mechanics.

Here are a couple examples:

• Increasing/decreasing speed allows you to gain/gain turn primacy.
• Increasing morale increases the probability of critical hits.
• Flight allows birds to hit a far axi enemy.
• Freezing makes the shield fragile, and it is disregarded on the opponent’s next attack.
• Fear deactivates the axi attack for the next 2 turns.
• Skip deactivates any first opponent card during the next turn.

Buffs must be played correctly or they won’t work. For example, flying a bird requires this card to be discarded first during the turn. Alternatively, gather four and put the one with the buff first. Usually 1-2 such moves are enough to destroy an opponent unprotected by axi shield.

There are additional effects that can be alternated in combination, and the axi with low damage becomes almost invincible. For example, the Reptile with two different cards that skip the opponent’s turn became such a character. At the time of its appearance, this character made a real furor. For his invincibility, he was nicknamed the Terminator.

Over time, they found an approach to him, using cards with zero mana to level up the passes, and he became no longer so invincible in the arena. However, to this day he is a frequent participant in game builds.

How to build your team

We will not advise you to buy this or that character, as the game mechanics and market conditions are constantly changing. Those builds that were previously invincible, eventually become obsolete. It is better to reveal the principles that you need to know in order to form a good lineup:

• You need an axi with a great shield and two with damage or extra abilities.
• For defense, plant is most often chosen because of the high health score.
• Beasts and birds do maximum damage, but they are easily killed by fish with just three cards.
• Plants work well with a shield and with a healing card that restores health by 120 points.
• Cards with zero mana and shield work well, while also removing debuffs from the character.
• Pisces with a single +60 healing card does not work. It is pointless to choose such a character. To activate such a card, two of the four cards must be healing cards. They will give the axi a shield and restore its health with every hit.
• There are characters whose strength is in the combination of cards. They reinforce each other. In addition, some effects work only in this case.

There are other features as well. We advise you to study the cards and additional effects, and also focus on the available amount of investment. So, if you don’t have a lot of money, buy a build of 1 plant and 2 strike axi (beast and fish/bird or 2 fish). If you can spend more on characters, check out the popular ones on the marketplace. They usually have interesting card combinations with favorable effects.

Step-by-step Axie selection on the Axie Infinity internal marketplace

Getting to the process of selecting axies, you need to arm yourself with a resource where all the cards are placed and there is a convenient filtering by several features. There are a lot of such resources on the network.

Then go to the site of the in-game store and use the filters located on the left side of the page:

• Class. If you click on it, you can see all the representatives of the class.
• Parts. This is a filter for body parts and maps. For search we use an empty line. By clicking on it, you can see the body parts of the axi, but it is better to write the found names of the cards of interest, as in the example on the photo below.
• Purity & Genes. Filter by hybrids. The higher the index, the higher the purity.
• Breed count. Demonstrates how many times the axi presented on the site has been bred. The first breedings are cheap, so the lower the breed count, the more expensive the character will be. The higher the score, the cheaper the axi is, but you won’t be able to make money on breeding.
• Stats. A selection of axi characteristics – health, morale, skills and speed.
• Over. Here you can choose an egg, but you can’t predict who will hatch from it. Although the site shows the parents, it is difficult to predict the maps of the offspring. Your investment may not be worth it.

Conclusions

We’ve covered the basics of choosing game characters for your team. If you have any questions, ask in the comments or use official sources.

In the next article we will move on to the practical part – we will acquire a team (and justify our choice), find an outsourced player, publish costs and projected payback periods. Read CryptoProGuide.com so you don’t miss important information!

Follow the stages of the experiment. The data will be updated in a table.

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Author: Saifedean Ammous, an expert in cryptocurrency economics.