Axie Infinity: A Game Breaking Way to Earn

As no sign of an end of the pandemic could be seen in the near future and most Gen Zers are nearing the end of their struggles in college, many seem to wonder if there are still any job opportunities out there. Although the future may seem bleak, a new way of earning money has emerged—one that combines crypto trading and gaming—Axie Infinity.

What are NFTs?

Before you start investing and earning through the game, you must first understand how Axie Infinity works in the financial ecosystem. The game provides its players the ability to earn income through investing in non-fungible tokens (NFTs). An NFT is a unit of data that is associated with a digital or physical asset, stored within a blockchain, that is sold and traded. It may come in all shapes and sizes—be it YouTube or Tiktok videos, cosmetics in games, artworks, memes, and even little cute monsters called Axies. 

To start one’s Axie Infinity journey, there are two options you could choose from: investing in buying Axies or finding guilds and managers who would hire you as a scholar. 

Capital Investment

The first and riskiest option has multiple ways of earning income: You could buy three Axies from the market and have them grind for Smooth Love Potions (SLPs), buy Axie eggs and sell them once they become adults, breed Axies and sell the offspring on the market, or purchase Axies at a low price and sell them in the future. With research and a dash of luck, a good investor could double the amount he or she invested using some of these known methods.

Risks

The risk of buying Axies yourself comes from the volatility of the market. Just like the stock market, prices of these NFTs fluctuate based on market trends, the number of players, the power of Etherium, and even tweets from crypto enthusiasts like Elon Musk who—as seen in his ventures in Bitcoin and Dogecoin—could sway the trend of a market; much to the dismay of several Crypto holders. You can be a millionaire in an instant or lose all your bank savings. As of the making of this article, the lowest price of one adult Axie is $254. The lowest price of an egg is $125 and requires additional fees for it to mature.

One important reminder when trading Axies is that not all of them are created equal. There are nine classes (Aquatic, Beast, Bird, Bug, Plant, Reptile, Dawn, Dusk, Mech), each with advantages over another and four body parts (Mouth, Horn, Back, Tail) which dictate the card abilities that an Axie would have during battles. 

Since this is a game, players would buy Axies with builds that suit their team composition or are close to the most effective tactics available (META). In other words, even if you are selling an Axie at break-even or lower, there is a high chance that no one would buy it if its build is hot garbage. Make sure you know what you are doing since everything in the game costs real money.

Scholarships

The second and most popular option in earning income is to find a sponsor. Axie Infinity is similar to games like Dragon City, Pokemon, Raid Shadow Legends, Fate Grand Order, or any other game with a turn-based system (but way more convoluted) in which you fight other players’ characters to earn points and grind for resources daily to get stronger characters. The difference is instead of receiving points and resources—you obtain money. In this game, it is possible for those who own Axies to delegate the grinding part of the game to willing farmers, or in this case, scholars through a scholarship.

It works this way: a manager/owner (those who own or manage Axies) lends their Axies to a selected scholar (those who cannot afford to buy an Axie or want to learn the system first) who will complete daily quests to collect SLPs. To earn SLP, a scholar can either fight in-game monsters through Adventure (PVE) or fight against other players in Arena (PVP). These SLPs are used by other players when breeding Axies and are sold at P12 each (may change over time). 

A decent scholar could farm an average of 150 SLPs a day, which equates to P1,800. Such an amount is way above the minimum wage of the Philippines. A group of owners/managers could create a guild where a portion of what is earned by scholars and owners alike is collected to create a prize pool for a tournament worth hundreds of thousands of pesos. 

Caveat

One condition to becoming a scholar is that guilds and managers are picky with who they choose. Scammers, trolls, and multi-account users are a problem within the community. Managers must decide who they would trust their assets to since it is their Axie account that gets banned in an event that the scholar was to commit a bannable offense. This is why some managers would require their scholars to pay upfront fees for security. It also goes the other way around. Be careful of fake managers who lend you their Axies only for them to hide all the money during cash-out. Be wary of unfavorable agreements as well. Never sell yourself short.

There are many more intricacies in the world of Axie infinity that would delve deeper than what is written here. Statistical analysis on Axie combinations, META analysis, finance budgeting, cost accounting, breeding mechanics, land flipping, accessory trading, and many more topics are available on the internet including how to set up necessary accounts in cryptocurrency. 

Although such topics may seem troubling, what is most important, especially for scholars, is the ability to communicate with their managers, have good intentions, and have the fire within them to keep on grinding day-in, day-out.

Disclaimer: This is not financial advice. The purpose of this article is to summarize known facts of starting an investment venture in Axie Infinity. It is recommended that readers do their own research before investing.

LAYOUT BY: Cristine Joie Q. Bacud

PHOTO SOURCE(S): Vector Stock