Axie Infinity is the iconic and much loved non-fungible token (NFT) based online video game developed by Vietnamese studio Sky Mavis built on the Ronin Network. Known for its in-game economy which uses Ethereum-based cryptocurrencies. Players of Axie Infinity collect and mint NFTs which represent axolotl-inspired digital pets known as Axies.

The first version of the title was released back in March 2018. This was way before anyone considered blockchain as a suitable technology for gaming. At the time, it was a simple idle card battle game with Axies, very similar to what players are familiar to now but with skeleton features.

The game has since grown to host over 1 Million monthly active players at its peak throughout mid to late 2021. The Philippines contributed over 40% of the player base, with $SLP becoming a method of payment in some places of the country.

This latter statement alone is a testament to the level of success and mainstream attention Axie Infinity managed to attract towards itself and web3 gaming as a whole. In this article, we cover all the latest updates to Axie Infinity: Classic for March 2024.

Guild Update

Guilds are like virtual families, bringing players together and making the game even more exciting. For six years, Axie Infinity hasn't had this virtual family feature native in-game. It's time to change that. The team has just announced that Guilds will be introduced to Axie Classic this month.

Building a Community

Guilds create a sense of belonging and friendship among players. Together, they support each other, share tips, and celebrate successes. Guild Chat will be added later to foster camaraderie within the guild.

Guild Axie Vault

Being in a guild means players can share axies, learn new strategies, and work together to climb higher in the Guild Leaderboard. A comprehensive support article for Axie Vault will be published on the launch date. This will guide you through the entire process of setting up and using the vault.

Guild Treasury

When a guild achieves something great, everyone gets to share in the rewards. It's like winning together and makes the game even more rewarding. During season rewards distribution, 70% will be automatically distributed among all guild members based on their contributions to the guild points. The remaining 30% will be deposited into the Guild Treasury, controlled by the Guild Leader and Guild Commander.

The Guild Update will be rolled out in two phases. The first phase is scheduled to launch on March 7th, with the second phase anticipated to be released by the end of the month, assuming everything goes according to plan.

Phase 1 (March 7th)

• Players will be able to create and join guilds. Guilds will start earning Guild XP, but leveling up won’t be available yet.
• Player achievements will be live. Guild leaders and commanders can use these to assess potential members' suitability for joining their guild.
• The Guild Axie Vault will go live.
• The Classic Portal will be upgraded to support AXS/SLP deposits and withdrawals.
• Registration for the Grand Tournament will begin.

Phase 2 (End of the month)

• Season 1 of the Guild Leaderboard will commence, with AXS rewards up for grabs. Yes, you read that right, AXS leaderboard rewards in Axie Classic are making a comeback, starting with the Guild Leaderboard.
• The knockout round of the Grand Tournament will start.

Guild XP and Guild Points will be earned by winning matches in both the Grand Tournament and Cursed Coliseum. Guild pre-registration is live, you can pre-register now to upload your custom Guild avatar and get invited to the Guild Leader Discord.

New Art Direction

The team says they will recreate Origins UI elements based on the Classic UX. This step is necessary to enable part evolution gameplay using the new mixer.

The team also says that they recognize the nostalgic value of Classic art and understand that some players may find it difficult to transition away from it. To accommodate this, they are considering implementing a toggle feature on app.axie, allowing players to view their axies in Classic art.

Web3 First

The team's primary goal is to attract web3 and Ronin gamers initially and then branch out to a broader audience. Crypto enthusiasts and web3 players include casual players, competitive players, and collectors. The team is establishing guilds to help all these different types of players:

• Helping casual players become competitive players by providing them with more axies to play with.
• Allowing casual players to contribute to the guild and receive rewards in return.
• Help collectible owners in leveling up their collectibles through the Guild Axie Vault.

Only a subset of web2 players transition to web3. The team says they want and need to improve this significantly. To address this, their strategy includes:

• Publishing the game on stores to increase accessibility.
• Providing opportunities for web2 players to try the game through axie delegation or Guild Axie Vault.
• Introducing them to simpler game modes like PvE before advancing to more challenging ones like Arena and CC.

Balancing and Progression

The balancing efforts aim for stability and bug-free gameplay, introducing new experiences through horizontal progression followed by vertical progression.

• Horizontal Progression: Features like the Coliseum, Guild systems, and potential 2vs2 modes. (they are at this phase)
• Vertical Progression: Includes part upgrade designs (emphasizing the avoidance of power creep) and consumable items that won't disproportionately affect battle outcomes.

Currently, Lunacia is home to nearly 12 million Axies. It's crucial that the team focuses on enhancing their utility rather than increasing their population.

Tokens and Rewards

SLP will see a shift towards increased burning rather than minting:

• 8.5 million SLP have been deposited through the Portal since the Classic comeback.

• 6.2 million SLP have been burnt in Premium Coliseum.

• Axie Classic maintains a 1:2 mint-to-burn ratio: for each SLP emitted, 2 SLP are burnt. In contrast, in 2021, the ratio was 1:6.7 burn-to-mint, meaning that for every 1 SLP burnt, 6.7 SLP were emitted.

AXS will be distributed as a reward token to top performers on both guild and individual leaderboards, with additional allocations for esports and tournaments. The individual leaderboard is currently under development. AXP and Gold will serve as progression rewards, essential for advancing in the game.

Final Thoughts

These lastest updates mark a significant milestone in Axie Classic’s journey. The introduction of Guilds, the Guild Axie Vault, and the return of AXS rewards in Season 1 of the Guild Leaderboard signal an exciting chapter ahead. The long-awaited return of Axie Classic has been a dream come true for the Axie community. None of this would have been possible without the leadership of Classic's unsung heroes, spearheaded by paladinIII and his exceptional team.

Axie Classic is still in an experimental and iterative stage. Various aspects may evolve rapidly over time. The team says they are striving to innovate and improve continuously, which may result in frequent changes to game features and functionalities.

This article was inspired by an original blog post from Axie Infinity, you can read the full post on their website here for more information.