Game Loops and Systems Overview

Axie Infinity’s game design falls under the “Turn-based RPG” subgenre, according toGameRefinery’s taxonomy. That means its core loop is a simple battle-upgrade loop but with an additional “earn” component.

The core battle experience is more engaging than typical free-to-play (F2P) turn-based RPGs, which usually design their core gameplays from an autoplay-first perspective. This is because typical F2P turn-based RPGs usually want their players to end up spending more time with the money-making meta gameplay systems versus worrying too much about decision making in the core gameplay systems.

There are a few key game systems that collectively result in the game’s current loop:

1. Energy mechanic

2. Daily Quests, PvE Adventure mode, PvP Arena mode

3. Breeding

4. SLP and AXS tokens

#1: The Energy System

Axie Infinity Energy is a key engagement gating mechanism put in place to curb both Axie leveling up and SLP inflation due to economically exploitative player actions, such as excessive grinding and botting. As can be seen in the image below, the maximum amount of Energy a player can hold and its refill rate at any point in time is directly connected to the number of Axies the player owns:

1. 3-9 Axies → 0.8 Energy / hour (20 Energy / day)

2. 10-19 Axies → 1.7 Energy / hour (40 Energy / day)

3. 20+ Axies → 2.5 Energy / hour (60 Energy / day)

#2: Daily Quests:

As with any daily quest system, Axie Infinity’s Daily Quests consist of three tasks, which refresh every day at 12:00 GMT and deliver a value of 25 SLP on completion:

1. Complete the Daily Check-in (by logging into the game)

2. Complete 10 PvE Adventure mode levels (can be the same level each time)

3. Win 5 PvP Arena matches

#4: PvP Arena Mode

Axie Infinity’s PvP Arena mode is for more experienced players, where they can battle other Axie Infinity players for more substantial SLP rewards on every win. The gameplay is no different to the PvE Adventure mode, just that the opponent is a real player with three Axies as the competition. Further, mastering one’s deck and playing each card tactically is quite important to guarantee a win in this mode, which greatly reduces the risk of botting and SLP farming.

#5: Breeding

In Axie Infinity, it is possible to breed any two existing Axies to create (mint) a new Axie. Each Axie belongs to one of 9 classes (6 public + 3 secret classes) and has 6 body parts plus a body shape. Each body part possesses 3 genes — a dominant (D), recessive (R1), and minor recessive (R2) gene. Further, each of the 12 recessive genes (6 body parts * 2 recessive genes per body part) has a chance to mutate into a completely random part (not inherited from either parent). And finally, neither are parents allowed to breed with their offsprings nor are offsprings allowed to breed with each other. Long story short, the number of Axie combinations veers toward infinity!

Further, performing a breeding action costs AXS and SLP, the amount of which depends on how many times the Axie has been bred. In order to avoid hyperinflation of Axies, there is a maximum number of times an Axie can breed (7 times) before it is sterile. Axies with a breed count of 0 are also referred to as “virgin” Axies. If interested, you can read more here and here.