Axie Infinity - Origin

New Game, Same Universe

Axie Infinity - Origin is the newest project from SkyMavis, the developer of Axie Infinity. Also happening in the world of Lunacia, Origin is a still under construction game, currently in open Early Access.

Unlike its predecessor, you can play Origin even if you don’t purchase any Axie, thanks to the new feature that differentiates Starter Axies and Personal Axies:

There are several similarities between Origin and the first Axie Infinity, the combat system is very similar, so older players will be able to grasp the new concepts right away.

But don’t worry if you’re new - or even if you get overwhelmed by the changes - there are nice in-game tutorials to go by.

Game Changing

Some of the new features added on Origin makes the game a lot more fun to play. Right now we will break some of the new mechanics:

Cards

While the card element is not a new thing on Axie Infinity, there were some changes from the previous version of the game.

Cards now are discarded at the end of the turn, whether you used them or not. Every turn you get five cards and the cards you didn’t use are thrown on your Discard pile. When you don’t have more cards on your Draw Pile, you begin to use your Discard pile again. But there are some exceptions to this rule:

Card Attributes

Cards now can have different attributes that change their mechanic. So far we have:

Cards with the Initial attribute will always do an extra effect if they are the first card played in a turn.

Cards that have Retain will remain in your hand until used. Cards with Banish will not go the Discard pile, instead they will head to the Banish pile, where they can’t return for the rest of the fight.

Ethereal cards must be played when they are in your hand, otherwise they will be banished. Ethereal cards are usually nice cards that compensate for their “pushy” nature.

Last but not least, Innate are those cards that will always start on your hand when a Battle begins.

New Mechanic: Crafting

Crafting is a brand new feature on Origin. It allows players to create their own Runes, Charms, and have more dynamics and stuff to do on the game outside of the battles.

But if we want to talk about Crafting, then we also need to explain the new features of Runes and Charms.

Runes

Runes are a new mechanic that affects Axies. Each Axie can equip up to two Runes that will give them an upgrade on their abilities. 

Runes have a rarity value that goes from Common, Rare, Epic, and Mythical. They also have classes and can only be equipped with Axies from the same class. There’s a Neutral Class and other Class-specific from each type of Axie.

Some Runes can also have the Solo value, which means that only one Axie from a team will have and/or share its benefit. They are, usually, the most powerful runes.

Charms

Charms works differently from Runes as they affect not Axies, but their Cards. Each card can have only one Charm attached to it, providing that card with additional peculiarities.

Just like Runes, Charms have rarity and classes.

Charms can really change the power of some cards, by adding more damage to them, making so that they heal more, providing more shield, or even adding some attributes, that way you can, for example, add a Retain effect in a card to make sure that you can use it when you wish.

Now, back to the Crafting table:

As you progress through Adventure Mode you will be rewarded with resources after finishing battles. These resources are used to craft Charms and Runes. Another way to get resources is by Disenchanting unused Runes and Charms, and converting them back to raw materials. Lastly, you also get resources automatically over time.

Crafting is a skill that evolves the more you use it. Creating Runes and Charms will allow you to upgrade your skill so that you can create even rarer and more powerful items. Note though that at the end of each season your crafting level will be reset so that all players, new and experienced alike can start on the same grounds.

At this point in the game, since it’s in Alfa, there are not a lot of crafting materials, but SkyMavis is indicating that the crafting system will be somewhat diverse.

Other Elements

The rise of the Crafting System is not the only thing to be aware of on Origin. Potential Points and their Pureness Bonus, as well as the Ronin Spirit Buff, that is relevant on the Arena (PvP) mode. So let’s talk about them now.

Potential Points

Potential Points are derived from Body Parts of the Axie. They always belong to a certain Class and are consumed when a Charm is installed on a card. Don’t worry though, when you remove the Charm the points are back. Pureness Bonus happens when an Axie has three or more body parts of the same Class. Axies have seven body parts, and the purer they are, the higher the Pureness Bonus can be, giving them extra Potential Points of that specific Class.

Ronin Spirit Buff

The Ronin Spirit Buff is a chance to earn extra Moonshards. Moonshards are used on crafting and it’s likely that the bonus reward for the Ronin Spirit buff can change to other materials after the Alpha stage.

It’s important to note that this is a feature on the Arena mode that happens in Ranked matches and only based on Personal Axies, and not affected by Starter Axies.

Game Modes

Ok, we talked about the changes in the game and features that exist on PvP and PvE, but we’ve yet to explore the game modes. Just like the previous edition, Origin has an Adventure (PvE) mode and Arena (PvP).

Adventure Mode

Origin Adventure Mode tells the story of how Lunacia is facing danger because of the apparition of Chimeras. It is divided into Chapters that introduce the features of the game and give the player the chance to play with several different Axies as the story progresses. It’s a simple story but it has some fun characters and silly little puns that can captivate you.

The battle system on Adventure Mode has no time limit on turns, so you can take your time to think of the best strategy to use. And you will need it, some challenges are hard if you want to get the Three Stars (the perfect score that gives more rewards).

Arena Mode

Arena Mode looks quite similar to what it did in the first game. On Practice, you can fight against other players (or bots if there are no players around), in order to train. This is important because on Arena the turns are timed, so you only have 45 seconds to make your play. Ranked consumes Stamina, the amount of Stamina a player can have is determined by the number of Axies they have. Starter Axies count as half and Personal Axies count as three for each Axie, capped at 60 stamina. Each battle consumes 1 stamina.

Ranks and Seasons

Ranks range from Egg to Dragon, and each one is divided into 4 Tiers. In order to climb through the ranks, you need to collect Victory Stars. You get 2 Victory Stars after each win, lose one after each loss, and none if you draw.

After getting all the way to Dragon I, players will be able to enter the Challenger Sphere. There are no Ranks anymore here, instead players are ranked by their total Victory Stars and get an absolute position on the Leaderboard (1st, 2nd, 3rd…).

But the Ranked Mode operates in a Seasonal Format, which means that all the ranks and positions on the Leaderboard are not eternal and all players get a chance to be the best. Each season lasts for two months and after a one month resting period, the next one begins. When that happens, everyone is converted back into Egg 4 and the climbing begins anew.

A lot to come

Axie Infinity Origin is still in its Alpha Stage and in Early Access. That means that a lot can change in the future. There are Tournaments on the Arena a new functionality that it’s not yet working. Chat with friends, Mail Box, the conclusion of Adventure Mode, release in other platforms, definition on the SLP gain on fights, etc, etc. 

The future of Lunacia looks exciting and this article will be updated as the game evolves.

All content on this page is based on and/or taken from the game original documentation/whitepaper. Play Portal shares Blockchain games so its readers can get knowledge about the top games available on the market.