With the upcoming launch of Axie Infinity Origins, there have been many changes introduced in the Arena mode. There are new modes of gameplay, new ranking tiers and even changes to the reward system for Arena.
Axie Infinity is a blockchain-enabled NFT game that was first launched in 2018 and gained popularity last year during the height of the pandemic due to it being an alternate source of income for those stuck at home. This play-to-earn game is currently on version 2 with Axie Infinity Origins as its latest iteration.
Three Arena Modes
The Arena is Axie’s PVP mode where players can battle their Axies against other players for rewards of SLP and Axies. With the introduction of version 3 or Origin, they have introduced new modes in Arena: Practice, Ranked, and Tournament mode. This is to better introduce the game to those new to Arena and to also better reward players.
In Practice Mode, players can jump in and practice their skills without worrying that their rankings to go up or down. You can have unlimited playtimes with each win allowing you to earn 1 EXP.
Ranked Mode now works on a different system and is divided into 8 ranks with each rank further divided into 4 tiers. You have Egg, Chick, Hare, Boar, Wolf, Bear, Tiger and Dragon ranks with tiers 1 through 4, 4 being the lowest of the tiers. Beyond the Dragon Rank, you have the Challenger Sphere. To rank up, you need to collect victory stars and the amount you need is dependent on the rank you are in. Egg and Chick require 3 victory stars to go up a tier, Hare and Boar require 4, Wolf and Bear require 5, and Tiger and Dragon require 6 victory stars to rank up. Each win gives you 2 victory stars while a loss can lose you one victory star and a draw nets 0 victory stars.
Finally, you have Tournament Mode, which is similar to ranked mode but allows you to join tournaments. They will be held periodically during the Alpha phase of Origin.
Battle System and Stats
The Battle system in Arena has also been updated. In the past, game turns are done simultaneously with Axie’s speeds determining which Axie goes first to attack. In the new battle system, it’s a player turn-based system that is randomly determined before the start of the battle. Players that go second will now get an extra energy card which they can use anytime to gain energy to use for that turn.
There is also now a turn counter giving you 45 seconds to play your cards. Your turn ends automatically after 45 seconds. If a player was inactive for more than 2 turns, they will be given an additional 10 seconds to become active again. If not, they will be forced to forfeit the match and the system will declare the other player as the winner.
New stats have been introduced in Ranked Mode which is vital to your gameplay. These are the Stamina and Ronin Spirit. Stamina is similar to Energy in v2 in that you will need to use one Stamina to be able to play one Ranked battle. Stamina is now based on the number of Axies you hold with a maximum of 60 Stamina. Once you have exhausted all Stamina, you can still battle in Ranked Mode but you won’t receive victory stars or any other benefits except from Ronin Spirits.
Ronin Spirit, on the other hand, will determine how much Smooth Love Potions or SLP you win from battles. These have four levels from 0-3 and are determined by the number of personal Axies that you currently have in a team. The more personal Axies you use, the higher the Ronin Spirit.
New Ranks and Leaderboards!
As previously mentioned, players can rank up from the lowest rank and tier of Egg IV to the highest which is Dragon I via collecting victory stars with each win. When a player reaches the rank of Dragon I or higher, they are entered into the Challenger Sphere and appear on the Leaderboards. Similar to how players are ranked through MMR in v2, The Leaderboards will stack rank players based on the number of victory stars collected in the Challenger Sphere.
In the event that players have an equal number of victory stars, players will be ranked based on their win rate, followed by the total number of Stars collected then the time required to reach their highest Star rank.
If lower-ranked players beat higher-ranked players, the lower-ranked players will get a bonus of victory stars while the higher-ranked players will incur a penalty of victory stars.
Now if a player reaches 0 Victory Stars and then loses their next match, this will cause them to be ejected from the Challenger Sphere and the Leaderboards and will need to earn more victory stars to get back in.
Seasons and Rewards
One of the last changes for the Axie Infinity Origin’s Arena mode is the seasons and the possible rewards. According to Axie.tech, Ranked mode will have different seasons. Each season will last around 2 months for players to rank up and reach the leaderboards and about a month break in between which is basically your off-season.
Players can now receive 2 kinds of rewards unlike before. You still have end-of-season rewards which you receive based on your current rank or current standing on the leaderboard. There will also be first-time rewards. These are given when a player move up to a new rank or tier for the first time during that season.
Similar to what we have with the current Axie Infinity seasons, ranks are reset at the start of the season. All players will start at Egg IV and will have 0 victory stars at the start.
Check out more of the changes that Axie Infinity Origins brings with all the new card effects and keywords that have come into the game!