Axie Infinity: Violent Changes

this blog entry will narrate the phase 2 of my journey in the game Axie Infinity..

the evil phase which started very early for me...

but first, let me show some progress that i made in the game...

my fourth Axie..

this one costs around Php 12,000..

but because of the very expensive fees during the time that i purchased it, my expenses went up to Php 15,000...

my fifth Axie..

this is the most reliable one that i have, it is the game changer for me..

it costs around Php 8,250...

this is one of the few moments when i was able to meet the boss of Ruin 21, the Slime Knight, with my whole team intact..

my main team was able to beat this one to help me claim the bonus SLP from that level...

then here's one of my encounters against the duo boss of Ruin 36, the Right and the Left Sentinel..

it is easy to beat them using this kind of team and formation as well, focusing on one boss first..

Critical was essential in order to beat these Chimeras..

but after the reward from this stage was removed, i finally managed to beat it using just my Aqua team...

now, here is the dark side of the Axie Infinity scheme...

my horror at Axie Infinity started immediately, just 15 days after i invested on it..

i was only able to enjoy the basic 150 SLP daily reward during my first 15 days..

but after that, everything just felt like a trap for us - a scam...

it was the basic daily rewards which served as my basis in deciding to invest on that game..

i have an acquaintance, who had joined the game during its earlier release, and so i consulted him about it..

my questions back then were:

• is the system reliable in computing and storing/recording the SLP which you get from every possible method or source while playing?
• does the management have the tendency to adjust the basic daily rewards?

he told me that the system is reliable, and that they have never adjusted the rewards ever since he joined..

in addition to that, he told me that they were earning Php 6.00 per SLP around the time they started..

i, on the other hand, thought that i would be fine for every 15 days even if the cryptocurrency market pulls down the value of SLP until Php 1.11..

that getting my return on investment (ROI) was feasible..

but i was totally wrong...

i didn't know that the SLP economy was going to start crashing around the time that i joined..

but aside from the inflation of SLP due to its supply, other terrible and brutal things happened while that was happening: 

• by August 2021, they implemented the halving of the basic daily rewards, and that move felt like a betrayal for all the small investors who got convinced that the game was play-to-earn
• it was in 2021 when they started to lower the Arena SLP rewards
• during the emergence of the Reptile class, a lot of 0-Energy Reptile and Bug cards were overpowered, thus resulting to the skills imbalance
• around October 2021, they implemented the 800 MMR anti-SLP-earning rule to prevent others from earning from their game, and of course the target was those small investors who only had Chopsuey Axies
• around the same time in October, we started to notice the adjustment in the Critical rate, which was still a bit low during that time
• around February 2022, they decided to totally remove the rewards from the Daily Quests to further penalize their small investors
• SLP rewards from boss stages in Adventure mode were also removed
• it was also during 2022 that they further increased the Critical rate to a level where those with at least 35 Morale are already doing it repeatedly in just a single match

i honestly don't know what exactly is happening behind the Critical rate..

my team, even my Plant Axie, rarely performs Critical hits..

but when it is the enemy's turn, even Aquatics can deliver the Critical blow..

and that made us think that maybe the opponents that can perform multiple Morale-based Criticals during a match are bots deployed by the management to prevent other players from earning SLP..

Morale-based Criticals are those Critical hits which are not 100% sure to occur and also not boosted by some buff..

that it might be the reason why opponents tend to produce more Critical hits as compared to your own team..

or that the Critical rate of a certain player is based on his daily total Energy versus that of his opponent...

based on my records, back in 2021, encountering Morale-based Criticals in 4 matches was the average high during that time..

but for 2022, the occurance of Morale-based Criticals in 7 matches is no longer rare, and anything that goes beyond that is considered brutal..

back in 2021, it was noticeable that a lot of Morale-based Criticals happens more often for attacks with low damage..

but in 2022, those with a base of at least 35 Morale became almost godlike..

we were suggesting before that 0-Energy attack cards be prevented from producing a Critical hit, since they don't cost anything, but the management never listened until the very end of V2 as an SLP source...

a lot of 0-Energy cards created the imbalance, together with the improved Critical rate..

like the Birds' Post Fight, which is free, has high damage, and even higher damage when it delivers a Critical blow..

Reptiles benefited a lot, because most of their 0-Energy cards have both attack and defense..

basically, they already have average attack, a lot of bonus damage, and high defense, but their damage and shield are further enhanced by just using free cards..

just imagine, most of their bonus damage are meant for Axies which already has a class disadvantage against them..

0-Energy cards were also instrumental for them to be able to perform debuffing combos like Stun..

not to mention about their Critical rate again, and a lot of methods for them to conserve Energy..

it was like Reptiles are being treated as gods by the management..

all of those, while Aquatics are not being provided with enough means to improve their damage against the Plant/Reptile Class..

they made sure that pure Aquatic Axies will not stand a chance against them...

regarding the bots..

well, there are a lot of anomalous behavior inside the Arena..

i have been in matches where i received multiple Morale-based Criticals from my enemies, with the Birds being the most notable among them..

a lot of times, they would deliver those Critical hits exactly when you have enough shield in order to survive their attack..

but no, the system would favor them, as if they know what you have prepared against them..

other anomalous behavior includes; players not playing despite them being in a risky or low MMR already, players only playing during the earlier rounds, and players only playing during the later rounds when there is no more chance to fight back...

the win rate in the game is dependent on the player's daily Energy limit..

if you have a good team, and your Energy limit is at the maximum, then chances are you can climb up the rankings..

i noticed that from Axie streamers..

you may have the same team composition as compared to other players, but those who have more daily Energy has more chances of winning..

it's like the game is rigged only for those who have low or the minimum Energy limit..

such players may experience more Critical hits against their team, or very poor card distribution...

another unfair thing about the game are the cheaters..

from time to time, the management would notify the community that there are cheaters exploiting the game..

i'm not sure, but most of the penalties that i have read before are just temporary ban..

i have never read anything about a permanent ban penalty..

so it's disappointing to have such players within the system..

because they might repeatedly exploit the game and abuse other players who don't know how to go through the programming itself...

Axie Infinity made us believe that it was indeed a play-to-earn game..

that players only need to buy or have at least 3 Axies in order to start earning..

but they proved us that everything was just a trap..

they just used the daily rewards in order to lure us into their game..

they used us to pump the price of Ethereum's ETH, which was relative to the prices of Axies, but that was just back then..

it was fine for the early generation of players..

those who have already collected their return on investment, especially those who really managed to earn a lot from the game..

but the management did all those brutal things without consideration for those players who have invested at the worst possible timing - exactly before their purge..

players who were seeking an alternative source of income during the COVID-19 pandemic..

players who settled for the not very skilled but still expensive Chopsuey Axies because they were only after the minimum daily rewards..

players who they call uneducated in the field of cryptocurrency..

if they are really so smart with compassion, then why did they not provide reminders or warnings in their websites and in the game itself about the volatility of cryptocurrencies, which includes the values of their NFT products..?

that is something that Binance has done consistently..

why did they not provide a warning that they may change the amount of rewards anytime they want..?

and that is because they don't want most people to know..

their customer support is poor..

they would listen to their elite players, but not to the victims of their bait-and-withdraw scheme..

they don't care if a lot of players are going through depression after what they did..

they are very vocal about every good news, but are very silent regarding drastic changes..

so from Axies which cost thousands back then, 5 digits each..

now a lot are down to just a few hundreds, for as low as Php 230...

what i can say is..?

Axie Infinity has no intention in making the game balance, unlike Chess or Game of the Generals..

they are only pretending to be seeking balance, when in fact they are the ones who are creating the imbalance..

they will always make some cards stronger as compared to others..

because they want to lure the players into buying or breeding for the cards or skills which are receiving their godly favor..

and they are doing that in order to make their own wallets grow..

Axie Infinity is not a play-to-earn game for all..

it's play-so-that-the-elite-players-can-earn-from-you..

they would beat the weak for SLP, and they would beat the weak for AXS..

and that is the violent cycle in the game, for every season...