Axie Infinity is one of the biggest NFT games in the world and one of the best games of 2021 – especially if you love the play-to-earn opportunities brought about by blockchain gaming. I'm going to assume that if you've landed on this page then you already know that. But just in case you're still catching up on the Axie Infinity phenomenon, we've got a detailed write-up of the gameplay and tokenomics you can check out.
We also have guides on how to buy AXS and how to buy SLP.
Chris Stead, Finder's game expert here. I've been covering video games since the mid-90s, and I've turned all that experience towards provding honest feedback on NFT and P2E gameplay.
In this article, I'm going to focus on the exploding number of Axie Infinity guilds. What do the managers of these guilds offer? Which are the best Axie Infinity guilds for scholars? And what do you need to look out for when you compare Axie Infinity guilds?
For those who know what they're doing, I've started with the list. But you'll find more detailed information below that, including a guide to Axie Infinity scholarships and what to expect from Axie Infinity guilds.
Note: This list is in an early form. We will be filling it out with more information and adding new groups as we determine the best Axie Infinity guilds for scholars. If you see information on this list that is incorrect or out of date – or want your guild to be part of that list – please send me an email.
An Axie Infinity guild consists of an individual or (more likely) several individuals who have teamed up to maximise the profits that can be earned from the NFT Axies they own (an Axie being the Pokémon-like critter you send into battle).
To make money in Axie Infinity, you need to complete in-game battles and actions to earn SLP (Smooth Love Potion) tokens. These tokens alone have a real value, but they can also be spent to breed 2 Axies together. This creates a new Axie, which as an NFT, has its own value both in the game and in the open market.
A guild is made up of 2 broad divisions. There are the managers that control the Axies and then there are the scholars who effectively rent or loan those Axies for play in the game.
To maximise the play-to-earn aspect of Axie Infinity, an Axie's owner needs to have their critters in play every day. A minimum of 75 SLP tokens can be earned in any given 24 hours. Plus, there is experience (EXP) for each Axie to be gained by grinding through battles as well as arena battles that can reap further SLP rewards.
So, how does a manager or a guild keep all their Axies maximising profits every day? They rent them to scholars.
Scholars are players who don't own an Axie, or the 3 Axies required to form a team that can battle within the game. Instead, they rent 3 Axies from a guild to play in the game in return for a predefined cut of any profits. In this arrangement, both parties win. The scholar can make money where they otherwise wouldn't be able to, and a manager or guild can ensure their Axies are turning a profit when they are unable to play the game themselves.
Assuming, of course, that the scholar fulfils the conditions of their scholarship in terms of daily SLP yield.
Guilds can frequently offer other benefits to scholars getting into Axie Infinity for the first time. They can provide lessons and guides on how to play as well as a community for support, direction and friendship. Ultimately, a scholar can earn enough SLP or Ethereum to purchase their own Axies and can then either choose to play the game on their own or petition to level up from scholar to manager within the guild.
In August 2021, at the beginning of Season 18 of Axie Infinity, the SLP available any given day changed. As such, it's important that you don't look at information prior to this date in order to judge your SLP earnings.
As of the time of writing, you can still earn SLP in 3 ways:
In Adventure Mode, when you get to level 21 and level 36, you will encounter boss fights. Winning these gives you an additional one-time SLP bonus. You get 200 SLP and 300 SLP respectively.
Note: The daily quests currently involve logging in for the day, winning 5 arena matches and completing 10 levels in Adventure Mode. However, you have a restricted pool of Energy you can use each day, which is derived from your total amount of owned Axies. How you "spend" this Energy is a key part of a player's strategy.
Up to 50 SLP can be earned while playing through the Adventure Mode on any given day, and 25 SLP for completing the daily challenges. So, there's a base level of 75 SLP to be collected there. Your ease of progression in Adventure Mode is improved by the level of your Axies, the make-up of your team and your strategy (read: skill) in combat.
The higher the level of Axies in your team (as in, the more EXP they have earned over time), the less time you need to spend in Adventure Mode to cap out your 50 SLP.
Note: You don't need to spend Energy on Adventure Mode battles to earn SLP. However, if you don't spend an Energy unit, you won't earn XP as well. One school of thought is to focus your daily Energy on levelling your Axies as a first port of call, as the pain of being capped at 50 SLP will be quickly eased when you're farming the token much quicker in the future. At that point, you can turn more of your focus to Arena Mode.
| Ruins | EXP to complete | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Level 1 | 51 EXP | SLP only earned on first playthrough |
| Level 2 | 59 EXP | SLP only earned on first playthrough |
| Level 3 | 111 EXP | SLP only earned on first playthrough |
| Level 4 | 118 EXP | SLP only earned on first playthrough |
| Level 5 | 141 EXP | - |
| Level 6 | 199 EXP | - |
| Level 7 | 256 EXP | - |
| Level 8 | 237 EXP | - |
| Level 9 | 282 EXP | Good EXP faming |
| Level 10 | 300 EXP | - |
| Level 11 | 344 EXP | - |
| Level 12 | 429 EXP | Good EXP faming |
| Level 13 | 378 EXP | - |
| Level 14 | 347 EXP | - |
| Level 15 | 358 EXP | - |
| Level 16 | 402 EXP | Difficult level, play without Energy until levelled-up |
| Level 17 | 367 EXP | Have a high base health in this level |
| Level 18 | 446 EXP | Good EXP faming |
| Level 19 | 434 EXP | - |
| Level 20 | 401 EXP | Difficult level, play without Energy until levelled-up |
| Level 21 | 644 EXP | Boss battle makes this level hard |
| Level 22 | 449 EXP | - |
| Level 23 | 618 EXP | Difficult level, play without Energy until levelled-up |
| Level 24 | 582 EXP | - |
| Level 25 | 618 EXP | Good EXP faming |
| Level 26 | 797 EXP | - |
| Level 27 | 735 EXP | Try and farm EXP by this point till your Axie is fully leveled |
| Level 28 | 759 EXP | - |
| Level 29 | 800 EXP | - |
| Level 30 | 1209 EXP | - |
| Level 31 | 810 EXP | - |
| Level 32 | 724 EXP | - |
| Level 33 | 891 EXP | - |
| Level 34 | 800 EXP | - |
| Level 35 | 805 EXP | - |
| Level 36 | 820 EXP | Boss battle makes this level hard |
Additional SLP is earned by winning in the Arena Mode. How much you can win there is limited by your available Energy.
Each battle you undertake in Arena Mode consumes one Energy unit. The number of Axies you own defines the number of Energy units you have. Most scholars will be in the base bracket of 3 to 9 Axies, which grants 20 Energy a day. So that's up to 20 Arena Mode fights per day, assuming you don't spend any Energy in Adventure Mode.
How much you earn in Arena Mode depends on 4 things:
Note: Unlike Adventure Mode, in Arena Mode, you have to spend an Energy unit to earn both EXP and SLP from a winning fight.
| Axie Infinity | Adventure Mode | Arena Mode | Daily Energy spend | Refill rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Win With Energy | Get SLP (Max 50 SLP/day) + EXP, Lose 1 x Energy | Get SLP + MMR Rank, Lose 1 x Energy | - | - |
| Win Without Energy | Get SLP (Max 50 SLP/day) | Get MMR Rank | - | - |
| Lose With Energy | Keep Energy | Lose MMR and 1 x Energy | - | - |
| Lose Without Energy | No change | Lose MMR | - | - |
| Own 3 to 9 Axies | - | - | 20 | 5 Energy / 6 Hours |
| Own 10 to 19 Axies | - | - | 40 | 5 Energy / 3 Hours |
| Own 20+ Axies | - | - | 60 | 5 Energy / 2 Hours |
| MMR Arena Bracket | SLP Reward |
|---|---|
| Less than 800 | 0 SLP |
| 800 – 950 | 1 SLP |
| 950 – 1150 | 3-4 SLP |
| 1150 – 1350 | 6 SLP |
| 1350 – 1450 | 9 SLP |
| 1450 – 1550 | 12 SLP |
| 1550 – 1650 | 15 SLP |
| 1650 – 1750 | 18 SLP |
| 1750+ | 20 SLP |
Scholar: The person playing the game.
Manager: The individual who manages the player.
Owner: The person who bought the Axie, who may also be the manager.
Guild: A group consisting of scholars, managers and owners, who have set up a community/constitution governing the split of profits and policies of play.
Now that you've got your mind around the ways SLP (read: money) is earned in Axie Infinity, the next question becomes, how much is your split as a scholar? The split is different in each guild. For many, that's likely to be the main differentiator when starting out. There are typically between 2 and 5 entities that may be involved in the sharing of SLP.
The scholar can usually expect from 60% to 70% of that share. Some guilds take a cut that goes into a pool that is then split between members or otherwise invested individuals. For example, the guild may buy more NFTs, even from different games. Others take a community cut, which funnels back to scholars via intra-guild competitions.
There are 3 typical ways that a guild will pay out scholars with their percentage share of SLP following a rental period. Depending on the guild, this may be paid immediately or on set dates – like a payroll – throughout the month.
A job interview is not just about an employer interviewing an employee; it goes both ways. It's similar with guilds. As a prospective scholar, it's wise to do your due diligence and to make a decision that's going to be smart for you. After you've read all the information on this page, you've no doubt formulated an opinion of what you want from your guild, but here are some questions you could ask yourself.
To be selected as a scholar for a guild, and then to maintain that position, there are a couple of tactics you can take.
An Axie can level up 25 times, but at what EXP marks do you go up a level? The below image provides you with all that information.
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