The ultimate guide to Axie Infinite Part II — How to battle
Axie Infinity is taking over the planet — and you definitely don’t want to sleep on this play-to-earn hit! In this guide, we’re talking about combat essentials and give strategic pointers that’ll help you secure victory!
If you haven’t played the game yet, we recommend checking out Part I where we cover how to choose the best Axie.
Why is this important?
While it wouldn’t be wrong to see Axie Infinity as a pet or trading game, the core part of gameplay are 3 vs. 3 battles — and this is where it truly shines! But apart from being the most action-centered part of the game, why else should you not sleep on the combat?
For starters, battles are your main progress driver and an additional source of income! Not only do your Axies gain experience — through battle, you also acquire small love potions or SLP — tokenized consumables that help your petite Axies reach adulthood. And you can also sell those just like any other token.
If you got into Axie Infinity — or if you’re entertaining the thought — being a good combat strategist will help you climb the ranks in the arena.
What to know to battle in Axie Infinity?
First thing, let’s talk about the anatomy of an Axie itself. We already covered this extensively in Part I, but what you’ll need to pay attention to are three things:
- Your Axie’s class
- Its cards and their class respectively
- Your team overall
Your Axie’s class determines their weakness and strength against other classes. By the rule of thumb, there may be no effect whatsoever — but depending on what kind of team your opponent has, you may deal additional 15% damage. For instance, Aquatic Axies deal extra damage to the Mech ones — and receive 15% less damage from those, too.
It’s also worth mentioning that certain classes are built around one of the four stats. For example, Plant Axies make better tanks due to higher HP, while Bird Axies’ higher Speed helps them take the initiative in battle.
Next up are cards. Cards are your main strategic tool in battle. Let’s have a look at the anatomy of a card:
- Energy. During the battle, your energy drains as you use some cards. Most of them consume 1 Energy point — but there are also ones that cost nothing or require more energy.
- Attack. This is a base value of how much damage your Axie can deal when playing this card. Keep in mind that there are other factors, such as the class bonus or debuff and your critical chance modifier that will determine how strong this attacking move will be in the end.
- Shield. In addition to health points, Axies also gain additional ‘armor’ when cards with a non-zero Shield value are played.
- Card’s effect. Besides general attack and shield effects, cards can also have a different kind of impact either on your own Axies — like removing debuffs, guaranteeing a critical strike, etc. — or on your opposition.
Card’s class might also give you a 10% bonus on the effect if it matches the respective Axie’s class. But considering each card individually is only the first step. It only matters if you find out how it can be best combined with other cards in the team deck.
Cards are not the only thing that can sway the victory your team’s way. Let’s talk about lineup and formation.
The Axies you pick in your team should complement each other and ideally, have distinct roles. When forming a team, look at your Axies’ cards and stats — Health, Speed, Skill and Morale. Combined, they will give you a clear idea of what is the best use for an Axie — full offense, support, tank and so on.
Having one tank and two attackers is considered the optimal lineup. But how does one position them?
There are seven possible spots to put your Axies in:
You will often see that people put a tanky Axie directly in front, and the other two — on the sides behind it. While it makes sense to shield the rest of the team with a tank, once it’s out, you’ll be left with a 50–50 damage spread over the rest of the Axies.
Our winning strategy was to put all Axies in the central line so that the bird Axie’s debuff can work on both teammates. Such formation won’t necessarily work for other kinds of teams though, so once again, study your cards and Axies’s stats.
Wrapping it up
While this might sound like a lot to take in, don’t worry — all of this will come to you a lot quicker than you think! And don’t forget, you can always try all kinds of team lineups and combinations in the adventure mode without any risk. Get to know your Axies, experiment — and you’ll be a combat master in no time!
