Key PointsThe current playtest proved that Atia’s Legacy’s core loop works. Playtesters rated the artwork, gameplay, and accessibility excessive. Thanks on your optimistic suggestions!The following playtest might be mobile-first and give attention to the tip recreation. Assume Danger-to-Earn parts, Guild Warfare, and the longer-term loop that makes MMOs nice. The crew can also be exploring skill-based methods that make possession significant.Goal for Playtest 2 is mid to late Q1 2026. There may be smaller, unique closed playtests within the meantime. Keep tuned for extra particulars!Earlier this week, the Atia’s Legacy crew hosted an AMA within the Axie Discord. They mentioned suggestions from Playtest 1, the subsequent steps in the direction of Playtest 2, and what they’re centered on constructing. Right here’s a recap of that AMA:Cruise opened the AMA by asking whether or not the primary playtest answered the query:“Can this be enjoyable with out an economic system?”In keeping with participant suggestions, the reply is YES. From visuals to retention, the crew was inspired by these outcomes. Right here’s what we discovered:First, the artwork fashion was a success. Gamers resonated with Atia’s Legacy’s heat and mobile-friendly artwork course. It created instant attraction past the Web3-native crowd, with testers commenting that they may “present this to their youngsters” or “persuade buddies to attempt it.”Second, the mobile-first factor labored higher than anticipated. ****Whereas PC MMOs dominate the style, it’s uncommon for groups to aim mobile-first design for deep methods. It was a check for our groups: Can a posh, persistent recreation work elegantly on smaller screens? It did, which opens the door to reaching audiences far past the present Axie participant base.Third, gameplay retention was sturdy. ****Even with out tokens or on-chain loops, gamers stored coming again. Many clocked a number of hours day by day throughout the check interval. “We had been nervous individuals may play for 40 seconds and drop off,” Cruise mentioned. “As a substitute, they stayed for hours.”That straightforward knowledge level advised the crew that the inspiration — fight, development, and vibe — was sturdy sufficient to maintain enjoyable by itself.Gamers additionally requested for extra room for depth. They needed extra methods to specific ability, mastery, and persona. The commonest suggestions centered on:Extra interactive, timing-based fight.Expanded development and crafting methods.Extra of the world’s mysterious character Tripp, who grew to become a fan favourite.The following playtest will look to validate the endgame. Cruise describes it as:“A thousand-hour gameplay loop — one thing that’s nonetheless enjoyable on your two hundredth hour, not simply your second.”The purpose is to reply a core MMO query early: what occurs when gamers attain the highest?The crew needs to construct backward from the endgame down as a substitute of beginning with early-level content material. This strategy avoids a lure many MMOs fall into: Constructing an extended grind that collapses as soon as gamers hit stage cap.The pillars of Playtest 2 are:Sustainability: Guaranteeing long-term gameplay loops have objective and rewardRisk and emotion: Including stakes that make victories matterCommunity collaboration: Validating guild, PvP, and cooperative methods earlier than increasing the worldControlled scope: Specializing in smaller, testable zones reasonably than empty massive maps“We don’t need to disappear for a 12 months and return with a full MMO,” Cruise defined. “We need to validate the large concepts quick, with the group’s palms on it.”A significant theme of Playtest 2 is introducing significant threat. This isn’t about hypothesis or yield farming, however reasonably precise stakes inside gameplay.The crew envisions eventualities the place gamers wager one thing actual like objects, supplies, and even an Axie’s situation in aggressive or cooperative battles. It’s an thought rooted within the core of blockchain gaming: True possession comes with true threat.“If there’s nothing on the road, pleasure caps at 5 out of ten,” Cruise mentioned. “When your Axie may fall in battle or your gear may break, the stress turns as much as ten.”The design philosophy is “ability to earn.” Assume outcomes pushed by means, not spreadsheets.Atia’s Legacy will embody guardrails like insurance coverage or restoration methods so gamers can select their very own consolation stage. Those that crave adrenaline can push all-in, whereas others can play safer however slower.This strategy isn’t new. Video games like EVE On-line and Runescape’s Wilderness have performed it. Nevertheless, Web3 possession provides it actual weight. Shedding gear means it’s gone, and profitable means you earn one thing actual.If Playtest 1 was about “the way it feels to battle,” Playtest 2 is about why you battle and who you battle with. The crew’s long-term imaginative and prescient attracts heavy inspiration from EVE On-line’s legendary player-driven wars.Shade elaborated:“In EVE, corporations battle over assets and destroy ships value hundreds of {dollars}. That scale of social warfare is one thing we need to channel — however by Axie’s world and IP.”Guilds will develop into greater than social teams — they’ll drive the economic system itself. Fighters, crafters, miners, and merchants will all contribute otherwise, however everybody’s effort ties again to a shared purpose: collective energy and status.This implies:Coordinated useful resource gatheringGuild raids and territory battles with actual threat and rewardsOpportunities for non-combatant gamers to contribute meaningfullyCruise defined:“You may not be the one swinging the sword. Possibly you’re the one forging it, or fishing up supplies that fund it. Both method, you’re a part of the identical story.”The crew calls this the social warfare layer. It’s the residing ecosystem that connects aggressive, cooperative, and financial play into one loop.A significant theme of the AMA was interconnection.Atia’s Legacy isn’t a siloed MMO — it’s a node in a broader Axie community.Axie Core, App.Axie, and Legacy are being designed as complementary experiences sharing property, gamers, and financial logic.Shade summed it up:“In EVE On-line, all professions exist in a single recreation shopper. In Axie, blockchain lets us unfold these professions throughout totally different worlds — all feeding the identical economic system.”Gamers might be able to collect or craft in varied Axie experiences, breed or launch in App.Axie, after which use or commerce these assets in Atia’s LegacyEven gamers who by no means contact fight may also help energy guilds and economiesThis unified system creates a way that all the Axie universe is one residing MMOBurn mechanisms are sometimes controversial in Web3 video games, however Atia’s Legacy goals to make them really feel pure and thrilling.For instance, when gamers die in high-stakes content material, a portion of their gear or supplies could also be destroyed or claimed by others. These natural burns assist regulate provide and hold the in-game economic system balanced with out arbitrary sinks.“When threat meets emotion,” Cruise defined, “gamers burn extra objects and tokens organically than any compelled system may ever obtain.”The MMO framework additionally permits horizontal complexity with extra roles and interdependence.For instance, to craft a high-tier weapon you may want:No single participant can do all of it, so commerce and cooperation develop into mandatory, fueling the player-to-player market.This layered economic system design goals to make each the high-end threat gamers and the informal crafters important to one another. This is a crucial step in the direction of long-term sustainability.One in every of Playtest 2’s greatest upgrades might be party-based fight. As a substitute of solo encounters, gamers will be capable of kind squads of three–5, every fulfilling distinct roles like tank, DPS, assist, or hybrid.Our groups are already testing variations to make it visually clear, strategically deep, and rewarding whether or not you play alone or cooperatively.They’re :Hitboxes and motion velocity for dynamic playCamera angles for visibility in crowded fightsSkill cooldowns and synergy methods to make teamwork meaningfulThe purpose is to maintain fight enjoyable, readable, and skillful. Not simply one other flashy auto-battle.Playtest 1 tied skills to weapons, however some gamers missed the sense of identification from proudly owning Axies with distinctive physique elements.Cruise acknowledged this and described a coming rebalance:“We’re discovering the candy spot the place elements, gear, and sophistication all matter — and complement one another.”This might be an ongoing tuning course of reasonably than a one-time repair.Over time, proudly owning a uncommon Axie ought to really feel each aesthetic and strategic once more.Land stays considered one of Axie’s most enjoyable long-term pillars, and the crew reiterated it hasn’t been forgotten. Playtest 2 and three gained’t embody land, however experiments are already taking place on App.Axie to discover concepts like:Participant-generated dungeons tied to land plotsTerritory methods the place guilds compete for controlShared useful resource economies the place land produces supplies utilized in Atia’s LegacyShade framed it merely:“We’d reasonably validate land by smaller experiments first than bake it into Legacy earlier than we all know it’s enjoyable.”When it does arrive, land might be an integral piece of Axie’s cross-world ecosystem. A house base for each adventurers and builders.Accessibility was one other sizzling subject.Entry: Playtest 2 gained’t be Mystic-only. Extra gamers and NFT collections might be invited to make sure broader testing knowledge and group diversityMobile-first: The sport is designed for telephones at the start, not as a downscaled PC port. This ensures easy play throughout areas with totally different {hardware} accessPC choices: Inner Mac and PC builds exist. A public PC model may launch if demand justifies it, however the core focus will stay on cellular usabilityController assist: Official controller integration will come later as soon as gameplay stabilizesPerformance settings: Choices like decision scaling and frame-rate optimization are being explored to assist scale back telephone overheating (a working joke in the course of the AMA)The crew is at present focusing on mid to late Q1 2026 for the subsequent playtest. In contrast to the primary construct, Playtest 2 gained’t begin from scratch, It builds on confirmed foundations, with the main target now on validating the endgame, guild methods, and the danger loop.Cruise dropped a small teaser earlier than signing off:“We’re integrating the subsequent huge boss for Playtest 2. It’s not one other peacock — it’s going to be sick.”As at all times, the AMA wrapped up with rapid-fire questions from the group masking the whole lot from gameplay stability to accessibility. Right here’s an in depth breakdown of what the crew shared.Sure, however they’ll have a progressive rollout.In Playtest 1, fight energy primarily got here from weapons reasonably than Axie physique elements. This left some gamers feeling their distinctive Axies had been much less particular. The crew heard that loud and clear.Cruise defined that Playtest 2 will keep centered on validating the endgame reasonably than including dozens of latest skills, however the long-term imaginative and prescient is obvious:Components and courses might be importantBalance tuning between elements, gear, and expertise might be ongoingThe purpose is to keep away from the “just one system issues” lure seen in earlier Axie titlesYes.Atia’s Legacy is being designed to welcome each endgame raiders and informal explorers. The crew confirmed that lighter, “life-style” actions corresponding to fishing, crafting, farming, or homesteading will exist alongside hardcore fight.Even for those who by no means enter a dangerous dungeon, the belongings you create or collect will nonetheless feed into the identical economic system. For instance, a fisher’s catch, a farmer’s crop, or a crafter’s supplies may immediately assist a guild’s subsequent struggle.🌟 Be a part of Axie Discord🐦 Comply with Axie on Twitter🌊 Help🗞️ Axie Media Package
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