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How to earn on Skyweaver: a blockchain trading card game

Winnie Kimeu

Writer, News

Sep 15, 2022 at 11:40

As an avid fan of trading card games (TCG) like Hearthstone, Magic: The Gathering Arena and Legends of Runeterra, which are all outside of blockchain, I found Skyweaver a familiar beast. It’s honestly the most fun I have had in a long time, despite it being my first win to earn blockchain game.

With Blockchain gaming on the rise, I have been on the hunt for the best free-to-play games on Web3 – those that require no initial investment, and Skyweaver did not disappoint. It’s not completely flawless, but it comes really close.

A brief introduction to Skyweaver

Skyweaver is a cross-platform TGC that really calls back to the old juggernauts of the past like Pokémon and Yu-Gi-Oh! It’s built on the blockchain Polygon/Ethereum by Horizon Blockchain Games (not to be confused with Horizen). 

Horizon secured $13.3m in funding for Skyweaver from Coinbase, BITKRAFT, and Polychain, among others and according to the Crypto-Reporter, it’s expected to be the first blockchain game to break the Web2 mass gaming market.

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It’s been in production since 2018, and has undergone demanding gameplay tests via private beta for the past three years.

It was finally launched in February 2022.

Available to play on PC, iOS and Android, it’s a play-to-earn blockchain TCG  game, however, the term win-to-earn is more precise. You must open a Sequence Wallet (if you don’t have one) which gives the assurance of in-game earning security, or link up to a MetaMask Wallet to be able to play the game. 

“We’re committed to providing millions of people with easy and secure access to Web3, where everyone can own, use and enjoy digital assets. We see Skyweaver as bridging the gap that currently exists between the Web2 and Web3 gaming communities, with all the potential that holds for mass-market adoption and growth of the Skyweaver ecosystem.” — Peter Kieltyka, Co-Founder & CEO at Horizon Blockchain Games.

The Look & Feel

Like most TCG games, Skyweaver is a strategy game that puts your brain cells to work. 

To get started, you simply create your identity, create your character and voila! You’re ready to play.

I first launched the game on the browser. It was slow and tedious, which can’t be attributed to my internet connection. I made the switch to PC which was a joy. It required an update immediately after the download and finally, I was in.

Start with the game tutorial on Skyweaver.
Tutorial on Skyweaver shows you the basics of the gameplay.

The GUI, animations, speed, responsiveness, and smoothness — it’s all as good as it gets. 

It’s simple, yet eye-catching; A mash of 2D and 3D animation that makes the game a delight to play and equally light to download. 

Skyweaver Gameplay Image
The Day-time arena for Skyweaver
Skyweaver Gameplay Image
The Night-time arena of Skyweaver

 

 

 

 

With a one-year-old requiring my presence, I’m unable to stay at my PC for long, so I used that as an opportunity to test the Android app, and, to my pleasant surprise, it’s as good, if not better.

The many different elements, features and attributes of the game really takes me back. Each character has its own class; each class has its own signature traits, and each creature within those classes have their own traits. 

Then you have the major elements of light vs dark, seen through the ‘sky’ itself in the game arena turning from day to night. Water, fire, metal and magic all commune, like an anime. Will Horizon adapt the game into an anime series/movie? Similar to how Runeterra is canon to the award-winning Netflix animated series Arcane? (Wishful thinking)

Arcane on Netflix
Jinx from League of Legends Arcane

The Gameplay

I may have played several TCGs and was over-confident of my skills when I hit the ‘play now’ button on my PC. I was quickly humbled.  While I am acquainted with many of the mechanics and systems, Skyweaver has its own unique gameplay that requires an independent set of skills.

I hopped right back to the tutorial space. It’s worth mentioning that transitioning from one space to another is quick and easy. 

Gameplay image of the Blockchain TCG Skyweaver
Crisp, clear GUI on Skyweaver

There are four tutorials that explain the basics of the game.

There are no incentives required to buy any of the cards, other than to build a constructed deck quickly. With 580 base cards to choose from which everyone has access to; you’re spoilt for choice.

You can choose to play in either the “Ranked Mode” or “Conquest Mode” and unlock the “Discovery Mode” at level 35.

Both ranked, and constructed allows for draft counterparts. Meaning as a player, you start from a random deck of your choosing.

And fight!

In Conquest mode, you and your opponent both use a pre-constructed deck of cards.

Skin for Conquest Mode on Skyweaver
Conquest Mode on Skyweaver is exciting!

Conveniently, each player gets a starter deck and some experience (XP) points, giving you time to explore the game in Ranked, Conquest or Tutorial mode before moving to Discovery. 

Once I got to Level 2 on conquest mode, I was hooked – played endlessly until level 8. Sleep is for the weak.

As with most TCG, you will unlock heroes with each prism and a 25-card starter deck, which allows you to familiarize yourself with how the hero plays with the base cards, without messing with multiple prisms at once.

Unlock mode on Skyweaver
Nice!

Discovery mode is an amazing space and the place to be if you want to earn silver and gold cards. It resembles the “arena” in Hearthstone, with a randomized deck of 25 cards with your prism of choice. 

You have mana that accumulates after every turn you play, and if you select a worthy hero, like I did, you gain a mana every time you lose a mana.

I picked a card combination of strength, which is recommended, and earned a vast majority of earth cards to bring my total to 83 cards. 

I particularly enjoyed the soundtrack as I played, but missed the rallying cry and animated sequences of the heroes as they attacked, which is exceptionally done on Legends of Runeterra.

Skyweaver Heroes
Who’s your favourite Skyweaver Hero?

How to Earn on Skyweaver

To answer the question on everyone’s mind, the win-to-earn concept emerges when you start ranking on the leaderboard while playing on Conquest Mode. 

I haven’t ranked high enough to earn a dime, but I will, eventually, and give you an update when I do. I’m still on level 7, and my rank is in the embarrassing 1000s. I refuse to disclose my winning rate which falls below 50%. Skyweaver players are really good. 

An excerpt from http://www.skyweaver.net states that the most you can win per Conquest is three matches in a row. Doing so rewards you with 1 Silver card, XP, and a shiny new Gold card.

Ranking on the leaderboard rewards you with a set number of silver and gold cards weekly, that are deposited into your Sequence Wallet. 

The gold and silver cards don’t level up a card or give it any special powers. Unlike in Runeterra where every new champion/card has their own special ability. They can however be traded as NFTs on the marketplace. I quickly learnt that the silver cards are dramatically less valuable than their gold counterparts, and are mostly used to enter the Conquest mode to earn gold cards. 

Conveniently, Skyweaver always notifies players of the gold cards up for grabs on their Twitter page.

Conquest Gold Cards
Skyweaver releases Gold cards every week! Win to Earn!

Win to Earn with Gold & Silver Cards

The silver card is worth $1.99, while a gold card is worth a whopping $20.

Skyweaver is a free-to-play game, but if you want to take a risk, or have some USDCs to spare, you can burn a silver card which you earned by ranking on the leaderboard, or spend $1.5 USDC to try out your first Conquest mode.

If you play consistently, expect to earn $40-$50 per day if you play on Discovery. Better outcomes are to be expected from Conquest. 

Like most blockchain games, you will have to devote multiple hours to progress in the game, in order to earn.

I’ve seen some players on Reddit rank the game as “AAA”. It’s a fun game, and if you can play it for hours on end, I can definitely see the allure. 

Skyweaver gets a 4/5 rating from me, mostly because of the GUI, soundtrack, and community dashboards that are quick to respond whenever I get stuck.

“We’ve been crafting Skyweaver for the past four years, fine-tuning the mechanics and user experience to ensure everyone can enjoy — while maintaining the purity of Web3.” Peter Kieltyka. 

Parting Shot

Even if Skyweaver wasn’t a blockchain game, it’s still a fun and strategic game to play. It has a unique appeal, with strong gameplay foundations and real innovations for the future of TCG. This is evidenced by the thousands of players who log in daily, some of whom play Hearthstone, Legends of Runeterra, and Magic: The Gathering players.

Horizon’s Niftyswap Protocol, which improves market liquidity within the NFT space, is a great addition to Skyweaver. The creators covered all the stops helping winners on the game buy and sell NFTs, which can be a headache for those still new to Web3.

We have barely scratched the surface on Skyweaver, plus we have more games for you to try here on buidlbee.

If you get to play this exciting blockchain TCG, be sure to share your experience with us over at Twitter and Facebook.

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