As always, remember: Never invest money you can't afford to lose.
Here's something I emailed to a buddy on March 12 on the topic of NFTs (Non-Fungible Tokens) and blockchain gaming: "Feel like I'm slightly ahead of the curve, but there's a tidal wave approaching."
One month later, that tidal wave has arrived.
Things are changing quickly. There are thousands of new people giving this a try, and the advice I gave less than two weeks ago is in part already obsolete.
I mean, if you can somehow find Alien Worlds NFTs on AtomicHub at 0.06 wax a shot, have at it.
But don't hold your breath. The cheapest AW NFTs listed there as of this writing are at 0.28 wax, and earlier today the lowest was at 0.35.
Fortunately, there are still ways for new players to find deals in the world of blockchain gaming. My goal with this is learning/understanding NFTs and crypto and then sharing that info with others.
Here are my six must-read secrets for blockchain beginners.
1. Obtain a WAX Wallet
There was a detailed explanation written earlier this year on the informative CozyCrypto website. Their explanation on getting started is far more helpful than anything I could provide.
https://www.cozycrypto.com/getting-started-with-wax-and-nfts/
2. Begin with Alien Worlds
There is no easier place for newbies to start than in the blockchain game Alien Worlds. The interface is simple but effective.
They hit #1 this weekend for a reason.
You don't have to spend anything if you don't want to, the game is well-balanced, and it doesn't take up too much of your time to play.
And you'll slowly begin to earn free NFT drops from the game, which you can use to help get you going. More on that in a moment.
3. Stake NFTs in R-Planet
This is the real magic of NFTs and what got me so intrigued: the capacity to earn NFTs from other games/apps and stake them in R-Planet.
It has been a masterstroke of a promotional strategy. With popular/influential people like CryptoStache and Kenn Bosak also approved for NFT staking, there was (and still is) strong motivation for even non-gamers to check out R-Planet.
The reward for staking comes in the form of aether, the R-Planet in-game currency.
Even though R-Planet is still a game in development, you can swap aether for wax in the Alcor Exchange. So there was immediate payoff potential, and there's nothing like instant gratification to draw a crowd.
And for those who listened to me and held off on selling aether, the reward was seeing the price shoot through the roof.
But I had no idea it would happen so quickly, and I don't know what to expect going forward.
4. In Alien Worlds, Choose Land with NFT Drops Geared for Beginners
Savvy landowners in Alien Worlds attempt to attract players to mine their land with NFT drops. Cross-promotion potential aplenty.
As a player, you have the choice of mining wherever you'd like. Different land types provide different opportunities for luck, TLM (Trillium) output, etc.
What you want is a low landowner cut from your TLM and a makeable minimum for guaranteed NFT drops. Finding that can require some effort, though Twitter is quite helpful to that end.
Also, landowners have a section on the Alien Worlds Discord to promote their property, and it's interesting to see how approaches have varied. Some appeal specifically to new players, and they have every motivation to do so.
Those are the deals you should look for, especially if there's equal odds on the drops. Avoid comps that are going for high-end TLM mining marathons, as you'll be working from a terrible position of disadvantage.
5. Watch the Market
The recent exponential growth is untenable, so please be cautious with this. Blockchain gaming has huge potential, but the volatility makes it risky.
Normally I filter with the lowest price for a given category in the Atomic Asset Marketplace. But I've discovered that there sometimes is a delay on new listings showing up under that lowest price filter.
That's how I found an R-Planet Metal NFT for 28 wax this past Friday. I happened to refresh shortly after it was listed, searching for newest NFTs and elements only. You're much less likely to find a good deal on a rig.
In general, your best approach is to be patient. And remember that you can't stake an NFT and also list it for sale, so plan accordingly.
I made a tidy profit here, but I also went five days without this Grenade NFT earning me anything while it was on the market. It's a calculated risk.
I tend to watch the listings I have, as sometimes other sellers will do a run-in and pull a Reverse Price Is Right with a slightly lower listing. It's an open market, so fair play to that.
But in a couple of cases, I've pulled listings rather than engage in Price Wars 2021. That's part of the strategy for me and the value in being able to stake NFTs.
Put in the work and you can still find deals, like I did earlier today when a bunch of 1 wax Cartombs NFTs hit the market. They provide 2 aether/hour when staked in R-Planet.
6. Know Before You Buy
You need to know the aether stake payout before you buy. Bookmark this link!
https://rplanet-tools.vercel.app/stake-calculator
It doubles as a safety net for NFT collections that might not be entirely cleared for staking in R-Planet. The recent problem with Atomic Asset lookups appears to have been corrected.
Big kudos to zcvqy.wam, who has made it much easier to create recipes in R-Planet. This is up there with upx.world (Upland) as far as top third-party websites go for blockchain gaming.
When I created an R-Planet Mountain NFT earlier in the weekend, this saved me easily 30-45 minutes of tedious work.
https://rplanet-tools.vercel.app/generator
Functionality is the future of NFTs. I believe that now more than ever. Wish me luck in the R-Planet land lottery.
Now I just need to figure out how to make my new wax wallet icon actually show up properly.
