AOF isn’t just developing a game; it’s crafting an extensive Web3 esports ecosystem.

With the market’s growing saturation in Meme and AI segments, finding profitable projects is becoming increasingly challenging.

The recent shift of capital from Solana to Base in search of new AI initiatives signals a golden opportunity in the shadows.

It’s wise to seek opportunities beyond the mainstream noise.

Turning our gaze to Ethereum, the recent uptick in ETH prices has bolstered the entire ecosystem, revitalizing the Layer 2 spaces with renewed capital and focus.

Similarly, the gaming sector is crying out for innovation.

Even Elon Musk’s call to “make gaming great again” echoes a broader desire for revitalization across the gaming industry, though his comment wasn’t directly related to Web3 gaming.

Web3 gaming faces well-known challenges: prevalent “scam” token models and “predatory” behaviors undermine fairness and hinder genuine players from progressing. Moreover, the economic models of individual games often lack sustainability without an effective system for value circulation.

Exploring further, Metis—one of Ethereum’s Layer 2 solutions—remains under the radar yet offers outstanding performance capable of supporting complex games. Its relatively untapped ecosystem presents significant first-mover advantages for new ventures.

Therefore, a game deployed on Metis, dedicated to solving the aforementioned historical problems, might have the early mover advantage?

Introducing the focus of this issue we researched—the main character, Arena of Faith, a game that started with MOBA but is vigorously expanding its game matrix and new gameplay.

After trying out this game and understanding its related ecosystem, the author believes it has shed the historical baggage of previous Web3 games and is trying to break the collective curse of the death spiral in the entire track.

A too-long-didn’t-read version could be:

1. Deflationary token design, making each token “valuable and fully utilized”.
2. POFS frame generation proof technology innovation, making fair play more than just a slogan, making cheating impossible
3. Game matrix layout, shared economic system and interconnectivity of tokens and assets across multiple games, forming a value cycle
4. Focus on niche esports, pioneering the unexplored value lands by giants

If you are interested in these value points and are still focused on Web3 games, you might want to click the ready button for battle and start a journey of interpretation.

Expanding from Classic MOBA to a Broader Game Matrix

In the initial experience of playing Arena of Faith (referred to as AOF), we encounter a familiar yet foreign sensation.

Familiar, because the game belongs to the MOBA genre, which nearly all players have experienced; foreign because the game is not just a MOBA, but part of a larger interconnected game matrix where each game influences the others.

Let’s start with the MOBA gameplay of AOF itself.

The traditional 5v5 battle mode is the core gameplay of AOF, where players advance through a three-lane map to destroy the opponent’s main base.

This gameplay style is enduring and has been market-tested.

MOBA, as one of the most successful game genres globally, boasts over 500 million users. AOF can leverage over a decade of game design experience from DOTA2 and LOL, and relies on the existing esports ecosystem. Players’ operational habits and tactical thinking can seamlessly transition, significantly easing the game’s promotion.

For Web3 games, having “familiar” elements similar to other games lays the foundation for expanding the user base.

Additionally, AOF has innovatively introduced a ‘ring room’ mechanism allowing players to create or join matches at any time. The entire system uses the popular ELO scoring for matchmaking, ensuring evenly matched opponents. The game also features a seasonal mechanism where each season lasts 30 days, allowing players to accumulate points through ranked matches and receive seasonal rewards. All match data is recorded on the blockchain, ensuring fairness in competition and providing a reliable data foundation for professional esports.

At this point, you might think this has nothing to do with Web3 gaming. So, how about the game’s asset design?

In-game, players earn gold by defeating minions and jungle monsters to buy equipment and upgrade skills, consistent with traditional MOBA; however, there’s also an external growth system (on-chain): players’ hero NFT cards gain experience and level up to receive attribute bonuses through use. Skin NFTs offer various enhancement effects based on rarity, all designed under the premise of maintaining game balance.

This corresponds to the on-chain incentive mechanisms where the game’s play and earn aspects are separated.

Regular players can fully experience the core gameplay for free, while economic incentives mainly come from the competitive system: victories in ring room matches earn ACP token rewards, with daily reward pools adjusted dynamically based on global activity.

Additionally, at the end of each ranked season, players receive NFT rewards based on their rankings; large tournaments offer substantial prize pools funded by sponsors and ticket revenues, also paid in on-chain tokens.

Considering the need to expand the Web3 gaming user base, AOF also features a unified global server infrastructure supporting cross-platform play, and an AI system helps newcomers quickly get up to speed, ensuring smooth gameplay for players from any server without lag and lowering the learning curve.

It’s worth noting that unlike typical blockchain games that overly emphasize economics while neglecting game polishing, AOF independently developed a mobile graphics rendering engine supporting real-time lighting and soft shadows, utilizing multi-texture blending techniques to enhance visual quality, and optimizing performance with ambient occlusion (AO). This system allows AOF to maintain high-quality graphics while running smoothly on mid-range phones.

However, this is ultimately just a MOBA game, whose lifecycle and ability to attract users remain limited; examples of success from a single game in Web3 gaming are rare.

AOF has evidently learned from past projects and, beyond its MOBA, is aggressively expanding into a matrix of games to maximize the value of the same IP and corresponding on-chain assets.

Currently, other games released under the AOF umbrella include:

1. Action PvP Game (Arena of Ancient Warrior): A 1v1 fighting game scheduled for release in Q1 2025, combining Street Fighter-style combo systems with unique on-chain ranking mechanisms. The game will support cross-platform play and reuse AOF’s hero characters, providing new usage scenarios for players’ NFT assets.

2.ARPG PvP Game (Arena of Dungeon Challengers): An innovative product combining Roguelike gameplay and PvP competition, expected to launch in Q3 2025. The game will use AOF’s skin system.

3.VR Competitive Product Line: Two VR fighting games aimed at the Metaverse, planned in collaboration with renowned VR hardware manufacturers. These will be integrated with AOF’s NFT system, allowing players’ digital assets to be utilized in the VR world.

1. Mini-program Support: Developed for casual users and to enhance community interaction, a TG bot service provides real-time event data queries, performance statistics, equipment recommendations, etc.

What benefits does a matrix of multiple games bring to on-chain assets?

AOF’s approach is to enable on-chain assets to interconnect across different games, maximizing asset liquidity; meanwhile, by sharing one IP across different game contents to synergize, a larger game economy system is established, allowing assets to circulate internally effectively.

Firstly, from a unified IP design perspective, all game products share the same universe, with hero characters and their visuals consistently maintained across all titles. Each new release expands the depth of the universe, enhancing the IP’s cultural value.

Secondly, as significant stakes in AOF games depend on the NFT series, applying a single game’s NFTs across multiple titles in the game matrix is technically feasible; thus, using NFTs across all games in the matrix can significantly enhance their practical value, with more usage scenarios meaning more empowerment.

Finally, ACP tokens serve as the universal currency circulating across all games. Economic activities in different games, such as NFT trades, tournament rewards, and item purchases, are all settled using ACP.

Further details on the ACP token will be detailed in the upcoming sections on tokenomics.

It’s clear that while a game forms the base of a matrix, AOF’s ambitions extend far beyond, aiming to develop a comprehensive platform and ecosystem.

However, all beginnings are challenging. Does AOF have a solid foundational user base? Insights might be gleaned from recent metrics.

The game has amassed over 250,000 active users across PC, Android, and iOS platforms, with a global distribution—45% in the Asia-Pacific region, 35% in Europe and America, and 20% elsewhere. It averages nearly 1,000 new users daily, with retention rates surpassing industry norms.

On-chain metrics are equally impressive: daily active wallets stabilize at about 5,350, with average daily on-chain transactions at 28,790, translating to a trading volume of around $185,000. These figures stand out in the currently tepid blockchain gaming market.

Notably, because the game utilizes login components and related technology from Immutable (IMX), AOF has full contract deployments on both the IMX and Metis blockchains. The former has launched an on-chain check-in system and a betting system, which can be seen as an on-chain proof of the game’s operational activities; the latter has deployed test network data and corresponding node systems.

Beyond technology, AOF’s financing background is also formidable. The Web3 gaming giant Animoca Brands led the Series A funding round with an investment of $8 million; Immutable and Metis participated in the Series B funding round as strategic investors, providing technical and ecosystem support; the world’s largest gaming guild YGG also made an early strategic investment.

Moreover, AOF has established a deep strategic partnership with Metis, including receiving $1 million in ecological fund support, direct connections to Metis’s marketing resources and technical team, and participation in early project incubation programs within the Metis ecosystem. These collaborations not only provide financial support but also ensure a comprehensive integration of ecological resources.

In the relatively less competitive Metis ecosystem, the value brought by a benchmark project may be significantly more than in other more crowded ecosystems.

Thus, it can be seen that AOF currently has a solid gaming foundation, a complete gaming matrix, and significant market performance and endorsements, which are the basics for a game to surge in popularity.”

POFS Blockchain Verification Breathes New Fairness

However, these alone have not completely resolved the long-standing curse of blockchain gaming and esports: too many cheaters and free-riders flood in, leading to the extinction of game ecosystems.

At present, we indeed need a good game, but even more crucially, a foundation and technology that can maintain a good gaming environment.

And this is another value-add that AOF provides.

Why are you not interested in Web3 games? The author’s answer might be:

Firstly, frequent cheating, with many players using scripts and bots for automated farming, dilutes the earnings of regular players; secondly, the traditional blockchain’s low-frequency confirmation mechanism makes it difficult to verify gaming actions in real time, preventing the immediate identification of cheaters.

Faced with this common issue, AOF’s solution is POFS (Proof of FrameSync), a proof of frame generation mechanism.

Put simply, it involves dividing the game logic into fixed frames and uploading player behavior data within these frames to detect any cheating.

Whether you play or not is crystal clear under this POFS mechanism.

Additionally, the POFS mechanism naturally requires AOF to design its own network for validation and subsequent tracing:

Decentralized nodes verify each frame in real-time, any observer can participate as a verification node, ensuring the game process is fully transparent; all operation data is stored on-chain, supporting replay validation, and providing an immutable historical record for matches.

This is more like a network based on PoS, using the technological approach of POFS to verify whether there is cheating in the game.

1. By verifying that each frame’s actions conform to game rules, it’s theoretically possible to detect anomalies at millisecond granularity, ensuring fair distribution of tokens and protection against hacking.

Currently, game tokens must be acquired by playing with hero card NFTs, with in-game process data being recorded on the blockchain, and verified by nodes to confirm whether the playing user meets standards (basic game data; idle behavior will inevitably fall short).

Users who do not meet standards cannot produce tokens. Thus, valueless gaming exploitation can be effectively avoided.

Currently, this mechanism is used in AOF games, but if it could be opened as an SDK, it would provide an additional standard solution for combat games across the gaming track, reshaping the standards of fairness in Web3 games.

The Art of Token Deflation: Maximizing Utility and Ensuring Value

Cheating in games can be solved technically, but how do Web3 games address the chronic “death spiral” issue?

We have seen too many games that overly rely on a single mining gameplay, lacking real demand scenarios, leading to token supply far exceeding demand, ultimately causing token prices to plummet and ecosystems to collapse.

AOF’s breakthrough lies in designing a natural deflation mechanism driven by multiple scenarios, ensuring every participant has a clear need to use ACP tokens.

From game power-ups, node staking to event tickets, everyone involved in the game ecosystem for various reasons has multiple dimensions of token consumption, ensuring “tokens are fully utilized,” thereby achieving “tokens are valuable.”

Generally, if you participate in a Web3 game, your role is likely one of the following: heavy players (including miners considering the investment aspect), casual participants (earning through assets or staking mechanisms), and organizations and individuals organizing various activities or marketing around the game itself.

Let’s look at how AOF ensures every token is fully utilized, starting from these three motivations.

• Heavy Players: Gaming as Mining (PoW):

As previously mentioned, AOF players need to purchase hero NFTs to participate in matches to experience the entire process of gaming for profit.

Essentially, NFTs become the mining rigs, and players operating these rigs in matches, winning by skill, are akin to a proof of work in game rules. You win the game, and the system recognizes your effort and awards you accordingly.

In simple terms, gaming is mining.

Under this main gameplay logic, to prevent infinite inflation from continuous mining, NFTs are designed with a 30-day recharging cycle. Players need to periodically recharge their NFTs to maintain mining efficiency, consuming tokens each time. Additionally, to pursue higher profits, players will invest tokens into the skin synthesis and upgrade system, acquiring better skins and higher-level NFT heroes, which increases mining efficiency.

For players, as long as you participate in the game, the following token consumption paths exist:

1. NFT Recharging: Consumes ACP tokens every 30 days, with the amount dynamically adjusted based on game popularity
2. Skin Synthesis: ACP tokens are invested and permanently destroyed in the synthesis process

• Validators: Sustaining Game Fairness as Co-builders (PoS):

The fairness and outcomes of AOF’s events require decentralized data validation, which means establishing a trustworthy verification node network around the previously mentioned POFS (Proof of FrameSync).

Designing a decentralized validator network around an anti-cheat mechanism actually provides a profit opportunity for those lightly involved in the game ecosystem.

What you can do is stake tokens to become a verification node. For the game itself, participant staking ensures data authenticity; for your own interests, staking also earns staking rewards, realizing an organic integration of POFS and staking mechanisms.

Node operators who absorb your staked tokens can earn a base income through staking and additional rewards by verifying event data. AOF has designed a linear release to ensure the long-term stability of nodes, while token locking creates a deflationary effect.

The inevitable token consumption paths here are:

1. Node Staking: Long-term locking
2. Penalty Mechanism: Misconduct leads to token destruction
3. Transaction Fees: Partially permanently destroyed

• Event Organizers: Running eSports, ACP as a Value Bridge

As an eSports game, AOF needs continuous event operations to sustain ecosystem vitality. Event organizers bring traffic and attention to the game by hosting competitions, while the game provides a sustainable business model through its token economy.

Organizers can issue event passes to generate revenue while establishing a prize pool to encourage the hosting of high-quality events and the participation of players. Part of the event ticket revenue is used for the repurchase and destruction of ACP tokens, turning the popularity of e-sports into deflationary power.

Organizers can issue event passes for revenue, while establishing prize pools to incentivize quality events and participant involvement. A part of the ticket revenue is used for ACP token buyback and destruction, converting eSports popularity into deflationary momentum.

The inevitable token consumption paths here are:

1. Event Registration: Consumes ACP tokens, permanently destroyed
2. Ticket Revenue: Used for ACP token buyback, implying buyback and destruction
3. Event Deposits: Temporarily lock ACP tokens, akin to a deposit for hosting an event

If we view these three roles together, AOF has clearly designed a multi-tiered token deflation loop. Through the daily consumption by heavy players, continuous locking by validators, and buyback destruction by event operations, ACP faces short-term, medium-term, and long-term multi-layered deflationary pressures. This sophisticated deflation design ensures that the token value is effectively supported over various time periods. As the game player base expands, validator numbers increase, and event scales grow, the token demand of all three roles will grow in tandem. This demand-driven deflationary pressure, in turn, supports the token value, attracting more participants to join the ecosystem, forming a virtuous cycle.

Grasping the Long Tail in Esports: Capturing Unique Ecological Niches

The design mentioned earlier, which uses esports events to consume tokens, is certainly commendable. But is it necessary to go this far when organizing esports events?

This actually touches upon a structural issue within the gaming industry—long-tail esports events still exist in a demand vacuum.

Many understand esports events like the League of Legends World Championship or CS:GO Majors, but these are just the tip of the pyramid. Major events are monopolized by top organizations, and smaller event organizers struggle to gain the resources needed, resulting in a sharply pointed “pyramid” within the esports ecosystem.

Out of sight, grassroots competitions actually have a vast amount of long-tail demand. However, due to the lack of stable business models and revenue sources for small-scale events, it’s challenging to sustain them.

Web3 logic always starts from the fringes to disrupt, making long-tail esports a new breakthrough point.

For instance, the decentralized esports event organization mechanism introduced earlier allows any user with an AOF validation node to become an event organizer. Smart contracts handle core processes such as registration and prize distribution automatically, significantly reducing operational costs.

Moreover, event revenue is recorded on the blockchain in real time, with prize pools distributed automatically and rewards transferred directly, ensuring transparency and efficiency in fund flows.

As for cheating and fairness issues, POFS technology can validate event data in real time and store it permanently, providing a trustworthy technological basis for esports competitions.

While currently only AOF is promoting such an esports platform, a logical, well-equipped event framework has the potential to expand externally and unlock the value of long-tail demand.

The author believes that if properly operated and promoted, AOF’s event infrastructure could offer at least two points of interest:

1. Operational Downscaling: Offering a one-stop shop for event organization, including registration systems, schedule management, and data analytics, allowing grassroots events to enjoy a professional operational experience.

2. Community Economic Activation: Through mechanisms such as revenue sharing from event tickets, digital merchandise creation, and incentives for event commentators, a diversified income source can be constructed, enabling sustainable development of the event ecosystem.

ACP Token Release and Airdrop Rewards

That concludes our introduction to AOF. But for pragmatic Web3 gamers, what current opportunities should you pay attention to?

Firstly, participating in staking is a cost-effective option.

Initial project data showed that over one million dollars in Metis was being staked, with stakers receiving dual rewards in Metis and ACP, the latter of which will likely increase in value once the mainnet launches.

However, the staking event has already concluded. Public data indicates that this staking event attracted 5,500 users, with approximately 21,000 Metis used for staking, generating 200,000 ACP in rewards, reflecting high participant enthusiasm.

Secondly, if you missed out on staking, there are still upcoming airdrop activities based on the anticipated release of the ACP token.

According to official announcements from AoF, the project token ACP will undergo a Token Generation Event (TGE) and listing in January. This also marks the start of a new round of gameplay centered around the token.

To coincide with the token release, AoF will initiate a 14-day “Airdrop Tournament” within the MOBA game Arena of Faith starting January 6th, with a total prize pool of 5 million ACP.

Earning these ACP is straightforward: simply participate in Arena of Faith.

The game features a seasonal pass system similar to traditional MOBA games, where players earn points for each match played.

Every 100 points earned advances the player one level, and reaching certain levels unlocks corresponding rewards.

These rewards include, but are not limited to:

1. FP (Faith Point): In layman’s terms, it is used to exchange for the official token ACP at TGE;
2. ACP：That is, which can be used to craft skins or buy match tickets, unlocking more gameplay options;
3. ACP treasure chests of different levels: ACP can be randomly dropped when opening the box. The probability and quantity of dropping vary with the level of the treasure box;
4. Season Chest:Season chests containing different levels of skin fragments, which can be used to craft hero skin NFTs.

Notably, if you own in-game NFTs, such as game avatars or hero cards, staking these NFTs can yield additional returns:

At the same progress level, staking NFTs correlates with different VIP levels, offering benefits such as accelerated leveling, increased rewards per pass level, and reduced resource consumption for matches.

For players deeply involved in the game, holding and staking NFTs may be a more efficient way to earn rewards. Meanwhile, casual players can also gain rewards through regular gameplay. Thus, the threshold for earning through AoF is not high, and the excellent gameplay experience is worth trying.

Overall, through AOF, we can see that the project is not just developing a game, but building a comprehensive Web3 esports ecosystem. With POFS technological infrastructure, a deflationary token economy, and a decentralized event system, AOF offers a sustainable development paradigm for the entire industry.

For the project itself, through a unified token economy and NFT rights system, value interconnection across multiple games is achieved. This innovation not only enhances the utility of player assets but also brings a stronger network effect to the entire ecosystem.

Looking ahead, targeting the long-tail esports market, AOF provides a complete solution. From technical support to economic incentives, from event operation to data validation, AOF carves a new path for the development of Web3 esports.

Everything is no longer as simple as a game, and we also look forward to the project taking a different development path.

Everything is more than just a game, and we look forward to seeing the project carve out a unique development path.

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