All images in this article are taken from ethermon.io
In order for cryptogaming to thrive, it needs to attract more users. Unfortunately there is a fairly high bar for entry, both in cost and knowledge. Most people are used to simply downloading a game they want to try, testing it for a bit, and then deciding if they want to spend money on it. Cryptogames, on the other hand, frequently require an upfront investment as well as regular gas fees. This will drive away a lot of casual players.
Ethermon, despite making heavy use of the blockchain, is actually really easy for a new player to try for free. This guide will help you get started. Once you understand how to play, then you can properly decide if it's worth spending money on.
WHAT IS ETHERMON
Ethermon, formerly Etheremon, is a monster raising game. You raise, enhance, and battle your ethermon (“mons” for short). At this point, the main things you can do are battle other players or send your mons out to find "cool stuff".
Though the game has been around for a while, it is an excellent time to get involved. The project recently came under new ownership so the future is looking bright. Not only that, but you will be able to use your mons in other games as well.
Each Ethermon is actually a Non Fungible Token (NFT). This means that the Ethereum Network records the fact that you own each monster. If you wanted to, you could freely give them to other people or try and sell them for cryptocurrency.
Be warned, you will not get rich quick. Without proper dedication, spending, or amazing luck, you won't earn a noticeable amount of money. Following this guide to the letter, it will likely be over a week before you even have a chance at getting something worth selling.
If you are here for the money, unless you are willing to invest and be patient, look somewhere else. If you want an interesting game where you actually own your digital items, keep reading.
GETTING STARTED
Before you begin playing, you need to get a wallet. If you want to play free, there is one choice - Dapper. This will be installed as an extension in Chrome. Getting started with Dapper is easy, it provides very clear instructions. I'll gladly throw together a getting started article if you want, but you probably don't need it.
Be advised, signing up requires you to receive a text message, and some countries phone numbers don’t work correctly, but you can easily use a web-based free text service like Receive SMS. The phone number is needed for a one time verification and isn’t stored anywhere.
The reason you want Dapper, and not some other wallet, is that it allows 10 gas free transactions a week. Every time you save data to the blockchain, you need to pay a gas fee. Even though the fee is typically pennies, it can add up over time. Dapper lets you ignore this, and with proper planning this is more than enough to play Ethermon. You likely won't be competitive without being more active, but even being a casual player can be rewarding.
Now that you have a wallet, head over to the Ethermon website and sign up using my referral link. In the event you like the game, and buy a mon from the official store, we will both get rewarded.
After creating your account, you need to claim your free ethermon from the store. At the top of the page you will see the three starter mons. You should pick up one of each.
Click on each mon to view their detail page and then click the big blue "catch now" button. That will open a window in the bottom right where you name your future Ethermon and submit your purchase.
Even though the mon costs zero, you still have to go through the purchase process. Clicking "Catch Now" in the popup window will take you to a Dapper transaction window. This is normally where you would pay the gas fee, but since you are using Dapper you will see that its truly free and how many free transactions you have left this week. Once you confirm that transaction your mon will finally be on its way to your wallet.
Since purchasing mons is a transaction which has to be written to the blockchain, it doesn't happen immediately. Depending on how busy the network is you may have to wait several minutes. You can check the status in Dapper or simply wait. If Dapper says the transaction is completed, but you don't see your new mons in your inventory then click the force sync button on the bottom right of the screen. Once your three mons have all arrived, you are ready to play.
BATTLE
As a free player you don’t have much choice in what to do. The game truly becomes interesting, and strategies start to emerge, when you have multiple different mons available. For now you have a single team to grind with. On the battle page you can choose either Ranked or Practice Mode.
In Ranked Mode players are rating using a standard ELO system. Each player submits a team which will then be available for any other similarly ranked player to fight. Unless you trade or evolve a mon, the members of your ranked team won't change. In order to change your team, or create it initially, you need to spend 4 energy.
Even if you have a weak team, it is still important to participate in ranked mode. Winning battles in ranked mode will help you accomplish daily and progress quests which will reward you with energy or EMONT. EMONT can be used to pay for several things both in game and in external marketplaces like opeansea
Note: That is a referral link. If you go to opensea and buy something I will receive a referral bonus.
Rookies Tourney is practice mode and as a free player you are unlikely to spend much time there. The main purpose of this mode is to allow you to level up multiple low level mons. Unlike ranked mode, where you pay energy to submit your team, you choose your team before every fight. You can only choose level 20 or below mons and while these fights gain you experience they do not count towards most of your daily quests. As a free to play player, your limited amount of energy is better used working towards quests.
Regardless of the mode, a team consists of between three and six mons. Each mon must be a different species so you cannot have two Omnom's for instance. When a mon evolves it becomes a new species, so you could have an Omnom and its evolved form of Yumee in the same team.
The first three mons are your attackers. These are the mons which will duel your opponents. The second three are your defenders. When properly chosen, these mons will increase the stats of your attackers. With the three free starter mons your only choice is what order to add them to the team.
Once you have built your team you can then select who to battle from a pool of available opponents. You can battle that opponent between one and five times before you have to select someone new. Each battle uses two energy and happens automatically. You can either watch or simply skip to the end and check the results. Regardless if you win or lose, your mons will gain XP and get stronger. Once they get to a certain level, they may even be eligible for evolving into a more powerful form or laying an egg.
The box above "Free Claim" will say 10 when its full.
Unfortunately energy doesn’t regenerate on its own. Every ten hours you can initiate a blockchain transaction which will claim 10 points of energy. This is done by clicking the plus sign next to your energy on the battle screen.
Additionally the daily quests will reward energy. This is where Dapper comes in. Since Dapper will pay the gas cost for ten transactions a week, you can claim energy at least once a day with three transactions left over for other activities.
Depending on how efficient you are, it will take about two weeks to earn enough EMONT to adventure which is where the chance at profiting comes in.
ADVENTURE
It costs either 0.01 ETH or 15 EMONT to adventure. When you adventure you send one of your mons out into the world. Your payment is equally split between the devs and any players who own the location you end up going to. Your mons type will determine which locations it might visit and each location rewards either a shard, an ethermon, EMONT, a level stone, or an XP potion. Where you go and what you get is randomly determined. Any items or ethermon you find can either be used in game or sold on opensea for cryptocurrency.
- Shards: Collecting a set of shards will allow you to permanently increase a mon’s stat by one. Each set is color coded by type and consists of three different shapes.
- Ethermon: More monsters to battle with! These can only be obtained through the internal market from other players or found at adventure sites.
- EMONT: The currency of Ethermon.
- Level Stone: This will increase a mon by 1 or 2 levels depending on the stone. They will be phased out in the future.
- XP Potion: This will increase a mon’s XP so it can level up.
QUESTS
For peak grinding efficiency, I fight between 7 and 10 ranked battles a day. This will usually earn me 10 energy and up to two EMONT.
- First Ranked Win of the Day: 2 Energy
- Win 3 Consecutive Ranked Matches: 4 Energy
- Win 5 Ranked Matches: 1 EMONT
- Play 7 Practice/Ranked Matches: 4 Energy
- Win 10 Ranked Matches: 1 EMONT
These ranked matches also contribute to two progress quests.
- Play X ranked Battles
- Win X ranked Battles
Each time you complete one of these progress quests, it updates with a higher threshold and larger EMONT reward
Once you start adventuring, you are eligible for even more progress quests.
- Collect Level Stone
- Collect Shards
- Complete Adventures
- Catch Mon from Adventures
Again, each time you complete one of these quests it updates with a higher threshold and larger EMONT reward
THAT’S THE GAME
That is the game in its current state. You are raising, battling, and collecting monsters. There are various tournaments (with prizes) and fairly frequent contests announced through the discord channel. We will hopefully see expanded game play options in the future as well, but for now the collecting and battling aspect is enough for me.
There is only so much you can do without spending money, but even a dollar will let you play for a decent amount of time. Currently you can buy many mons through the internal market for around two dollars as well.
Give it a try! When using Dapper you literally have nothing to lose except time.