How to Play Cryptoblades with GCash

Lately, gaming-related nonfungible tokens (NFTs) have been gaining ground. As I explained before, NFTs are unique / one-of-a-kind tokens that are propagated in a blockchain. The uniqueness and rarity are vouched for by the blockchain itself and this can make it expensive.

Some crypto games have been getting popular like Axie Infinity (which is reportedly being hammered by high traffic). Another one of those is Cryptoblades. This game allows you to create unique characters and weapons and level up your characters to gain more tokens that allow you to create more in-game content.

The main difference between Axie Infinity and Cryptoblades is the blockchain where the game is. For Axie it’s in Ethereum, while Cryptoblades is in Binance Smart Chain (BSC). Binance Smart Chain is a blockchain that came from Ethereum but has changes made by Binance. These changes allow cheaper and faster transactions.

The ETH blockchain has more users and investors in terms of usage as it is the second-largest cryptosystem based on market cap. However, since fees can get really big due to the demand, a lot of decentralized apps are now migrating to other blockchains like BSC and MATIC.

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How do I use my GCash to fund my Cryptoblades account?

Definition of Terms

First of all, we will need to define some terms for beginners:

• Blockchain – a ledger that is decentralized (not managed by a single entity) and maintained by servers worldwide
• Smart Contract – a list of rules that are tied to transactions between multiple entities and processed and saved in the blockchain
• Decentralized App (DApp) – an application that runs on a blockchain; has multiple smart contracts in place to serve the application’s functions; needs a certain amount of tokens (or “gas”) to function
• Binance Smart Chain (BSC) – this is the blockchain where all transactions using BNB Coin take place
• BNB Coin – a token that is used to pay for transaction fees and works as gas to run DApps in the BSC
• SKILL – a token in the BSC that is used in the Cryptoblades game as a currency to create unique characters and weapons
• Metamask – an extension installed in the Chrome browser as a cryptocurrency wallet and is used to connect to blockchains that allow DApps
• Decentralized Exchange (DEX) – a website where you can “swap” tokens within the same blockchain; this is decentralized, meaning it is powered by a DApp
• Staking – the act of locking a number of tokens to earn interest after a certain amount of time; during this locking period you cannot use these tokens in any way

Acquiring SKILL Tokens

The steps are a bit long, but the gist of it is you will need to buy some BNB Coins to be able to swap these for SKILL tokens and use them in the Crytoblades DApp.

1. Buying BNB Coins

The simplest way to buy BNB Coins is buying it through Binance. I’ve already explained in a post before how to use GCash to buy BNB Coins through Binance P2P.

Alternatively, you can transfer from GCash to a local exchange (like PDAX, or Coins.ph) then from there, buy cryptocurrency, send it to your Binance wallet, and have it converted to BNB at market rates at the exchange.

Currently, a BNB Coin costs around Php 15k, but you can buy small amounts of it. You would probably need an initial investment of around Php 2k – 3k to be able to create a character and a weapon.

2. Swapping BNB Coins to SKILL Tokens

Once you have some BNB Coins in the Binance exchange, you will need to transfer them to your Metamask wallet first so that you can use that with any DApp using BSC.

2a. Installing Metamask

If you do not have Metamask, then here are the steps to install and set it up:

1. Install the Metamask extension into your browser.
2. Setup a new wallet and create a password.
3. You will need to take note of the 12 word passphrase as backup.

2b. Setting up BSC in Metamask

Once you have Metamask installed, the default blockchain is set up to Ethereum. We would need to switch it to BSC. Here are the steps:

1. In Metamask, click on the upper right circle.
2. Click on Settings and select Networks.
3. Add the BSC Network:
   • Network Name: Binance Smart Chain
   • New RPC URL: https://bsc-dataseed.binance.org/
   • Chain ID: 56
   • Currency Symbol: BNB
   • Block Explorer URL: https://bscscan.com
4. Click Save and you will be able to select the Binance Smart Chain in the network selection

3. Transferring BNB Coin from Binance to your Metamask Wallet

The BNB Coin you bought before is now in your Binance P2P wallet and you will need to transfer it to your Metamask. Here are the steps:

1. Go to your Binance P2P Wallet and transfer your purchased BNB to your Fiat/Spot Wallet.
2. From your Fiat/Spot Wallet, withdraw your BNB to your Metamask wallet address. You can copy the destination address from the Metamask main screen.
3. Confirm the transaction in Binance.
4. Wait for the confirmation. It should reflect after a minute.

4. Converting or Swapping BNB Coin to SKILL Tokens

You can now use a DEX to swap your newly converted BNB Coin to SKILL Token. Currently, only ApeSwap converts from BNB to SKILL directly. Here are the steps:

1. Go to ApeSwap, connect your Metamask Wallet.
2. Convert your BNB to SKILL. Take note that you should leave some BNB behind as BNB is also the gas that you need to run the actual swapping and also for playing the game itself.
3. Approve the transactions and wait for the confirmations.

You can also use PancakeSwap to acquire SKILL using this similar method but you need to add the token manually first by clicking this link and clicking Trade. When you connect your wallet, you will be able to swap BNB to SKILL.

Sometimes PancakeSwap has a better exchange rate than ApeSwap, so it would be best to check both their swap rates from time to time.

5. Go to Cryptoblades and create a character and weapon using the SKILL Tokens

You can now start creating a character and a weapon in the game. Here are the steps:

1. Go the Cryptoblades site and connect your Metamask Wallet.
2. Go to the Plaza and recruit your character and create your weapon. Take note of the SKILL requirement needed. You should also remember to keep your BNB topped up.

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Other Questions

What’s the difference between SKILL Tokens and BNB Coin?

Regarding the game itself, BNB Coin is used as the gas for doing transactions, while SKILL is the currency for creating in-game content, which includes characters, weapons, and reforging.

Can I sell my characters and weapons?

Yes, you can sell your characters and weapons for SKILL Tokens.

This is one of the ways how you can “gain back” your investment as your characters and weapons are actually NFTs and you can sell them higher than what you spent for them. Especially if you’ve leveled them properly.

How can I earn while playing the game?

You will need to pay to be able to play, however, you can earn SKILL tokens back by either:

• Claiming SKILL Tokens via fights
• Staking your existing SKILL Tokens to earn interest
• Selling your equipment / characters to get SKILL Tokens

Take note that SKILL Tokens also have their own intrinsic value, and this value can climb up. You can keep on saving your tokens until a certain price and then sell them.

If you want to cash in your earnings, you can easily swap your SKILL Tokens back to BNB Coins via ApeSwap or into stablecoins like BUSD.

You can then transfer these to Binance and convert them into any cryptocurrency supported by Coins.ph or PDAX to be ultimately converted to peso.

How much BNB is needed for playing the game?

A typical fight costs around 0.0007 BNB (around Php 11 at the time of this writing). Take note that some transactions may cost more than this. It would be best to have at least around 0.15 BNB (around Php 2300) for a month’s worth of fights using a single character.

Does the price of SKILL Tokens go up?

Yes, as demand for the game increases, the price also goes up. You can get more tokens by playing and also by staking your existing ones.

Another way to gain some leverage is to fund a liquidity pool in ApeSwap or PancakeSwap. As more and more play, they would need more BNB to SKILL swap conversions.

How do I maximize my SKILL earnings?

You can use calculators as well as use this guide for more tips in playing the game.

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Summary

We talked about how to leverage your GCash to be able to start playing the Cryptoblades game. You can use your GCash to buy BNB via Binance, swap the BNB to SKILL Tokens using ApeSwap then use the SKILL tokens to create your character in Cryptoblades.

You can play to earn in Crytoblades as you gain SKILL Tokens which increase in price over time. You can also sell your characters and gear, as well as stake your current SKILL Tokens to gain even more.

If you are interested in cryptocurrencies, these posts may be useful:

• PDAX with GCash
• Bank Transfer to Coins.ph
• Buying Cryptocurrencies with Binance
• Buying Bitcoins using GCash

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