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In the fast-paced gaming world of web3, many troupes follow those found in traditional gaming. You’ve got mobile games, story-driven games, MMO games, FPS games, AR games, and everything in between. The same goes for crypto and NFT games, albeit they’re still in their early phases. And since web3 gaming is still figuring out how to walk correctly, they’ve done what any artist does when grasping for ideas.
They steal.
They steal like an artist. Which is to say, they steal an idea and change its concept or presentation just enough to make it original and not infringe upon copyright.
That is definitely how Defy Disrupt started out; copying an already established game in the traditional sector and tweaking it ever so slightly. Thankfully, as the game progresses through its beta, it has changed drastically and morphed into something much more than a cheap rip-off of a mobile game. But it’s still to be seen just how successful its public launch will be. Regardless, Defy Disrupt is still in its infancy and is, therefore, a perfect opportunity for early investors to get in before the rest of the public.
Sit back, Operatives, for I’m an inside member of the Resistance with close ties to Kha0s, and I will lead you into the battle for the future of the world. Together we will kick Future System’s ass and bring about freedom.
Who am I?
I’m just a dude who spent way too much money on a Genesis Mask in order to start playing Defy and now I’m trying to get the game hyped up so I can make my investment back.
I’m also someone who’s read dozens of White Papers for NFT games, and I am legitimately impressed and Defy’s roadmap, their ambitions, and their potential. Their delivery is lacking, but we’ll get into that later. This is my Defy Disrupt gaming guide.
Key Info Up Front
Nitty gritty, down and dirty summary of Defy incoming:
Defy is like Pokémon Go but instead of catching Pokémon, you hack towers connected to real-world locations and collect data packets they drop to convert for Defy Coin–a cryptocurrency–and then purchase weapons and tools to hack more towers and get more Defy Coin.
Savvy?
Savvy.
Concept & Story: What is Defy Disrupt?
I have a hypothetical for you. What if Google was the Illuminati? Mm? Just think about that for a moment.
That’s essentially what has happened in the world of Defy. Future Systems, a multi-national business conglomerate that acts like Amazon and Google fused at the hip, is run by shady folks with shady intentions who can only be likened to the Illuminati. Or Republicans.
The point is they’re evil. Like, you could make a sound case in a court of law that they’re evil. But there’s little you can do about it because of their technological clamp on every living person planetwide. Just imagine if Google turned up their evil dial to 11. How would people even start to resist?
In steps Kha0s. Kha0s is a contractor for Future Systems who is tired of their manipulative, deceitful, tyrannical behavior. He’s turned into a mole, a hacker on the inside who can feed information to people willing to rise up and fight on the outside.
And thus, the Resistance begins.
In this new age of warfare, Operatives–people like you and me–won’t fight with guns and bullets. They’ll fight with technology, data, and money. Kha0s knows the best way to hurt Future Systems is by hitting them in their wallet. So he’s released key information about banking towers owned by Future Systems scattered all over the world. Those who choose to fight against Future Systems will gain access to this map and the ability to hack these towers, gaining access to Future System’s money, F Coin.
Once Operatives have collected some F Coin, they can deposit it into the Kha0s network of operatives and receive a percentage back in Defy Coin. Defy Coin can be used to build up an Operative’s defenses, offenses, or swag.
Who Is Behind Defy?
Specifically, four main people are behind the idea, presentation, and upkeep of Defy. Brent Maxwell, Tom Threlfall, Michael McClenaghan, and Ben Pember.
The actual team of Defy developers is much larger, and you can check out the full roster on their website here.
As a unit, these people bring a lot of experience to the project. Experience from gaming–mobile and otherwise–fitness apps, location-based apps, augmented reality apps, and successful cryptocurrency projects. They also have a healthy amount of friends and financial backers. From Animoca Brands to big VC firms like Gamefi Ventures and BIXIN Ventures.
The people behind Defy are just experienced enough to pull off a massive AR game like this, and just wet enough behind the ears that they aren’t going to bring old, boring mechanics from traditional gaming. It’s a good mix of people with backgrounds in mobile, finances, and gaming, and they’re working together like a well-oiled machine.
Like a freaking Gundam mech.
The Game: How to Play
Alright, I’ve probably hyped you enough for this new chapter in web3 gaming. You’re probably sitting there saying, “Alright, Victor. I’m in. How do I play this Hackémon Go?”
I’m glad you asked.
- Get your hands on some Ethereum or Polygon. Don’t ask me how, we’ve already written guides on CEXs and how to turn fiat currency into cryptocurrency. Just get your hands on some ether or MATIC.
- Head over to Opeansea.io. Open Sea is an NFT marketplace where you can buy, sell, or trade NFTs. See, in order to play Defy, you need a Defy mask. Because if you go around hacking Future Systems with your actual face showing, they will get revenge. So you need a mask.
- Find a mask you like. There are thousands. Some are more expensive than others, but don’t ask me why. They all look the same: weird. So just pick one you can afford or one you think looks cool.
- Buy that NFT mask!
- Send that NFT mask to your Metamask wallet. If you don’t have a Metamask wallet, download the app on your phone and set one up.
- Download the Defy Disrupt app and create an account.
- Start playing.
Oh, did you think I was telling you how to play the game?
No, no, no. No.
I was telling you how to get started playing the game. We haven’t even gotten to gameplay yet. This was just the prologue.
Once you have your NFT mask and your Defy account is set up, it’s time to start playing the game.
The core gameplay of Defy is hacking towers you encounter, walking to where they’ve dropped data packets, and picking them up. Once you’ve added the wallet to your inventory, you can decrypt it to earn a small amount of F Coin.
Hacking Towers
Open up the map and you’ll see all these hexagons representing the world. You will have the ability to hack the tower for the hexagon you are currently standing in. If you want to hack a different tower, you must physically move yourself to that other tower. Towers come in different difficulties, and the higher the difficulty, the more money Operatives will get from hacking.
Hacking costs a bit of stamina, but stamina regenerates over time, so it’s nothing to worry about. When you choose to hack a tower, you will have to complete a matching mini game to crack it open. Find the code phrase in the jumbled text, and the tower becomes vulnerable, spilling its financial wallets all over the hexagon. Once those wallets are scattered around, it’s your job to collect as many of them as possible before the tower resets.
Or before a drone can get you.
Destroying Drones
Ah, Future Systems isn’t going just to sit back and let you plunder its coffers. But at the same time, they have bigger fish to fry than a group of degen crypto bros pilfering pennies. So they’ve set up some defenses but aren’t sending out the soldiers.
Yet.
Drones are released whenever a tower is hacked, and their job is to recover vulnerable wallets. They are slow-moving, so you can avoid them for the most part by walking out of their path. But they will hunt you down if you’re not careful, and if you don’t get out of their way you can suffer some hefty fines.
Operatives can destroy Future System’s drones by picking up the wallet the drone is currently heading towards.
Say you hack a tower and six wallets spew out. A drone will spawn and head to one wallet at a time. If you go to the wallet it’s aiming at and add it to your inventory before the drone arrives, you’ll destroy the drone. Short circuit the bastard.
Decrypting Wallets
Have you ever played Candy Crush? Bejeweled? That same matching mini-game is what you have to play whenever you want to decrypt a wallet. Except your performance determines how much money you’ll earn from the wallet. Depending on the difficulty of the wallet–which corresponds to the difficulty of the tower–the mini-game might be a small block of numbers to match or a massive grid of digits to sift through. Either way, the more wallets you collect, the more matching you’ll have to do.
Once you’ve decrypted a wallet, the F Coin will immediately deposit into your account. But to get Defy Coin, the actual ERC-20 token that’s a true cryptocurrency, you’ll have to donate the F Coin to Kha0s. In return, you’ll earn Defy Coin.
The Black Market
The Black Market is where Operatives purchase items for their fight against Future Systems. It’s where they can purchase EMPs, which disable drones in the area, or packs to refill their stamina. It’s also where Defy will put limited-time sales and specials, like decals and invitations. I just checkout out the Black Market and found a Cadre Token that awards me exclusive quests and rewards in future seasons of Defy. Check back often for swag, tools, and other things to help stand up against Future Systems.
Why You Should Keep An Eye On Defy
If you browsed our guide on how to avoid scams in web3 gaming, you know there are four main areas to look at for a crypto game.
- Who is building the project?
- Who gave the initial financial backing?
- What is the project’s economy like?
- How engaged is the project in their community?
It doesn’t matter if the game has the flashiest graphics or a celebrity front and center to shill their coin, if these fundamental questions have poor answers then the project is going down in the long run.
So let’s examine Defy.
Defy is being built by industry professionals. Industry professionals from multiple industries. Their team is dedicated and passionate and experienced. And they’re doxxed. Sure, there might be one or two programmers who only go by their online name, but 90% of Defy’s team is public and proud to stand by their game. That’s a great sign.
The initial financial backing came from those partners I mentioned earlier. Animoca Brands, BIXIN Ventures, etc. These companies are pioneers in web3 gaming and have no strings attached to corruption or illegality. Unlike other games that are bankrolled by fraudulent VC firms or monopolistic corporations like Blackrock. Defy is being guided through their money avenues by giants in web3 gaming who only want to see this industry thrive. Another good sign.
Defy’s economy isn’t quite like other games. There are two coins to help balance interaction and finance, but since the game is still in its early stages, there aren’t many ways players can interact with the economy. It is, however, a good sign that Defy Coin is now available for purchase through other exchanges. It means the project has been vetted by at least a few professional crypto exchanges and found worthy. Another good sign.
Defy is invested in their community. They aren’t cultists and fanatics like some other crypto games out there–cough cough, Cryptoblades, cough cough–but they do an excellent job of making community members feel heard, responding to criticism and feedback, and offering contests and giveaways. It’s a good balance; I don’t feel like I miss out on anything important if I’m not checking their Twitter or Discord. But at the same time, if I do check out their socials and hang out, I am rewarded. Good sign.
Across the board, Defy gets green check marks from me. And they’re still only in beta! Their roadmap shows they have plans to add customizable drones for Operatives soon, other weapons, different ways to monetize your mask, and more. Even after their public release, they’ll still be adding new content for years to come. And the fact that we can see those releases already planned in their White Papers is impressive.
Cons, Negatives, and Things That Suck About Defy
I don’t have much shade to throw Defy’s way. And any shade I do have to throw, I’m reasonably certain will be needless in a short amount of time.
I went onto their Discord to submit a feedback ticket a few weeks ago. I was fed up with their Bejeweled puzzle game. They expect this level of strategy that simply doesn’t exist for those mixes and matches. And they punished players hard if it took them more than five moves to finish the puzzle.
It was bullshit.
We, the players, were going through all this work to get valuable and highly difficult wallets, only to lose out on all the rewards because it took us seven moves to beat the puzzle. Unacceptable.
I gave my two cents in Discord. And later that day, a patch was rolled out to update the puzzles and reward players more.
Now, I know my single complaint didn’t sway any developers. I know my complaint had been voiced before I wrote anything. But the fact that they responded so quickly, not just to me but to the whole community, was impressive. They’ve shown time and again that they are indeed listening and will do what they can to improve the game.
It’s something almost every other web3 game can look at and attempt to emulate.
Some players are still unhappy at the low conversion of F Coin to Defy Coin. And I can understand that. The conversion percentage isn’t great, but I can see Defy trying to work with players. First of all, I know Defy isn’t going just to give free money away; they need to preserve a percentage that is sustainable. But they offer boosted weeks and events where all F Coin converted gets a bonus in Defy Coin. It’s not a perfect fix, but it shows the devs are listening to players and adding fixes.
How I Play Defy
If you’re lucky enough to live in a metropolitan area, downtown, or bustling city, then congratulations. You live in the perfect environment to make as many F Coins as possible.
I, unfortunately, do not. I live in the middle of nowhere in mountains populated by racists and beavers. I do not live anywhere near downtown. I don’t even live near sidewalks. Which, you might imagine, makes it hard to walk around and hack towers.
You’d be wrong.
One of the great things about Defy’s design is that they’ve covered the entire planet in towers for you to hack. Those hexagons cover all of the earth. So it doesn’t matter if you’re in a city or rural mountains, you’ll see towers wherever you are.
Now, living in a city that facilitates walking still beats my situation. But I’m not out of the race. I walk my dog a few times a day, and during the walk I can pick up two data packets, three if I take an extra street on the way home. And when I get home, I can decrypt all the packets one by one and see how much I made. I’m also a big fan of hiking. Remember those mountains I mentioned? They offer some spectacular views. And the climb to get up there is usually a few miles. Every single one of those miles is covered in hexagons with Future System towers. The only thing preventing me from making bank during my hiking trips are my phone’s battery and my internet connection.
I’m also extremely lucky with the way Defy designed the hexagon right over my house. Whenever I hack the tower I live next to, a wallet always drops right in my backyard. So if I really wanted to, I don’t even need to leave my property to play Defy. The hacked towers reset every hour, and my stamina replenishes so fast I never need to worry about it. Every hour I can pop open the app, hack the tower, grab the one wallet, and do it all again in another hour.
But don’t tell the developers that.
FAQs
Question: How much Defy can I earn in a day?
Answer: During season five of their beta, Defy has allowed players to earn up to 900 Defy Coins in a day. That’s a lot of Defy Coins. That’s hundreds of thousands of F Coins. But understand you’ll be running all over the place to get that much, and you’ll spend hours decrypting puzzles. Once this season is over and the event ends, players can expect to earn closer to 500 Defy Coins a day. Again, that’s if you’re treating it like it’s your full-time job.
Question: Can I buy Defy Coin anywhere?
Answer: Defy Coin was just listed on ByBit and QuickSwap. You can get your Metamask wallet and check out their services if you want some Defy Coin but don’t want to play the game.
Question: How much is Defy Coin worth?
Answer: Not much! At the time of writing, Defy Coin is worth a whopping $0.01398. It has an all-time high of $0.02893, and it’s discovering new lows every week. But, personally, I believe once they go public, their prices will slowly rise instead of slowly die.
Conclusion
Defy is one of the only move-to-earn games in web3, and it’s certainly one of the only games that isn’t a blatant scam. It’s built by industry professionals, it’s developed with the future in mind, and it’s still an early investment for any savvy-eyed crypto investor out there.
It’s hard to say how games will perform when they’re still in alphas and betas. But based on the whole picture that Defy Disrupt is presenting, they’re poised to do an excellent job when they go public.
The only question is: are you ready to Defy?
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