Guild of Guardians Game Overview: The Mobile Web3 RPG Sparking Interest in Big eSports Names

Guild of Guardians at First Glance

Guild of Guardians is a multiplayer free-to-play, P2E fantasy RPG web3 Android and Ios mobile game developed by Stepico Games. A veteran mobile game developer and trusted company that has worked alongside the likes of Dreamworks and NBC Universal. Players will take control of heroes and team up with their buddies to fight ghastly monsters inhabiting dank and dark dungeons in an isometric view. Although the GOG Whitepaper states the game will release in 2022, the developers announced that the game won’t be released until the second half of 2023.

I’ve got all the information that you need to make a solid judgment on the game. I’ve covered all kinds of web3 games sifting through pages upon pages of documents and learning about the game in question to find out whether it’s worth my time. I will share what I discovered about GOG and whether it’s a game that you will be interested in. So without further ado, let’s jump into the web3 revolution and kill some orcs along the way!

Story Synopsis

Very little is known of the Guild of Guardians’ main story as it’s a card that Stepico Games is holding close to their chest. However, the company has revealed small bites of information regarding the classic fantasy world of Elderym. Stepico Games state that they took inspiration from Dungeons and Dragons and Diablo, so expect the game to feature all the wizardry trimmings of the fantasy genre, like orcs, goblins, and knights, and I’ve already seen some elements of LOTR in the game with one of the obtainable heroes; I’m looking at you, Morax, with that big demonic red eye! Morax isn’t alone, though, as there are over sixty heroes to collect.

The GOG Developer Diaries #5 lightly touches on the narrative and world of Elderym. Stating that the GOG universe is important to them to create a full RPG experience. They want to answer questions like why the Guardians exist. Where do they come from? What are the domains and monsters? However, Derek Lau commented on this segment of the Medium article in an AMA on YouTube, explaining that the story and universe of GOG are critical to Stepico Games for the brand and identity. It’s on the back burner on the developer’s list as their focus is creating and polishing a game to onboard millions of players as a top priority.

There is this snippet of information hinting at the direction of the GOG story:

“Old conflicts arise, new heroes are born, and alliances shift like sands in the desert. The Dread has swayed many wizards, warriors, assassins, and agents, some hidden among the guilds. Who can you trust? Who can you win over? Who must you fight? And what resources will you need to end this blight?”

My take on this passage from the developer’s diary is that war will play a big part of the story and the “alliances shift like sands…” part would tie in the Guild Raids game mode as multiplayer, and PVP will play a big part in the game’s economy just as much as PVE.

Six dungeon themes have been shown off on the Guild of Guardians Heroes fan website. A website that has been referenced by Derek Lau, the GOG game director. Each theme has an element type hinting at the type of monsters within.

Requiem Tombs of the Fallen
Image by Alex Maksymiw
  • Requiem – Dark
  • Brimstone – Fire
  • Frostmire – Water
  • Darkwood – Fire
  • Barrens – Light
  • Deadlands – Earth

The game is likely to feature many more different kinds of dungeons, as an image from the developer diary contains info on the Requiem dungeon, hinting that it’s part of a much larger area named Ringstone. This can be found in the bottom left corner of the image under “Major Location.” Moreover, the description of the Requiem dungeon states that Requiem was once the “glorious capital of Ringstone.”

You can view small clips of gameplay of some of these dungeon themes on the GOG official Twitter. Each dungeon is more than just a backdrop; you’ll find traps in the Barrens, and each dungeon will feature a wide variety of monsters. Monster spawning in dungeons appears to be random, as monsters can be seen teleporting into the dungeon in a glow of green swirls.

Gameplay Breakdown

GOG is a mobile game where four players must work together and battle their way through dungeons to collect resources and items to craft items that can later be sold for real money. A player’s skill is just as important as team strategy and synergy. Each hero belongs to a faction, class, and element type; these attributes impact how each hero is played and synergizes in a team. As a result, team composition is very important in GOG, much like traditional RPG games.

The GOG Whitepaper goes into detail about the core gameplay loop:

  • Delve into instanced dungeons to complete challenges.
  • Dungeons are unique and are filled with monsters, bosses, and traps.
  • Earn resources, currency, and equipment as rewards from dungeons.
  • Spend rewards recruiting and upgrading new heroes and crafting equipment to take on progressively harder dungeons.

You won’t just be vanquishing monsters in dungeons as GOG features extra gameplay mechanics such as:

  • Guild PVP
  • Land Gameplay
  • User-Generated Dungeons
  • eSports Tournaments
  • Social Hub and Trading Zones

In traditional dungeon-delving fashion, you will only be able to bring four heroes on your adventure. However, you can change these heroes while in the dungeon if you need to swap up your strategy.

Compete in Guilds and Take on Giant Raid Bosses

It wouldn’t be called Guild of Guardians without guilds, and the developers made it clear that they want the game to focus on multiplayer by partnering with some of the biggest names in eSports. Guilds allow players to group up and play additional game modes not available to other players. Moreover, Guild leaders will be able to schedule Guild Raids with guild members using Cubelets, a GOG resource.

In a Discord AMA, the developers explained that the higher your guild tier, the more benefits there are. For example, adventurer guilds will be able to raid other guilds but won’t get as many attempts as a Mythic Guild; however, this isn’t tied to the member capacity of each guild type. Players can earn Guild Recipes as rewards for taking part in Guild Raids. These recipes are stored in the Guild and can later be used in Guild Crafting, a feature where Guild leaders can collaborate with members to leverage the power and inventory to earn more ETH.

Raid in Progress
Image by Alex Maksymiw

The guild leader will be given a small cut of profits from any sold item that is crafted in the guild. There are four tiers of guilds: Adventurers, Warriors, Legends, and Mythic Guild. The higher the tier, the higher the guild member capacity. At the moment, Guild Raids have been designed in a backseat kind of format where players apply equipment and heroes to a raid, and then the result of the raid is calculated from the attributed items and heroes. The developers did mention that they would like to make raids more interactive in the future. The competitive aspect of Guilds comes from competing on the leaderboard.

Game Specific Aspects

The Heroes of the Guild Of Guardians

Elohatt Exiled Necromancer
Image by Alex Maksymiw

There are over sixty heroes in GOG, but owning a hero, NFT, isn’t required to play the game. These guardians come in all shapes and sizes. To acquire heroes, players can purchase a “summon” or by playing the game and earning “Summoning Shards.”  Each hero has its own backstory and lore behind it; this was a brilliant touch as other blockchain mobile hero games like Thetan Arena offer little info on the background of the heroes. This helps establish the GOG universe and players to connect with their characters and NFTs.

Each Hero has his own strengths and weaknesses, dictated by various attributes such as the hero’s faction, class, element, rarity, and abilities. Players will also be able to increase the combat efficiency of their heroes by leveling them up. Reaching a hero’s max level will unlock the “Ascension” mechanic that raises the level cap further and unlocks new abilities for the hero.

  • Factions: The game has three factions: Empire, Glade, and Horde. Monsters have strengths and weaknesses in certain factions. Moreover, heroes of different factions will have different drop tables.
  • Classes: The game has three classes: Ranger, Melee, and Mage. A class determines what equipment a hero uses.
  • Elements: The game has six types of elements: Earth, Water, Dark, Light, Aether, and Fire. Characters gain a 30% increase in damage against foes of a weaker element.
  • Rarities: Indicates the power of each hero and scarcity. The Whitepaper explains that a lesser hero can still defeat a high-tier and powerful hero by exploiting its weaknesses. Moreover, players will be able to earn common tier heroes from playing the game but will not be able to trade them on the market. This is the free-to-play element working.
  • Abilities: Each hero will feature an active ability, like an ultimate and passive ability.
  • Roles: Six hero roles determine how each hero is played in combat: Damage, Support, Tank, Bruiser, Healer, and Control.

Free-to-play players will be happy to know that you can merge 5-7 heroes to receive a higher rarity hero no higher than Epic tier. I think this is how players will be able to mint NFTs, much like the God’s Unchained card fusing system. The model works very well on the Immutable network, as gas fees for minting are free!

Dungeon Crawling Furry Friends

In GOG, players can obtain pets that can give their party a major buff while in dungeons. These buffs range from increased drops for crafting resources and item drops or gain better chances of obtaining dungeon rewards. There are twelve pets to obtain and three pet classes in the game.

  • Workers: Passive generation of crafting resources.
  • Scouts: Increase dungeon item drops.
  • Hunters: Increase dungeon completion rewards.

Remember that Pets are the rare NFT type in the game and can only be obtained through the marketplace. The developers have stated that they are cautious about releasing new pets as they are the strongest item in the game and could impact the game economy by generating crafting resources.

Browsing the GOG NFTs

Now GOG is a mobile blockchain game, and the team has stated that they are going for a 3D low-poly style, but I’ve never been the biggest mobile game fan. That said, the game is being published by Immutable and features on the ImmutableX homepage and is partnered with the Game Stop NFT Market and is featured as one of the main games in their store. This all helps spread the word of the GOG, helping its growth by generating interest from gamers and investors.

Although Guild of Guardians has an impressive number of NFT types, from playable heroes, avatars, Energy Boosters, Energy Tokens, and Guild Tokens to my favorite pets.

NFTs Explored

NFT in GOG
Image by Alex Maksymiw

I’d label heroes as the primary NFT in GOG. After all, they are the characters you will control and use for dungeon crawling. I’ve already gone over the details of the heroes in the game, explaining Class, Element, and Faction in the gameplay breakdown section. As NFTs, Heroes range from three different rarities, Rare, Epic and, Legendary. The rarer the Hero, the more valuable and expensive the NFT.

While the cost of GOG Heroes varies depending on the hero’s rarity, the cost significantly increases depending on if it’s a special edition. Take the swashbuckling charmer Germain hero, for example, as a rare NFT; it costs around $6.05; however, the Warrior Germain costs five times that; there are four different types of editions, Elite, Normal, Warrior, and Mythic. GOG hero NFTs feature slight animation and visual effects for flavor, and rarer variants have more distinguishing features.

You don’t need to own a hero NFT to play GOG, as it’s free-to-play. However, I can imagine, like other blockchain mobile games like Thetan Arena, I can imagine that players will earn more rewards from owning a Hero NFT.

Although not developed yet, Stepico Games plan on introducing land development gameplay into GOG. This would make sense for a game focused on multiplayer and guilds. So expect Land NFTs to become available in the future.

Pets don’t have merely as many different elements as heroes, only featuring three class types and four rarities: Common, Rare, Epic, and Legendary. I’d bet that pets could easily become the most sought-after NFT of any web3 game, let alone GOG but don’t hold that to me. Maybe it’s my gaming tastes and love for creatures, but these pet NFTs look way more compelling than the hero NFTs. I mean, look at how cute Stype is in the bottom left of the image below. I think we can expect to see Pokemon-like creatures in Web3 for a while…

Footage from the Pre-Alpha did not show any pets physically following a team in a dungeon, and as explained before, Pets apply boosts to your overall team. Therefore, It could be speculated that pets will not visually feature while dungeon delving.

NFT avatars
Image by Alex Maksymiw

Then there are avatars. It feels as though all web3 games are bolting on NFT avatars of late. It’s no surprise either, as NFT avatars are one of the most common types of NFTs in the NFT space. Typically, avatars have a base theme with many variable accessories added to allow users to create unique avatars. However, once they are minted, they cannot be changed. Furthermore, players can also acquire eSports NFTs from the various GOG eSports partners explored further below.

The low-poly art style doesn’t sit right with me, and unfortunately, I don’t rate the GOG avatars that highly, whether it’s the quality feel due to the low-poly art style or lack of character of the avatars. Compare GOG avatars to the upcoming Illuviatars for Illuvium, and you’ll see what I mean. However, it should be noted that Illuvium is a much bigger team with veteran AAA developers.

GOG avatars listed on the ImmutableX Marketplace
Image by Alex Maksymiw

Here are some examples of GOG avatars listed on the ImmutableX Marketplace. They have a slight measure of charm, but they are inherently generic; even with a bound of accessories, they seem boring. Owning Web3 assets in blockchain gaming is all about making the player feel like they have a unique part of a game; if the tools or foundations disallow or hinder that, players will less likely purchase an NFT. Especially when they are costly, let’s play a game and guess which avatars cost over a thousand dollars…

All the GOG avatars from the dapper green goblin down, thats right, so if you want to make at least your avatar seem unique, it’s going to cost you big bucks. You could buy like 250 copies of Fallout: New Vegas on sale for that price and still have way more fun! That said, owning a GOG NFT will give you some extra bonus features, such as contributing to active staking but more on that later!

Now I want to compare the Illuvium Illuviatars; bear in mind that the floor price for these customizable avatars is in the twenty-dollar range. Although the games are of different genres and art-style, it’s plain to see that the Illuviatars have way more character. Just look, you’ve got all kinds of emotions: cute, happy, intensity, aggression, and derpiness, and just like the GOG avatars, they can all be customized with items. Heck, even the name “Illuviatar” has character and brand identity.

GOG animals
Image by Alex Maksymiw

Esports Partnership

This isn’t an art show. Let’s not sit around looking at art all day. Let’s get to the GAME, the competitive GAME. This is a Web3 competitive game thats onboarding some giants of the eSports scene!

It was announced that GOG has partnered with eight big names in esports: Cloud9, Fnatic, NAVI, Ninjas in Pyjamas, NRG, SK Gaming, T1, and Team Liquid. Josiah Wallace, a developer on GOG, explained that he wants to add more than just esports skin NFTs into the game to incorporate eSports brands in GOG. The partner added 2 billion dollars in value to GOG and sparked interest in many esports media outlets. Web3 game marketing is all about getting the word of the game out there, showing off developments, and full transparency between player and developer. Stepico Games have nailed that and done a fantastic job with the esports partnerships.

The eSports partnerships with big names in the space have generated a lot of buzz for GOG. Stepico Games has many more partnerships in negotiation; the developers stated that some are not in the Web3 space yet. Although it’s unknown who these eSports companies are at the moment, it generates more trust in GOG investors and gamers that eSports companies are using GOG as their gateway into Web3.

GOG Play-To-Earn Mechanics

I’ve already touched on how hero merging and Guild Crafting will tailor to the GOG free-to-play players. However, GOG has a lot more to offer its community. Players will be rewarded with GEMS, the GOG Token, For playing the game and completing daily quests. GEMS can merge heroes, craft items, and upgrade stats to create a more valuable NFT. This is a typical Web3 gaming element; Salvaging is another form of P2E mechanic where players can burn equipment to gain crafting resources. This brings me joy as, all too often, in RPG looting games, you rack up old junk that your character has no use for.

  • Players should note that to use their heroes, they must have a hero NFT tied to their custodial wallet and game account.

GOG Tokenomics: Building a Sustainable Economy

GEMS are a deflationary mechanism for GOG NFTs as the cost of minting NFT increases with each NFT minted. This is a double-edged sword, as this will reward early adopters of the game. However, it could deter new players.

100% of all GEMS spent on in-game NFTs and 20% of marketplace fees will be sent to the staking pool. Therefore you’re at a huge advantage for being an early adopter.

The developers have designed GEMS to have utility in the GOG game, much like that Gods Unchained’s GODs Token. This means that players are less likely to transfer their GOG tokens and instead grow the game economy. The developers have stated that they prefer a play-and-earn approach as opposed to a P2E model opting to focus on fun game mechanics that will draw in mobile players.

Here is a general breakdown of GEM Token distribution in the game.

GOG Tokenomics
Image by Alex Maksymiw

Active Stake GOG Tokens

So GOG is not out yet, but in the meantime, you can actively stake your GOG Tokens to win even more GOG Tokens.

If you own GOG Tokens, you are already familiar with the GOG game. However, if you’re reading this article, you’re probably just discovering the game. If so, don’t worry about missing out on GOG active staking, as the staking program runs from the 7th of November until May 2023. 

Confused about what the difference is between active staking and regular staking? Don’t worry; I gotcha back; the purpose of staking for the player is to earn interest, dividends, additional coins, and rewards. Your staked coins or tokens are put to work by the network, so it’s a win for everyone.

  • Staking often comes at the cost of locking up your crypto for a duration of time, meaning you won’t be able to use it. As a result, users can be at risk while in this stage of staking. Some networks and web3 games will allow you to choose from varying durations of time.
  • Active staking works differently and is frequently found in web3 games as users contribute to the network and game economy by using the game’s token features. For example, Gods Unchained has a daily play reward system and active staking participation in its “Offering of the Gods” feature.

Personally, I much prefer active staking as the player has more freedom with their tokens and can withdraw at any time, so there is less risk involved. Moreover, active staking helps grow a game’s economy, gets players to participate, and prevents speculators from locking up GOG Tokens.

Image by Alex Maksymiw

To participate in GOG active staking, you must:

  1. Your GOG Tokens need to be deposited to the ImmutableX Network.
  2. Own a Rare or higher GOG Hero NFT.
  3. Either trade or increase your GOG balance on ImmutableX during the week.

Eventually, players will be able to participate in active staking by casting a governance vote with GOG tokens. However, this feature has not been released yet, but you can get additional rewards by active staking for consecutive weeks. The longer you actively stake, the better your rewards.

Reception/Legacy

communication between developers and the community is paramount for the success of a Web3 game, and developers will often show off work in progress in dev blogs to build trust with gamers and investors. This is a stark contrast to traditional video game company behavior. For example, the GTA:6 leak was labeled as a disaster for Rockstar Games. Whereas web3 games show off the development of unfinished models and environments.

What am I getting at, I hear you ask; well, I’ve been blown away by the number of updates posted on the GOG Medium. From technical posts to characters and tokenomics. As a result, I’ve learned that Stepico Games have gone to great efforts to bridge the gap between player and developer. It’s a strategy that is working for them to as over five hundred thousand players have pre-registered for the GOG game.

The GOG Ambassador team has created an engaging community-run Trivia night hosted by a GOG Ambassador and Senior Moderator of the Discord server. I think this is amazing, as the host was originally an early GOG Discord user.

Moreover, there is a ton of buzz for GOG, and the community has gone wild in creating content regarding the game. From a community member creating a mini GOG-themed game utilizing The Sandbox (now thats meta) to another user creating infographics explaining how the game works. To even create a Flappy Bird-like game featuring the second scariest demonic eye in fantasy, Morax.

Alternative Section

Mirandus

Mirandus
Image by Alex Maksymiw

Mirandus is an RPG blockchain game built on the GALA Games network. Featuring a low-poly art style and all the accompaniments of a fantasy RPG, such as Elves, Orcs, Dwarves, and Halflings. Players can develop land in Mirandus by purchasing deeds (Land NFTs). What makes Mirandus so interesting is that the world is ruled by five player-monarchs, and players can choose whether to set out on their own adventure or work for a monarch. If you like open-world RPGs, Mirandus might be what you’re looking for.

FAQs

Question: Is the Guild of Guardians Blockchain RPG Affected By the FTX Bankruptcy?

Answer: Derek Lau, Game Director of GOG, cleared up any worries that investors in GOG may have over the FTX bankruptcy on the official GOG Discord server. He explained that Stepico Games don’t hold any company funds on FTX and do not use financial leverage to support GOG.
However, a wallet traces back to the FTX Exchange holding 8.3 million GOG tokens taken from user deposits! With the FTX bankruptcy and moving these tokens between wallets, Stepico Games do not know whether these tokens will be reimbursed to owners.

Question: How Will Governance Work in the Guild of Guardians?

Answer: Player governance is yet to be added to GOG. However, the developers have explained that GOG holders can vote on token-related proposals, to name a couple: how token reserves are allocated, developer grants, changes in token reserves, and activating daily rewards. The GOG developers have not yet announced how many GOG Tokens players will need to hold to get access to voting. However, it has been confirmed that the more tokens a user holds, the greater their voting power.

Question: What are the Benefits of Hosting Guild of Guardians Assets on Immutable X?

Answer: The Immutable network solves the Ethereum gas fees problem as it can verify 9,000 transactions per second with zero carbon emissions. This means that GOG users can mint and trade NFTs without paying any gas fees. Moreover, there is no custodial risk as GOG users will be the only entity to keep their private keys for their wallets.

This Fire is Just Getting Started

The GOG developer team has spirit, is unphased by the bear market, and remains focused on their end goal. They’ve stated that they don’t care about developing GOG in a bear market, explaining that investors turn to more reliable and high-quality projects in a bear market. Whether bull or bear, the team continues to develop GOG. I absolutely love this, and it’s evident in all their hard work and social media marketing. The team cares about their community, evident from their community spotlight posts on Medium, honoring standouts in their community, even offering them responsibilities to contribute to the GOG game.

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