May 25th 2022| Mike Humphrey

What is Defi Kingdoms

Defi Kingdoms (DFK) is a decentralized exchange (DEX) that introduced classic console graphics and RPG style game play to yield farming. Think old-school Final Fantasy crossed with DeFi; complete with NFT heroes that can increase your returns. Launched on August 22, 2021 on the Harmony blockchain, DFK quickly rose to popularity with its high yields and unique reward token that offered in game value above and beyond most other DEX/LP protocols. The utility-driven NFT’s combined with the nostalgic feel have made the game a great success.

Crystalvale

With the games growing popularity, the DFK dev team decided it was time to expand beyond the Harmony blockchain, and Partnered with Ava Labs to expand and create Crystalvale. On March 30th 2022 DFK launched Crystalvale on it’s own proprietary sub-net of the Avalanche network. The new DFK chain sub-net commissions Avalanche validators to approve transactions, using $JEWEL (the in game token) for gas fees.  The new sub-net infrastructure unlocks new potential for Defi Kingdoms and increases the utility for the in-game $JEWEL token.

Let’s Get Started

This guide has been split up into 2 sections to help you navigate better.  The first section, for users who are brand new to Crypto, includes a guide on how to purchase cryptocurrency and it to Avalanche.  The second is for users familiar with cryptocurrency and includes a guide on how to transfer funds cross-chain to Avalanche and then move those funds to the DFK Chain.  Below are quick links you can use to skip to the relevant portions of the guide for you.

• New to Crypto Users Start Here
• Avalanche Users Start Here
• Non-Avalanche Users (Guide – Bridging to ) – Follow the guide to briding assets and then return to the Avalanche Users Section

If you have played Defi Kingdoms on Harmony, we have a guide on Bridging from Serendale to Crystalvale

New to Crypto Users Start Here

1. Install Metamask

   Metamask is an online crypto wallet that allows your web browser to connect with applications and interact with the blockchain. You can download and install the wallet at Metamask.io. Before installing we recommend considering purchasing a hardware wallet to secure your crypto. A hardware wallet like Trezor or Ledger will help keep your crypto safe. Find out more by reading our articles about How To Use Metamask Safely and Crypto Wallets.
   
   After you have installed Metamask be sure to add the Avalanche C-Chain network details. This will allow Metamask to connect to and communicate with the Avalanche blockchain.

2. Purchase AVAX

   Now that you have a crypto wallet installed you will need to purchase AVAX tokens (the gas token for the Avalanche blockchain). Gas fees are the cost you must pay in order to complete any transaction on the block chain. On Avalanche these fees must be paid with AVAX the proprietary token. If you are familiar with purchasing crypto on an exchange you can purchase AVAX tokens there and send them to your Metamask wallet address. Our guide on how to purchase AVAX will show you step by step how you can purchase AVAX using the crypto.com app and transfer it to your wallet.

   

Avalanche Users Start From Here

The next step in the process is to exchange your AVAX for $JEWEL tokens.  As mentioned above, Crystalvale  was deployed on the DFK Chain sub-net.  The DFK-chain uses $JEWEL as the gas token, and we must have $JEWEL in our wallet in order to pay for transactions on the chain. The first step is to swap AVAX for $JEWEL on Avalanche C-Chain and then bridge the $JEWEL over to our wallet on the DFK-Chain so that we can perform transactions once on the DFK-chain.

3. 3. 3. Swap AVAX to $JEWEL

         To swap your AVAX (or any other Avalanche C-Chain) tokens for $JEWEL you will need to head to the Pangolin Exchanage. Pangolin has a liquidity pool that will allow you to swap AVAX for $JEWEL tokens. The tokens are multi-chain $JEWEL which will then be bridged to the DFK Chain.

      4. Talk to Snow Sage Ellia

         Now that there are multi-chain $JEWEL tokens in your wallet, the next step is to head to the game website game.defikingdoms.com and speak with Snow Sage Ellia. The game has a built-in bridge and RPC adder to get you up and running quickly.
         Click on Snow Sage Ellia’s name to speak with her.  Click get started and in the pop up window choose the move JEWEL option.In the pop-up choose Bridge JEWEL and the DFK bridge will open up in a new window. Keep both windows open. In the DFK bridge window make sure Avalanche C-Chain and multiJEWEL are selected.  The destination should show Defi Kingdoms and JEWEL.  Enter the amount of JEWEL you want to bridge and then click Approve Bridge.  Approve the transaction in Metamask. (there should be 2 approvals required).
         Once the transaction has completed you can close the bridge window. This will take you back to Sage Ellia.

   

3. Add DFK Chain to Metamask

   To make this step easier the DFK dev’s have simplified the process of adding the DFK Chain RPC details to Metamask. In Sage Ellia’s window click on Travel to Crystalvale, this will send a trasnaction to Metamask to add the DFK Chain.

   

   Confirm the transaction details match the screenshot below and allow the site to add the network. As long as the details match the screen shot you can ignore the warnings. You can also confirm the RPC details on game.defikingdoms.com docs, and Chainlist.  Once added switch to the new network.

   
   **Note: once you have added the network you will no longer be able to speak with sage Ellia to bridge tokens, you will either have to visit the bridge from the in-game World Map, or you can delete the chain from Metamask and then re-add.

Welcome to Crystalvale

Welcome to Crystalvale, you’ve official made it to the new kingdom.  Take the time to explore the World Map and learn how to navigate the menus.

Crystalvale World Map

The World Map allows you to navigate Crystalvale Kingdom. Exploring all the areas is beyond the scope of this article, but feel free to read our Serendale Defi Kingdoms Guide which goes through all the critical areas and their functions.

How to Farm $CRYSTAL

At its heart the game is a Decentralized Exchange (DEX) that allows you to swap tokens. The tokens for these swaps are provided by players to the liquidity pools. As a liquidity provider you receive a portion of the exchange fees charged when someone uses the pool to swap tokens. To take part in the game you add liquidity to a pool by buying seeds. You can then stake your liquidity pool tokens by planting them in the the Crystalvale Gardens and earn CRYSTAL tokens in return. As you collect CRYSTAL you will be able to purchase hero NFT’s who can perform quests that offer in-game rewards that can be exchange for $JEWEL, CRYSTAL or USDC. Follow the steps below to use your bridged $JEWEL to begin farming CRYSTAL

1. Swap 50% of Your Tokens  – The Market

   The first step in adding liquidity is to head to the Market so that you can swap half of your JEWEL for one of the other token types (liquidity must be added to pools in a 50/50 ratio). Head to the Marketplace by clicking on the label on the World Map, or by using the drop down menu in the top right corner. Once at the Marketplace speak to the trader and a pop-up will open. You can then swap 50% of your $JEWEL for one of the other token types available. In our example we chose xJEWEL.

   **NOTE: Plan to swap less than 50% of the $JEWEL in your wallet so that you keep some JEWEL for transaction fees.

   

2. Create Pool Seeds

   Now that you have a token pair available we will deposit these tokens into one of Crystalvale’s liquidity pools. In DeFi Kingdoms adding liquidity to a pool is done by purchasing seeds. To do this, speak with the Druid in the Marketplace. A pop-up will open, select $JEWEL and the other Token you would like to add to the pool (xJEWEL in our example) and add them in equal ratios. It will automatically calculate the equivalent amounts for you based on the current value of the tokens.  Click Supply and approve the transaction in Metamask

   

3. Plant Your Seeds

   You have now deposited liquidity into one of the Crystalvale pools, but we also want to stake these liquidity tokens in order to earn CRYSTAL rewards. Staking in DeFi Kingdoms is done by depositing your seeds into the Gardens. Head to the Gardens using the menu or World Map. Once here click on the seed box. In the pop-up window click deposit beside your liquidity pair.

   
   A new window will open where you can approve and deposit your tokens.

4. Harvest Your rewards

   With your seeds successfully planted you are now earning CRYSTAL. A portion of this CRYSTAL is locked in the protocol and a portion will be available to harvest. The locked CRYSTAL will unlock over time. To harvest your available CRYSTAL you simply head to the Gardens and click on Harvest and claim your rewards.

   

Conclusion – What to Do with Your CRYSTAL?

Now that you are earning CRYSTAL, the question is, what to do next?  You have a couple of options but which one you choose really has to do with your goal.

Deposit Crystal with the Jeweler

If you’re looking to stack CRYSTAL, you can take your harvest rewards and deposit them with the Jeweler for xCRYTSAL.  When you deposit tokens with the Jeweler you are staking them in the DFK Crystalvale protocol as a whole. In return you receive a portion of the profits on the whole ecosystem. xCRYSTAL increases in value over time as rewards accumulate. You continue to hold the same amount of xCRYSTAL, but its value versus CRYSTAL will increase.  This is a low risk method of storing CRYSTAL will still getting a small return.  This is less lucrative than re-depositing your returns into the gardens, but it removes the risk of impermanent loss.

Harvest and Re-invest

Harvesting and Re-investing will give you higher returns than depositing your CRYSTAL with the Jeweler. The APR’s on the gardens are significantly higher. That being said, re-investing your rewards opens you up to potential impermanent loss and locks a portion of your returns.  To do this, simply harvest your returns, head to the Marketplace, swap 50% for a secondary token type and repeat the above process.

Taking Profits

Whether you stack CRYSTAL with the Jeweler to use in the game, or you re-invest to compounded your returns, you should always be thinking about how and when to take profits.  Be sure to accumulate your returns in a safer token like USDC which is less subject to fluctuations.

Let us know if this guide helped you, are you playing DeFi Kingdoms, what are your thoughts?  Tell us in the comments

May 19th 2022| Mike Humphrey

What is Avalanche (AVAX)

Avalanche is a layer 0 blockchain with an open, programmable smart contracts platform for decentralized applications. Launched in September of 2020 by  New York based  AVA labs, it is currently the third largest blockchain by TVL with over 200+ DApps.  The flourishing community includes platforms like Curve, Trader Joe, Pangolin, Aave and even Defi Kingdom’s Crystalvale. Avalanche has been built a little differently than many of the other Ethereum alternative block chains.  It runs on the Ethereum Virtual Machine, but consists of the 3 chains that each perform different functions.  They are X-Chain, P-Chain and C-Chain.  X-Chain is used to exclusively create and exchange tokens. P-Chain coordinates Avalanche validators and creates subnets (where developers can create their own proprietary blockchains secured by the Avalanche network). C-Chain executes and allows interaction with smart contracts and Defi protocols.

AVAX is the gas token for the Avalanche chain.  With it you can pay for transactions on the network. Below we will guide you on how to Buy AVAX and transfer it to a web wallet that will allow you to interact with the DeFi protocols on the Avalanche network.

Avalanche Wallets

Because Avalanche works on EVM, any Ethereum compatible wallet will work with Avalanche. Metamask due to its popularity and ease of use is a good choice (How to Add Avalanche to Metamask).  Below is a list of some of the wallets that will work on Avalanche.  For more information read our article about cryptocurrency wallets.  We also recommend purchasing a hardware wallet to secure your funds. Ledger and Trezor both offer Metamask compatible hardware wallets. Read our article about how to keep your crypto safe to find out what you can do to prevent your crypto from being stolen.

• Metamask
• Trust Wallet

Where to Buy AVAX Crypto

1. Buy AVAX Token on an Exchange

   In order to buy AVAX with FIAT you will need to purchase the token from an exchange. Once bought, you can then transfer the token from your exchange wallet to your personal wallet. There are many exchange options available including Coinbase, Kucoin, Kraken, Bitfinex and more. If you have a Crypto.com account, you can purchase AVAX directly with a credit card, bank transfer or crypto and send it to your web wallet with zero transaction cost. Below is a step by step  guide on how to purchase and transfer AVAX using the crypto.com app.  If you sign up with our link you will receive a 25USD$ credit in your account as do we.  You can read our article about how to buy crypto currency if you want to know more about the other options available. 
   **NOTE:You must set up your crypto wallet on Avalanche C-Chain before you can receive your tokens in your wallet.**

   Crypto.com How To

   1. Buy AVAX

      To purchase AVAX sign into the Crypto.com app, choose Accounts from the bottom bar and select buy. On the next screen search for and select AVAX.  Once selected you can then choose your payment method and the amount you want to purchase. Click purchase.
      

   2. Transfer AVAX to Web Wallet

      Once the transaction is complete, you will have AVAX in your crypto.com wallet. In order to use the AVAX with DeFi protocols, you will need to move the AVAX to your personal wallet. To do this again selects Accounts at the bottom of the screen and then select Transfer.  Choose to Withdraw and then select External Wallet.
      

      Click the + icon in the top right to add your web wallet to the Whitelist and then choose Wallet Address.  You will be asked to choose which cryptocurrency you want to withdraw, select AVAX.

      
      In the new pop-up window, choose AVAXC as the network (this will transfer your assets to C-Chain), and enter your wallet address.

      **Note: if you do not choose AVAXC your tokens will be transferrred to the wrong chain!**

      We recommend adding your wallet using the QR code scanner to prevent errors.  You can also add a wallet name so you can distinguish the wallet later on.  Click continue and follow the required steps.  If you have 2FA activated, you will need to enter your security code to complete the transfer.
      Crypto.com will confirm the transfer and your funds will appear in your wallet (this may take some time). You may need to add the AVAX token address to your wallet before your balance is visible in your wallet.  Follow the add token section in our Add Avalanche to Metamask article

2. Avalanche Bridge – Transfer to Avalanche

   If you already own crypto and want to transfer it to Avalanche you can bridge the assets over.  Your tokens will be wrapped into the Avalanche chain equivalent at the same value.  There are several options available to move your funds from one chain to another. You will require AVAX in your wallet before you can perform transactions on Avalanche. You can either purchase it from an exchange, or swap your tokens on another chain for wrapped AVAX and bridge the wrapped AVAX to Avalanche.  The AVAX will be unwrapped once the transfer is complete and can then be used for gas fees.

   • • Avalanche Bridge (From EthereumMainnet)

       The Avalanche Bridge can transfer ERC20 tokens from Etherum Mainnet.  The other benefit of using the bridge is that if you move 75USD or more to Avalanche you will receive an AVAX airdrop that will cover the cost of your first couple of transactions.  This means you can transfer any asset and then swap it for enough AVAX once you are on C-Chain. If you are transferring from a chain other than mainnet (Polygon, Fantom, Arbitrum, Harmony etc) use one of the other options below to avoid the high cost fees on Ethereum.

     • Synapse (Multi-Chain)

       Synapse is a cross chain swap protocol that allows you to transfer directly from one chain to another. Synapse also has cross chain pools as well as their own nUSD & nEth wrapped tokens.  Use synapse if you have cryptocurrency sitting on another chain and you want to transfer it directly to Avalanche.

     • Anyswap (Multi-Chain)

       Like synapse, Anyswap is a cross chain bridge that allows you to swap directly from one chain to another.

Avalanche DEX’s  – Swap for AVAX Tokens

Once you have funds on Avalanche C-Chain, you will need AVAX tokens in your wallet in order to pay gas fees.  You will need to use a swap protocol to trade your bridged tokens for AVAX.  The following are some major swap protocols on Avalanche.  All three platforms offer liquidity pools, farming and staking opportunities as well.  Be sure to check out some of the great yield farming opportunities.

• • Pangolin
    
  • TraderJoe
    
  • Curve Finance

Welcome to Avalance

What do you think of Avalanche? Whats your favorite protocol? Let us know in the comments below!

May 9th 2022| Mike Humphrey

What is Metamask

Metamask is a web3 cryptocurrency wallet that allows users to store ERC-20 (Ethereum based) tokens and interact with decentralized applications.  Metamask interacts with EVM blockchains, including Ethereum Mainnet, Binance Smart Chain, Polygon, Avalanche, Harmony and Fantom.  With a web3 enabled wallet users can engage with DeFi Apps and crypto games.  Link your wallet to protocols through their websites, and communicate directly with the blockchain.  Find out more about cryptocurrency wallets and Metamask.

What is Avalanche

Avalanche is a layer 2 solution blockchain and an open, programmable smart contracts platform for decentralized applications.  Launched in September of 2020, it is currently the third largest blockchain by TVL with over 200+ DApps, including Trader Joe, Pangolin, Aave and Defi Kingdoms Crystalvale.

Avalanche has 3 main chains that each perform different functions. They are X-Chain, P-Chain and C-Chain.  X-Chain is used to create and exchange tokens.  P-Chain coordinates Avalanche validators and creates subnets.  C-Chain executes and allows interaction with smart contracts.  In order to use DApps on the Avalanche network we must add Avalanche C-Chain to Metamask.

Add Avalanche to Metamask

In order for Metamask to interact with contracts on Avalanche, we will need to add the C-Chain network RPC.  This will allow Metamask to interact with the blockchain and gives it the ability to send and receive transactions, and sign contracts. Follow the steps below to add Avlanche to Metamask

1. 1. Open Metamask

      Open Metamask and click the drop-down menu in the very center of the top of the window.  This is the network selection menu.  At the bottom of the menu click the Add Network button.
      

   2. Avalanche to Metamask C-Chain RPC details

      A new window will pop up where you will be able to enter the network settings.  This is where we will input the Network name, RPC, Chain ID, Currency Symbol and Block Explorer URL. Not all of the details are mandatory, but filling them all in will make Metamask easier to use later.

      

      The Avalanche c-chain network details can be found in the following table. You can copy them into the corresponding fields in Metamask.

      Network Name	Avalanche Network
      New RPC URL	https://api.avax.network/ext/bc/C/rpc
      Chain ID	43114
      Currency Symbol (Optional)	AVAX
      Block Explorere URL (Optional)	https://snowtrace.io/

      The currency symbol AVAX, is the gas fee token for the Avalanche network.  The explorer URL will allow you to check the status of transactions directly from Metamask.  We recommend adding both.

Add Missing Coins

Once the Avalanche network has been added it should auto-detect your coins.  If this does not happen, you can manually add coins to Metamask. In the Assets tab, scroll down to the bottom of the list and click on import tokens.

A new window will open asking for the token contract address, token symbol, and the number of decimal places.  Token addresses can be found using the Avalanche C-Chain block explorer snowtrace.io.

You can search for any token by its symbol, name, or address.  Simply type it into the search bar.  Once found, copy the address of the token and paste it into Metamask.  Enter the symbol, choose the number of decimal places and click add token.

Conclusion

Now that you have successfully been able to add Avalanche to Metamask you are ready to buy some cryptocurrency and take advantage of the amazing low fees, speeds and the over 200+ apps available on the Avalanche eco system.

What protocols most interest you on Avalanche? Let us know in the comments.

May 11th 2022| Mike Humphrey

What is Crystalvale

If you haven’t heard, the Defi Kingdoms dev team announced in early December 2021, that they would be creating a new realm called Crystalvale on the Avalanche block chain.  The highly anticipated cross-chain expansion of the ever popular Defi Kingdoms franchise promised the development of a new game token $CRYSTAL, new heroes and a plethora of new quests.  For those DFK veterans it was a welcome surprise and an opportunity to get in on the game again at the ground floor.

Crystalvale is designed off of the original Serendale kingdom and has many of the same features and areas, but with a new feel.  Once in the game you will recognize the standard Serendale areas including the Marketplace, Docks, Gardens and Jeweler.  Instead of the castle however, you will notice the cradle at the center of the map.  Along with a different look and feel the game also introduces a number of new NPC’s and what looks like a much richer back story.  There are quite a few little Easter eggs hidden throughout the realm and it’s worth taking a bit of time to explore.

Another big difference between Serendale and Crystalvale is the chain it operates on.  Serendale uses the Harmony block chain and transactions require the $ONE token to pay the gas fees.  Crystalvale however operates on a proprietary subnet on the Avalanche eco system.  The new DFK chain uses the in game $JEWEL token to pay gas fees.  This is a big bonus for those long time $JEWEL farmers as it increases the long term utility of the token

Avalanche and DFK Chain

In order to bring the world of Defi Kingdoms to Avalanche, the DFK dev team partnered with AVA Labs to create and pioneer the first GameFi Avalanche subnet.  Avalanche subnet technology allows projects to section off a group of Avalanche validators and commission them to validate transactions outside of the primary chain.  By commissioning the DFK Subnet Defi Kingdoms is now able to run and manage it’s own proprietary EVM blockchain for Crystalvale.  A huge step forward for the franchise.

Why Create the DFK Subnet?

JEWEL as Gas Token

By creating a proprietary Defi Kingdoms subnet the $JEWEL token can evolve from just being the Serendale governance token to the Network Gas Token of the new chain.  Players will use $JEWEL to pay for transaction on the DFK chain, increasing it’s utility and burn rate.

What Happens to the Gas Fees?

• A portion is used to pay commissions to the chain validators
• A portion is burnt (deflates the $JEWEL supply and increases the token value)
• A portion is sent to the Quest Fund which will be used to reward the community and players

Bridging from Harmony to DFK Chain

The DFK dev team has made bridging from Harmony to Avalanche a relatively simple process.  The Dockmaster has an inter-chain bridge built in, that will allow you to transfer directly from Serendale to Crystalvale with minimal hassle.  Follow the steps below to bridge your $JEWEL tokens to the new DFK chain and begin farming $CRYSTAL.

1. 1. 1. $JEWEL

         As mentioned above, the DFK chain uses $JEWEL as the gas token. You will need bridge $JEWEL to the new network in order to be able to perform transactions on the new chain. You will need to have $JEWEL in your wallet in order to bridge to the new chain. You can add $JEWEL to your wallet from

         • The Jeweler

           xJEWEL can be withdrawn as $JEWEL from the Jeweler and then be transferred to Crystalvale.
           

         • The Gardens

           Garden $JEWEL rewards can be harvested and then transferred to Crystalvale.
           

         • The Trader

           You can use the Trader in the Marketplace to exchange tokens or questing rewards for $JEWEL which you can then transfer to Crystalvale.
           

         • Purchased with FIAT on Ramp

           You can also use the following guide to transfer FIAT to Harmony and then bridge your assets Crystalvale.

   

   1. Dockmaster -Bridge from Serendale to Crystalvale

      With $JEWEL in your wallet you can now bridge assets from Harmony blockchain to the DFK Chain on Avalanche. Bridging simply moves your assets from one blockchain to another. To do this visit the Dockmaster and choose bridge tokens.
      
      Enter the number of tokens you want to move to Crystalvale and click Approve Bridge. Then approve the transaction in your crypto wallet.
      

   2. Dockmaster – Travel to Crystalvale

      Now that your $JEWEL tokens have been successfully bridged, use the Dockmaster to travel to Crystalvale. The new realm does not use a different web interface (the web address is the same).  To move from one realm to another you simply need to access it via the different chain in your wallet. When you click Travel to Crystal Vale, your wallet will pop up asking if you would like to add the DFK Chain to your wallet. This is much easier than manually inputting the DFK Chain RPC details. Once the added, the site will reload and take you to Crystalvale.
      
      

   3. Trade Your Tokens

      Once you have arrived you can exchange your $JEWEL tokens for one of the other tokens currently available on the DFK Chain (xJEWEL, AVAX, USDC etc.). You will need to swap 50% of your $JEWEL for one of these other tokens in order to purchase seeds which can then be planted in the Garden.

      **Note if you use all of your JEWEL to purchase seeds, you will no longer have tokens to pay the gas fees. Plan to leave a small portion of JEWEL in your wallet for transactions.**
      

   4. Buy Seeds

      Just like Serendale, Crystalvale also has Druid in the Marketplace where you purchase seeds. Using the newly traded tokens and your $JEWEL you can now purchase liquidity pool seeds.
      

   5. Plant Your Seeds

      With your new seeds in your pocket, head to the Gardens where you can deposit the seeds in the seed box to be planted.Once planted your new gardens will be generating $CRYSTAL
      

   6. Jeweler

      As you harvest your $CRYSTAL you can deposit it at the Jeweler for xCrystal, or you can use it to compound your returns by purchasing more seeds and depositing them into the Gardens.
      

Conclusion

Crystalvale and the DFK chain promises to be a great new addition to the DFKverse and we are super excited at the opportunity to get involved at the beginning of a new project.  We are looking forward to new heroes and quests as they become available.

What are your thoughts on the DFK Chain and Crystalvale? Let us know in the comments!

February 3rd 2022| Mike Humphrey

What is Auto Compounding

Auto compound crypto protocols are DApps that automatically collect and re-invest rewards you receive when you deposit your funds into a liquidity pool.  As you accumulate liquidity pool profits (usually as liquidity provider rewards tokens) the protocol claims the rewards,  exchanges them for pool tokens and reinvest them on your behalf.  The beauty of an auto compounder is that the whole process is automated.

Benefits

Auto compound protocols offer several benefits to investors.

1. Reduced Transaction Costs

   The biggest benefit of auto compounding is the reduced transaction costs.  When you deposit your funds into the protocol they are pooled together with funds from other investors.  When rewards are compounded the pool pays for the transaction costs as a whole, socializing the gas fees across all investors.  This is similar to taking a car trip with 7 people and splitting the gas costs between all 7 passengers.  The reduced transaction costs means you pay less individually and you can compound more often without impacting your returns.  With 100 investors in one pool, you can autocompound 100 times faster than you can as an individual and still pay the same transaction costs.

2. Fast Compounding Rates

   Auto compounders allow you to compound significantly faster than if you were to do it on your own.  Polycat Finance on polygon compounds their vaults every 5 minutes.  If you were to do this manually the transaction fees would be quite large and you would have to sit in front of your computer all day long.  Because the transaction costs are shared over a large number of investors compound this often becomes possible.

3. Tax Benefits

   For most tax jurisdictions, any transaction in DeFi is considered to be a taxable event.  This means that every time you claim your rewards, and re-invest them, 2 taxable events are occurring.  If you are looking to reduce the number of taxable events while still compounding your returns, an autocompounder will allow you to do this.  With an autocompounder, only your deposit and withdrawal would be considered as taxable events.

4. Automation

   The benefit is in the name.  Automation means you don’t have to sit in front of the computer and manually compound returns every 5 minutes.  An auto compounder takes the thinking out of it and allows you to set it and forget it.

Risks

There are risks involved with DeFi and any smart contract.  When using an auto compound protocol you must sign an additional contract and allocate your funds to the protocol.  This introduces contract risk that does not exist if you were to compound your returns on your own.  Prior to investing in any DeFi protocol we recommend you review the project’s white paper, audits, user reviews and check the project on RugDoc.io.

Auto Compounding Calculator

To help you decide if auto compounding is for you we have created a calculator that will compare your returns with and without an auto compounder.  Be aware that the main benefit between automating the compound process and doing it manually is the reduced transaction costs and increased frequency.  If you are on a low cost chain like Harmony or Polygon the benefits will be minimal.  Play around with the calculator to see what the benefit of auto compounding could be on different chains with different transaction costs and for different investment sizes.

Auto Compounding Protocols

The following is a limited list of auto compounding protocols that can be found on several chains.  Please be aware there is inherent risk in any DeFi investment and we recommend doing your own research prior to investing in any of these protocols.  Auto compounding protocols carry additional smart contract risk versus simply investing in a liquidity pool directly.  Never invest more than you are willing to lose.

Beefy Finance (Multi-Chain)

Beefy Finance is a multi-chain, decentralized yield optimizer.  Using smart contracts Beefy finance earns compound interest on crypto invested in liquidity pools (LPs) by automatically reinvesting yield farming rewards tokens back into the LP pool.  Vaults, their main product automatically reinvests arbitrary farm reward tokens back into the initially deposited asset.  Funds are never locked and can be withdrawn at any time.

YieldYak (Avalanche)

Yield Yak helps farmers on the Avalanche ecosystem earn more yield by pooling assets and socializing the costs of compounding.   Yield Yak uses a system that allows investors to compound the rewards for a given pool in exchange for a percentage of the rewards claimed.  This results in optimized compounding by socializing the compounding of returns and allowing investors to actively control the process.

Yearn Finance (Ethereum & Fantom)

Yearn Finance has a suite of products available on Fantom and the Ethereum network.  They provide yield generation, lending aggregation, and more. The protocol is maintained by independent developers and is governed by YFI token holders.

Polycat (Polygon)

Polycat is a DEX and Yield aggregator combined on the Polygon Block Chain.   Started in May have 2021 Polycat Finance was one of the first yield farms on Polygon offering auto compounding vaults for many assets.

Do you auto compound your yield farming rewards? Let us know in the comments and tell us which protocol you use.

January 17th 2022| Mike Humphrey

Level Up Requirements

In order to level up, your hero needs to have gained enough experience, collected enough Runes, and have enough JEWEL.

Items Requirements

• Shvās Rune: Can be found questing with your hero or you can purchase them from the trader in the market place
• Moshka Rune: Moshka Runes are required to level up past level 10
• Jewel: You will need 0.1*(hero’s current level) in order to level up

See the diagram below for details on how many Runes are required for levels 1 – 20.

Experience Requirements

To level up your hero must have gained enough accumulated XP to fill their experience bar.  For a level 1 hero 2000XP is required in order to become a level 2 hero.  The experience required per level increases as your hero levels up.

How Leveling Up Works

When you level up, your hero has a chance to increase it’s base stats.  Whether a given stat increases, depends on probability and your hero’s primary and secondary classes.  You also have the opportunity to select one stat that is guaranteed to increase by +1 and 2 other stats that each have a 50/50 chance of increasing.  When you level up the algorithm “rolls a die” four times to generating random numbers, which are then used to determine whether a given stat will increase.  The probability for a stat to increase can be can be found in the Hero Base Stats – DeFi Kingdoms Google sheet.

Step 1 – Stat Bonus Selection

The first step in leveling up is choosing the stat bonus.  This is a guaranteed +1 increase for any stat that you select.

Step 2 – Primary Stat Growth (Roll 1)

Step 2 is probability based.  A randomly generated number between 1 – 100 is compared to the primary stat values for your character.  If the number generated is less than or equal to the primary stat value then that stat will increase by +1.  Below is a table showing the Primary Stat Values for a Knight.

For example, if a 50 was rolled for the knight above, Strength (70), Vitality (75), Endurance (75) and Dexterity (55) stats would increase because their stat values are greater than 50.  Intelligence (20), Wisdom (25), Luck (35) and Agility (45) would not increase because their values are less than 50.  The number that is compared to the Primary Stat Value is randomly generated and will be different each time you upgrade.

Step 3 – Secondary Stat Growth (Roll 2)

The secondary stat growth depends on the secondary class of your hero.  A second number between 1 – 100 is randomly generated and is compared to the Secondary Stat Values.  If the number generated during the second roll is less than or equal to the secondary stat values, then that stat will increase by +1.  Below is the Secondary Stat Values for an Archer.

For example, if the second roll gave us a 19, then Dexterity (20) would increase.  Strength (13.75), Agility (12.5), Vitality (12.5), Endurance (15), Intelligence (10), Wisdom (6.25) and Luck (10) would not increase.

Step 4 – Gaia’s Blessings (Roll 3 & Roll 4)

Finally the two selected stats for Gaia’s Blessing are considered.  Each has a 50/50 chance of a+1 increase.

Choosing Which Stats to Upgrade

Below is a guide on how to optimize the stats you choose for your your hero’s Stat Bonus and Gaia’s Blessing.

1. Hero Profession & Critical Stats

   Your hero’s profession determines which stats are the most important to focus on.  The following is a list of each profession and the stats that have the greatest impact on successfully performing quests.   The higher these critical stats increase, the greater the rewards your hero will receive when performing quests.

   Mining (Strength & Endurance)
   Gardening (Wisdom & Vitality)
   Foraging (Dexterity & Intelligence)
   Fishing (Agility & Luck)

2. Compare Profession Stats to Primary Stat Growth Chart

   Once you have determined the profession you want your hero to focus on, compare this to the Hero Base Stats – DeFi Kingdoms Google sheet.  Using the Google sheet identify your hero’s strengths and weaknesses.  The stats that have a high chance of increasing will increase naturally over time as you level up your hero.  If your hero’s base and secondary stat growth do not match your hero’s profession, you can use the stat boosts to increase the chances of these stats increasing when you level up.

   
   For example a Knight Forager, needs to increase Dexterity & Intelligence.  However, the chance of increasing intelligence is only 20% and Dexterity is 55%.  For a knight forager choose Intelligence as the guaranteed stat increase and choose Dexterity for the Gaia’s Blessing and Wisdom as the second Gaia’s Blessing. This means that your heroes foraging stats have a greater chance of increasing, but you may also increase your hero’s strength as as Gardener (because high Wisdom and Vitality (75) could allow the hero to be used for gardening).

3. Choose Stats to Boost

   Once you have identified your hero’s strengths and weaknesses, you can select the stats you want to focus on to when leveling up.  Identify the most critical stats you want to increase and choose these for the guaranteed increases. The next two most important stats and can then be chosen as the Gaia’s Blessing.  Using this strategy you have the highest chance of successfully increasing the most important stats for your hero when leveling up.

Step By Step Guide

1. Meditation Circle

   To upgrade your hero you must speak with the Esoteric Wanderer in the Meditation Circle.  Be sure you have the required Rune Stones, JEWEL and XP or you will not be able to level up.
   
   

2. Select Hero

   Choose the hero you would like to level up by clicking on the plus symbol. This will pull up your inventory of hero NFT’s.

   

3. Choose Stat Bonuses

   Once you have selected your Hero you can select 3 different stats for the bonus & Gaia’s Blessing. The stat bonus guarantees a +1 increase to that given stat and the Gaia’s Blessing is a 50/50 chance for each stat selected. All three stats must be different.

   

   Once you have selected your preferred stats, click begin and approve the transaction in your web wallet.

4. Results

   Once the transaction is successful, a chart showing the stat HP and MP increases will pop-up. You have now successfully upgraded your hero.
   
   Gget out there and start questing so you can level up again!

Have you leveled up your DeFi Kingdoms hero yet? Let us know in the comments.

December 27th 2021| Mike Humphrey

Mining Profits

No matter the size of your mining farm, you should be thinking of it as a business.  Whether you are running a single GPU, or 1,000 ASICs, you need to track your profit.  Thinking about your revenue and expenses will help you to maximize your returns.  Businesses also have the added benefit of writing off some of their expenses come tax season (this means subtracting expenses from your income before the tax man takes a percentage).  Think like a business, pay taxes on profits not revenue.  Employees pay taxes and then cover expenses, businesses do the opposite.

Profit = Revenue – Expenses

Mining Revenue

Revenue is the cryptocurrency deposited in your wallet from mining.  This is relatively straightforward, and can often be tracked manually, or exported directly from the mining pool(s) you have used.  If however, you switch pools or coins often, this can become much more complex.

Mine Pool Deposits

For tax purposes, cryptocurrency is considered and asset and a taxable transaction occurs any time an asset is bought or sold.  This includes when a deposit is made to your wallet.  This means for you must record the value of the asset at the time of the transaction (you will need to use the coin price at the time of the deposit).  Even for small scale crypto miners this can become a challenge to track.

Trades and Withdrawals

Any time you sell or trade your cryptocurrency, you are selling an asset.  This is a capital gain or a capital loss that must be recorded.  The price difference between when you mined the cryptocurrency, and when it was sold is considered revenue.  You must keep a record of all transaction, and the gains or losses that resulted.

Mining Expenses

For a business, an expense is any cost that was required to run the business.  This means any cost paid to run your farm could be an expense, and could be subtracted from your revenue prior to paying taxes.  This is the beauty of thinking of your farm as a business.  Expenses can be split into 2 general categories operating expenses, and capital expenses. Operating expenses are ongoing costs required to run your farm, for example electricity.  Capital expenses on the other hand are expenses that are paid upfront, but will generate revenue in the future.  An example of this is a video card that has a large upfront cost, but will make you money for several years.  The goal with accounting and taxes is to match the time of your expenses with the time it made you money.  Capital expenses allow you to store costs for future write-offs.

Operating Expenses

For a mine your primary operating expense is electricity.  You may also be able to claim smaller purchases as expenses as well.  This depends on the tax laws in your jurisdiction.  Be sure to speak with an account about what expenses can be claimed as capital vs. operating.

Example Operating Expenses

• Electricity
• Rent/Mortgage – If you rent space for your farm this may be considered an operating expense.  You may also be able to write off a portion of your mortgage payment, based on the space that your farm takes up in your home.
• Miscellaneous one-off expenses

How to Track Your Electricity

1. Measure at the wall – Use a smart plug or meter to track and record your power usage
2. Estimate using whattomine and your power costs

Capital Expense

Capital expenses are usually larger expenses, that will generate revenue across multiple tax time windows.  Video cards are a good example, but check with your accountant.

Examples

• Video Cards
• Cases
• Fans
• Power Supplies

You may not be able to claim all of the above as capital expenses depending on the laws that regulate your jurisdiction.

How to Track You Mining Profits

1. Manually

   Manual tracking of your revenue and expenses is very possible.  Many small businesses use Excel or Google sheets to manage their books.  If you are manually tracking your profits, it is recommend that you update your mining revenue on a monthly basis.  Take one day a month to record (or download) all of your mining payouts.  Record them in an Excel sheet, with the daily price in your currency of the mining payout.  On a second sheet, record all of your expenses; the date the expense was incurred, what the expense was, the vendor it was purchased from and how the expense was paid (credit card, cash etc).  Make sure to keep your receipts as you may need them later for your accountant, or if you get audited.  If you take the time once a month to record your revenue and your expenses you can track how well your farm is performing.  When tax season arrives, you will have the whole year recorded and save yourself the headache.

   We have created a simple spreadsheet to help you track your income and expenses.  Your accountant may also have a better template that they prefer you use.  The key is to make sure you are recording as much information as possible.  It’s very easy to loose track of a receipt, or to forget why you made a purchase.  If you record everything as it happens, you have the option of removing something if it cannot be claimed, it is much harder to get something back if it hasn’t been recorded.

   Mining revenue and expense tracking sheet

2. Software

   One of the great things about the blockchain is the ability to track transactions.  Doing this manually is possible, but it requires you to use API’s to import information, and it can be quite daunting.  Luckily however, this is a recognized issues and several software solutions have been developed to make this easier.  Note, even when using software to track your revenue, it will not track your expenses.  Expense tracking will need to be done manually through Excel or through tracking software like Quickbooks. Set up a business account and business credit card, and you will be able to differentiate personal and business purchases.  You will still need to keep all of your receipts in order to justify the expenses in the case of an audit.  Below is a list of several online tools that can be used to both track your profits and taxable income from your mining operation.

   • • Cointracking.info

       CoinTracking.info is an online software tool that will analyze your portfolio, and generate real-time reports on profits, loss and total value.  It supports over 14,600 coins and has more than 12 years of historical data.

       Benefits

       • 25 customizable reports
       • Easily import from 110+ exchanges or directly from the blockchain
       • Export data to Excel
       • Tax reports & laws for 100+ countries
       • Track capital gains, income, mining returns and more

     • Koinly.io

       

       Koinly is cryptocurrency tracking software for taxes.  It will import your transaction history from over 300+ exchanges and wallets, and will create tax documents for reporting.  It supports tax reporting for over 20+ countries.

       Benefits

       • Easy import from 300+ exchanges and wallets
       • Track your portfolio and ROI
       • Create and download tax documents directly to your accounting software
       • Supports 20+ Tax jurisdictions

   • • Coinledger.io

       

       Coinledger.io is tracking software developed to save you time and headache when doing your taxes.  It is a trusted TurboTax partner and can easily import all of your historical data.

       Benefits

     • Easily import from a wallet, a DeFi protocol, or an exchanges
     • International tax reporting
     • Export to Turbo Tax
     • Cryptocurrency tax guides

FAQ

Do I have to pay taxes on cryptocurrency?

Yes, cryptocurrency profits are considered income, and you will be required to pay taxes on them.

Can I track my profits manually?

Yes, manual tracking is possible.  If however, you are running a larger operation and/or take part in trading/DeFi, it is probably worth your time to consider using software.

Do I need an accountant?

For a small mining operation you may be able to manage your taxes without an accountant.  However, a good accountant who is familiar with the tax laws governing cryptocurrency can be well worth the cost.  The complexity of filing taxes for a business, versus an individual make an accountant a good investment.  FYI, you may be able to write-off the cost of the accountant against your revenue.

Do you use tracking software to manage your crypto farm?  Let us know in the comments.

January 3rd 2022| Mike Humphrey

Proof of Work Vs Proof of Stake

To secure the Ethereum blockchain, a network of decentralized validators is required.  Validators review and approve all transaction that happen on the blockchain, and ensure its security.  Currently the majority of Ethereum transactions are validated by crypto miners.  By solving cryptographic equations, the miners review and accept transactions and add them to the block chain.  This is called proof of work.  Since inception, Ethereum has been trying to move away from proof of work to proof of stake.  In a proof of stake validation system, investors stake their existing Etheruem which is then used to review and validate transactions.  Proof of stake is much less energy intensive and is therefore more environmentally friendly.

Ethereum 2.0

Ethereum 2.0 will happen when the blockchain fully transitions from proof of work to proof of stake.  The Beacon Chain which went live December 1st of 2020 was the first step in moving to poof of stake.  It currently operates in parallel to the Ethereum Mainnet.  When ETH 2.0 goes live, the two chains (Mainnet and Beacon), will merge and validation will be by proof of stake rather than crypto mining.

Ethereum 2.0 Execution Plan

1. Beacon Chain

   Introduction of the Beacon Chain and Proof of Stake to Ethereum.

2. The Merge

   The two blockchains (Mainnet and Beacon) will “dock” and the Beacon Chain will become the settlement layer for Ethereum.

3. Shards

   Creation of multiple blockchains that run concurrently. The goal is to increase the transaction throughput of the Ethereum network by adding 64 shards.  Each shard will function as its own blockchain that can concurrently settle transactions.

What is Ethereum Staking

Staking is the act of depositing Ethereum in order to validate the blockchain.  In order to set up a validation node, a deposit of 32 Eth is required to activate the validator software.  Validators are responsible for storing data, processing transactions, and adding new blocks to the blockchain.  In return validators earn ETH rewards.  Staking is easier than mining, and the more people who stake, the more decentralized and secure the network becomes.  When staking your ETH, it is locked in until after the merge.  However, there are several DeFi staking applications that require less than 32 ETH, and give you access to your capital.  Read on to find out more.

FAQ

Can anyone run a node?

Yes, anyone can host a validation node as long as they have the minimum 32 Eth.  A node operator is required to be online 24/7 and there are penalties incurred if there are operating issues.

Do I need to have 32 ETH to stake?

No, you do not need to have 32 ETH to stake.  A node requires a full 32 ETH, but there are pools available that allow you to combine your capital with other investors.  The pool then runs the node on your behalf.

When does ETH staking start?

ETH staking started in December 2020 when the Beacon Chain went live.

When does ETH 2.0 go live?

The transition to proof of work has been a long process with significant technical challenges.  The current estimated  date of launch is Q1 of 2022.  You can read our news article about Eth 2.0 to find out more details.

How to Stake Ethereum

There are three main methods for staking your Ethereum; through an exchange, through a DeFi protocol, or running your own node. Each method has different benefits and drawbacks.

Exchanges

A quick and easy way to stake Ethereum is through a centralized exchange.  Kraken, Binance and Coinbase all have options to stake.  Exchanges pool your ETH with that of other users to create nodes.  You do not require a full 32 ETH in order to stake on an exchange.

• Kraken
• Binance
• Coinbase

ETH 2.0 Staking Pools

An Ethereum 2.0 staking pool lets you combine your capital with other stakers.  It significantly lowers the barrier to entry and you are not required to run a node.  For smaller investors who don’t want to deal with the hardware requirements or don’t have the minimum 32 ETH, it is a good option.  Some pools have also found workarounds to give investors access to their staked ETH before the lock-in period is finished.  When you deposit your ETH into one of these pools, the pool owners issues a token worth the same amount as the deposited ETH.  This gives stakers access to their capital, while still allowing them to reap the rewards.

• Lido.fi

  Lido is a DeFi staking platform for ETH 2.0. Lido allows users to stake their ETH without locking in their assets or maintaining hardware. Users can stake with any amount of ETH and help to secure the platform.

  How it Works

  For each ETH staked on Lido the investor receives an stETH token on a 1:1 basis.  The stETH represents the staked ETH.  It can be used like regular ETH to earn yield in other protocols.  An investors stETH balance is updated on a daily basis to reflect staking rewards and/or penalties. Through stETH stakers receive their rewards in real-time.

  Lido is a DeFi application, it has been audited by Quantstamp and Sigma Prime. However, audits do not guarantee that protocols are safe. Please be sure to read the white paper and do your own research before investing.

  Find Out More

• Rocket Pool

  Rocket Pool is a decentralized staking platform for ETH 2.0.  Rocketpool offers two ways to become a staker.  The first is to stake and run a node, the second is to provide capital only.

  How it Works

  Become a Validator
  In order to become a validator on rocket pool, you must invest 16 ETH.  Rocket Pool will start a node on your behalf by matching your 16 ETH with 16 ETH from the pool.

  Become an Investor
  As an investor in the pool you can deposit as little as 0.01 ETH.  Your funds will be combined funds from a validator to create and to run a node.

  Access to Your Capital
  When an investor deposit ETH into Rocket Pool they receive rETH tokens in exchange.  The value of rETH increases over time.  It increases in value based on the rewards the pool receives.  At the start of the pool, 1 rETH was equal to 1ETH, but over time, the rETH increases in value and because the pool has increased in size due to rewards.  This method of capturing rewards may have certain tax advantages versus the re-base method used by Lido. This depends on you tax jurisdiction and how a taxable event is defined in terms of cryptocurrency.

  As with Lido Rocket Pool is a DeFi protocol. Before investing be sure to read the white paper and do your own research.

  More Info on Rocket Pool

• Other Pools

  Etherum.org has a full List of Eth 2.0 Pools be sure to check it out for more options.

Run an ETH 2.0 Node

For investors looking to stake on their own without the support of a pool you can set up and run your own node.  You will require 32 ETH, and will need to run an Eth 1.0 and Eth 2.0 client in order to verify transactions.  The benefit of running your own node, is full control, and there are no pool fees.  Below are the minimum requirements to run a node.

System Requirements

• Hard Drive
  • SSD – In order to manage read/write speeds
  • 1TB+ – Must run both Eth 1.o & Eth 2.0 Clients
    • As of Feb 2021, Eth 1.0 Mainnet was ~400GB and growing at ~1GB/day
    • Sharding will increase the required storage capacity when it comes online
• CPU/RAM – Dependent on your client
• Internet – 24/7 availability
  • Bandwidth should not be throttled or capped
  • Bandwidth – 700-800 MB/hr (this is likely to increase)

To become a validator, head to Eth2 Launchpad and follow the required steps.  Below is a list of several Eth 1.0 and Eth 2.0 clients with links to their github pages.  You can also take a look at the Eth 2.0 checklist for more details on requirements.

Eth 1.0 Clients

• Geth
• OpenEthereum

Eth 2.0 Clients

• Teku
• Lighthouse
• Lodestart
• Nimbus
• Prysm
• Shasper
• Yeeth

Conclusion

Whether your are looking to run your own node, or to pool your ETH with other investors, staking is a great way to earn a return.  Running your own node requires some technical know how and the willingness to take on the risk of operating your own hardware.  However, exchanges and DeFi platforms offer an alternative without the headache.  Many of the DeFi protocols have found workarounds to allow you to use your locked in ETH and avoid the illiquidity issues.

Have You staked any ETH or do you run a node.  Let us know in the comments.

December 27th 2021| Mike Humphrey

Hero Characteristics

Gender, Type & Location

Gender type and location can be found at the very top center of the hero card.  As the Defi Kingdoms game grows these characteristics are expected to become more important.  Location, is likely to integrate with the land NFT’s and hero type may be involved with competitive PvP play.  Scroll over the icons to find details out about each.

Type

• Dark
• Water
• Wind
• Fire
• Earth
• Air

Location

• Desert
• Swamp
• City
• Plains

Class

Class is one of the most important characteristics of a Defi Kingdom Hero.  Each Hero has a class and a sub class, which determine:

• Base stats and stat increases when leveling up: Class determines what the base stats will be and how likely a given stat will increase when a hero goes up a level.
• Summoning:  Classes are inherited (thought not directly) from the parent heroes.  Class of the parent heroes is a major factor in determining what the class of a summoned hero will be.
• Health/Mana distribution:  Health and Mana is determined based on class.

There are 8 basic classes, 4 advanced classes, 2 elite classes and 1 exalted class.  All Generation 0 heroes are one of the 8 basic classes.  Advanced, elite and exalted classes are created through summoning.  Summoning a higher class hero is based on probability.  Each increase in class level requires two parent heroes of the level below it.  In general, 2 basic class parents might create an advanced class, 2 advanced parents might create and elite class, and 2 elite parents might create an exalted class.

Basic Classes

Advanced Classes (Base Stats +5)

Elite Classes (Base Stats +10)

Exalted Class (Base Stats +15)

Your class and subclass determine how your hero will grow over time.  A hero’s stats impact how well they perform quests.

Level, Experience and Generation

As your hero gains experience (shown in the experience bar) it will be able to level up and increase its stats.  See Hero Stats for more details on how leveling up works.

A hero’s generation is determined when it is summoned. A new hero will be 1 generation greater than the highest generation of the two parent hero’s that summoned it. For example a Hero summoned by Gen 1 and Gen 2 parents will be a Gen 3 hero.  The higher the generation, the more expensive it is to use that hero to summon new heroes.  Lower generation heroes are more desirable.

Summons

The summons bar, tells you how many times that hero can be used to create a new hero.  Gen 0 heroes have an unlimited number of summons (making them very desirable).  Every other generation is limited.  The number of summons is determined by a heroes parents.  A new hero will have 1 summon less than it’s parents (one less than the parent with the lowest summons remaining).  Summons are not regenerated.  Once the summons run out, there are no more available.

Health/Mana

The Health and Mana of a basic hero will sum up to a total of 175.  HP & Mana are split between the two based on class and sub class.  Advanced, elite and exalted heroes have more Health/Mana.

Hero Stats

There are 8 basic hero stats that are determined when the hero is first summoned:

• Strength
• Agility
• Endurance
• Wisdom
• Dexterity
• Vitality
• Intelligence
• Luck

These base stats increase when a hero levels up.  The primary and secondary classes determine the probability of a given stat of increasing.  Below is a table showing the probability that Strength will increase during a level up for each of the different hero classes.  Leveling up a stat is similar to rolling a die and tying to get a number less than the probability listed in the table.  If successful the stat will increase.

The DeFi Kingdoms development team has created a google sheet of all the Hero stats and probabilities.  Advanced, elite and exalted heroes have greater base stats than the basic hero classes (See the Hero Classes)

Boosted stats:

A hero’s base stats and the chance of increases during leveling up can be boosted.  A boosted stat will be green, purple or blue.

• Green: One time +2 to base stat.
• Blue: Added % chance of stat increasing when leveling up
• Purple: One time +2 to base state & increased chance stat growth when leveling up.

Professions

There are 4 different professions – mining, fishing, gardening, and foraging.  A heroes profession is shown on the back of the card in green.  When completing a profession quest, a hero that has the same profession as the quest will have a reduced stamina cost for the quest.  Each profession is associated with specific character attributes as follows:

• Mining

  • Strength & Endurance

  Heroes can be sent to the Jewel mine to unlock $Jewel or they can be sent to the gold mines.  Only one hero can be sent at a time to the Jewel mine, but several heroes can be sent to mine $Gold.  Heroes will burn stamina at a set rate per 10 minutes of mining.  Heroes with Mining as their main skill will burn stamina at a lower rate.  The list below shows the preferred hero classes based on their stat increases while leveling up (Strength/Endurance).

  • Dark Knight (85/60)
  • Paladin (80/80)
  • Dragoon (80/70)
  • Warrior (75/65)
  • Knight (70/75)
  • Pirate (70/55)

• Fishing

  • Agility & Luck

  Fishing quests require a fixed amount of stamina per attempt.  Heroes with Fishing as their main skill will require less stamina per attempt.  Questing heroes may be rewarded with different fish that can be sold for $Gold or later used to create potions.  The list below shows the preferred hero classes based on their stat increases while leveling up (Agility/Luck).

  • Ninja (85/60)
  • Thief (70/65)
  • Sage (75/55)
  • Dread Knight (60/60)
  • Dragoon (65/50)

• Gardening

  • Wisdom & Vitality

  Gardening quests are done within one’s own Garden and help speed up the growth of $Jewel producing plants.  Increasing a Hero’s gardening skill can lead to more $Jewel rewards and greater chances of finding other resources.  Only one hero can visit a garden at a time.  Heroes will burn stamina at a set rate for every 10 minutes of Gardening.  Heroes with Gardening as their main skill will burn less stamina.  The list below shows the preferred hero classes based on their stat increases while leveling up (Wisdom/Vitality).

  • Sage (90/60)
  • Summoner (85/50)
  • Paladin (65/80)
  • Priest (80/50)
  • Wizard (80/50)

• Foraging

  • Dexterity & Intelligence

  Foraging allows your hero to pick out useful plants and other items.  As a heroes foraging skill increases, the chances of finding valuable items increases.  Foraging requires a fixed amount of stamina, and multiple heroes can undertake the quest at one time.  Items can be sold in the market place or used to create potions.  The list below shows the preferred hero classes based on their stat increases while leveling up (Dexterity/Intelligence).

  • Dread Knight (75/65)
  • Ninja (75/50)
  • Dark Knight (55/70)
  • Sage (40/90)
  • Summoner (45/85)
  • Archer (80/40)

Rarity

There are 5 levels of rarity from common to mythic.  The rarity directly impacts the base stats of a hero.  A common hero’s cumulative base stats will be 62.  A heroes base stats increase by +2 for each increase in rarity.

Rarity may be inherited from parents when a new hero is summoned.  The following graph shows the probability of producing progressively rarer offspring.

How to Choose A Hero

Choosing a hero is about finding the best hero for your goals within your price range.

Profession, Stats & Class

When you purchase a hero consider the base stats, it’s class and it’s profession.  The goal is to find a hero with a profession that matches it’s stats, and it’s class.  Check the Heroes stat buffs to see if they align with its profession.  You want to find the best balance between these 3.

Summons & Generation

If you intend to create heroes, the number of summons your hero has and it’s generation are major factors.  The more summons your hero has available the more heroes you can create.  This goes hand in hand with generation.  The higher the generation, the greater the cost to summon new heroes.  Gen 0 heroes have an infinite number of summons and a maximum summoning cost of 30 $Jewel.  This is what makes them so valuable.  A Gen 0 owner can rent out their hero indefinitely without the number of summons decreasing.  Their offspring will also have the maximum possible summons for any pairing.  Two Gen 0 parents will produce offspring with 10 summons.

What you should look for

• High number of summons
• Low Generation

Rarity

The rarer the hero the greater the value.  If you have a choice between two heroes with the same class, stats and profession, the rarer hero is more valuable.

How to Buy a DeFi Kingdom Hero – Step By Step Guide

When choosing which hero to purchase many factors come into play. Are you looking for a hero to summon other heroes or are you looking for a hero to perform profession quests. As the game develops characteristics like type and location may also become more important.  Budget must also be considered, how much $Jewel are you willing to spend to get your hero.  Below we have a step by step guide to find the best hero for completing profession quests.  You can easily find less expensive heroes by expanding your selection criteria to include a wider variety of sub classes and fewer stat buffs.

1. Speak to Agent in Tavern

   Go to the tavern, speak with the agent and select Buy Hero.
   

2. Filter By Class

   Use the profession list and recommended heroes above as a guide for selecting the preferred class for your hero. We will use the mining profession as an example and we will be looking for a basic class hero.  Warriors and Knights are the best basic classes for mining.  In the basics tab choose warrior and knight for both the primary and sub classes and apply the filter.

3. Filter By Profession and Buffs

   Select the attributes tab and choose a profession and corresponding stat bonuses.  In our case this will be Mining, Strength and Endurance.  Apply the filter to see the results.

4. Flip and Compare Stats

   Flip all the hero cards over to see a breakdown of their respective stats.  Compare the total points for your selected profession (add the stats for the 2 skills required for your given profession together).  Also compare the buffs for these stats.  Green buffs are a one time increase whereas blue and purple improve stats when your hero levels up.
   

5. Compare Summons

   Choose the best candidates and flip them over to compare the number of summons they have available and their generation. The higher the summons and the lower the generation the better.
   

6. Select and Buy Hero

   After filtering all of the heroes, comparing their stats and their buffs, there are 2 heroes we would consider.  The highlighted hero on the left is a Gen 3 with 7/8 remaining summons.  The hero on the right is a Gen 2 with 2/5 summons.  The hero on the right has much better buffs, but also costs more than twice as much as the hero on the left.  If you plan to summon more heroes, the hero on the left is a better choice.  If your goal is to purchase the best mining hero than the hero on the right would be the better option.
   

Conclusion

Heroes in DeFi kingdoms have a ton of uses, many of which have not been fully released yet.  As people continue to quest with their heroes and level them up valuing heroes will become more and more challenging.  We hope this guide has helped you to better understand the characteristics of heroes, what makes them valuable.  Good luck, and we hope to see you in Serendale!

Do you own a DFK Hero?  Let us know in the comments

December 13th 2021| Mike Humphrey

What is Hive OS

If you haven’t heard of Hive OS, it’s a linux based operating system with one purpose, crypto mining.  If you have a dedicated crypto mining machine, then Hive OS is the way to go.  It automatically updates GPU drivers and mining software, and can be controlled remotely.  It’s scalable, which means it works on a single rig or a large farm.  You can grow your operation from one mining rig to a whole farm with one piece of software.  Read our Comparison of Hive OS vs Windows.

How To Set Up Hive OS

The following is a step by step guide on how to install and set up Hive OS for the first time.  Before starting you will need to connect an SSD or USB to your computer.  The SSD/USB will be used for the Hive OS disk image.  We will be using Windows to install the operating system.  Your SSD should be a minimum of 8GB, but we recommend 12GB or more.  A USB is also an option, but they are slower, and you may run into memory errors.  An SSD is your best bet.

1. Sign-Up For Hive OS

   Go to the Hive OS website, and click on Start For Free.

   
   You will be taken to a new page. Enter your email address, and create a login and password.  Click Register and follow the instructions.  We recommend setting up 2 factor authentication for security purposes.

   

2. Download Hive OS

   To download Hive OS, go to the Hive OS install page, beside GPU click on zip.

3. Install Hive OS on SSD/USB

   1. Initialize SSD in Windows (SSD ONLY)

      If using a USB, you can skip directly to step B.  Before you can install the disk image on your SSD drive, you need to initialize it in Windows Disk Manager.  This will allow Windows to see the drive.  If you don’t have the drive connected yet you will need to shut the computer off, and connect the SATA power and data cables to the SSD.

      Type disk management in the Windows task bar and open the application.
      

      Windows Disk Manager may take some time to load. Once loaded you should see an unknown disk.  To initialize the new volume, right click beside the disk name and select initialize disk.  You will be asked to select a partition type, choose GPT and click OK.

      

      The status will change to online and it will be unallocated, as seen in the picture below.

      

      Windows will now recognize the new SSD and it is now ready for the Hive OS install.

   2. Install Hive OS on SSD/USB (USB USERS START HERE)

      Now that the drive is a recognizable volume in Windows we can flash the drive with the Hive OS disk image.  To do this we first need to download software that will allow us to install the image. We use Balena Etcher. Go to their site, download, and install the software.

      

      The program is relatively easy to use. First we select the disk image to install on the drive.  To do this, select Flash from file .

      

      Choose the Hive OS image we downloaded in step 2.  There is no need to extract the file, the program will do that for us.

      

      The next step is to select where we want the disk image to be installed.  Click Select target.

      

      Choose the SSD or USB you want to install Hive OS on.  Make sure you are selecting the correct drive.  When the drive is flashed it will erase everything that was previously installed on the drive.  DO NOT SELECT the source drive (this is where Windows is installed).

      

      Now that the image and destination are selected, click Flash.

      

      A warning will pop up letting you know that you are about to erase the selected drive.  This is not a problem as long as you selected the correct drive.  Once you have confirmed your choices, click Yes, I’m sure.

      

      Balena Etcher will now begin flashing the drive.

      

      Hive OS is now installed on the USB/SSD.  If Windows does not recognize the new drive, you may need to manually assign it a drive path.  You can do this by open Windows Disk Manager again, finding the Hive OS drive, right clicking on it and assigning it a drive letter.

      

   3. Set Up Hive OS Config File

      Before installing the USB/SSD into your new system, the Hive OS config file must be set up.  The config file tells Hive OS which account the new rig belongs to and the name of the rig.  Before editing the config file, you will need to copy your farm hash from the hive dashboard.  Go to https://the.hiveos.farm/ and log into your account and select your farm.

      
      Select the settings tab and copy the farm hash to the clipboard.  You can put this in a text file until you need.
      
      In Windows File Explorer, open the Hive disk image.  This should be the drive path you assigned in step 2B.  Find the rig-config-example.txt file and open it in a text editor.
      
      In the text editor, the file will look as follows.  We will be adding a farm hash and worker name to the file.  Paste the farm hash you copied from the Hive OS dashboard, and create a worker name for your rig.
      
      Once updated, save the file as rig.conf (it must be saved with this exact name or Hive OS will not load the information on start up).  Sometimes the file is saved as a .txt extension.  Be sure to double check in file explorer and modify the extension to .conf if required.
      
      The USB/SSD can now be safely removed and installed into the new rig.  The remainder of the set-up will be done through the Hive OS web interface.  Your new rig will need to be fully built, with the drive installed and connected to the internet.  It is recommended to connect a monitor when you first start the rig up.  If there are any issues, you will be able to diagnose them much easier with a monitor.  If the SSD/USB has been set-up properly and there are no hardware issues, your system should run without problems.

4. Hive OS Settings

   Before setting up Hive OS, we should discuss how the program organizes your mining rigs. There are three main levels:

   • Farm level – A farm is defined as a group of one or more rigs
   • Rig  level – A rig is a single mining machine, a rig may have multiple GPU’s on it
   • Worker level – An individual ASIC or GPU

   When setting up Hive OS, you can decide whether you want settings to be applied at the farm level, rig level or the worker level. For example, when adding a wallet, it can be created at the farm or rig level.  If set up at the farm level, it can be applied across multiple farms.  At the rig level, it can be applied across multiple rigs in the same farm.  This allows you to decide which settings you want to be applied globally across multiple farms or multiple rigs.  The settings can be applied in bulk to your mining operation for ease of use.  In this guide we will be creating wallets and flight sheets at the farm level and applying overclock settings at the worker level.

   

   When logged into the Hive OS Web Interface, the top left bar serves as navigation for the three levels.  The Hive OS icon takes you to the farm management level, the first drop down menu allows you to select a farm and the last drop down menu allows you to select rigs.  These menus will tell you which farm, and rig you are managing at all times.

1. 1. Update Hive OS

      When downloaded, Hive OS is often not the most up-to-date version.  The first step after getting the software up and running is to update it to the most current version.  This is done at the rig level. Log into the Hive OS web interface and select your farm.

      

      Choose the new rig.

      

      In the top bar, the fourth icon from the left will be an upward pointing arrow in a circle.  If there is a newer version of Hive OS, it will be orange.  Click on it, it will turn blue and a new window will pop-up.  Click on upgrade.
      

   2. Add Wallet

      Now that Hive OS is running the most up to date version, lets set up a wallet.  Select your farm using the navigation menu at the top and select the wallet tab.  Any wallets added here, will be accessible to any rig on this farm.
      
      In the wallet tab, choose add wallet.  As you can see, we already have 2 wallets set up for this farm an ETH wallet and an Ergo wallet.  Read our cryptocurrency wallet article if you are need more information on how to choose and set up a new wallet.
      In the pop-up window select a coin, paste in your wallet address and create a name to identify the wallet.  You can also choose a source (an exchange etc.) if this is applicable.  The two toggles will allow you to make the wallet global, and have Hive OS fetch your wallet balance (this is a beta feature).

      

   3. Create a Flight Sheet

      Flight sheets are used to tell your workers which algorithm to use, which mining software to use and what pool to mine to.  They can also be modified, similar to a Bat file in Windows.  In this example, we are going to create a flight sheet to mine ETH to the Ethermine pool using NBminer.  If you want to learn more about adding additional arguments, take a look at our article about setting up Dual Mining with T-Rex Miner.

      First select your Farm and then choose the flight sheets tab.

      
      Select a coin, your wallet, the pool and the mining software you wish to use.  You can click on the configure links, to modify the pool and the miner.  For the pool, choose the location closest to you (see our articles about pool latency, pool payouts and mining websites for more information about choosing the right pool for you).  Click on Setup Miner Config, and double check that the miner is set to the latest version.  Save the settings and create the flight sheet.
      
      Now we must apply the flight sheet to the mining rig.  To do this, use the top navigation bar to select the new mining rig.  Choose the flight sheet tab and find the one you just created.  Click on the spaceship icon to the right and apply the settings to your rig.
      
      The flight sheet tab should now look like the image below, with your selected sheet at the top.
      

   4. Overclocking

      One of the nice features about Hive OS is it’s overclock settings.  Hive OS stores the the overclock settings 0f all its users in a database.  You can then sort these based on the mining algorithm and popularity, and apply the same settings to your cards.  This is a broad method of overclocking your cards. If you want a step-by-step guide on how to overclock your cards for maximum profit and efficiency read our Windows GPU Overclocking article. The same method can be used for your cards in Hive OS.

      With your rig selected in the top menu choose the overview tab.  It will list all of the workers you have in that rig.  Overclock settings are applied to each worker individually, this allows for different cards to have different settings.  On the right hand side of each worker there is a speedometer icon.  Click the icon and a new window will pop-up
      

      In the new window select the Popular Presets tab, choose the coin/algorithm you are mining.  A list of presets ranked by the number of people currently using them will be generated.  You can select from these presets by double clicking them and selecting apply.  Repeat this for all the cards in your new rig.
      Note: this is the fast and dirty method of overclocking.  Every card, coin and sometimes even miner, may require slightly different overclock settings to be optimal.  This is a great way to get started, but it is worthwhile going through each card and finding the optimal overclock settings.  This is a much longer process that involves incrementally changing your settings and comparing your mining rates.  Read our guide on overclocking (Using Windows) for how to perform this process, and an excel template you can use to track your results.

Conclusion

You have now successfully added your first rig to Hive OS.  The next step is to monitor, optimize and get more comfortable with the program.  Have fun Mining.