Sky Mavis has announced the open beta test for its newly-introduced Axie Homeland Avatar Mode, which will finally let players explore Axie Infinity’s world of Lunacia without needing to own a Land NFT!

All that players will need to own is an Axie NFT to start exploring this colorful isometric world populated by player-owned land plots used for land-based gameplay. This means that players will practically be able to enjoy what is essentially the studio’s first take on the metaverse, as this is the first time ever that the team is opening up a huge virtual world for anyone with an Axie NFT to explore and socialize in to their heart’s content. And starting from July 17th, you will be able to briefly do just that, without needing to be a landholder at all.

How Will the Open Beta Test Work?

From July 17th to July 24th, players will be able to jump into Avatar Mode, which makes it possible to wander around in the beautiful Homeland map using your Axie NFT. The goal of the 7-day period is to help with testing servers, but to make this phase interesting for everyone, Sky Mavis will be hosting 4 events that will give participants the opportunity to win from a prize pool of 12 collectible axies and 20 land items.

This version will provide the community with an early look of this mode’s development, which is set to serve as the foundation for various new upcoming features. Coming to Mavis Hub for Mac and Windows PCs, players will freely be able to explore a variety of different plots as well as 4 starter villages: Goldenwind, Evergreen, Winterblue, and Hazymoon, each of which feature their own distinct look. A new chat feature with emoji support is included to allow players to chat in real-time via General, Local and Global channels.

When starting the mode, you will get choose which axie among the ones you own should represent you as a playable avatar, after which you can easily navigate the lush environments using your keyboard (WASD) or mouse (point-and-click).

The mode is divided into two modes of exploration: World View and Plot View. Based on the images and info in the announcement, World View seems to allow you to explore a basic overview of the entire Lunacia, passing by plots owned by other players. It is from here where you can see the coordinates of the current location you’re at, as well as coordinates of the plots around you. This means that if you’re a landholder wanting to show off your home to your friends, then you can easily give them your coordinates so they can then enter them in a specific field to allow the game to walk their avatars over to that location. Or you can just use Portals scattered throughout the world to teleport to another area for faster travelling. Once the destination is reached, players can enter the plot they’re interested in to see what it’s like. This takes you to Plot View, providing you with a detailed view of the NFT land while allowing you to explore it and enjoy the owner’s village design together with other players.

After this test phase is over, the mode will no longer be accessible for some time. Depending on how this beta goes, the developers plan on fully launching the mode either in late July or early August, so it probably won’t be long before you can dive back into this metaverse-like mode. While this version focuses on exploring and chatting with fellow Lunacians, the developers are “committed to creating a rich and engaging social experience,” so we can probably expect some fun new features to arrive eventually in the future.

Win Rewards in Raffle Events

Players will be able to participate in village meetup events every day from July 17th to July 20th. Each event is basically a raffle that you enter by tweeting a screenshot of your favorite moment during the meetup and adding #HomelandAvatar to the X post. It’s important to do this during the specified time given for the event, as rewards will only be raffled amongst those who posted on X “during the specified time.” Location, time and reward distribution details include the following:

  • July 17th - Avatar Mode Open Beta Test: Meet Up Day 1!
    • Location: Winterblue Village
    • Time: 13:00 UTC (8 PM VN | 9 PM PH)
    • Reward: 3 winners of a Xmas Axie & 5 Icy Flowers (Land items).
  • July 18th - Avatar Mode Open Beta Test: Meet Up Day 2!
    • Location: Hazymoon Village
    • Time: 13:00 UTC (8 PM VN | 9 PM PH)
    • Reward: 3 winners of a Shiny Axie & 5 Phantom Altars (Land items).
  • July 19th - Avatar Mode Open Beta Test: Meet Up Day 3!
    • Location: Evergreen Village
    • Time: 13:00 UTC (8 PM VN | 9 PM PH)
    • Reward: 3 winners of a Japanese Axie & 5 Grass (Land items).
  • July 20th - Avatar Mode Open Beta Test: Meet Up Day 4!
    • Location: Goldenwind Village
    • Time: 13:00 UTC (8 PM VN | 9 PM PH)
    • Reward: 3 winners of a Summer Axie & 5 Big Ruin Shards (Land items).