The developers of web3 monster catching MMORPG Spellborne are preparing for the official launch of the game's native utility token, $BORNE, on August 29. Up to date info on tokenomics and token utility have all been published. Here’s everything you need to know ahead of TGE.

What Is Spellborne?

Spellborne is a free to play Pokémon-inspired MMORPG that merges classic monster catching mechanics with farming, crafting, guild play, and competitive turn-based battles. Players begin their journey as one of 3 unique hunter characters and set out into a retro-inspired 2D fantasy world filled with resources, monsters, and hidden opportunities to discover. Create and join guilds to collaborate and compete against other clans. PvP battles, guild wars, and seasonal events all shape the overall experience, offering avenues for casual and competitive players alike.

Developed by Mon Studios, Spellborne features a blockchain-powered, player-driven economy in which anyone can engage with NFTs and tokens if they wish, or simply enjoy the core gameplay without any blockchain interaction. Monsters, apartments, items, and various cosmetics can exist as NFTs, but crafting, exploration, and story progression remain open to all players. This dual approach aims to create an accessible entry point for gamers while providing web3 players with the ability to play and own on-chain tradable assets.

What Is the $BORNE Token?

The $BORNE token is the core utility currency of Spellborne. It has been designed to power in-game activity rather than serve as a governance asset. By focusing particularly on utility, Mon Studios ensures that $BORNE is deeply connected to gameplay and player progression. It looks set to launch at an unspecified time on August 29 on Blackhole DEX.

When it comes to utility, $BORNE aims to allow players to mint and trade monsters, purchase premium items and accelerate crafting, PvP chest unlocks and other timed systems while serving as the currency for creating guild-specific tokens and buying special bundles, the Stellar Pass, and Gold Nuggets. It will also be used to foster marketplace activity for items, meaning that you will be able to use the token to buy and sell monsters, consumables, tools, and cosmetics.

This non-governance token is set to have cross-game utility as it connects to the broader Mon Studios ecosystem, which is set to consist of Guardians of Celestia and Spellborne Rogue. As these future titles are released, $BORNE will be integrated into their economies, giving players a reason to hold and use it across multiple games rather than treat it as a single game currency.

$BORNE Tokenomics

The tokenomics reveal that the total supply of $BORNE is 300 million tokens. This total supply has been allocated across the following 5 categories:

  • Airdrop: 12.5% - Fully unlocked at launch.
  • Gameplay Fund: 37.5% - 10% of this allocation is unlocked at TGE, while the rest unlocks through a linear vesting period of 36 months.
  • Development Fund (Team): 15% - Unlocks gradually over the course of 36 months.
  • Ecosystem Fund: 5% - A vesting schedule of 48 months is in place for this category.
  • Investors and Advisors: 30% - For this allocation, 1.6% will unlock at TGE, followed by a 4-to-6 month cliff period, after which the rest of the tokens undergo a vesting schedule of 18 months.

The team notes that the number of tokens unlocking at TGE may be slightly lower than expected due to approximately 2.7% of the supply already being spent and locked by players into the gameplay rewards pool.

The Gameplay Fund is the allocation that is used to distribute rewards to players engaging in a variety of activities and events. Tokens flow into this fund from multiple spending sources that include chest speed ups, marketplace fees, and monster minting, meaning that player actions continuously contribute to the game’s P2E rewards. The fund then distributes rewards back to players through PvP chests, leaderboard placements, guild wars, tournaments, and liquidity incentives. This system thus looks to create a cyclical flow of value, where player activity generates fees and token sinks, which replenish the Gameplay Fund. The fund then rewards players for continued activity, encouraging more participation and hopefully keeping the ecosystem healthy over the long-term.

How to Play to Earn $BORNE in Spellborne

Spellborne gives players a number of different paths to play to earn $BORNE tokens.

One way to play and earn is to collect monsters referred to as Mons through gameplay. You can mint these pets into tradable NFTs and trade them on marketplaces such as OpenSea via the Monsters NFT collection on Avalanche. Next to trading monsters, it is also possible to exchange items such as consumables, cosmetics, skins, crafting materials, tools and resources like farming crops as well.

As you collect monsters and items, you can also try earning tokens by competing in seasonal and leaderboard events. While taking on these limited-time challenges, you will also want to climb the PvP Leagues by fighting other players in turn-based ranked battles to try and rank high enough to earn chests containing $BORNE tokens.

You don’t have to play and earn solo. If you like to collaborate with others to earn rewards together, then you should join or create a guild to take part in Guild Wars, in which players take part in large-scale battles to control territories in an effort to win rewards. Earlier this year, Spellborne players took part in the Enchanted Guild Wars event, where they competed for a share of a 250k $BORNE prize pool.

The game looks to combine open player markets with guild-controlled routes, giving players different avenues through which to trade on-chain assets. You will be able to find Kanta the Trader appear on different battle routes to offer guild-controlled market hubs. Guilds will be able to bid for the right to run these markets, and whoever wins in the bidding contest gets to control that market. Running a market requires paying fees but also leads to the ability to earn revenue from transactions. While the main marketplace fee will be 5%, the guild marketplace fee will be 3%, plus whatever fee the guild adds so it can have its own cut go towards their guild treasury. Not only can guilds earn revenue from transactions by running a market, but it also gives guilds the option to offer special deals such as exclusive drops, discounts, and limited-time bundles. It even lets guilds sell custom cosmetics, skins, and emojis.

Overall, blockchain gamers have various different ways to play and earn $BORNE. Whether you’d like to focus on high-level PvP, monster and item trading, seasonal events or guilds, is up to you. Check out the official whitepaper to learn more.

Following Spellborne’s official mobile launch last month, you can now play this free to play MMORPG on both Android and iOS through the Google Play Store and Apple App Store respectively. If you’d like to play on PC, you can do so via a web browser, with the game set to eventually go live on the Epic Games Store for both Windows and Mac.