Getting started in a game like Pixels can be tough. While it isn’t super complex, it can seem like an unusual game for traditional or “Web2” gamers thanks to its connections to cryptocurrency and NFTs. This guide isn’t meant to get into the cryptocurrency aspects of the game, though.
With or without that, you still need to be able to make sense of the hit Ethereum farming game on the Ronin network, and get moving in it if you want to bother with that other stuff.
Instead, this guide is meant to act as a first step into the world of Pixels, going over some of the things that the game doesn’t fully communicate or that are just worth emphasizing. Here are seven key tips to help you get started in Pixels.
Check your Infinifunnel
Whether you’re on the basic starter farm or spring for something bigger, you’ll have a house—and in that house is something called an Infinifunnel. Clicking on the funnel is one of the first things you should be doing each day. Here, you can turn in generated resources for in-game coins, which you can then exchange for things like extra mines or trees, seeds, or cosmetic items. This is, at least at the beginning, the primary way of gaining in-game wealth and interacting with the game world.
Image: Decrypt
Use your shortcuts
When you first land in your small farm plot, one thing you’ll notice is the nebulous, spacey background hiding behind your plot. That’s important not just as an aesthetic, but it’s also an important aspect of how you think about this game. Where many games would ask you to walk between your farm and town, Pixels isn’t interested in all of that.
In the upper left corner, you have a shortcut button that you can use to warp between the game’s city and your personal farm plot. There’s no reason not to use this feature to get around. And don’t forget about your other shortcuts! You can use Tab on your keyboard to switch between different lines of your toolbar, and the numbers at the top of your keyboard to switch between tools.
Explore the menus and claim your bonus
Image: Decrypt
Just for logging in, you get 300 coins each day. If you’re going to play Pixels regularly, then this is a great way to get ahead. The game doesn’t tell you this anywhere that I can find—you just have to stumble upon it by going to your Pixels dashboard. The lesson here is to look at every menu screen. You can redesign your basic avatar at any time, buy Popberries from your Infinifunnel at your house, and more. Click on everything!
Explore the environment
Similarly, make sure to explore the space around the main city. There’s a beach to the south, a guild hall to the east, a carnival to the north, and a football field to the west. You can get a daily package at the post office, for example, containing a mystery gift.
Move stuff around
Image: Decrypt
Your starting space is pretty small, but you can buy a dolly cart that will let you move just about anything—including trees—around your space. It’s silly to have to spend coins to do it, but 10 coins is a pretty small price in the grand scheme of things, and it appears that you can move stuff around as much as you want.
You can drop a second mine on your property to double your mining speed, and move it and your free mine to the same corner so that you can click on them both in quick succession. Accessing things like mines or workbenches is based on proximity, so placing items efficiently is going to be key to getting the most out of this game.
Pay attention to timers
Image: Decrypt
Everything you make in Pixels is on a timer. When you send a cart into your mines, there’s a timer before it comes back. When you chop down a tree, there’s a timer before it regrows. When you smelt ore, there’s a timer for it to finish. Pay attention to these, and you’ll be able to use your time efficiently.
Connect with the community
Image: Decrypt
Pixels has a free-to-play element, but it’s really meant to be played in connection with your Ronin wallet and the crypto community. There’s also a Pixels Discord server and integrations between the two. And on the crypto front, you can also connect a wallet to bring NFT-based pets into the game, as well as use certain compatible NFT profile pictures (PFPs) as avatars.
It’s how you’ll earn the PIXEL token, too—but that’s a topic for another guide at another time. Stay tuned.
Edited by Andrew Hayward
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