A hands-on guide to mastering the trendy Move-to-Earn concept game StepN

Original Title: "Nanny-Level Tutorial | A Beginner's Guide to 'StepN'"

Written by: Dinzz, H. Forest Ventures

1. Introduction

StepN is a blockchain game that allows users to earn rewards through movement using sneaker NFTs. It pioneered the concept of Move-to-Earn in the Web3 world, and the project roadmap indicates that StepN will later incorporate SocialFi concepts and gameplay.

You may have heard about StepN from more than one friend, and this friend may have never been involved in the crypto world. If you are an OG in the crypto space and want to understand what stage StepN is in its lifecycle, you can read our data analysis article "StepN's March on the Web3 Iron Throne | A Data Analysis of StepN & Axie," which compares StepN and Axie from a data perspective. If you are a newcomer to the crypto world hoping to open the door to Web3 through StepN, this article may provide you with some small help. I will introduce some basic gameplay of StepN and share some experiences as a deep participant.

2. Basic Information about StepN

Open StepN while exercising and use Sneakers (sneaker NFTs). The software will provide users with game rewards ($GST, $GMT, mystery boxes, etc.) based on data collected by the phone (such as GPS, movement speed) combined with algorithms. The amount of game rewards is related to the attributes of the Sneakers and the data of the movement. Understanding the algorithm for game rewards will help you choose the Sneakers that suit you best.

2.1 Sneakers Attributes

2.1.1 Basic Attributes of Sneakers

Sneakers (sneaker NFTs) have four attributes: Efficiency, Luck, Comfort, and Resilience.

Figure 1 Sneakers Attributes

Efficiency: The higher the efficiency, the more rewards ($GST) you earn.
Luck: The higher the luck, the better the quality of the treasure chests obtained (treasure chests can yield gems, which can enhance the basic attributes of the shoes).
Comfort: The higher the comfort, the more rewards ($GMT) you earn. To switch rewards from $GST to $GMT, the Sneakers must reach level 30.
Resilience: The higher the resilience, the less durability the shoes consume during exercise, meaning lower repair costs (using $GST).

2.1.2 Rarity of Sneakers

The rarity of Sneakers (sneaker NFTs) is divided into five levels: Common, Uncommon, Rare, Epic, and Legendary. The rarity of the shoes affects the range of basic attributes and the potential attribute points gained with each level-up (which users must manually allocate to desired attributes). Potential points are used to enhance the basic attributes of the shoes.

Figure 2 Basic Attributes of Sneakers

2.1.3 Types of Sneakers

In addition to differences in rarity, Sneakers also need to be categorized by type. Sneakers are divided into Walker, Jogger, Runner, and Trainer. Different shoes have different pace ranges, and only within the optimal pace range can you earn the most rewards.

Figure 3 Types of Sneakers

2.2 Gem System

2.2.1 Gems

Gems are obtained from mystery boxes. Yellow gems increase efficiency; blue gems increase luck; red gems increase comfort; purple gems increase resilience.

Figure 4 Gem Effects Left & Gem Synthesis Success Rate Right

* Currently, only levels 1-4 of gems have been disclosed, and higher-level gem attributes and success rates have not yet been listed.

2.2.2 Gem Slots

When Sneakers reach levels 5, 10, 15, and 20, gem slots can be unlocked. Gem slots can be embedded with gems, which will enhance the basic attributes of the sneakers.

The rarity of the Sneakers and the rarity of the gem slots will further enhance the effects of the gems. The higher the rarity of the Sneakers, the greater the attributes added by the gems. Additionally, gem slots also have rarity; the higher the rarity, the greater the enhancement effect (specific values have not been disclosed).

Figure 5 Gem Slot Effects & Probabilities

2.2.3 Mystery Boxes

Mystery boxes randomly drop during the settlement of exercise. The higher the quality of the box, the greater the chance of obtaining high-level gems. The quality of the mystery box is related to the luck of the Sneakers and the energy consumed during the exercise.

Each user has four slots for mystery boxes and can hold a maximum of four boxes. Once the four mystery box slots are full, any newly obtained boxes will be automatically discarded. After the countdown ends, you can open the boxes using a small amount of $GST, or you can pay extra $GST to open them early.

Figure 6 Box Interface & Box Opening Probability

2.3 Energy

When using Sneakers to exercise, energy must be consumed to earn game token rewards, and energy will recover over time.

Energy is unrelated to Sneakers attributes and is related to the number and rarity of Sneakers. Simply put, the more Sneakers you have and the rarer they are, the more energy you have.

Figure 7 Relationship Between Number of Sneakers and Energy

As shown, if your account has 1 pair of Sneakers, you will have 2 energy (consuming 1 energy every 5 minutes of exercise), and you need to exercise for 10 minutes. During this 10 minutes of exercise, 0.2 energy will be consumed each minute, while earning rewards for that minute. Once the energy is depleted, continuing to exercise will not yield game rewards.

Additionally, high-rarity Sneakers can earn extra energy. A rare pair of Sneakers adds 1 extra energy, a rare pair adds 2 extra energy, an epic pair adds 3 extra energy, and a legendary pair adds 4 extra energy.

Figure 8 Main Interface - Energy Interface

Energy will recover over time. It will recover 25% of the account's energy cap at four times a day: 3 AM, 9 AM, 3 PM, and 9 PM Beijing time (UTC+8).

If your account has 1 pair of Sneakers, you will have an energy cap of 2, recovering 0.5 energy each time.

3. Playing the Game

3.1 Preparation

3.1.1 Download and Install

For iPhone: Download directly from the APP Store using a non-mainland Apple ID (if you don't have an ID, you can purchase one through X treasure).

For Android: Install the Google Play framework trio and download from the Google Store (requires a VPN). Alternatively, follow the public account "H Forest" and reply "stepn android" to get the installation package directly.

3.1.2 Registration

Register a StepN account using your email. The StepN account comes with a Spending wallet, which is an in-built wallet within the account. Currently, StepN account registration is by invitation only, and new users need an invitation code. There are two ways to generate an invitation code:

Old players generate one invitation code for every 10 energy consumed;
You can receive invitation codes in the official Telegram and Discord invitation code channels, with a total of 2000 codes distributed daily.

Alternatively, follow @Forest_Ventures on Twitter, where 5-10 invitation codes will be included in daily StepN data posts.

Figure 9 StepN Page Illustration

3.1.3 Create/Link On-Chain Wallet

StepN has two wallets: one is the built-in wallet (Spending wallet); the other is the on-chain wallet (Wallet wallet) linked to the Spending wallet. Upon first entering the Wallet wallet, you can choose to create a new wallet or import an existing one.

If you are new to the crypto world, be sure to carefully write down your mnemonic phrase (12 ordered words). Once your StepN account is linked to your Wallet account, you can transfer your currency between the two accounts using the "Transfer" function.

* Users can re-link their StepN account to a new Wallet wallet at any time.

Figure 10 Wallet Interface

Receive: Receive various cryptocurrencies (can generate QR code)

Transfer: Transfer between the built-in wallet and the on-chain wallet; transfer between the on-chain wallet and other on-chain wallets (can scan QR code)

Trade: Built-in exchange, can exchange between $SOL, $GST, $GMT, and $USDC

3.1.4 Purchase Sneakers

Sneakers must be purchased through the built-in trading market in StepN. Click to view the attributes of the Sneakers, and you can use the "Filter" function to select the shoes you want (as shown in Figure 11 left, with annotations), then purchase using $SOL.

Path to purchase Sneakers:

Buy $SOL from the exchange;
Withdraw $SOL to Wallet (linked on-chain wallet);
Transfer $SOL from Wallet wallet to the built-in Spending wallet;
Use $SOL to purchase sneakers in the built-in market.

* Please keep at least 0.01 $SOL in the Wallet wallet to pay for gas fees (a small amount of $SOL is required as a fee for each on-chain transaction).

Figure 11 Sneakers Market

3.2 Basic Gameplay

With the preparations complete, it's time to start exercising and earning money. The basic gameplay is simple: just select and equip your Sneakers before starting to exercise, and your phone will distribute rewards based on sensors, GPS, health data, and other information.

3.2.1 Running

Personal Mode

Once you have Sneakers, you can click "START" on the home page to begin exercising and earning game rewards. If you have multiple pairs of Sneakers, you can choose the one with the best attributes for exercise; the attributes of other Sneakers will not affect the rewards. Rewards are continuously distributed, consuming 0.2 energy per minute and generating $GST as a reward (at level 30, you can choose to receive $GMT rewards).

Figure 12 Main Interface

It is important to exercise in open areas. If the program detects weak GPS/network signals or if the system detects that you are not moving naturally (which may trigger the anti-cheat system), a message saying "Moonwalking" will appear at the top of the screen, and during this time, you will not earn $GST/$GMT. Additionally, try to maintain the optimal pace range while exercising; being too fast or too slow will affect the output of game rewards.

Figure 13 Exercise Interface

Marathon mode and background mode are still under development.

Marathon mode will feature weekly and monthly marathons with different mileage, and upon completion, rewards of $GMT, $GST, and NFT badges will be given.

Background mode does not require the StepN app to be open; as long as the user holds Sneakers, steps will be calculated from the health data of the mobile device, and $GST will be rewarded based on the number of steps, with a daily cap of 3000 steps and no other consumption.

3.2.2 Repairing Sneakers

During exercise, as energy is consumed and influenced by the resilience value of the Sneakers, the durability of the Sneakers will decrease to some extent (i.e., the shoes will wear out). When the durability of the Sneakers drops below 50, the efficiency drops to 90%, and when it drops below 20, the efficiency drops to 10%. But don't worry; we can choose to spend a small amount of $GST to repair the Sneakers, and the repair cost is determined by the level and rarity of the Sneakers.

Figure 14 $GST Required for Each Durability Repair

3.2.3 Upgrading Sneakers

Upgrading shoes requires spending $GST and waiting for a certain period. After upgrading, the shoes will gain potential points, which can be used to enhance the basic attributes of the shoes.

Figure 15 Time and $GST/$GMT Required for Upgrading

You can see that the amount of $GST required increases significantly at levels 5, 10, and 20. When Sneakers reach level 5, the Mint function is unlocked (two pairs of Sneakers mint new Sneakers). Considering that ordinary Sneakers gain only 4 potential points per level, rare ones gain 6 points, and epic ones gain 8 points, it is more cost-effective to upgrade ordinary Sneakers to level 9 (it requires 30 $GST to upgrade from level 9 to level 10). Rare and epic Sneakers can also be upgraded to level 19 or 30.

3.2.4 Minting Sneakers

When you have 2 pairs of Sneakers, you can use these two pairs to mint new Sneakers. The minted Sneakers exist in the form of a shoe box (blind box), and you can choose to sell the blind box directly in the market or open the box yourself to obtain new Sneakers. The type of Sneakers minted is likely to be one of the two parent Sneakers, with a small chance of mutating into another type, and the attributes of the new Sneakers are completely randomly generated, unrelated to the parent NFTs.

Figure 16 Relationship Between New Sneakers and Parent Sneakers Types

When minting Sneakers, both $GST and $GMT must be consumed. The amount consumed is related to the rarity of the Sneakers and the number of mints, calculated separately for each pair and then summed.

For example: The minting cost for a rare Sneakers with 3 mints and a common Sneakers with 2 mints is Mint3 rare shoes (480 $GST + 320 $GMT) + Mint2 common shoes (90 $GST + 60 $GMT), totaling 570 $GST + 380 $GMT.

Figure 17 Minting Cost for a Single Shoe (Costs of Two Shoes Added Together)

The shoe boxes also have different rarities. When two Sneakers mint a new shoe box, the rarity of the box is determined by the rarity of the parent shoes.

Figure 18 Relationship Between Sneakers Blind Box and Parent Sneakers Rarity

Of course, it doesn't mean that any rarity of shoe box will definitely yield a certain rarity of Sneakers; a common shoe box may yield a rare Sneakers, and a rare shoe box may yield a common Sneakers. The probabilities are shown in the table below.

Figure 19 Sneakers Blind Box Probability Table

3.3 Advanced Choices

If you are new to the game and are already confused by concepts like built-in wallets, on-chain wallets, and mnemonic phrases, mastering the basic gameplay above is sufficient for now. Once you have a certain understanding of the game, you can choose to engage in advanced gameplay later.

3.3.1 Sneakers Combination Choices

Having multiple pairs of Sneakers in one account will yield more energy, and more energy means more rewards. It is important to note that an account generally only needs one high-attribute "main shoe," while other "sub shoes" are merely to increase energy; rewards are calculated based only on the attributes of the main shoe and the energy of the account.

Here are some common combination strategies:

* For convenience, ordinary Sneakers will be referred to as "gray shoes," rare Sneakers as "green shoes," and epic Sneakers as "blue shoes."

Single Gray: The account has one gray shoe, which provides 2 energy, allowing for 10 minutes of exercise daily. Considering the upgrade costs and that each level of gray shoes provides 2 fewer potential points than green shoes, upgrading gray shoes to level 9 is the most cost-effective.

If the basic attributes of the shoes are high (efficiency + resilience above 14), it is recommended to add resilience points to 14, so that every 2 energy consumed only deducts 4 durability, while the remaining potential points are added to efficiency.

If the basic attributes of the shoes are low (efficiency + resilience below 14), add resilience to 10; in this case, every 2 energy consumed will deduct 5 durability, while the remaining potential points are added to efficiency.

Three Grays: With three gray shoes, the account has 4 energy, allowing for 20 minutes of exercise daily. Just upgrade the best attribute among the three gray shoes to level 9, and ignore the levels and attributes of the others.

One Green and Two Grays: With one green and two gray shoes, the account has 5 energy, allowing for 25 minutes of exercise daily. The green shoe can be upgraded to level 19 or 28, while the others can be ignored. It is worth noting that with this configuration, consuming 5 energy at once may yield a level 1 treasure chest.

One Green and Eight Grays: With one green and eight gray shoes, the account has 10 energy, allowing for 50 minutes of exercise daily. The green shoe can be upgraded to level 28, while the others can be ignored. It is noteworthy that when consuming 10 energy at once, if the luck value of the exercising shoes reaches 37, there is a 42% chance of obtaining a level 2 treasure chest (a luck value of 36 only has a 17% chance of obtaining a level 2 treasure chest, data sourced from player compilations).

One Blue and Twenty-Nine Grays: With one blue and twenty-nine gray shoes, the account has 20 energy, allowing for 100 minutes of exercise daily. The blue shoe can be upgraded to level 30, while the others can be ignored.

Figure 20 One Account with One Green and Eight Grays

3.3.2 Multiple Main Shoes in One Account

In configurations of 9, 15, or 30 shoes, the usual setup is one main shoe, while the other sub shoes can have any attributes and levels, primarily earning $GST. However, as the game progresses and gameplay diversifies, you can also pair various main shoes in your account.

GST Main Shoe: Focus on adding potential points to efficiency to earn $GST.

GMT Main Shoe: Focus on adding potential points to comfort to earn $GMT, but this gameplay is limited to shoes at level 30.

Gem Main Shoe: Focus on adding potential points to luck to obtain mystery boxes and gems.

3.3.3 Minting Gameplay

Upgrade Sneakers to level 5, mint them, sell them, and then upgrade the new Sneakers to level 5 to continue minting. This gameplay does not aim to earn stable $GST/$GMT but rather to profit from opening rare shoes from blind boxes, which is more suitable for "lucky players."

Figure 21 Mint Interface

3.3.4 Reselling Gameplay

Purchase high-attribute Sneakers at low prices from the market and sell them at higher prices. This gameplay does not affect other strategies, but be aware that selling Sneakers in the market incurs a 6% fee.

4. Special Notes

4.1 Anti-Cheat System

StepN operates an efficient anti-cheat system that blocks cheaters from using scripts (or other cheating methods) to play the game, creating a healthy gaming environment focused on exercise with supplementary earnings. If the system detects cheating behavior, it will punish the cheating player.

The disclosed detection methods include:

GPS tracking
Exercise sensors and health data
Machine learning to simulate data detection of cheating

Therefore, please avoid the following behaviors to prevent account suspension and loss of assets:

Using hand movements while on transportation (bus, bicycle…)
Using pets to run (tied to a dog…)
Exercising with multiple phones simultaneously
Frequent logins to multiple accounts on the same device
Using emulators to exercise (strictly prohibited)

4.2 High Risk, Invest Cautiously

Blockchain games are an emerging sector with extremely high investment risks. This article does not provide any investment advice; it is merely a sharing of experiences, and blind investments should be avoided.