Messari: A comprehensive analysis of GameFi's project Seraph

Original title: "Understanding Seraph: A Comprehensive Overview"

Written by: Jeremy Koch

Translated by: Scof, Chaincatcher

Core content

• Seraph is a blockchain-based action role-playing game (ARPG) developed by Seraph Studio and built on BNB Chain's second-layer solution opBNB.

• Seraph has achieved more than $2 million in revenue in a single 30-day season, and recently (November-December) completed more than 20 million transactions and activity data for 1.84 million independent players.

• The in-game ActPass marketplace allows users to buy and sell in-game items, and enables instant item transfers between accounts and games through off-chain orders.

• Before the TGE, players can purchase Seraph Starry Journey Feathers to qualify for future token redemption.

Background

Since 2017, the Metaverse and Web3 gaming space has attracted more than $19 billion in funding. Blockchain gaming has made significant technological advances, minimizing the impact of on-chain operations on users while enabling a true AAA gaming experience.

Seraph is a classic loot-oriented ARPG combined with an immersive gaming experience where players can embark on an adventure to explore hidden treasures and craft equipment. The game adopts a free-to-play model and integrates a play-and-earn mechanism to obtain rewards by completing challenges.

Seraph Studio combines traditional game development with Web3 technology, integrating industry knowledge with the scalability of blockchain technology, and is committed to showing players the real-time advantages of blockchain technology.

As the number one game on BNB Chain in terms of users and transactions, Seraph has an independent market that supports users to buy and sell game equipment. The game's exclusive token, SERAPH, has not yet undergone TGE, but players who hold the Seraph Enyu series can exchange Enyu for SERAPH tokens in the future.

Basic gameplay

Hero

Players can choose one of the following four characters to start the adventure. The fifth character "Druid" is still under development:

• Valkyrie: Good at using bows and spears for long-range attacks.

• Barbarian: Possessing great strength and endurance, specializing in melee and frontal combat.

• Sorceress: Magic-based, can manipulate three elements: frost, fire, and lightning.

• Necromancer: Manipulates undead minions and casts curses.

In addition, Seraph has launched a collection of avatar NFTs called SOUL PFP, including 6,000 NFTs, of which 500 are SSR (super rare) and the rest are R (rare). Players holding this series of NFTs will be considered core player groups.

Equipment System

The game has a rich equipment system, with 10 equipment slots available to players, including: left and right hand weapons, necklaces, rings (2), helmets, armor, belts, gloves and shoes.

Each character class can benefit from different equipment combinations. For example, equipment with the "Valkyrie" tag has a wider range of base damage values ​​than equipment without that tag. This encourages players to look for equipment that fits a specific category to achieve their ideal overall build. Therefore, if the player pursues the maximum damage output, then the item with the "Valkyrie" tag should be selected.

If the player equips a companion/pet, they will enjoy convenient functions such as automatic item pickup, item identification, decomposition, and shop. Players can also set parameter rules for pets to pick up items.

Dungeon gameplay

The game provides three dungeon modes, which increase the diversity of exploration and challenges:

1. Void Realms

The Void Realm will be unlocked after the player completes the main quest, or by using the paid item "Riftbreaker's Gift". The Void Realm has a total of 18 difficulty levels and contains some special Boss maps. If players are able to defeat the monsters on the chosen map, they will be rewarded with Soul Spars, item materials, and/or high-level equipment. The Void supports team entry, which is very helpful when dealing with higher difficulty levels.

2. Mystery of Chaos

The Mystery of Chaos dungeon is designed for "Equipment of Seraph" NFT holders, where players can complete challenges and obtain new equipment NFTs. To enter this dungeon, players need to accumulate energy bars by killing monsters. When the energy bar accumulates to a certain level, players can challenge the dungeon boss. After defeating the boss, players will be rewarded with multiple treasure chests, which may contain equipment NFTs.

3. Trial of Seraph (Ladder Gameplay)

When the player completes the main quest, the Ladder Gameplay will be unlocked. This dungeon is the main drop location for gems and amulets. The gameplay is similar to the Chaos Secret Realm, the main difference is that non-Boss monsters will not drop any items, only experience rewards. The Ladder Gameplay dungeon can be entered by players in a team, and the difficulty of the dungeon will increase as the number of team members increases.

After each challenge, the performance of the players will be ranked according to the number of levels cleared and the time to clear the levels. Ranking rewards will be issued based on the performance of the players, encouraging competitive gameplay and teamwork.

Technology & Economic Systems

Market

Seraph Studios created the ActPass marketplace for players to buy and sell in-game items. Players can easily use the marketplace through a simple login process without having to delve into the complexities of blockchain. ActPass allows players to deposit the crypto assets needed to purchase any digital item and instantly sync with the account used in the game. This means that the new one-handed sword a player purchases will appear in the game immediately, without waiting.

ActPass manages the user's wallet in the marketplace, simplifying the overall experience. ActPass covers the operational costs of NFT items in and out of the game at the initial purchase price, without users having to pay additional fees.

ActPass's functionality is possible because Seraph is built on opBNB, a Layer-2 solution for the BNB chain. opBNB has extremely low transaction fees (approximately $0.001) and plans to process more than 4,000 transactions per second. Players can conduct frequent transactions, such as NFT trading and acquisition of game equipment, without worrying about financial burden, which ensures that players can enjoy a smooth and uninterrupted gaming experience even during peak periods. This scalability supports real-time asset synchronization in the ActPass marketplace, ensuring that newly purchased items are immediately available to players without delay. The use of opBNB is highly consistent with Seraph's mission to provide players with a high-quality gaming experience by abstracting the complexity of the blockchain.

In-Game Economy

All players can obtain rare asset outputs during game progress, especially in the Void Realm. Players equipped with NFT equipment can produce Soul Spars, the main in-game currency, by defeating monsters in the Void Realm dungeon and consuming the Chaos Energy of NFT equipment. Soul crystals are not on-chain assets, and they have four main uses:

• Consume soul crystals to enter the Chaos Secret Realm dungeon, where you can drop "Angel Equipment" NFTs.

• Improve the properties of NFT equipment and improve the player's combat ability and level by strengthening the gameplay.

• Buy and sell items in the ActPass market in the game.

• Pack soul crystals into "Soul Boxes" for on-chain transactions and sell them to other players as NFTs.

Token Economics

Seraph is a free-to-play game that also incorporates a "play to earn" mechanism. The project's token, SERAPH TGE, has not yet occurred; however, players can obtain "Seraph Grace Feathers" to qualify for future redemption of SERAPH tokens.

Feathers are divided into three rarity levels and offer a fixed exchange ratio for future SERAPH tokens:

• 1 Star Feather = 1 SERAPH Token

• 1 Chaos Feather = 3 SERAPH Tokens

• 1 Soul Feather = 10 SERAPH Tokens

A portion of the token supply will be allocated for player rewards and distributed through the "User Interaction" system each season (as shown above). The system quantifies player interaction based on their behavior and activity.

SERAPH tokens are intended to be used to unlock game features, craft items, and promote player engagement in the game. To further enhance the utility of the SERAPH token, it will also be used to:

• Reforge the Chaos Enchantments of NFT equipment each season.

• Uncover the properties of NFT equipment obtained through drops.

• Participate in unique opportunities such as "Soul Spar" and "Seraph Equipment" NFT drops.

• Participate in future community governance activities.

Networking Activities

Seraph has proven its profitability. From August 22, 2024 to September 25, 2024, Seraph has generated over $2 million in in-game revenue and hit a record high of 90,000 unique players. In the most recent 30 days (November-December 2024), Seraph has seen over 20 million transactions and 1.84 million unique players in the Seraph ecosystem.

Technology Roadmap

Summary

Seraph showcases the latest advancements in the blockchain gaming space. The dungeon loot game provides players with an immersive action role-playing experience where they can participate in quests, explore treasures, and craft equipment while enjoying a “play to earn” mechanism where they are rewarded through game challenges. The ActPass marketplace simplifies the trading of NFTs and in-game items, allowing players to participate smoothly without having to have a deep understanding of blockchain technology.

Seraph has demonstrated strong network activity, achieving significant revenue and a growing user base through opBNB on the BNB chain. With the advantages of its Web3 technology, Seraph is expected to lead the next wave of blockchain games, providing players with entertainment and real rewards, and building a thriving ecosystem.