As the old adage goes,
The best intentions get screwed over by the stupidest acts.
Since the crypto markets are dead and will never recover, I have been drowning my sorrows in Splinterlands a bit more than I had originally intentioned and while I am in a technical green zone and perhaps by a long way, I find myself wasting a lot more time than I had wanted to and enjoying it more than I should. I think it is a mix of things that has led to this including what is going on professionally and with my health, but I feel like a bit of a monster - as I have better things to do with my time.
Better things aside though, I was playing last night but feel that I am getting stuck, as my cards while not bad, just can't get over the hurdle into the Diamond leagues, leaving me floundering in mid-Gold 1.
Granted, my cards might be good enough to crossover the border, but I concede that I am not good enough and still make a lot of silly errors, like choosing a brilliant team for the game play, but forgetting one of the conditions, or setting my team in the wrong order and getting slaughtered. sometimes though, I am just outmuscled, and as someone who is pretty muscly (muscle jiggles, right?), it doesn't feel good.
So, I have hit the rental market in the hope to add something useful to my stables (not stable coins) and in order to do so, I have enlisted the help of three Splinterlands stooges Musketeers (@revisesociology, @abh12345 and @azircon) who have helped me all the way along. They are full of useful tips, which is fantastic, I just have to decipher what they are talking about half the time, as they use nonsensical jargon that they think is normal, but don't realize they are actually speaking a Tolkien language.
What I have found interesting is that I have an "affinity" for some splinters over others and prefer some monsters over others, even if they aren't the best ones to play. It is like I want the underdog to win, so keep playing even if it keeps losing.
One of the problems I have is that I am a terrible maximizer, meaning I am terribly bad at maximizing. This is a challenge as essentially the point of Splinterlands is to find a balance between Mana and attributes that maximize the chances of winning, whether it be through the force of attack, the strength of defense or through the many combinations of traits that can be applied to lessen or strengthen the chosen team.
In some cases, you don't even need to attack to win - you just have to fight a war of attrition.
https://splinterlands.com?p=battle&id=sl_16934ebdeb45e9b7ce0a5f53b0e96bbc&ref=tarazkp
Thanks for the lesson @gtg
I am still very much in the learning phase, but at least I feel like I am making some inroads into building my own strategy and style of play. I might not win that much, but I would rather play as "me" than copy what others do. I am pretty stubborn like that and even when I ask for help, I don't always follow the advice I receive. Sorry!
But, this means that while the learning curve is steep and hard to climb, once I do learn, I am pretty good at using my strategy to my advantage. This works better in games that aren't like Splinterlands though, as it is quite calculating, so for each gameplay there is likely a "perfect" approach if someone has a full deck to play with. I definitely don't have a full deck, either in-game or in terms of brain function, but I enjoy the play enough to want to advance a bit more.
Which brings me to a question about scalability of the game itself. @azircon was saying that while my "Dice" cards are okay, I will need to rent some summoners and monsters from earlier decks, because I can't win much with Dice alone. I get this, but I wonder that if there were for example, a couple million people playing Splinterlands, does that mean that only a sliver of users will be able to compete at the top because they have a full deck from the early days?
I went in heavy on Dice because essentially, that is all that was available at the time. I have a pretty decent DICE deck, but will there be cards coming in coming pack groups that allow me to compete with the early players, or will I always be resigned to struggle in the bunny leagues?
Remembering that this is a Pay-to-Play game whether buying packs or renting from others, it can cause a problem as there is an equilibrium point somewhere that makes renting unviable (considering people want to earn) and owning useless, since people will know they can't get very far without renting old cards, which will inflate in price as more people need them in order to advance. While the rental price rise sounds great for investors (I rent a lot of my cards too), the closer it gets to the equilibrium point, the less new players will come into the game.
Again, I don't know what is in the pipeline for future packs, but I do hope that the creators understand that future investors can't just be early investors, new blood and money is needed, and that means cards that can compete with the old. Of course, there has to also be incentive and value for early supporters too, so it can't be too easy to get in late either. Most likely, @aggroed and @yabapmatt have a solution for finding this middleground across the card issues.
But one thing I would like them to seriously consider is, creating a Lengendary neutral "Jack of all Trades" card. It can have low mana, lots of attributes at a relatively low level and is able to fit in and support any team. One thing it has to have high though, is resiliency.
The "Taraz" card
Then I will be a monster for realsies ;D
Anyway, back to what I should be doing - which is not posting or playing Splinterlands....
Stupid work.
If only the crypto markets were 10x - Or I got into Splinterlands at the start.
Taraz
[ Gen1: Hive ]
Seems like you're doing great so far. Learning the strategies is most of the fun. And I'm also a terrible maximizer, lol.
I may be wrong, but wasn't there talk of an additional ranked play format coming down the pipeline that would have only the more recent cards in it? This would keep newer cards like Dice relevant. For me, I'll be focusing on getting my hands on newer cards, because I feel like I've already missed the boat on most of the older stuff. Such is being a player in a collectible card game.
Either way, I trust the devs to be able to steer the ship and balance the game in a way that continues to offer exciting game play to players, and a solid investment to those looking for that. I've only been playing splinterlands for about 4 months, but I'm really impressed with the foresight of the team.
This will happen with the launch of Chaos legion. There'll be a new, Modern format, with only Untamed, CL and Dice playable (also newer rewards cards), then there'll be the Wild (names are tenative) format, where all cards are playable.
Should help with balancing. Every time a new set is released, Modern will shift to the new set and the previous one.
It's not a great look for a newcomer to arrive and get beaten by a team worth $5000. He'll assume it's impossibly difficult/pay to win, and leave.
Hard to communicate that the pricing is based in scarcity, not utility.
Thanks. And I hope the names (at least Modern) is tentative. While Modern is actually quite descriptive, I'm sure I'm not the only one who has played M:tG and thinks "Modern. Large card library. Got it." vs. "Standard. Recent sets. Got it." And to be fair, it's M:tG whose naming conventions suck.
This is my first foray into TCGs, so I'm picking up a lot of this stuff second hand from OG gamers. That can be an advantage I guess. Less confusion.
When some of them are going for multiple thousands for single cards, I missed the boat too!
I think they will have to "splinter" the game a bit too, so there is not just one channel toward the higher end. People will be able to have a bit more of a chance with newer cards.
Ha ha, well said, but I thought you are picking up on the dialect!
Noxious fume is a difficult ruleset. Especially if you do not have the Cube. I recommend you rent the Gel Cube :)
@gtg played it wrong by the way, he should have placed the Cube all the way at the back for maximum effect. In front, any experienced player could have stunned it :)
In that battle rule always play Cube at the back.
That brings me to your question, a very valid one....
Although that is the case right now, and it is unfortunate, but it will soon change with the release of Chaos Legion cards. In most card game there will be power creep, which means the newer generation cards are generally more powerful than older generation cards, and that problem you described will largely disappear.
Now you know, right?
My intention was to use "Cleanse " to remove "Poision", otherwise that
-2from Poison each round would get my cube killed earlier than Kralus. Of course in this particular case which I was lucky to be in.Newer generation cards being more popular than older makes card market and speculation on future value of cards less sexy, so I don't know if that's a good idea. For card issuers - sure - if there will always be more powerful cards to buy, replacing obsolete ones...
This is the balance that is going to be hard to find to keep the early in interested and invested. Though, perhaps it is all part of the game of tokenization to keep replacing the old with the new.
I thought I had you for a minute... then no.
So far this is not the case in Splinterlands. Not entirely anyways. Only Zaku, Kitty and Llama is OP. Of the three, really we can only say Zaku and Kitty are more 'all-purpose'.
I'd love to have another max Valnamor, or a max Prince Rennyn, which are both alpha and beta cards. There is still no real match for them in Untamed or Dice edition. But I was taking the analogy for power creep from the Pokemon games, where this is generally true, but there are enough complexity and nuances in the game where the older cards will continue to have good use cases.
Oh.. Cube have self tank heal and scavenge, so unless there is a lot of sneak attack, you are generally okay. Let me show you an example:
https://splinterlands.com/?p=battle&id=sl_a1b5435457a504c9d81ca4248b5c6536
And of course where you can use a Llama (but in your battle with Taraz, Earth Splinter was not an option:)
https://splinterlands.com/?p=battle&id=9818c4522147e7eb0c27f88183ae297eb31c4497
And of course, when you both thought the same, and it becomes a powerplay:
https://splinterlands.com/?p=battle&id=9b385734062bb9853c892c1fc8bfd9beabb3f580
on the last one, the Cube survived the massive sneak attacks from Sandworm (the most powerful sneak attacker of the game)
It is one of the worst, and I don't have a good defense for it. I think I will get a cube (price will be double when I do now :D )
I do okay with the earthquake ones using Brighton now. I still have to learn all the combinations and how to stack abilities - my biggest weakness perhaps.
I am really looking forward to Chaos Legion, to see what is on offer - With the amount of SPS I have for the presale - I hope they do half packs! :D
I would guess so. I have some of these earlier Summoners at max level but don't have some of the 7 mana Summoners which were released later. This means I can give anyone a good game at 12-25 mana with Water splinter, but have little chance at 50 mana because the 7 mana Summoner will likely be played.
So far I think the team have a done a great job balancing things out. The mad rush this year may have caught them a little off guard but so far so good and so you have to put faith in the fact have a plan to keep the early adopters happy, and make the game work for those just joining in.
Most games seem to be in the lower mana levels that I play, which is why I asked about some cards to play in that range. I think I have an okay earth setup, but i struggle with experience - which is what my wife has said in the past as well.
The team has done a great job and hopefully they can stabilize the infra to scale up further.
It’s not you man trust me. My lineup is pretty good overall but there’s insanely strong people hanging out in gold and diamond leagues right now that I feel belong in champion. I can’t figure it out. Couple that with a much easier rental market and it’s a tough environment! I’m usually diamond 2 or 1 right now but I’m verging on falling back to gold. Good in some ways that lots of people are playing but frustrating as shit in others lol
I'm also getting my ass whooped in Diamond whilst thinking my deck is worth 130k bro, why aren't I in champion land?!
Only you!? Get a number and stand in line. The difficulty increased exponentially just as the marketcap (which is wonderful!), with the advent of manual playing.
With a $700K deck and 10 days into the season, I am still in Diamond :)
Currently only about 100 people are playing in Champions, and lot of them just reached there and taking a rest, because if they play, they will fall down below in Diamond again :)
I assumed there would be others, even those with expensive decks
who need to learn how to utilize them 😛It's great for the game though, if you can play you will make some tokens.
Looking at the daily quest rewards, I'm not sure taking a break is the best strategy, particularly if you have just scraped into champ and wont be collecting the DEC prizes. In other words, if all you are going to get is 30 more potions, might as well slug it out in diamond 3 and pick up a few thousand extra DEC each day. Or am I missing something?
For the record; I am now in Champions :)
Your taunts was helpful, Ash! LOL!!
No you are not missing anything. Actually I was answering that question in a different way to Taraz above. If you are optimizing there is many variables at play right now. Top 50 at any leaderboard right now gives you a DEC prize, you can choose to be in any if you can. But the main gig to earn more from the game is tournaments. Top profressionals are only playing the league to keep practice and swag up. The main earning is happening from the tournaments. You should check the stats here and see for yourself :)
https://peakd.com/hive-13323/@jacekw/weekly-splinterlands-tournaments-summary-2021-08-09-2021-08-16
This gives you the idea, who the all time 'who's who' are :)
Well good to know I’m not the only one struggling lol you have a really good deck! Don’t think I’ve beat you yet but hopefully one day!
I'm sure you will beat me at some point, with the cards I'm renting you maybe?!
They like to win, so they don't progress? I assume that while there is more DEC on offer per round higher up, the win ratio can be significantly lower.
progress is a choice Taraz
Gold 1 is at 2800, so why Byza is not moving up with 2 accounts ? :))
Because of these reasons:
If Byza moves up to Diamond, he likely won't be #1 (therefore, miss out on the season end reward of 60K DEC).
He probably plays a lot of gold level tournaments and therefore need constant practice at gold level.]
Diamond level top spots are already taken by the chosen diamond players :)
These players are best of the best. They have figured out perfectly where they belong and what is the most efficient way of doing business.
I haven't even looked into the leaderboard yet. Makes sense.
Is it based on win/loss percentage?
It's based on points won, aka rating. Winning battles versus people who are lower (not reached the top ranks of the league) in the same league you are in will advance you a little bit (points gained, 3 points per win is how it's now set up regardless of win streak) but if you win versus someone at the top ranks of the league you are in you get more points per win (10-30 or so I've gotten). The same is true if you lose though, lose to someone in the lower leagues and you get smacked down the ranks but lose to someone in the same top ranks and you go quickly down!
Winning versus losing has some factor in it but the primary factor is don't lose to people close in the top ranks of the league!
only 363 positions to go!
Nice, rocking it bruh! Lol. The game is a little too addicting!
Thanks, I wasn't necessarily pointing out these people in particular. More the people who stay diamond 2 or 1 then flee battles so they stay. I've seen quite a few of them flee my battle to drop some points then later on wipe the floor with me because all their stuff is maxed.
I'm glad I haven't run into these top people, looks miserable!
Oh yes, I remember that well. In fact even now I can still have to sheepishly approach Matt and ask him to translate what he just said. Incidentally, isn't Finnish pretty much a Tolkien language? 🤔
You raise stooge very good points with the market/rental balance. Especially as some of the older cards have no similar newer ones to match up to them and some of the summoner buffs are harder to counter. The older cards are getting crazy expensive, especially if they're a decent card, so it's rent or go without and get hammered.
With level one deck in bronze it's not such a big issue, especially since they added the beta summoners in as phantoms. Unfortunately, you can't level them up without actually buying them...
Yes. He loved it.
It is best I don't talk to Matt - he will just keep saying "I told you so" :D
I have rented some as I can offset with my own rentals, but it is pretty crazy if coming in from zero.
He's too much of a gentleman to rub it in. 😉
Glad he wore me down. I'd be kicking myself now if he hadn't.
None of that :)
Just glee that you're both engaging now.
Everyone says the money is insane in Splinterlands. In a good way. Kick me, please. I didn't get in either. :(
I hate regrets. I try not to have any, but, who knew? Obviously all of my friends.
At present they would be correct! Hopefully the game brings many more eyes to HIVE and then we all benefit.
Wouldn't that be great? In the meantime, get in there and defend yourself!
They stopped talking to me about it... asses. I am certain the millionth and first time would have been the one that made me buy! :D
I know, right? :))
@tarazkp we are like monsters and you are a like summoner for us on hive
I learned a lot from your experience which you shared in your posts every day, I really thanks to you for sharing a battle between you @tarazkp and @gtg
I watched this battle its really help me to learn because I am still struggling to stay in silver III league
What I feel you should not doubt your abilities, your card selection is not bad after all its a game, there must be one winner and one loser
I think you selected your cards with attacking mind set and @gtg cards are mostly better in defense see his card in first position this card do not have any attacking ability, but have more and more restoration life power ability
And at the end of the game more defense requires and his last card left in the battle is suitable for defense, that's why gtg when, and according to game rules if cards are posioned then there is also you need cards with more life power with restoration abilities
But battle is so nice it's very longest battle thanks again for sharing this I wish other new @splinterlands players also watch this battle this may help them to learn more
I think we all win with this game - at least in some way. Hopefuklly more of it splashes out into HIVE also, then even more win :)
I am terrible at playing the poison rules - I haven't found a good combination that works for me.
Lol, it's funny that when you start playing splinterlands, you enjoy it for a while.
Then you start getting your ass kicked in every match, and it's not fun anymore😂
I am sure this post will be full of thread and advise on how to play and improve your card placement. I will take some of those advise😅
I don't mind losing, as long as I play a good game.
Seems like there will be some decent comments. Worth checking back in on.
Good to see you playing in this time when market is little down .Splinterland is becoming new place for hive bloggers where they can chill and play together.Hope you win most battle today.🙂
It is fun - though time consuming.
Struggling through Gold to get to Diamond? I wonder if we've battled, because that is exactly where I am at as well. All season long I struggle through Gold ranks and usually hit Diamond 1-2 days before season ends. My guild @acolytesofhelio have talked about the ranked play, how at season beginning its a slaughterhouse for anyone not renting as all those power players are set back. Near league end, however, the power players are all in higher Diamond/Champion ranks, which is how us little gold fishies are getting our diamonds at the very end.
Oh man, we need new ways to buy packs and soon. I'm able to struggle through to Diamonds because I was a semi-early investor able to secure a ton of cards from previous sets before the markets went kaboom. (it was earth shattering) So I was able to get me a Yodin, Llama, Kron, plus all the nice alpha cards that are handy to have. But new players, you pretty much have to use the rental aftermarket/card market to get anywhere.
I'd love to see new cards, and soon.
maybe. I don't like playing people I chat with here - as I nearly always lose :D
I have noticed the same at the start and this time, I progressed a bit faster (played more) than last season. This is only my third season playing, so I have a lot to learn of course.
New cards are on the way SOON supposedly. Soon in crypto though... ;D
LOL. Yeah no kidding, soon in crypto seems to be:
But Splinterlands is pretty solid imo. So I'm not too worried. Just hurry up already lol.
I have few max summoners from Untamed, but the 7 mana one are only level 1 usually. So, i am stuck, as i will never afford to upgrade those ones. This is life. We need to compensate with skill, or make one unbeatable team and hope is always active.
I'm screwed!!! ;D
you can always learn. from the one kicking your aXX. as i do, i see some monster that keep defeating my team single handed, then i look for it, and it is like 2000$ and I am like: I'M SCREWED!
:D
Yeah - Rentals are the only way to go for me on this and I still don't need to win that much that I am willing to rent anything, regardless of price.
Everyone loves an underdog.
That's part of the attraction of Hive and crypto in general :)
Finally I read what Splinterlands is. It is a game consists of card collections which have several statictics and talents to battle against other users.
You haven't read about it so far? I thought you were doing your research months ago :D
Yea after that time :)
This kind of sorrows I have seen and been through a lot but it also makes me stronger and smarter
Better to be smart, than rich... supposedly... :D
yeah if you are smart you probably can get rich
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Well, in Magic: The Gathering, the Alpha and Beta editions contained some pretty powerful singles but also the average level has not gone down since. We're often talking about the power creep and that is to say new and pretty powerful stuff gets printed in new editions compared to the old. Powerful old cards get new nerf-ed cousins...etc. The balance is not quite maintained, yet the bicycle keeps zig-zagging onwards.
What proved to be a good strategy was coming out with new editions...on a regular basis, almost since the start. Four official tournament playable editions a year, more than one hundred cards each one of them. The number needs not be that high, but the other aspect might be quite important to the masses. Yeah, the print runs also got much larger. That could kind of adjust to the masses, though.
Bearing in mind leveling here requires many copies of the same card...that was a very successful strategy at the beginning. Still is, I suppose. But I am not sure there will be mass 10k USD spenders...unless you get to steal that M:TG audience which does some serious spending, indeed.
I notice a lot of talk about the power creep of newer card sets. @azircon noted this as a feature of the 'pokemon' type game systems and he is correct. As part of the crew who started that whole industry with Magic: The Gathering, it is a mechanism that so many businesses use or have used in order to keep older adherents of the games purchasing new cards. As I have not gotten into the Splinterlands environment (for monetary and fear of addiction reasons) I can only hope that such a model does not become an aspect of the system.