Welcome to back another weekly entry of my Rag to Riches diary. I have a lot on my mind this week so here's hoping it's an entrancing entry for you all.
Week 5 Reward
I went hard with my renting plan and keep myself at Gold III then Gold II throughout the week. There is not a lot of exciting draw for the week. I enjoyed the 4 rares on 8 September and also the 400 DEC on 4 September. These are some okay rewards but nothing outstanding.
Thoughts on Cards Renting
If you read my previous entry, you know that I am into renting cards to boost myself up the ranks. As you can see with the reward, I am happy to take the higher rewards of higher leagues than stuck on bronze. At the same time, I feel like there are a certain level you should hold in order to optimize your value vs rented price. Whether you prefer EV(expected value) or C/P(cost-performance value), the key thing is to understand the potential gain you are getting from your rentals.
Looking at both the silver and gold levels, I truly believe that if you want to rent-for-power, you should stop at the III of that tier. You see, if you stop at Silver III, you are getting 12 seasonal chests + 2 daily chests for just 15,000 power. To go to Silver I, you need an extra 55,000 power just for 6 extra season chests + 2 extra daily chests. You might as well just go for that 45,000 extra power to hit 4 more season chests + 2 more daily chests at that point.
At the gold level, you need to invest an extra 100,000 power just for 8 extra season chests + 2 extra daily chests. If you want to invest that much, you should just go another 50,000 more to hit Diamond III. That gives you 10 more season chests + 2 more daily chests compared to Gold I.
Essentially, it looks to me that the III tier gives you the best bang for your bucks. I have seen a lot of players who stop at 100,000+ power and it truly feels like this is just the way to go.
Leaping to Diamond III
I had the points to go to Diamond III and I am dumb enough to actually hit Gold I level of power, so I made the leap on 9 September.
For my tier, I am paying $0.12 per day to all the card owners out there, which is quite the value. The more ridiculous news is that I might actually lower it by an extra cent or two if I understand the escrow fee before I rented those cards with high fee on them. I thought I would get back my entire escrow fee and I just learned today that I can only get back half after I complete the whole contract. So, I am paying a tad more for some of those cards.
But if you are not as frugal as me, even $0.20 per day to get to Diamond III should net you profit in the long run. I am unable to breakeven in mere DEC, as I would need to earn around 200 per day, by market price, to do so. I am averaging 100 or so per day. However, if you factor in the cards and potential pack draw that I might hit once in a while with my loot chest, I should be able to profit over a long period of time, I just need the chances to eventually convert.
With that said, this newly implemented collection power change does cut down on my potential profit so I have really mixed feelings about it. I am not raging as some players did - and I can understand their frustration - but man, this thing really hurts my challenge. Now, I really need to play everyday to keep up with my rent. If I miss a day, I might not be able to sustain my rental in the long run. It's a dangerous game I am playing. $0.12 is nothing to most people, but to a true rag like me, it's...kinda a lot.
I am not sure if it solves the bot problem. I do see less amount of bots but there are still some silver bot accounts and they are doing pretty fine at Gold tiers.
Plan for the Week
I am trying to get more involved with Splinterlands and am looking to write more articles. First one is trying to breakdown if the tournament is worth it for me by going the "rent and compete" route. Secondly, I am trying to see if I can actually finish a weekly challenge battle article. Been wanting to write one but never really finish it.
And that's all for now. Thanks for reading and I will see you all again next week.
If you are interested in the game, I'd appreciate if you check it out, and hopefully buy in, with my affiliate link.
Fascinating to see your Rag to Riches over time. Well done with the Collection Power boost via rentals. Good luck with the chests.