I have been playing SPLINTERLANDS for many years now and the season rewards generally are much better than what I anticipate. Sometimes I get lucky with more legendaries and gold foils than normal and sometimes it’s a bit on the lower side but despite the changes in reward system and even after the introduction of Soulbound NFTs I kept playing regularly as I personally think Soulbound NFTs will be very useful in the future.
Playing regularly helps me try out different strategies and see for myself what works and what does not. I usually spend about 15 mins each day to play Splinterlands and when I know I will be able to dedicate more time during a week I try going to Diamond level if not I play within Gold.
This last season turned out quite frustrating as I ended up spiralling down in one losing spree after another.
The result was that despite the normal time I spent playing I could only get 18 Diamond chests as season rewards which was way less than 40-45 which is my average for Diamond level.
What Caused the Disastrous Performance this Season?
I kept analysing some of my matches to figure out why I kept losing so much despite considering myself a seasoned veteran in splinterlands. The answer I think is a combination of many factors:
- New Soulbound Cards- I guess I still need to master the trait combinations of new cards and how to defend against them.
- Rich Whales Playing in Diamond?- The moment I step into Diamond league I am pitched against players with legendary summoners maxed out and Gold foil cards maxed out. Not sure if these are rich kids or guys renting these legendaries for the season. Either ways I need to up my game or look for a new strategy. If nothing else I need to eat humble pie and step down to Gold league.
- Fight Restrictions are more Limiting- I have Summoners maxed out for 4 elements and for others I have level 4 or 5. This proved to be my Achilles heel as in Diamond league there are many fights which only allow one element and if its my weak element I am pretty much doomed from the start
Any Silver Lining?
Despite the lower number of chests earned I got some consolation by the 2 packs I found. The percentage of chests with cards inside was much higher than usual. Sometimes I get cards from just one in four chests opened.
In the next season I am going to play patiently in Gold league and level up my Soulbound NFTs. Also I plan to brawl more regularly to level up my Gladiators. I saw that many fights now have the rule to allow one gladiator in the match and if I don’t have a good levelled up gladiator I am going to get beaten black and blue by my opponent.
2 Traits to Look out for in the Future
While looking back on the fights I lost in the last season I saw that the majority were against the opponent taking advantage of 2 main traits:
- Bloodlust- If the tank up front is being healed and protected which does not allow me to kill it soon then it is soon going to get lethal beyond control. After killing a few guys it will have an attack of 20 or something and my cards will just be fast food for it.
- - Initially I thought Martyr was not very useful and I never used it much but then I saw some of my opponents placing it between 2 legendaries and the moment the Martyr dies it makes the legendaries even more deadlier.
I need to start involving these 2 traits more often in my gameplay and more importantly level up my cards with Bloodlust.
Hopefully I have better luck in the next season.
