Hi Everyone! As a player who is relatively new to Splinterlands (and blockchain gaming in general), I have sometimes found it challenging to find the information that would be needed to be successful in this space. Because of this, I want to briefly give some tips about getting started that I feel would help newer players help navigate the Splinterlands landscape in their early days of playing. This list is not all encompassing…instead it is designed to help new players get started in figuring out the best approach (for them) in playing this game. With that being said, the information that has helped me the most as I learn about Splinterlands is presented below…
1. Establish your goals early on so that you can be directed in your actions.
Is your goal to make money? Or are you just looking for a fun game to play? Do you want to reach Champion I league every season? Or do you want to maximize your resources and be the best player in the Silver leagues? There are so many ways to play Splinterlands that it helps to have an idea early on about your goals and what you want to prioritize. I personally play the game for fun (so none of this is financial advice), but if you play to make money, that’s great too! Additionally, having a good idea about how much money you want to spend in Splinterlands will help you in this area as well. For example, you can likely build a Silver-level deck by utilizing your daily rewards and a small (optional) investment. Conversely, if you want to compete in the top leagues, you’ll likely need to invest a significant amount (both time and money) to ensure that your deck is competitive. You can also play decks that other people have created (with their permission and profit sharing, of course) as a way to help you get started. However you choose to play, as long as you’re having fun, that’s all that matters!
A card that would be competitive in Novice League (left; $0.28),a card that would be competitive in Silver League (Middle; $7.00) and a Card that would be competitive in Diamond League (Right; $32.20).
2. As you improve your cards/splinters, make sure you know your buying options (and choose what is best for you).
Improving your cards will make you more competitive in whatever league you decide you want to compete in. There are several options for buying new cards:
Splinterlands In-game Market– This is probably the most straightforward way, as you can access it directly on the Splinterlands website. In order to buy cards here, you’ll need either credits (can be bought with cryptocurrency or paypal) or dark energy crystals (DEC, can be earned in game). There are a lot of good cards for cheap that will help you in the bronze/silver leagues, so definitely check it out and look for deals!
Peakmonsters – This website is fantastic for finding potential deals on cards. Additionally, you can rent cards from here at a cheap price (great for if you want to try a new card or if you need to gain power to improve your league). Note: To use Peakmonsters you’ll need Hive, which you can either buy or obtain from your rewards (using Hive-Engine to exchange DEC for Hive). There are a number of great guides out there for using Peakmonsters, so definitely check them out if you need additional information!
AtomicHub – This was actually how I first started building my deck in Splinterlands. AtomicHub has a number of Splinterlands assets that are listed at prices in Wax. The nice thing is that you can use Wax to buy your cards directly (then transfer them over to Splinterlands). HOWEVER, a big caveat to this is that AtomicHub prices are almost always higher for cards then what you would find on the in-game market. To this end, I recommend that if you want to use Wax to buy cards, you use Wax to by CREDITS on the Splinterlands website, then use those credits on the in-game market. This was something that I learned the hard way, so definitely learn from my mistake!
Cardauctionz.com is also a great website for finding deals on cards. Although I haven’t used this website yet, it’s definitely work checking out!
Here's an example image of the AtomicHub website for purchasing Splinterlands assets.
3. Find your league “sweet spot” and use it to both improve your play and your cards.
One thing to note about the leagues is that they have both a rating and a power requirement. The rating is based off of you winning/losing matches, while the power requirement is based off of the DEC burn rate of the cards in your deck. You need to satisfy both requirements to move up in leagues. Different leagues also have different Summoner Level caps, which dictates the max level of a card that can play in that league. Finding your league “sweet spot” is important for maximizing your DEC gains and progress in the game. You want to find a league where you win the majority of your games comfortably, as this will be your primary means for making DEC. If you stay in a league that is too low, you won’t make as much DEC as you should (DEC rewards go up as you progress in different leagues). Conversely, if you move to a league that is too high for your cards, you’ll lose the majority of your games and completing your daily quest will become a struggle. Find what works best with you and stick with it until you’re ready to move up (for example, I tend to stay in Gold I until the end of the season, then in the last few days I push as high as I can in to Diamond). Note: Leagues become exponentially more difficult as you move up. While Novice/Bronze and low Silver are mostly newer players with weaker cards, Diamond and Champion often have players who have been playing for years (with cards/splinters that cost thousands of dollars). Choose wisely!
Example of the power difference as cards level up. These are max-level cards for Bronze League (Top Left), Silver League (Top Right), Gold League (Bottom Left) and Diamond/Champion League (Bottom Right)
4. Keep your DEC Capture Rate Below 100%
If you scroll over your DEC balance, you’ll notice that there is a percent number that’s called “Capture Rate”. The higher this number is, the more DEC you’ll retain from winning ranked matches. Every match you win, the capture rate decreases. It replenishes (I believe) at a rate of around 25% per day. Always make sure to play enough matches to keep the capture rate below 100%, as this will help you maximize your DEC per battle.
As you can see in the image, my DEC capture rate is hovering around 45%.
5. Always finish your daily quest (but don’t necessarily focus on it as you play).
This was a mistake that I often made when I first began playing Splinterlands. It is easy to get hyper-focused on finishing your daily quest and only submit teams related to that request. Doing this, however, will often cause you to lose more battles then if you had just played normally (which drops your rating, reduces your DEC Capture Rate, and limits the amount of DEC you make). The way I complete my daily quests is by (essentially) playing normally. If I have a team that matches the daily quest that I can play with a high win percentage, then I do it. If not, I choose another splinter that I feel would give my team a better chance of winning. This means that completing my daily quest usually takes longer, but that’s ok as long as I’m winning. Also, don’t hesitate to click the “New Quest” button if you receive a daily quest with a splinter that you struggle in. You can only do this once (and it resets your progress, so make sure you do it before you start playing matches), but it can definitely be useful in helping you find a better quest. One additional note, you’ll want to make sure that you keep your splinter’s relatively balanced with respect to how competitive they are. For example, if you have one or two splinters that can compete in Diamond league, but your other four splinters are only at the Silver-league level, they you’re going to have a hard time completing daily quests for those splinters as you level up your league. This is something else to factor in as you decide what league you want to compete in.
Here are the last 5 battles I played before finishing my Earth Splinter Daily Quest. As you can see, there is a mix of Earth, Fire and Water Splinter battles present in this history.
6. View other player’s decks/battles to see the strategies that they use to be successful.
On the main website, you can select “Leaderboard” then sort by league to see both your ranking and the ranking of other players around you. I have found it helpful to view the cards and battles of other players to see how they go about playing Splinterlands. Although they sometimes have cards that I don’t have, their experiences can often give you insight as to how you should build your deck. For example, one of my goals is to eventually reach Champion League, so I often will watch battles of players such as @bubke and @Jacekw (just to name a few) to see how they win and where I can improve.
Here is an image of where to find a players Battle History (Red Arrow) and Card Deck (Green Arrow). You can find this window by clicking on a players name on the battle screen.
7. Join Tournaments!
Tournaments are another fun way for you to practice your Splinterlands skills and earn DEC. There are tournaments for every league running all of the time, so you can definitely find some for your skill/deck level.
i. Above is a picture of the tournament board where you join tournaments. Just click on “Events” on the top row of icons, then select the tournament you want. The cost is listed next to the “View” button. These can have great rewards!
The tournament screen is fairly easy to navigate. Select "View", then "Join", to enter a tournament. If you need to enter teams, the tournament will display with a red band. If you've already entered a few teams, the band will switch to yellow. If all of your teams are entered, the band will be green (as seen in the image above).
8. Make sure to keep up with the current announcements!
Splinterlands is constantly changing and new news about the progress of the game is coming out almost weekly. With important additions such as Landand SPScoming to the game, it’s important to make sure you keep up with the current news. Definitely use the resources mentioned in the next section so that you do not miss out on any unique opportunities!
9. Don’t be afraid to ask questions and find resources.
Splinterlands is a game that has been around for a few years now. That means that there are a ton of useful resources for you to find/use to help you better understand the landscape. The resources that I have found the most helpful are listed below:
Splinterlands Discord – This is where I find the majority of the information I seek with respect to Splinterlands. The Discord is a great community who is very helpful and accepting of new players. While visiting the discord, make sure to check out all of the channels of note (in particular, I follow the general channel, Mavericks-house channel, Land-discussions channel and Deep Dives) so as to not miss anything. Additionally, there is a weekly “Ask me anything” (AMA) held by the developers that is also super useful to watch. This discord is one of the best discords that I have seen in any game and I sincerely recommend you join it!
Splintercards Website – Created by @tehox, this website has a tremendous amount of information and a large number of tools that are extremely useful for helping you learn/play the game. On the website, you can view different cards, sort by card abilities and receive updated information about the upcoming Land expansion. Additionally, tools such as the Missing BCX calculator and the SPS Airdrop Calculator can help you decide how you want to progress in the game. It’s a fantastic resource!
Hive posts (either on Peakd or Splintertalk) – Posts on Hive/Splintertalk are also great resources for new players to utilize. On Hive, you can often find guides/posts by more experienced players to help you learn about how to build your deck and battle efficiently. A few creators that have created articles I have found helpful are linked below to get you started:
@splinterlands (https://www.splintertalk.io/@splinterlands)
@chrisroberts (https://www.splintertalk.io/@chrisroberts)
@nealmcspadden (https://www.splintertalk.io/@nealmcspadden)
Splinterlands Youtube Channels - If you’d rather watch videos, that’s something that you can do as well! A number of youtube channels have been created by members of the community that have been around for a long time. The channels that I would recommend for beginners are listed below (keep in mind that there are many other great youtube channels that are not listed here as well):
@clove71 (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCD653qhMz9Rqp82eV4D5vDw)
Splinterlands Guides (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC-OOmTDl1EnOAZR6LUeQVjQ)
Anyways, I hope this brief guide helps you on your Splinterlands journey. If you’re new to the game and you want to try it out, feel free to use my referral link below to help you get started. If you have any other tips for new players, feel free to share that information in the comment section below. Splinterlands is a complex game that is constantly evolving…make sure to stay up-to-date so that you have the best experience possible!
Beik47 Referral Link: https://splinterlands.com?ref=beik47
Have fun and best of luck on your journey!