Good morning Splinterlandians - New Players and OG's alike!!
I hope you've had an amazing 2024 so far... I am hoping to make it even better with my top tips for New Players!
As you vets already know - but many of the new players won't... I love Splinterlands!! I think it's the best #play2earn #web3 game out there!
I also love Tattoos... So in 2022, I knew I'd have a unique opportunity to get some really cool ink that I KNEW no one else would have... so I got the Untamed Powerhouse Duo "Llama-Kron" tattooed on my forearms 😄
Bonus: one of my accounts is named @llama-kron as well 😁
Now, let's talk a bit about when I first started...
I treated Splinterlands like any other TCG I have ever played... which means... I jumped in headfirst.
But Splinterlands ISN'T like every other TCG I've ever played!!
I failed to learn about a lot of things, probably because of all the EXCITING stuff I've always dreamt Digital TCGs could be (MTG:O)...
Unfortunately, this has cost me significantly in the long run, so I am here to try and help mitigate some of those mistakes for you 😁
Decide on why you joined... Unless you have a TON of discretionary income, you'll need to FOCUS it on your SPECIFIC goal to maximize your return - whether it be Financially or Fun - WHAT is your Goal and WHY did you join???
Do you want to be a:
Land Baron?
SPS Tycoon?
Card Rental Magnate?
Pack Flipper?
Battle & Tournament Champ?
There's a lot of ways to #play2earn in #Splinterlands - but it's best to FOCUS.
Don't: Spread your assets out too much
Do: Focus on what you want, so you can get the most from your Splinterlands experience!
To Guild or not to Guild? That... is the question 💀
I am usually leery of Guilds in most online games, ESPECIALLY Online TCGs... BIG MISTAKE.
Guilds are PHENOMENAL!! Well - they can be... Most are, use your judgement when joining and try to avoid those with insanely high "fees".
In fact, most of the Splinterlands Community - here on Hive and in the Discord are amazing and some of the most helpful people I've ever met!
There are of course... the "Gollums" of the Community as well... but just ignore them. They'll just talk smack and claim you stole their Precious.
The Discord has updates, help, Q&A, SPS + Card delegation, deals on cards P2P aka "off market"... and more!! You WILL get the most help there and you are welcome to find me and message me questions!
In addition to being SUPER HELPFUL... Joining a Guild can also give you:
Discounts in the store
Bonus rewards from chests
Allow you to unlock super powerful cards called "Gladiators" and play them in a special Guild vs Guild battle system called "Brawls" - where you can earn a LOT of SPS by Brawling!!
Card Packs... can be a double edged sword!! You can cut your own arm off... 😬
What do I mean by this?? Well... Typically, Card Packs are usually bought for a few reasons:
- To open for cards for your deck
- To save for investment
- To "flip"
There are pros and cons to #2 and #3... But something you should ABSOLUTELY NEVER DO... is #1 and here's why:
Let's use the current set: #Rebellion as an example... You could spend $100 and go buy about 20 packs from the store (25 if you have Vouchers)... or you could get about 25 from TribalDex - a fantastic defi market for Splinterlands Assets!
Ok back to our example: We want to increase our decks and we've spent $100 on packs... Now we have 25 Rebellion Packs... But if we open them we would probably want some Potions from the Splinterlands Store to double our Legendary and GoldFoil chances - right?
Assuming we're new and haven't earned many (if ANY from battling)... at $.04 Per Legendary and $.05 Per Alchemy Potion... you would need 5 of each PER PACK (1 of each potion, for each CARD)... That's 250 Potions for a total of $11.25 extra - we've now Spent $111.25 in this example...
If you open 25 packs... Do you REALLY think you'll pull enough cards and/or chase cards to be able to build a decent starter deck??
The short answer is: no
If you want to start building a competitive deck, the most cost efficient way to do this is by using the In-Game Market to purchase the cards you will need!!
Trust me: you're not going to immediately need the Chaos Lackey or Kha'zi Fire Mage... You are WAY better off buying the specific cards you need for your deck.
In addition to the In-Game Market, there are MANY other 3rd Party Markets out there but my two favorite, in no particular order, for they all have pros and cons are:
I like buying my cards on Splex because you get "Cash Back" in the form of DEC... however PeakMonsters makes Bids easier and you do get "Cash Back" but in their native Token $PKM
Regardless of whether you use the In-Game or 3rd Party Markets - buying your Cards individually is vastly superior in the terms of being "Cost Effective" than cracking packs and hoping you get enough of one to level it up.
Sidenote: There are many benefits to buying packs... but buying them to make a deck is NOT one of them.
I hope you found this helpful and as we exit the Crypto Bear Market I hope you all have an incredible 2024 and 2025... I hope this encourages many of you to join us in Splinterlands and I REALLY hope these tips help you avoid some of the costly mistakes I made when I first joined!
Make sure you click the "Follow" Button and please leave your feedback, comments and thoughts below (even if you call me an idiot) I'd still want to hear your opinion.
I'd love to have you join me in game and you can sign up at this link:
https://splinterlands.com?ref=captaindingus
Cheers 🍻,
- CaptainDingus
