Back again splinter fans,

This week the team really delivered. They held their end of the bargain and released the avatar project before the end of the year. That promise has been hanging in the air for a while and seeing it land feels good. We also had a closing Town Hall meeting and honestly that one was packed with information. Seeing the list of what the team and the community achieved this year was impressive. I am just one player and I am proud of that. Great work all around.

Even though the overall crypto gaming market is not looking that strong right now I think the Splinterlands team just needs to stay focused on the game itself and on keeping it fun. Adoption is hard and we have seen that clearly. Still the community is loyal and active and that part I enjoy a lot. It feels like a real place where people care about what they are building and playing.

Now let us move to the topic of this blog. Avatars and Exemplars.

I just love it.

Avatars

Avatars are pretty much what you expect at first glance. You can customize your look in many different ways. Different heads different styles different vibes. It immediately gives your account more personality and it shows how long you have been part of the game or what you care about collecting.

For me this hits a sweet spot. I like collecting achievements. I will hunt them down on purpose. The avatar project was known for a while and I was already looking forward to it. What I did not expect were Exemplars. That part really surprised me and I had to digest it a bit before knowing how I felt about it.

One of the best parts of avatars is the badge system. You can place badges on your avatar and they actually mean something. They show history involvement and dedication.

Direct feedback to the team here. I would love to see these badges on the battlefield when you see your opponent. I want to know what kind of player I am facing just from those visuals. That would be such a small change but a massive quality lift and a great way for players to show off.

Like most avatar systems you can also buy and collect rare upgrades. Skins variants and extras are there and honestly I love it. It is another resource sink mostly for glint I assume and that is not a bad thing.

The downside and this is a good downside for the team is that there is now even more to spend glint on. I already struggle to get reward cards to the level I want. I want to max out sets. Now on top of that we have reward draws potions skins avatars and exemplar upgrades. That is a lot.

Exemplars Take It to Another Level

Then we have Exemplars and this is where things get really interesting.

You can design your own battle card that can be used in specific types of events. That was a real wow moment for me. I did not see that coming at all. Your avatar basically becomes an Exemplar and you can assign stats abilities and build it in a direction you like.

This is clearly a multi year plan. Maxing an Exemplar costs around 81 million glint. That is not something you casually do. Even whales will be busy with this for a while and that is a good thing.

On my main account I leveled my Exemplar a bit but I have not committed to a final build yet. There are just so many options. I already know my general direction though. I love magic. I always have. I am a wizard style player and magic is often just very strong in Splinterlands.

I want magic attack, some health and speed are mandatory. After that the ability list opens a whole new world. Phase is very tempting once speed gets high enough. Poison is always interesting. Resurrect combined with poison burst sounds hilarious and dangerous at the same time. My head is already spinning just thinking about the combinations.

Man look at the list of abilities now everyone get to get the feeling how difficult it is to design a new cards 😂

The team clearly anticipated that people would want to experiment. You can change your build up to ten times for free. After that there are potions and crafting options.

Polymorph Potion

Polymorph Potion allows you to reselect your avatar bloodline and core physical traits while keeping all progress.

Capacity Flux

Capacity Flux lets you reset Exemplar stats and refund all spent points so you can fully rebuild. That is a very player friendly design choice.

On my alt account I honestly do not care that much. I will just try things and see what happens for fun. On my main account I will take my time. This feels like a long term identity choice and I like that.

Final Thoughts

Overall this is a fantastic update. Avatars add personality and collection value. Exemplars add depth long term goals and creativity. It feels like something that can evolve for years with new things to hunt down and experiment with.

One small wish from me. Please make sure some of this can be achieved by grinding and playing and not only by dumping glint. The chase is part of the fun.

I am genuinely hyped about this release. Well done team. What do you all think about avatars and exemplars. I am curious to hear how others are building theirs.

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