I started playing Splinterlands in October. I got really addicted to it. I saw the investment opportunity, but also had fun playing. I invested in cards (most of which devalued with the Chaos Legion launch...), I staked SPS, I kept DECs in game for the airdrops, I even won a beta pack (which I haven't opened) in a giveaway! I also bought 50 - expensive - CL packs (+vouchers) to get at least a Doctor Blight (which was all I got thus far). I saw the investment opportunity, but also had fun playing it. And for the first 4 (or were it 5?) seasons, I ended up in either Silver I or Gold III, renting the CP I needed to move upwards. In the latest December season, I decided to rent only enough CP for Silver II. I finished the season with an 2044 rating.
Source: SplinterStats
And yet, in this new season, even though I still had more than 50k CP (on the first day, through the leftover renting), and now I have 9k of my own cards (amongst which, 13 epic and 5 legendary, plus Brighton Bloom for earthquake rule set), I cannot beat bots consistently. So much so that I went from 700 rating to 331! I also have an alternate account, which I use to save on capture rate. In this account, I ended up last season in Silver III (renting almost all the 15k CP), and I started current season still renting 15k. In this one, I went from 500 rating to 240...
Yes, I'm still a noob. But not being able to beat bots really put me off. Maybe I'm not as good a player as I thought by ending seasons in Silver I or Gold III. Maybe bots improved a lot and really learned how to use the Chaos legion starting deck. In any case, I decided to rent out my 9k and stop playing for a while. I cannot hide I'm disappointed, and I suppose there are others like me. If this is true and beginners cannot beat bots, the economics of the game will not sustain itself (unless it becomes botland). This would be a real problem for those investing in the game...
Oh, well. I hope this is something personal and a matter of me learning or finding the right tools to assist me in playing. Or maybe it's time for me to set up bots, as they are allowed in Splinterlands and seem to have gaining an edge (at least in the bottom leagues)...
I would love to hear more views on what to do. What's your advice?