As a new Splinterlands player, I was really excited to try things. For some people, there might have been a specific moment that made them better players. For me, it was a series of moments.
There were times when I lost battles a lot. I just kept on losing back to back. That was the defining period for me. During this period, I tried a lot of things. I tried different elements, different archons and different units. I can say that this moment contributed in making me a better player.
I remember when I went for the earth element at first. It was my go to element. I was winning more battles at the time. My earth archon was my usual archon of choice. If only I knew there was still much to learn. There was a lot more growth to come. At some point, I started to meet tougher opponents, and I began to lose. That was when I knew I still had a lot of learning to do.
Suddenly, it seemed as if my earth units weren't working. I decided to study more. I studied my opponents. I checked out their strategies and I tried to understand their strategy. I studied their choice of units and why they put certain units in certain places.
One major thing I realized is that there's a lot more to explore beyond just the earth element. There were amazing archons and monsters in the fire, water, life, and death elements.
I realized more that Splinterlands is a game of strategy and making the most of your advantages. Right from the choice of archon, you have to be strategic.
Some archons add to your units like increasing health, increasing armor, increasing speed or even increasing the magnitude of attack. Some even give certain abilities to your units. Meanwhile, other archons remove from enemy unit. They deplete enemy health, armor, speed and attack. They can even impose limiting abilities on those enemy units.
This tells you that choosing the right Archon is the first step to winning the battle. On the other hand, if you have a specific archon, it is also your job to make the best of it.
I learnt that putting a melee unit with a lot of armor and health improves your chances of victory. It's even more advantageous if that unit has certain abilities like the taunt ability. This is something I learnt from experience.
I noticed that units with taunt influence battles greatly. They serve as the sacrificial lamb. They soak up all the attack pressure. Most times it distracts the enemy units form making strategic attacks.
I learnt that using a melee unit in other positions that are not the first position is usually counterproductive. Sometimes, I put melee units in the second position when the one in the first position doesn't have the capacity to withstand much attacks.
Also, If a melee unit has certain abilities, then I can put them in other positions. For example, if it has reach, then I can comfortably put it in the second position and it can attack from there. If it has the opportunity or the sneak ability, I can put the melee unit anywhere knowing that it will attack.
I learnt to put ranged attack unit at the back too. Except in the case of a special ability and stats, then maybe I can put it in the front row.
I like to use magic units a lot because they can occupy anywhere in battle and they are more lethal. However, in cases where I suspect that my opponent's archon could be the type that reduces the attack of magic units, I try to avoid using much magic units in the battle. This is so that I won't be in so much disadvantage because the potency of my attack would be reduced.
Looking back, those moments where I kept losing helped to shape me into the kind of player I am right now and I know that I am still becoming a much better player.
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