This has been the most interesting Splinterlands season for a little while, as there has been changes to the Modern Format which has seen at least most of the bot activity reduced, which has made things both easier, and harder. It is easier because playing against humans means that more mistakes are made in opposition, so my win rate has gone up.
It is also harder, because there are less players, which means that while rising quite quickly into C2, I struggled to get consistent wins, getting driven back to D1 for a few rounds even, as losses are costly. Overall though, I like this far better because it feels better to lose against someone on the other side of the screen, rather than a hollow shell of a bot.
There is still four days left in the season, but after a good run this morning of an 11-game streak (incredibly rare for me!), I was able to break into Champion 1, and even though I am scraping through, I am currently in 26th place. I have never been this high at this point in the season earlier and often, I would be between 150 and 300, finishing the season outside the top 100. I have broken into the T100 on odd occasions, but I have never picked up any DEC rewards.
I suspect I won't this season either, but it is interesting to note that there are currently only 34 accounts in the top league, with a massive spread between 4303 and 4460 points. That is half a bracket difference! And currently, I believe that there are still Battle Helper accounts in that group, though that might change in the future.
Two proposals (1 and 2) to update the Terms of Service (ToS) to remove bots from Tournaments and Brawls, and Battle Helper from Modern Ranked, Tournaments and Brawls both passed through the Proposal stage. But, even if they hadn't passed, the creator of the main Battle Helper said they would remove BH support from Tournaments, Tier 3+ Brawls and Champion League. That makes sense to me, as I think that having battle helper support in lower leagues could be useful for people to train and learn, but in the higher stakes of Champion, it really should be human versus human.
And the stakes are higher, now that this little "Boost" logo is there, because it indicates benefits to rewards based on staked SPS and the status of the Guild played for. For instance, I get a x13 multiplier at the moment, which heavily affects my win rewards. Because of this, the more I win, the larger the impact.
Losing to largely unstaked bots that were only playing for daily rewards and EOS position rewards, meant that my Battle Earnings were severely affected. I have gone from earning 50-100 SPS for battles a day, to 200-350 a day. That is the difference between 1-2 dollars, to 4-7 dollars a day, which is significant. And, as you can see from the amount of rounds I have played, I have bought some game tokens too, which I have been doing often since that became a thing.
Taking a Token
The difference now however is that because my win rate has gone up and I am earning more in Battle rewards, as well as getting more Daily Chest rewards, the cost of buying tokens is offset, so it isn't just a cost, I get something in return. This makes buying the token more of an investment, or at least, less of a loss. Ultimately, I don't want to buy any game tokens though, and I will hopefully start improving my play and renting some more cards with rewards.
Epona reminds me of my wife - Petite Mana, repairs and empowers others.
Is it Worth it?
As you can see from the last round I played, the multiplier has quite an effect, as it depends on ranking points, plus the SPS and guild bonuses. Previously before all of these changes, I would be lucky to get 2 SPS for the wins I did manage, but getting 20 is huge. That is around 45 cents worth. And very importantly, the RP is also affected, which means that there are more daily chests and EOS chests, which increases the chances and value of cards and rewards.
I played 8 rounds this morning and earned 9 Champion Chests.
And no, this isn't to brag or showoff in any way, it is to highlight that the recent changes have impacted heavily on me, a player and investor in Splinterlands assets. With a higher win rate as a player, the investments I have made into cards and SPS has a higher ROI, and with the increases in points per win, playing is more valuable too, so I can earn more reward cards for the future.
I am hoping that people who have invested into cards and SPS will realize that it might be worth playing again in Modern, as they will have a better shot to win, especially as they improve their own gameplay.
About to Land
And, this is going to get even more interesting in a few weeks as Land 1.5 is released which will start the staking of cards to plots, because there will be tension put on all aspects of the ecosystem in terms of gameplay and the economy. Cards will not only disappear from the rental markets, they will also be syphoned from playing accounts in order to maximize rewards too. This puts pressure on rental prices, but it also potentially releases some pressure on game play, which increases odds of winning and the subsequent rewards that come with it.
My win ratio hasn't changed remarkably, but it has improved outcomes significantly, because I am able to get more streaks, even if short streaks of three or four. Currently, my win percentage is only 53%, but that is a change of around 7-8% over previous seasons and coupled with multiplied earnings, has a very large affect on the value of my playing. And perhaps more importantly for me,
I feel better playing now.
Play on Potential?
So much so that now I am unsure as to what to do. I have scraped into C1 and currently even with the potential for a 20,000 DEC position reward, but I have the possibility to play another 50 rounds and still start the next season with full tokens. Potentially, at current win rate, that would be a possible 500 SPS extra, which is worth 11 dollars, but also maybe another 20 Champion Daily chests, worth probably 6-10 dollars plus the chance for important cards. The 20K DEC reward is worth 16 dollars, but there are no chests with that, but I am unlikely to hold that poistion for 4 days anyway. However, there is a risk of course, because I could play, but losses are likely going to be very expensive in points, so I will likely end up pushed out of C1 and end up starting next season in C3, instead of C2.
So, either way, there is potential to win and, potential to lose and for the first time in a long time of playing, I feel that there is a better balance for those who want to actually play.
How have your gaming and investment experiences been this season?
Taraz
[ Gen1: Hive ]