So...one thing I've thought missing from Splinterlands apart from my other rants in my previous posts is additional game modes. We do have tournaments and brawls but we need something more.
So that one thing that kept going into my mind is why not have an Arena mode similar to Hearthstone or conquest mode from Skyweaver.
I mentioned it on Townhall chat earlier today and Chatter did say this is something they're wanting to put into the dao proposal.
Below are details on how Arena/Conquest works for Hearthstone and Skyweaver and my idea on how to apply it to Splinterlands.
Cost for entry:
- Hearthstone: 150 Ingame Gold or 200 Runestones (around 2 USD)
- Skyweaver: 1.50 USD or 1 Silver card
Game Mechanics:
Hearthstone:
You will be given random 3 heroes to select from. (See below Screenshot)
and randomly give you cards to select from and slowly build your deck up to 30 cards.
Once you have completed your deck, that will be locked and you will use that same deck for maximum of 12 matches or until you incur 3 losses and you are out of the arena match.
Skyweaver:
It is a constructed setting. Make your own constructed deck regardless of whatever prism/hero you use and lock it for the Conquest Session. You cannot use any other decks once you have started the conquest mode.
This is a little bit more unforgiving compared to Hearthstone. You only get to do a maximum of 3 matches and 1 loss will remove you from the conquest session which I am not a big fan of.
One additional bonus that Skyweaver has is that the more you play Conquest mode, you earn points. These points once accumulated enough can earn you extra USDC prizes every week.
Their silver cards are like our regular foil cards in SPL and, of course, the gold cards are our Gold foil cards in SPL equivalent.
ARENA/CONQUEST REWARDS:
Hearthstone:
They have a full table of rewards for every win you get during the Arena Run. Sample screenshot below or you can visit their site here to see the full table list. (https://hearthstone.fandom.com/wiki/Arena)
Breakeven earnings in Hearthstone is around 7 wins which will give you back your 150 gold plus extra cards.
Skyweaver
The rewards are straightforward since there are only 3 maximum matches.
1 win = 1 Silver card (breakeven)
2 wins = 2 Silver cards (double your money)
3 wins = 1 Gold card and 2 Silver cards (big win)
*gold card prices and silver card prices do vary depending on the utility of the card itself similar to Splinterlands.
So now you know how these Arena/Conquest works.
How do we apply this to Splinterlands?
Cost of Entry:
Definitely SPS. Around 1-2 USD worth. Need someone with economic skills how much is viable to sustain the game mode.
Game Mechanics:
Here is where it gets interesting. I see two approaches. Complex like Hearthstone or Simple and straightforward like Skyweaver.
Main rule however is everyone has access to all cards whether modern or wild (or just limit it to modern format to reduce complexity).
A. Slightly Complex route:
- You will be allowed to pick 2 out of 3 Randomly Generated Summoners. Then you are free to use whatever cards available for the summoners you picked during your battles
- Choose which League/Tier (Bronze/Silver/Gold/Diamond) or the system can dictate which league the arena will be for certain period or duration.
- Choose modern or wild. This can also be dictated by the system for a certain period of time/duration.
Why 2 summoners? To have a little flexibility on matches as we all know certain elements aren't favored against other elements.
Number of Matches: Same with Hearthstone, matches will be 12 and 3 losses will eliminate you from the Arena run.
B. Simpler route
- Pick two summoners from 3 Randomly generated Summoners
- League will always be max league and modern.
- Battle it out.
Number of Matches: Can be same as above or reduce it down to 7 or 8 matches so reward structure won't be complicated
Rewards
You can be as complex as the reward system of Hearthstone but I prefer simple approach of Skyweaver.
Just for fun. See below sample reward table.
7 Wins - Maybe 10 dollars worth of SPS/Dec, a few CL packs and 20 Champ chests
6 Wins - 7 dollars worth of SPS/Dec, a couple of CL packs and 15 Diamond chests
5 Wins - 4 dollars worth of SPS/Dec, a couple of CL packs and 12 Gold chests
4 Wins - 2 dollars worth of SPS/Dec, 1 CL pack, and 8 Gold chests
3 Wins - 1 dollar worth of SPS/Dec, and 8 Gold chests
2 Wins or less - you get nothing.
This is just throwing out an idea there. I feel this is something worth getting into. This game mode is what I liked best in Hearthstone (before battlegrounds were introduced).
Happy Holidays.