Splinterlands is a blockchain based card game running on the Hive network. You collect monster and summoner cards and battle it out against your opponents using different rule sets. I’ve been playing for several months now and I am still enjoying the game, but there is one major change that has been slowing me down.

If you’ve been playing the game you already know about the changes to the reward structure. Instead of being strictly based off of your victories, losses, and rank, it is now a combination of your rank and “collection power”. The collection power is essentially a measure of the value of your deck.

Before I complain too much I do want to say I understand why something had to change. The rewards for any player were very high if you managed to push up the ranks. I understand that this could lead to major issues for the value/stability of DEC (the game’s currency) and cards. With that being said I respect the team and game and still love playing Splinterlands.

However, for my own personal situation, this change has been very painful. Before this change I was slowly moving up the ranks. I was purchasing cards, battling it out, optimizing my deck, and it felt like I was making real progress. When I started the game I felt trapped in Silver but after a few seasons (and the rewards!) I was able to create a deck that moved me up into Diamond.

My current deck’s collection power is around 19,000. To me this isn’t bad at all considering how long I’ve been playing, but unfortunately with the emphasis on collection power it keeps me stuck in Silver III.

Here is why it is painful:

1. The rewards are so much lower! Before the changes I felt like I was making real progress in improving my deck, but now my daily reward for completing the quest is quite demoralizing to see:

Ouch. To make matters worse, sometimes 1 or 2 of these are potions that don’t have an immediate benefit for lower level players.

2. I still get destroyed by higher ranked players. I am okay playing against decks that are of similar quality to my own which I think it makes it more skill based vs money/DEC based, but this was essentially how the ranking system worked before anyway. With that I have recently played against collections ranging from around 15,000 to 80,000. Let me just say there is a major difference between my ~19,000 deck and an 80,000 deck. To me it felt like I was accidentally dumped into Champion league or Diamond 1 with how quickly I lost. Hopefully as this change goes into full effect, the leagues will re-balance themselves.

Going forward I will still play this game. Despite the changes and lower rewards, I am having a lot of fun! I'm thinking my perception on my progress has to change, with a longer term focus. With that, I am considering selling off some of my higher valued cards to build a better, more adaptable deck. A gold foil level 1 card looks nice and gives me a boost in DEC if I win, but maybe a wider range of cards could better help me if I’m going to be stuck in Silver forever anyway.

Thank you for reading! What do you think of the changes? What are you doing with your cards?