Splinterlands | The Ridiculous Costs That Kill New Player Adoption!
IMPORTANT: While this post is full of argumented critisism toward Splinterlands, it all comes from a place where I want things to get better and for Splinterlands to succeed!!
What Real Gamers Want!
Gaming is a massive industry with a big audience and it's pretty straightforward what the majority of the gamers are looking for...
Fun Addictive Gameplay: In the end this is what it's all about. If a game is easy enough to get into and just really fun from the start, providing enough of a challenge to keep playing, it tends to be a winner. It needs to give that feeling of 'I want to play another run' at any time in the day. Right now for me, Balatro is doing this and many other games have done this in the past. Splinterlands I would say has the potential to do this but it never reached it.
Great Community Experience: Aside from a fun game, a great community, giving a sense of belonging, while getting the feeling of making some friends, is also something gamers are looking for. It's just fun to watch others and learn from them while getting the feeling that you belong to a group. Splinterlands does this very well for a small group of people who are all highly invested in the game. Especially in the early Chaos Legion days, when things were going up, it brought a dynamic where everyone was doing well. However, as most got totally crushed on their investment, this sentiment kind of turned around. If anything, the Guilds (which feel dead) indicate how poor the overall sentiment and community experience currently are. New players also can't relate to the group of highly invested players that still keep the Community alive.
Getting Fair Value: Everyone understands that good entertainment comes with a price and people are willing to spend it as long as it feels fair. Real gamers don't want Pay2Win experiences or the feeling that they are getting milked. They enjoy spending time in their game and don't mind paying. Some games have a 1-time small cost like Balatro or Minecraft and provide thousands of hours fun. Others have a yearly release of a new game, like Fifa or Call of Duty, others provide live service battle passes and cosmetics like Fortnite or Apex Legends. Splinterlands is way becond this asking players to spend over 10k a year to play the game at the level where it's most fun and that doesn't even give them everything which be beyond stupid. In terms of Play2Earn games, I would say players don't mind paying a bit extra if they believe their assets will hold value and have potential to go up in the future.
What Splinterlands Used to Cost!
Splinterlands used to be fairly easy and straightforward to get into. You had to buy a 10$ Spellbook which gave you a Hive Account, some cards, and the possibility to earn both cards and in-game currency. After that you just needed some more cards up to the level you were comfortable with with a daily quest that took maybe 10-15 minutes to complete. There was a limited number of cards and ability which all were fairly straightforward so it was easy to get into and the community generally was quite positive on the game and the new things that were released all with the intention to make a great game. It wasn't always Sunshine and rainbows though as when Untamed was sold out, prices got ridiculously high. Bots and ROI grinders also were an issue as it was clear that exponentially more new players needed to come in to make earnings sustainable.
What Splinterlands Turned Into!
I would say in the first place things started out with the intention and passion to make a great game. In the early days the economy wasn't really an issue since the supply was very low and there weren't that many different assets. However, as more and more different assets were created out of thin air, the pressure on the economy grew more and more to the point where pretty much every decision was made with an eye on the economy while coming at the cost of fun and gameplay. On top of this, there was also always the dilemma between making a choice between existing whales which brings in instant funds or something for newer players that benefits longer term health of the ecosystem.As always, when humans are involved, the short-term choice for instant money at the cost of future growth is too tempting to pass on which got us in the mess we are in right now so far with only failed attempts to fix it.
The Acceptable Costs of Splinterlands!
I'm not at all against games costing money or even a lot of money, however, the cost must be acceptable at least for new players. Right now in Splinterlands, I would say it's a good thing that it's possible to start playing Splinterlands for free, even though it's doesn't provide the most fun experience. The splellbook right now looks like a fair deal as you do get a Hive Account, some packs, 3000 Credits, and an initial rewards boost.
When it comes down to cards, I would say that it's acceptable for things to potentially get expensive as it's healthy in a game to have Whales and there needs to be a way for them to unload and spend a ton of money. However, lower spending players should always be able to play a competitive mode where the game provides the most fun so the game isn't only 'Pay2Win' or 'Pay2HaveFun". This can be completely separate from many monetary rewards. Also, if cards are sold at a premium price, there should be good fundamentals in play so they at least hold a good share of their value. Not in that you pay 4$ for a pack, which in most cases gives you 4 commons and a rare that have an ultimate burn value of just 0.03$.
The Ridiculous Costs of Splinterlands!
I don't even know where to start with this as Splinterlands has lost me a long time ago because the costs and dynamics which are utterly ridiculous. My aim has always been to have fun and not get crushed which I kind of succeeded in (not counting the wasted time) as I never really believed in the financial opportunity of pack buying and always tried to pick up cards off the market when they were dumped. My belief remains that there is no scenario where Splinterlands Succeeds if the price gap between new and old cards is too big which richt now surely is the case with no solution in sight.
#1 The Time Investment Cost
Before starting on the monetary costs, it needs to be said that the required Time Investment for Splinterlands Players is absolutely bonkers. What used to be a 15 minutes daily quest to get some real rewards has now turned into multiple hours of daily grinding for some soulbound rewards and some SPS that has become near worthless. This with most battles fail to live up to the potential fun of the game. You have 3 choices as a Splinterlads player now.
- Have the game as a full time hobby / occupation / job
- Fully bot and automate your account
- Play occasionally and be annoyed that you are missing out on needed rewards
There is 24 Energy to be used daily in either Modern or Wild, which means 24 matches played. Since new players are pushed toward Modern, that means 24 manual battles which each easily take 3-5 minutes. They also made Energy into rewards so more battles are added to this. On top there is also Survival Mode where the waiting times often add up to 2+ Minutes. Bawls, Land, Keeping up with the Development & changes, ...
This Time investment requirements instantly reduces to target audience for splinterlands by 99.9% as nobody actually has time to play this game full time while botting or playing occasionally now is not that fun or rewarding.
#2 The MAX Level Standard
The combination of removing leagues and the overprinting of Chaos Legion now has made Max Level cards the standard in Splinterlands. This used to be only something the whales could achieve, and I remember being a happy player in the past at Level 3 Silver League or Level 5 Gold League before it became so cheap to get to Max Level in Wild while in order to keep up in modern is was unaffordable.
- The removal of Leagues: This was implemented as an 'incentive' for players to level up their cards but in reality it just made things extreme pay2win where sooner than later players hit a wall facing opponents that have just way better cards which is not fun.
The Overprinting of Chaos Legion & Reward Cards: This caused such an oversupply that Max Level Wild Cards at the lowest price point go for just 2.30$ which is nothing compared to the price it cost to get cards at this level from buying packs. The problem this brings about is that what used to be a major incentive to get in for new players who saw that older cards went up in value, now has turned in a reason to stay as for away from Splinterlands as investing means a sure loss and way too expensive.
Multiple Max Level Cards Needed with Survival Mode/ With Survival Mode, the bar was even pushed further down the line as you want to have multiple Max Level cards when you play that mode as they go on cooldown when you lose a match with them.
#3 Crazy Pack Prices
Packs used to be 2$ but because of the bull market in 2021, the devs saw an opportunity to increase them to 4$, knowing that players were going to buy them as there was a lot of money in crypto. However, after the market turned around as Splinterlands assets collapsed, this price was not adjutsed back with the reason that they didn't want to devalue the ones that bought packs for 4$. With Max Level as the norm, 100 packs costing 400$ doesn't really get you anywhere and on top of this, the best overpowered cards in the game that are yet to be released aren't even in the packs and require separate buying or extra costs with the conflict wagon system.
All of this now makes Splinterlands a game with just crazy high costs but no real rewards to show for it. How can you expect new players to come in and buy super expensive packs this way. They also included 'cheap' Starter packs to 'solve' this problem along with more expensive alchemy & Legendary packs but for me this all just makes it more and more complicated.
#4 Potions
As an extra revenue model, a way to incentivise pack buying, and a rewards model, Alchemy, Legendary and recently Black Foil potions were invented, which double the chance of drawing a Legendary or a Golden/Black Foil card. Existing players have way more potions than they need, while new players who just start out have none. This basically means that their chance of getting Legendary & Gold foils is half of what older players have unless they open their wallet and pay more for them. It's just another extra cost to new players that adds up along with worthless rewards for most players who already paid a lot for their card collection.
#5 SPS Staking requirements
If it isn't already enough for new players to have to buy the Spellbook along with very expensive packs and some potions to not see their chances be half of other players, they are also required to stake SPS to get to a normal earnings level (8x). Essentially, what happened is that it used to be a Collection Power that players needed to enter and obtain rewards from a specific league. However, since cards were printed in mass creating a massive oversupply it became really cheap to reach the required levels which allowed bots to extract more value. So SPS staking was introduced which basically sucked all the value that was left in cards out of them.
While I get the idea behind SPS and the 'Flywheel' while it's possible to rent Staked SPS to increase your rewards. It's just another hurdle that doesn't really bring any fun to the game and makes it all more and more expensive.
#6 The 2000 DEC Wild Mode Tax
With Collection power scrapped and cards so cheap and plentyfull, it was too easy for bot farms to extract value out of the system so a 2$ Seasonal Tax was introduced for players to be able to play Wild. This needs to be paid in DEC and from what I understand it is burned.
While this tax succesfully makes it impossible for low level bot farms to extract value, it also just takes part of what otherwise would have been earnings for regular players. This along with the fact that the entry level required to make it 'profitable' is crazy high not only because you need high level cards but you also need 2x the Staked SPS compared to Modern.
Based on the numbers kept bu @aftersould, the number of sold Wild Permits sticks around 2000 each season. So there hasn't been an increase deespite the fact that Chaos Legion was dumped into Wild.
| Season | Permits Sold |
|---|---|
| 14 | 2209 |
| 16 | 2124 |
| 18 | 2026 |
| 20 | 1877 |
| 22 | 1903 |
| 24 | 2159 |
| 25 | 1969 |
#7 Bot Service Running Costs
Another cost that should not be ignored is that of using a bot service. I would say 95% or more of the battles in Wild are just bots playing eachother and I haven't played a single Wild match myself for a long time. As someone who uses Archmage with a Regular Access Pass (which I paid 100$ for back in the day as I couldn't bare playing manually anymore and the supply was low that time), 35% of my Wild earnings are taken and go to the service.
This is yet another cost that reduces earnings and increases the complexity of the game while bringing nothing of fun to it all.
#8 Conflict Wagon Costs
So if it isn't bad enough to have to pay 4$ for packs, the best cards aren't even in there and are given out with an airdrop as a way to incentivse and 'reward' those who bought packs. However, in order to be able to get these pack you first need to buy conflict wagons and from what I understand if you manage to get a card you will need to pay an extra cost to repair your wagon. With the introduction of Black Foil Cards, the entire system also became more messed up as they were given such an advantage that nearly all of the airdrop cards will go to the ones who own these black foil cards.
This to the point where if you paid 8k to 16k for a full Max Level Set while getting slightly unlucky on the black foils, you would only get a handfull of the airdrop cards if you also paid for the wagons, forcing you to spend even more buying extra copies of what will be the more expensive cards in the game. @stever82 perfectly points out the issue in his latest podcast Link showing how these crazy costs in Splinterlands now are driving even the bigger players away into no longer spending but instead leaving and selling assets while running a bot with the assets they have left.
#9 Expensive Overpowered Promo Cards
As a way to generate Revenue, oftentimes Promo Cards are introduced which generally are the most overpowered cards in the game that players need to be competitive. The best example wa the Helloise The Hollow of which only 100 copies are available. It forced Whales to fight it out between them and they did go for a lot of money. However, at the same time it makes the game less fun for everyone else as you get crushed when you face these cards while you never really are able to play with them. So anyone who wants to play the game at the most fun level won't be able to do so without spending crazy money.
It's also on a lower scale a big issue for new players, as what they get from buying expensive packs isn't that good while older players have all these soulbound cards that in theory can be bought but it only makes it more expensive for new players. The same goes for Gladius Cards which only can be earned by using Merits which is mostly earned in Guilds.
#10 Land Costs
So the reason land was created is because there was a bull market and a Play2Earn digital land hype which was used to extract more money with a pre-sale and big promises that players would be able to mint the packs.
The pre-sale was a success, and because of the bull crypto market bype, the prices of land skyrocketed to 500$+ before anything was released. What followed was a string of additional cost introduced to land in the form of the requirement to also Stake DEC on top of only the cards. The need for a Power Core before you can do anything on your land, time Crystals, Totems, ... This helped to suck all the value out of Land again
If this isn't bad enough, there is a system where you have to pay taxes on your land which takes part of your earnings. I'm not sure who came up with the idea to tax people in a game that is supposed to be fun instead of just lowering the earnings. Land is just the most stupid thing and I don't understand if anyone really enjoys this. It perfectly showcases the ridiculous costs that are attached to Splinterlands. New players also kind of need to get 5 Land Plots to increase their earnings a bit.
#11 Guild Costs
So to make a guild it costs DEC and you need to upgrade the building which also costs DEC. All these costs add up and the main reason why they are done is in the hope to in the future earn it all back and more with the risk that by that time everything collapsed upon itself which happened.
#12 Market Transaction Costs
If anything, I would say Market Transaction costs in Play2Earn games should be the thing where Devs earn their salaries from instead the endless inlfation of assets which pushes all the prices down. There are quite some market transaction fees in Splinterlands when you list, buy or sell cards or swap Land assets. However, nearly all of those actually go to 3rd party sites like Peakmonsters or monstermarket.io instead of Splinterlands.#13 Inflation & Power Creep
Even worse than what's happening in the real world with money printing which inflates savings away, Printerlands has the printing of more cards and assets as the 'solution' for everything. SPS was created when DEC didn't really work anymore, Vouchers were printed out of nowhere to give SPS more usecase. More promo cards were printed to avoid vouchers going to zero,... On top of all this, there is also power creep as making new cards more powerful than the older ones guarantees more sales which screws everyone over even more.
Just like inflation is a hidden cost/tax in the real world, it also is the case in a much worse way in Splinterlands.
#14 ...
I'm pretty sure that there are even more costs that cole along with being a Splinterlands Player that I didn't think about now and might add some more later on here.How To Solve This Mess ???
The first step toward solving the mess that this has become, is for the devs need to realise that things are pretty bad as they are now and there is no chance for new players to come in. (unless there would be a crazy altcoin season which again lifts up everything which isn't long term sustainable and would only really create a good opportunity to get out). I do believe I potentially have a good solution with a new game mode that could fix every issue that new players face. I already explained this many times in the past but might give it one more try next week...Conclusion!
Splinterlands is full of crazy costs which pushed me away from actually investing a long time ago. There is a dynamic where the choice is always made with an eye on the economy and in a way where whales can keep spending so the devs continue to earn their Big Salaries. These choices always come at the cost of fun and gameplay while making the entry barrier for new players more impossible. I still see this as a game with so much potential, but I'm no longer betting on it as it just doesn't look like anything will ever change. If you want new players, focus on making the game as fun as possible for them without big monetary incentives or requirements!!!
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I have read this once, and will re-read again tomorrow, but there is so many clear and valid points here on the state of splinterlands. I do a weekly SPS technical analysis post and its depressing seeing SPS highs from 2021 to where its at and there is a small hope in me, that the marketing push may attract players to the game, but as you said new players won't join the game in its current state due to the costs.
Thanks, the thing is that all of this isn't complicated or anything.
The only way new players will ever come in will be if there is a crazy altseason and if Splinterlands is part of that. The result however will be exactly the same as the previous time because the game ifself is just not good enough if you take away any of the reward incentives and belief of players that they will be able to sell their assets for more later down the line.
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Almost 4000 words! This is a very thought out post, you definitely still care about Splinterlands despite a lot of critique here. I recently watched @davemccoy YouTube video with Stever and David stated at the very beginning of their three hour video that if Splinterlands doesn't get new players then they will die.
So clearly Splinterlands leadership understands the importance of attracting new players. Hopefully Dave reads this and has a chance to think about and consider the many points brought up by you. I must say that even I am concerned here as when a player/youtuber like Steve considers Modern to be too expensive after buying maxed out sets of Rebellion and Conclave Arcana and is thinking of leaving Modern... I think he said he invested something like $16K into those two sets...
How are we going to attract AND retain new players?
They understand it's needed but have no clue what needs to be done to make it happen and why everything they do is not working. All hopes pretty much is with a possible altcoin season, but it's the wrong approach as it only lasts that long before everything collapses in on itself again. It would however provide a great opportunity to get out.
More fundamental changes are needed to attarct and retain players but there has been no indication whatsoever of this. Simplt put, the game should be fun and addictive with a small barrier of entry. I'll likely make another post next week with all the steps lined out of how I believe it can be done properly.
I've tried this game, but Gods Unchained is much better and cheaper for some fun, playing couple of battles, if I am have time, and in the right mood for card games.
So, I don't really follow news about Splinterlands, but I was laughing a good when I read about taxes in the game. In a game, which is owned by a Delaware registered company... 🤣🤣🤣
I think, this crypto gaming can be long term sustainable and successful only if the owners have a little bit of common sense, and low greed level. Unfortunately, it is not the case on Hive, generally, the very few whales, big guys want all the money, and still keep the control - and they don't care, everybody else will only lose money + in long term, they, the whales lose higher, much higher profit.
Games, which can't provide use case of their shitcoins should make buybacks + invest some of their income to btc, usd stablecoins, what can provide stable, relatively secured ongoing income to their companies. (What I believe they do, but only for their own pocket, not company's pocket.)
After reading through your post, it could solve issues years ago, when they got high income, they just wasted or have taken it out to their own pocket.
The NFT hype gone, the gaming hype gone, they won't come back, definetly not in the form how it happened few years ago.
Regarding Splinterlands, and their shitcoins, when the 2021 hype happened, the HIVE price was $1.5-2, that's another 6-8x. That's again the SPL team's fault, they did not introduced HIVE to their playerbase, so they could get in that, too, possibly reducing HIVE price fluctuation, ergo their SPL asset devaluation, as well.
If the HIVE price would be $2 today, their SPL shitcoins would worth 8x more, too.
That's just another very dangerous part of the smaller 2nd layer projects. Even if they do good, if the 1st layer is doing bad, it will effect them, too. Not to mention when both 1st and 2nd are doing terrible...
Generally, not really surprised about your info, I get involved their 'football' game, and they did very bad job in all aspect, as well. Anyway, it stands for the hole HIVE, not only for gaming, or SPL.
The core issue with HIVE, and projects on HIVE: They are those guys, who created it from STEEM, because they wanted to have the control, and majority of the rewards. As they lost it, they moved, created huge amount out of thin air, and they wanna suck it out - not even so slowly -, and keep the control while it's not done. So the real problem is the people, who are in charge, and run things on HIVE. They are extremely greedy, and the 'job' they do is almost not measurable next to their greed...
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Greed will always be a part of Crypto, it's great during the bull runs but it makes everything collapse once things start going bad.