Are We Staking for Success or Just Staking Our Sanity? Conclave Arcana's Real Cost
Ever feel like playing Splinterlands is less 'game' and more 'advanced degree in tokenomics'? I'm sure you know the feeling. One minute you're just trying to enjoy some strategic card battles, the next you're deep-diving into spreadsheets, trying to min-max your next move, or figuring out the latest 'thingamajig' they've dropped on us. It's not always 'easy mode' to 'master the game,' is it? Honestly, lately, it feels like you need a math degree just to figure out if it's even worth participating.
And let me be clear right up front. I have no Conclave Arcana cards to put into wagons, so I'm completely neutral in this fight. My perspective comes purely from feeling the intense pulse of the community, watching the discussions unfold, and seeing the genuine frustration out there.
Now enter Conclave Arcana. The official line? A "30-day strategic staking event." Think Rebellion Conflicts, but "more arcane, more powerful, and packed with even more strategic depth." Sounds pretty cool, right? Like you're really going to 'unlock your potential' and 'master your assets.' But if the community buzz is anything to go by, a lot of players feel the team has downright "dropped the ball" on this one. It feels less like fun, and more like a pure financial drain.
Because let's be absolutely, brutally honest here. The community's been buzzing, and honestly, a lot of folks are just tired. This isn't just about some minor tweak, this about the Conclave Arcana Conflicts for the Rich.
For those of us (or, let's be real, the players among us, the absolute legends who've supported this game from day one, often putting in $2,000, $5,000, even $10,000+) who've dumped thousands into this ecosystem you know, the ones who thought they were "the rich" in this game only to find out you're still not guaranteed those eleven cards needed to max a legendary from the airdrop? When those cards are effectively only for the players who can stake millions of CP on wagons, making it feel like a "zero-sum mini-game for the top 100," and everyone else is just fodder?
What. The. Hell.
They talk about "strategic depth," but it feels more like "math-gated content." There's " zero transparency" on the exact calculations, making it impossible for the average player to figure out if there's any point investing anything at all. This "disincentivizes smaller players" completely. That's not just a 'test of strategy,' folks. That's a gut punch. That's what I call a "completely needless" loss of mental stability. This feels like the "rich get richer" at a whole new level, pushing out the very players who've built so much of this game's foundation. It's a "huge step backwards" from events like Rebellion Conflicts that actually offered broad rewards and felt fair. And you know what? People are starting to ask if it's time to "quit Modern." They have every right to be upset.
You can tell just how nuts this situation is because even @davemccoy, the Splinterlands COO himself, hasn't slept a wink. He's been absolutely everywhere, trying to explain the math, trying to clarify the numbers behind this airdrop. We even saw him discussing it with @stever82, trying to break down what's effectively become a conflict for the already extremely wealthy.
He's undoubtedly a smart dude, trying to make sense of something that, from where a lot of players are standing, just doesn't add up right or feel fair for their significant investments. Despite the team's continuous attempts at explanation, the "communication issues" persist. He's out there, doing his best to calm the storm, but the fact that he has to work this hard, literally losing sleep, to explain why players who've invested such obscene amounts of capital still aren't getting the max airdrop they expected, and why it's causing them to consider leaving the game altogether, well, that tells you everything you need to know about how badly this has hit.
So, are we staking for success, or just staking our sanity? Because right now, it feels like a lot of us are doing the latter, especially when the goalposts for "rich" keep moving. This isn't just about "navigating complexity". it's about navigating a growing resentment that our investments aren't valued as they once were, and that the game's direction is becoming less about fun and more about a "mechanic to drain players." I'm sure you know the feeling. What are your thoughts? Are you one of the heavily invested players feeling the squeeze, or, like some, are you seriously thinking about whether to "quit Modern"? Let's talk about it. Because this "wall of worry" is getting pretty damn annoying.
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The more this stuff has ran through my head black foils have just ruined the way stuff works. It only is a benefit for the few lucky enough to pull one or with the extra money to buy them.
I get it mate, hopefully the team can pull a rabbit out of somewhere and turn this around.
I had had a quick look at conflicts the other day and realised they were out of my league. I've been buying a few CA packs and cards to keep my alt going in the modern brawl fray, so I thought there might be some worth in staking the extras to wagons only to realise I needed to buy a wagon to even start. With all my funds so going to try and get that account to stay viable in modern it wasn't happening and the chances of an airdrop on the meagre cards I have to stake was also not worth diverting anything to a wagon. 🤣
I'm not really bothered about it, as I'm here to play the game more than anything, but I hear you on the sentiment for quitting modern. I'm seeing few of the brawl frays for modern even being filled and when they are it's often just a space saver to get the wins when other teams can't fill a spot. In my GF fray I've had it where only 2 opponents turned up for 6 battles, the rest were flees. Last brawl I had 2 battles and my opponents didn't even make a full team, which was rather disappointing.
I often wait nearly a minute to get matched in modern ranked at the lower end, so there aren't that many playing compared to wild or even compared to the last Rebellion year.
It rather feels like you're constantly playing catch up and the new release will smack you back to square one. I think it's probably cheaper to rent than buy, which means less people are seeing a point in buying. That's sales (income) the game is missing out on if the bulk of sales is just the few big spenders buying to rent out. Is this why they're trying to get income in other ways? I want the game to survive, so I want them to make enough of an income to do so, but I think it needs to come more from a broad, enthusiastic player base rather than a few using it as an income and investment platform.
Looking at the approach our guild has taken to keep the modern frays viable, it's mostly been to buy a cheap bare minimum basic level 1 set for all fray levels from the market (or rent like Bug). Some aren't even playing any more other than the brawls, so they aren't incentivised to expand to better cards. I'm focusing on getting GF cards because my fray is GF, but can win the majority with the basics I have. It's only because I play in ranked that I'm aware how bad my cards are and am incentivised to try and improve what I have. The rest of the guild seem to have given up on playing in modern completely except for Bug with his rental experiment.
I do feel like loss of value of older cards doesn't help confidence in buying into the modern cards. As those older cards get combined or put on land you're likely to see them less on the lower end and mostly with the high rollers. Land is expensive as well, so that is mostly for the investors again. If people do quit modern, where does that leave us?
Hey, yeah. don't get me started on the guild setup, that is turning into a total ghost town. having said that our guild is probable one of the most active on discord.
Renting is a good option if you plan to battle all season, but just for brawls, not worth it, unless they bring back daily rentals.
Be good to see you at next meetup.
Good point. If you're renting for a season then may as well try to play and get some reward cards to help out with brawls as well.
Will try to make it again.
Thanks for sharing! - @cieliss
