Survival Mode - Brutal Reality Check | Splinterlands #420

When Survival Mode was announced, I was excited and hopeful. I had previously written about why I thought it could be important, bringing more utility to older cards. So, when it finally dropped after the last season ended on February 27th, I jumped in with high hopes. What happened next?

Survival Mode is Splinterlands Roguelike Mode

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I got absolutely wrecked. I played six matches, won one, and walked away with a measly 0.003 SPS ($0.0000198) for my efforts. I was humbled, to say the least, but also left feeling deflated. This mode was supposed to provide utility (which in fairness it does) to old cards, but instead felt like another day in splinterlands where you have overpowered opponents crushing me before I am even able to be in the game.

In my first battle, I made a massive mistake by playing my most utilised water deck thinking it would carry me and start the new Survival Mode with a win. Oh boy, how wrong I was. Not only did I lose, but I lost badly---and now those cards (which I use often in Modern league battles) are on cooldown. By the time I stopped playing the six matches, I had thirty-five cards depleted and an ego well and truly humbled. It was a harsh lesson in expectations, but more than that, it exposed some glaring issues with how this mode is structured.

Unbalanced Matchmaking (Problem)

The biggest issue? Matchmaking is completely unbalanced. In four out of my five losses, every single opponent had a higher levelled legendary summoner (I even came up against the OG Yodin Zaku). Survival Mode is supposed to be a test of risk/reward trade-offs and effective collection management, but right now, it feels like an uphill battle against players with stacked collections. I was using my alt account which can compete in Gold I/Diamond III in Modern League, but I was just cannon fodder for higher levelled opponents in Survival Mode.

Re-Introduce Caps (Solution)

This may seem too obvious, but I am going to state it anyway - reintroduce summoner and monster level caps based on Survival Mode league. Right now, if you start playing Survival Mode in a Bronze league, you are still facing max-level summoners and overpowered decks. I reiterate - this is not a fun experience. Introducing league-based restrictions would go a long way in levelling the playing field and giving all players a fair chance.

Tweaks Needed

Despite my frustrations, Survival Mode still has potential. It forces players to critically think about composing lineups as there are real consequences to losing and therefore should be seen as a hardcore mode for splinterlands. But for it to succeed, the team needs to realise that there are some adjustments needed to the matchmaking and potentially consider alternative cooldown mechanics because if you go on a losing streak, it will cripple your deck for the remainder of the season.

Concluding Thoughts

Right now, Survival Mode feels like an exercise in punishment. The concept and idea are solid, but the execution is heavily slanted to whales or players with maxed-out decks to thrive, while the rest of us watch our cards get depleted after succumbing to humiliating losses. If splinterlands is committed to giving older cards more utility, it needs to tweak Survival Mode, otherwise, Survival Mode will be just another place where casual players will be steamrolled by whales and top players.

What has your experience been like in Survival Mode? Let me know in the comments.

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