This is another post inspired by a comment from @bjangles on a podcast episode of @thepeoplesguild. He mentioned that the Splinterlands end of season had snuck up on him and he didn't realize it was that time already. I could relate to what he said. This last weekend was the EOS and I woke up that morning wondering why the game was in maintenance mode, having forgotten all about EOS.

Anticipation for End of Season Rewards (How it Used to Be)

Image created with ChatGPT. Prompt: Make an image of a Splinterlands player who is excited to open dozens of treasure chests of rewards that represent the end of season rewards.

When I first started playing Splinterlands, the end of the season was exciting and full of anticipation. Even when it was only a few bronze chests, it was so fun knowing that I could potentially open a chest and receive an epic or legendary card. Perhaps even an elusive gold foil legendary.

This card would have been the ultimate reward at EOS when I started.

I remember counting down the days to the end of each season. The night before EOS, I almost felt like a kid on Christmas eve looking forward to waking up in the morning to open gifts. I'd open my chest as soon as the maintanence widow was finished. Right after that, I'd check Discord to see what my guild mates and others had gotten. Then I'd read Hive posts on Splintertalk, seeing people get gold foil legendary cards or open champion chests and hope that would be me one day.

The EOS rewards, and the daily chests, were so exciting that I eventually started a second account and bought more cards so I could open more chests each season.

What Happened?

Frankly, I hadn't even realized that feeling had evaporated until @bjangles said it on the podcast. I'm not exactly sure when, or how, that happened. Looking back, it's been a lot of small and gradual changes to the game. Many of which may have been necessary for the economy and other reasons.

Removal of daily chests. The change to soulbound rewards cards. The switch to glint. I'm sure there are more. This is not necessarily a criticism of those changes, just an observation.

What Does EOS Look Like Now?

Now, the EOS for me simply means I need to claim my glint for the season and purchase my wild pass for 2,000 DEC. Occasionally, I will post a SplinterStats Season Report Card because I enjoy looking at my winnings and comparing season to season results.

I don't have the cards to compete on the leaderboards. I finally completed the rewards cards for this set after spending another 500,000 glint over the last two seasons to get the last legendary card I needed. Now I just stockpile glint, waiting for ways to use it.

What Next?

This message from @mondroid on Discord resonated with me. Keeping in mind that this is from an excellent player that buys a lot of cards and even posted I Went Heavy Into the Rebellion Pre-Sale, Did It Pay Off?

I have a similar feeling to Mondroid about Frontier mode. I'm having a lot of fun playing this new mode with both of my accounts. I work hard to try to unlock at least two of the three daily reward chests and earn as many draws as I can for the weekly rewards.

I don't have the answers for what should be done next. I do know that pulling these two cards in Frontier mode is the most excited I've been in a long time. Every day I look forward to opening these chests to see if I can level up some of my cards or sell them.

It's obvious that @davemccoy and the team are working diligently to continue improving the experience for both new and existing players. As evidenced by what they have done with Frontier mode. I'm confident that the team is not sleeping on the lack of excitment for EOS and they have more good things in store for the future of Splinterlands.

Your Thoughts?

How do you feel about the current state of Splinterlands EOS?

Have you been playing Frontier, and do you like it?

I'm curious to know how others on Hive are feeling about the current state of EOS and Frontier mode.