Please Join Me in the Splinterlands' Think Tank

in Splinterlands2 years ago

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Join Me In the Think Tank

Let's jump into the think tank guys! This post is all about wanting YOUR suggestions for the game, and let's chat about it. The topic: New Player's Experience.

What Does a New Player Do?

I feel I can officially say I'm not a new player anymore, and yet there's so much to learn about the game. I will never claim to understand it all, especially the multiple strategies. Even though I may not be new, I can still appreciate that "new player" feeling. Therefore, I would REALLY like to have your imput on what a new player in Splinterlands is experiencing and how it can be improved. Maybe someone from Splinterlands will notice your comments in the "think tank" here, though I cannot guarantee it of course. If I get enough comments, I'll happily make a post from them even, but let me give you an example to get this conversation going...

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Example of a New Player's Experience

Please note: This is an ACTUAL example of an experience from a new player account.

Here we go: A new player joins the game and he (yes, let's just use the pronoun "he" this time) gives the game a whirl. He uses a referral code someone shared with him (bats her eye lashes and smiles while saying "Hope it's mine! Gruf, it wasn't. Oh well!") and he buys the spell book. So he's spent $10 to get into crypto, but he actually doesn't have any crypto yet. He does, however, have a MASSIVE amount of playing cards to work with so surely he'll be able to advance to something soon enough that would equate to putting $10 into the game.

He plays. He plays for the whole season. He gets to the end of the season and Bronze III, and here are his rewards:

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Now, those credits can be turned into something, right? Well, based upon today's cards, let's see what he can get for those credits:

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Hmmmmm... I can't even buy the cheapest card available right now. I'm a credit short. Fifteen days and he hasn't made $0.03 to buy the cheapest card.

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What Do You Recommend?

Now listen, I am NOT a critical person; I hesitate to even share this story for fear someone will say I'm being critical of the game. I really am not trying to but that new player experience certainly isn't the experience I had when I first joined, and I just wonder if perhaps it's a problem for getting some new players in the game. If this was you today as a new player, would you continue to play Splinterlands? Now, perhaps the daily quests would help a bit. Perhaps more and more playing, and OF COURSE we all know that more BUYING will get us more, but I guess I would like to know from you all if this grind seems reasonable, if you would grind for cards, or am I missing this point? Should I tell people they should probably plan to drop $50? $70? What do you suggest to someone that is going to give them a good return on their investment without them overspending before they are even sure they like the game? I mean of course I KNOW I like the game and want to invest, but I know that, because I was winning some games and some DEC which got me excited to play and made me think WOW! I can take this little bit of stuff and go buy some CARDS! YIPPEEE!! But will these new 2022 players be inclined? What do you think? What are your suggestions?

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What I Recommend

I heard just a little bit of the Town Hall (formerly AMA) after the fact last week, and I believe I heard Splinterlands is looking to adjust this situation, so REALLY now is the time to speak, and I would LOVE to know people's thoughts on the matter. I think if I was able to tell the Splinterlands team some ideas, I recommend some more incentives. If you are wanting people to fall in love with Splinterlands and the lore and the story etc, maybe offer some credits to those who read and answer a multiple choice or something about the lore. Or maybe you give the first week of quests get double the rewards or something, to incentivize people to get in there and really give this game a try. Why not have a little pop up window that says "if you had this card, you could have won this hand. This card is now selling for - " I'm not sure... I might get annoyed with that, but I probably wouldn't for the first so many hands I played, because wow.... you kind of just dive in and wonder what's happening. And yes, there are practice rounds, but often times people just want to get right to the good stuff!

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Please Share Your Perspective

If we only say the positive things about the game we all love so much, we will not help the game to continue to be the best. I'm so proud of Splinterlands and how much they have grown, and if we believe it can grow even more, then I don't think sharing our thoughts on what might work, like a sort of Splniterlands' Think Tank, could really hurt if we all remember we LOVE the game, we want its success and we are not here to put down any one's ideas. We all want the same thing, right? We want Splinterlands to Win!! YAY!

I hope you'll share your thoughts on what we can do to help the new player experience. Thank you so much for reading and engaging! It truly means so much to me!!

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I think other game modes may be interesting for new players and create an interesting opportunity for new players outside of the current format. Maybe a mode where you only have level one cards to use in the newest expansion pack similar to what is done in some tournaments. A new player could learn the best way to use those cards possibly quicker than older players and have more incentive to do so. Agree that the new player experience is an issue that needs some tweaking even with Splinterlands being a great game.

Yes, Bluedevil! This sounds like a great idea! They have discussed mini games, and it would be a wonderful opportunity to put in some play with a mini game or a game mode as you mention. I am sure they will get it figured out because they have done well so far. :) Thank you so much for sharing your perspective and engaging!! :)

It is really sad that new players are experiencing it, nothing bad about the game, but I think they need to give it a closer look again, i have invited few friends over, and really wanted to invest but they didn't have pleasant experience against bot and now doubtful to buy some cards and packs, since it would be a little expensive to start competing and winning against bots, and with the reward that they have exprienced, they have even lost the interest, well let's just hope this change soon, this is so much different when I entered the game.

!1UP

Yes, Ivarbjorn, it's very different from when I joined as well. I completely understand the desire for SP to want people to invest in the game... obviously we ALL do, but the new players will not invest if they don't have that good experience, as you mention! Very well-said, Ivarbjorn and I thank you so much for responding! I hope your friends to invest and see what Splinterlands is totally the way to go... and I am positive they will adjust the new player experience to get more user involvement. :) Have a wonderful day!

One thing that often gets overlooked by new players, and those recruiting them, are all the card giveaways on Hive. If the Splinterlands team was able to show the newbs some of these contests and they won a card or two it might help motivate them to continue playing. Then there is the whole "get Hive and SPT for blogging about Splinterlands" that doesn't get utilized enough by new players.

THIS!!!! YESSSS, Gregory! That's genius about the card giveaways! You are correct that they need a way to bridge that connection, and really this would also help them to see the value in blogging for Hive and SPT as well when they come over to enter the card giveaways... HMMMMM.... Really need something here for sure. That whole bridge of understanding the Hive blockchain and Splinterlands should grow and I think that will help people to see the potential then with Crypto. People that go to Splinterlands through mobile though are't really going to realize the whole world that awaits them when it comes to blogging and card giveaways! Thank you for such an insightful response. I'm going to think on this some and see if we can find a better solution here! :) Thank you, Gregory! YIPPEE! You've made my day as usual! HAHAHA! :)

How does the blogging for Hive and SPT work, where is the best place to learn?

Well, you're blogging for Hive and SPT right now. Just by commenting on @rosiew's post and getting upvotes for it. You can learn a lot more at the Hive FAQ site https://hive.blog/faq.html

Yippee!! Thanks for the tag, Gregory! Sometimes I don't see a notif that someone has written on my post. I am so glad you tagged me so I could give them an upvote! :) You have a great week!! Enjoy today before the arctic returns hahaha.... :)

YAY!! Didn't see this comment before, but I'm so glad Gregory has tagged me! Thank you so much, @gregory-f !! Yes, if you write a blog post bloradar, please tag me and I'll upvote your first post! If you keep doing a great job with your posts, then I'm thrilled to upvote you again. Those upvotes translate into crypto and you will receive that Hive in 7 days. Then you can go and use that hive to buy cards in Splinterlands or rent cards. I have done both. :) I hope this helps you!! Have a wonderful day, Bloradar!! :)

Thank you @rosiew and @gregory-f I just got into Splinterlands a couple months ago and have been primarily focused on the game. Getting rewarded for participating in the community is an interesting concept.

I think you're right about mobile users. It doesn't have to be that way though. There are mobile apps for the Hive blockchain like Ecency, which is a great app.

OHHH! I didn't realize Ecency had an app though I've used Ecency in the past. Good to know!!! :) And yes, the connections should be made and that will make Splinterlands a much more viable option for new players when they realize they can earn money blogging as well! :)

I just wonder if perhaps it's a problem for getting some new players in the game. If this was you today as a new player, would you continue to play Splinterlands? Now, perhaps the daily quests would help a bit

I heard Splinterlands is looking to adjust this situation . . .

Yes, I also observe the reduction in incentives especially in the Bronze league. I understand now why my second son gave up. In my case playing at Silver III, I don't feel the pressure to at least regain the rentals I paid. I am actually handling the accounts of my family and I am thinking that once I pulled them up one by one to Silver III, I think that's the time that the game will interest them. But with the current status in incentive mechanism, I think it will take some time for them to reach Silver III. My second son's account now has just 2,490 collection power and simply relying on daily quest and EOS rewards, I assume it will take him four to six months to reach Silver III, not unless of course there will be a chance that he could pick up at gold card with 2,500 CP just like what happened to my account when I was still at Bronze I.

Another thing I noticed is that DEC rewards in ranked battle is higher during the start of the season, and then it will decline close to EOS. Imagine with 100% Capture Rate and succeeding wins at Silver III and you will just receive 1 DEC plus. My tendency is to stop playing after I completed the quest and at least regain the rentals I paid. As for my family's accounts, my strategy is just to rent up to Bronze II, playing few games to reach 1,000 plus rating, and then simply wait for EOS hoping that opening the 7 chests, at least a 100 DEC card will be added to their total CP. Before, I always rent up to Bronze I and even up to Silver III, and would play until the Capture Rate declined down to 60% just to gain at least 10 or more DEC of top of the rental fees. Will then rest for 2 or 3 days until CR return to 100%. But these past two seasons, I stopped doing that for no matter how much I compute and the number of games you play, you will end reducing your DEC if you will try to rent either up to Bronze I or Silver III.

My advice is only applicable for those who have extra cash. If you can afford, buy single cards with good battle utility, and aim to reach at least 15,000 collection power.

Good to see if such adjustment will happen sooner.

I really really appreciate your comment here. I hope it's noticed by others, because yes, this is my concern that the new player really isn't familiar enough with the game and doesn't feel that "instant" reward to then push them deeper INTO the game. I am fairly certain we ALL agree no one wants Splinterlands to just do hands outs to people, but we also want that incentive to play the game to be there and I think you can have those incentives proportionate to what you've invested in the game which then drives people to want to invest further... but you've got to help that new player out or they never get that incentive to play. :) Thank you again so so much! I appreciate your thoughts and your time!! :) You have a wonderful week!

I think the first thing people need to understand when they're getting started is that it's NOT a get-rich-quick type of thing. Just like anything else in life, if you want to excel (and make some money) you have to put in the time and effort to improve. It IS possible to earn your way up from just a spellbook but it's a long process.

My brother hasn't put a dime into the game after the initial $10 and 6 months later he has an account worth over $100. He's not getting rich by any means but...he now has some SPS, a couple VOUCHERS, and some DEC, as well as a few dozen rewards cards from the daily quests and season rewards. Plus, he's actually gotten pretty good at playing the Novice and Bronze Leagues from all the practice.

If you want to shorten the process, there's no getting around the fact you'll need to spend some money on cards. That said, most of the money you put into the game is to buy an ASSET, meaning that if you spend $100 to buy some cards, chances are you will be able to sell those assets for roughly what you paid for them, quite possibly more. So in that respect, it's more of an investment than throwing money away.

As with anything in life, there are certain things that just "aren't for me". This game offers a way for people to make a little money rather than spending it. And the money they do spend ends up being for assets they will then own and can sell later to recoup the money they put in. But, if you don't enjoy the game, then it really doesn't matter.

To make a long story short, I would just tell people to spend a couple weeks doing daily quests and learning the game, the cards, and the strategies. Once they understand the mechanics they can then decide whether they want to try and make some money at it, just play it for fun, or give it up completely. I mean, thousands of people play stupid little games on their phone for hours and earn nothing. Why not spend those minutes and hours on something that can actually pay you?

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Hi Dagger! Yay! So great to see you, and I love what you've shared. What is interesting to me though is the answer to the question: "When did your brother start?" Was it before or after they made the changes in how long it takes to make those rewards? I was just like your brother and put ZERO dollars into the game except the initial investment for quite a bit to see how I would go. I got lucky and won a card from the quest or perhaps it was end of season I can't recall now, and that was my ticket to then getting DEC and buying some cards, building SPS, etc. What I see now though is, it MIGHT take too long for people to grind before they see a bit of results.... I think this is why Splinterlands is re-evaluating the new player experience, but I am totally with you.. if you promote it correctly, there's little reason for people not to join. ;) Thank you so so much for sharing your thoughts! :) I really appreciate it!!! :)

He started last summer before the changes but he wasn't getting much even then. He still considers it a "win" if he gets even 1 full DEC for winning a battle.

I agree, they need to try and help new players get a little bit better start but....the bots take over and farm all the rewards if you start paying them too much.

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If you listened to the Town Hall, the new player experience sounds like it's a top priority so this is great!! :) I'm glad to know when he started. Sounds like they are going to help new players really understand the game play more which is GREAT! Thank you for letting me know more details about your brother because it does give some great perspective!!

It's interesting isn't it. Like we were doing pretty well onboarding new players (or bots) when you could actually try the game and earn a few bucks as a new player.
Sadly, they over-corrected and well we know what happened next.
But I still think we need a proper questing system, that challenges the player and includes actions that prove they aren't a bot. Like comment on a Post, react to a discord announcement, like on twitter etc.
The more you do, the better tier reward you get.
And sure some stuff can still be botted, but not thousands of accounts player like we were seeing.
When the new accounts pick-up, it'll be the sign to start paying attention to this game again. Until then we wait for the next exciting promo.
Lands Wen?

Thank you, J2R for your comment. Yes, I'm not sure about the bots. I have mixed feelings about it. Do you feel they ruin the game? I just ignore them, but are they making it too hard for new players to play? Then that could be a problem.

I LOVE your questing ideas! What a great point! Find away to get interaction that a bot is going to struggle to answer. Yippeee! Genius!!!

And yessss LANDS... please now! HAHAHA :) Have a wonderful day, J2R. So happy to see you here! :) Thank you very much for engaging!

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