Splinterlands is set to launch a new Survival Mode. This new gameplay will potentially offer new utility for cards that people have been asking for, but is it all roses? Lets unpack it.
What is Survival Mode?
Survival Mode is a new ranked game mode coming to splinterlands with two quirks:
- No Energy -- there will be no energy cap limit as to the number of battles you can play. You can fight as many battles as you want.
- Cooldowns -- when a card dies in battle, that card will go into a cooldown period and will not be able to be used for a set amount of time. The main post has all the details about the length of the cooldown depending on rarity and level of the card. Gold foil cards cooldown times will be halved compared to regular foil cards. Therefore, players will not be able to just throw their strongest cards into every battle, because the consequence far outweighs the risk.
Implications of Card Cooldowns
The cooldown mechanism will change how you approach battles.
- Firstly, you will need to apply a Risk Management approach to each battle. If you are not confident in winning the upcoming, would you want to risk your best cards? If you lose -- then those cards are not available for a period. The biggest challenge facing all players, is that the cooldown periods apply to all gameplay modes in splinterlands. So if a card dies in Survival Mode and has cooldown applied, then you won't be able to use them in daily battles or guild brawls.
- Secondly, all those players with large collections will have a clear advantage as they will have a larger pool of cards to choose from. Also, if you have many duplicates of the same card, it may be worth levelling them up to aid your battles.
- Thirdly, Gold Foil cards will gain extra utility as their cooldowns will be halved compared to regular foil cards.
- Fourthly, there is no entry fee for Survival Mode and is bot friendly, which may deter many human players from entering as its difficult to determine whether all bot farms will come back to splinterlands and dominate the mode.
- Finally, a new revival potion will be introduced and be available to be purchased with DEC. While this will add another DEC sink, it may over-complicate an already complicated game for new players.
Who is Survival Mode For?
Its obvious that the Survival Mode has been designed for players with large collections. Players who have collections built since Alpha and Beta and have continuously been participating in the ecosystem will be the primary use case. This mode isn't designed for casual players. You will be required to have an expansive deck, and a level of risk tolerance which will be a good challenge even for seasoned players.
The rewards will match those provided in Wild and Modern leagues. Potentially this could mean players moving from other leagues into Survival mode which will mean more rewards in Modern and Wild formats.
Why Survival Mode Is Important
Survival Mode not only brings a new gameplay mode to the game, but it offers another place for splinterlands cards to be used and therefore increasing the utility. It does introduce a risk management component whereby players will need to determine where it makes most sense to dedicate their collection and resources to play now daily. Another benefit that Survival Mode is introducing is another DEC sink. This sink will continue to have a circular reference affect on the flywheel effect with DEC being burnt and continues its journey back to peg.
Concluding Thoughts
The introduction of Survival Mode should be a great addition to the game. The risk/reward ratio and strategic approach that it introduces will challenge even the most veteran splinterlands. What do you think about Survival Mode? Are you excited or do you see it as a barrier to new players?
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