NPE frustrating and hurdles

Hey, Splinterlands friends

As a new player, it can be frustrating to encounter several hurdles when trying to play Splinterlands.

Firstly, players are met with a paywall, as they must rent an entire deck before they can begin playing, even though they may not know anything about the cards or abilities.
This is because they cannot use the starter cards without being penalized.

Then, they must rent SPS.

If the player has not given up yet, they can now begin playing.
However, as a new player, they logically have a below-average win rate,
so they are placed in Bronze 3
Our reward structure is such that Bronze 3 players earn nothing, so a win does not feel like a win.
Through a learning phase, players must be motivated to overcome this phase.
However, since players are not rewarded, it feels more like a waste of time, so people give up because it is frustrating to put in effort to get better and still not have a sense of reward.

The gaming industry has long been aware of this through many psychological studies, but Splinterlands seems to be unaware of this.
For years, the entry has been made more difficult through paywalls and hurdles, and the sense of reward has been removed, replaced by frustration as a reward.

What was it like to start playing Splinterlands before all the cuts?
I could start playing directly with the starter cards and then test individual cards step by step. And despite the poor win rates of a beginner, I could still receive rewards. There was even a special loot chest quest for Bronze 3. It was fun even though I was beaten up at the beginning, but every win was a pleasure, and so I was motivated to get better.

here for people who don't know how it used to be. either splinterlands had an expert for it back then or they did the right things by accident^^

According to a study by Das Gehirn, the prospect of success helps learning, and the mesolimbic system in our brain responds to incentives by releasing dopamine, which promotes incentive motivation and encourages us to strive for new achievements ¹.
Another study by Business Wissen suggests that rewards reinforce and re-engage players, and that the ultimate goal should be to create a fun and identifying goal for the player ².

It is important to motivate new players by providing them with a sense of reward and achievement, especially during the learning phase. By effectively motivating your players, they will learn much faster, win more games, learn life lessons, improve skills faster, have more fun, and become better players and people ³.

Splinterlands should consider revising its reward structure and entry requirements to make it easier for new players to get started and feel rewarded for their efforts. This will help to create a more positive and engaging experience for new players, and encourage them to continue playing and improving.

(1) Motivation durch Erfolg: Das Belohnungssystem. https://www.dasgehirn.info/denken/motivation/erfolg-ein-starker-motivator.

(2) Motivation: Was die Hirnforschung über Belohnungen sagt. https://www.business-wissen.de/artikel/motivation-was-die-hirnforschung-ueber-belohnungen-sagt/.

(3) Das Belohnungssystem im Gehirn. https://www.dasgehirn.info/denken/motivation/schaltkreise-der-motivation.

(4) Motivate player for better engagement and retention - Game Developer. https://www.gamedeveloper.com/business/motivate-player-for-better-engagement-and-retention.