Here are the key points to get started in Praetoria (Splinterlands) this year

Hi, Wizards! ⚔️

Hi, community! I'm @wizardwarrior, and I hope everyone is doing great. It hasn’t been long since my last post—this time I didn’t take as long—so here I am, full of energy and ready to keep sharing content. This time I’ve got something really interesting, especially for those of you who are just starting out like me, because I’ll be sharing my experience on how to get started in this fabulous world of “Praetoria” and Splinterlands.

To take your first steps in this vast universe, the first thing you need to do is create an account; that’s pretty obvious, right? But it’s true. The easiest way to do this is by using the Hive Keychain, which is the ideal tool for securely managing your transactions on the Hive network. Before doing that, however, you’ll need to create a Hive account—but you’ll do this as soon as you sign up for Splinterlands. After that, it’s absolutely essential to purchase the “spellbook,” which will unlock your ability to earn rewards and participate seamlessly in Splinterlands’ various game modes.

Once you’re in, the idea is to familiarize yourself with the cards in every aspect; by this I mean learning the mana cost, speed (which helps with accuracy and the order in which your units attack), as well as armor and health, which are the most important base stats for a card.

That said, attacks fall mainly into three categories:

• Melee: Characters who only attack from the first position, unless they have special abilities such as Sneak or Opportunity.

• Magic: Characters who can attack from any position and deal damage directly to health, bypassing armor.

• Ranged: Characters who attack from the rear and require abilities like Close Range to act on the front lines—that is, from the first position.

To fully prepare yourself, starting practically from the very basics, you need to understand that each battle has a mana limit ranging from 12 to 99 points, limiting the number of cards you can field to just 6—and, of course, each card also has a specific mana cost to be played in battle. Additionally, the game rules vary depending on your league: in the Wood league (which is the most basic of all), the rules are standard and there are no modifiers, but when you move up to Bronze, there’s a 75% chance of triggering a modifier, while in higher leagues like Silver or Gold, 2—and up to a maximum of 3—conditions accumulate, completely transforming the battlefield.

FINALLY: Mastering the use of DEC and SPS tokens is essential, as staking SPS will grant you significant multipliers for your daily earnings in both SPS and GLINTS.

My Strategic Plan: How Do I Move Forward and Gain Ground?

As a player who is still learning, my initial investment strategy has been very cautious so as not to make mistakes that could end up costing me capital I can’t afford to lose. I’ve opted for a smart combination of renting key cards and trying to buy others; I use market tools like “Peakmonsters” to buy and/or track down cards at good prices, while renting specific epic and legendary cards that I consider very strong in the game.

My immediate league goal is to solidify my position in the Bronze league and make the definitive leap to Silver, which will allow me to play with multiple active modifiers and increase my earnings, but it won’t be easy; I’m still not used to double modifiers—I’ve practiced, but I still have a ways to go. All of this is aimed at accelerating my progress, and for that, the SPS Stake—or renting it if you have limited capital—is crucial, all with the goal of earning much more as I climb the rankings.

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Tips: Mistakes to Avoid

One of the biggest mistakes I made at the beginning—and one I often see in other newbies like me—is repeatedly playing the same monster lineup. Splinterlands lets your opponent analyze your last 5 teams used on the combat home screen; if you always use the same strategy, you’ll be an extremely easy target to predict and counter. Of course, it’s not like I’m an expert either, but I’m still getting used to doing this, because it really does help with decision-making.

Another strategic trick that has drastically changed my results is using 0- or 1-mana filler cards to fill empty slots at the end of my lineup or at the beginning—it all depends on the rule. Although these low-cost units usually don’t attack, they serve as perfect sacrifices to absorb enemy attacks targeted with the Sneak or Opportunity abilities, protecting my tanks and main attackers for longer.

In the short term, my main goal is to level up my cards, making sure to level up my Archons as well so I don’t face any restrictions and have more opportunities to win. In the medium term, I plan to formally join a competitive guild to start earning merits, acquiring special chests, and adding Gladiator cards with the powerful Bloodlust ability to my battles whenever I can use them in Ranked matches.

What about you—what strategies are you using to dominate the lower leagues in Splinterlands this season? I’d love for you to share your best tips or any questions you have in the comments section so we can keep growing together.

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Did you know that these are the abilities every player should master?