Splinterlands Beginner's Guide: 6 Things I Wish I Knew When I Started

Splinterlands is an absolutely amazing game that I've been completely hooked on for the last few months. But I almost never got into it at all. I actually quit after my first day. Here are 6 things I wish I knew before I'd started that would have made my initial experience so much better!

Expect Culture Shock

I'm so used to starting up a new game and just being flooded with quick progression and lots of early rewards. Typical games are filled with great deals for new players and will do anything to get that initial flood of dopamine that creates an addiction. Splinterlands doesn't do that, largely because in game rewards have real value, and they don't want players farming new accounts for the early rewards to transfer/sell to other accounts which would inflate the economy.

That's why I was discouraged when my initial rewards were practically useless. It looked like I'd need to play the game for months just to unlock my first pack if I didn't start pouring in money. This isn't true at all, but I initially quit the game because of it. I only picked it back up because I happened to stumble across the next tip.

Join The Community

You are reading this blog post, so you are off to a great start. The Splinterlands community is second to none. They got me started off with some free rentals and explained the game economy and how quickly it picks up once you get past the starter deck. I was hooked from there. Plus I'm also earning money to spend in game just by creating posts like this right here. Joining the community is sound advice for any game, but it's even more important here. If you haven't yet joined the game and are researching it first (good decision!), join using my affiliate link and you'll have access to a library of free rentals that you can check out on my Discord server.

Learn To Rent Cards

If you are trying to play this game on a low budget it is essential to learn to rent cards. Renting is extremely cheap and it is very easy to make back that money plus a profit to further help you progress in the game. I did an entire video series where I spent $1/faction to rent a deck for a month. I peaked with a 2850 rating, which is enough to get into Diamond. This game feels expensive to start, but that is absolutely a myth if you understand how to rent.

Buy Cards, Not Packs

If you are going to spend money to purchase cards, it's most efficient to buy exactly what you want on the secondary market. Packs are a ton of fun, and they actually give you great value, but you never know what you are going to get. In the early game, a few key cards can progress you extremely far, so you are better off acquiring those cards directly instead of hunting through packs. Keep your eyes peeled for a future video dedicated to which cards I recommend! Until then, a quick search around the community will yield recommendations from several others to help you out.

Always Use Potions

If you do open packs (because yeah, they are fun!), always, always, always have enough potions. You need 1 potion per card you are pulling, and they are automatically used if you have them in your inventory. They increase the drop rates of gold and legendary cards.

Focus On Summoners First

Summoners are the best early investment, for a couple of reasons. First off, legendary summoners can carry you through battles early. Yodin and Llama, for example, are capable of winning bronze and silver battles practically on their own. They are great early investments.

On top of that, summoner level determines the max monster level you can use. This was something I didn't understand initially. By clicking on a summoner's stats you can see the level of each type of monster you can use. It's pointless to acquire a high level monster if you don't have a summoner that allows you to play them.