Introduction
This week, we're diving into the newly released free-to-play version of Splinterlands!
First off, a big shoutout to the team for making this happen. Back when I started playing, you had to buy a spellbook just to get started with the game. I think it’s awesome that now anyone can jump in, explore the battles, and see if they enjoy the game without spending anything upfront.
What’s even better? You can earn Glint and in-game rewards while exploring! That’s such a great way to dip your toes in and figure out if this is the game for you.
In this post, we’ll walk through how to get started with a free-to-play account, what you can do with it, and what features remain locked until you grab the spellbook ($10).
But the most important thing? Figuring out if you enjoy the strategy and gameplay. That’s the foundation. Once you're hooked, you can dive into everything else Splinterlands has to offer—buying cards, owning land, earning SPS and DEC (by renintg out), and so much more. But those are topics for another post.
Let’s get into it!
Create your account F2P
It pretty straightforward goto https://splinterlands.com/ and register with an email.
That is it you now have a account.
Note that your account name contains a suffix _LITE, indicating that its currently an free to play (F2P) account.
What can you do with an LITE/F2P account.
- Play modern battles
- Earn/Spint Glint (in game currency can only be earned by playing)
- Rent/Buy in game assets with Credits (in game currency)
- Deposit Credits (in game currency 1000 equals 1$)
Note: Once you buy a spellbook you will receive 3000 credits
Click here for more "Advanced" information/tips
More currencies
DEC - token to buy that is tradable on hiveblockchain. Also possible to buy/rent assets with.
SPS - governance token once staked you allows to earn more glint with your battles
MERITS - guild token spend to buy special guild cards
The support team also has a YT video where they explain the different currencies:
Play the tutorial
Jus take your time and read all the screen although the tutorial is bit old with older editions it still touches most of the major part of the battle.
Play your first match
I will run you to basics of the game.
Lest give a run down of how that looks and some tips and tricks selecting some cards
When you have found a match you already get some battle information
- Rules of combat - in higher leagues bronze and above there will be buff/debuffs for the complete team.
- Mana Cap - how mana man can you spend, every card cost an amount of mana
- Active elements - from bronze and higher not always all elements are active so not every card can be selected.
- Countdown - your team needs to be submitted before it runsdown to 0.
- Recently played team of you opponent - hover over the icons to see which lineup your opponent prefers, use this infor in your advantage.
Some basic information on how a card looks like and what it all means:
Summoner selection
First you need to select an summoner, think of the ability each summoner has you can hover over them. Keep in mind what did your opponent played the last few battles. Do you want to try to counter that or go for you own strategy.
Team selection
Here the complexity start selecting you lineup.
Lets start with the bear minimum you need to know:
Melee - can attack only from the first position will strike armor first
Magic - can attack from any position will got directly to the health
Ranged - cannot attack from the first position will hit armor first.
Often a lineup look something like this:
| #1 Tank | #1 second tank/Supporter | #3 Supporter | #4 Supporter | #5 Ranged | #6 Ranged |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | | | | |
| | | | | |
As you can imagine there are many possibilities and abilities of an unit will play a big part
Click here for more "Advanced" information/tips
Abilities
opportunity (can attack from any poistion and attacks the weakest)
reach (can attack from the second position)
sneak (will attack the last position of your opponent) 
charge (will attack the last position of your opponent) For ranged units:
close range makes it possible for a ranged unit to attack from the first position
Battle
The battle phase, here you can watch/replay the battle
When you re-watch the battle you can also speed a bit up by this button
When the battle is finish you can view you earning by hovering over the i:
In this case 33 glint and no bonusses.
Bonusses can be win streak using certain cards and if you have bought an spellbook the glint earning will increase when you have more staked SPS.
Glint earnings
When you have played (won) a few matches you have enough glint to spend some in the store
Glint can be spend in the glint shop:
For new players i suggest to focus on rarity draws or gamble a bit with loot chests.
Again if you hover of the i you can few what is in the chest:
This was my first purchage
This is card that i have earned its mine and can be used directly in battle. This is method to earn some cards. Not that this is soulbound meaning you cannot trade or sell it yet.
To be able to sell/trade/rent out this card you first need a spellbook and secondly you need to pay a unlock fee. But all that is for a more advanced blog post.
If you want to see all your earned card you can filter our owned cards as shown in the image below:
Renting / Buying
When you have played some battle you will probable leave novice league quickly. When this happens you encounter more player with high level deck. Then it will be time to up your game by either buying cards or renting.
Buy cards
Here is the place where you can buy card if have highlighted some key filter that are very usefull especially is you want to buy a certain level card.
Buy cards
First you needs a higher level summoner to play higher level cards
This is just a example for a rare summoner like
Level 2 to play in Bronze
Level 4 to play in Silver
Level 6 to play in Gold
Level 8 to play in Diamond+
| League | Common | Rare | Epic | Legendary |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bronze | 3 | 2 | 2 | 1 |
| Silver | 5 | 4 | 3 | 2 |
| Gold | 8 | 6 | 5 | 3 |
| Diamond+ | 10 | 8 | 6 | 4 |
Note this is a really rough rule of thumb. There are many cards whare you can, with a good strategy, play with a less level unit.
Rentals
You can also start with rentals and for a few cent you can rent card for CREDITS.
Not the with a F2P account you can only rent for a season 15 days. When you have bought a spellbook you can also rent daily.
Set rentals
With a F2P account you can rent a complete bronze decks for credits, this should help you win in bronze league.
Unfortunately at the point of writing there are no players that have listed any set rentals for CREDITS or even DEC. Note that these rentals just like other are rentals from players.
Join a Guild
For me, the game truly shines at higher-ranked leagues, starting from Silver and above, especially when you're part of a guild.
Guilds are a fantastic way to connect with other players and share in the excitement of extra battles alongside your guildmates. Beyond camaraderie, being in a guild unlocks unique benefits like Guild Brawls and boosts to rewards, giving your gameplay an edge.
If you're serious about improving and enjoying the social side of Splinterlands, joining a guild is a step worth taking!
Closing notes
This is just a glimpse of what Splinterlands offers for free-to-play accounts.
There’s so much more to explore, but the most important thing is to enjoy the game and learn the battle strategies first. Once you've got a solid grip on the gameplay, you can dive deeper into the fascinating economics, land ownership, and tokenomics.
Keep in mind, strategies evolve significantly at higher leagues, so as you climb the ranks, the game keeps offering new challenges to master.
Splinterlands is a journey
—
start with the fun, and the rest will follow.
—
start with the fun, and the rest will follow.
Do you also want to be part of this amazing play to earn game consider using my referral link.
Delegate Tokens and HP to Fallen Angels to earn weekly rewards!
Delegate | Join to the guild
Thanks for sharing! - @clove71
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