100% agree, the initial user experience just isn't good enough to get new players to a certain hook point (unless they get a lot of extra cards leased from the start). There is so much that can easily be done to improve this without it coming at a cost of the game economy (that painfully boring tutorial wasn't one of them.)
I like the ideas you propose with the initial league that only allows level 1 cards giving players a sense of progression by earning ghost cards. New players need to be guided in a fun way that feels rewarding toward being able to enter the real game. Some kind of objectives checklist that unlocks certain rewards or even just extra cards that are being leased for completing them could help. Creating a unique card that can only be received after buying the summoner's spellbook and playing ~500 matches with progression bars that fill up over time to get it. There are so many cards being created for airdrop purposes to those that buy packs, why not for those that are new to the game and buy the summoner's spellbook. I do notice players that get referred by me who get a lot of extra cards leased do quite well on making it through the initial stages sticking to the game.
All that being said, Splinterlands is indeed one of the best Blockchain crypto games around and it has so much potential. I also noticed facing a lot fewer really weak players this season which is a good thing making it more enjoyable again.
Posted Using LeoFinance Beta
I like the progress bar idea, would be something else to keep players occupied and providing a clear progression. As you mentioned, there are so many things that could be done, I hope we'll see at least some of it implemented given time...
Posted Using LeoFinance Beta