Splinterlands is the most successful NFT based game running on HIVE and I expect it to get more popular during 2025 as HIVA get more attention.
If you are a new player to Splinterlands or still thinking about getting started with the game and are running a bit low on funds then this article might just help you.
When I started out playing Splinterlands I somehow managed to get the $10 to buy the starter pack called SpellBook but then I was not left with much liquidity to buy a lot of cards. I slowly built up my game and whenever I got some spare liquidity from a decent airdrop I kept building up my collection.
Getting Started with $10!!
Before we get into the details let me clarify that the minimum amount you will need to invest to get started with Splinterlands is $10. This amount has not changed over the last 6 years and is the same amount I paid 5 years ago to buy my SpellBook.
My recommendation is to start off with the free to use cards that you can use and start earning some glint which you can use to purchase other cards for the in-house market. Do this for a few days and you will get a feel if this is your kind of game or not. Only start investing in buying cards when you are convinced that you intend to play this long term.
What to Do with an Extra $10?
Considering that after your first week of playing you get hooked and are keen on playing the game regularly. Next step would be to buy some good summoners as they are the key to building a strong team. By your second week you would have realised that an individual levelled up monster is of no use if you don’t have a levelled up summoner to use it.
Within a limited budget I would recommend buying Chaos collection summoners which are very cheaply available right now. For around $10 you will be able to pick 3-4 summoners of level 3-4 which will give you an advantage over your opponents who don’t have levelled up summoners and cards.
At this stage I will recommend against spending a lot on buying individual monsters till you figure out which monsters you like more. At this stage you should not be skipping the fights and see which players are effective in which fight conditions.
You will also start earning Glint and SPS and other random treasures as you win more and more fights. This will give you an idea about what is the Play2Earn dynamics of the game.
Brawl Regularly!
This advice is for for everyone irrespective of what budget you have to invest in the game. It becomes even more critical for players who don’t have spare money to spend.
As soon as you start playing find a good Guild that plays regularly and start participating in all the brawls. After each brawl you will earn some SPS and a good bunch of Merits.
These Merits can be used to purchase Gladiator collection packs from the Guild store. Gladiators are the most powerful cards and are completely soul bound which means they can’t be traded in the market. The more levelled up Gladiators you have the more invincible you will become.
Stick to Bronze Level!
During your initial weeks until you have built up a good collection of cards across different elements and got your summoners levelled up you should stick to Bronze level and not try advancing to Silver level. You should focus for now on developing strategies on how to best use the cards you have. In the higher leagues of Silver, Gold, Diamond onwards the players you will be competing against will have a much stronger portfolio of monsters so no point in advancing there till you are not fully ready.
If you have more funds disposable then it opens up many more aspects of the game for you and your progress will be faster as well. I will probably write a separate post on how to best spend extra $200 or $500 you may have.
If you would like to enter the magical world of Splinterlands then feel free to use my referral link - https://splinterlands.com/register?ref=sambtc
Cheers,
Sam