Only 2 days left before season 6 comes to an end. I'm really looking forward to the rating reset, because frustration is growing bigger every day.
Image Source - Edited with The Logo Creator 7
## Losing Motivation
The end of season 6 is near, and I will welcome it with open arms. I simply can't wait for the rating reset, which will send me back to Bronze 1.
I must admit that I have been thinking about stopping the experiment a couple of times. I'm experiencing frustration more than anything else these last couple of days, and I think I have already found the answer to the question that was the base of this entire experiment.
***What is it like to start from scratch in season 6 without having money to invest?***
For the moment, I'd say: frustrating and almost impossible, unless you are stubborn as hell.
When I started this experiment, I wanted to make my experience resemble a real situation as much as possible. After 24 days, I can say I failed that goal big time. Little by little, it has moved further away from what I had in mind. It hasn't been a reflection of what a new Steemian who starts playing with only a starter deck experiences for a long time now.
There are several reasons for that:
* I can't erase the fact that I know my way around SteemIt. I know about ways to earn some extra Steem which are unknown to someone who is new to the platform
* I should have done a better job hiding my real identity. The fact that some (most?) people know who I am has given me privileges new users don't have.
* I cheated by giving this account way more SP than a new user has, because it was the only way to be able to play, post and enter contests and giveaways.
And in spite of all those privileges, and all the luck I have had along the way, I'm feeling demotivated and frustrated.
I'm not sure how I should feel about that. After all, I started this experiment because I wanted to make a point. I wanted to prove that @steemmonsters was heading the wrong way by making the game less accessible for people who couldn't invest with every new change they made. And I'm close to proving my point, but instead of feeling satisfied, it makes me feel sad.
Don't worry, I didn't live under the illusion that making that point would change anything. Right before I decided to start this experiment, I had a short conversation with Matt, in which he made clear that they were aiming for players who could invest rather than let 'freeriders' have a little fun.
Business is business, I guess.... no exceptions on the blockchain. Part of me understands, the other part thinks it is unfair...
)
## What Keeps Me Going
One of the things that keep me going is the fact that this account and the experiment has allowed me to meet some new people, or to get to know some people a little better.
I really appreciate the people who are in this with me, who are following up, and who sacrifice some of their precious time to comment on the posts I make.
Some of them, like @rentmoney and @bashadow, have been part of my SteemIt adventure for months. Others, like @senstless and @stiant, I only knew because I played against them with my higher level decks. I can't even count the times I lost from @stiant in a tournament, lol.
And then there are the ones I may have seen pass by on SteemIt every once in a while, like @stortebeker and @wonderwop - but with whom I never really connected before.
That's something that has made this experiment a success already - no matter what the outcome will be.
I'm really thankful for all the people who have been in this with me.
)
[Source](https://pixabay.com/en/thank-you-polaroid-letters-2490552/)
I'm afraid the intro turned out a little longer than I originally intended. Sorry for that.
It has been 4 days since my last update, and a lot has happened in these 4 days. I guess I'd better start telling you about my successes and failures....
![divider2.png]()
## Giveaways And Contests
I'm still joining every card giveaway and easy to join contest I can find.
This has been rather rewarding, I must say.
Not only did I win my first @steembasicincome share, I now also have my first @incinboost share. I forgot to write down who sponsored it, but I'm really thankful for it.
I'm actually thinking about getting myself some extra @incinboost shares.... it is an investment that will pay out in the long run. I haven't made up my mind yet, though.
I did win a couple of cards too.
I won a Rusty Android in a giveaway hosted by @uncommonriad.
And one of @stever82's giveaways gave my deck a real boost: I won two cards, of which one was a Lyanna Natura, summoner of the Earth splinter. Luck was one my side once again.
)
[Source](https://steemmonsters.com?ref=itisjustme)
![divider2.png]()
## My Deck
I had already leveled up my Water splinter and my Fire splinter, and thanks to @stever82, I only had to buy one Lyanna Natura to be able to start leveling my Earth splinter.
I made the 'mistake' to buy a beta booster pack, hoping to be lucky and find an epic or legendary card in there, but I should have known better. Buying booster packs is like playing the lottery: the chance that you get a valuable card that covers the cost of the booster pack is small.
This is what I got:
)
[Source](https://peakmonsters.com/@itisjustme/explorer)
The good thing about it was that I didn't have to spend any money to level up my Minotaur Warrior and I only had to purchase one Giant Roc to turn it into a level 2, but the cards didn't cover the cost of the pack at all.
I've been selling and buying quite some cards. I'm not going to list everything - after 4 days, it would take up too much time, but I will give you an idea of what my deck looks like in a minute.
I've been buying quite some alpha cards. They are often not only cheaper than betas, you also need only 2 to level up. In some cases, they are just a little more expensive, which makes it is still profitable, because buying two alphas gives you a level 2, while you can sell the beta card you have and get part of your money back.
Just now, I bought 2 alpha Tyrus Paladium cards, enough to turn them into a level 2.
If I would have bought two betas, I would have spent 3.898 Steem.
I paid only 3.569 Steem for the two alphas, plus, I can sell the beta card I already had for 1.930 Steem, which makes it way less costly to level up.
I also check the market quite regularly to see if I can buy level 2 cards that are listed at a lower or the same BCX than level 1 cards. If I can get my hands on one of those, I can also sell the card I already have and reduce the costs.
Thanks to the extra source of income I told you about in [yesterday's post](https://steemit.com/steemmonsters/@itisjustme/steemmonstersexperiment-quick-update-1549910760827), I was able to get all my summoners up to level 2.
)
[Source](https://steemmonsters.com?ref=itisjustme)
Now I still have to decide which cards of which splinter to level up.
So far, my Water splinter is definitely the strongest.
)
)
![divider2.png]()
## Daily Quests And Rewards
Up until yesterday, completing the daily quests wasn't such a big deal. But the closer I got to Silver 1, the more difficult it became.
Let me show you what it took to complete yesterday's DQ, and you'll understand why I am feeling so frustrated.
)
[Source](https://steemmonsters.com?ref=itisjustme)
I should really wait until around midnight to get matched with real players, but I'm often too tired... this is the result.
Fortunately, somewhere along the way during yesterday's marathon, I managed to touch Silver 1, so at least I will receive 18 reward cards once the season has ended. I'm keeping my fingers crossed, hoping there will be at least some valuable cards included.
Okay, gotta go, there's a tourney I want to attend, and I really got to run.
I'll leave you with the latest stats for the account:
)
[Source](https://discord.gg/dTW33ge)
Source 1 - Source 2 - Source 3
DISCLAIMER: This post contains affiliate links.
All screenshots are taken from th Steemmosters website.
All other images were created with The Logo Creator 7.
Congratulations @itisjustme! Your post received a small up-vote from @wod-game as little gift.
We are a small group of people who want to create the next big Video game for Steem.
Want to know more about us?
Steem: @wod-game
Discord: Click here!
Have a nice Day!
One of the cards I would concentrate on leveling, and which should be cheap to sort of do, and is likely one of the most current useful ones is actually the Grumpy Dwarf. At level five he gets one extra boost. but until then he now has the reach capability so putting him in second place works for all of the splinters, and that means your other reach cards can wait.
It might be a good idea. It is always useful to have some extra neutrals to make up what you lack in your splinter. But they are pretty expensive, those neutrals.
I'll definitely take a look at it.
Thanks for the tip
Great job. Thank you for tagging me and for the mention. I hope you get some great cards today.
Posted using Partiko Android
Thanks... got a few, but overall, it wasn't a big deal... like for everyone, except for a few who were lucky
I feel your pain brother 24 I got stuck with life for my daily. 24 straight matches against life bots later i was devastated. Took about 50 matches to win my daily quest... I guestion how long I can keep the project lure and not send a few nice cards to it. Inthink I am stuck in silver 1 for a long time
Posted using Partiko Android
Same here.I've been able to level up a little more, but the season reset didn't come a second too soon.
I'm not sure if I will keep this up, though. I'm about to start writing a short post to explain
Congratulations! This post has been upvoted from the communal account, @minnowsupport, by itisjustme from the Minnow Support Project. It's a witness project run by aggroed, ausbitbank, teamsteem, someguy123, neoxian, followbtcnews, and netuoso. The goal is to help Steemit grow by supporting Minnows. Please find us at the Peace, Abundance, and Liberty Network (PALnet) Discord Channel. It's a completely public and open space to all members of the Steemit community who voluntarily choose to be there.
If you would like to delegate to the Minnow Support Project you can do so by clicking on the following links: 50SP, 100SP, 250SP, 500SP, 1000SP, 5000SP.
Be sure to leave at least 50SP undelegated on your account.
Thanks for mentioning me!
And yes, I understand your frustration. I can certainly see the curve of how SteemMonsters first got me intrigued, then excited, then obsessed.... by now the curve is certainly falling, making me think that sometime soon I just may sell the whole deck and be done with it. For now, however... I'm almost in Gold 1 again, so I'm still looking forward to the season's end and the reward cards.
I have the same feeling. I'm seriously considering selling everything but my main deck (which would mean a level 1 alpha deck, a level 3 deck, 2 level 4 decks and a deck with gold foils.)
I don't have the feeling the game is going into the right direction, so better jump off ship before it is too late.
It's hard to make the decision, though. I've been going back and forth about it...
Hi, @itisjustme!
You just got a 0.08% upvote from SteemPlus!
To get higher upvotes, earn more SteemPlus Points (SPP). On your Steemit wallet, check your SPP balance and click on "How to earn SPP?" to find out all the ways to earn.
If you're not using SteemPlus yet, please check our last posts in here to see the many ways in which SteemPlus can improve your Steem experience on Steemit and Busy.
Hi,
Do you like to play games?
There is a new game called drugwars which is build on steemit. The game let's you earn rewards in steem.
You can check it out here: https://staging.drugwars.io/#!/ref/@niel96
Thanks, I already have an account. Still have to figure out how it works, though :0)
Read this tutorial:
https://steemit.com/steem/@niel96/how-to-play-drugwars-io-the-new-game-on-steemit
You managed to keep playing and touch silver 1, my level 1 deck stucked around silver 2, because I have no time to play it daily this season. I think this season everything is almost balance between the level of summies and skill of players.
Even when playing the DQ every day, I seem to be stuck in Silver 2 too.
I think the big problem this season is that the games doesn't have enough players - that's why all those annoying bots are in there
Congratulations! Your post has been selected as a daily Steemit truffle! It is listed on rank 22 of all contributions awarded today. You can find the TOP DAILY TRUFFLE PICKS HERE.
I upvoted your contribution because to my mind your post is at least 2 SBD worth and should receive 200 votes. It's now up to the lovely Steemit community to make this come true.
I am
TrufflePig, an Artificial Intelligence Bot that helps minnows and content curators using Machine Learning. If you are curious how I select content, you can find an explanation here!Have a nice day and sincerely yours,
TrufflePig$17 + .... good job. 170% of your invested money back. While its tough and as you mentioned (easy to lose motivation) for those willing to push forward a profit can be made. Staying focused is hard to do when grinding / doing an experiment.
I don't feel as you cheated by giving yourself some STEEM so you could have enough RC to play. Steem-Monsters delegates Steem to new players for that same reason so I view it as a similar action.
I still feel as the $10 spent on a starter deck is well worth it. I spent countless $10 on board games and other digital games in my lifetime that gave 0 chances at winning that $10 back.
Okay, I can agree with the conclusion that the starter pack has paid for itself - based on the stats the sm-bot gives me.
I only wonder, if I would sell all my cards today, it would still be profitable...
Anyway, for now the Steemslotgames source has dried up. I think i will create an account for the drugwars game, since it appears to pay out a little, even when you play for free..
I never heard of Steemslotgames ...
I been thinking about joining drugwars but it doesn't work on this PC I am currently on.
Congratulations @itisjustme! You have completed the following achievement on the Steem blockchain and have been rewarded with new badge(s) :
Click here to view your Board
If you no longer want to receive notifications, reply to this comment with the word
STOPDo not miss the last post from @steemitboard:
Your post was upvoted by the @archdruid gaming curation team in partnership with @curie to support spreading the rewards to great content. Join the Archdruid Gaming Community at https://discord.gg/6yD2Emr. Good Game, Well Played!
hey! ive just read through the experiment now, thanks for documenting everything! I am doing the same as we discussed earlier on discord. hopefully things turn up in the future but you never know. I am on drugwars too, hopefully that game can show how its really done. :D cheers!
Hahaha, I created an account on Drugwars a couple of days ago, but only just started playing this morning. Still trying to figure everything out.