The developers of Hive-powered blockchain TCG Splinterlands are looking to shake up the game’s economy and ranked gameplay with the introduction of a new format: Survival Mode.
What Is Splinterlands Survival Mode?
Survival Mode is an upcoming new ranked gameplay format that will sit alongside the existing Modern and Wild formats while attempting to make “a major impact on the overall product and game economy,” according to the official blog post.
Players will be able to use just about any card in this format, as well as automation tools and battle helpers, with no pass or payment needed to jump in. At least no such fee is currently planned. You won’t be able to use Gladiator cards without a Conscript Summoner or Ruleset though.
While this mode sounds similar to the Wild format, there will be 2 notable changes that make it distinct: you won’t need any energy to battle, but if a card dies during a match, you won’t be able to use it again in any battle for a specific time period. What this means is that cards themselves act as “energy” due to their cooldown period limiting how many battles you can actually play. Players however will be able to remove this cooldown using Revival potions, a new type of potion that will be added to the web3 game’s official store. The price is not yet known, but you will be able to buy these new potions using DEC, Credits, or Glint.
Survival mode is less about choosing individual teams for each battle and more about overall collection management. It changes the collection strategy from “do I have one copy of each card I need at a high enough level?” to “how many copies of each different card do I need and at what levels?”.
These changes make the format a unique new web3 gaming experience that certain types of players may be more interested in. It is also said to be the first time that players are actually encouraged to have multiple copies of the cards they need for their strategies.
As for other mechanics, they will be the same like with the other ranked formats, meaning that the rating system, seasons, end of season resets, matchmaking, and so on, will be just like they have before. There won’t be any win streak rating bonuses though.
Announced on November 22nd, the first version of this mode is planned to launch within the new few months, so we can likely expect to see it go live in early 2025, in the same year in which the team has teased to be rolling out a variety of significant additions to one of the oldest blockchain games still around.
What Rewards Can You Earn in Splinterlands Survival Mode?
You can look forward to a play to earn experience consisting of a $SPS token reward pool that will be just as big and work the same way as the prize pools in other ranked formats. Each win will be rewarded with $SPS depending on the reward shares earned from that battle in comparison to “the total number of reward shares earned from all Survival mode battles over the past 15 days.” Reward shares are calculated just like in Modern and Wild battles, with all modifiers/bonuses also staying the same.
Not only will you play and earn from each win, but you will also get to compete for leaderboard rewards that you can gain a share of by being among the highest-rated players by the end of each season.
In the beginning, the $SPS reward pool and leaderboard prizes will be distributed by the studio, but if the format turns out to be successful, the developers hope that SPS stakeholders will then approve a governance proposal which will allow for rewards to be paid either from the DAO or from remaining SPS inflation. Once a few seasons have taken place and the team has sufficient real-time data, they will then also look to introduce Glint rewards for winning battles, awarding them in fair and reasonable quantities.
Check out the official blog post to learn more about Survival Mode, how card cooldowns work, and future ideas the Splinterlands team may add to further improve the format and deliver an engaging and reward-packed blockchain gaming experience.
