I actually just started playing Splinterlands again after a ~two-year break. A few years ago, I noted many of the same complaints that you did. At the time, it felt like Splinterlands wasn't even fun anymore because of the misaligned financial incentives. How can you call it "play to earn" if your "earnings" aren't even letting you break even on the cost to get started? How is it fun if skill doesn't really matter, and the only way to win a match is to buy every single card the team ever offers for sale?

That being said, I recently came back to the game and I'm absolutely loving the PvE campaign mode. I think this is a great way to make the game fun and exciting without requiring a massive investment into depreciating assets. I still have a somewhat pessimistic view of the ROI of Splinterlands investments, but I'm trying to approach it this time with a new mindset and look at the gameplay aspect. My goal is to make the most of the free-to-play experience and enjoy it as a game. If I like the gameplay, I won't mind spending a few bucks here and there, but I'm not going to spend a lot of $$$ on the game in hopes of it being a good investment.

Fun fact, I think it was one of your posts that originally convinced me to start playing back around 2019, so it's fascinating that you are one of the first articles I saw upon returning.