The Monster Party Is Over

Season Six just ended of the popular Steem Monsters game, and it's time to look back and re-assess the situation... again. I have been playing for the last nine weeks, going through lots of ups and downs, waves of fun and frustration, while spending and earning a good amount of steem in the process. Was it worth it? Most certainly, at least I have no regrets of having joined. Looking forward, however, I have a different feeling... But before I make any gut decisions, let me consider the objective facts:

Daily Quests and Reward Cards

Over the last nine weeks there has barely been a day I did not play a daily quest. At first I remember it was fairly easy. I would sit down with my morning coffee, and within 15-30 minutes I'd accomplish my five victories in the splinter the quest required. Sure, occasionally there were some harder days, but usually it didn't take me a whole lot of effort to complete the quest. As a reward I'd get five cards while I was in the Silver leagues, or ten once I made it to Gold. What's more, back then I pretty much breezed through the the rankings, without even trying too hard. Merely the daily quests advanced me steadily further up. Most importantly, the reward cards tended to be not only more plentiful, but also higher in quality. As much as I was complaining about Highlanders and Androids being worth mere pennies, at least I could use the money from reward cards I sold to level up my betas, bit by bit.

That Was Then. And Now?

This last season turned out to be the exact opposite of my starting experience. First of all, it has gotten harder to win battles in general. For a time I was upset about the bots in the Silver leagues. I'm sure everyone has met them: they always play Life with the same line-up: Silvershiled Paladin, Divine Healer, and Peacebringer, followed by a Cutthroat and/or Centaur if Mana permits. But then I figured out how to beat them, and things went back to "normal" for a while.

These days, however, I tend to encounter opponents that I don't stand a chance against. And this happens not only occasionally, or during "busy days" at the start or the end of a season, but all throughout! Also, with the shortened seasons it feels like we've been reduced to the busy head and tail ends! As a result, I end up spending at least an hour on the daily quest, during which I barely advance up the leader-board. If anything, I need to put in extra effort to maintain my ranking. And all this in spite of my increased skills and a better deck! Shouldn't it be the other way around?

And All This For What?

Okay, so one would think putting in so much effort should have its proper reward, right? Well, so I assumed... Instead, the reward cards have become fewer in number, and ... let's face it: worthless! For a while things were looking up a bit, as new reward cards got introduced, and you still had a chance of winning some good ones. Or some new ones, which was equally exciting. I remember selling the first couple of Crystal Werewolves for a pretty penny, before their price fell into the cellar, where it has been since. And of course, there was the Gold-Foil Sacred Unicorn that brought me $250, reason enough never to complain about Steem Monsters ever again!

But all that seems to be ancient history now. It falls into what I called the good old days, which include the first seasons I missed out on, when you would get booster-packs of beta cards in your daily rewards. Insanely too good to be true! And no, I'm not expecting a gold-foil legendary on a daily basis, but this sixth season I have not gotten any epic, legendary, or gold-foil cards, at all. Other than the occasional Sea-monster or Naga Fire Wizzard, which I was quite happy about (until I leveled them up to my summoners' levels) , my reward cards were pretty lame. This includes the season reward: Out of the 26 cards, the only rare ones were two Mushroom Seers, two Crystal Werewolves, and a Flame Imp. I know, it's supposed to be random, but it feels like two weeks ago I had a better chance at this random draw.

So What's Next?

As you can probably guess from the mood of this post, I'm slowly getting tired of Steem Monsters. And this has nothing to do with money. Remember my Unicorn? That has made the game worthwhile financially, even if I don't get anything more out of it (which I don't expect). But no, it's the fun factor that is decreasing, season by season, day by day. And THAT, my friends, is the make-or-break point. Why should I spend time on what is ultimately becoming a frustrating experience? Exactly! So I don't think I'll be playing it for much longer...

This morning I started selling my cards, at first the splinter that would have been next for leveling up: Death. Ironic, how at first it used to be my favorite splinter (for its self-healing Haunted Spirit obviously), and now it's the first one I'm getting rid of. Since I believe I'm not the only player who feels like this, I expect prices to drop further, even for beta cards. So let's see how much I can get out of it. Two weeks ago my deck was estimated to be $45, today only $40.

Join Drug Wars With Me!

Just like many other Steemians who are growing wary of Steem Monsters, I'm eyeing this next new fad: DrugWars a strategy game on the Steem blockchain, involving the usual Gangsta Sh*t: making and selling drugs, training thugs to steal them from others, and building up an empire of organized crime. I still don't know more about it than what the page tells you, but I'm willing to give it a try. This time, I also happen to be one of the early birds at this game, so I'm hoping for similarly insane rewards as Steem Monsters used to have. There is also a nice affiliate program, so if you're thinking about joining, why not through my referral link? I will make sure to express my proper appreciation.