How Can We Increase Real Player Participation in Splinterlands?
Can Ranked Play In Splinterlands Be Saved?
Greetings, Splinterlands!
"Ranked play is broken!". "There's too many bots playing now, I just don't enjoy it anymore." "I'm focusing on brawls and tourneys now and let my bot do my grinding."
Chances are you've heard people say this before, and chances are, you've said it too. I know I have.
With the increase in use of personal bots, ranked play has suffered. People don’t enjoy playing ranked battles anymore, and choose to focus their attention on brawls and/or tournaments. It's what I have personally been doing since the advent of Archmage.
So, how do we increase real player participation in ‘ranked battles’?
This is a great question and one that our most recent guest, Hepthorn, answers with aplomb in this week's Guild's Gold.
Hepthorn argues that we need to incentivize humans to play.
At the moment, he goes on to say, player engagement is not being utilised or rewarded by the team and that it's not advantageous or disadvantageous to have players playing.
So what is the answer? Well, states Hepthorn, this could be in the form of advertising.
This could be advertising in its simplest form, possibly a simple captcha as you submit your team. In turn, this would provide revenue for the team or DAO that could be distributed throughout the game as the community deems best and also increase player participation.
User engagement is something that many businesses are already utilizing. Is it time for Splinterlands to at least discuss the possibility of advertising within the game?
What I can vouch for is that since our conversation with Hepthorn, I have been playing ranked play on a more regular basis and not relying on my AM to do my dirty laundry. Yes, I am now washing my smalls with my AM, or we could say, he's washing and I'm hanging them up to dry!
And I have to say, I have been loving it. That old feeling of winning, losing and then saying "ok, just one more game!", and then still be playing, trying to break that losing streak, thirty minutes later.
Tournaments and brawls are great, but the waiting can take away an element of the fun factor.
Ranked play offers players the chance to play game after game, roll with the punches and come back for more once your ECR has recovered. It's why I fell in love with this game in the first place, and part of the reason why I'm here now.
Come on guys! Let's get people playing ranked play again! As Hepthorn says, "it's the same game, brawls, tourneys and ranked."
Let's give ranked play the love it deserves!
What are your thoughts on ranked play? Is your AM washing your smalls? Is it an area that you believe the team has to fix or is it the simple case of us getting back on the horse? And, how do you feel about Splinterlands using advertising in game?
So many questions, so come on, drop us some of your valued opinions below!
Enjoy!
The People's Guild...everyone's a member, and the dues are free!
Referral Link
https://splinterlands.com?ref=thewascalwabbits
Check out the episode
We are available on Aureal, a crypto-enabled, decentralized podcast platform!
Check out our YouTube channel
We're on Apple Podcasts
- And we're on Spotify
Welcome to the People's Guild
We are 
We are always looking to hear personal journeys through Splinterlands. If you'd be keen to hop on the show and share yours with us, drop us a line and we'd love to have you on! Leave us a comment below or reach out to us via Twitter.