While everyone now seems to be cheering on the new Frontiers Format as it in no time has gotten more players than the real game, with Spellbook Purchases Skyrocketing. I'm sitting here facepalming thinking to myself how nobody is seeing what actually is happening.
https://images.hive.blog/DQmasRpLKLZRj9Hohcmwv2ifyNp2MhTZ1rJzihGuefr6Rkp/image.png
I did take the opportunity to literally sell all my Foundations cards at dumping prices before they eventually trend toward zero and I'm happy to take the 20$ which will fund my Wild Tax For the coming 10 Seasons...
Why Frontiers Mode is Popular ...
I would say there are 4 main aspects to why this 'new' game mode right now has taken over the majority of the activity.
- It's new so existing players are testing it out.
- It's Free To Play with some real rewards so good it offers risk-free Returns.
- It's easy to get into with limited choices.
- Players are still on a level playing field which makes it more fun.
Generally all the Splinterlands Influencers are Perma-Bulls and always optimistic while the comments generally show the real sentiment.
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How Frontiers is Fundamentally Broken ...
Basically, we have been there before in the past, and Frontiers Mode is making exact same mistakes which will eventually lead to exactly the same negative outcome.
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Frontiers is a full reset with real tradable card rewards that starts out with very low supply and at least some demand from those who believe that by being early, they can earn back the investment or those who just enjoy participating.
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This pushes the prices up, which brings in more people who see it as a good value proposition, buying the spellbook as it can be earned back quickly.
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Sooner than later though, those who got in early or stayed fully free2play will be looking to dump some earned cards, undercutting the lowest listed prices.
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This makes it a race to the bottom where everything eventually will be worthless as exponentially more new players need to come in buying these cards to hold up the prices.
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Frontiers Mode will also become 'Pay2Win' and remove the Level Playing Field as new players that come in just with level 1 cards quickly facing higher level opponents which destroys the fun.
So long story short, card will become near worthless and playing Frontiers mode for new players will a frustrating experience sooner than later. This will give Splinterlands yet another sin of the past they will be forced to fix somehow putting us further away than we were before. On top of this, how do they expect new players to come in playing frontiers for free earning real rewards to get to the point where they sell the farm to play the real game just to earn Soulbound cards on which they need to pay 10x the burn value to unlock them.
How Much The Foundation Set Sells For On The Market
So the 5 Summoners alone go for around 1$ each
https://images.hive.blog/DQmfGw52remEA5A2LLN1dQuAP8i4wXj2v2Vef5GDCc4RPJc/image.png
This is just ridiculous as they are made underpowered on purpose while Choas Legion Summoners go for as low as 0.06$ for a single copy.
https://images.hive.blog/DQmZFpC8MkuMtuUFf8Rou5faz38kmG1AxjXZiDbTEoodR5e/image.png
In total, I would say that right now, you can sell the base Foundations set for around 10$ which is unlikely to go up while it most likely will start trending down quickly. I played foundations for 1-2 days casually but I'm not looking to spend hours daily just for pennies so I'm leaving foundations mode for what it is and was very glad to get around 20$ for my cards (which include the Foundation cards that I got from doing the campaigh for 10 minutes on my alt account.
What Foundation Cards & Frontier Mode Shows
The success of this format so far shows that people are willing to grind a game mode if
- They believe they are early and can get a return
- They can play for free and earn something
- Rewards are lower with no risk of losing on an investment
Who Should Sell their Foundation Cards
Players that are not looking to grind Frontiers mode daily for hours to get some card rewards should imo always take the time to put all their cards on the market and get 10$ from them while it still is possible now. It will always be possible to buy them back at a way lower price later down the line.
Conclusion
Frontiers Mode with Foundation Cards Rewards do exactly the same thing which got Splinterlands in a world of trouble in the past and this time around it will be the exact same outcome. Asset prices that will get in a race to the bottom and become worthless with Max Level cards becoming the norm in Frontiers mode. There are also zero signs that any of the new players that come into Frontiers Mode convert to actually become players of the main game. I still believe that the only thing that could actually save Splinterlands is an actual new game mode like Draft Mode as I explained earlier this week Link