To Play or Not Both Formats in Splinterlands?
I watched a video by @achim03 this morning, where he says it was a mistake that he only played the Wild format and completely neglected Modern, to the point where he dropped to Bronze.
When I commented on his post I was firmly convinced I should not try to play Modern, mainly because I tried it for a bit when the formats first launched and Wild seemed more comfortable for me.
The problem is, what if the situation changes, and I need the Modern alternative?
By not playing it, as Achim remarked, I drop 1 full league every season until my rating goes to zero and I start as a novice. And then (as Achim already experienced), I'd have to go through the bot barrage in bronze to advance, if I ever needed to play Modern.
In theory, it would be great if I had both Modern and Wild formats at my level of comfort, meaning Diamond-Champion, and as alternatives to each other.
I see several issues with accomplishing that:
- they share the same ECR pool
- if there will be ECR boost potions in the future, I don't want to play more; I play enough already on a daily basis (if that becomes a norm, I'll consider renting my cards out or botting my account)
- assuming somehow I bring my Modern rating to the Diamond League, seasons aren't long enough for me to go to CL3 in Wild and even to mid-higher Diamond in Modern, meaning in Modern, I'll probably slide down in leagues again (because I'll start from lower gold leagues, and then possibly silver)
- to not go for CL3 in Wild and give more time to Modern to rank up seems like a bad decision (start in the Gold League, play for Diamond chests instead of Champion ones)
Elite players can afford this duality. If one reaches the desired CL tier in about half a season in Wild, then they can easily switch to the Modern format and rank up as high as possible there. And they will have plenty of time to do it.
It's also a very good option for players who are capped by their collection power to rank up, but they can do well in both formats.
In Modern format I dropped to Silver III currently:
If there's a time to start climbing again, if I want Modern as an alternative, this is it.
But, I listed above a bunch of reasons why I believe this would be a pretty bad idea for me.
Do you have some counterarguments for my case? And how do you manage the two formats situation?
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There is one more factor that I realized. In spite of having the highest rating in Wild, in my guild I was dropping in rank because the ranking there totalizes both ratings from Wild and Modern. Then I don't know whether this will affect to overall ranking of the guild. But does that all have a real effect... I don't know.
I believe that when both formats are more or less at the same level, you can always play the lower one and you will probably have a higher win rate. One day modern, one day wild. But this is quite hypothetical as well. I'm not 100% sure about my answer to all of this. However I have to admit that I enjoy to play through silver leagues because my legendary cards really kick ass :-)
Yes, I noticed that now the average is taken when the position in the guild is calculated. I don't find it a good enough incentive, although I've gotten used to being first in my guild for so long. Maybe it will actually be motivational if I'm no longer first. But I still don't think it will be manageable to keep ratings high in both formats. Maybe after reaching CL3, I'll try to boost Modern a bit too from now on. I will see if that makes sense to me.
I was chatting with Achim on this topic, too... :) I will not do it as I don't have enough Modern cards to do it, but if I would have, I would consider doing it for 2 reasons:
Better ranking in the Guild... Actually, I didn't think about this as our guild isn't one of those that will drop a player for a position... but, in some other guilds it could be a case and you can rank higher if you play both... (also, this is the reason that Achim pointed out)
Better winning rate and more RP - Now, this is tricky to explain, but I think that it could work... I have noticed that when the new season starts, I can't go "linearly" up in the leagues whatever I do, because of the fierce competition... So, instead of losing battles in one format, the solution would be to play battles in another format in the meantime... So, maybe playing every second day in the same format... This is just a theoretical assumption... lol...
But, as I said, I don't have enough modern cards, so I don't have to think about this at all... lol... :)
EDIT: We were replying at the same time... lol... sorry for double comment 😂
The thing about the win rate and RP is actually a very good argument! But you don't necessarily have to have the second format rating high, just play it to improve the win rate. Achim already mentioned that he loves kicking ass in Modern silver. Maybe I should make sure I don't drop out of Silver on the Modern format.
I was the same playing only modern. I then had to battle out of Novice with no Summoner or monster benefits which was annoying and tough going. Now I will play both in future.
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What leagues do you usually start in each format every season (in each format)?
Im only in my 5th season I think (or 4th). Im in Silver/Gold this season and usually start in bronze. Wild I was at Novice as I only played a few games there. But im liking Wild so I can use my Mushroom Seer! lol
Whats your plan going forward?
This season, I'll go to CL3 in Wild and then push in Modern.
Next seasons, I don't know yet.
Keep up the good work! It's game on!!
Thanks! You too!
I had not considered there being a downside to not playing both formats. I usually play Wild in two accounts and Modern in two accounts. In my Wild accounts, I only have enough CP to reach Silver and can only reach Bronze in my Modern accounts. I think I will look into switching formats when I reach my highest league each season to see how that compares to working for more chests in the format I usually play.
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At first, you will certainly be better off playing for more chests. But if you can sustain similar high levels in both formats (that's a big if, in my opinion), it might be better off on the long run to play both.
I noticed the same, but then the rewards are low when trying to rank up the modern so you think I’ll just play wild only.
Yep, you'd have to pass some rewards while ranking up. But the biggest issue in my opinion is to keep both ratings at a high level.
One of the reasons to play both is to choose the one that pays higher.
Currently Wild is paying more than twice as much as Modern in ranked rewards payouts.
I am currently at Gold 3 in both leagues.
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Do the better rewards fluctuate from one to the other often? Thanks for sharing the comparison at the same rank.
No it seems to be a slow progression over time.
Blank spaces are days.
Up and down a few ticks each way. Modern seeming to get lower over time more.
Interesting. Looks like I'll need to keep my Modern format rating at a decent level too.
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I think the cost to play both is not worth it unless you are okay with less than optimal daily focus chests and potentially a league lower than maximum by the end of the season
I was mostly worried about the second part. The first part has some interesting pros, as I discovered from the discussions on the post. It may be a way to boost your win rate by playing the easier format when you get stuck on the other one. But that may be at the expense of earning better rewards.
I just stick with Modern because I don't have many alpha/beta cards so it doesn't hurt me as much and I don't want to fight more. It's tough enough to fight and I do want as many chests as I can get.
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Makes sense (right now). What will you do when Rebellion set comes and Untamed/Dice become Wild-only? Does that affect you?