At long last, Splinterlands reveals a number details about their plans for Land gameplay. The first phase will only include some of the functionality, but there is already a lot to unpack!
There is a lot of information in the newly released docs outlining Splinterlands’ plans for the first phase of their land gameplay (what they refer to as Land 1.5). This doesn’t cover all of their long-term plans. But it does include land surveying, card staking, and resource production.
Land owners will want to read the full documentation, but here’s a summary of the key points.
The Basics
Land plots produce resources. In this first phase of implementation, land plots can produce Grain (used to feed the workers), SPS tokens (this will replace the current airdrop for land holders), and research for the Secrets of Praetoria. The research points go towards a global project that won’t be fully unlocked until Phase 2. Players will receive some future benefits based on how much they contributed to the research. They also have the opportunity to earn special titles by contributing the most in their Territory.
Players work their land plots by staking Splinterlands cards. Each card staked (up to 5 per plot) generates production points. The amount of Production Points (PP) generated are based on the card’s rarity, level, and set. This ranges from 2.5 PP for a level 1 common card from a recent set, up to 100k PP for a max level gold, alpha, legendary card. There are also additional bonuses or penalties based on the terrain type and card affinity. For example, a Fire card staked to a Lake or River plot receives a 50% penalty to production points.
In addition, players can also stake Totems and Titles to plots for further bonuses.
Assigning a card to work a plot is instantaneous, though removing a card from a plot takes three days. Workers require Grain to function, which can be produced or purchased. Plots also need a Power Source, purchased with DEC.
Land Starter Packages
To begin, players will need to survey their land. Surveying reveals the terrain type plus the presence of any special features.
When players first survey their land, they will be given the option of purchasing a special Starter Package for 10,000 DEC or DEC-B tokens. These Starter Packages come in three flavors — Building in a Box, Time Vault, and Unstable Totem. Building in a Box allows the player to begin construction of a building on the plot without paying an additional resource cost. They also come with a built-in Power Source. However, building construction will not be available in the 1.5 phase, so this is for those players who are planning ahead.
The Time Valut package includes 150 Time Crystal tokens and 15,000 Grain tokens. Time Crystals reduce the number of Production Points required for construction by 10k. In the 1.5 release, the only construction available will be clearing land plots. Time Crystals and Grain tokens are not bound to the land plot or account, and can be freely traded.
The Unstable Totem package provides a temporary Totem that doubles the plot’s production for 30 days. These Totems are tied to the plot, but remain inactive until phase 2, at which point they will activate automatically.
Runis on Land
As promised, Runis are receiving some extra love with the land gameplay. Not only are Runis already max-level, Legendary cards, but they will also provide additional benefits when staked to a land plot. Runis provide a 100% production bonus for the entire plot they are stake on. And since Runis have a built-in power core, so players won’t need to purchase a Power Source for that plot. However, if a player puts a Power Source and a Runi on the same plot, they can then stake up to six cards, rather than the normal 5.
Combined Runis (a new feature not yet implemented), provide even larger production bonuses.
Other Notes
Some plots will hold a Keep or Castle/ These functions as a marketplace for their local area and provides the owner with passive tax income.
Splinterlands hopes to allow rentals to be used on land plots, but that feature will come later.
Players can earn special titles through land gameplay that will be tied to their account and provide a bonus to rewards points earned in the main game.
If you are a Splinterlands land owner, or are considering becoming one, you will want to look through the official documentation at https://splinterlands.gitbook.io/the-secret-of-praetoria/ for all the details. We don’t have a specific date for this release, though the team said they hoped to get it out by the end of Q2 2023.
Land gameplay will be DEC (Dark Energy Crystal) intensive. Not only will players want DEC-batteries when surveying, but they will also need a significant amount of DEC tokens when staking cards to their land.
Implementation of Land 1.5 should have an interesting effect on the markets. There will be a lot of cards locked into working land plots, and many of those cards will be max level
If you want to learn more about the Splinterlands gameplay, or have additional questions, the Splinterlands team plans to hold an AMA on their Discord server on Monday, March 20th, at 17:00 UTC.
