It is that time of the year again and what better moment than the social media challenge to slow down a bit look back and set some fresh goals.

I noticed over the years that whenever I set goals I usually overachieve them. It gives me focus and direction. Even though Splinterlands is technically "just" a game that argument never really worked for me. In this ecosystem you cannot have everything unless you have an unlimited budget which I clearly do not have. That is where goal setting becomes important for me.

It becomes a personal challenge. How much do I want to spend. Where do I want to be with gameplay. Which parts of the game do I want to focus on and which ones do I consciously skip.

Looking Back at 2025

If you ask me the Splinterlands team delivered a phenomenal year in 2025. Especially when you take into account the team size. A lot of meaningful content was shipped and not just small tweaks.

• We got a new core set.
• We got a new reward set.
• Land received new things to do with craftable items.
• The Avatar project finally launched.
• Frontier mode became a real thing.

None of these are small tasks. Taken together it shows a team that keeps building even when market conditions are far from ideal. From a player perspective that consistency matters a lot.

Looking ahead I am personally most excited about the announced guild overhaul and hopefully a proper tournament refresh. I rarely play tournaments right now even though there is free SPS on the table. The current setup just does not pull me in.

And then there is land. As most of you know I am very deep into land. I really hope they can keep expanding it in a way that feels rewarding without making it overly complex. There is a fine line here. Too complicated or not worth the time and money investment and people will simply walk away. Right now we are in a nice uptrend of land activation and it would be great to keep that momentum.

My Previous Goals and How They Turned Out

I actually had to look up my old goal posts again.

For reference

• Setting Splinterlands Goals and Why (2024 to 2025)
• My Splinterlands Journey From Bronze to Bots Land and CA Goals (2025 update)

Here is the short recap.

• I wanted to continue playing Modern even if not at the highest level. That is definitely done and I still enjoy it a lot even on my alt account at Bronze level.

• My main goal was to complete the Rebellion Soulbound set. That one is done. One card card i had to trade with a other player, Mission accomplished.

• I planned to keep developing my tools while reminding myself it is a hobby. That goal is technically done but also revealed a challenge. Maintaining tools while the game evolves is getting very time consuming. This is something I need to look at more seriously going into 2026.

• I saved money for Conclave Arcana packs and went pretty hard (in my definition) on that one. I spent around 800$ upfront in presale and added some packs later. Biggest single buy in I ever did in this game and I do not regret it.

• Scaling down to one account did not last the whole year. Frontier pulled me back in. I ended up running three Frontier accounts and two Modern accounts with my main rotating on and off seasons. Not perfect but still acceptable.

• Becoming a card collector was also a clear win. Sitting at 2.5 million collection power and I still love it every time I see that number.

Overall it was a very strong year for me personally.

Why Setting Goals Works for Me

Splinterlands is more than just a card game. It is a full ecosystem. Setting goals helps me navigate it without feeling overwhelmed.

• It helps with ranked progression because you build towards something concrete.
• It helps with collection building because you prioritize instead of buying randomly.
• It helps with rewards because you focus your effort where it matters most.

Most importantly it keeps me motivated. More often than not I even overachieve my own targets and that feeling never gets old.

Setting Goals for 2026

Now comes the hard part.

With the current direction of the game it is very clear I cannot have it all. Completing the new reward set feels unrealistic with increased glint prices and more things competing for that same currency. I also do not want to brute force goals by just buying cards.

So here is where I landed.

1. Land Keep on Track

My land strategy has been going wide and deep. Wide by acquiring more than 50 plots. Deep by getting everything online with workers.

For 2026 the focus shifts. Upgrading cards. Upgrading totems. Improving efficiency across the board. Less expansion more optimization.

2. Maintain the Land Tool

The land tool has grown into a serious codebase. With every update the risk of something breaking increases.

The goal here is best effort. Keep it running. Stay on top of changes. Try to adapt to new land features like buildings when they arrive without burning myself out.

3. Skip the Mini Set and Save for the Next Core Set

This one will be controversial even for myself.

The plan is to skip the mini set and save up for the next major release. Right now I have about 200$ set aside and the goal is to grow that to 800$ again.

The honest reason is simple. The total amount spent on the game is reaching a level that feels uncomfortable. Still within my entertainment budget but not something I want to blindly increase.

That said if the mini set turns out amazing I might still cave in. Weakness acknowledged.

To show account value has stayed at approximately the same level this year. While invested amount has increased... Time to change that around next year 🤣

Looking Forward

I am genuinely looking forward to what the team will build next. Land expansion. Avatars. Guilds. Tournaments. Any one of those could easily carry a full year of content.

My biggest hope is that spending and income are balanced and the focus stays on delivering cool things that benefit both the company and the player base. Growing the player base is what ultimately pushes the entire ecosystem forward.

2025 was a very good year for me in Splinterlands. 2026 feels like a year of refinement rather than expansion and I am perfectly fine with that.

Beaker signing off 👋

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