https://images.hive.blog/0x0/https://files.peakd.com/file/peakd-hive/splinterlands/23wqpsLuJKhpF6zfyi8ViVD9e11DCZYivs9NyKDg9irV2witW6qnj9fZLyfQgqAixXabA.png

Another week has passed with the new Survival Mode, and I have to say—I really enjoyed playing manually at first! The rush of losing cards temporarily adds a whole new layer to the game. And there’s nothing quite like outsmarting or overpowering a higher-level setup—it’s an awesome feeling. But… it didn’t last long.

Once the losing streak starts, it spirals downhill fast—at least for me. I started off with a decent setup:

* Level 4 commons
* Level 2 legendaries
* A good mix of CL mostly

But then—bam! You lose one of your best summoners. Now, you're left with a slightly worse one, and the losses start piling up. Before you know it, you’re stuck in a cycle where each match gets tougher, and your rating drops like a rock. I swear this system has negative rating inflation 🤣.

# <div class=phishy>What Can You Do About It?</div>
How do you survive Survival Mode without feeling like you're being thrown into a meat grinder? 

Here are a few things you can do:
1️⃣ **Buy more high-level cards** – You know, like the pros do 😆. Just keep throwing money at the problem.
2️⃣ **Rent more powerful cards** – Works great if you don’t want to commit to full purchases. 
NOTE: they must be season rentals!
3️⃣ **Combine soulbound cards** – This is the route I took! I leveled up some Soulbound Chaos Legion cards to boost my deck. Thinking about doing the same for Rebellion, though I might wait to sell them instead... choices, choices.

At one point, I went from ~4,000 cards down to ~2,500 just for Survival Mode 🤣.

https://files.peakd.com/file/peakd-hive/beaker007/23xKtL15LsJkmXwhDNhsVs1bp4mbSy6KNUmMLZ6vr9CGZkxUAsKQ8TCms4JiumvfQbkxY.png

This are my summoners left for the rest of the season 😡

![image.png](https://files.peakd.com/file/peakd-hive/beaker007/23tGVQu8DwRDkKRR5Xt6aE9FZp4J3cu2rxiVfZgNjMDTRVx3CuK7v1LEtUaf3uEdKvWqN.png)
Tip: 💡
In peak monster you can easily get a overview with filter:

![image.png](https://files.peakd.com/file/peakd-hive/beaker007/23tGVdRb7Fcv977JKo8JwJjBsvFv4eQNDUgKEBXxvFf1fFNYRUVPu3BRis4jwH87WJpjT.png)


# <div class=phishy>The Biggest Concern – A One-Way Ticket to Bronze?</div>
One of my biggest concerns with Survival Mode is that once you’ve lost your best summoners, it feels like the only way is straight down to Bronze.

Take my example: right now, I’m stuck with only Level 1 summoners, so I’ve hit the lowest of Bronze—and it’s not fun if this is how it always plays out.

My hope? 🤞 That next season, we all get our high-level summoners back.
But there’s also the chance that everyone keeps sinking, and eventually, even the top-tier players will end up at the bottom. Probably not some of them have literally a few max sets, but if that happens, the season reset will just restart the cycle, and we’ll all be in Survival Mode trap.

Really hoping the devs are paying attention to this!



# <div class=phishy>Survival Mode Stress? Just Let the Bot Handle It!</div>

Now, I don’t know about you, but I cannot stand losing streaks. It seriously gets on my nerves. So when things start going south, I just turn the bot on and let it do its thing. The bot doesn’t have feelings, but I do! 😂

My routine now?
✔️ Play a few manual battles
✔️ If I lose too much, bot takes over for the day
✔️ Rinse and repeat

That way, I keep it fun and engaging without rage-quitting.

# <div class=phishy>Keeping Your Deck Safe – A Common Question</div>
One of the most asked questions I see (especially on Discord) is:
"How do I lock my playing deck?"

I wrote a quick guide on how to do this. With just a few clicks, you can lock your entire deck, so you never have to worry about your precious max-level cards being used by accident. 
Check it out here: [How to prepare for survival](https://peakd.com/hive-13323/@beaker007/how-to-prepare-for-survival-mode).

# <div class=phishy>Closing Thoughts – Let’s See How This Plays Out</div>
It’s still too early to know exactly how this will develop, and I think after two full seasons, we’ll have a much clearer picture.

By then, the really high-level players should be gone, and we’ll see if this mode balances out or if it just keeps shuffling everyone to the bottom of Bronze 🤣.

Until then, I’ll stick to my strategy—play some manual matches, then let the bot grind out the rest. 

See you all on the battlefield 

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