Skill of the Month: Rewards?

Obviously, I should weigh in... As the player who has won the MOST Skotms here on RSBandB, which has been no easy task, and the previous champion if anyone cared, was Sorenson, I am going to sneak in here with a little bit of information about what has motivated me.

So, unfortunately, I won't be looking for any huge streaks because - largely thanks to these competitions- I am locked out of multiple skills by having 200m XP in several skills. Next Month will be fishing, which I have 200m in- and that's the fun of the gamble. It gives others a chance to try, and hopefully make some friends and have a blast. And, I put the COMPETITION in competitions. Agility had super weird timing for me this last round, and I really truly thought Pyrn was going to take it, but I gave it my best and it worked.

Bonds are greatly appreciated by players like me. I mean, yeah I definitely have some prestigiously expensive Xp milestones, but I'm actually a super broke player- tending to avoid PVM, and never having good gear because I just dumped my GP on whatever was the SKOTM. Now, last year, I lost some pretty close races to players who bought keys, and that's not my playstyle, but I also know it's possible someone could drop $100+ on a competition and win. I don't have that kind of cash flow. I'm married, with a 17 month old, and I work a lot of hours - infact months like April I'll have more varied xp, but months like this last one- March, my xp is basically whatever the skotm was, plus Arch.

Ever since my first "Pink Title", I have never wanted to lose it. And when it goes away, it's more motivating to try to get it back. I also enjoy how we count up the competitions and name a "Skiller of the Year" from the wins. Okay sure, I can't fish next month - but I made some great progress this year! But it's still anyone's game!

I've always been a very focused player. I found RSBandB when my clanmates stopped competing 'because Jamandy always wins". We forget, it IS a competition, and I love finding new people who enjoy skills like me. I've usually got a couple of you guys that I am rooting for, and it feels really good to have a good competition going.

In my perfect world of competitions, I would like to see all the skills used once per year with no repeats. At 2 per month we were actually going to make that almost possible. I like the length being more than a week, and I don't mind 10 days or 2 weeks. I also truly enjoyed Skill of the Month, being an actual month.

I love the signatures. I love the title. Because of my busy life, I don't have much time on Discord or the Clan Chat when others are around. I really like the competitions almost perfectly as they are.

I do wish some players wouldn't come off like they don't even want to try, because we never know what's going to happen!

I can say this, now that I know I won't be competing in April's - but I'm having a major surgery in April, so this is going to be someone's great month to win- just not mine.

With the 200ms I do have, I do like seeing multiple skills in a month. I can be disappointed I can't do 1 skill, but I can also try for another. I like that they are random, because I might be 200m and someone else isn't or vice versa.

Honestly, SKOTM also keeps me motivated and playing. I always sign up, even if I'm 200m so I can watch how others are doing, and hopefully it shows 'interest'. I definitely do not want SKOTM to ever go away. I love competing, and my whole family always teases me "Did you win yet?" And some people are harder to beat then others. I am also disappointed some of the hardest people to beat have not been doing much. I live for the thrill of a good challenge, and some names with some big past wins excite me to see sign up.

I remember being a mid lvl player and dedicating a whole month to just 1 skill and finally taking home a win against a higher lvl always made me feel good.

I wish also that we didn't lock the sign up threads til the competitions ended. I'd kind of like to see everyone posting about what's going on and how are doing. I have almost bumped a thread that seemed to be universal, but it's been so long since a new post, I've been unsure if I should or not.

I know I'm more of a lurker except for these competitions. It comes with having a new baby, and a spouse who sleeps in the same room as the computer, so I don't voice chat, or even type much when he's asleep so I don't wake him, but these competitions are definitely my passion.

Anyway, thanks for letting me brag a little and share some experience(s). I make my best friends through skilling, so I hope you all keep going, too!

P.S. - I've gotten more pets from SKOTM than when I've gone skilling to find them, LOL!

Until the next one- good luck! May the EXP be in your favor.

And, I'll be back for my Pink Title again.

I do want to point out... that until this year, where I have a 3 month win streak, I did not win a single SKOTM in 2020, where 14 competitions were held, and I only had 3 total wins in 2019, where 18 competitions were held. All due respect, ya'll gotta stop saying that I 'always win' (a quote from another player who whined ironically, in 2020 where I have zero wins), because in 7 years of competing, I've only won 19 total skotms, which is an average of 2 per year... that's at least 10 wins going to anyone else, per year.

My best year, was 2017, where I won 6 total, the same number as this year because people see my name, and apparently just decide to not even try- despite my record for not winning any last year despite some amazing hard work and attempts, hahaha. In fact, if you take 6 in 2021 + 6 in 2017, that leads 7 wins spread over the years 2014- 2015 - 2016 - 2018 - 2019 - or 1.2 wins Per Year. This is why I can't understand why so many consistently assume I will win, or don't try if they see my name. I'm very beatable competition here! My first competition was in 2012, but I also never won a competition until 2013.

I think it's just different mentalities and play styles, which is fine. If you look up guides for '120 SkillName" you can see xp rates per hr and best methods, and people still rake in 10m+ xp in many skills per day. We are still lucky to see people cross 20m+ in a competition. I think there's a very different playstyle and motive at play for people, but you shouldn't choose not to compete because someone who can't even win more than 18 of 114 competitions since he started competing... (15%) is also signed up. Also, I have 11 200m skills now. That's 11 Skotms I will never ever be able to win again- including next month's fishing - which was a very tight race between me, undoer, and touchpad pro where we all 3 wound up reaching 200m Fish that month, a skill I've always hated and am so glad is over. So, you have a 1/3 chance that when a skill is drawn, I can't even go for it anymore. The fun thing about xp caps is, eventually, I will be locked out of more and more competitions, too.

I love seeing you all work hard, and I really hope, that if my participation is a detraction, that you all give it your best when I'm locked out. My name will still be there, because I sign up to show interest, but my start XP is 200m XP, so my end gain will be 0.

Ya'll got this! Go have some fun! And fishing is great for Netflix n Chill.