RE: Splinterlands Guide: Why is it Getting Harder to Rank Up?

Haha nice! Yup - my name is for the very same reason :) I got it from Homer who got it from the side of a Blow Dryer ;)

You're right that the ECR, Rewards Bonuses, and Rewards Punishments (like Starter cards and soon to be low level cards) do NOT impact your ratings... however - they have impacted the total number of battles available and THAT has impacted how readily people can increase their ratings. Does that make sense?