COMMUNITY POLL: Rare Monthly Pets

[Fellefan]

I'm both for and against this idea.

I really like the idea of rarer pets! like many say; it's a great way to let newer players have a chance at rares, and it makes trading for older players more exciting. (at least that's the hope/goal)
however too many rares would just become taxing to trade every month and would eventually start to lose meaning. I think a rare pet every once in a while, maybe every three/four months, would be ideal. it's enough to be special but not too often to become tiresome.

my main concern however is HOW rare the pet will be. the pps lion for example is so rare you basically have zero chance of getting one unless you overpay massively for it. the golden catcha dog took me a while but it was still doable eventually, while I have no hope of ever getting the special lions (yes, there was more than one that year). as someone who would like to have a somewhat complete collection it bugs me a lot that they are extremely rare.. if the specials are just rare then it's absolutely fine, their special nature will make them hard enough to trade for–and that's a good thing! the exclusivity of them will make them popular, while still being available in decent quantity means it'll be more accessible to trade for without the need for massive overpays. (unless they're lions, I swear those ER releases are the reason people still go crazy for lions..)

in terms of looks I think it should stay within the same species/design as the rest of the litter, but stand out enough that it is still recognizable as a special pet. the golden catcha is again a very good example! making it a different species, like the lions in the cat litter, just makes it...well, it makes them too special, if that makes any sense. imo it's more fun to be able to see exactly what litter the special pet came from, rather than it looking like a UR but it's not actually a UR. (and no this is not me saying I'd prefer URs instead, I really don't. my reasoning already explained above)

TLDR of my personal thoughts;
once every few months, not too often.
make it in theme with the litter, no different species.
make it look special, not just a randomly selected outcome.
make it a rare, not VR/ER/UR.

[PoserPanda]

We currently have three zebra pets that you have a very small chance of adopting every time you adopt a horse or pony litter. If we were to implement more special release pets they wouldn't be as rare as the zebras, and likely would only be available in the month of their release, not continuously.

Wow, I had no idea this was a possibility. Sometimes I skip adopting an entire species if I don't like the designs, but now I want to be able to randomly get that Zebra. Trading for it, I'm less interested in, as it would be more fun and less stressful to just be surprised by it as an adoption.

I do like the idea of the more rare pet looking very different from the others, as it would be easier for me to tell them apart from what'll be harder to trade for.

[queenhoneybee]

for me personally, i'd like only a few litters (~3) a year please, i can't keep up otherwise ;0;

[sierragames]

I support this! As a newer player, I would love the opportunity to play and trade more when there isn’t an event going on.

[Snocat]

I am actually shocked at how popular this suggestion seems to be!

Getting more rare pets isn't going to help anything, it's just going to add more rare pets to our wishlists and drive demand even more crazy. I have NEVER enjoyed those occasional rare monthly outcomes over the years. They've just been a pain in the behind to get.

I love CS BECAUSE the monthly pets are so casual to get and then we have the events to shake things up a bit.

PLEASE don't do this to us, it's just going to cause more frustration than anything else. I beg of you, don't do this.

I agree with this! Trading is difficult enough as is, especially as rarities increase. Everybody wants the same outcome(s) and that drives up the demand and then the 'price' paid to obtain it. That makes trading difficult and not fun. It's already somewhat difficult to trade aside from monthlies because it seems like everyone and their mother wants the same pets (such as list pets). Rare outcomes each month is going to continue this trend.

[piratemolly]

I see the fun in a chance at a rare outcome but I’m nervous about more “August pps lion” scenarios. A good balance in the past has been events where you can participate for rarer outcomes. I’ve always seen that as a pretty good balance for new players to get rares, but I’m not 100% on either side.

Edit, I’d be far more interested in a few outcomes with a SOMEWHAT rarer outcome than a significantly rarer one. Makes it more achievable.

[babypunkrat]

I'm both for and against this idea.

I really like the idea of rarer pets! like many say; it's a great way to let newer players have a chance at rares, and it makes trading for older players more exciting. (at least that's the hope/goal)
however too many rares would just become taxing to trade every month and would eventually start to lose meaning. I think a rare pet every once in a while, maybe every three/four months, would be ideal. it's enough to be special but not too often to become tiresome.

my main concern however is HOW rare the pet will be. the pps lion for example is so rare you basically have zero chance of getting one unless you overpay massively for it. the golden catcha dog took me a while but it was still doable eventually, while I have no hope of ever getting the special lions (yes, there was more than one that year). as someone who would like to have a somewhat complete collection it bugs me a lot that they are extremely rare.. if the specials are just rare then it's absolutely fine, their special nature will make them hard enough to trade for–and that's a good thing! the exclusivity of them will make them popular, while still being available in decent quantity means it'll be more accessible to trade for without the need for massive overpays. (unless they're lions, I swear those ER releases are the reason people still go crazy for lions..)

in terms of looks I think it should stay within the same species/design as the rest of the litter, but stand out enough that it is still recognizable as a special pet. the golden catcha is again a very good example! making it a different species, like the lions in the cat litter, just makes it...well, it makes them too special, if that makes any sense. imo it's more fun to be able to see exactly what litter the special pet came from, rather than it looking like a UR but it's not actually a UR. (and no this is not me saying I'd prefer URs instead, I really don't. my reasoning already explained above)

TLDR of my personal thoughts;
once every few months, not too often.
make it in theme with the litter, no different species.
make it look special, not just a randomly selected outcome.
make it a rare, not VR/ER/UR.

i agree with ALL of this. incredibly well said! i would hate to see rare pets lose their worth because of too many being released in monthly litters, especially after the recent rarity changes. a few times a year would be fine but anything more than that is a bit ridiculous.

[MISSINGPICTURES]

As a new player (I joined this July) I do not think this a good idea. This website already has problems with trading and rarities and adding monthly rares will punish new players for not having a bunch of extra rares to trade for those outcomes. I was here to play the summer event and I have all of its outcomes but I only 2 rares in my trade folder. I have already had a really hard time getting some of the ones that were just uncommon. I have to spend hours looking for the swap forums and whatever trade I send is not a guarantee to get it. I have already had 3-5 trades for that blue ring squid get canceled. That purple horse from July took the whole month to find. Players with more things to offer or "overpay" for them properly will also struggle to get them. If a pet is clearly rarer, people will not take litter swaps for them. If you wait until later to get them it will be even worse when you are expected to understand the trade system. Which is so close to being actually impossible. This will add fuel to the fire that is this game's economy and hurt the players the least able to prepare for it. (I am deeply sorry for my poor sentence flow)

Edit: I now have the squid, thank you, people, who sent them, I am very grateful

[JazzMatazz]

I like this idea!

[TANKMEN]

i am for this, in whatever frequency. newbies (and even long stay members) having access to these rarer pets is a great way to help them headstart their collections, as well as moving some really valuable trading fodder back down from older members.

i think that a 100% collection is something players have to accept is going to be nigh-impossible - that's the challenge of it. there are pets that are way harder to get than the august pps lion or gacha dog, and i think hyperfocusing on these specific rarities as invalidating the entire playstyle is a bit short-sighted. we already have sunjewels, nons, etc. that make a 100% collection prohibitive for most players, but adding pets like these will help you and others get closer to that goal. i think if you make the decision to 100% this game, you will have to be prepared for a lot of heartache, haha.

i am also just very interested in what kind of interesting designs we could get from this scenario, since the 'super rare outcomes' tend to be really interesting and fun to look at. the gacha dog, though its artwork is a little juvenile (in the most positive way possible!) commanded a lot because of how interested it was just to look at. i dont think CS should be afraid of shaking the boat if it lets them add pets that are way more interesting than an average litter. the boat needs shaking!