COMMUNITY POLL: Rare Monthly Pets

[ShadowKatto]

The concerns that people have brought up are extremely valid but at the same my brain is like “RAAAA MOAR RARES!!!”
Either way, I’m glad that the admins are finally trying to improve CS

[❄️ Frostbyte ❄️]

I have been a member since 2020 but I am not an active trader within this community due to the fact that trading is like a gambling game on this site. People expect way too much for a pet, which is not fair and it makes trading 10000× harder.

On top of that, like MISSINGPICTURES said, trading is nearly impossible within this community and if you are a newer player, it makes collecting pets impossible! The recent rarity update made way too many pets valuable rares and higher which made things even harder.

I'm hoping this rarity update will make trading easier but it's not making it easier, it's definitely not a friendly trading community either as I've had plenty of rude trade messages when I first joined and a few later down the road saying that I wasn't being "fair" when they wanted a huge overpay for like one uncommon in 2021, they expected like 10+ pets.

I want the trading aspect to be easier and unfortunately, I don't think that's gonna happen. Yes, I do like the one outcome that's rarer than their littermates but since the biggest rarity update was done not too long ago, I don't think I'd be a good idea.

I hope I didn't make this seem like I'm complaining, I'm just stating the facts of how the trading system is on here and we seriously need to figure this out before thinking about adding more rarer pets.

[lulla‌‌‌‌ ❀]

I personally really love it when a random monthly pet turns rare, makes it feel extra fun and special! I'd definitely say only a few times each year though, if it was super common it kinda loses the neatness of it and then doesn't feel as rare ^^

Ditto to this !!^

Definitely for special events, it would make sense for rares to pop up and be more common. But as for regular releases, maybe just a few times a year (like it would make sense with really in-demand pets or really popular designs). I think even monthly is a little too often and kind of removes the “special” factor of it.

Edit: reading more replies, I especially agree that adding more rares into regular releases would make this game a LOT less scary for newer players to get into the game. Of course, people will still take demand and dates into consideration with trading but at least allowing new players to be able to have a chance to “balance up” to veteran players in purely rarity trading would make trading a lot more fair and less scary for the new players!

I remember when I first started playing, I felt really intimidated by trading because I didn’t have any sort of “high value” pets and I was only able to really trade during events and monthly swaps. It was out of the kindness of my friend who got me into this game + the super generous CS community that helped me manage to get more “valuable” pets either via gifting or purposefully being undertraded to allow a newer player to keep interest in the game.

[Vaal Hazak]

As much as I would like more rare outcomes in monthly litters, the dangers of them turning into new august pps lions is far too obvious. Of course, rarer outcomes could somehow spice up the things again and maybe bring some excitement back into adopting monthly pets.

however, the greatest danger of this I see is the shameful high demand these rarer outcomes might have unless they belong to significant lesser liked species. just take a look at what happened to the lions that were released in the past years (Halloween, Christmas, other events), including the lioness from this year's Valentines. People were demanding insane overpay for them despite of them not being that rare like they seemed. It was not funny anymore, I've seen people giving almost their souls for them.

that's why I say "no" to this idea.

[xobrynn]

I have mixed feelings on this.

Demand on this site is crazy already, with higher demand pets being worth a hefty amount of IRL cash. An influx of new rares could allow newer/f2p users a chance to get some rares and get into that market, because right now the only options are to fork over almost an entire account or $150+ dollars worth of C$, or grind every 20 minutes during events. The community has a huge problem with stockpiling rare+ and list pets, and most users can't access these pets unless they fork over even more. I think this could revitalize the site, as trading has become pretty boring and way too expensive.

On the downside, I can already see users demanding hefty amounts of C$ for these pets, as happened with the Gold Gacha Dog.

edit: Yes I know the point of rare pets is to be harder to obtain. Please do not reply to me with an attitude or assume that I don't know this.

[kitty teeth]

Monthly seems like too many, however, I think a few throughout the year is perfect. :)

It really helps boost new players and players who don't have many rares.

[Minimanta]

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!

I really don't think rare monthly outcomes are gonna help newbies much.

Let's assume these outcomes will be on the level of the gacha dog and you are one of the lucky few people who adopts this outcome. Then you're left with a dilemma: do you keep the outcome to maintain a complete monthly collection, a goal much more achievable than a complete collection, or do you cash in when the demand for the pet is sky high to get a couple of older rarer pets and in return break your monthly collection?
You're not gonna get anything truly valuable out of it, just a couple of random rares or maybe a random very rare. Nothing special.

Either way you're really not that much closer to a complete collection.

And not to mention these pets are gonna be RARE. Meaning not all of us are gonna adopt them. For the majority of the newbies, those who didn't adopt one, it's just gonna be another rare pet they'll likely never get.

For me, an oldie, I'll just end up throwing an old rare or two at the pet to tick it off my wishlist. Pointlessly frustrating for a pet that is not gonna be that valuable in the long run.

I just want to keep the monthly pets casual, please. Demand is stupid enough already and we have events to boost newbies' rare stash.

[Magen]

I think these are all great options, honestly. I'd love to see a mixture of them all, assuming if they could be, in my opinion, worded and played out this way:

"I am interested in a few litters a year that have a significantly harder to achieve outcome."
----I think this is good as-is, if we're talking like August PPS lion (2012), July Lioness (2012) level of rarity. And the demand of these species reflects the "significantly harder to achieve" aspect. But I'd love to see other species as well.

"I am interested in at least one litter a month that has a significantly harder to achieve outcome."
----More rarity in our monthly pets is fantastic, for this option and the above option, because I can see more folks getting more rares to trade with, mostly newer users. Because right now a lot of people rely on Dec 18th pets to fluff up their trade power. It would be nice to have what I see as a more healthier balanced source of trading rares. I agree with other users though, and I think "significantly" should be more like "slightly" or "somewhat." Too many of these as significantly harder to achieve will get frustrating, that level of rarity should be reserved for Unreleased pets on the 18th.

"I am only interested in occasional significantly harder to achieve outcomes if they are considered “special release” pets and look different from the litter they are released with."
----I think this one could be fine as well, but it sort of just reminds me of our Unreleased pets on the 18th that we already get 2-3 of a year. Which are usually OMGSR rarity, and these can be difficult for people to trade for. So if this option of pet is more in the VR/Extremely Rare range, maybe once a year or every other year (not sure what "occasional" means, as it's wrote broad I'm sure on purpose), then that could be fun as well.

This is just how I perceive each option and could hope they play out that way, as it makes sense to me that way.

I understand the players who are completionists (I am about 60 pets away from that goal myself) not wanting this change, but I also don't think that has the best interest of CS at heart. (Respectfully, this is just my personal opinion, and ya'll are of course also entitled to your opinion as well ) CS is a trading and collecting website. We need variety and balance at the same time to make this environment work, otherwise it becomes unbalanced and "inflated" as has previously been stated, and this imbalance is what folks are afraid of. (OR, boring, and it will wither with inactivity) I think normalizing more rare pets more often being released could help alleviate that. As it were, pets like the Gold gacha and August PPS are SO seldom seen, that of course everyone wants them and the trade value skyrockets. Now, imagine normalizing these types of rare pets, and allowing people with what I see as the comfort, of knowing there will be more, other pets like them, more often. Suddenly they may not be concerned with the craziness of having those one-in-a-blue-moon pet RIGHT NOW.

But anyways, when rarer pets are released, there's always going to be an inflated value because people want to pay for having it first before anyone else, or not wanting to wait for the inflation to go down. That's y'alls prerogative, for those who are willing to pay those amounts. I've been here since late 2010, and I have no problem being patient and waiting for the craze to go down before I make a more 'reasonable' trade offer for mine, even if it takes a year+. I plan to stay around a while so I don't mind waiting.

I like the fun of trading and the challenge of obtaining more pets, and even after getting a complete collection, that challenge will remain for everyone due to Unreleased OMGSR pets being released each year. So introducing more rares, more often, in my opinion will not really change that other than giving people more options of pets to trade with/for. It'll normalize rare pets a little bit more. They won't become such an oddity. I think it'll help circulate older rare pets more as well, so many seem to sit stagnant. I think it'll just help bridge the gap we've all been having issues with for so many years.

Most people have to wait for events to hopefully get a new set of rare trading fodder, which also relies on having to devote time to token collecting, and a lot of people don't always have the time to give for that. So, mix it up a bit, give people some rares simply from adopting monthly pets. People who collect tokens still have their rares they worked hard for (along with those monthly adopts). But the people who don't have the time, don't have to be left behind and they can still have some rares, too.

I am personally very excited to see some variety in pets. I'm just glad to see some changes being made in general.

[UntitledWendigo]

I don't support adding more rare outcomes to monthly releases. Although it looks like I'm going to lose out on this based on the poll results. I find having one outcome in a litter way harder to get just ends up being frustrating. Even slightly more uncommon pets can sometimes be hard to get in the monthly swap threads because everyone is wanting it to complete their monthly collection. But that can still be a fun challenge because at least with something in that's uncommon, very uncommon, or likely even extremely uncommon there's still a decent chance of people getting more than one and therefor having an extra they're willing to trade away. With a rare (or higher) numbers are scarce enough that most people are going to want to hold onto the one they get, if they even luck out and get one. I've been on CS since 2015 and only once have I lucked out enough to get two of a rare monthly outcome. Not to mention these special outcomes are usually the most desirable looking ones. Being a different, more popular species or have a more intricate design. Which means almost everyone will want it, not just the people who want to complete the month.

I see monthly releases as the casual collecting part of this site. I'm never going to collect every pet on the site, nor would I want to put that much work in. I don't worry too much about store pets, special releases, or older pets unless they're something I find super cool. Instead I've tried to complete every month since I've joined and as much of each event as I can. Often I miss things because I don't do swaps for a month, but it's a goal that feels obtainable. Except for months with significantly rarer outcomes. Those ones feel like I'll never complete them. I know not everyone plays that way. Not everyone cares about getting every monthly outcome, but I'd say based on some comments I've seen in this thread so far and the people I see in the monthly swap thread that a fair number of people do.

I also don't see how this will help newer players. The chances of any newer player getting one of these rares is low. Instead I think it will just become yet another thing they feel like they can't obtain. Not to mention that when you're brand new trading and rarities can be pretty confusing. When I joined I had no idea how things worked. That's pretty low stakes when you're just dealing with commons and uncommons though. It would be so easy for newer players to get scammed out of rare monthly outcomes because they don't know quite how rare they are until it's too late. And events are a fine way to start getting rares so you can trade for more valuable things. There's one every few months. We have Easter, the summer event, Halloween, Christmas, etc. It's really not that long for a new player to wait for an event to start getting rares, so I don't know how the slim chance of getting a single one any particular month is really going to help.

The only way I can see monthly rares maybe working better is, funnily enough, if they happened fairly often. That way the occasional rare outcome wouldn't be so inflated for being a super special, uncommon thing. And you would be likely to luck out and get a rare often enough trade for the ones you missed. Even then I'm not totally sure about the idea.

[TANKMEN]

i feel like in general the perception on this idea is going to be skewed if these rares are as uncommon as they currently are - if they are somewhere in the middle, more common but not every single month, theyre not going to be as unobtainable as the given examples. additionally, if they are slightly more obtainable than those rares were, then there'll be more of them in circulation.

i think the idea should be trialled out for a year or so and see how things go, tbh. theres no real way we'll know how the economy will react until it's actually put in place.