COMMUNITY POLL: Rare Monthly Pets

[*Rainbow*]

The new rarity system is barely in place; users have not really had time to adjust to the concept of NOT using a list (those who used it, which was the majority apparently); & up pops a NEW poll about whether to include more rare pets in monthly outcomes? Jumping the gun much? Because of the above reasons, & the fact that immediately prior to the last poll I decided to minimise my collection & time here, I have no opinion on this topic. I don't even understand all of the options.

Gave up trading so long ago because of the lists (& why are people STILL measuring worth in "Nons" & "MAs", etc - how does that EXPLAIN what something is ACTUALLY worth?) that I only do monthly swaps with my huge group of 4 friends, because CS trading is a nightmarish chore. I don't want drawings that I don't even legally own at the expense of my mental health.
At least I only want pets I like, not a complete collection.

Edit: Why not try & get more older users/those with rares to spare to gift or trade DOWN to newer or users with smaller trade rares/collections? An older rare for a few recent UCs (or lower) for example. So that the "enjoyment" of trading is still there, but the (probably newer) user gets something for their collection that they may not be able to obtain otherwise - or at least for a LONG time.
Yeah, I know that's a pipe dream. It couldn't be co-ordinated or distributed fairly. If you could find users willing to participate in the trade down side.

[Frostseraph]

I would be ok with a couple litters a year having a significantly harder to get outcome so long as the demand for that outcome doesn't go insane. I have had to SIGNIFICANTLY overpay for pets like the golden gacha dog and would rather not do that for a monthly outcome.

[NocturnalPanda]

I am so thrilled for this idea and really hope it happens in some capacity. Pet releases each month are so routine at this point, it doesn't feel like there's anything to look forward to except hoping there'll be a pretty design - I can't help but wonder if the lack of actual rares in monthly releases is what is causing demand to be so driven up for random popular designs.

Unless I missed something, I believe we have only had ONE pet released so far this year that turned Rare that wasn't from the C$ store or an event. We haven't had a single pet released yet this year that has turned out to be Extremely Rare.
Event rares also don't seem to feel valued like they are rare/difficult to obtain, because you just swap another event pet for them as it will likely be rare too.
There is no mystery as to what the rarity of any given pet will be - if it's a monthly we know it won't be more than Extremely Uncommon, and if it's an event token pet it's probably going to be Rare, maybe Very Rare if you're lucky. Store Pets will be Rare - Extremely Rare.

At least if we have actual Rares being released in the monthly pets, the pets in demand will actually be somewhat statistically worth that demand.

For everyone saying it won't help newbies - I remember when Malk Dragons could randomly be found when you adopted Malk pets. At the time I knew maybe 5/6 other people who also played, and at least THREE out of the 6/7 of us got a Malk Dragon through regular adopts at some point over the duration they were available for. I still remember the day I got mine, (more than 13 years ago now ) and the sheer joy I felt - still possibly one of my best days on CS.
And it seems like what is being proposed won't be as rare as the dragons were.
So yes, newbies will be able to get at least some of the rares through regular adopts, and isn't some rares better than none? Yes they might get ninja'd, but haven't we all accepted at least a few bad trades in our time? At least they'll have chances to get more rare pets randomly in the monthly adopts in later months! And if they do trade it away, hopefully if there is all this demand around it that everyone's worried about, then they'll actually be able to get a lot for it that might have taken them months, or even years to get hold of otherwise!
They won't need to worry about their only chance of adopting rares each year being grinding during events or paying real money.

Honestly the predictability of releases each year, and knowing there won't be anything high rarity just gets boring sometimes. Yes it's nice to have some routine and consistency and not worry about randomly missing things, but I also miss the early years when they were experimenting so much more with all of the releases. It made it exciting, it kept you engaged, and it was just so much more fun to know there could be cool surprises at any time. Even the random forum contests - the Chicken-O's art contest to get Chicken-O's items, the cake decorating contest to get the Cake Item set, etc. You never knew what was coming, and yes it sucked if you missed something, but you knew there would be another opportunity soon to get something else cool.
I've never been the most savvy trader out there, despite playing for nearly 15 years I still don't have a complete collection (I'm still missing pets from just a few months before I joined and I don't have a single completed year). But even so, I still managed to trade for a second Chicken-O's Flag and a second Cake Set at those times without overpaying. It will be possible for people to get random rarer pets fairly.

I know I've rambled long enough now, but I also just wanted to shout out a Thank You! to the staff for these polls recently - it's great to see the effort being put into the site and into including the community and it's really appreciated!

[KhajiitKennedy]

Even with the updated rarities I still struggle to trade with a lot of users. It's nobody's fault really but I usually stick with my couple of friends or let people send me trades, which leaves me missing out on a lot of rares from litters.

It's fun having them a couple times a year because the stress of trying to trade for them is spread out every couple months
Having it every month would just stress me out intensely.

[+Vesper]

Every season for an average of 4 rare+ pets would be so awesome!
(It shouldn't be on the same month every time though)

This is honestly a super good idea because trading up would become easier, and if the design was so spectacular then the demand wouldn't even drop low enough for supply > demand to happen.

I'd love this and would like it to be implemented. It would make me more excited for monthly releases and I would check in more often to see if a rare pet has been discovered!

[BBkat]

I mean, are they going to have a rarity of 'Rare' or 'Extremely Rare'? B/c there is a HUGE difference and you showcased both in your examples.
Mainly, Rares-like the gold dog example- can actually, feesably be traded for, Extremely Rare-like the August PPS Lion-are virtually impossible to get due to people having frankly absurd asks for them. I really do NOT like litters just, spitting out an 'Extremely Rare' outcome.

[ActualWoodelf]

Thanks for this post and poll, it's really encouraging to get to participate a little in the behind-the-scenes planning. I think it's really cool that as a community we can all talk about possible upcoming changes.

I have mixed feelings about changing the amount of rares in normal monthly litters much, as I feel that right now they're quite scarce, but when we get them, people go REALLY berserk trying to get them. Having them be a bit more frequent might help people calm down, but since they'd still be rare and harder to get, it might just mean more frequent desperate hunts for a given pet... Either way, I think increasing the frequency of rares occurring might help newer players out with getting good trade stock to get older pets that feel out of reach outside of event times when people want tokens and the like... So overall, I guess I'd support an increase in frequency even if it means more chaos! LOL

[ticked tabby]

no support.. I hated the madness of the july lioness & august pps that are still crazy expensive and difficult to get to this day


edit:

A big no to something like the zebras. We already have one day for people to get ALL the other UR pets and I feel it's getting out of hand. Instead, release the other UR pets we already have in the monthly releases in small amounts like the zebras.

I think this is a neat idea! I don't know if CS would be willing to add it, but it would be super cool if they do!

I love this idea! there are many collectors who are struggling and tbh identical pixel pets shouldnt be selling for hundreds of dollars in USD worth of game currency

I wonder if this could possibly be a compromise? It would bring more people online every month, more potential trade fodder for newbies, more rares in circulation, etc. The difference is it makes the URs slightly easier for people to achieve, instead of making monthly pet collections almost impossible. That's just my 2 cents though, maybe the admins don't want URs to be any easier to get.

I like this idea as well, especially applied to pets VR and up, adding a day or two of extra dec18 days across the year or adding a small chance of VRs+ appearing through regular adoptions zebra style.
Rereleasing Rares has the unfortunate effect of potentially making them uncommon (/extremely uncommon), which would be a shame for those who get one expecting it to stay rare, but it would be a great way to re-introduce some very rare-omgsr pets into the economy and Actually help newbies, unlike adding new rares. Most of their value has grown out of hand, and so many are locked away in collections/hoards anyway, so adding more of them to the trading scene would benefit everyone.

I agree! I think these ideas might be a better way to balance things out more.

[c-ta]

i think having more often rares/very rares in litters would be fun- maybe not every month because that may decrease the demand for rares when trading already seems like a hot topic.. people have brought up that its hard for new users to get higher demand pets and this may be helpful in that regard

on the topic of pets like the zebras, while i haven't been able to snag a zebra in the past 12 years i've been on cs, i still think its a fun component. maybe just like 1-2 litters/pets added like this would be fun. yes it's hard to get them but that's the point

[BlossomTail]

I’m also I’m favor of adding UR’s into the chance pool like zebras. Having one day each year for everybody to get extremely lucky and obtain a UR is absurd. I’ve been on this site since 2009 and have never adopted a UR myself from the 18th boxes. Spreading them out across the year with an extremely low chance will definitely help — especially because most people hang onto their new UR’s until rarity or demand is decided — which makes it extremely hard for anybody to trade for them!