Guide to CS Rarities

[Aurora Storm]

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Thread's Purpose
This thread aims to act as an introductory guide to help players understand the basis of pet values without the influence of demand - explaining what the rarity system is, how it works, and providing a starter guide to trading using rarity information.

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Other Helpful Threads
The Staff Trading Guide covers the foundations of trading in the CS community such as trading etiquette, trade rules, and how to handle unfair trades or scammers.
VR and OMGSR Successful Trades and Successful C$ Trades are great threads for tracking current demand values with real trade examples. Use the search function to find the most up-to-date value of the pets you are looking for.
The CS Rarity Change Archive posts a monthly record of rarity updates.
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Contents:
Rarities Explained: The Basics
The Influence of Demand
A Basic Trading Guide
Getting Rare Pets: Starter Guide

Rarity Change Histories*
*no longer updated as of September 2023

[Aurora Storm]

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Rarities Explained: The Basics
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What are rarities?
The CS pet rarity system was first introduced in October 2009. Rarities are calculated based on how many of each pet exists on active player accounts, and therefore how many players would be trading to obtain each pet. Pets adopted without an account or pets that exist on inactive accounts are not included in rarity calculations, as they are effectively unavailable to trade for. Rarities are typically updated every month during the Mid Month Update (around the 15th), where pets from the previous month will be assigned their rarity tags and older pets may increase or decrease in rarity.

Why do rarities change?
Rarities can go up or down as pets become rarer over time, when more are put into circulation (such as after the December 18th re-release that takes place during the Advent Calendar event each year), or due to fluctuations in the number of active accounts. Sometimes adjustments are made to the way rarities are calculated, and this can cause a bunch of pets to suddenly shift up or down at once. The biggest updates have been; August 2012 when inactive accounts were first excluded from calculations and the "OMG so common" tag was introduced; the early months of 2014 where multiple drops in rarity occurred after an influx of spam accounts created in 2013; the January 2019 overhaul; and the most recent September 2023 update where four new rarity categories were added to spread rarities out more evenly.

My pet's rarity is "unknown", what does this mean?
Because rarities are generally only updated once per month, pets from the current month will not receive a rarity straight away. Pets that are not yet fully-grown will also not have a rarity. If a pet is available for an extended period of time, such as store pets or some special event pets, they will not receive their rarity until the next update after they are no longer available to adopt/purchase.

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Rarity tag abbreviations
You will likely see people using these terms when trading/discussing pets:
★ OMGSC = OMG so common!
★★ EC/XC = Extremely common
★★★ VC = Very common
★★★★ C = Common
★★★★★ UC = Uncommon
★★★★★★ VUC = Very uncommon
★★★★★★★ EUC = Extremely uncommon
★★★★★★★★ R = Rare
★★★★★★★★★ VR = Very rare
★★★★★★★★★★ ER = Extremely rare
★★★★★★★★★★ OMGSR = OMG so rare!

2010-06-01....................2021-03-29
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Are all pets of the same rarity worth the same?
Even though two pets may share the same rarity tag, that does not always mean they are equal in value. Older pets are generally considered to be more valuable than more recent pets of the same rarity (particularly for pets that are rare and above), because the userbase has grown over time and there could arguably be less older rares than newer rares. However, we cannot know for certain where a pet sits on the "scale" of its rarity (whether it is close to the rarity below it, above it, or if it's in the middle) and so the difference in trade value for pets with the same rarity tags is largely dictated by demand.

What about store pets?
Store pets cannot accurately be included alongside other pets in a comparative rarity list. These pets are only available to purchase through the C$ Store for two months at a time, and they are not re-released, meaning their value only increases slowly over time. How you choose to value them in comparison to general release pets is up to you. Generally, store pets are considered to be more valuable than general release pets even if they share the same rarity tag - and tend to be traded for older rare pets to compensate for their higher value status.

Why don't items have rarities?
Items are not released the same way as pets and do not have individual IDs, so the number of each item that exists cannot be tracked like pets can. Developing a separate rarity system for items would still need to be able to calculate how many of each item there is on active accounts, which is not currently possible.

[Aurora Storm]

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The Influence of Demand
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What is demand?
Demand refers to community-driven opinions that cause a pet's perceived trading value to be different to their actual rarity. A pet with high demand is not always rare, and rarer pets are not always highly sort-after. Demand can be impacted by many factors, such as the species of a pet, its age, if it is a particularly rarer outcome of its litter, or simply by its design being popular.

How does demand influence trading?
Whilst demand does not change a pet's rarity in any way, it can cause the trading value to be more or less than its "real" value. Many players trade using a mix of rarity and demand, and rarer pets tend to be more heavily impacted by community demand. This is because the scarcity of a pet usually makes it more desirable, which causes players who own them to hold onto them which boosts demand even further. However, demand can fluctuate very quickly and dramatically, particularly when pets are first released. Therefore, sometimes it is better to hold off trading for a popular new pet in the initial "frenzy" and monitor the trading market until demand settles into a more stable value.

What does "true date" mean and are they more valuable?
Each year on December 18th, some old and rare pets can be adopted from the advent calendar gift box and these pets are referred to as re-releases or RR. When a pet is true date or TD its adoption date is from the original month and year that particular pet was first released for adoption. Re-released pets are exactly the same as their true date versions and therefore share the same rarity - however some collectors value true date pets higher and this can cause their perceived trading value to be more than their re-released twins due to demand.

[Aurora Storm]

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A Basic Trading Guide
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Getting Started
Please be sure to read and follow the CS Trading Rules before you start trying to trade with other players! If you are unsure how to start a trade, read this "How To" Guide to Trading. If you would like to learn the basics of trading etiquette and terminology, or read some suggestions on what to include in your trade rules, head over to the Staff Trading Guide.

How do I know if a trade is fair or unfair?
Whether a trade is fair or not ultimately depends on the opinions of the players involved in the trade. However, there are some basic principles that can be followed to ensure you are at least on the right track to trading fairly. Rarity and date are the two most important factors to consider in general trading, before taking demand into account. If two pets have the same rarity tag (e.g. very uncommon) and were released around the same time (e.g. the three month rule), they can arguably be traded fairly for one another - any difference in perceived trading value beyond this point is dictated by demand and is subjective from person to person. You can ask for advice from other players on whether a trade is fair or unfair on the Trading Advice Thread (previously known as the "Is this a fair trade?" thread).

What is the "3 month rule"?
The three month rule is not an actual rule but rather a common trading method which assumes pets of the same rarity that were released within three months of each other can be treated as equal value. For example, a rare pet from September 2021 should be easily tradable with another rare pet from June 2021-December 2021 (three months before or after September 2021). Some players are more strict with this method than others; many will happily trade pets of the same rarity from the same year regardless of month. However, it's worth mentioning that the three month rule does not apply to trading store pets for regular pets, due to store pets requiring C$ to purchase and therefore considered more valuable. It is also important to make sure your pet is not a re-release as it may be much older (and more valuable) than you think!

What does trading up/trading down mean?
Trading up or down involves using multiple pets to bridge the gap between pets of differing values, as opposed to trading a single pet for another of equal value. For example, a trade up would involve multiple lower-rarity pets in exchange for one rarer pet; whereas a trade down would involve trading one rare pet for multiple pets that are more common. Demand can also play a factor in trade ups/downs, where the bulk side may be equal to a higher rarity but the perceived value of the pets involved are lower than the pet(s) on the other side of the trade.

[Aurora Storm]

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Getting Rare Pets: Starter Guide
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How do I get rare pets without trading for them?
When you are starting out, the best way to build up your collection of pets and increase your chances of adopting rarer pets is to adopt the maximum number of pets from the monthly adoptions. This gives you the best chance of collecting every outcome in a litter, and allows you to trade your spare or unwanted pets for other pets you want. You can also collect rarer pets without trading by participating in site events, especially token hunting events which occur annually for Easter, summer vacation, and Halloween. If you're able to, purchasing store pets is another great method - and the value of store pets increases (slowly) over time so it's worth grabbing multiple sets to trade later!

How do I trade for rare pets?
In addition to the tips above, you can also trade other players to obtain rarer pets. If you don't have many rare pets in your collection, you can offer multiple lower rarity pets in exchange for a more valuable pet. This method may take time and patience as not everyone is willing to trade their rarer pets for more common ones - but keep an eye on active trade threads to see if you have something another player wants. Some people also sell their pets for C$, which you can either purchase yourself or sell your own pets to build up enough C$ to buy more valuable pets from other players.

How do I get unreleased pets/URs?
Unreleased pets (more commonly referred to as URs) are special releases only available on December 18th. When you adopt from the December 18th gift boxes, you have a chance of receiving either an old rare pet, or an unreleased pet. Don't be disheartened if you feel like you didn't get anything "good" from the boxes, as the re-release benefits everybody by making a lot of older, rarer, and UR pets available to trade for once again!

Where do zebras come from and how do I get one?
Zebras are special release pets originally released in August 2009. When you adopt from the monthly horses and ponies page, you have a very small chance of adopting a zebra instead of one of the regular pets. Zebras are also re-released in the December 18th gift boxes.

[Aurora Storm]

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[Aurora Storm]

Update Log

14th December 2024 - Rarity lists retired

Outdated rarity lists removed from the thread entirely and replaced with more information about rarities, a brief overview of demand, and a basic trading guide (still a WIP).

8th June 2022 - Thread update

"Rarity Explained" post added to the front page to make the guide more accessible to new/inexperienced players.

16 May 2022 - Rarity Lists updated

Plains Zebra moved from OMGSR Rarity List to VR Rarity List after rarity update.

15 January 2022 - Rarity Lists updated

Mountains Zebra, Plains Zebra and Rainbow Mane moved from VR Rarity List to OMGSR Rarity List after rarity update.
2021 UR Flamingo and UR Pumpkin Pie added to OMGSR Rarity List.
Green Liontail and Brown Sleipnir moved into the OMGSR tier of the Store Pet Rarity List.

15 April 2021 - Rarity Lists updated

Plains Zebra moved from OMGSR Rarity List to the VR Rarity List after rarity update.

14th January 2021 - Rarity Lists updated after 2020 Dec. 18th

UR Bee, Mountain Zebra & Rainbow Mane moved from the OMGSR Rarity List to the VR Rarity List after rarity update.
2020 UR S'more and UR Longma/Kirin added to OMGSR Rarity List.

28th December 2020 - VR Rarity List extended

Pets that turned VR during 2013 added to the VR Rarity List.

9th August 2020 - VR Rarity List added

Rarity histories completed for all pets that turned VR before 2012, and VR Rarity List for these pets was published to the front page.

1st June 2020 - Google Spreadsheet released

Made by Asvoria, the spreadsheet originally used to help finish the VR Rarity List was released as a public resource for an alternative rarity changes archive. The spreadsheet includes data on all pets in this thread and more, and is also used to make educated guesses on gaps in rarity histories.

3rd February 2020 -Rarity Lists updated after 2019 Dec. 18th

Pink Sorbet and Natural Blue Rat moved from the OMGSR Rarity List to the VR Rarity List after rarity update.
2019 UR Avocado and UR Squid added to OMGSR Rarity List.

16th January 2020 - All VR pets added to guide

Every pet currently listed as very rare was added to the rarity histories page with un-sourced rarity change dates - to be confirmed with links as data is gathered.

7th January 2020 - Picture version of Store Pet Rarity List completed

6th-9th January 2020 - Thread makeover

Entire thread was re-arranged to have rarity lists on the first page along with more detailed posts on how the guide works, rarity histories on page two (re-written with shorthand dates), and pictured rarity lists on page three.

31st December 2019 - VR Rarity List drafted

First official draft of the VR Rarity List was released to include pets that turned VR before 2012, excluding those still missing data.

15th November 2019 - Store Pet Rarity List added

Store pet rarity histories and Store Pet Rarity List completed.

7th November 2019 - Thread created

The Guide to CS Rarities (originally Guide to CS Rarity Histories & Rarity List) was officially published along with the OMGSR Rarity List completed.

5th July 2019 - Thread drafted

Rarity histories started being recorded on Aurora Storm's trade thread, focusing on the changes OMGSR pets went through.

08/11/19 - 31/12/19
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06/01/20 - 13/01/20
The thread has had a makeover! What do you think?

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