ANSWERED:Holidays Breed True All Year Round

[VixenDra]

I'm with bluesonic. It's not the specialfulness, it's the game mechanic.

 

[...]

 

It's actually not that much worse than waiting for seasonals or for the RIGHT lunar. And actually - for those who remember the year when winter eggs simply didn't happen.... but we lived through it.

But with Seasonals and Lunars you are not limited to 1 egg bred per year from an individual... Lunars have a roation of about a month (or sth, never tried to check, now I have my families complete I breed all my PB couples every week and don't care:P), and Seasonals have 3months of breeding window + can still breed some seasonals out of season (I breed all my PB Seasonals every week). You still have like 1/4 of a year (=3months) when you can breed these true. Holidays are limited to 1 bloody egg a year, maybe 2-4 if you're extremelly lucky to breed 2+ AND to have all returned to you by the catchers. +you're limited to 2CBs, and you can trade for bloodswaps only for a week in the entire year!

 

 

For me the specialnesss of working on a holiday dragon suggestion is that the concept and sprites are not visible to the public, not because the dragon is so riddiculusly limited.

An entire year is a bloody loong time, and veteran players' number is shrinking continuously (best visible in case of CB Hollies available for breeding gettign reduced on and on), the game itself is only a few years old... And I don't think there are that many people who play a single game for dozens of years till they die.

 

 

 

 

As for the 'easy game' vs 'difficult' BOTH are popular I think.

 

See Skyrim? The game is very easy but it's extremelly popular and loved, and people are even creating mods that make the game even easier! And people play it mutliple times.

Spyro games were also easy, especially the series with cynder, and the series is very popular.

and what's the difficulty of The Sims? nearly 0 but the game got very popular and nearly everyone recognises the title.

and on and on and on

You also have Dark Souls being intended a difficult game but if you play with 1 or 2 other players the game gets quite easy and people enjoy playing togheter and are raging at DS1 having lame player connection system (wile DS2 has a very good one).

 

And don't you know the phenomenon of 'if it's too difficult/time consuming you get fed up and give up sooner or later'? I know it way too well.

DC is difficult and challenging enough because of the reflexes&connection thing, no 100% egg chance in breeding, biased trademarket etc. we don't need a year long cooldown for holidays to breed to have the game more difficult... because this is a thing that only results in IDLING, not in a challenge.

Edited March 12, 2016 by VixenDra

[angelicdragonpuppy]

Posting again to say I'm still against this.

 

We have the vast majority of breeds in the cave to work with as we please all year round. The limited nature of holiday breeding, in contrast, brings a sense of urgency and excitement to the game that's lacking for so much of the rest of the year. I would be very, very sorry to see that energy diluted or removed from the game.

 

For what it's worth, I work full time and I still managed to gather 60 Valentines this year, taking just an hour or so every two days. Was it insane? Absolutely. Were there times I thought I'd miss out on something I really wanted to grab? Definitely. But the end result was still an enjoyable frenzy that gave me a great deal of fun and is a positive DC memory.

 

I get that not everyone likes fast-paced games--heck, I'm one of them. As fun as the events are I breathe a sigh of relief when they're over and things go back to the relaxed status quo. But even so, I think having those three weeks of madness every year is a lovely departure from normal and I'd hate to see it go (or, again, even simply be lessened)

 

The only suggestion I'd be ok with is holidays having an extremely low chance of breeding year round (like, metal level rarity) and holidays otherwise remaining exactly as they are now. But even that I'm pretty meh on.

Edited March 12, 2016 by angelicdragonpuppy

[Fuzzbucket]

See Skyrim? The game is very easy but it's extremelly popular and loved, and people are even creating mods that make the game even easier! And people play it mutliple times.

Spyro games were also easy, especially the series with cynder, and the series is very popular.

and what's the difficulty of The Sims? nearly 0 but the game got very popular and nearly everyone recognises the title.

and on and on and on

You also have Dark Souls being intended a difficult game but if you play with 1 or 2 other players the game gets quite easy and people enjoy playing togheter and are raging at DS1 having lame player connection system (wile DS2 has a very good one).

Comparing DC to other games is a fruitless hobby - it's different from all the others - that's why people like it so much. Most of us didn't choose it because it was easy or difficult, but because of the gentle pace, the level of control and so on.

And don't you know the phenomenon of 'if it's too difficult/time consuming you get fed up and give up sooner or later'? I know it way too well.

No. I know the phenomenon of DAMN, I WILL do this if it KILLS me.

 

I am not a quitter. If you are going to get fed up and give up - that's your choice.

DC is difficult and challenging enough because of the reflexes&connection thing, no 100% egg chance in breeding, biased trademarket etc. we don't need a year long cooldown for holidays to breed to have the game more difficult... because this is a thing that only results in IDLING, not in a challenge.

It isn't a DIFFICULT thing at all - if anything the contrary; in holiday times you are guaranteed an egg. The rest of the year that isn't the case. It is simply a patience thing. One thing I HATE about so much of Modern Life is the gotta have it NAOW attitude. Some things are worth waiting for. Holiday breeding seasons are among them.

Edited March 12, 2016 by fuzzbucket

[Riverwillows]

To the core question of whether or not holidays should breed true all year round, I say no. At it's simplest, if they did, there would be no more holiday anticipation, or rarity. They would simply be just like any other dragon, but with holiday colors. Nothing more.

 

No.

[olympe]

I think that's not quite true. If holidays could breed true with a low chance of success year-round, it would be pretty hard to get any of them out of season. Even harder to find them in the AP. However, they probably could be traded for with some chance of success - if you can afford to trade for them, that is.

 

The holiday breeding week, on the other hand, produces lots of holiday multiclutches, which results in the holiday wall we all see every single holiday breeding week.

 

Imagine that golds had one week a year where there would be guaranteed breeding success, not to mention multi-clutching for them. We'd all go mad, trying to get as many good ones as we could. (Of course, there'd be a big backlash due to the ratios - but that doesn't have to be the case for holidays.) This breeding week would still be special, golds would still be special - and available to the general public. (Especially if there was a 24 hour period where you can grab up to 2 CBs from a gold-only flood in all biomes.) Golds still have that very low chance of breeding true outside the hypothetical "gold breeding week", but this week would be a feast. And it would be the same for holiday dragons if they could breed true out of season.

[AGYK]

One thing I haven't seen a lot of discussion about is the breed count for holidays. As of right now, there are 9 Christmas breeds (Holly, Yulebuck, Snow Angel, Ribbon Dancer, Winter Magi, Wrapping Wing, Solstice, Mistletoe, Aegis); there are 8 Valentines (Val '09, Sweetling, Rosebud, Heartseeker, Arsani, Radiant Angel, Heartstealer, Mutamore); and there are 7 Halloweens (Pumpkin, Black Marrow, Shadow Walker, Cavern Lurker, Grave, Desipis, Caligene).

 

We are rapidly approaching the point where building multiple holiday lineages is flat-up impossible due to space/time constraints and the high number of breeds which have one week to breed true. Pulling a couple of random numbers out of nowhere, if a player were to keep two breedings from each holiday breed, that's 18 Christmases - not exactly good news when you have a max of ~26 slots over the course of that week. Actually building multiple projects to higher gens would get very difficult in the face of this limitation. The absolute best case scenario is 4 breedings apiece x 6 projects, with eventual 5th-gens in mind, but with 9 Christmases and growing, that completely excludes a minimum of three breeds. 2 breedings x 13 projects is also doable, for eventual 4gs, but that sets a hard cap on how far you can build an EG project.

 

At some point, we're going to need some change that eases the breeding pressure for holidays. Maybe the two-week or month breeding window that's floating around somewhere, maybe just year-round breeding like this suggestion.

[cyradis4]

I'd be quite happy if the Holiday breeding window stayed the same, but Holidays had a rare chance of breeding true year round.

 

As someone who often breeds trios and metals, well... Some pairs throw fairly well and some always have headaches. But you don't get many shinies a year. Actually, I wouldn't be surprised if the number of eggs bred in-season were more than those out of season for a given pair!

 

So, it'd let you continue your lines year-round, but at the rate a metal line builds. Which is.... slow. But you'd still have the guaranteed time during their season.

 

At Halloween, I already have a hard time continuing the lines I want to, with all the new lines. Its less bad at Christmas and Valentines, because there are fewer lines I like. But I still have to severely limit what I continue... because no room.

 

Cheers!

C4.

[diaveborn]

No. I know the phenomenon of DAMN, I WILL do this if it KILLS me.

That doesn't sound very fun for a game.

[AGYK]

That doesn't sound very fun for a game.

It's actually incredibly satisfying when you finally win. ^^; There is a difference between difficult as in "this is one heck of a challenge; I'll go head to head with this until I win, even if it kills me" and difficult as in "this is so bloody demoralizing and soul-crushing and I just want to stop", but I don't actually know what that difference is. The first makes for an amazing experience. The second is very unfun.

[diaveborn]

Oh, I had been interpreting the last part of fuzzbucket's statement to mean the demoralizing thing, oops!

[Fuzzbucket]

Oh, I had been interpreting the last part of fuzzbucket's statement to mean the demoralizing thing, oops!

No, fuzz did indeed mean I WILL not let it beat me. If I minded feeling like that I would give up. But it's part of the game, and I don't give up that easily. Even though I have had some terrible refusals- not even to do with holidays. It makes me MORE determined to find a way around it. You cannot seriously get totally demoralised over a bunch of pixels.

 

At least, I HOPE you can't ! That would be totally SAD.

 

Fuzz is NOT demoralised,. Even after the two 5th gens in my fab lineage refused the other day... I can wait. Patience is good. Wanting everything this minute is - NOT good at all.

Edited March 12, 2016 by fuzzbucket

[Cinnamin Draconna]

Personally, I see a big difference between "I want it NOW" and "I want it more than once a year".

 

As I see it, breeding true once a year with a guaranteed outcome just isn't enough. Regardless of the multi-clutches, you can only keep one egg (unless you get lucky trading) from each breeding. So I don't even worry about the extra eggs.. not to mention that I wouldn't use siblings in my breeding projects anyway. So I would rather have the chance of breeding true year round; even if it is only at metallic rates.

 

To me, it does NOT spoil their specialness, because I don't see them as special. I see them as annoying because they can only breed once a year and my main reason for continuing to play DC is breeding. Fact is, I'm more likely to just give up on my Holiday lines and just consider them as scroll ornaments.. pretty, but totally useless like the Easter eggs and Halloween candy collections.

 

The Holiday events already bore me because of all the limitations. We're only allowed 2 new caveborns.. we're limited to a max of 7 eggs regardless of whether we breed our own or adopt them from the AP.. we're getting to the point where one has to be picky of what one keeps because of how many old holidays have been released. I want to ENJOY the holiday, not spend days/weeks/months planning in advance what I want to breed, what I need to catch and what new lines I'd like to collect. Planning takes all the excitement out of the Holiday for me and makes it seem routine, like any other day during the year.

[Thuban]

Honestly, I'd be fine with them very very rarely breeding true outside of their respective breeding windows. Any chance is better than no chance, but as common as prizes seems too much. Perhaps on about the same level as chances of summoning successfully. Maybe slightly higher. But not as common as prizes

[Moonlightelf]

* On Valley of Unicorns, horses from the Valentine after-event can breed true every 29th of the month, but the % of successful breedings is quite low.

No longer true. The Non-Frillies nowadays follow Color Purity rules, with each successful breeding increasing the purity %, making it more likely to get the Non-Frilly color in question. This change occurred while ago before the Frilly Hearts event.

 

Either way, onward to the suggestion.

 

I have mixed feelings about this. In one hand I understand the concerns that have been brought up. On the other I'm against this.

 

My own reasons for being against this is... well... they become breedable once in a year for a reason now, which is that they are holiday dragons. They are tied to their holidays one way or another, be it appearance or lore behind the dragons. Here are some in-cave description examples of them being tied to their holidays:

Holiday dragons are a very mysterious breed. They are only seen during winter, and even then it is hard to catch a glimpse of one. They are responsible for the general cheer that spreads during the holidays. In essence, they are the “Spirits of Winter.”

Pumpkin Dragons are a very small breed, named after their affinity for pumpkins. They are always found living inside hollowed-out pumpkins, and are only seen during the harvest season. Young children often hollow out and decorate their pumpkins in the hope that a Pumpkin Dragon will make it his or her home.

Valentine eggs are only seen once a year. Adults’ mating seasons are very short, usually spanning the middle of the month of February. These dragons were once reputed to be omens of good luck in love.

Personally I find the V-day 2009 breed description hard to argue against, given that they have been around for over 7 years now. Sure the sprite has changed, but the description hasn't, thus the RP element has remained the same. And if the Christmas dragons breeding habits were to be changed to be all year round, they would need their own unique descriptions, given that the description wouldn't be valid anymore.

 

As for those holiday dragons that we have bred, cared and raised over the years... yes, they are more common in sight and we can have them bred with commons/uncommons/rares year round for non-holiday eggs. But ultimately, we are most likely not tying these dragons into single location, since they are only sketches in our scrolls. Most likely we have just established good connection with them. This is how I would see it in RP point of view.

 

Another point against this would be the loss of value. While 2nd gen Hollies are high in value, so are the 3rd/4th/5th gens as long as the lineage looks nice (unless someone doesn't care about lineage). If we are to turn them into breeds available around the year... I present food of thought.

 

Think what happened to the Tinsels and Shimmer-Scales for a moment. The value of 3rd/4th/5th gens dropped over the years, leaving us with 2nd gens being coveted. The CB Holiday owners are most likely going to face the same thing, the older the CB Holiday is. Think how many active CB Holly/Yulebuck/Pumpkin/V-day09 owners there are.

 

CB Hollies are rare as they are... not many owners are active. And other older holiday breeds will follow slowly (Don't get me wrong... I'll gladly see the 2nd gen V-day09's value go higher).

Currently we welcome the higher gens with open arms. Do we want the same fate happen to these lovelies as happened to the Prize dragons? To have CB Holiday owners pestered for holiday eggs much like the CB Prize dragon owners?

 

 

But, I can see one concern rise above the others:

One thing I haven't seen a lot of discussion about is the breed count for holidays. As of right now, there are 9 Christmas breeds (Holly, Yulebuck, Snow Angel, Ribbon Dancer, Winter Magi, Wrapping Wing, Solstice, Mistletoe, Aegis); there are 8 Valentines (Val '09, Sweetling, Rosebud, Heartseeker, Arsani, Radiant Angel, Heartstealer, Mutamore); and there are 7 Halloweens (Pumpkin, Black Marrow, Shadow Walker, Cavern Lurker, Grave, Desipis, Caligene). *snip*

This, here, is a valid concern. While I'd like to say that the life is about tough choices, or that we just have to pick ones that we like the most... it wouldn't remove the problem in the future. So I'm going to address this one with more suggestions on how it can be fixed (some may be repetitions that have appeared in thread).

 

1. Increase the length of breeding season from one week to 2 weeks/1 month/etc.

Pro(s): More time to enjoy from breeding. No stress about collecting the lineages one needs. More time to experiment pairs that look good together.

Con(s): The AP will be filled with holiday eggs far longer time. People get bored of the holiday eggs eventually (especially during Halloween). The non-holiday eggs might die in AP. It is only temporary solution until there are more holidays than the new breeding season length allows.

Possible solution to con(s): Have the Holiday eggs either mix with the non-holidays, or have only set amount of lines visible. Gradually increase the length as new holidays are released.

 

2. Multi-clutches become smaller over the years for certain breeds (can be combined with suggestion 1)

Pro(s): The AP won't be over-flowing with Holiday eggs for long periods of time.

Con(s): The older holidays's lineages become more bothersome to build.

Possible solution to con(s): None that I can think of. But it would encourage trading.

 

3. Only have set amount of holiday dragons available during their own breeding holiday season.

Pro(s): Cycles out certain holiday dragons to be available all year. RP reason of them being plentiful after discovery can be used. The number of holidays during their own breeding season during holidays only decreases.

Con(s): People might still find the planning over-whelming/boring/take away enjoyment/whatever reason. The descriptions of breed may have to be altered to reflect this. Christmas dragons need unique descriptions. Status of "holiday" might slowly be lost and forgotten.

Possible solution to con(s): Time and getting used to new mechanic (hey... it worked with teleport...). The descriptions can be written by artist and run through TJ. Something to mark that the cycled out dragons used to be seen only during their respective holidays.

 

4. Only have certain Holiday only breeds be able to breed during holiday breeding season

Pro(s): No over-whelming amount of choosing what to breed and what to concentrate into. Holiday walls in APs not so huge.

Con(s): Extra year to wait for that specific holiday you plan to breed.

Possible solution to con(s): Patience... unfortunately I have nothing else for this.

 

Last... but not least... I will so get pelted for even suggesting this.

5. Retire some of the older holidays after 4-5 years

Pro(s): Removes older holidays from distribution. Most likely everyone has gotten their share of the retired holidays by the time time is up.

Con(s): Drama... lots and lots of drama, mainly from those who build lineages. Also newest players may not even get a chance to own these dragons, much like the Bright Pinks and Frilled Dragons are right now. Overall bitterness from community.

Possible solution to con(s): Time... acceptance... and learning to let it go. (Otherwise there are none.)

Edited March 13, 2016 by Moonlightelf

[AGYK]

Currently we welcome the higher gens with open arms. Do we want the same fate happen to these lovelies as happened to the Prize dragons? To have CB Holiday owners pestered for holiday eggs much like the CB Prize dragon owners?

For what it's worth, I'm pretty sure CB Holly owners already deal with this. I have literally never seen an open list for one, and there are at least a dozen high-profile high-power players currently seeking CB Holly IOUs for sometime in this millennium without success.

 

1. Increase the length of breeding season from one week to 2 weeks/1 month/etc.

*shrug* Sure. I do think a 2-week breeding season would ease almost all space issues immediately, and a 1-month breeding season would be an effective answer for several years.

 

2. Multi-clutches become smaller over the years for certain breeds (can be combined with suggestion 1)

Nah. Lack of multiclutch decreases the number of holidays available overall, making them harder to get. I would also argue it discourages trading, as people will want to hold their own eggs for their own lineages (someone actually made a post about this in another thread - might have been angelicdragonpuppy? Gist of the post was that fewer owned CB holidays = less willingness to share breedings, as self-bred 2gs were more important for lineage-building than for gifting or trading. I think the same concept applies here, just to all gens instead of specifically 2gs.)

 

3. Only have set amount of holiday dragons available during their own breeding holiday season.

If I'm reading this correctly, you're suggesting making certain breeds holiday-only breeders and certain breeds year-round breeders? I'd be okay with this. The mechanic might be a bit complex for new players to pick up, though. Suggestion - maybe phase older breeds into year-round breeders, and leave newer breeds as holiday-only breeders to continue the excitement of chasing them across the AP?

 

4. Only have certain Holiday only breeds be able to breed during holiday breeding season

Not sure what you're suggesting here. This sounds more or less like my understanding of suggestion 3.

 

5. Retire some of the older holidays after 4-5 years

Yeeeeep, you're gonna get pelted. May you rest in pieces. Can't even think about supporting this; there would be drama forever. Besides, I love many of the holiday breeds and would be heartbroken to see them go.

[Obscure_Trash]

My own reasons for being against this is... well... they become breedable once in a year for a reason now, which is that they are holiday dragons. They are tied to their holidays one way or another, be it appearance or lore behind the dragons. Here are some in-cave description examples of them being tied to their holidays:

Personally I find the V-day 2009 breed description hard to argue against, given that they have been around for over 7 years now. Sure the sprite has changed, but the description hasn't, thus the RP element has remained the same. And if the Christmas dragons breeding habits were to be changed to be all year round, they would need their own unique descriptions, given that the description wouldn't be valid anymore.

Pink dragon descriptions mention a breeding season, yet we can breed them whenever.

 

GoNs weren't always breedable. Them being breedable was added far after their conception and release.

 

Adult fever descriptions were changed (twice, yes?) after they'd already been released.

 

I also wouldn't find it that far fetched the behavior of the runts we catch and the children we breed from them would not be completely the same as wild dragons, which I feel like the descriptions are based off of.

 

And lore doesn't always make sense in the larger context of the game. Ex. some of the stuff that's come up in TJ's AMA about DC Lore thread. "It's a game thing."

 

Point being, I don't think "well, this is just how things are" is a good enough reason because we can change things in the cave if it's something users want/it's thought it will add something to the game. ;3

[_Sin_]

Last... but not least... I will so get pelted for even suggesting this.

5. Retire some of the older holidays after 4-5 years

Pro(s): Removes older holidays from distribution. Most likely everyone has gotten their share of the retired holidays by the time time is up.

Con(s): Drama... lots and lots of drama, mainly from those who build lineages. Also newest players may not even get a chance to own these dragons, much like the Bright Pinks and Frilled Dragons are right now. Overall bitterness from community.

Possible solution to con(s): Time... acceptance... and learning to let it go. (Otherwise there are none.)

Yeah, right. Pelted? What about tarring and feathering?

[Fuzzbucket]

1. Increase the length of breeding season from one week to 2 weeks/1 month/etc.

Pro(s): More time to enjoy from breeding. No stress about collecting the lineages one needs. More time to experiment pairs that look good together.

Con(s): The AP will be filled with holiday eggs far longer time. People get bored of the holiday eggs eventually (especially during Halloween). The non-holiday eggs might die in AP. It is only temporary solution until there are more holidays than the new breeding season length allows.

Possible solution to con(s): Have the Holiday eggs either mix with the non-holidays, or have only set amount of lines visible. Gradually increase the length as new holidays are released.

 

2. Multi-clutches become smaller over the years for certain breeds (can be combined with suggestion 1)

Pro(s): The AP won't be over-flowing with Holiday eggs for long periods of time.

Con(s): The older holidays's lineages become more bothersome to build.

Possible solution to con(s): None that I can think of. But it would encourage trading.

 

3. Only have set amount of holiday dragons available during their own breeding holiday season.

Pro(s): Cycles out certain holiday dragons to be available all year. RP reason of them being plentiful after discovery can be used. The number of holidays during their own breeding season during holidays only decreases.

Con(s): People might still find the planning over-whelming/boring/take away enjoyment/whatever reason. The descriptions of breed may have to be altered to reflect this. Christmas dragons need unique descriptions. Status of "holiday" might slowly be lost and forgotten.

Possible solution to con(s): Time and getting used to new mechanic (hey... it worked with teleport...). The descriptions can be written by artist and run through TJ. Something to mark that the cycled out dragons used to be seen only during their respective holidays.

 

4. Only have certain Holiday only breeds be able to breed during holiday breeding season

Pro(s): No over-whelming amount of choosing what to breed and what to concentrate into. Holiday walls in APs not so huge.

Con(s): Extra year to wait for that specific holiday you plan to breed.

Possible solution to con(s): Patience... unfortunately I have nothing else for this.

 

Last... but not least... I will so get pelted for even suggesting this.

5. Retire some of the older holidays after 4-5 years

Pro(s): Removes older holidays from distribution. Most likely everyone has gotten their share of the retired holidays by the time time is up.

Con(s): Drama... lots and lots of drama, mainly from those who build lineages. Also newest players may not even get a chance to own these dragons, much like the Bright Pinks and Frilled Dragons are right now. Overall bitterness from community.

Possible solution to con(s): Time... acceptance... and learning to let it go. (Otherwise there are none.)

You are indeed being pelted.

 

But whatever else, I will NOT be happy with the loss of the guaranteed egg, or the loss of multiclutches. And a longer breeding season would be a HUGE issue - there are already screams of rage from people who don't want more holidays and hate the holiday walls. We need the multiclutches for new users to get plenty - and for some of us mad people to get more for assorted lines - and that WILL mean a wall.

 

The other thing with your last horrible horrible idea would be the end of SO many lineages. Some of which will be those of new users working their butts off to get second gens to start them in the first place. The same goes for cycling. If I NEED Val 09s in the years they aren't around I am not going to be a happy bunny. Waiting months is not the same as waiting years. I remind you again of the year winters vanished from the face of the earth and those of us with lineages were gnashing our teeth.

 

I'd rather see a very rare breeding out of season than any of these options of yours. Much as I don't like it.

 

I do not give one rat's ass about "value" though.

[zaverxi]

I always have the most difficulty with Valentine's day due to the fact that I attend a con every year that just happens to be valentine's day weekend. Most of the time, the con is ON Valentine's day. I will not prioritize dragcave over having fun at a con. And if it isn't on Valentine's day, the weeks leading up to it are consumed with making cosplays, and therefore I miss breeding week almost entirely. I DID miss the event this year because of it, which annoyed the heck out of me.

 

Also, a lot of people travel during Christmas. I missed wrapping wings because I was visiting my grandma, who does not have internet, and I did not have a smart phone back then.

 

So yes, support. Even if the chances of getting a holiday out of the breeding is the same as breeding a gold, I'm all for it.

Edited March 13, 2016 by zaverxi

[olympe]

Another point against this would be the loss of value. While 2nd gen Hollies are high in value, so are the 3rd/4th/5th gens as long as the lineage looks nice (unless someone doesn't care about lineage). If we are to turn them into breeds available around the year... I present food of thought.

So what? Not everyone here collects certain dragons due to their perceived value. If you have trouble getting rid of 3rd/4th/5th gen prize dragons, I'll gladly take them off your hands... Maybe not for various CB golds any more (which I wouldn't have been able to catch anyway), but I'd gladly take them. I'm sure there are other people who don't care about value, either. So, as much as it might be a point against changing how holiday breeding works in your mind, there are people who think it's a good reason for changing things.

 

Currently we welcome the higher gens with open arms. Do we want the same fate happen to these lovelies as happened to the Prize dragons?

Quite frankly, for the holiday checkers I breed, I'll gladly accept higher gens with my arms wide open - even if the holiday dragon in question is anything but rare. (Like my purple Nebula x Rosebud line, or my Gold x SA line...) As a matter of fact, for those particular lines, I consider unrelated higher gens more valuable than lower gens, and for obvious reasons.

 

4. Only have certain Holiday only breeds be able to breed during holiday breeding season

Pro(s): No over-whelming amount of choosing what to breed and what to concentrate into. Holiday walls in APs not so huge.

Con(s): Extra year to wait for that specific holiday you plan to breed.

Possible solution to con(s): Patience... unfortunately I have nothing else for this.

If you really think players will go for "only half the Halloween breeds are able to breed true this year", you have another think coming! Having to wait at least one full year if you get the mate you need is bad enough. Having to wait more is just not acceptable to me.

 

5. Retire some of the older holidays after 4-5 years

This is insane. I don't think there's more than 1% of the player base who'd like to see breeds permanently retired.

 

Besides, retiring those holiday breeds, which are usually numbered among the best sprites on the site, will pretty much anger most players (but those who only collect X of each breed). Newer players will hate it because they cannot get them. (Bright Pinks & Frills, anyone?) Breeders will hate it because they won't be able to continue their lineages. Hoarders will hate it because they won't be able to hoard to their hearts' content. And imagine what one of those HM holly winners will feel like if their "prize" won't be able to breed true ever again...

[vibrancy]

I have mixed feelings on this. I would love to breed holiday dragons whenever, but do see it a little strange to be breeding a Valentine dragon around Halloween.

 

Also, if you want to breed a specific breed and don't have a mate for it, you can breed it with a holiday and almost guarantee that they will produce a non holiday egg (unless they refuse or something).

 

Like someone bred a someplace for me and the mother was a Holiday

 

I do think it would be nice if it was extended a little bit

 

 

Edited March 17, 2016 by WaterDroplet

[Meg_752]

Tentatively support.

Maybe holiday dragons could only breed true during their holiday, but not others?

Ex. You can breed Valentine's dragons all year and during Valentine's, but not during Halloween or Christmas?

[olympe]

Tentatively support.

Maybe holiday dragons could only breed true during their holiday, but not others?

Ex. You can breed Valentine's dragons all year and during Valentine's, but not during Halloween or Christmas?

That would sure help with not flooding the AP with out-of-season holidays from mixed holiday checkers.

[vibrancy]

Tentatively support.

Maybe holiday dragons could only breed true during their holiday, but not others?

Ex. You can breed Valentine's dragons all year and during Valentine's, but not during Halloween or Christmas?

I like that.

[cbussiere]

I don't want holidays to breed completely like other dragons. Yes the holidays are stressful, but it's also rather exciting, and I have fun hunting the AP flood for nice lineages. I don't want that to be totally removed, it would make the dragons not much like holiday dragons, but regular releases that happen to be themed by their release date. However, I do support making them reproducible year-round only if the chance for getting one is very low, such as for a metal or a prize. This would allow dedicated breeders the opportunity to continue lineages throughout the year without sacrificing the special holiday season. An extended breeding season would be good too, or what about the current length of the season for multi-clutches, and then for a month or so after that they can still reproduce and have good rates, but only produce a single egg?