Lunar Event #2! (March 19th-25th, 2021)

It was awesome! But, are the markings gonna be gone after this event ends?

Yes, except for special lunar events. From post on first page

Notice: All applicators that are available this week will be retiring this month, and will appear all at once during the next big real life Lunar event of our choice.  We will put out an announcement in advance when a real life Lunar event is approaching!

Oh, OK!      

So! Second event nearly done and I think it's time to take a good look at it and examine what's good and what's... well, not so good.

To start things off, everything about this event is nothing short of gorgeous and I love the care and effort that has gone into each art piece. Maybe it's just because this event is totally my aesthetic preference, perhaps it's the lore opportunities for crafting my tiny Wolvden corner. Doesn't matter - it's beautiful and I am still stunned every time I take a step into the Dreamlands. There are plenty of big game companies out there that could take a few lessons here on what's nice to look at for the hours per day they expect you to grind. :P

It's not even just that it's absolutely amazing, but rather fantastic - there has been so much put into worldbuilding without a single actual word said. Yeah, we've got those little flavor texts while we wander, but that's not what I'm talking about. Every image in the Dreamlands, from backgrounds to enemies, is very easy to bring to life in your imagination. Everything from different gaits for each of the different biome-exclusive raccoons to how the Lunar Essence interacts with each creature. The floating shark in the Swamp really concerns me, though. XD

I also love that even with this world being so well fleshed out, it is still a sandbox for us players to build our own worlds within. There is so much that can be done with this y'all don't even know - enough I've had some trouble picking!

Another thing I would like to commend is the nods to the userbase. Specifically, the Nobaby, Grouse House, and Tala encounters. When I got my first Nobaby encounter, I really thought I was seeing things! I've seen other games get really hissy over users talking about glitches, so it was a surprise to have one made into an actual encounter. The Grouse House made me laugh and smile - they definitely deserve the recognition, with how much their guides have helped the users here. Fueling the Tala's a god theory gets my approval too - and I'm sure the approval of a large chunk of the site.

Now, on to the bits about the event that I'm a bit more iffy on...

Battling. While I am definitely using less salves due to the battle update, I am still getting brutalized by enemies so far below Meziki they shouldn't be able to touch him. The system is still incredibly unbalanced - in the enemies' favor, even. I've seen some people say they've noticed a difference, but I honestly have had no difference in battles. Just how many healing salves I have to use, since they restore more HP now.

Problem number two... is the retirement thing.

I know that to some people, it's great because they plan on selling for profit later. Something to consider, though, is the fact that the pool of buyers is going to be pretty damn limited when prices are 400-750GC for a single base applicator. Honestly, I'd be turned off buying from another player and would rather grind out and save extra LT each event to buy whatever I want when things return to the shops. Rarity is only good for the market when it's still affordable to those willing to grind. I am NOT grinding over 30,000SC to buy a single applicator from another user - and most other people won't either. I'm not going to plop down $100 every time I miss a base either.

Also going to slip in here that we don't actually know when these will be back in the shops because what is a qualifying 'special lunar event' has been left incredibly vague.

I mean, I have no life - I'm not in school, I'm not working, and all my friends live in different states and countries, so we can't go do things together. All I do all day is sit on this computer and write or play my games. I have all the time in the world to grind out events like this or to grind out currency to buy things I happen to miss. Do I want to? Not really.

These past two events, I have spent a ridiculous amount of time checking the site and running around to get things done. All I have to show for it? 1542LT - two bases, two marking applicators for my play style, one of each applicator for those who collect. Now, this is definitely better than all the people who couldn't even make it to 500LT.

But, do I feel I was adequately rewarded for the time and resources I put into getting what I did? Honestly, no, I don't. And it's not because I don't like what I got - I am not displeased with my ability and I was only going to buy the base and markings anyway, as I don't like the other applicators all that much and they're not going to retain value. (It may be annoying in the future to get the eyes, claws, skin, and nose all onto one wolf, but they all pass easily enough that I don't think it impossible.) I also don't care for décor because it doesn't stay on your wolf when they die. I'm not going to pretty them up only to have them be naked when they go to my dynasty. If they gonna be naked dead, they gonna be naked in life too.

So, if I feel I made the right decisions in my purchases and am impressed with my catch, what's wrong? That was two weeks of effort. Two weeks tracking day and night cycles, two weeks trying to balance my energy usage between looking for and using LE, two weeks of watching Meziki get his ass kicked by things so much lower than him they logically shouldn't even be able to touch him. I used hundreds of salves, many feet, and popped a few Guarana to cover the day or two I got lazy. If I put the amount of time and effort that I spent here into any other game, I would receive much greater rewards.

I also don't feel like I'm getting a break. Ever. If things are going to be retired and new things cycled in so often, I am going to have to participate in every event with the same amount of effort. This will also eventually be during other events. It's exhausting just to think about. If I ever take a break for whatever reason, I'm going to drop behind everyone else ridiculously fast and I really don't like that - especially considering how much effort I've already put into this game. (Y'all don't even want to know, trust me.)

Then there's the sheer amount of things being cycled in and retired.

- 12 Eye Applicators

- 6 Nose Applicators

- 6 Skin Applicators

- 6 Claw Applicators

- 6 Base Applicators

- 6 Marking Applicators

If a single user wanted one of each of everything, that's 1440LT for the Nose, Skin, and Claw Applicators, 3000LT for the Base Applicators, 2400LT for the eyes, and a minimum of 1500LT for the Marking Applicators. Completionists would bring it to 6000LT. So that's 8340LT for one of everything, 12840LT for completionists. You get 875LE per event to convert to LT and 12 events per year. That's 10500LT - and that's if you either win every battle encounter and don't get any of the non-LT events or you get and win enough trophy-window battles to cover the instances where you miss an LT. So, even if you don't need an applicator per available marking, you're barely going to scrape by and are going to have a hard time finding any spare for any re-releases.

This system is EXTREMELY detrimental to keeping interest in the event, as it causes burnout for older players, frustration for what I assume to be a decent chunk if not the majority of the userbase, and chases away newer players. It will take several events for a new user to be able to afford anything in the re-release unless they sacrifice the chance to get the current applicator... which will just put them back in that same place with that applicator. It produces a vicious cycle they can't get out of.

In fact, it how hard it is to get out stacks really fast. Every cycle (two months) missed, you have EIGHT MONTHS before you can make up for it currency wise. If someone joins after three years of this event, they will have a whopping 25020LT debt if they want to catch up. With 2160LT to spare per year, it will take them elven and a half years to catch up. ELVEN AND A HALF. If I was a newbie and saw all that content locked behind 138 weeks minimum of grinding, I'd quit right there and then!

Yeah, they don't need everything and it's ridiculous to assume someone would actually try to dig themselves out of that hole. Some would stick around and make do with what they can afford. Others would just leave to find another game that doesn't retire 42 consumable customization items per year.

It's not even about whether or not everyone should have everything. It's about how discouraging it is to log in and see so much backlog that you can not reasonably try to cover. If there is something I want, I want to be able to put in the work to get it. I am no stranger to grinds and I don't mind them if I'm getting somewhere. However, there comes a point where it becomes unreasonable and ridiculous.

Wolvden already has 118 bases and y'all are going to expect that, in a decade, your artists are going to produce 60 bases JUST for the Lunar Events? This is on top of the presumed 12-120 for monthly events, potential future combo bases, and any other additions to the current tiers we have (Cool is behind other base colors at 6 TI, 6 TII, and 3 TIII). This also comes with 240 markings, 60 noses/claws/skins, and 120 eyes. I can't be alone in thinking that sounds absolutely insane. Can you imagine logging in three years from now to find there are 36 eyes just from Lunar Events to sort through? (Yes, I know Lioden has almost 100 eyes, but these are from a variety of different sources and decently balanced in distribution between event and non-event.)

TL;DR: Art is gorgeous, nods to the playerbase are great, battling is still unbalanced, and the retirement thing for this event is detrimental to enjoyment. The rate at which new items will be cycled in and out of the Lunar Event creates a huge void for newer players and the constant grind for older players gets exhausting very quickly. I am sorry if you read the whole thing and I hurt your brain with my word vomit.