Raffle studs: give them high stats!

The raffle studs all being set at 200 lessens the appeal by a decent margin, and if I'm thinking that, I can only imagine how stat breeders feel.

I fully agree with the mirroring idea. Because 600 stats is a hell of a lot to me, but to stat breeders, that's just okay. It's a subjective thing, so mirroring respects all sides. Considering there's only a select number of winners and most pups will likely end up duds anyway, it shouldn't harm anything.

If mirroring won't fly, then I think raffle studs should be randomized. (250-600 stat range?) That way, there's a different variable that sets the studs apart from one another and adds some extra interest.

(Support!)

I like the mirroring idea, but it should have a cap - otherwise (potentially) a 1200+ leaderboard female could use a raffle stud breeding to make a ~600 stat pup WITH raffle eyes/marks etc, and without having to introduce another leaderboard line or inbreed to create it (lineage rarity may not be an official mechanic, but it's still a huge economic advantage) which is kind of unfair since it's a randomly-distributed privilege that you can't 'save' for a good time to use it.

So I'd support mirroring, but with maybe a 500-700 stat cap so that we don't end up with any really freakish stat outcomes. 700 because it's basically the low end for a G1 wolf to reach at level 20, and 500 because it's a "mid range" amount for a trained NBW.

If no mirroring, I think 500 stats would be a good amount. It's a nice, round number, and low enough that it won't create much significant stat boost if you breed an unleveled ~250 stat female with him, but high enough that it won't drag a leveled female's pups into the dirt too much.

Brainstorming off of unsknown's post:

If no mirroring, I think 700 stats would be a good amount, to simulate an average level 20 NBW. You could make the raffle studs all level 20. That way it wouldn't be imbalanced to get that amount of stats from a heritageless wolf, but it'd still be a nice boost for the pups.

Mechanically, here's how you could code the stat distribution: Start with a level 1 wolf at 40/40/40/40/40, run the level-up algorithm repeatedly to reach level 20, and randomize the remaining +82.

No support. The rare raffle marks are enough. 

Complete support.

I feel as though raffle studs should appeal to a majority of people who play the game. There are some people, of course, who don't care about stats; but a large group of people do!

There definitely needs to be a limit, maybe a roll of 50-70% of the female's stats? I'm not sure how that would be formulated. But these guys are supposed to be special. I personally don't make stats everything in the world, but I like having wolves with decent stats. Studding to a male with 200 stats defeats that purpose, especially since in the market only low gen, high stat pups with rare marks and/or rare bases seem to sell. 

Support. 

I think a flat 500-700 on the studs would be best - either 100 in each stat, or what Lionel said with running the algorithm to level 20 (even without bonus stats, resulting in a 618 stat total.) 700 isn’t groundbreaking for a NBW - many hit 800+, some even 900.

This wouldn’t be pandering to stat breeders so much as making sure that raffle pups are actually able to hunt, scout, mentor etc effectively. Pups with a 200 stat parent and a 900 stat parent are barely born with 350 stats - below average even for non-stat breeders. 

Honestly, the idea I like most is of mirrored stats. For people who care about stats and breed exclusively for them, <700 stats become a downgrade within a few generations. This way people will get rewarded for the hard work of getting their females trained properly and bred to perfection. On other hand, a stud with 700-800 stats is likewise wasted on females with 200 stats because the pups will barely be any stronger.

I don't really see it as pandering any more than rare markings are for people who care about those - frankly, I can't begin to tell you how little the rarity of markings matters to me so this whole idea of getting to breed to these studs adds absolutely nothing for players like me. I care about wolves being cute, sure, but a TI with common markings can be cute and I need it to be useful instead. Just as markings are useful for those who prefer them, stats are useful to those who prefer focusing on those. There's no "right" way to play but it's undeniable that one side of the conversation is getting the short end of the stick right now.

Currently, there is absolutely no benefit for me to breed these studs even if I somehow win, they're no better to me than the starter wolves of newbies who joined three days ago.

No support

As a player who doesn't care about the stat aspect I feel like if people really want to breed with the male they can just train those pups up. Think of it as a project and a new line heck if you want that G2 to be more NBW just chase the mom away and raise it as such. I personally like the fact that the stats are low it takes a lot to raise a wolf to lvl 20 and to just give those stats wouldn't be right in my book as some people worked hard to get their scouts to that point :/. With that said the rare marks, eyes, and whatever else is added should be enough if one isn't enticed by that well one doesn't have to participate or could breed that marking in down the road.

High support for this. It's extremely disheartening to know that breeding to a raffle stud, even with the highest stat possible female, will limit stat output by so much because he will always have absolutely awful stats. 

Not caring for stats therefore the raffle studs shouldn't have a stat increase isn't a fair argument imo. Like, I don't care about stats whatsoever, but I recognize that a lot of people do. Raffle studs as they are are extremely underwhelming to those who care about stats. They should be allowed to enjoy the studs just like anyone who breeds for appearance or otherwise do. It would be the exact same if the situation was reversed - imagine these studs were zero-marking high-statters. Those of you who don't support, would your opinion change?

For some, those rare attributes aren't enough. And that means raffle studs are worthless to those players, which leaves a chunk of the playerbase behind in an entire feature of the game. That just doesn't sit right with me.

I do agree that they should have a limit though. 600-900 would be a good area to aim for, I'd think? I've never had a level 20, so I don't know how high a NBW can get stat-wise lol.