As I stated in my Beetle Leaderboard post, I really enjoy battling with my beetles. However, I was surprised to see in this month's poll that many people DON'T battle their beetles at all, and it made me start to wonder how they could be included in competitions to boost their beetles' stats, too. (I like people to feel included!)

Before I launch off into my other proposals, I would like to humbly suggest that a basic tier system be enacted for all beetle competitions, including those I'm proposing in this thread, and I feel this could be organized in one of two ways:

1. By rarity (Common, Uncommon, and Rare). All of these beetles have the same number of starting stats, but skillful breeding practices, training, and competing give hardworking players an earned advantage. Personally, I favor this style (this would also pair nicely with a Leaderboard, if I may be so bold as to plug my suggestion a second time!), but I'd like to hear others' thoughts on the matter.

2. By stats as we do during the Arena event for our pride males. I would also like to propose that, if this were the way tiers were chosen, that higher tiers yield better/more rewards, as they require more effort for the player to achieve.

With that said, I had a few ideas about how we might expand the number of competitions our beetles could engage in. My first thought might be a bit frivolous, which I suppose is only fitting during the Aphrodisia event: would it be possible to add a Conformation competition function to Lioden? I thought this style of competition could revolve around three additional Conformation stats, for instance, Balance, Movement, and Charisma. This might appeal to players that aren't as interested in violent events. Some are Battle Beetles and others Beauty Beetles? I think it sounds like fun!

I also like the idea of single-stat competitions, and I wonder if we took inspiration from the Training Grounds for these three by adding a Lifting competition that focuses on the Strength stat, a Climbing competition for the Endurance stat, and a Ground Race for the Speed stat. I know I try to balance the stats of my beetles when I'm training, but some have noticable strengths, and it might be fun to capitalize on that. If people really embrace this idea, perhaps each type of beetle, based on its conformation and natural behavior, could have slight bonuses in one or two types of competition (Battle, Conformation, Lifting, Climbing, and Racing). I've played other games based on this basic framework, and it seemed like an intuitive system to me.

Thanks for taking the time to read this to those of you who are still here. Love it? Hate it? Meh? Please give me some constructive feedback!