🦁 Enhancing Lioden: Introducing Raffle Studs 🦁

Hi friends! I’ve been seeing some talk on through chat and other threads and elsewhere for awhile now on how we can improve the raffle lioness and distributing bo marks better and I wanted to add a possible solution. This is super long because I tried to go in depth so please bear with me and try to understand.

The Current Situation:
As we all know, the raffle lioness system has been a staple in Lioden, but it seems that some of the precious markings from previous raffle lionesses are becoming quite scarce, if not extinct. This makes incredibly harder than it should be for all types of breeding projects. I’m not saying that all markings should have at least 1000 lions that obtain it. I’m saying that markings from raffle lioness years ago should have more than 3 lions.

The raffle lioness just sucks at spreading markings due to a lot of the time being won on inactive accounts. However, personally I think the raffle lioness shouldn’t have to spread markings. I think she should just be a prize as herself and the winner can do whatever they want without having to feel obligated to sell heats if don’t want to just to keep markings alive. They get harassed too much because of that and it’s not fair when winning the raffle lioness is suppose to be something great. Plus again, it’s just horrible way to spread 342 bo markings (not including bo event markings) in 10 slots.

Examples:
• Fiery Crackle - currently only has 52 lions in total with that marking distributed between 9 slots. Fiery Crackle doesn’t even exist in Slot 10.
• Feline 6 Lilac - has over 6,000+ lions with the marking in Slot 1 and 600+ in Slot 4, but the other 8 markings slots have very little or completely none at all.
• Dark Brown Pelage - has only 5 lions in Slot 9 despite it being on a raffle lioness in 2016 (so over 7 years ago).

How can we fix this?

Introducing the Raffle Stud: A New Opportunity
The raffle stud would be a perfect solution for multiple reasons. Remember he is here not to be pretty but to distribute markings!

Randomized Markings: Instead of mirroring the raffle lioness, let's make the raffle stud be completely random (but guarantee 6 slots filled with tier 2 markings) This would increase the chances of reintroducing old markings and slots, without significantly diminishing the value of future raffle lionesses.

Temporary Exclusion: Following the randomization, specific markings within certain slots could be temporarily excluded for a set duration. For example, if the marking "feline 2 silver" appears in slot 2, it wouldn't be available for selection in that slot for a specific amount of time. However, it could still pop up in other slots until all of them have been used. This ensures that we don’t get a duplicate of the same marking in the same slot for set duration of time. It could even be until we go through all the bo markings before it gets reintroduced back into raffle studs.

Rarity Balance: To prevent an oversaturation of these precious markings and maintain their value, the number of winners for the raffle stud could be limited to a certain amount. This approach ensures accessibility while safeguarding the uniqueness and worth of these rare traits. It should be possible to be able trade or buy them without them being thousands of sb, but still rare enough where you don’t see them on every single lion and now they’re considered “worthless”. Plus, even if you win a studding to the raffle stud it doesn’t guarantee the markings will pass. To make it more fair you can even exclude people who won previous raffle studs for a set amount of time (let’s say a week or two for an idea). This makes it so the same people don’t keep winning and then they have to trade for the markings they’re looking for or be picky on what raffle studs they want to enter.

The Numbers
Okay, let’s get real for a sec. With a staggering number of 342 tier 2 markings (again this isn’t even including bo event marks), each needing placement in 10 slots, we're looking at a whopping 3,420 combinations to distribute. Even if we rotated the raffle stud every day with all 10 slots being tier 2 markings, it would still take 342 days to completely distribute all tier 2 markings in 10 slots. This of course would take longer if new bo markings are added or if not all 10 slots are tier 2. Personally I think there should be at least 6 slots filled with tier 2 markings (this guarantees that all current markings would be distributed in 570 days or a year and a half - which I think is reasonable and could be less with more slots filled — this is based off if we had 7 studs a week or 42 markings distributed a week)

Let’s also look at this this way. Let’s say we created a clone of the raffle lioness and on average she has 8 slots filled with tier 2 markings with the miracle of them never repeating the same slot. If we did the clone raffle stud every 7 days like the raffle lioness it would take over EIGHT YEARS to distribute every single tier 2 marking in all 10 slots. That’s not including if new bo marks are added. Not only that but then the markings would oversaturate the market and would make it easier to clone the raffle lioness which in result would make them lose value.

NOTE: Out of the 3,420 marking slots 2,200 of them have less than 200 lions.

How It Could Work (stress on the word could)
Overall, you would need to pay sb to be able to enter into the raffle to win a studding from that current raffle stud. The whole stud will be randomized but will at least guarantee that 6 slots are tier 2. No breeding items would be allowed. I think only 100-200 people should win for each stud (this guarantees that markings would be distributed but not overflowing the market). If you win there will be some form of a grace period until you can enter again (most likely 1-2 weeks or 7-14 studs) to give other people a chance and to promote trading.
OPTION A: They could be similar to August studs and change everyday at rollover where you can enter into the raffle for their studding. However, if you win you won’t be able to enter the next seven raffle studs. Example: If you win the Tuesday raffle stud then you won’t be able to enter until the following Wednesday.
OPTION B: Every Friday you can choose one stud from seven raffle studs that you’d like to enter into the raffle for their studding. However, if you win one of the raffle studs then you won’t be able to enter the following next Friday raffle studs and have to wait until the one afterwards.
Notes: Option B might be a better choice for everyone that doesn’t rollover everyday. Plus, it might be easier for staff to be keep track of the markings. Also, you’d be able to see all seven studs to choose from. Where Option A you risk it every time and might like the stud the next day but can’t enter because you just won.

In Conclusion
I believe this solution strikes a harmonious balance between reviving old markings, maintaining the allure of raffle lionesses, and ensuring a sustainable and engaging game environment. By adopting this approach, we ensure that all tier 2 markings get a fair chance of distribution within a set timeframe. This won’t diminish the value of future raffle lioness but get us to focus some breeding projects on bringing back old raffle lioness without it being totally impossible due to lack of markings but still challenging. This also streamlines the process for the staff, eliminating the need for multiple raffle lionesses or to worry about personally creating studs. The staff is already spread extremely thin so all they would have to do is cross off markings and slots as we go (I also volunteer as tribute)

Possible Questions and Concerns (will add more)
Would the raffle stud replace the raffle lioness?
No! It would just be an addition along side the raffle lioness. The raffle lioness would be focused as a prize more than anything. That’s where the raffle stud would pick up the slack and do majority of the distributing.
Will bo event markings and bases be included?
I don’t see an issue with that. They can be included like the RL. However, I don’t want them to be included so often where they takeaway from the July / August events.
Why shouldn’t the raffle stud be a clone of the raffle lioness?
There’s a few reasons this would be an issue. One, it would make the future raffle lioness lose a lot of value then those markings would overflow the market and be worthless. Plus, it would take over eight years to distribute all the markings.
Will new tier 2 markings be included?
Of course! New tier 2 markings will be added to the randomized list once they’re released with the raffle lioness. Example: Briar Burmese just released so one of the following seven studs will be guaranteed to have Briar Burmese in a random slot — maybe?
Why do you suggest limiting the number of winners for the raffle stud?
Limiting the number of winners maintains the rarity and value of these markings. While accessibility is important, an oversaturation of rare traits could devalue them. A controlled number of winners strikes a balance between availability and exclusivity. This will also promote trading! (I think 100-200 winners for each stud is a fair number and can easily be adjusted).
Why is multiple studs a week better than just one stud?
There’s simply way too many bo markings for just one stud a week. There’s currently 3,420 bo marking-slots that need to be distributed. If we did one stud a week with all 10 slots filled with tier 2 markings it would take six and a half years to distribute them. If we focused just on the markings-slots that have less than 200 lions (2,220 marking-slots) it would still take us over four years to distribute them. This doesn’t even include bo event markings.
Seven studs a week with at least six tier 2 markings (42 markings per a week) would guarantee all current tier 2 markings be distributed in a year and a half. This could be longer if there’s less than six slots or less studs a week. It could also be faster if there’s more than six slots filled.

If you have any questions, comments, or concerns please let me know! I ask that you try to be nice and keep towards the topic of raffle studs. I know there’s a lot of topics regarding bo markings and RLs that can get toxic. I just want to keep this as friendly as possible while trying to find solutions! Also if you read this long ass thread I love you and thank you!