YES HELLO~ I am living vicariously in-game through others' projects, how are you. <3
(Mine are paused or waiting on cooldowns to be up so this is my attempt at ... having fun without barks?)

What do you want to see Kinged/as a step? What would be unacceptable if that's where you are come July?
If it's going to drive you nuts not having the base, base-first makes sense. Theoretically if you have the base you can switch out/breed on any markings more reliably than by using lionesses because your King has a better base-realization potential since he can be mass bred unlike max-3/4 cubs wait 20 days max-3/4 cubs etc.
I'd hold off on eyes/skin for now unless you have an elderly lioness who needs to pass before she goes since you haven't quit decided which one makes the finished look sing yet. The breed-only mane type would be awesome to king early on & never lose on a project step (looking at your Sirah) but could always be added in later with Ochre Saltlick if necessary (did you point that out to me recently? Idk.) though I don't think you want to get stuck having to Ochre Saltlick a bunch later on since there's time & project-energy to breed it along naturally before then...

The "king the next step with the base" method works best if you're waiting on natural cooldowns (like me :'D) or not able to fund quick-running through a marking base stack +1 +1 +1 +1 route.

aka speed-running a project without thinking about the 25gb early-retire cooldowns/able to wait the first 30 days so the early retire drops to only 10gb.
& just collecting whatever markings on your base+eyes+skin to make the whole thing work.

That way every 'step' is technically a step closer/could be Kinged if you really need to keep that base going

If your goal, instead, is more 'full BO marking stack' oriented, this marking stack or at least these key pieces this speed-run King technique works best if you early-retire your way through First(rarest) markings ~> First(rarest) +1-2 ~> All the earlier+1-3 steps at a time, building up your collection of full-stack lionesses in pride while early-kinging a next project step every time one is born.
Then you'd breed a ton of marking-stack lionesses from that King, King the base+ step & use Ochre Powder to flip back through- so keeping the base every step is a lot more feasible/manageable/cheaper since it gives you a longer time to have the base+ born without having no chance of the breedings you're doing producing the actual closest project end-goal but might hinder your speed of marking collection if you 'can't' king a non-base step.
This is a lot of quick kinging as if you're only concerned about +1 marking & would not make sense to do for your more 'attainable' markings, the ones that have more lions or a reliable stud who's not likely to be changed out anytime soon (always keep at least 1 active mark from them in your pride just in case though; life happens 3).

If you plan to use Ochre Powders once you're at the +base stage you could technically just collect everything onto a *(few) lioness(ess) in the background & bet that you'll save yourself all those quick-king steps by counting on at least 5-6+ of her 7-8 collected marks to pass in the 1st round, suddenly have 3+ from just a Buffy+OP & king the best cub of that litter down the road closer to July or at any time to save your progress, & then work on the last 2-3 steps +1-2 markings & eyes/skin/base if still needed later on.
Not sure if it will keep your attention that long unless you have a finished design or are happy with your current progress (Base + the rare marks, for example)

(I know I should stop buuut) Ochre Powder work best with two high marking count lions that have matching-slots ( = has any marking in that slot) so that you get the best chance of higher marking counts on the cubs... so I don't think trying to do the last steps on just lionesses would be as effective as kinging at least one >6+ marked cub.
That propagates your marking stack quickly + if you already have the base/eyes/skin/1-2 markings cub lined up on the side you could then king that after your marking stack lionesses are many & then Ochre Powder the heck out of the lionesses bred back to your base stud with Opal Saltlick&Rock salt on his eyes+maybe Ochre Saltlick depending on how close we are to Sept & hope everything cooperates.
(That would essentially be project done at that point so yeah).

There's no wrong way to go about anything, just maybe less expensive if you get lucky & easier to handle 'looking at' your Main along the way steps. :'D

So... it depends on what is born , what you'd feel sane staring at during a broke phase (can you live with an Unfinished No Base Marking King for possibly a month or more?), annd which targets pop out quickest.
:3
Highly recommend if you get base+rare markings or better Base+(decide on eyes/skin/mane type) to not let that go & either king or save it for a July last-resort to make sure your last rep until Feb has the base for best chance of actually finishing without needing to re-king before Feb.
My only recc is therefore make sure your July boy has the base or whatever step you need to save from extinction rare-slot wise if we don't have more Ochre access by then ( ;~; ) & get as far as you can meanwhile with the marking stack while saving the eyes/skin for later (once you're working on getting the full marking stack onto the base. or when you decide which ones you want).

/end unhelpful babble



Very curious & excited to see the thoughts & ramblings of others! <3
I'm sure someone's read something here & strongly disagrees with that as a technique so i'm curious what sort of thoughts/feedback/advice you'll get.
Good luck with the project! <333

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... wait a second.
Project end-goal.

Is it to have a King with these looks, or a Lioness?

b/c kinging the next-closest steps wouldn't make as much sense if your end goal is a cloneable lioness,
you could theoretically re-make one for 'saving' later from the finished king (using all sorts of items) but why do that if you didn't want only a king in the first place.

I was trying to build my next King so I did
"Ochre Powder the heck out of the lionesses bred back to your base stud with Opal Saltlick&Rock salt on his eyes+maybe Ochre Saltlick depending on how close we are to Sept & hope everything cooperates."
& went from 1 to 3 markings on my King with single- to double-digit 4/4 top-marking-stack +eyes+skin (didn't need those as King has it but they're cute yay!<3) lionesses & 0 to 3 everything-but-the-base successes, ran out of items, & am now waiting for those lionesses to come back into heat while I breed naturally to all my (the last missing mark) or (what will become the lower project marking stack) gals without items / earn more items for my stacked girls to use with my kinged boy.
I don't need the eyes+skin on both sides of the breeding though so it's just a matter of cost managing at this point. ^^'

My end-goal was to make pretty lionesses from a kinged lion with the looks i'm breeding for so I have my next-closest-step Kinged instead of waiting for Crunchy's in October.
<3


Good luck strategizing! <3
There are ways to accomplish without over-re-kinging but whether your closest step is best kinged or best left female depends on your final end goal (a bit), willingness to potentially end up having to barked-heat clone or re-breed down the line, & funds at the time of birth.
which... changes the entire strategy suggestion.

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Thank you for the lengthy replies >:3 I'll try to respond in a way that makes sense, haha

What do you want to see Kinged/as a step? What would be unacceptable if that's where you are come July?
I'm not as attached to my kings as I used to be (until they're finished, anyway!) so I don't think I'll care about having ugly/plain/boring middle-steps for a while. The only thing that would heavily annoy me would be a common base like Dikela or whatever, but apps exist so it's not really a huge concern x) I love the Haze base by itself, so I'd be decently happy with that, honestly.
This July I want to switch my Jellyfish to the next Celestial base until the end of next February (if I like it of course). If i don't like it, I'll buy whatever kind of Haze to king to build up somewhat of an army of lions with the base.

I'd hold off on eyes/skin for now unless you have an elderly lioness who needs to pass before she goes since you haven't quit decided which one makes the finished look sing yet.
I know for sure Dunt looks best on the actual lion, but I love Cosmic and Galaxy for the Explore eyes :P So I'd be happy with any of those popping up on the final product, even switching them throughout multiple king iterations if that's what ends up happening. Echo/Plum/Ink all look very similar in the poses I usually use, so that's also flexible - as long as I have one of those, I'll like it!

First(rarest) markings ~> First(rarest) +1-2 ~> All the earlier+1-3 steps at a time, building up your collection of full-stack lionesses in pride while early-kinging a next project step every time one is born.
That's a good point, getting the rare slots on one lion and more or less out of the way would probably be easiest! The earliest I'm probably willing to retire would be after each 30 day cooldown, unless a REALLY nice one is born and i have lions coming into heat way before the 30 days would be up.

If you plan to use Ochre Powders once you're at the +base stage you could technically just collect everything onto a *(few) lioness(ess) in the background / Ochre Powder the heck out of the lionesses bred back to your base stud with Opal Saltlick&Rock salt on his eyes+maybe Ochre Saltlick depending on how close we are to Sept & hope everything cooperates.
I don't think I'll be able to really start actually breeding for this until next March, basically a whole year away. So I'll have plenty of time to grind the hell out of September for some Saltlicks and Gnaws (because I must!), January for more Powders (though I have a decent amount now, it doesn't hurt to hoard more), and then next February for additional buffies and barks. My old Bandit project sucked me dry of the Gnaws and Saltlicks, which I'm likely going to use up with my Ukame project. So anything bred for this project before then will be very barebones, budget-wise.

Project end-goal. Is it to have a King with these looks, or a Lioness?
I guess I could have specified that! Definitely a king. If I end up actually finishing this project, I might keep it as a lioness, king a clone, and freeze the original lioness on another account if I can find a good one. I wouldn't want her spread, so it would literally just be a "just in case I get impulsive and replace this king, I can get another clone" sort of thing :V

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Wonderful extraction of key points.

It sounds like you have a great range of acceptable outcomes that fit the general vibe.

& are building a framework of expectations and budgetary constraints that could help guide future decision-making for both retiring and spending decisions.
The casual pace should keep you occupied & entertained while the relevant months come back through.

Great end-goal strategy! I think the point about the primary goal of the final product is that there's always the risk of a stubborn cloner, or a king that refuses to pass anything helpful, so it's good to keep in mind.




Barebones budget wise: Doing marking-stack first (dealing with an app base King) would cut down on eye/salt rocks & other such items this early in the stage, & adding in base+eyes/skin closer to July?
= ~Let randomization guide you~

Transitioning/preparing for best use of items: The quickest way to an eyes+skin+base+BO traits lion is eyes+Skin+base first & adding in any BO markings on top, but the quickest way to this marking stack depending on the bases of next-step cubs could very well be focusing on markings first, adding base later & eyes/skin last.
I've had a few "would've been the next step" cubs born while I was in a phase of not using salt rocks so I think understanding your own reactions to when that happens could help you choose just how barebones to make it. :'D
If your pride was full of lionesses with project markings, it'd be best to work with a eyes+skin+full mane+base King so that he could produce an heir from any breeding, but if you're starting from the ground up there's so much potential to alter course depending on what's produced.
Essentially preparing to create a ton of marking-stack base-compatible breeders + the base King.

Once items are involved/March: I'm happy doing the 'every breeding could produce the finish result' but when you get to the point of culling project-marked lionesses it can be a strange feeling.
I tried doing the full 'every breeding could produce the finish result' (all traits present between King + lionesss) with the boosters we now have & my results were a +1 step closer and a whoooole lot of breeders.
I hope yours will be straight to finish! <3

Happy 'haze'ing

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