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Post by Fraze on Oct 9, 2023 5:50:20 GMT -5
Wait, so she doesn't have WoDF in her shop, but IStaff is in the other? Seems to be the case, yep. I saw some people speculating on the neoboards that WoDF will be added later, but I doubt it.
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Post by Kat on Oct 9, 2023 6:57:50 GMT -5
This is a silly hangup but I'm not pleased to find that Illusens Staff is in Illusen's prize shop. I'm all for tanking inflated prices, don't get me wrong, but now I'm going to look like I jumped on the Illusen bandwagon for the I-Staff when joining Team Salad Mix has always been my decision from the beginning as goth/dark stuff isn't normally my thing.
Well, I'm here now, guess I'll be picking up an Illusens Staff while I'm at it.
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Post by Huntress on Oct 9, 2023 9:39:48 GMT -5
Yeah, timezones being what they are, I tend to be online and ready for a break just as the Neopian day rolls over so I was there right at signups and it was heavily skewed in Jhudora's favor at first - maybe a quarter of Illusen signups and three quarters purple bar if not more. Then word presumably got out regarding the OP zappy stick and here we are.
Although looking at the prize shops, it looks like they might've tried to balance out the super high end releases with the stamp on Jhudora's end, considering it requires fewer points and is also going for less on the inasmuch-as-it-is-an-open-market? People's feelings on this will vary wildly depending on whether they're more about the Battledome or stamp collecting, and if everyone is clamoring for the staff then it might actually end up saturating the market while the stamps don't get bought and supplied to nearly an equivalent degree (especially considering how they're effectively one use).
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Post by Fraze on Oct 9, 2023 9:41:54 GMT -5
This is a silly hangup but I'm not pleased to find that Illusens Staff is in Illusen's prize shop. I'm all for tanking inflated prices, don't get me wrong, but now I'm going to look like I jumped on the Illusen bandwagon for the I-Staff when joining Team Salad Mix has always been my decision from the beginning as goth/dark stuff isn't normally my thing. Well, I'm here now, guess I'll be picking up an Illusens Staff while I'm at it. I think anyone with even a passing knowledge of your NT career would know you're about the most Team Illusen person currently playing.
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Post by Duke Pikachu on Oct 9, 2023 10:34:05 GMT -5
Breath... breath... I'll put my current thoughts in the spoiler box below. If you don't like reading rants, you can skip it, you can mostly predict what I'm going to write. For those who do decide to read on, I'll try not to sound contemptuous. WHY IS ILLUSENS STAFF IN THE PRIZE SHOP?!?! REMOVE IT!
REMOVE IT!
Or at the very least increase its cost! In FOUR days every Illusen Supporter will be able to just buy the top prize for one of the hardest quest lines on the site! And all they had to do was just spend a minute or so donating OMELETTES. Heck, even if they went for the 6 point items (r90-97 items) they'll still have enough points to get it by Day 6! In one STUPID MOVE they completely nullified any reason to ever to Illusen's Quests.
No, I don't want Wand of the Dark Faerie added to Jhudora's Shop. I'm fine with them offering some of their lower tier prizes as those are meant to be little rewards enticing you to keep going for the big shiny final reward at the end: a powerful Battledome item! Because despite all the powerful BD items that have been recently released, both Illusens Staff and Wand of the Dark Faerie are still two of the most powerful BD items. Even if they're not easily obtainable without a lot of NP (to either do the quests or buy from another user), I think that's a good thing as it gives players something to strive for. It's not impossible to get one, heck you probably don't need it as most of the BD equipment in the Hidden Tower and normal shops can make you a great BD set; but if you don't have it its fun to fantasize about and think "maybe one day I'll see about trying to get one".
... And now in 4 days all Illusen supporters will be running around with one because they donated 120 omelettes. And by the end of the event they can be dual wielding.
Oh, and it just completely off-kilter the donation meter between Illusen & Jhudora. Because who are you going to go with: the one offering one of the most powerful weapons on the site, or the one giving away a stamp that's rare but not too rare.
ALTERNATE SOLUTIONS: Okay, so because of this TREMENOUDS LACK OF FORESIGHT, we now have the problem of people choosing to support Illusen because they want a powerful BD item. They can't just simply take away Illusen Staff and replace it with a stamp, that's going to get everyone who joined Illusen angry as they wanted a powerful BD item. So, with that, here are some alternative solutions:
1. Swap it for another BD Item. And I have the perfect in mind: Super Attack Pea! LISTEN TO ME! The Super Attack Pea has recently skyrocketed in price, they're now worth over 1 BILLION NP! I don't think it would be a bad idea introducing more, especially if they also RAISED THE COST of the item. Because if you want a powerful BD item you should have to spend most of your points to get it. I'll cover more of that in the next suggestion:
2. Raise the cost. So, the Faerie Festival I believe if going for 9 days? And because TNT also messed up the point system, they've made it very easy to get 240 points a day. As much as I want to say make the cost 2,160 points, there's probably a few players who are sticking with donating the 6 point items so I guess would be unfair to completely lock them off. Those players will be making 180 points a day for a max total of 1,620. So, I guess to give those players a chance, whether they decide to keep Illusen's Staff or swap it out with another BD item (like the Super Attack Pea), I say make the cost 1,600 points.
And I think realistically that's all they can really do that won't upset most people. As much as I'd like them to add a powerful weapon to Jhudora's Shop (NOT Wand of the Darkest Faerie; I was thinking maybe something like the Moehog Skull which like the Super Attack Pea is also extremely rare (can't find any on the Trading Post), powerful & expensive (it would also probably be reaching 1 bil)), if they did that I think a lot of players would complain they can't switch sides. Now, if TNT is able to make it possible to switch sides, than yeah I say add the Moehog Skull to Jhudora's prizes. But I have a feeling that's not in the cards so better to leave her shop as is.
ONE final thing. If they don't swap out Illusens Staff, I think they should Retire it after the event is over and give Illusen Quests a new top prize. If TNT doesn't change things they're going to make the quests pointless, at least trying to get to Level 50, unless they give her a new BD weapon. My idea: Illusens Shillelagh, uses the art of the Illusen Staff from the TCG, and is pretty much an Earth version of the Wand of the Dark Faerie (Damage is 20 Earth & 0.9-9 Physical icons, Reflects 75% of Dark icons, & Heals 25% of Max HP if HP is below 25%) so both Illusen & Jhudora are "equal".
AND that's my rant mostly done. I've got other things to say, but the above is just mostly about the BONKERS decision to add in Illusens Staff as a prize. There is one more odd thing I'd like to mention: the Faeries they chose to have attend the Faerie Festival (at least visibly). Illusen has Mira, Soup Faerie, and Jhuidah. Alight, fine, makes enough sense I suppose. But Jhudora... Jhudora has Ilere, Nuria, and BAELIA. First off, what's with these picks? Who decided on this? Did they do absolutely NO research on any of these characters? Let's start with Ilere, why is she even here? She's a recluse, she wouldn't attend any Faerie Festival unless for some reason forced to. Nuria is just an odd pick, like I would have Delina or even Aethia (to keep an eye on Jhudora) before even thinking of her. And finally, Baelia. BAELIA. THE GREY FAERIE! You know, the Faerie who was held captive and had her powers taken away BY A DARK FAERIE! WHY WOULD BAELIA ATTEND A DARK FAERIE'S TWISTED FAERIE FESTIVAL WHEN THERE'S AN EARTH FAERIE'S NICE & PEACEFUL ONE?! You wanna know why? Because Ilere is creepy looking, Nuria is fierce looking, and Baelia is sad. TNT chose them STRICTLY on appearance without even thinking about their character. For what reason? It's JHUDORA, everyone already knows she's an edgelord! You don't need a creepy, fierce, and sad looking Faerie to get home the point that Jhudora's Faerie Festival is edgy and gothic. Heck, if anything this makes Jhudora's Faerie Festival even less appealing. All the Faeries at Illusen's Faerie Festival are happy, all the Faeries are Jhudora's are miserable. The message I'm getting from this is if you pick Jhudora you made a mistake and deserve to lose. Well, TNT, if that's how you feel, WHY EVEN DO THIS TWO FAERIE FESTIVAL CONCEPT?! ... Yes, I'm done (for now).
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Post by doctortomoe on Oct 9, 2023 10:48:23 GMT -5
I mean, part of me wants to go for the IStaff just because I already have Jhudora's Stamp, (Ironically gotten from a previous charity corner), but part of me wants to go for Jhudora just because her items, in the long run, will be rarer from everyone going for IStaff.
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Post by Ian Wolf-Park on Oct 9, 2023 12:54:58 GMT -5
I was already planning to join Illusen, but I'm actually not gunning for the top prize. However, I can see how people would potentially view it as jumping on the bandwagon.
Charity Corner events (or their equivalents) have always been chaotic, but this year's Festival takes it up a notch, especially on Illusen's side. Won't be as drastic on Jhudora's side, but it will still be there.
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Post by Breakingchains on Oct 9, 2023 13:02:30 GMT -5
Oh I am TORN. I want the stamp, but I wouldn't say no to dual-wielding flippin Illusen staves.
EDIT: Decided, Jhudora now owns my immortal soul or something. I think. I didn't really read the fine print.
In other news, I already had a decent size r102-179 stash. Fought the lag to fill in the gaps with omelettes, and I now officially have enough items to get max points.
Also, the Free the Faeries prizes have been pretty cute this year. Enjoying the moth-themed cloak and the faerie slorg wearable.
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Post by Moni on Oct 9, 2023 15:08:30 GMT -5
i am only going to join jhudora if her idea is, instead of recycling, to instead use the ingredients to blow up the factories.
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Post by Nimras on Oct 9, 2023 15:09:57 GMT -5
Foyra, what ... what are you up to?
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Post by Carolyn on Oct 9, 2023 21:00:20 GMT -5
Wow. That sure was a decision to put that item in the Illusen prize shop. Was going to go for her anyway (even though I love Jhudora's sass) because I am nature girl, but, um wow. Guess that'll just go into my BD set then? Might as well.
Hoping these recycle caps drop some of the mega rare stamps into the hands of normal Neopians and bring the prices down. Would be neat to get the Scarabs one or MD vs DC for #400. I had more or less taken it off my radar because of inflation and such, but if it goes down, then maybe... Shrugs. 'Course, I still tend to use Other I because rainbow feather. Is Pride Bird.
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Post by Stephanie (swordlilly) on Oct 9, 2023 21:06:53 GMT -5
The FFQs seem to be working to draw in some people who otherwise wouldn't bother to grind for months to paint their pets - especially in cases where the length of the grind is uncertain as the prices keep increasing. Now all of a sudden people are able to have their dream pets, and many are looking into customising for the first time, which is great. Regarding the placement of Illusens Staff in the prize shop though, I'm not sure. In FOUR days every Illusen Supporter will be able to just buy the top prize for one of the hardest quest lines on the site! And all they had to do was just spend a minute or so donating OMELETTES. Heck, even if they went for the 6 point items (r90-97 items) they'll still have enough points to get it by Day 6! . . . despite all the powerful BD items that have been recently released, both Illusens Staff and Wand of the Dark Faerie are still two of the most powerful BD items. Even if they're not easily obtainable without a lot of NP (to either do the quests or buy from another user), I think that's a good thing as it gives players something to strive for. It's not impossible to get one, heck you probably don't need it as most of the BD equipment in the Hidden Tower and normal shops can make you a great BD set; but if you don't have it its fun to fantasize about and think "maybe one day I'll see about trying to get one". ... And now in 4 days all Illusen supporters will be running around with one because they donated 120 omelettes. And by the end of the event they can be dual wielding. As someone who once quested an I-staff (don't worry; I sold it long ago xP), my first reaction was very similar to yours. The staff is supposed to be an endgame achievement. It's not supposed to be something that people can just get for a few minutes of gameplay spread out over a week. A lot of people are probably feeling the "What now?" Like... what is even the point of logging in, doing dailies, saving NPs etc. when such a valuable endgame item just drops into your lap like this. I guess another question too is whether the recent inundation of powerful weapons is enough to make the Battledome interesting to more Neopians. I really don't know. I used to be rather into Battledoming on Neopets (League 97 and League 54) but have since moved on to other battling games; Duelyst II is the one I still play every now and then. Simply handing me a bunch of powerful weapons probably isn't enough to restore my interest, personally. ^^; I'm not really sure what would, to be honest. Both the Battledome itself and the game economy around it have become so deeply broken over the years that I've just kind of... let go of that aspect of the site. Also, the Free the Faeries prizes have been pretty cute this year. Enjoying the moth-themed cloak and the faerie slorg wearable. I really like the design of the cloak, but haven't been able to find a wig that fits underneath it. Even the flattest wig I own (Kadoatie Cafe Waitress Wig) seems to clip wrong with it. When I get a bit of time I will try to experiment more with it though. If nothing works then I'll very reluctantly have to put it up for trade. The shoulder-purse and earrings seem like very versatile pieces as well. Looking forward to playing with them. :3 And of course to seeing what else is to come.
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Post by Fraze on Oct 10, 2023 3:27:05 GMT -5
Lol @ people on the Trading Post desperately pretending Faerie PBs will still sell for 4-5Mil despite the market being absolutely swamped.
I'm gonna get my popcorn and wait for them to become buyable.
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Post by Liou on Oct 10, 2023 13:24:00 GMT -5
I'm love Jhudora's Festival. It is the most perfectest festival for me to attend. I don't need to smile to anyone. I don't need to talk to anyone. I am at liberty to lurk ominously in a corner. I may brood in public. I could even hiss at anyone who attempts to talk to me, and here it would be socially acceptable.
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Post by Lex on Oct 10, 2023 15:03:45 GMT -5
RE the istaff discussion, just wanted to throw this out:
Illusens Staff is power crept and has been for a while. I agree that giving away endgame content is probably not the best choice, but realistically, this doesn't actually change much. Most people do not quest for this item to use it in the dome; people who want an item they'll use are gonna go for WoDF (which is actually a good weapon, even by modern standards) or they're going to do the smart thing and buy something like Fan of Swords (which does more damage outright) or if they need the dark block will go with Hanso Charisma Charm for a tiny fraction of the cost. Heck istaff mean damage output is BARELY better than Void Blade, which was free.
The niche use it has in 2p isn't worth talking about for me since most people, even BD regulars, barely do 2p outside of leagues. And most leagues don't allow the item in the first place (EVEN KCS bans the healing aspect of the item, AKA what actually makes it special given only big pets will ever really benefit from it)
If they REALLY wanted to shake things up, they should retire istaff after this event and release an even better final quest item for Illusen to make her quest worth doing.
All this to say, I get it. It's a legendary item to many and giving it away feels wrong, but more than anything this is TNT not keeping up with their own meta and updating things like the quest prizes to actually fit into the modern game.
I went Illusen and yeah I'll grab the staff, but I will literally never use it unless some big plot enemy comes out that requires it specifically (which I just can't imagine, but who knows! hope I'm wrong, that scythe is very cool looking...)
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