*Warning! Spoilers to the next promo ahead! All information is based on the previous time this event ran from memory and information gathered from the Spoilers Topic and the pre-pod server*
It is with incredible happiness I tell you all that the next promotion once the Plants promo has finished will see the return of the Great Challenge and the festivities!
New to the Great Challenge? Here's the breakdown of what happens:
The Great Challenge
The Great Challenge is 3 daily objectives ranging in difficulty, that when completed give you horseshoes (I will explain their purpose later). Examples are: Groom a horse, come last in 5 competitions, remove a pegasus' wings etc. The most difficult objective is always #3, and from memory, cost 5000 equus to ask for help so another player does it for you Once you complete your 3 objectives you can check the community help to view the objectives people ask for help for. Doing these can get you lottery tickets and community recognition. Completing all 3 objectives also gives you a "puzzle piece" that fills up the jigsaw, and each piece allows you to collect prizes when the festivities begin (you don't have to fill the jigsaw to win them, it is merely a limit on the prizes). The prizes contain Ageing points (ohhhh so many APs to win *rubs hands and licks lips*), BMIs and resources.
The Festivities
After the Great Challenge comes the lottery. Tickets are purchased for each draw and can be gifted to friends and received from friends (all very lovely indeed), including all the tickets you may have won through doing people's objectives for them during the Great Challenge. Spending passes also gets you tickets without directly spending them on the promo. EVERY TICKET IS A WINNER. You can win all kinds of BMI and the divine for this Promotion is Cancer (more below) as well as equus and more APs *faints*. There is 1 divine won per draw, and some other exclusive BMI such as Hestia's Gifts and 1,000,000 equus are gifted in limited amounts. Also, more exclusive BMI tend to be time limited to 90 days, as is the norm nowadays. Worried you won't win Cancer in the lottery? Throughout the Festivities, you can try your luck by opening Horns of Plenty to win Cancer (was previously Golden Fleeces but is now Horns of Plenty).
The Horseshoes
Completing the objectives earns you horseshoes. These horseshoes contribute towards the community, and the more horseshoes everyone collects, the more draws there will be in the lottery (maximum of 4 per day) and maximising the prizes you get. The more horseshoes you personally collect also allow you to win Golden Horseshoes for the Events Trophy and also allow you to have offers on Horns of Plenty during festivities (basically buy on get one free type offers that get you more for your passes the more horseshoes you collect).
Cancer the Divine
Cancer is part of the Zodiac collection. Like other Zodiacs, if she is your zodiac you will receive a 5th element on your birthday when you log in that day. She is gifted to 1 player under her sign on the 22nd of July each year. She can breed with Gemini to make Leo. She cannot be sold.
Points to note and changes to this promotion compared to the last one
-At the start of the festivities, you will have to manually collect your gifts through a Game Team PM, this prevents the delay caused by trying to hand out thousands of items simultaneously.
-You will not receive any gifts before the festivities begin, so do not be alarmed if you get a puzzle piece and nothing for it.
-Read objectives carefully. I see so many people attempting to give a unicorn a carrot when the objective states it has to be a horse and things like that.
- The lottery draw begins at the stated time (e.g. 12:00) but you may not actually receive your prizes until a few minutes later - this is normal.
- Players can only receive an allotted amount of tickets from friends per draw, so if a friend is not on your list don't be alarmed, they probably already have their friend tickets for that draw.
My advice
- Make sure you have BMIs such as Helios' Rays, Fertility Wands and the like spare, as using these items can be an objectives
- If you can, get hold of pegasi, unicorns and donkeys. Objectives can include removing horns and wings and grooming donkeys, and when people realise this the prices will go up in the sales, so collect now to avoid a larger loss of money.
- Save item exchanges and completing horse's training, as these too can be objectives, and it makes your life easier if you're prepared and have horses/exchanges ready to go, and saves energy and APs
- Do the objectives for others you can, but don't go out of your way to. If it's easy, it's a way to get an extra lottery ticket, but don't go wasting your items for another.
- Keep an eye out in the Spoilers Topic on your server for any more info on the objectives
I wish you the best of luck, and Happy Howrseing!
F x
Monday, 27 June 2016
Sunday, 12 June 2016
How to be a Cheapskate
As in real life, owning horses on Howrse can rack up expenses. A lot of little purchases all add up, from boarding all of your AP hunters for another 30 days, to buying a Horn of Plenty in the item exchange and investing in a GA coat horse in the sales for your collection, it's far to easy to indulge and spend all your equus on everything Howrse has to offer (yes, I'm looking at you, Horns of Plenty sitting in my inventory after blowing my entire reserve on you). But I am here to the rescue, to tell you my tips on scrimping and saving on Howrse! This is not a guide on making money, but more a guide as to how to not spend quite as much money on Howrse.
Tip #1: Board
When you own a lot of horses and need to board a lot, the cost of giving your stock a place to lay there head can seriously rack up. You can save a lot by not being selective as to *must have a trough and shower*, especially if you're only boarding horses so they can be bedded. Filter the ECs by cheapest first or select a maximum rate that you'll pay per night. You'll often find that poor skilled horses can get into ECs with showers and troughs, but you'll pay maximum rate for it, whereas when your horse is fully skilled you can get more luxurious ECs at a lower rate, purely because the EC owners begrudge giving horses that contribute towards their prestige a good time. Another way to reduce your losses through board is to not board horses you don't need - believe it or not it does your horses no harm to not board and not work. You can work a horse without it being in an EC and not bed it down, and it will freeze in time until it is bedded down. If you have them, Hypnos' Blankets mean you can bed your horses down without an EC, which will save a lot of money in the long run.
Tip #2: EC Workshops are your BFF
It is always cheaper to make in your workshops (even when buying raw materials) than it is to buy in the shop. For example:
Water Trough: 1500 iron => 15 000 equus vs shop at 20 003 equus
Making your own bonuses for your horses can also save you a lot of money, especially when using leather and/or iron you received from growing cattle and boarder missions.
Tip #3: Horse Sales
When you're browsing the sales for horses, whether it be a unicorn, AP Hunter or GA, make sure you give yourself a budget. I wouldn't recommend spending more than 5000 on an AP hunter as all it needs to be is a horse, nothing special, to collect APs. Start with specific criteria for what you want, and if there's nothing within budget then compromise. If you were looking for a Shire with 3 coverings left but everything was too expensive, widen your search to Shires with 1 or 2 coverings left. You can always negotiate sales with the vendor, but don't offer a ridiculously low price (especially if passes are involved) or get offended if they reject your offer - they're trying to make money and you have to take that into account. It is also worth checking the auctions as low seniority players will use the auctions and prices are often lower than in the directs.
Tip #4: Buying items that vary in price
Items that are not infinitely stocked in the shop will fluctuate in price slightly depending on their stock (the more there is, the lower the price). Bear this is mind if buying tack/field and box enhancements/bonuses as patience may give you a discount. This also works when selling items, as when the price for purchasing is higher, the profit you get from selling is higher.
Tip #5: Storing Equus in Wheat Bran
When buying a pass with your reserve or paying vets fees, it is representative to your reserve. If you're buying a pass and don't want too much money to go down the drain, you can buy wheat bran (a lot), buy your pass and then sell the wheat bran back. Why wheat bran? It costs 1 equus to buy and 1 equus to sell, so you don't lose any money when selling it back.
Tip #6: Item Exchanges
Don't do what I did: buying a HoP for 300 000 then realising there were others for sale for 250 000. Bad move. Don't ever just buy the first BMI you want that you see, as there might be somebody selling one cheaper, or somebody selling 2 in one cheaper than it would be to buy 2 separately - also saving you a trade slot. Unless it's a high pass item such as a Nyx Pack or HoP, I would never spend 200k+ on an item. Think about how much the item is worth when paying for it, and only pay more when you need it desperately. Other than that, be patient and somebody will have one for sale at a price you can pay.
Tip #7: Promos
Most promos require equus at some point for asking friends for help, donating to Ow or buying extras. Sometimes the equus is optional towards you completing an objective, and if you don't need to spend the money to advance - don't. In the Great Challenge and Dice events, do as much as you can without spending money on asking for help or re-rolls. For lotteries, get a lot of friends and give them tickets - they'll give you them back and it saves you buying them. for card promos, unless you have the equus to spare and are desperate for a diamond/gold card, I wouldn't really bother spending money on the auctions/directs.
Tip #8: Coverings
Coverings can be expensive and cost up to 10 000 equus each when adding in vet fees. It may be best first clicking a random covering to see what your vet fee is first, then factoring that into your budget. If there are people who you know breed good stallions for a certain breed, it may be worth being cheeky and asking them if you can have a lower grade covering for a cheaper price. One thing I advise is to never scrimp on BLUP, as you wan't the best possible foal out of a covering.
Well, I think that covers all of my cheapskate tips! I hope you found this useful and leave any extra tips in the comments.
Happy Howrseing
F x
Tip #1: Board
When you own a lot of horses and need to board a lot, the cost of giving your stock a place to lay there head can seriously rack up. You can save a lot by not being selective as to *must have a trough and shower*, especially if you're only boarding horses so they can be bedded. Filter the ECs by cheapest first or select a maximum rate that you'll pay per night. You'll often find that poor skilled horses can get into ECs with showers and troughs, but you'll pay maximum rate for it, whereas when your horse is fully skilled you can get more luxurious ECs at a lower rate, purely because the EC owners begrudge giving horses that contribute towards their prestige a good time. Another way to reduce your losses through board is to not board horses you don't need - believe it or not it does your horses no harm to not board and not work. You can work a horse without it being in an EC and not bed it down, and it will freeze in time until it is bedded down. If you have them, Hypnos' Blankets mean you can bed your horses down without an EC, which will save a lot of money in the long run.
Tip #2: EC Workshops are your BFF
It is always cheaper to make in your workshops (even when buying raw materials) than it is to buy in the shop. For example:
Water Trough: 1500 iron => 15 000 equus vs shop at 20 003 equus
Making your own bonuses for your horses can also save you a lot of money, especially when using leather and/or iron you received from growing cattle and boarder missions.
Tip #3: Horse Sales
When you're browsing the sales for horses, whether it be a unicorn, AP Hunter or GA, make sure you give yourself a budget. I wouldn't recommend spending more than 5000 on an AP hunter as all it needs to be is a horse, nothing special, to collect APs. Start with specific criteria for what you want, and if there's nothing within budget then compromise. If you were looking for a Shire with 3 coverings left but everything was too expensive, widen your search to Shires with 1 or 2 coverings left. You can always negotiate sales with the vendor, but don't offer a ridiculously low price (especially if passes are involved) or get offended if they reject your offer - they're trying to make money and you have to take that into account. It is also worth checking the auctions as low seniority players will use the auctions and prices are often lower than in the directs.
Tip #4: Buying items that vary in price
Items that are not infinitely stocked in the shop will fluctuate in price slightly depending on their stock (the more there is, the lower the price). Bear this is mind if buying tack/field and box enhancements/bonuses as patience may give you a discount. This also works when selling items, as when the price for purchasing is higher, the profit you get from selling is higher.
Tip #5: Storing Equus in Wheat Bran
When buying a pass with your reserve or paying vets fees, it is representative to your reserve. If you're buying a pass and don't want too much money to go down the drain, you can buy wheat bran (a lot), buy your pass and then sell the wheat bran back. Why wheat bran? It costs 1 equus to buy and 1 equus to sell, so you don't lose any money when selling it back.
Tip #6: Item Exchanges
Don't do what I did: buying a HoP for 300 000 then realising there were others for sale for 250 000. Bad move. Don't ever just buy the first BMI you want that you see, as there might be somebody selling one cheaper, or somebody selling 2 in one cheaper than it would be to buy 2 separately - also saving you a trade slot. Unless it's a high pass item such as a Nyx Pack or HoP, I would never spend 200k+ on an item. Think about how much the item is worth when paying for it, and only pay more when you need it desperately. Other than that, be patient and somebody will have one for sale at a price you can pay.
Tip #7: Promos
Most promos require equus at some point for asking friends for help, donating to Ow or buying extras. Sometimes the equus is optional towards you completing an objective, and if you don't need to spend the money to advance - don't. In the Great Challenge and Dice events, do as much as you can without spending money on asking for help or re-rolls. For lotteries, get a lot of friends and give them tickets - they'll give you them back and it saves you buying them. for card promos, unless you have the equus to spare and are desperate for a diamond/gold card, I wouldn't really bother spending money on the auctions/directs.
Tip #8: Coverings
Coverings can be expensive and cost up to 10 000 equus each when adding in vet fees. It may be best first clicking a random covering to see what your vet fee is first, then factoring that into your budget. If there are people who you know breed good stallions for a certain breed, it may be worth being cheeky and asking them if you can have a lower grade covering for a cheaper price. One thing I advise is to never scrimp on BLUP, as you wan't the best possible foal out of a covering.
Well, I think that covers all of my cheapskate tips! I hope you found this useful and leave any extra tips in the comments.
Happy Howrseing
F x
Thursday, 2 June 2016
The Grand Prix
The Grand Prix - the most prestigious competition on Howrse. Winnings are big, but the bragging rights are even bigger. But what is the Grand Prix really all about, and how do you improve your placings?
The Grand Prix is a week long contest, starting at Midnight on Sunday(so Monday morning) and ending at Midnight on Friday. Each day consists of one of the 5 competitions, with it being seperate Grand Prixs for each discipline: Western and Classical.
The ticket for the Grand Prix is found in the Horn of Plenty and once you recieve it, lasts forever. Don't worry if you don't find the ticket first time round - it's all down to luck.
Classical Grand Prix
Monday: Cross Country (primary skill: Stamina)
Tuesday: Trot Race (primary skill: Trot)
Wednesday: Showjumping (primary skill: Jump)
Thursday: Dressage (primary skill: Dressage)
Friday: Gallop Race (primary skill: Gallop)
Western Grand Prix
Monday: Cutting (primary skill: Stamina)
Tuesday: Western Pleasure (primary skill: Trot)
Wednesday: Reining (primary skill: Gallop)
Thursday: Trail Class (primary skill: Dressage)
Friday: Barrel Racing (primary skill: Speed)
So as you can see, both Prixs are similar in that most days the primary skill tested is the same, with the only difference being Classical tests jump and Western tests speed. I have found, unlike normal competitions, that the primary skill matters a lot more than the secondary (as Akhal-Tekes win the Cross Country with highest stamina on the UK server, instead of the Nokotas with best Dressage). Also, BLUP does not affect the Grand Prix.
The Grand Prix takes up 10 hours in your horse's day and needs 99% of energy, but only 89.1% if your horse has a shower in it's box.
The Grand Prix is incredibly rewarding. Each horse entered gives you 500 equus prize money (totalling 2000 equus per day, and 10 000 equus each week!) and each day the following prizes are also given out to the very best:
1st Place: 4 passes (which is pretty awesome)
2nd Place: 2 passes (still awesome)
3rd Place: 1 pass (quite awesome)
4th Place: 1 Horseshoe studs (the bonus that gives a +12 Dressage bonus)
5th Place: One Piece of Cloud (useful for skilling and also tradeable!)
Horses that place in the top 10 also recieve their own pretty Prix rosette on their public page.
Then, at the end of the week if you participate in all 5 competitons in either or both discipline you recieve a ranking for each Prix. The top 10 get trophies/rosettes that are displayed on their page, and the top 100 recieve the fountain bonus. The rounded trophies and rosettes on player's pages are from the Classical prix, and the more angular rosettes are from the Western. You can check your horse's position every day from the competitons page and by clicking on the Grand Prix box in the top right.
The Fountain Bonus
The Fountain Bonus replaces the normal image with this snazzy fountain and triples the energy and morale given by a drink, resulting in:
Box without water trough: Morale +1%, Energy +2% => Morale +3%, Energy +6%
Box with water trough: Morale +4%, Energy +8% => Morale +12%, Energy +24%
The fountain bonus teamed with a water trough actually increases the energy and morale gained by drinking 12-fold, making it a super useful bonus when blupping!
The Horn of Plenty Bonuses
Extra Grand Prix Bonuses can be gained when opening Horns of Plenty. They are all weather themed and are useful for reducing the energy/time taken and also some provide super cool bonuses for your horses! The bonuses from left to right are:
Tranquility of the Breeze: reduces the length from 10 hours to 3 hours
Energy of the Thunderstorm: reduces energy cost from 99% to 55% (and will probably reduce even further when teamed with the shower!)
Strength of the Typhoon: Doubles the winnings you recieve from each contestant (4000 equus a day, 20 000 equus a week!)
Effect of the Tornado: You can enter 4 horses in each event instead of 2 (40 000 equus a week!)
Appearance of the Hurricane: Your horses recieve a +9 bonus in Gallop, Jumping and Trot when entering the Prix events
Power of the Storm: Your horses recieve a +9 bonus in Stamina, Dressage and Speed when entering the Grand Prix events
Bonus Monsoon: Doubles the effect of the Hurricane and Storm
The breeze and thunderstorm are useful for reducing the time and energy it takes your horses, which is useful if you also want to do other things with your horse before aging them. The typhoon and tornado are brilliant for increasing the money you earn from the Prix - up to 40k a week! My personal favourite has got to be the hurricane and storm as this gives you an extra edge over the competition and can bump up your placings, and when teamed with the monsoon, gives you an extra extra edgy (makes you pretty edgy, huh?). I'm guessing it takes many, many, many Horns of Plenty to find these bonuses so I wouldn't worry too much if you don't find them, as there are other ways to bump up your Grand Prix placings!
Bumping up your Ranking
Tip #1: using better horses. Always enter your best horses into the Prix, and if possible buy better horses especially for the Prix. I don't breed Akhal-Tekes, but I managed to buy a decent, 100 BLUP stallion for 500equus and 1 pass (1 pass well spent as he places around 100th each week!). If you wanted to go big or go home, you can always splash out and buy skillers (I'll hopefully do a post on skilling in the near future) with the most expensive being up to 10 passes for the best. If you aren't sure where to start, here's some advice on what breed to go for (based on UK server)
Cross Country: Akhal-Teke
Trot Race: French Trotter
Showjumping: Holsteiner
Dressage: Nokota
Gallop: Thoroughbred
Cutting: Akhal-Teke
Western Pleasure: Tennessee Walker
Reining: Irish Hunter
Trail Class: Nokota
Barrel Racing: Arabian
Tip #2: Bonuses are you best friend! Stick on everything you can afford that adds a bonus:
- Golden/Vintage Apple gives +5 bonuses in all skills
- Medusa's Blood gives a +3 in stamina and a +4 in speed and dressage
- Poseidon Pack tack gives a +6 in everything with each tack piece
- The comb found through missions gives a +4 in stamina and speed
- The tub of grease found through missions gives a +8 bonus in stamina and speed
- The hoofpick gives a +8 in dressage
- The whip gives a +4 in dressage and a +9 in gallop, trot and jumping
- The bell boots give a +6 in speed, dressage and jumping
- Spurs give a +9 in everything
- The lunge gives a +12 in dressage and +10 in gallop and trot
- Horseshoe studs give a +12 in dressage
Other bonuses include:
-The gelding bonus of +8 in stamina and speed and +4 in dressage
- The Falabella bonus of +9 in stamina, +8 in dressage and +7 in jumping
- An equestrian centre bonus up to +40 in all skills
- Bonuses from the special coat black market items: 5th element, Bewitched Pumpking and Seal of the Apocalypse. My personal recommendations as to the best for each one is the Bellum coat (Seal of Apocalypse), the bat (Bewitched Pumpkin) and the Metal 5th element coat.
Another useful tip is not to worry if your horse is coming around 150-200th in each event - you will probably still achieve a ranking. I have found it easier to achieve a ranking in the Western Prix as less people enter it, therefore your horse places higher and your overall ranking is higher.You should also always be training new horses every few weeks, otherwise your ranking will slip out of the top 100 and you will lose the fountain bonus. Training new horses and buying skillers also boosts your general ranking, so not only will you be placing in Prix rankings, but will become one of the top few 1000 or even higher....
On Prix days, my typical routine for horses competing is as follows:
8:00 wake up
8:30 Groom
10:30 lesson
10:45 Carrot
11:15 Feed up to 100% energy
21:15: GRAND PRIX
21:45: Stroke
22:00: Drink
If you want your horse to go to bed at 10, you need to have a water trough in their box. If they don't, they will need to have the mash and go to bed late to ensure they have the 20% of energy they need. Going to bed late means their energy and morale is lower the next day but this is easily resolved with grooming. If your horse doesn't have a water trough and you have enough ageing points to age inbetween Prix competitions, aging inbetween is a good way to ensure you horse wakes up with the most amount of energy, health and morale it can. Black Market items are useful here too. Horses with a Nyx Pack have the Nyx Star and wake up at 6:00, meaning you can bring their energy back above 20%. The Achilles' Heel also means your horse can go to bed late with less than 20% of energy and wake up in the morning right as rain!
Remember, Grand Prix rankings aren't the be-all and end-all. There are plenty of other ways to succeed on Howrse, but the Grand Prix is a good measure of how well your horses perform compared to others overall. It also brings a sense of pride when a horse you bred and raised performs well!
Good Luck and Happy Howrseing!
F x
 |
The ticket for the Grand Prix is found in the Horn of Plenty and once you recieve it, lasts forever. Don't worry if you don't find the ticket first time round - it's all down to luck.
Classical Grand Prix
Monday: Cross Country (primary skill: Stamina)
Tuesday: Trot Race (primary skill: Trot)
Wednesday: Showjumping (primary skill: Jump)
Thursday: Dressage (primary skill: Dressage)
Friday: Gallop Race (primary skill: Gallop)
Western Grand Prix
Monday: Cutting (primary skill: Stamina)
Tuesday: Western Pleasure (primary skill: Trot)
Wednesday: Reining (primary skill: Gallop)
Thursday: Trail Class (primary skill: Dressage)
Friday: Barrel Racing (primary skill: Speed)
So as you can see, both Prixs are similar in that most days the primary skill tested is the same, with the only difference being Classical tests jump and Western tests speed. I have found, unlike normal competitions, that the primary skill matters a lot more than the secondary (as Akhal-Tekes win the Cross Country with highest stamina on the UK server, instead of the Nokotas with best Dressage). Also, BLUP does not affect the Grand Prix.
The Grand Prix takes up 10 hours in your horse's day and needs 99% of energy, but only 89.1% if your horse has a shower in it's box.
The Grand Prix is incredibly rewarding. Each horse entered gives you 500 equus prize money (totalling 2000 equus per day, and 10 000 equus each week!) and each day the following prizes are also given out to the very best:
1st Place: 4 passes (which is pretty awesome)
2nd Place: 2 passes (still awesome)
3rd Place: 1 pass (quite awesome)
4th Place: 1 Horseshoe studs (the bonus that gives a +12 Dressage bonus)
5th Place: One Piece of Cloud (useful for skilling and also tradeable!)
Horses that place in the top 10 also recieve their own pretty Prix rosette on their public page.
Then, at the end of the week if you participate in all 5 competitons in either or both discipline you recieve a ranking for each Prix. The top 10 get trophies/rosettes that are displayed on their page, and the top 100 recieve the fountain bonus. The rounded trophies and rosettes on player's pages are from the Classical prix, and the more angular rosettes are from the Western. You can check your horse's position every day from the competitons page and by clicking on the Grand Prix box in the top right.
The Fountain Bonus
The Fountain Bonus replaces the normal image with this snazzy fountain and triples the energy and morale given by a drink, resulting in:Box without water trough: Morale +1%, Energy +2% => Morale +3%, Energy +6%
Box with water trough: Morale +4%, Energy +8% => Morale +12%, Energy +24%
The fountain bonus teamed with a water trough actually increases the energy and morale gained by drinking 12-fold, making it a super useful bonus when blupping!
The Horn of Plenty Bonuses
 |
| As you can see, I don't have any Prix bonuses *cries* |
Tranquility of the Breeze: reduces the length from 10 hours to 3 hours
Energy of the Thunderstorm: reduces energy cost from 99% to 55% (and will probably reduce even further when teamed with the shower!)
Strength of the Typhoon: Doubles the winnings you recieve from each contestant (4000 equus a day, 20 000 equus a week!)
Effect of the Tornado: You can enter 4 horses in each event instead of 2 (40 000 equus a week!)
Appearance of the Hurricane: Your horses recieve a +9 bonus in Gallop, Jumping and Trot when entering the Prix events
Power of the Storm: Your horses recieve a +9 bonus in Stamina, Dressage and Speed when entering the Grand Prix events
Bonus Monsoon: Doubles the effect of the Hurricane and Storm
The breeze and thunderstorm are useful for reducing the time and energy it takes your horses, which is useful if you also want to do other things with your horse before aging them. The typhoon and tornado are brilliant for increasing the money you earn from the Prix - up to 40k a week! My personal favourite has got to be the hurricane and storm as this gives you an extra edge over the competition and can bump up your placings, and when teamed with the monsoon, gives you an extra extra edgy (makes you pretty edgy, huh?). I'm guessing it takes many, many, many Horns of Plenty to find these bonuses so I wouldn't worry too much if you don't find them, as there are other ways to bump up your Grand Prix placings!
Bumping up your Ranking
Tip #1: using better horses. Always enter your best horses into the Prix, and if possible buy better horses especially for the Prix. I don't breed Akhal-Tekes, but I managed to buy a decent, 100 BLUP stallion for 500equus and 1 pass (1 pass well spent as he places around 100th each week!). If you wanted to go big or go home, you can always splash out and buy skillers (I'll hopefully do a post on skilling in the near future) with the most expensive being up to 10 passes for the best. If you aren't sure where to start, here's some advice on what breed to go for (based on UK server)
Cross Country: Akhal-Teke
Trot Race: French Trotter
Showjumping: Holsteiner
Dressage: Nokota
Gallop: Thoroughbred
Cutting: Akhal-Teke
Western Pleasure: Tennessee Walker
Reining: Irish Hunter
Trail Class: Nokota
Barrel Racing: Arabian
Tip #2: Bonuses are you best friend! Stick on everything you can afford that adds a bonus:
- Golden/Vintage Apple gives +5 bonuses in all skills
- Medusa's Blood gives a +3 in stamina and a +4 in speed and dressage
- Poseidon Pack tack gives a +6 in everything with each tack piece
- The comb found through missions gives a +4 in stamina and speed
- The tub of grease found through missions gives a +8 bonus in stamina and speed
- The hoofpick gives a +8 in dressage
- The whip gives a +4 in dressage and a +9 in gallop, trot and jumping
- The bell boots give a +6 in speed, dressage and jumping
- Spurs give a +9 in everything
- The lunge gives a +12 in dressage and +10 in gallop and trot
- Horseshoe studs give a +12 in dressage
Other bonuses include:
-The gelding bonus of +8 in stamina and speed and +4 in dressage
- The Falabella bonus of +9 in stamina, +8 in dressage and +7 in jumping
- An equestrian centre bonus up to +40 in all skills
- Bonuses from the special coat black market items: 5th element, Bewitched Pumpking and Seal of the Apocalypse. My personal recommendations as to the best for each one is the Bellum coat (Seal of Apocalypse), the bat (Bewitched Pumpkin) and the Metal 5th element coat.
Another useful tip is not to worry if your horse is coming around 150-200th in each event - you will probably still achieve a ranking. I have found it easier to achieve a ranking in the Western Prix as less people enter it, therefore your horse places higher and your overall ranking is higher.You should also always be training new horses every few weeks, otherwise your ranking will slip out of the top 100 and you will lose the fountain bonus. Training new horses and buying skillers also boosts your general ranking, so not only will you be placing in Prix rankings, but will become one of the top few 1000 or even higher....
On Prix days, my typical routine for horses competing is as follows:
8:00 wake up
8:30 Groom
10:30 lesson
10:45 Carrot
11:15 Feed up to 100% energy
21:15: GRAND PRIX
21:45: Stroke
22:00: Drink
If you want your horse to go to bed at 10, you need to have a water trough in their box. If they don't, they will need to have the mash and go to bed late to ensure they have the 20% of energy they need. Going to bed late means their energy and morale is lower the next day but this is easily resolved with grooming. If your horse doesn't have a water trough and you have enough ageing points to age inbetween Prix competitions, aging inbetween is a good way to ensure you horse wakes up with the most amount of energy, health and morale it can. Black Market items are useful here too. Horses with a Nyx Pack have the Nyx Star and wake up at 6:00, meaning you can bring their energy back above 20%. The Achilles' Heel also means your horse can go to bed late with less than 20% of energy and wake up in the morning right as rain!
Remember, Grand Prix rankings aren't the be-all and end-all. There are plenty of other ways to succeed on Howrse, but the Grand Prix is a good measure of how well your horses perform compared to others overall. It also brings a sense of pride when a horse you bred and raised performs well!
Good Luck and Happy Howrseing!
F x
Wednesday, 1 June 2016
A Warm Welcome to Howrseing About!
Welcome to Howrseing About! This blog aims to give you information about all aspects of Howrse - promotions, breeding, blupping, improving ECs, jargon-busting and much more!
But first I must introduce myself. I am FlyingChanges, a player on the UK server since December 2015, however I used to play on the International server many moons ago - I remember the Vintage Apple coats and the introduction of companions, the gemstone divines, wandering horses and when chrissyh was #1 on International!
My experiences on both servers and returning to Howrse with hindsight has given me a unique perspective. I can relate to players who are new and struggle with the concept of the game, but also understand players like myself who are trying to make a name for themselves. Another unique aspect is my experience with elite players. Another member of my family played International with me as a pass-buyer and I have seen how this affects gameplay - so I can also do my best to provide useful information to these people. My personal forte is breeding Purebred Spanish Horses and also having a top 200 Equestrian Centre. I am also often seen on all 4 forums providing helpful advice and sometimes humourous comments! My aims include having a top 100 Equestrian centre, making it to the best 500 (currently 600) and reaching 2400GP with my breed.
If you are reading this blog and enjoy any aspect, please leave a comment and share this blog, and if you play on the UK server don't be scared to say hello!
Happy Howrseing
F x
But first I must introduce myself. I am FlyingChanges, a player on the UK server since December 2015, however I used to play on the International server many moons ago - I remember the Vintage Apple coats and the introduction of companions, the gemstone divines, wandering horses and when chrissyh was #1 on International!
My experiences on both servers and returning to Howrse with hindsight has given me a unique perspective. I can relate to players who are new and struggle with the concept of the game, but also understand players like myself who are trying to make a name for themselves. Another unique aspect is my experience with elite players. Another member of my family played International with me as a pass-buyer and I have seen how this affects gameplay - so I can also do my best to provide useful information to these people. My personal forte is breeding Purebred Spanish Horses and also having a top 200 Equestrian Centre. I am also often seen on all 4 forums providing helpful advice and sometimes humourous comments! My aims include having a top 100 Equestrian centre, making it to the best 500 (currently 600) and reaching 2400GP with my breed.
If you are reading this blog and enjoy any aspect, please leave a comment and share this blog, and if you play on the UK server don't be scared to say hello!
Happy Howrseing
F x
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