Remedy to Reduce Ridiculously Rare Roos: Revamp Regard

Team Meeroos has recently increased the amount of influence Regard has on breeding. In case you do not know: both Personal Regard and Meeroo Regard work together to enhance the likelihood of rarer trait Nests. Traits from further back in the Meeroo genetic history. From the blog post: "We have significantly increased the bonus regard rewards a player and a meeroo that allows it the chance to reach further back in their genetic timeline." Malevay Studios has decided that new traits are not being unlocked quickly enough. As they say; the game was meant to be difficult but not this difficult.

I do not mind it being difficult, I think it makes rare Meeroos even more sought after. On the other hand it is no fun if you never get anything cool. There has to be a reasonable balance. I have to admit Meeroos can be stubborn when it comes to producing rare traits. I have been disappointed with quite a few of my Nests. I have been overjoyed by others though and that before the Regard enhancement.

The Regard enhancement is a good move. I think it will encourage some people who might have been close to giving up Meeroos to try a bit longer. Maybe a few people who were getting fed up with the difficulty of the breeding system will find it less trying with the new Regard boost. I hope so, the more people who have Meeroos the better it is for the Meeroos Community. I hope the boost does not make things too easy, or make to many traits common. I did have a Highland coat the day after the increase was announced. Could be coincidence, or it could be a direct effect of the change. Either way I am thrilled to have it. There are quite a few people out there getting surprise Nests.

Nobody knows what sort of effect the change will have on Meeroo sales, if any. Over the next few weeks we may see some traits now considered rare become much less so. Some may even cross the line from rare to common. I think it is likely that prices will drop, at least a bit, for some medium to high rarity Meeroos. Also you may reap the rewards of the Regard bonus yourself and have a Nest with the genetics you are looking to buy now; from pairs that may never have given you much of anything before. Those that have produced good Nests in the past may now sometimes give you exceptional Meeroos.

Once more I am impressed with Team Meeroos responsiveness. They noticed that things are going a bit slowly and took steps to tweak the game, to make it better. I am also pleased that the MeePet has not been forgotten, Catherine says on the blog: "The MeePet option is on the way." That is good news for me. It looks like MeePet Meeroos will still have to eat, but they will eat a special food: Honey. Honey will be available for free from Meeroos stores. A honey dipper will be used on a Meeroo to convert it, permanently, to a MeePet which can not gain Regard or breed. I would very much like to know if the Owner gets the Regard for a Meeroo lured into the honeyed world of the MeePet?

The Oracle is getting out her quiz book and scribbling down some new questions for us. Old oracle questions are being phased out and replaced with some new ones. I have already answered a few questions today I have never seen before. I hope this will reduce the practice of having Oracle question & answer sheets. Any in existence now will be obsolete fairly soon. It is a bit exciting to get a new question, even if you get it wrong, like I do, most of the time.

So, good changes already. Looking forward to the release of MeePets and enjoying new oracle questions in the meantime. Keeping an eye out for new, better Nests as a result of the Regard enhancement. All that and, as of today, it is only 83 days until October. I do not know when in October the Meeroos expansion is planned for, but the close in countdown begins on the 1st! If you have not read the Meeroos blog post referenced above you can find it HERE, I suggest you check it out.

Going once, going twice, I just keep going: Meeroos Auctions

Meeroos auctions are a lot of fun. If you have any interest in buying for selling Meeroos I suggest you check a few out. I do mean a few and I will tell you why a bit further down. Even if you do not have a Meeroo to sell or any plans to purchase one you might still learn a few things from watching an auction. It gets more exciting if you do have a Meeroo to sell. Or if you are looking to bid on something special and hoping to get a deal. There are certainly deals to be had and the auctions are not nearly as scary as they might appear if you have never participated in one before.

Auctions are a good place to buy and sell more unusual, rarer Meeroos. A normal Meeroo without any special traits is not going to be cost effective to sell in most cases. Where auctions really come into their own is with rare Meeroos and Meeroos with exceptional heritage. The parentage of Meeroos can be highlighted better in an auction than a store. Many of the people attending auctions have an understanding of the importance of genetics and they pay attention when Mother and Father data is read out. If you have a Meeroo that is not overly special itself but has rare trait parents; an auction may be the way to go.

Of course special Meeroos are even better, sometimes ultra new traits are only available at auction. Attending an auction or two will give you an idea of the current value of new traits and where prices have dropped to on older traits. The secondary market can be a volatile place and prices change rapidly. Store and marketplace prices take a few days to catch up to auction valuations. Some store owners are very active with pricing and stay right on top of current market prices. Others are less so and their prices may not be indicative of the current market value of a specific Meeroo. You can go to a lot of markets and still be unsure what the Meeroo you have, or want, is worth. Attend an auction or two you should have a much more accurate idea of what you should ask, or pay. [All Meeroo value is, of course, subjective. They have no objective value, but are worth what people are willing to pay or what it would cost for you to be willing to part with one.]

Not all auctions are the same. I am not going to use any auction house names here but some are better than others. It is all about the auctioneer. The auctioneer brings their personality to the table and they use it to sell Meeroos. An interesting auctioneer can hold the audiences attention, keeping people interested and, most importantly, in their seats. A good auctioneer brings excitement to the auction, they talk up the Meeroos and point out their rare traits and parents genetics. A good auctioneer makes the auction process fun and keeps you entertained. The last thing you want is someone you can not understand, or who talks in an eternal monotone. A good auctioneer is organized and fluid. While there are always problems with everything in SL, having a good speaker at the helm makes for an enjoyable experience. Before you book an auction space, drop by an auction and check out the auctioneer. If you are not impressed your potential buyers probably will not be either. The more auctions you observe the better you will be able to separate the good from the bad ones. Keep looking until you find an auctioneer you like.

Check how quickly the auction you are interested in fills up. If they still have over half their slots open half an hour before the auction starts... well it might be an off day, or the middle of the week, or it might be an unpopular auction. The popular auctions fill up fast. You may find you have to reserve your slot almost immediately after the preceding auction ends. Auctions that are filled far in advance tend to be well attended and, for me, much more exciting for buyers and sellers both.

You do need to be able to run voice for most, if not all, auctions. The auctioneer will be using voice to conduct the auction while bidding is done by shouting in chat. This ensures that the auctioneer can see/hear your chat and does not miss any bids. I would not suggest trying to enter, or bid, in a voice auction if you can not use voice on your computer. To prepare you for one thing that amused me: some people say "Meeroos" in, well, unexpected ways. I do not know what the correct, or official, pronunciation is. I do know that hearing people say it differently than I do makes me smile.

The process for entering your Meeroo in most auctions is as follows: A few hours [or more] before your auction starts you go to the auction area and select the slot, or slots that you want. The norm seems to be to limit individuals to two (2) slots each. Some auction houses allow multiple items on a single slot so long as they are sold as a lot, not individually. After paying the rental Object for the slot you want you will need to join the auction house Group so you can rez and fill out a notecard about your Meeroo. Often the Group invite is automatic when you pay to rent the slot, other times you may have to find a group joiner sign or Object. If you find you can not rez your Meeroo it may be because you are not in the land group or are not wearing the correct Group tag. There are different guidelines on when you can and should rez your Meeroos for auction. You can normally find that information in the notecard you fill out for the auction. That notecard will need to be filled out with all of the important information about your Meeroo. The auctioneers can not do their job whilst camera controlling about and clicking on Meeroos, so they work off notecards. It is important that you get all of the information requested on the notecard and that it is correct. Most auction houses request that you get your notecard turned in no later than two (2) hours before the auction starts.

A word on pricing: one way to keep the auction fun and exciting rather than scary or nerve racking is to set your minimum price at what you would be happy to accept for the Meeroo you are selling. Ask yourself if you would be happy selling the Meeroo for the opening bid and no more. Do not price your Meeroo so low that you could be disappointed with the price you get for it. If you feel your Meeroo is worth L$3,000, then set its minimum bid to that. Even if you saw one go for L$2,500 yesterday, or you think if you start low people will bid it above 3K. That way you can sit back and enjoy the auction and if your Meeroo does not sell then you are only out your slot fee, normally L$50 to L$100. You can always re-list it again another day, or at another auction.

Be aware that auctions are lengthy. There are speed auctions that complete in half an hour but that is not the standard. Auctions can take quite some time depending on the number of slots they have and how many are filled. I estimate it can take two (2) to five (5) minutes a slot in a normal auction, sometimes more. If you are slot number ten (10) you might be waiting almost an hour for your turn. Of course if you are there to buy as well then it is not really waiting, is it? Just be aware that you will need to be present when your Meeroo is auctioned. As soon as the auction completes you need to be able to set the Meeroo for sale so the winner can buy it. If you are not there your Meeroo can not be sold. Auctions are time consuming but worth the effort especially when that clear eye goes for twice what you expected for it, or you buy that teacup you wanted for half what you thought you would have to pay.

Final thought: If you are not having fun, you are doing it wrong. For me Meeroos are all about having fun. If you are only involved with Meeroos to make a profit then auctions may, or may not be for you. If you want to have a good time and maybe make a few L$ in the process I suggest you check some out. You might find that perfect Meeroo for less than you expected.

Meeroos: Prices and Discount Analysis

Time for a math post! I can tell you are all excited, overjoyed even. But it is better than it sounds. I have been crunching some numbers and come up with some interesting figures for purchasing Meeroos directly from the Meeroos store. Please keep in mind I am not an accountant and it is possible there are mistakes either in logic or math or both. If you bring them to my attention I will fix them. Be aware that these figures are nest-price-centric, that is: they are primarily based on figuring out the best price-per-nest and take the cost of Meeroo Food and Home Stumps as given and not discounted when part of a Meeroo Pack. That focus can skew the data a bit sometimes making it look like something is a better or worse deal than it really is. Make sure to check how much Food and how many Stumps you get with each package, it can vary drastically.

I have embedded my charts at the bottom of this post. I am going to have a go at explaining it in words a bit first, hopefully that will make more sense and provide some context for the charts. If you prefer raw data: just scroll to the bottom.

 Meeroo Packs

The Family Pack contains six (6) Meeroo Nests, two (2) Home Stumps and enough food for twenty-eight (28) days. The Pack retails for L$5,199. That is L$3,499 for the Nests if you assume no discount on Food and Home Stumps which makes each nest: L$583.17. The overall discount based on how much it would cost to buy all items in the Pack individually is: L$617 or 11% off. [Pack Value: L$5,816]

The Meeroo Medium Pack comes with four (4) Meeroo Nests, one (1) Home Stump and enough food for seven (7) days. Notice that you get a lot less food per Meeroo by dropping from the Family Pack to the Medium Pack. You will need to buy more Food after seven (7) days instead of twenty-eight (28). However since the Pack sells for L$2,799 of which L$2,324 is for Nests, the price-per-nest is only: L$581, slightly less than for the Family Pack. This is, in my opinion the best value Pack for your L$. Your mileage may vary. If you need loads of Meeroo Food in your Pack, I would go with the Family Pack. If you have enough food all-ready the Medium Pack has the lowest price-per-nest, again that is without applying any price reduction to Food or Homes despite being included in the discounted Pack. The discount for this pack, over buying each item individually is: L$420 or 13% off. [Pack Value: L$3,219] Overall a slightly better deal than the Family Pack in many cases.

Next is the Meeroo Pair Pack. It comes with two (2) Meeroo Nests, one (1) Home Stump and food for seven (7) days for your Meeroos. The Pair Pack is going for L$1,599. Of that I calculated L$1,223 was for the Nests making the Nest price: L$611.50 each. That is L$30.50 more per Nest than in the Medium Pack and the food will last you just as long although it is half the amount of food since there are half the Meeroos of a Family Pack. Discount over buying each item: L$149 or 9% off. [Pack Value: L$1,748]

Lastly the Single Meeroo Pack AKA "Me and My Meeroo" Pack which, obviously, contains one (1) Meeroo Nest as well as one (1) Home Stump and seven (7) days worth of Food. Its price is: L$999 and this is where I calculated the base price for a non-discounted Meeroo Nest. It is used throughout the charts below. I figure the price of a single Meeroo Nest to be: L$686 which is L$74.50 more per Nest than the Pair Pack and L$105 more than the Medium Pack. Again, it has half the food of the Pair Pack which will feed the single Meeroo for seven (7) days. There is no discount for buying this Pack and thus its value and cost are identical. [Pack Value L$999]

There is no guarantee that you will get an even mix of Males / Females in any pack listed above. If you need specific genders I suggest using the trade forums or purchasing Nests from the secondary market where their gender will be known prior to purchase. The trade forums are fantastic and currently people are responding very quickly. If you need to trade Meeroos for any reason I would try there first.

Meeroo Food

Food prices are very simple. You should always buy the biggest pack you can afford, unless you are planning on giving up Meeroos [Yikes! Don't do it!]. The bigger the pack the higher the discount.

The base food pack is enough food for one (1) Meeroo for one (1) week. It has no discount and is selling for: L$63 which works out to L$9 per day spent on food. The next step up, at L$225, is enough to feed one (1) Meeroo for four (4) weeks and works out to L$8.04 [11% discount] per day. The largest pack currently available is food for six (6) Meeroos for four (4) weeks and works out to L$7.14 [21% discount] a day. The largest pack costs: L$1,200.

Charts

I am embedding two (2) charts below. The first breaks down the prices and discounts, as well as cost of ownership, for all currently available Meeroo Packs and Food Packs. The second chart breaks down all of the combinations of Meeroo Packs you could buy to obtain a specific number of Meeroos. If you know how many Meeroos you want to have total it will show you the options you have to purchase that number. Make sure to keep an eye in the amount of Food you get and the Stump count. The most expensive way to buy any number of Meeroos is with Single Packs and you will end up with as many Home Stumps as you have Meeroos! I have tried to include every possible combination up to twelve (12) Meeroos, if I missed any let me know.






For the chart below: "#" is the number of Meeroos you wish to purchase. The column headers 1p through 6p stand for the Pack Nest count. So "1p" is the single Pack and "6p" is the Family Pack. "Food" indicates the number of days worth of food you get for the number of Meeroos you are buying. It is not a specific amount of food, but how long it will be before you will need to buy additional food if you use that purchasing option. I have alternated the background color to show where it changes from one quantity of Meeroos to another.






If you are interested in viewing these charts at a proper size, or on your local machine, you can view and download them! The first chart "Meeroos Price List Compare" is HERE and "Meeroo Price Breakdown by Quantity" is HERE. Enjoy! I hope you find them useful.