Any pass estimates on the Christmas promo? For the main divine, and then for getting all the divines? Sorry if it's too early to ask.

This is based on the images shown and last years costs. I picked this information from another site and think they are pretty close.

Rikiki Pack - 30Euro
20 passes
The Falabella unicorn Chiquitin
500,000 Equus
100 x Ageing point

LUCKY DAY PACK - 50 Euro
10 passes
A Divine Loki
2 months VIP account
4 x Titan's Challenge
4 x Golden Fleece
4 x Horn of Plenties

OLYMPUS PACK - 85Euro
80 passes
A divine mythological horse of your choice.
A divine Greyfell
A Hippogriff companion
1,000,000 Equus
200 x Ageing point

ULTIMATE PACK - 150Euro
110 passes
A divine mythological horse of your choice.
A divine Greyfell
The Falabella Unicorn Chiquitin
A divine Loki
A Hippogriff companion
2 months VIP account
4 x Titan's Challenge
4 x Golden Fleece
4 x Horn of Plenties
1,500,000 Equus
300 x Ageing point

So they cost real money.

Please tell me that buying the Christmas packs won't be the only way to get Loki. I'm going to be so disappointed if so.

@ cyberhorse; I know you just got some information regarding Christmas packs and it's not necessarily set in stone, but when more info becomes available could you let us know which divines we will be able to choose from? Thanks!

Aw, that's too bad with the Christmas packs this year. It would be amazing to be able to just buy with passes, even if it's a lot of them to make up for the fact that Howrse doesn't actually cash in on that.

BLUP Revaluation


The BLUP calculation has been reworked to ensure greater equity between breeders.

There was a certain imbalance in the way BLUP is calculated as well as in how the genetic potential and skills are passed down to foals. For example, training a horse in their 3 best skills counted more than age or wins when it came to calculating BLUP. On the other hand, an average BLUP that was lower than 100 would still give you a high enough genetic potential gain so that reaching 100 BLUP lost its interest for some people.

We wanted to give value back to the efforts of determined breeders who make the effort to get to 100 BLUP with their horses before breeding them and thus ensure a greater reward for breeding quality. So here are the changes we've just made.

For more comprehensive list of changes, please see the changelog.


BLUP Calculation


There’s now a better distribution of the 3 factors determining BLUP calculation: the BLUP calculation is less weighted toward training so that wins and horse age count more.

Win weighting: Each win gives you more BLUP than the previous win. The 20th win is therefore the most significant.

Age weighting: Each month gives you more BLUP than the previous month, so you get to the maximum when the horse reaches age 10.
Note: A horse’s BLUP updates after their first aging after the update.


Calculation of a foal's genetic potential


The formula for calculating a foal's genetic potential has been adjusted to change the BLUP factor in the formula.

If the parents' BLUP is below 100, the GP gain is weaker than before, whereas if the parents' BLUP is 100, nothing changes.

Note: Nothing changes for coverings that took place before the change: the genetic potential and innate skills of foals will stay the same as they were expected to be when the covering took place.


Other adjustments: Morpheus' Arms and Nyx Pack


You don't need to wait for a horse to be 3 years old now. You can give a foal Morpheus' Arms or even a Nyx Pack any time after they're born. So you can now save on some aging points!

On the other hand, any horse over 30 years old now loses their Morpheus' Arms.

It is for the Christmas promotion, which will come out probably in early December.

the gifts from the cards will be?

1. Return of the Advent Calendar. Works the same as last year mostly. Windows hold either prizes or decorations for the Pine Tree event. On Sundays there is a rare possibility you will find a divine. Je'Taime was possible the first Sunday, not sure the other days yet, or if these will be the divines in the live version. If you miss logging in to open a window you can pay to open it later, which starts at 500e, and I suspect it goes up with each window opened. My guess is that the Calendar will start on Dec. 1, then the Pine trees will open a week or two later.

2. Howrse.De's (German) birthday candle hunt. Works the same as candle hunts we've had for France and INT's birthday. You get clues to find 10 candles and when you get all the candles we get a prize (Vintage Apple). Super easy, and fun, so I won't bother posting the clues which looked to be the same ones as previous hunts. Someone posted the date for this, but I can't remember what it was

3. My Beautiful Pine Trees (main event):
It's quite different than we've had it in previous years. Please make note of the arrows/boxes/highlights etc. I made around important sections.

New divines:
Thor
Thor is one of the Nordic horses.
Lift the veil that has descended on the Nordic worlds by winning points with rides to Asgard, Midgard and Niflheim. Take care when choosing which ride to go on!
When you get to 420 points, the veil is raised and Thor gives you a prize:
eclairzeus 1 x Zeus' Lightning Bolt
This horse cannot be sold.

Loki
We do *not* know his perk yet. Judging by the images of the Xmas packs, we'll have to buy the Packs (costs real money) to get him. He'll likely be released later on in a TC or Fleece or something like the divine from last year, is my guess.

Blitzen
As noted in the Contest spoiler above she is gotten from the Pine Tree tutorial to help us earn decorations. We get to keep her *even after the event ends!!* but she won't have any bonuses. It's unknown at this time if she'll be able to enter regular competitions, or if she'll keep the skills gained from the contest.

Falacorns!
Looks like one of the Xmas Packs will contain a new Falacorn (that name is derived from the new Falabella Special Horses page. We don't have any perks/info for it yet, but it looks like a unicorn Falabella.

Pine Tree prizes:
The prizes probably don't seem like much, but keep in mind we are getting a free divine out of this. The tree and horse statue ornament are decorations to be used in the contest. The red tack items (Noelle) are a new tack set, that are identical to the one Blitzen wears and we'll be able to put those on regular horses.

Every year Howrse offers the Christmas Packs that can be bought with real money. Aside from the images posted we don't yet have details as to this year's price, date release or exact contents.
I'm not sure we were given this info during preprod last year anyway.





The Pine Tree offer:
Decoration Packs for 1 pass= 3 tinsel, 3 baubles, 3 ornaments.
I don't know if we'll be able to buy the divine ornaments (the tree and horse statue things) with passes or if maybe they will be in another pack. We've only been told of the Decoration Pack, but the Potions contest gave us two different packs and I don't remember the second being released on preprod.

Where to start...
Here are the ornament requirements collected. Still missing the other divine tree requirements. If you open the images and hit CTRL+scroll with the mouse wheel you can zoom in. Keep in mind it's possible for the requirements to change when this goes live.


If you want any of the divines, I recommend focusing on trees that each level you can complete with one decoration pack (I highlighted those). The blue highlights are more ideal because you only need 2 of each type and the Packs give 3 of each.

To get Thor in particular:
Since you have to first unlock trees by Blitzen gaining skills (you gain skills by decorating trees), focus on the Oriental tree first as each level can be completed with 1 Deco Pack. When you get 90 skills to unlock Bristlecone, work on level 1 only and complete that X times until you get 120 skills to unlock the Love Tree. Complete any or all of the first 3 levels as needed (you can either just do the first level, or go all the way to the A.Tear level if you want as the skills for finishing the Tears level is the same as if you'd completed the first level 3 times anyway) until you get 200 skills to unlock the Plant Tree. You now want to get to the 3rd level (the ornament level) and complete that level 11 times as on preprod at least we need 11 divine ornaments to get Thor. Since the 3rd level gives Blitzen 96 skills along with the ornament, the process of getting the ornaments will give Blitzen enough skills to unlock Thor's tree.

The details are sadly lacking, but since you can see the skill requirements to unlock each tree (that is the number underneath each tree name), along with the skills gained at each prize level and the ornaments required, someone might be able to figure out a better strategy with the info I've provided. But it also depends on if ornament requirements change or if we're able to buy divine ornaments during the contest.

So, there will be an advent calendar and there will be the Beautiful Pine Trees promos where you get decorations from the advent calendar.

Once the B_P_T promo starts you will get a divine named Blitzen that is specifically for use in helping you with the tree promo. You get the divine directly from completing the tutorial. You can take Blitzen on a sleigh ride every day for a free decoration and it can be in a special competition called "Skijoring" every day for a free decoration (as far as I can tell you just click enter and there is no way to "choose"). You can also get 2 decorations per day by "giving each day a candy cane to Blitzen and coming back the next day" (this last was translated from french using Google but blitzen has a candy cane in place of the carrot). Blitzen also starts with 0 skills and you will earn skills for it as you complete trees in the promo. Blitzen is "used" for obtaining the trees but there is no time to wait, you get the trees immediately. However Blitzen must have achieved a certain amount of skills for him to go get some of the trees.

The decorations are in four groups; baubles, tinsel, ornaments, and divine ornaments. Each tree only requests a certain number of each type and it doesn't matter which one you use as long as it is the right type. (so you will no longer NEED to have 14 skis for a particular tree or 3 bows for another tree). The regular gifts require only decorations from the first 3 groups. You will need divine ornaments only for the divines themselves and once again you only need a certain number, not particular ones.

Each tree is now "tiered" or can be "upgraded". So for example the simplist tree gives carrots as a reward (and 12 skill points to blitzen) and it costs 4 balls, 2 tinsel and 1 ornament. Once you have added those decorations you can take the carrots as a reward or you can "keep decorating". The tree grows bigger and will require 4 more balls, 2 more tinsel and 1 more ornament but you will get 2** red leg wraps and 24 skill points for blitzen. One more upgrade will bring you 36 skill points, a medusa blood and will cost the same number of ornaments again. Meaning this final prize on that tree will cost a total of 12 balls, 6 tinsel and 3 ornaments. As far as I can tell you will get only the Medusa's Blood and not the earlier presents as well. It would also appear that you can only get divine ornaments by decorating divine trees to the 3rd level (the 4th level is the divine) but perhaps we can also get from the advent calendar. I bought 50 "packs" of ornaments and did not get a single divine ornament.

Here is the info I have collected on the trees so far:

Sitka Tree - 30 carrots, red leg wraps, medusa blood and 12 skill points per level
costs 4 balls, 2 tinsel and 1 ornament for each level

Oriental Tree - 30 apples, red/green ear bonnet, vintage apple and 12 skill points per level
costs 3 balls, 3 tinsel and 1 ornament for each level

Blue Tree - 20 mash, 3* classical saddle, Poseidon's Pack and 12 skill points per level
costs 4 balls, 2 tinsel and 1 ornament for first level, 2nd level requires 3 tinsel instead of 2 and third level for the P.P requires 3 ornaments instead of 1

Bristlecone Tree - 5 APs, 3* classical bridle, Titan's Challenge and 12 skill points per level
This one requires Blitzen to be at 45 skill points before it can be retrieved
costs 2b, 2t, 2o then 4b, 4t, 2o and then 5b, 5t, and 1o for the last level (the TC)

Love Tree - 5K equus, P. Stroke, A. Tears, I Love You Divine and 18 skill points per level (actually it is 90 for last level so that gives you 18 skill points twice)
Requires Blitzen to be at 120 skill points before it can be retrieved
First three levels cost 2balls, 2 tinsel and 2 ornaments each. Then need just 6 divine ornaments for the last level

Plant Tree - water trough, Xmas saddle pad, divine tree ornament, Sequoia Divine (skills 24,48,96,144) and requires Skill of 200 before it can be retrieved
First three levels cost 3 balls, 3 tinsel and 3 ornaments each. Divine requires 7 divine ornaments.

Maori Tree - Tractor, Xmas leg wraps, divine equus ornament, Tangaroa Divine (skills same as plant tree) Requires 240 skill to retrieve.
Costs same as Plant Tree for first 3 levels, Divine requires 7 divine ornaments

Celtic Tree - Shower, Xmas ear bonnet, divine tree ornament, Taranis Divine (skills same as Plant Tree) Requires 280 skill to retrieve
Costs same as Plant tree for first 3 levels. Divine requires 9 divine ornaments

Nordic Tree - Piece of Cloud, Harmony Pack, divine equus ornament, Thor Divine (skills of 30, 60, 120, 180) Requires 300 skill to retrieve
Costs same as Plant tree for first 3 levels. Final divine level requires 11 divine ornaments but also an additional 3 balls, 3 tinsel and 3 ornaments.

You can "auto-complete" the first 3 levels of each tree which "completes" it but without putting any ornaments on it. It costs 1, 2, and 3 passes respectively thus it would cost at a maximum 6 passes per divine ornament. Definitely not the cheapest way to complete the promo but it certainly is the fastest.

Also, you can "share" any tree you decorated to facebook and there will apparently be some sort of contest with the winner getting the small christmas pack I believe.

I spent 50 passes on the special packs and had enough to get the Taranis divine (but of course, I had not been collecting anything from Advent calendar or any daily stuff from Blitzen. I spent a bunch more passes directly on the trees during my research and obtained I Love You and Tangaroa also. I was using the Thor tree for the divine ornaments as they gave the most skill points for the same cost otherwise and by the end of getting 3 divines, my Blitzen divine had total skills of 3042 (507 for each).

Okay, that's everything I have so far. I'll let someone else post pictures.

the number of divine ornaments required for Sequoia and Tangaroa is 7,
the number needed for Taranis is 9.
None of them require any other ornaments in addition as Thor does

Also, cyber has the correct number for required skill points for each tree except that the Blue tree requires 45 skill points.

But that might not be important since the Oriental tree seems to be better for strategy.
However, that strategy might be a bit different depending on what are the most common daily decorations from the advent calendar and Blitzen. The strategy Cyber outlines is based off of buying the special packs.

for a quick calculation of how much this would cost.

Say you get 3 vintage apples for 3 packs/passes each which will get you to 108 skill
then 1 pass will get you to 120 by getting 5 aging points.
1 Stroke and 1 Tear will get you to 210 skill and cost 3 more packs/passes.
Then 1 divine ornament will cost 3 more packs/passes and will get your Blitzen high enough in skills to get any tree.

That is 10 passes so far. you will already have one divine ornament and each additional one will cost you 3 passes.

I Love You Divine is 6 divine ornaments. = 10 + 5*3 = 25 passes
Sequoia or Tangaroa needs 7 divine ornys = 10 +6*3 = 28 passes
Tanaris needs 9 divine ornys = 10+ 8*3 = 34 passes
Thor needs 11 divine ornys + 1 more packs worth of ornaments = 10 + 10*3 + 1 = 41

These should be max numbers and should go down based on what ornaments we get for free daily.