Guides

What is the purpose of this guide?

To inform and educate new players on general conduct in Flight Rising that may be obvious and expected of veteran players, but unfamiliar to newer players.

What does this guide not do?

This is not a guide for the game mechanics of Flight Rising. It is expected that you have familiarized yourself with the basics of each aspect of FR.

Nor is this a guide on how-to make treasure. You can find that here.

1. Exalting

-The Stigma of Exalting

I'm going to start this guide off with quite possibly, one of the most controversial game mechanics to the new player in Flight Rising. That is exalting.

I'm sure you are aware that dragons do not die in FR? The only way to lower the active dragon population is by exalting them. Now, let me get this fact straight and clear:

EXALTING IS NOT DEATH. EXALTING IS NOT KILLING YOUR DRAGONS.

That misconception is quite possibly, the most common reason why so many new players are against exalting. Just remember that there is a reason why this mechanic is called Exalting and not Slaying.

Exalting is a great honor for your dragon where they go off to serve directly under their deity and are forever immortalized on a pedestal when you visit their page.

Furthermore, you are rewarded for Exalting with your dragon's personal stash of treasure, and sometimes, gems. Some people even make a living out of exalting dragons for profit.

So don't be afraid to exalt your dragons. Keep in mind that this is a breeding game and that makes no dragon combination unique. Any dragon that has been exalted can be bred again.

-Exalting Unnamed Dragons

For as long as a dragon is active, you can name and rename it as many times as you want with a Renaming Scroll. This name appears on the offspring list of the parent dragons. However, once exalted, that name cannot be changed thus becoming a permanent fixture to the owner of the parent dragons.

This can become a point of great contention because Unnameds in the offspring list are generally seen as unfavorable in the aesthetics of the parent dragon's page. For that reason, drama around dragon names are the easiest to incite, but also the easiest to prevent.

First of all, ask yourself, do permanent Unnamed dragons on an offspring list bother you? Do you sell your dragons to other players?

If you answered yes to both those questions, this guide highly, highly recommends that you pre-name all your dragons before selling. That is because of the Golden Rule of Dragon Ownership:

ONCE A DRAGON LEAVES YOUR LAIR, IT IS NO LONGER YOURS.

That means, once you sell a dragon to another player, you have no say on what they do with it, including what they name it, assuming they ever do.

By pre-naming your dragon, you greatly reduce the chance of having that dragon exalted Unnamed or with a name that you personally would find unpleasing.

But what if people don't want to buy a pre-named dragon?

That just means you haven't found the right buyer yet.

People who exalt for profit generally prefer pre-named dragons because in order for exalting to be profitable, they have to level up that dragon in the Coliseum. The Coliseum only allows named dragons to fight so that makes three less buttons for them to click.

Also be aware that when Dominance battles are coming to a close on Saturday nights things can get very hectic. Every second counts so not everyone will feel the need to take the time to name every dragon they exalt.

If there is someone genuinely interested in your dragon, be it for the color scheme or whatnot, dropping 6K for a Renaming Scroll will not be a problem.

-Harassment via Exalting

Know this: Harassment is in no way permissible on Flight Rising. That includes targeting players, buying their dragons, and exalting them for the purpose of harassment.

However, also keep this in mind:

EXALTING DRAGONS UNNAMED IS NOT HARASSMENT.

So what constitutes harassment via exalting? It is usually when someone buys a consecutive row of hatchlings from you, spells out some inappropriate message targeting you specifically, and exalting them so that it becomes a permanent message on your dragon's page.

Do be aware that some users have very unconventional naming schemes and that it is not simply a clash of aesthetics.

If you believe that you are being harassed, send in a Ticket to the admins via the Contact Us and they will help you as soon as they can. Also, if you come across an inappropriately named dragon, you can submit a ticket to get it changed.

2. Selling

Selling dragons is one of the most popular methods of gaining currency, but not necessarily the best. With such a high dragon population, limited lair space, and unlimited method of supply, it's a wonder anything gets done. But lamenting on the state of the economy is not the purpose of this guide.

-Pricing Dragons

In order to sell dragons, you need to settle on a price to market it as, yes? But what is a fair price? Let me let you in on a little secret:

There is none.

Selling pretty dragons is highly subjective because what is pretty to one person, may be absolutely revolting to another.

That is why being a successful dragon breeder is an art in and of itself. Having a good bead on the dragon market, keeping up with the latest trends, being ready to drop out of fashion pairs and bring in what's hot at the drop of a hat, it's a difficult position to maintain.

So what you usually have are niche breeders. These are players who favor a very certain aesthetic and specialize in only that. There are organizations in the FR forums that represent these niche breeders such as Neonwings, Pastels, Holiday dragons, to name a few.

With that said, the worth of a dragon is purely subjective and is really a flux between however much a buyer is willing to pay, and however much a seller is willing to sell.

-Mispricing

There will come a time in your Flight Rising career where you will accidentally misprice an item in the AH and it will sell before you are able to retrieve it. What do you do?

First of all, prevention is the best cure. Make sure you check your zeros. Don't use commas or periods when you enter your price or else the system will cut it off. If you're selling for gems, double-check that you enter it in the gem slot and not the treasure slot.

But say you're having an off-day and it happens anyway. There is a Lost-and-Found thread on FR just for this purpose. Reporting suspected mispriced items and placing ads looking for said mispriced items.

Now say you find said mispriced item. There are two options that can happen with this scenario. You either get your item back, or you don't. Either way, know this:

NO ONE IS OBLIGATED TO RETURN YOUR MISPRICED ITEM.

It may seem harsh, but it is ultimately your responsibility to correctly price your own stock. If you continue to ask for said item back when the other party has refused, that is grounds for reporting you for harassment. Don't. Accept it as a loss and move on.

-The Wanted Forum

The Dragons Wanted Forum is where anyone can place an ad for a certain dragon that they are looking for, be it to buy or to stud. That's it. The Wanted forum is not a place to solely advertise sales. That is for the Dragon Sales forum. Nor is it the place for interest checks. That would be better suited for the Dragon Share or Sales.

Dragons Wanted does not mean a place to advertise where someone could possibly be interested in your dragon. It is for people searching for certain combinations.

It is however a great place to find buyers, assuming you have the dragon that fits their criteria for sale.

Unless otherwise stated, people are fully aware of exactly what they are looking for. It is considered extremely annoying to suggest dragons that do not fit their criteria. Don't. They are not interested, and you are only making a fool of yourself.

Always, make sure to read carefully what criteria these people are after.

-Gen 1 Factor

Gen 1 dragons enjoy a unique position in Flight Rising. Gen 1 dragons are classified by their parentless nature. No parents mean no lineage to track so there is no possibility of inbreeding.

There are only two ways to obtain Gen 1 dragons: They are either your progenitors, or from Dragon Eggs.

Now all Gen 1 dragons start off as completely basic starter dragons. If you ever see a gened, non-starter Gen 1, that means someone has put in the money and effort into changing them. Also, apart from your customized progenitor, all the colors on Gen 1 dragons are completely randomized.

For these reasons, there are Gen 1 Collectors, people who specialize in collecting Gen 1s. Of course, to each their own reason, but I suspect that the appeal largely lies in the challenge and the aesthetic of having no lineage.

When pricing dragons, Gen 1s play a factor on their worth, largely due to the aforementioned Gen 1 Collectors. A particularly fortuitous result can be sold for a particularly generous price.

Admittedly, the writer of this guide is exquisitely atrocious in appraising the values of Gen 1 dragons. If you find that you may have a Gen 1 of some worth available for sale, the Gen 1 Hoarders Association is your best option.

3. Buying

Buying dragons is always an important decision on FR. You only have so many lair spaces against a highly variable selection. It's simple enough when you pick out dragons to buy from the AH. But what if the dragon you're interested in is not in the AH?

-Buying via Search

If you know the specifics of what dragon you want, you can use the Dragon Search to find your target dragon. Now, there is a certain etiquette to shopping for dragons through the Search. This is not the AH so not every dragon you see will be for sale.

A few indicators that increase (but not guarantee) the likelihood of the owner willing to part with their dragon is:

*Unnamed

*No familiar attached

*No apparel equipped

*Parents are in the same lair as the dragon

*Not Gen 1

Taking these factors into account will greatly help in narrowing down likely candidates for sale. You can always take the chance of looking into a dragon that exhibit few, or none of these factors. You never know, you might get lucky. But this guide does not recommend this.

Once you find a likely candidate, what you will essentially have to do is give a cold call to the owner of the dragon. Send a polite PM to the owner of the dragon and inquire if the dragon is for sale.

It is generally polite to send a PM and inquire first regarding dragon or monetary transactions outside of the AH. After all, asking doesn't hurt.

The only exception to this is if the user has explicitly stated not to inquire about their dragons anywhere on their profile or in the dragon's profile. Don't. They have their reasons. Respect it.

Furthermore, if the owner replies that the dragon is not for sale, respect their reasons and do not pursue them. That is grounds for harassment.

-Random CR Requests

Random CR requests are CR's sent for a dragon with little to no prior warning. Attitude regarding random CR's are mixed, but leaning more towards the side of rude to ambivalent.

This guide recommends always sending a PM first to inquire about the status of any dragon before taking further action. Though some users are very lax regarding random CR's, there are others who find this very rude to offensive and taking this sort of initiative may sour further transactions.

Even if you send a CR for well over what the dragon may be worth, remember, this guide is about user etiquette. This guide highly recommends against presuming worth and instead to take the time to open a line of communications for a better player-to-player experience.

The exception to this is for alternative currency. A dragon may be on sale for treasure in the AH, but the seller will be open to the gem equivalent or vice versa. They will usually state this along with their gem:treasure rate on their profile. In this case, a PM is not needed as it is merely an alternate currency payment.

-Haggling and Payment Plans

One of the wonderful and frustrating things about FR is that for the average player, every treasure and gem is earned through effort. Whether it be grinding the Fairgrounds, or farming the Coli, earning treasure is work. There are so many different things to buy, haggling and payment plans are two methods that help pave the way to make purchases manageable.

In this guide writer's opinion, there is however, a certain, subtle mentality amongst players that makes the art of haggling and the usage of payment plans more uncommon than they ought to be. That is the need to sell dragons as fast as possible.

It is understandable. The dragon population only grows, limited lair space limits demand, and there are always dragons coming off cooldown and eggs needing to be hatched. It's no wonder it is a struggle to get dragons out of the lair without resorting to exalting.

This last section of this guide however is an encouragement. Unless otherwise stated, do not be afraid to haggle, suggest a payment plan, or ask for a hold for a dragon you really want.

Remember to be the conscientious player and not suggest or agree to payment plans out of your means.

4. Final Words

Despite its size, FR is a close-knit community. Your actions and words determine how the community perceives you, for better or worse. If you are respectful of others, others will respect you. Likewise, if you prove to be untrustworthy, you will have difficulty gaining anyone's trust. Remember this.

History:

(4/17)- Cross-Posted from Tumblr
-changed bold/italicized to red

"ONCE A DRAGON LEAVES YOUR LAIR, IT IS NO LONGER YOURS"

THANK YOU

@JetBlackSteel
Ngl, I thought about jacking up the font size on the bolded/italicized phrases. Decided not to for aesthetic reasons. u_u

Make it bright red maybe?

@Rhea

Welp, it's certainly very noticeable. Thoughts?