Guides

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Hello, everyone! Thank you for taking the time to check out this guide. Things are probably going to be a little messy at first while I try to get everything organized, so bear with me! We've got quite a bit to cover.

I've been running a free exalt rescue since late 2020, and while it is most certainly not the most popular thing in the world, it does garner some attention.

I have also noticed a lot more exalt rescues being created these days, and a decent number of people have came to me for advice. So, I thought it would be helpful to create a little guide to help people get started!

Am I the most qualified person to be giving advice? Maybe not, but, I thought that I would share what I've learned from running my exalt rescue.

Below is the directory for easy navigation. While I would personally recommend reading everything in order if you're very new to this, ultimately though, you can choose whatever information you would like to look at ^^


Directory

♦ What is an Exalt Rescue?
♦ Is Running an Exalt Rescue a Good Fit for You?
♦ Exalting and Dragon Ownership
♦ Getting Started
♦ Making the Thread
♦ Things to Consider
♦ Resources
♦ Suggestions
♦ Exalt Rescue/Free Hatchery Directory

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Before getting into the whole "creating an exalt rescue" thing, let's get a better understanding of what an exalt rescue is and how they work.

To put it simply, an exalt rescue is a thread that "saves" or "rescues" hatchlings and dragons at risk of being exalted and either sells or gives away these dragons to Flight Rising users that will give them a home.

Exalt rescues will look for hatchlings or dragons that are listed on the auction house for very cheap; this cheap pricing is often referred to as "fodder price", as most of the hatchlings/dragons that are listed at a cheap price will eventually be exalted.

For reference, this "fodder price" is usually anywhere from 4-8 gems or 5,000 to 10,000 treasure on the auction house. Keep in mind that this price can fluctuate, but this range is about the average.




Most exalt rescues have a theme, like hatcheries, and will rescue hatchlings/dragons based on that theme. We'll get more into that later on in the guide.

Most exalt rescues give the dragons away to users completely for free. Though, it is definitely possible to run an exalt rescue that sells the dragons you've rescued.

You'll find most free exalt rescues in the "Raffles and Giveaways" forum, as that is where you go to give away dragons and items to other players. For exalt rescues that sell their rescued dragons, you'll find them in the "Dragons for Sale" forum.


Free Exalt Rescues vs. Free Hatcheries

While the two are very similar, I do consider them to be different.

Free exalt rescues usually give away dragons that were previously at risk of being exalted; most of these dragons are usually purchased very cheaply at the auction house.

Free hatcheries usually give away dragons that the user bred themselves from their own dragon pairs.

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Now, I don't mean to scare anyone off from creating an exalt rescue if that is what you really want to do. In fact, I would love to see more exalt rescues! It always makes me happy seeing others try their best to give otherwise exalt fodder another chance at finding a forever home.

But, there are some things that you should consider before creating one.

While it is a lot of fun, and I REALLY enjoy rescuing dragons and giving them away to other players, it is a lot of work:




There are, of course, plenty of other ways to run an exalt rescue. And by no means do you have to run anything big. These are just things that I find that I need/use most often.

Also keep in mind that unless you want to create a paid exalt rescue (where users will pay you a small fee to adopt one of the dragons you rescued), you're really not making any money off of this. There might be some users that are kind enough to give you gem/treasure donations.

But, otherwise, do this because you want to help at-risk dragons find homes.

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Here is arguably the most important part of this whole thread.

Yes, you are making an exalt rescue. Your goal is to save dragons from being exalted and to give them a forever home. And there is absolutely nothing wrong with that!

HOWEVER. Despite all of your best efforts, some of the dragons you give away will be exalted.

It sucks a lot, I know. I've had tons of my exalt rescues exalted. You made your thread for the whole purpose of preventing dragons from being exalted.

But you cannot completely prevent some of your rescue dragons from being exalted. Which brings us to our next topic.


Flight Rising Rules and Conduct

It is VERY IMPORTANT to know and accept the Flight Rising rules and policies for dragon ownership before creating a free exalt rescue.

You can find the entirety of Dragon Ownership rules HERE.

But, I'll try to summarize and explain the "need-to-knows" for you here.

According to Flight Rising's Rules and Policies, "once a dragon has left your lair, it is no longer yours".

That means that once you give a dragon to someone else, it is THEIR dragon and they can do whatever they want with said dragon. That ALSO means that you no longer have control over what that person can do with that dragon.

This means that you cannot demand someone to not exalt, sell, or raffle off the dragon they received from you.




Here is the complete excerpt from the Dragon Ownership Rules and Policies page, taken exactly word for word:


"We consider demanding another player not exalt, sell, breed, change any part of the dragon in question to be harassment as it is an attempt to dictate how another person plays the game."


"It is okay to politely request a dragon go to a lair in the spirit the gifting player intends. It is not okay to demand it or require it."



It is perfectly reasonable for a player to eventually exalt or sell the dragon they received from you, whether it was one week ago or years. Players can get bored of the dragons they received. And now that it is their dragon, they can do what they want with it.

Yes, they do technically even have the right to exalt a dragon immediately upon receiving it.

However, other players are not allowed to take advantage of this.

This means that players cannot use your free exalt rescue as a means for consistently making money, or for some other sort of gain.


Here is the complete excerpt from the Dragon Ownership Rules and Policies page, taken exactly word for word, in regards to exploiting this policy:


"Attempting to exploit this policy for personal gain is also considered harassment."




So, if you do decide to make a free exalt rescue, and you believe that a player is exploiting this policy at your rescue, it is perfectly valid to report the player for doing so.

The instructions on how to report a player for this is included in the Dragon Ownership policies. Hopefully, you'll never have to do that!

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So, if you're still here even after reading through all of that (presumably; no judgement if you didn't), then it seems like you're ready to start your very own exalt rescue!

Okay, so, you're ready to start an exalt rescue. Now what?

Well, there are a few things that you might want to decide on before you go off to create your thread. While this is not necessary, I personally believe that it will help make things a little bit more organized and prepared.


Free or Paid Exalt Rescue?

For starters, how do you want to give away the dragons you've rescued? Do you want to give them away for free? Or do you want to sell them?

There's no right or wrong decision here; both are perfectly valid and perfectly acceptable ways of running an exalt rescue.

But if giving away dragons for free isn't quite your cup of tea, or if you really can't afford to give away a lot of dragons that you've bought for free, then a paid exalt rescue is probably the best fit for you.

Which means that you have to think about pricing.

I wouldn't recommend selling the dragons that you've rescued for a high price, if you do decide to sell the dragons you've rescued. Not everyone can easily afford it, and not everyone wants to pay a lot of money for a rescued dragon.



Not to mention, some of the hatchlings/dragons listed for fodder price on the auction house are cheap for a reason: they don't have great colors, they don't have great genes, or there's simply an overabundance of a particular style of dragon.

In other words (and to be honest)... fodder dragons can be rather harsh on the eyes for some people.

Here are some pricing suggestions:




What Dragons are you Going to Rescue?

You can be as broad or specific as you want when it comes to the dragons that you rescue! Most exalt rescues will have a certain type or breed of dragon that they rescue, but some don't.

For example, my rescue focuses on rescuing dragons that I find "pretty" or "special", which is very broad as far as specifics go. It is also important to note that beauty is in the eye of the beholder: what I find pretty, someone else might find ugly.

But this is YOUR rescue; you call the shots!

If you're struggling to decide on what dragons you want to rescue, here are some examples:




Or... you can rescue any or all dragons! The choice is yours!


What is the Theme for Your Rescue?

This part is completely optional, as it is only about the aesthetics of your exalt rescue thread. But, I would argue that exalt rescues (and even hatcheries/threads in general) tend to do a little better when they have some sort of aesthetic or theme.

Essentially, what do you want your exalt rescue thread to look like?

My exalt rescue has a dreamy, pastel, and angelic kind of look. There are lots of soft pinks, purples, and blues for colors (though the text is darker for easier reading).

I have graphics in my thread to add a little fun and to help break up all the text in my thread. Plus, I think it just looks a little nicer with some pictures and graphics!

Again, you don't have to add graphics to your thread. If you want your thread to be easy to code and easy to maintain, go for it!

But if you would like to add some graphics to your thread, it's pretty easy to do so, and there are numerous ways you can go about doing it:




Other aesthetic related things to keep in mind would be fonts, layout, etc.

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Okay, so you have an idea of what kind of exalt rescue you want to create, you have an idea of what dragons you want to rescue, and maybe you even have an idea of what you want your thread to look like!

Time for the age old question: now what?

First, before making and opening your exalt rescue, I would recommend finding/rescuing a few dragons first so that you have at least a little "inventory" to start.

No point in having a grand opening for your exalt rescue if you don't even have any dragons for people to adopt right away.

So before continuing, rescue some dragons! It doesn't have to be a lot, just some to get you started. Then you can get more later.

...Got some dragons? Good! Then let's continue.


Start With the Basics

Alright, so now it's time to actually write out/code your thread. To help organize things, I would make separate posts for each "category".

I would argue that you need at least these two posts for your exalt rescue thread:




These are the two main things that your exalt rescue should have. And again, if you want this to be a very casual operation, then I would just stick with these two posts.


Extra Things You Can Add

But, there are plenty more things that you can add to your rescue if you're willing to put a little bit of extra effort! You can choose whether or not these "extras" can be their own, separate posts, or included in an existing post.

Here are some examples:




These are just some of MANY things that you can add to your exalt rescue to make it a bit more fun or substantial. Again, these are all completely optional, but it might be worth your while.


Affiliates

Another optional thing to add to your exalt rescue, but again, something that might be worth your while.

An affiliate is essentially a partner in the business; in this case, it's a player or a group of players that also run an exalt rescue that you can partner with to promote each other's threads.

Having affiliates can be pretty beneficial. Affiliates will often "bump" the threads of their affiliates to help them get noticed. Affiliates can also put a link to your thread on their page as sort of a "Hey, check this place out while you're at it!" kind of thing. It's somewhat like free advertising!


If you affiliate with a hatchery or an exalt rescue where you have to pay for dragons, being affiliates with them can possibly give you discounts or other perks. This is completely up to the thread owner, however.

[center][size=7][font=bookman old style][color=#1D2224]Things to Consider[/color][/font][/size][/center] ----- [size=4][color=#555555]Alright, theoretically, you're almost done creating your exalt rescue thread. Yay!! BUT, there are a few other things I would like you to take into consideration while making your exalt rescue, which I will go over below.[/size] [size=5][color=#555555][u][b]Accessibility[/b][/u][/color][/size] [size=4][color=#555555]Now, I know that I said to "take these into consideration" above. But for accessibility, [b]this should absolutely be a requirement. You should make your thread accessible, regardless of your theme or aesthetic.[/b] I know a lot of us want to have a really pretty thread. And I know that there are several things that I can do to improve my exalt rescue's accessibility (which I am in the process of working on). However, some of these design choices are just... not great for accessibility at all. Some of these things - but not all of them - include: [indent]→ [size=4][color=#555555]Light text on a light background → [color=#555555]Very small text → [color=#555555]Super fancy, cursive, hard to read fonts → [color=#555555]Very bright/flashy/neon/high contrast colors, graphics, and gifs[/indent] [size=4][color=#555555]Now, I am BY NO MEANS an expert on forum thread accessibility. But I implore you to learn about how you can improve your exalt rescue's accessibility. You might be turning away a lot of users that can be avoided by a few simple fixes! [url=https://www1.flightrising.com/forums/gde/3038272/1#post_3038272]HERE[/url] is an excellent guide on how to make your forum thread accessible and more enjoyable for users on Flight Rising.[/size] [size=5][color=#555555][u][b]Scope[/b][/u][/color][/size] [size=4][color=#555555]This is another very important aspect of your exalt rescue. There are many players who start exalt rescues with the goal of saving as many dragons as possible. And I love that! I love the dedication and the determination these players have. This mindset can backfire on you, however. [b]Rescue dragons within your means.[/b] It is so incredibly easy to run out of lair and/or hibernation den when you're rescuing dragons. And buying liar/hibden space can get expensive really quickly. Eventually, you're pressed for space and you can't rescue any more dragons. Then you're scrambling to try and get people to adopt the dragons you've rescued, or desperately trying to get more currency to get more space. At that point, rescuing dragons is starting to become more stressful than rewarding. I've seen many new exalt rescues close early because of this. I know it's tempting to save as many dragons as you can, but please heed my advice and rescue within your means. If you have limited lair and hibden space, keep that in mind as you are rescuing dragons. This is why I placed a lot of emphasis on figuring out what kind of dragons you want to rescue; a theme to help with scope. [b]As tempting as it is to rescue as many dragons as you possibly can, you are only going to burn yourself out by doing so.[/b] [/size][/color] [size=5][color=#555555][u][b]Target Audience[/b][/u][/color][/size] [size=4][color=#555555]Yep! If you decide to run a free exalt rescue, you will have a bit of a target audience that you need to keep in mind while creating and designing your thread. It's pretty likely that [b]most of the users that adopt from your thread will be new players.[/b] Think of when you just joined Flight Rising. You probably didn't really know what was going on or what to do, you had very little money, you didn't have a great/consistent way of making money, and you only had your two starter dragons to begin with. If you're a new player yourself, you know the feeling! Which is why many new players flock to the Raffles and Giveaways forum when they see it; it's free stuff to help them get started! And if you decide to make a free exalt rescue, guess what you have: free dragons. So, I would argue that it's important to design and make your thread with new players in mind. How can you do that, though? [b]My main focus to help new players would be putting a little extra information by each dragon.[/b] Think about it; it probably took you a while to memorize each dragon breed, each gender pose, each color, each gene, and how to post pictures of dragons on a forum post. Maybe you still have difficulties with this. For new players, this can be very overwhelming. Here's an example of what I mean: [columns] [img]https://www1.flightrising.com/dgen/preview/dragon?age=1&body=131&bodygene=20&breed=2&element=2&eyetype=0&gender=0&tert=60&tertgene=10&winggene=87&wings=59&auth=ae2f01f76fc37ee2d6671dc2207ee0194e516cfc&dummyext=prev.png[/img] [nextcol] [color=transparent]....[/color] [nextcol] [center][url=https://www1.flightrising.com/dragon/82955984][img]http://www1.flightrising.com/rendern/avatars/829560/82955984.png[/img][/url] [size=2][color=#4C2A4F]-----[/size][/color] [left][font=playfair display][color=#5B4E4B][size=5][b]Crimsonrain (M)[/b][/size] [font=playfair display][color=#5B4E4B][size=4]#82955984[color=transparent]...............................[/color] [b]In Hibden[/b][/left] [size=2][color=#4C2A4F]-----[/size][/color] [left][font=playfair display][color=#5B4E4B][size=4]Orca Wasp Crimson Sarcophagus Blood Glimmer Plague Common Eyes[/left] [size=2][color=#4C2A4F]-----[/size][/color] [left][font=playfair display][color=#5B4E4B][size=4][b]Unbred Donated by [player] [/b][/size][/color][/font][/left] [/center][/columns] [size=4][color=#555555]On the right-hand side of the large dragon image, I have a little extra information that new players can reference and learn from. I list the gender (this is purely for breeding purposes because, again, gender poses), the dragon's ID number, the dragon's element, the dragon's name, its colors and genes, and a few extra tidbits of information. Is this necessary? No. Is it a lot more work? Yes. But even a little extra information can be extremely helpful for new players that are still learning how to navigate Flight Rising and the forums. If you want to go above and beyond, you could even post little tutorials somewhere on your thread, such as a tutorial on how to post dragon images (with a link to said dragon).

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By this point, I would say that your exalt rescue is pretty much complete. Congrats!! It can be a lot of work, but it can also be very rewarding and very fun :D

Anything else that you would like to add to your exalt rescue is up to you.

But, to give a little bit of extra help, I will compile a list of helpful resources and links in this post. This post will probably be updated from time to time as I find (or as others provide me with) more resources and links.


Links to Other Guides and Resources

BBcode Font Color Picker
BBcode Fonts
BBcode Guide
Colors of Flight Rising - Hexes
Crowe's BBcode Compendium!
Here's a Tool For Generating Dragon Images
Making Forum Threads Accessible
TOOL: Hatchery Listing BBcode Generator
DalphiaRoses's Dragon Listing Code Generator
Text Colorizer

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If you have any suggestions on how to make this guide better, or, if you have some of your own tips that you would like to share, please let me know!

I'll do my best to fix any mistakes or errors that I have in my thread. And I'll also add any other tips that you think others would find useful for this thread.

Also, if you have any suggestions on how to improve the quality, organization, or accessibility of this thread, please let me know as well!

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Stuck on thread design ideas? Need some inspiration? Or, do you simply want to check out some other threads that people are running? Here is the place to do so!

If you want to add your exalt rescue or free hatchery to this list, please tell me and provide me with a link to your thread and I will add it to this directory!*

*Since the main focus of this guide is exalt rescues and free hatcheries, I will not be adding any hatcheries that sell dragons to this list.


Free Exalt Rescues
The Rosecloud Sanctuary (not me shamelessly advertising my own exalt rescue /j)

Exalt Rescues with a Fee
P.P.C.P (Preserve, Protect, Cultivate, Prolong)
Carrefour Inn (Gijinka Art Exalt Rescue)

Free Hatcheries