Watchful Winter Owl Artifacts

[Darielle]

My news mage (well, former news mage but she still is kind enough to do it on occasion) just announced that Inno was phasing back into the spire the Watchful Winter Owl artifacts. Is this true? They were just phased out this month, so I find it hard to understand why Inno would repeat. (And of course, I got a ton last month that I couldn't use, so I'm particularly interested). I can't find a post on this ... did anyone else get an official word on this? I may just be unable to find it. Thanks

 

[Ihrlaen]

Well, Marindor posted in the Beta forum that Watchful Winter Owl artifacts were being phased into the Magic Academy for crafting.

 

[Nerwa]

More importantly (for me) is that Ashen Phoenix artifacts will soon be coming into Spire. Been waiting and waiting and waiting on those!

 

[Darielle]

Well, Marindor posted in the Beta forum that Watchful Winter Owl artifacts were being phased into the Magic Academy for crafting.

Thanks for the confirmation, Ihrlaen.

It seems a bit ridiculous for them to come back so soon, when there are so many other artifacts that they could have chosen that haven't been in the Spire in ages. It's like they themselves have devalued certain artifacts when they make people sick of getting so many (particularly since they can't get a second base.) With how much Elvenar has always valued artifacts as "rare," this is rather silly.

 

[Sir Squirrel]

They actually started offering second bases, the Triumph of the tides was available purchase, earlier this month or last month, I can't remember the exact date.

 

[samidodamage]

From what I've seen regarding the rotation of older Evolving Bldgs and their artifacts through Spire/MA crafting recipes:
An evolving bldg (Bldg#1)goes into the crafting recipes and the artifacts for it start being offered in the next Spire that launches. They remain in the Spire for 6 weeks, then a new bldg (Bldg#2)goes into crafting and the artifacts for it go into the Spire. Artifacts for Bldg#1 go into a 6 week cooldown. 6 weeks later, the artifacts for Bldg#1 goes into crafting recipes, the artifacts from Bldg#2 go into cooldown; Bldg #3 goes into crafting, its artifacts go into the Spire. Lather, rinse, repeat. My understanding of the order of rotation: it follows the order the buildings were originally released.

 

[Nerwa]

From what I've seen regarding the rotation of older Evolving Bldgs and their artifacts through Spire/MA crafting recipes:
An evolving bldg (Bldg#1)goes into the crafting recipes and the artifacts for it start being offered in the next Spire that launches. They remain in the Spire for 6 weeks, then a new bldg (Bldg#2)goes into crafting and the artifacts for it go into the Spire. Artifacts for Bldg#1 go into a 6 week cooldown. 6 weeks later, the artifacts for Bldg#1 goes into crafting recipes, the artifacts from Bldg#2 go into cooldown; Bldg #3 goes into crafting, its artifacts go into the Spire. Lather, rinse, repeat. My understanding of the order of rotation: it follows the order the buildings were originally released.

That's the pattern I've seen for months (which doesn't guarantee future performance). Witch Hut artifacts have been in the MA the last few weeks (yay); those had been in the Spire just prior to Watchful Winter Owl.

Just to confuse things, I occasional see some even older artifacts in the MA - anything from May Tree & earlier. Which works for me - I've only been playing ~15 months so I'm still building up some older stuff. Crafting artifacts is a pricey habit, but it keeps me out of trouble.

 

[samidodamage]

Just to confuse things, I occasional see some even older artifacts in the MA

Yes! What I haven't figured out is if/when any of these things leaves the MA crafting.
The 'phase in/phase out' for Spire and the 'phase in' for MA crafting can be found in this official announcements thread.
It's tough for me to figure out the 'out of crafting' because I purposefully keep a copy of any evolving bldg in my inventory or in my city . This removes them from the recipe rotation for bldgs and helps (a little, lol) make it more likely I'll see the temp military boost bldgs. So, none of the bldgs ever show up in my crafting recipes. I do notice artifacts from time to time for the earlier bldgs, but that slot is also really crowded with recipes so I don't even try to keep track.

 

[SoulsSilhouette]

I need bear artifacts. I really need to evolve my brownies and my icies, the black and whites could do with a bit of sprucing up in my worlds as well.

BRING BACK THE BEARS.!!!!!!!!!

 

[samidodamage]

I saw bear artifacts in the rotation during the FA. I noticed because I was crafting everything reasonable every recipe rotation, but I wasn't about to waste resources on a bear artifact when all 3 of mine are lvl 10, lol!

 

[Nerwa]

I need bear artifacts. I really need to evolve my brownies and my icies, the black and whites could do with a bit of sprucing up in my worlds as well.

BRING BACK THE BEARS.!!!!!!!!!

Bears hibernate a LOT. You have to be ready when they do wake up, though: You might get 1 or 2 Bears a week for a few weeks and then nothing for months. Stockpiled spell frags & blueprints/diamonds are the key.

In terms of artifact availability, this is what I see happening. I could be misunderstanding the process, but:

Random Number Generator (RNG): Nickname for the various algorithms that select prizes, craft recipes, hit points in fights, et cetera.

RNG pool: The potential items that the RNG has to chose from in any given situation.

Daily M.A. Rotation: The set of 5 crafting recipes that appear in the M.A. every 6 hours automatically. Additional Daily Rotations can be 'purchased' with Sips of Clarity. Each of the 5 slots specializes in different types of recipes.

Not all artifacts are available to the RNG on any given Daily Rotation. The Daily Rotation's RNG pool changes as part of a Grand Rotation. Grand Rotations happen ~6 weeks, are announced by Inno in advance, and affect the Spire as well as the Magic Academy. Grand Rotations appear to include Planned and Randomized aspects.

Planned Grand Rotation Items (Planned GRIs) may include things like bug fixes & brand new prizes/recipes but are mostly about which artifacts (Spire/M.A.) & Evolving Building bases (M.A. only) are in the various RNG pools for that Grand Rotation. Artifact selection is based on an historically-predictable schedule (discussed later) and is the same for all players in a given market (i.e., all Beta players, all U.S. players, etc.).

Based on personal experience & forum anecdotes it seems like some craft recipes appear (and disappear) in unpredictable clumps. My hypothesis is that some recipes are Random Grand Rotation Items (Random GRIs). Rather than being available in the Magic Academy's RNG pool all the time, Random GRIs cycle in and out as part of the Grand Rotation. In other words, Random GRIs have to go through two RNGs to appear as a crafting recipe: First they have to be selected by the Grand Rotation's RNG, then they have to be selected in the Daily Rotation's RNG. And, since RNG results are unique for each player, Random GRIs vary from player to player.

Putting all the pieces together, this is what I think is the process that Artifacts go through*:

1) Artifact "A" and Evolving Building "A" are introduced in a new Event as prizes.​

2) 1-3 months later, Artifact "A" is available as a Stage Prize in a Fellowship Adventure. Additionally, from this point on:​

2a) Artifact "A" and/or Evolving Building "A" may appear in a later FA (usually within a Sorcery).​

2b) Artifact "A" and/or Evolving Building "A" may be available for cash purchase.​

3) Approximately 18 months after the original Event, Artifact "A" becomes part of the Grand Rotation in a specific sequence. Evolving Building "A" also becomes part of the G.R., but only if a player doesn't have it already.​

3a) Grand Rotation #1 - Artifact "A" is a Planned GRI in the Spire's RNG prize pool. Evolving Building "A" is a Planned GRI in the Magic Academy's RNG recipe pool (1st slot).​

3b) GR#2 - Artifact "A" is unavailable. Evolving Building "A" is unavailable.​

3c) GR #3 - Artifact "A" is a Planned GRI in the Magic Academy's RNG recipe pool (5th slot).​

3d) GR #4 & onward - Artifact "A" is a possible Random GRI in the Magic Academy's 5th slot, along with all older Artifacts. Evolving Building "A" is a possible Random GRI in the Magic Academy's 1st slot, along with all older Evolving Buildings.​

4) Artifacts & Evolving Buildings go through this process in same order in which they initially appear (except possibly for steps 2a & 2b).​

​

It's a lot easier to follow in action than it is to describe, IMHO. And everything about Random GRIs is guesswork & hedgery on my part.

*The process needs a clever name, but I've got nothing.

 

[Deleted User - 849994935]

They actually started offering second bases, the Triumph of the tides was available purchase, earlier this month or last month, I can't remember the exact date.

Ohh that's exciting! Whenever Inno offer a building for sale they offer it for free a few months later. I'm assuming the ToT bases and artifacts will do their rounds soon.

 

[Deleted User - 849994935]

Bears hibernate a LOT. You have to be ready when they do wake up, though: You might get 1 or 2 Bears a week for a few weeks and then nothing for months. Stockpiled spell frags & blueprints/diamonds are the key.

In terms of artifact availability, this is what I see happening. I could be misunderstanding the process, but:

Random Number Generator (RNG): Nickname for the various algorithms that select prizes, craft recipes, hit points in fights, et cetera.

RNG pool: The potential items that the RNG has to chose from in any given situation.

Daily M.A. Rotation: The set of 5 crafting recipes that appear in the M.A. every 6 hours automatically. Additional Daily Rotations can be 'purchased' with Sips of Clarity. Each of the 5 slots specializes in different types of recipes.

Not all artifacts are available to the RNG on any given Daily Rotation. The Daily Rotation's RNG pool changes as part of a Grand Rotation. Grand Rotations happen ~6 weeks, are announced by Inno in advance, and affect the Spire as well as the Magic Academy. Grand Rotations appear to include Planned and Randomized aspects.

Planned Grand Rotation Items (Planned GRIs) may include things like bug fixes & brand new prizes/recipes but are mostly about which artifacts (Spire/M.A.) & Evolving Building bases (M.A. only) are in the various RNG pools for that Grand Rotation. Artifact selection is based on an historically-predictable schedule (discussed later) and is the same for all players in a given market (i.e., all Beta players, all U.S. players, etc.).

Based on personal experience & forum anecdotes it seems like some craft recipes appear (and disappear) in unpredictable clumps. My hypothesis is that some recipes are Random Grand Rotation Items (Random GRIs). Rather than being available in the Magic Academy's RNG pool all the time, Random GRIs cycle in and out as part of the Grand Rotation. In other words, Random GRIs have to go through two RNGs to appear as a crafting recipe: First they have to be selected by the Grand Rotation's RNG, then they have to be selected in the Daily Rotation's RNG. And, since RNG results are unique for each player, Random GRIs vary from player to player.

Putting all the pieces together, this is what I think is the process that Artifacts go through*:

1) Artifact "A" and Evolving Building "A" are introduced in a new Event as prizes.​

2) 1-3 months later, Artifact "A" is available as a Stage Prize in a Fellowship Adventure. Additionally, from this point on:​

2a) Artifact "A" and/or Evolving Building "A" may appear in a later FA (usually within a Sorcery).​

2b) Artifact "A" and/or Evolving Building "A" may be available for cash purchase.​

3) Approximately 18 months after the original Event, Artifact "A" becomes part of the Grand Rotation in a specific sequence. Evolving Building "A" also becomes part of the G.R., but only if a player doesn't have it already.​

3a) Grand Rotation #1 - Artifact "A" is a Planned GRI in the Spire's RNG prize pool. Evolving Building "A" is a Planned GRI in the Magic Academy's RNG recipe pool (1st slot).​

3b) GR#2 - Artifact "A" is unavailable. Evolving Building "A" is unavailable.​

3c) GR #3 - Artifact "A" is a Planned GRI in the Magic Academy's RNG recipe pool (5th slot).​

3d) GR #4 & onward - Artifact "A" is a possible Random GRI in the Magic Academy's 5th slot, along with all older Artifacts. Evolving Building "A" is a possible Random GRI in the Magic Academy's 1st slot, along with all older Evolving Buildings.​

4) Artifacts & Evolving Buildings go through this process in same order in which they initially appear (except possibly for steps 2a & 2b).​

​

It's a lot easier to follow in action than it is to describe, IMHO. And everything about Random GRIs is guesswork & hedgery on my part.

*The process needs a clever name, but I've got nothing.

Also, event buildings are usually offered for sale a few months before appears in the MA/spire rotation

 

[ekarat]

Bears hibernate a LOT. You have to be ready when they do wake up, though: You might get 1 or 2 Bears a week for a few weeks and then nothing for months. Stockpiled spell frags & blueprints/diamonds are the key.

In terms of artifact availability, this is what I see happening. I could be misunderstanding the process, but:

Random Number Generator (RNG): Nickname for the various algorithms that select prizes, craft recipes, hit points in fights, et cetera.

RNG pool: The potential items that the RNG has to chose from in any given situation.

Daily M.A. Rotation: The set of 5 crafting recipes that appear in the M.A. every 6 hours automatically. Additional Daily Rotations can be 'purchased' with Sips of Clarity. Each of the 5 slots specializes in different types of recipes.

Not all artifacts are available to the RNG on any given Daily Rotation. The Daily Rotation's RNG pool changes as part of a Grand Rotation. Grand Rotations happen ~6 weeks, are announced by Inno in advance, and affect the Spire as well as the Magic Academy. Grand Rotations appear to include Planned and Randomized aspects.

Planned Grand Rotation Items (Planned GRIs) may include things like bug fixes & brand new prizes/recipes but are mostly about which artifacts (Spire/M.A.) & Evolving Building bases (M.A. only) are in the various RNG pools for that Grand Rotation. Artifact selection is based on an historically-predictable schedule (discussed later) and is the same for all players in a given market (i.e., all Beta players, all U.S. players, etc.).

Based on personal experience & forum anecdotes it seems like some craft recipes appear (and disappear) in unpredictable clumps. My hypothesis is that some recipes are Random Grand Rotation Items (Random GRIs). Rather than being available in the Magic Academy's RNG pool all the time, Random GRIs cycle in and out as part of the Grand Rotation. In other words, Random GRIs have to go through two RNGs to appear as a crafting recipe: First they have to be selected by the Grand Rotation's RNG, then they have to be selected in the Daily Rotation's RNG. And, since RNG results are unique for each player, Random GRIs vary from player to player.

Putting all the pieces together, this is what I think is the process that Artifacts go through*:

1) Artifact "A" and Evolving Building "A" are introduced in a new Event as prizes.​

2) 1-3 months later, Artifact "A" is available as a Stage Prize in a Fellowship Adventure. Additionally, from this point on:​

2a) Artifact "A" and/or Evolving Building "A" may appear in a later FA (usually within a Sorcery).​

2b) Artifact "A" and/or Evolving Building "A" may be available for cash purchase.​

3) Approximately 18 months after the original Event, Artifact "A" becomes part of the Grand Rotation in a specific sequence. Evolving Building "A" also becomes part of the G.R., but only if a player doesn't have it already.​

3a) Grand Rotation #1 - Artifact "A" is a Planned GRI in the Spire's RNG prize pool. Evolving Building "A" is a Planned GRI in the Magic Academy's RNG recipe pool (1st slot).​

3b) GR#2 - Artifact "A" is unavailable. Evolving Building "A" is unavailable.​

3c) GR #3 - Artifact "A" is a Planned GRI in the Magic Academy's RNG recipe pool (5th slot).​

3d) GR #4 & onward - Artifact "A" is a possible Random GRI in the Magic Academy's 5th slot, along with all older Artifacts. Evolving Building "A" is a possible Random GRI in the Magic Academy's 1st slot, along with all older Evolving Buildings.​

4) Artifacts & Evolving Buildings go through this process in same order in which they initially appear (except possibly for steps 2a & 2b).​

​

It's a lot easier to follow in action than it is to describe, IMHO. And everything about Random GRIs is guesswork & hedgery on my part.

*The process needs a clever name, but I've got nothing.

The only difference between a random grand rotation and a low-probability random daily rotation (ie not everything in the daily rotation is the same probability -- also "daily" is awkward since it's 6 hours, not 24) would be if you never get the artifact you are looking for, then suddenly in the same 6-week grand rotation you get 3 of them. (That would happen more frequently with a random grand rotation than with a random daily rotation with very small probability.) Do a large number of people see this happening? Alternately, it should be in the game code/tables, which can be inspected.

I feel that if this were true, someone who dives into the files would have said something by now. I think there is a single table that is generated every 6 weeks and the exact same table is pushed to all players for those 6 weeks. The exact algorithm for generating that single table is not pushed to the browsers so we can't inspect it, but it seems to be fairly predictable. On the other hand, there are people here who know more about the game files than I do, so they can speak up.

 

[SoulsSilhouette]

All I can say for certain... The Gods of All Things Random of the Universe rarely shine with grace upon my cities. They don't put the pet food in my MA when I'm online and craft it quick. I catch some but I need more. My zoo is hungry and I can't always feed it. The savory bites building is great but I need to place when I know I can be on game the entire time it is active. I am still crossing my fingers, toes, and eyes, that INNO sees reason and changes Enar to give shards at a lower level and then after the first rune upgrade, gives pet food even though I would love it to give pet food from the get go. It would give me a reason to build it and it really is one of the most beautiful buildings in this game.

 

[Darielle]

Ohh that's exciting! Whenever Inno offer a building for sale they offer it for free a few months later. I'm assuming the ToT bases and artifacts will do their rounds soon.

I seriously doubt that Inno will offer a second base for free, but I would love that.

 

[Deleted User - 849994935]

I seriously doubt that Inno will offer a second base for free, but I would love that.

I guess we will have to wait and see. They did it for the Witches Hut, gingerbread house, mermaid thingy, golem too I think

 

[Nerwa]

The only difference between a random grand rotation and a low-probability random daily rotation (ie not everything in the daily rotation is the same probability -- also "daily" is awkward since it's 6 hours, not 24)

Yeah, needs something better than "daily". Couldn't think of anything quick & short, though.

would be if you never get the artifact you are looking for, then suddenly in the same 6-week grand rotation you get 3 of them. (That would happen more frequently with a random grand rotation than with a random daily rotation with very small probability.) Do a large number of people see this happening? Alternately, it should be in the game code/tables, which can be inspected.

I feel that if this were true, someone who dives into the files would have said something by now. I think there is a single table that is generated every 6 weeks and the exact same table is pushed to all players for those 6 weeks. The exact algorithm for generating that single table is not pushed to the browsers so we can't inspect it, but it seems to be fairly predictable. On the other hand, there are people here who know more about the game files than I do, so they can speak up.

Try getting 6 or 7 in 5-6 weeks' time after months of *crickets*. That's what clicked me onto the possibility of Random GRIs. I've had it happen a few time in the 14-ish months that I've been playing. Right now, for example, Phoenix artifacts are "in" for me; I've seen the recipe 3-4 times in the last couple-3 weeks; none in the 3 months prior. Same thing has happened with Bear artifacts at least twice. In all cases the timing seemed to line up with announced Grand Rotations.

I'm just extrapolating/hypothesizing from the pattern, not looking at coding. Certainly there could be different mechanics. But I do suspect that there's *something* going on beyond just the Daily Rotation's RNG.

 

[SoulsSilhouette]

@Nerwa

I love the computer-based reality theory... but here's mine. The leprechauns (which elvenar has slighted terribly as well as pixies btw.) that live in my computer like to frustrate me and they make it so that I don't get any good stuff when I need it. I'm sure all manner of bear artifacts and pet food show up in my trader when I'm not online, but as soon as I log on... poof, I'm a goon with no glorious rewards. They are in the employ of the God of All Random Things in the Multiverse whom I've somehow offended, probably from mourning my beloved Farmville and refusing to play its replacement and possibly for not playing FoE anymore. I dunno, but no matter how many offerings I make, no luck shines in my cities.

I find my explanation far more entertaining. LOLOLOL.

 

[Darielle]

I guess we will have to wait and see. They did it for the Witches Hut, gingerbread house, mermaid thingy, golem too I think

The comment that I responded to was your reply to Sir Squirrel, who mentioned Inno selling second bases, not first ones. That's what I thought you meant when you said they would be offered free later ... a second base. The only free witches hut, gingerbread house, mermaid and golem you can get is if you don't already have one. You can't get a second one in the MA.