Here is the official announcement thread for the 2024 Summer Festival!

Festival Start Time: Saturday, August 10th at 12:00 PM
Forum Games End Time: Sunday, September 8th at 11:59 PM
Zone Closes: Sunday, September 8th at 11:59 PM
Festival End Time: Sunday, September 15th at 11:59 PM

The Summer Festival is when all Sylestians celebrate the joys of warm weather, beaches, and all that comes with the season of summer! This time of year is the last period of time before the weather starts to turn.

The Summer Festival also marks the return of the Lighira! Throughout the Summer Festival, these elusive symbols of summer can be found throughout the Festival Zone. So be sure to catch as many as you can before they return to their nesting grounds for the remainder of the year!




Diamond Sale and Double XP Event
https://www.sylestia.com/shops/diamondshop/

Start Time: Saturday, August 10th at 12:00 PM
End Time: Sunday, August 18th at 11:59 PM

During this time, all battles will award Double Experience!


Stable Purchase: 400 (20% Discount)
Diamonds: Receive 20% Extra Base Per Purchase!

[Exceptional Genetic Test Kit]: 1,000 (33% Discount)
[Exceptional Genetic Scanner]: 1,000 (33% Discount)
[Exceptional Infertility Kit]: 1,000 (33% Discount)
[Masterful Snare Trap]: 350 (30% Discount)

[Perfume of Themed Attraction]: 150 (Limited Item)
[Trait Extractor (Restricted Wild)]: 300 (25% Discount)
[Philter of Trait Disruption (Themed)]: 200 (33% Discount)
[Philter of Expedient Learning]: 200 (33% Discount)
[Greater Genetic Mutator]: 160 (20% Discount)
[Greater Pet Dye]: 120 (20% Discount)
[Perfume of Themed Attraction (Lost Grove)]: 80 (20% Discount)
[Philter of Infertility]: 80 (20% Discount)
[Magical Pie]: 80 (20% Discount)
[Philter of Gender Swapping]: 80 (20% Discount)
[Prismatic Philter]: 60 (25% Discount)

[Divine Lighira Essence]: 1,000 (50% Discount)
[Mystical Lighira Essence]: 500 (50% Discount)

[Summer Festival Mega-Bundle]: 10,000 (Limited Item - Limit 1 Per Player)
[Summer Festival Fun-dle]: 3,900 ( Limited Item - Limit 1 Per Player)
[Mermaid Shell Complete Set]: 1,200 (Limited Item - Limit 1 Per Player)
[Majestic Sculpting Mold]: 1,200 (Limited Item)
[Fabled Sculpting Mold]: 800 (Limited Item)
[Regular Sculpting Mold]: 400 (Limited Item)
[Fabled Sculpting Mold (Aged)]: 400 (Limited Item)
[Regular Sculpting Mold (Aged)]: 100 (Limited Item)
[Majestic Tool Combo 20-Pack]: 1,500 (Limited Item)
[Majestic Beach Shovel (10-Pack)]: 500 (Limited Item)
[Majestic Beach Fishing Pole (10-Pack)]: 500 (Limited Item)
[Box of Sculpting Supplies]: 600 (Limited Item)
[Box of Sculpting Agents]: 300 (Limited Item)
[Quick Drying Agent]: 500 (Limited Item)
[Premium Clam]: 60 (Limited Item)

[Trait Disruptor (Zolnixi - Blazing Tiger)]: 500 (NEW)




Themed Pet List
https://www.sylestia.com/festival/festival_summer/themed_list/

Visit the page above to see all of the available Themed Pets from this year's Summer Festival!




Login Rewards
https://www.sylestia.com/festival/login_rewards/

Throughout the duration of the Festival, players can visit here every day to claim a free reward! After claiming a day's reward, players must wait until 12:00 AM daily to claim the next day's reward regardless of when they claimed today's reward.

Players also have the option of unlocking the Premium Login Rewards for a one-time fee. Once purchased, players can claim additional, more premium, rewards with each day's claim! Additionally, each day's rewards will be unlocked automatically for you, even if you missed a day! However, you will still have to visit the page to manually claim them. If you do not unlock the Premium Login Rewards, you will have to manually unlock and claim your rewards for each day.

There are lots of awesome rewards available. Be sure to check them out and claim them all!




Festival Exploration Zone
https://www.sylestia.com/explore/newzone/?zone=esiorscove
This zone is recommended for players using pets of Level 10 and above!

Esior's Cove has returned! This map is very large and hosts a total of 14 different Named across 8 different spawn locations! There are 8 Named who drop brand new Avatar Sets and 6 Named who drop new Pre-Colored versions of some of last year's Avatar Sets.

While exploring, players can encounter various enemies and Themed Pets. There are a total of 34 Wild Themed Pets that can be found in Esior's Cove, 17 of which are new, including a Wild Themed Ferrikki!

Players who battle with Level 60 Pets or higher will face tougher encounters within Esior's Cove. However, this will reward them with a double loot chance on every Named victory for Avatar Items and a bonus loot chance on other enemies!

Players can find virtually all of this year's festival items by exploring and battling in this zone. So if you're unsure of where to go to participate in the festival, this is the place to start!




Sylesti Sand Sculpting
https://www.sylestia.com/festival/festival_summer/sylesti_beach/

Sylesti Sand Sculpting has returned! While similar to the Spring Festival's Sylesti Garden, there are some differences. Players must first fill one of their Sandboxes with Sand and then select a Sculpting Mold that they've collected in order to begin. Every so often, your Sculpture will need to be conditioned by using the appropriate Sand Sculpting Agent:

Deformed: Block of Sand
Cracked: Vial of Seawater
Soaked: Essence of Sun

For each Sand Sculpting Agent that you use on your Sculpture, it will progress towards completion. Once complete, you can collect it for a unique Sculpture Themed Pet!

The details of your pet will depend on what Mold and what Additives you used on your Sculpture during its creation. Below is a list of all Additives that can be used on Sculptures:

Prismatic Pearl: The completed Sculpture will be a 3-Visible Pet (2-Visible if Majestic).
Golden Pearl: The completed Sculpture will be a 2-Visible Pet (1-Visible if Majestic).
Mundane Pearl: The completed Sculpture will be a 1-Visible Pet (2-Carry if Majestic).

Quick Drying Agent: Removes the waiting period between incurred conditions. This allows repeated application of Sand Sculpting Agents until the Sculpture is complete. *This can only be used once that specific Themed Pet has already been harvested once by anyone on the Site*
Siren Tears: Boosts the Base Stats of a Pet by 100 Health and 5 Str, Int, Dex, and Agi. Can be used four times. Requires 2 per use.
Sea Pebbles: Allows you to guarantee a Visible Trait in a specific eligible slot. Requires 2 per use.
Enriched Sand: Guarantees that a Visible Trait will have a hidden Carried Trait. Requires 2 per use.
Blue Coating: Guarantees that the Pet will be a Male. Requires 6 per use.
Pink Coating: Guarantees that the Pet will be a Female. Requires 6 per use.

As an added bonus to this feature, you are also able to work on other player's Sculptures! Simply visit their Beach and use one of the available Sculpting Agents or Additives on their Sculptures. They will be notified of your caring gesture and may even return the favor! You will also earn Sun Tokens for being such a friendly neighbor! You may even get lucky and find an exclusive Avatar Item!

There are a total of 26 new Sculpting Themed Pets available: 4 Majestic Themed Pets, 8 Fabled Themed Pets, and 14 Regular Themed Pets. Additionally, last year's Fabled and Regular Themed are still available and appear as "Aged".

The following Titles are also available:

Assistant to the Sculptor: Use Sculpting Agents on other players' Sculptures 25 times.
Sculptor: Sculpt all 14 Regular Mold Themed Pets.
Fabled Sculptor: Sculpt all 8 Fabled Mold Themed Pets.
Majestic Sculptor: Sculpt a Majestic Mold Themed Pet.
Omniscient Sculptor: Sculpt all 22 Species + 3 Majestic.
Premier Sculptor: Be the first to complete any Sculpture. This Player will also receive a [Peerless Avatar Token]!





Beach Treasure Seeking
https://www.sylestia.com/festival/festival_summer/beach_treasure_seeking/

Beach Treasure Seeking has returned! In order to play, you must first collect any of the three Beach Shovels or any of the three Fishing Poles. Each type has three ranks: Wooden, Iron, and Majestic. While Wooden and Iron tools have the same prize pool, Iron tools will yield much better prizes on average. Majestic tools have not only a better, exclusive prize table, but they will also yield much better prizes on average compared to Iron tools.

Just simply visit the page, select a tile, and select the tool that you wish to use to search for treasure!

Every 8 hours, you can select to move to a new map where all tiles will be reset. Each time you move, you will have a chance of spawning bonus tiles. Bonus tiles are any tile with a special object on them. Using a tool on a bonus tile will improve your chances of finding the more rare items!

Additionally, purchasing a 'Move Approval' will increase your chances of spawning bonus tiles.

The following items are available from Beach Treasure Seeking:

Majestic Tools
-[Majestic Sculpture Mold] / [Fabled Sculpting Mold] / [Mystery Sculpting Mold]
-[Premium Clam] / [Regular Clam]
-[Philter of Expedient Learning]
-[Philter of Trait Disruption]
-[Perfume of Themed Attraction]
-[Greater Genetic Mutator]
-[Greater Pet Dye]

Wooden and Iron Tools
-[Fabled Sculpting Mold] / [Mystery Sculpting Mold]
-[Premium Clam] / [Regular Clam]
-[Prismatic Philter]
-[Magical Pie]
-[Lesser Genetic Mutator]
-[Lesser Pet Dye]

All Tools
-Elven Summer Companion, Legendary/Epic Elven Summer Gardener, Retired Avatar Item - Summer (Held), Retired Avatar Item - Summer (Non-Held). (Can be obtained with any Tool, however, odds significantly increase with higher quality Tools)
-[Sand Sculpting Agent]
-[Quick Drying Agent] (Excludes Wooden)
-[Siren Tears]
-[Sea Pebbles]
-[Enriched Sand]
-[Blue Coating]
-[Pink Coating]
-[Sun Tokens] (Excludes Majestic)
-Gold (Excludes Majestic)




Sylestiopoly
https://www.sylestia.com/festival/festival_summer/sylestiopoly/

Sylestiopoly is a game where your goal is to collect all of the Sylestiopoly Properties! There are 22 total Properties spread across 8 different Sets: Tutorial, Viridian, Umbra, Elven, Dungeon, Astryl, Lost Grove, and Mythical.

Once you have collected at least one copy of each Property for a given Set, you can 'Use' them from your Inventory to turn them in for a reward. Once used, those cards will be consumed. However, you can collect and turn in as many cards as you want.

If you manage to complete all 8 Sets at least once, you will receive [Scottie Pennybags] as a one-time reward!


Avatar Held Item

When combined, the Astryl, Lost Grove, and Mythical Sylestiopoly Properties will award a random Re-Colorable Elven Summer Avatar Item (Excluding Gardener) in addition to their other reward!



Some Sets' Properties are much harder to find than others! You can obtain Sylestiopoly Properties by participating in various Festival activities, such as by defeating Named within Esior's Cove.




Task Log
https://www.sylestia.com/festival/festival_summer/task_list/

The Festival Task Log is back and is full of 40+ Tasks for all sorts of things during the Festival. How this works is just simply complete whatever is required of the Task and credit will automatically be tallied into your Task Log. Once you have completed the Task the required amount of times, you will receive whatever the reward for the Task is. It's that simple!

There are both Daily Tasks, which reset every day at midnight, and Festival Tasks, which can only be completed once per Festival. Be sure to complete as many as you can!




Leaderboard Contests
https://www.sylestia.com/festival/festival_summer/sylesti_contests/

Throughout the duration of the Festival, there will be a total of 132 Contests running! There are 2 types of Contests: Enemies Defeated and Pets Nurtured. The 1st Place winner of each Contest will receive a 3-Visible Sculpture Pet of that Species. The 2nd, 3rd, and 4th Place finishers of each Contest will receive a 2-Visible Sculpture Pet of that Species. All top 10 winners will receive a Contest Leaderboard Pouch which can contain some of the Festival's best items!

Enemies Defeated: In order to earn points for this Contest, you must defeat enemies inside the Festival Zone with pets of that Species. Having multiple Pets of the same Species counts as multiple points. Additionally, having various Pets in your Party counts for each of their respective Contests.

Pets Nurtured: In order to earn points for this Contest, you must nurture Pets of that Species. There are no other restrictions.

Lastly, all players can earn [Contest Reward Pouches] by earning so many points per Contest. There is no limit to the amount of pouches a player can earn. So the more you participate, the more that you'll receive! Reward pouches can contain various festival rewards.

Contest Schedule:
Enemies Defeated Contest #1: 8/12 at 12:00 AM - 8/16 at 11:59 PM
Enemies Defeated Contest #2: 8/21 at 12:00 AM - 8/25 at 11:59 PM
Enemies Defeated Contest #3: 8/30 at 12:00 AM - 9/3 at 11:59 PM

Pets Nurtured Contest #1: 8/12 at 12:00 AM - 8/16 at 11:59 PM
Pets Nurtured Contest #2: 8/21 at 12:00 AM - 8/25 at 11:59 PM
Pets Nurtured Contest #3: 8/30 at 12:00 AM - 9/3 at 11:59 PM

Note: We are trying something new this Festival with the start times. All Contest Rounds will begin at 12:00 AM instead of various unique times. We will see how feedback is after the Festival is over and see if this will become a permanent change or not. The reasoning behind this is that it should make it more fair for Nurture Boards.




Avatar Items and Festival Shop
https://www.sylestia.com/shops/holidayshop/#shop

There are a ton of new Avatar Items, 200+ NEW in total, available from this year's Summer Festival. Sand Sculpting and Beach Seeking Supplies are also available from the Festival Shop! Be sure to collect as many [Sun Tokens] as you can to afford all of these items!


Participate in Forum Games
http://www.sylestia.com/forums/?forum=24

2024 Summer Festival - 3-Visible Ice Cream Pet
2024 Summer Festival - Beach Stickers
2024 Summer Festival - Seashell Sudoku

Throughout the Festival, we will be hosting many various Forum Games. Visit the link above and look for any stickied thread that begins with "Summer Festival".

Don't miss out! Participating in many of the games will guarantee you a prize. Others offer such great prizes for winning that you won't want to miss out!

Just a quick update on what's still to come, as there are quite a few things not available just yet.

Firstly, Forum Games will start getting posted either late tonight or tomorrow. So keep an eye out for those.

Secondly, the artwork for the Zolnixi's Blazing Tiger Restricted Trait Set is still being worked on. Atm, only the Adult Female has any of the artwork in. As soon as it's available, I will get the rest put in game.

Also on artwork, we are working on some adjustments to the Sylvorpa's Nereid Restricted Trait Set. The Adult Female has some of the edits already in. However, I requested some artwork to be changed as well, mostly just for the G1. Again, as soon as this is available, it will be put into the game.

Additionally, the Solar Eclipse Event from earlier this year will be returning - permanently - to the Summer Festival! I really like how the Shared Garden brings the whole community together during the Spring Festival so one of my focuses this year is to add a community-based event to all four Festivals. As such, the Solar Eclipse Event will be available later this week for the Summer Festival and will become a recurring feature year after year.

Lastly, we have changed the start times for all Leaderboard Contest Rounds to be at 12 AM instead of the staggered unique time for each round. We will give this a test for this Festival and see how it goes. If players overall prefer this schedule, we will apply it to all future Festivals.


There's probably some more miscellaneous stuff that I'm forgetting. But the TLDR is, more still to come!

Have to say, i for one am very happy boards are starting at midnight. I would be clicking pets before boards started for the day and remembering i shouldnt be nurturing. Starting at midnight also gives people a better chance of nurturing everything that first day. For me cause boards would start when i was sleeping mostly i typically only got 5-8 hours of nurture before the new day thus i was behind everyone and needed to get close to all on site or all of them on site to get into pet slots

The Solar Eclipse Event is now active in Esior's Cove! The Event has two stages. During the first stage, players must defeat enemies in order to progress the stage. As more enemies are defeated, the angrier the spirits get. Once they have reached their peak, the second stage will begin.

During the second stage, the spirits block out the sun (or moon) and unleash special Solar Eclipse Themed Pets into Esior's Cove. For the next 20 minutes, players must battle to survive! The longer that the eclipse is active, the more difficult all enemies are - with increased battle Health, Strength, and Intelligence. However, at the same time, the rate of encountering Solar Eclipse Themed Pets also increases. With extra risk, there is extra rewards!

After the 20 minute eclipse, the Event will reset and return to the first stage.

During the eclipse stage, any of the 22 Solar Eclipse Themed Pets can be encountered, including all of the Fabled species. However, the Fabled species are much more rare than the regular species.

Additionally, enemies can be significantly stronger during the eclipse stage, so make sure to bring your best party forth! The rarer the Sylesti, the more difficulty it will be. Themed Pets are even more difficult.

Players also will have their own Attraction rating. The more enemies that an individual player defeats, the higher their Attraction rating will increase. The higher the rating, the more likely they are to encounter a Solar Eclipse Themed Pet. The Attraction rating only resets when a Solar Eclipse Themed Pet is encountered.


Since this is a brand new event (to the Summer Festival), I will be making lots of adjustments to get everything balanced properly. While the concept is the same as the Solar Eclipse Event in the Lost Grove earlier this year, the mechanics are entirely different between the Lost Grove and the Festival Zone. So it will take some time for me to get everything properly tuned. Thanks for your patience. =)

I was just thinking about the Solar Eclipse event and had some ideas maybe? It's very difficult for some, especially at a certain point with the stacks. I was wondering if there could be a "Safe zone" that doesn't require one to stop exploring until the event is over. Like, if you're in the caves, the eclipse doesn't affect in there and you don't encounter SE themes. It was just something I thought about when waiting for the event and seeing other people deciding whether they wanted to dip or not.

There could be added Players Personal attraction rating to the zone progress window? Just a thought that might be helpful knowing how far they are finding SE themed pet...

Link: https://www.sylestia.com/forums/?thread=109009&page=1#6 Author: Cinny Time Posted: 8/13/2024 at 5:09 AM There could be added Players Personal attraction rating to the zone progress window? Just a thought that might be helpful knowing how far they are finding SE themed pet...

It's in there. It's the "Solar Eclipse Attraction" value.

Oh, I thought it's for all players, as it reaches 100 it's higher chance for everyone, not like each individual, to encounter SE theme.
Never mind then, what I wrote '(^.^)

Link: https://www.sylestia.com/forums/?thread=109009&page=1#8 Author: Cinny Time Posted: 8/13/2024 at 7:17 AM Oh, I thought it's for all players, as it reaches 100 it's higher chance for everyone, not like each individual, to encounter SE theme. Never mind then, what I wrote '(^.^)

The "Defeat Any Enemy" is global and shows how close it is until the next eclipse event begins.

The "Solar Eclipse Attraction" is your personal tracker indicating how much bonus you have to spawn a Solar Eclipse Themed Pet.

Quite a few updates to the Solar Eclipse Event:

- Further reduced the base difficulty of enemies during an eclipse event and the difficulty scaling as the eclipse goes on.

- Enemies afflicted with Solar Surge will no longer run away from the battle. This means that pets will no longer run away from battle upon a failed trap attempt.

- A new enemy, Solar Flare, can now be encountered during an eclipse event. It has an increased chance of being encountered the longer into the eclipse it is. Upon defeat, it will drop the same loot table as a zone Named. If defeated by a Level 60+ Party, it will also have a chance of dropping exclusive Solar Eclipse Held Items and Salvaged Molds.



- Players not interested in participating in an active eclipse event can seek refuge on the water. All Solar Eclipse event mechanics will be disabled for encounters while in the water.