Hi All! This is a really basic guide meant for those just starting out to contest. If any corrections to the information contained in this post need to be made, please PM me :).
This guide is current to include all changes to the system as of 2007-09-06.
Firstly, no more than ONE class per hour!
Ponies lose health points every time they compete in a training contest. A pony can lose anywhere from 0-8 points PER CLASS they compete in. For this reason, never sign your pony up for more than ONE class per hour and make sure you vet after EVERY hour you contest in. Always double check that your vetting request went through correctly by reloading your stable page or checking that vetting was recorded in your finance page.
Now, here are the three most basic things to keep in mind when you start to contest:
A. The higher your pony places, the more XP it will earn.
B. The more contesters there are, the more XP your pony can earn.
C. A pony that is close to or above the class average will earn better XP.
Making sure your pony places as high as it can
How your pony places in a contest determines how much XP it gets to take home as compared to everyone else. The higher your pony places, the more XP it will earn. Your pony doesn't have to place in the top 3 to earn good XP, but it is best to place as high as it can so you want to make sure you maximize your pony's potential.
Your pony's place in a contest is determined by 4 things:
1. The pony's attributes.
Different contest types will judge different attributes. Please refer to the Advanced section of the manual under the Contests paragraph to see the kind of attributes judged in each contest type and the weight given to them. You can get a general idea of how your pony will do in a given contest type.
2. The ponys health
Ponies can lose up to 8 health points per class. Low health can affect a pony's performance in a contest. In addition, a pony that competes without a full health bar risks dying in a contest. Therefore, always be sure your pony is fully vetted before each and every contest.
3. The pony's mood
Low mood will have a negative affect on a pony's performance. I've noticed that a pony with 0 mood can place 15 spots lower than a similar pony with a full mood bar. Try to keep your pony's mood above 7 at all times. Mood is explained in more detail in the Tutorial section of the manual.
4. The pony's random performance factor
This unfortunately is random and assigned by the system at the time the contest is judged. This determines if your pony is having a good day or a bad day. A good day improves performance, a bad day will reduce it. You have no control over this which is why it's important to maximize items #1-3 which are things you CAN control.
An ideal contest or a full contest?
A lot of times you see a contest class that is very well suited for your pony's current attributes but there are very few contesters participating while a class with a less ideal contest type is nearly full. Which do you enter?
A high number of contesters is very important to good XP gain in the new system. The more contesters there are, the more XP there is available for everyone to gain. So, unless you're sure your pony will place 1-3 in the smaller contest (less than 40) it is better to go with the fuller contest.
How does the Class Average affect XP gain?
The Class Average, is the average of all the levels of the ponies participating in that particular class. It is one of the variables in the XP formula.
The avearge affects how much XP you get to take home. There is a penalty for being below average and it is meant to even out XP gain for those below average and to discourage abuse of the system. Ideally, you want to be LESS THAN 50% below the average of the class because the penalty is lower. Those who are more than 50% below the average get a slightly higher penalty. It's ok to be below the average, but you do want to avoid being penalized more for being too far below the average.
Better Average or Fuller Class?
Recent experiments have shown that a fuller class with a lower average still produces better XP for all ponies as opposed to a class with a better average but fewer contestants.
What are the best snacks to feed to increase mood?
Do not buy the cupcakes! The blue ones cost more than twice the amount the mixed berries do and give only 1 extra mood point. The cherry cupcakes are just as bad giving the same amount of mood points as the mixed berries but costing 20pg more!
Consider this, if food points cost 10pg each, this is how much you are paying for each mood point when buying snacks:
Blue Cupcake: 17pg
Cherry Cupcake: 15pg
Mixed Berries: 10pg
Mixed Berries are the cheapest mood item out there right now :).
I always buy Mixed Berries and then supplement with a cookie or carrot if I have to in order to bring the mood bar to 10. Most of the time, I'm using berries :).
Also, always level a pony BEFORE feeding snacks. It might be a good idea to refresh the page manually to view the updated mood bar before feeding snacks since leveling doesn't refresh that part of the pony's profile any longer. Mood improves +1 for every level a pony has earned :). This way, you feed fewer snacks :).
For additional contesting questions you may have, please read through some of the recent threads in this forum. Also feel free to ask additional questions regarding strategy in this forum.
10-02 21:00 1879
|  |
10-02 21:05 240
 | Thanks, this is very helpful   |
10-17 00:38 136
| How do you feed snacks?   |
10-17 18:57 2508
 | This is super-helpful, Poohgirl! Thank you for posting it! Emily: To feed snacks, click on a pony's name, and it'll take you to the pony profile. Find the little button that says Items and click it, then double-click on the snacks. After the page loads, your pony will show that it had the snack. ^^ Sub of Me - Breeding Account |
11-22 08:22 491
| I am sorry Poohgirl, but what is XP???  This is a sub-off account to *FaunaBird*! |
11-23 03:55 2616
| XP is short for experience, or experience points. Sub of Me - Breeding Account |
02-12 14:21 95
| What do you mean by class average? 0.o That's a new term for me...  PM PIPBA2 to join! |
03-31 23:52 90
| As many others have said; thank you very much! This was very helpful!   |
05-03 15:46 585
| The middleish level for the whole contest, example- You have a contest that only allows levels 0-50. Most of the ponies are around 20-30 class average. I think    |
