Another year has whizzed by, and with every year come some amazing posts. So - I have taken the winning posts from each month of 2015 and combined them to create: POST OF THE YEAR, 2015!
As soon as the December winner has been finalised, this will be open to vote.
On behalf on all of the staff here at The Dragonvale Community, I would like to say a HUGE thank you for sharing your comments with us over the past year, allowing us to laugh - being here cheers up my day, and to celebrate what a brilliant year this has been, let's look back at our favourite posts from each year!
Last Edit: Feb 5, 2016 13:23:26 GMT -6 by jamesvaler
No longer active on DragonVale! *briefly back online*
However, we do periodically lubricate the servos in our optical sensor arrays.
This function is for routine maintenance, not an expression of joy, sadness or frustration.
Despite the apparent statistical abnormality, I assure you it was just normal, routine maintenance that just happened to be synced up with the endings of the Iron Giant, Big Hero 6 and Star Trek: TNG S03E16...
Now if you will excuse me, I... I think I feel a maintenance cycle coming on...
I think this deserves a POTM.
No longer active on DragonVale! *briefly back online*
My wife also uses a different word from "revenge" when she does that thing that resembles revenge. It means the same thing. But it's a different word. And she won't tell me what the different word is. She'll only tell me that she isn't exacting revenge. And then she smiles.
Then I get afraid.
Then I usually apologize. For something.
POTM.
No longer active on DragonVale! *briefly back online*
This is my 500th post, and so it will be a special one! This sort of thing happens on lots of other forums, so I decided to bring the idea to the best community that I know of - this one!
I love this community. It is fun and kind and knowledgeable! Everyone here is just lovely and it's been marvellous getting to know you all! I have had great fun along the way and have almost caught up to everyone else. I recently passed my 1st year anniversary of being on this site, and 500 posts later, and numerous friends later, I'm still here and loving every moment of being here!
So, I will now give a few shout outs to everyone here who has helped me, or whom I have made great friends with! I am really sorry if I forget absolutely anyone, but I am a pea-brain sometimes! Also, I hope you understand that I can't really mention everyone...
Please be aware. This is in absolutely no particular order! (Mostly)
Administrator - Poppy, our forum founder! It makes so much sense chronologically to start with you, so I have... I guess! (The only one person who is purposefully placed in this position in this list...) I am so thankful that you made this community and that I did in fact find it! It's always nice to see you around, with your wisdom! Aloha!
Buffy - A great friend, and a source of much wisdom! It's always fun to read your friendly posts, helping to tie the community together! Please continue to be very nice, and can't wait to get to know you better!
GregDarcy - sigh... What would we do without our pile of bones...? A source of all knowledge and a great individual, you could be said to be the life and soul of the party! You are so dedicated and it's always great to learn something new from you. Please don't actually leave! *tear*.
myke - Thank you for keeping his community so alive, and helping with the oiling of its day-to-day operation! You always help breathe a little bit of grammar into the conversation and it's always funny to read your regular posts!
Bloodstone - After I realised that you are notbloodstone too, I realised how confusing things get with you! But you have cleared everything up in DV for me! You have the most informative posts and threads EVER! Your forecast and all the other breeding information! Wow, you are so helpful and I will be forever grateful to you for this; please keep helping us out so much... The android robot of the forum!
Fletch_smf _smf - Well, you disappeared for so long, but since you've been back, you've brightened the community up so much, and we all love you! You really are an extremely kind and interesting person, and it's so nice to have a legend back!
ceme - My first gem friend. You have survived as a gem friend since then, and I always send my gems with a lot of koala and thanks! I am greatly thankful for all he gems, but also for your friendship on this community, and having a lot of fun here! I continue to enjoy your posts and hope to for years into the future!
anyahastur - Your cute little lunar eclipse dragon always warns me of your amazing posts! A helpful and kind member, you are just so easy to like! An active member, you help out in all the vents, in all breeding and in the forums! You are just too good to be true! Koala!
flutterbye - As a global moderator you lead our conversations and keep the forums alive! Without you the forum would have died out and as the life of the community, we are all extremely thankful of you! And the cute avatar always reminds us of your amazingness!
vonfirmath - Always a very active member of the forums, and a moderator who has once again provided a body for this community. Always helping others and leading conversations, it's lovely to see you around and to have gotten to know you over this time!
lemmyloop - An old timer, I suppose, and as you impart your wisdom on us, we all appreciate it! Providing me with laughter, smiles and information, it's great to have you running this forum! I am so grateful to you for this!
viviane - Your cute little dragon holds your mug so nicely, and similarly you hold a brilliant position very nicely in he forum! As one of the originals, you always lighten up the forums and seeing you around is lovely! Please continue being so nice! Koala!
Jack - Another legend of the forums, and whenever you pop in, you keep up the brilliant mentality which is in the forums. Always showing us the light at the end of the tunnel with your early pics of the end of the events, it's really cool to see someone who has been here for so long around! Koala!
rulilind - Once again I must thank you for that gem shower I got, all those months ago! In fact, it was over a year ago, seeing as I was trying for aquamarine.... I finally got one this year and it reminded me of you and your Lapis troubles! You have been one of the most friendly people I have ever met, and have also got two active, dragon keeping children, who are almost as cool as you! ..... (Sshhhhh don't tell them!)
cecilia - At the duck pond! Your posts are so informative and when you do pop in, it's like having a VID (very important dragon keeper) here! You always feel very important and special, especially because of your awesome posts and signatures!
Susie Spieler - You have been the victim of lots of GC problems and BFS problems and I don't know how you held on, but I am grateful that you have stuck to this community, and I hope that you stick around at that your problems disappear soon!
elehcim - The golden leap year dragon! You always seem to join and you care for this community and it's extremely nice to know that he world does have lovely people like you in it! As one of my original gem friends, I am forever in your debt!
dilldog - Always the optimist! And it's true! You add so much light to the community and add a great deal of fun and games. Please do continue to do so, as well as adding your extremely useful info for us all to bathe in!
wapatango - What to say? Well, for a start... Your rivalry with GD! Always provides me with a laugh, which is great after a hard day! But you are more than just that! You are one of the kindest and funniest people I have ever met, online or offline! Your contributions to the community are greatly appreciated, I promise!
freitag - Having provided so much fun, games and laughter for the forum, I really must thank you for ever let you've ever made! Honestly you are hilarious, perhaps one of the funniest on the forums! Koala!
waggintail - the cute little Sakura dragon who is a brilliant member of the forum, like the Sakura dragon of the forum! Please keep posting and helping us all out! My BGF (best gem friend!)
dragoncollector - My second gem friend if I remember correctly, and the person who gave me one of the most welcoming and warming welcomes ever! You helped nurture me so that I could become a member of this community and now I thank you for it!
EuroKnuter - You love this community just as much for me, and I thank you for your love of he site and of the enthusiasm you show throughout everything! Your a great person, extremely helpful and the community is lucky to have you here and I hope you stay with us for a long time!
ElektronX - Our art queen! As part of my thank you, I dedicate my brand new avatar to you! Your art is stunning, and your posts are often hilarious, intriguing or uplifting! Always great to see something of yours, and you are truly talented! Please still keep posting them and doing what you do! Koala!
magpac - One of the top players I know of, it's been great since you joined the forum and helped us all out! You are super-duper helpful and I wish you lots and lots and lots of koala in any future breeding and keeping of your dragons and park!
Greger - since you joined you have hosted competitions and led interesting conversations! You are another fantastic member of the community, and you're always so helpful! How funny to find your comment on YouTube! Strange, but perhaps destiny...
rion - our little Light rift dragon, you float and fly around the forum like a super helpful buzzing bee, all the way from Japan! You love easter, and like easter you are always a breath of fresh air, so I hope you too enjoy easter!
BigZ - A beautiful park, I have to say! You really are a nice person and I really would like to get to know you better! You always update us on BFS' Facebook and you greatly assist me in my dragonvale career! Koala and I have sent you a lucky gem!
Bane Cane - Thank you! Thank you for all those reminders about the decorations. You never fail to remind me to buy them.... Otherwise I would always forgotten. But you are also a great member of the community, and always have a great input, and I hope I am always seeing your name posting on the forum.
Lamonster - You always bring us the news from BFS, and perfectly offer your help on this community, which is what it is all about. Already you have given us 100 amazing posts, and helped the community grow! Enjoying seeing you around!
NinjaKiwi. - We might not only hold in common our enjoyment of DV, and it's always nice to hear about how your park is running, and how you are doing! Can't wait to hear of your next successes!
homais - You have amazing ideas, you are friendly and simply a nice person! It's always great to hear what you have for us, and your updates and help in the events! A day to day poster, I may not know you very well, but I hope to get to know you better!
Adriano - Always very positive, and as one of he newer members of the community, it's lovely to see what cool people are always joining this growing community! I'm sure you are really busy with uni and work, but I hope this will break through that boring stuff, perhaps you can come and visit us again, give us smile at least, hey! I mean it was your birthday recently! Hope you enjoyed it!
Lady Redwolf - A recently returned member, it's always nice for myself, as a newer member to see those who were here in the early days of the forum! Very helpful and kind, I will hope to see more of your helpful posts in the future!
jamesvaler - now that's just cheeky.... I can't put myself in! Haha! Goodness... Sometimes I really need to be punished....
noodles - An active and avid user of the forum, you are always very helpful in the events and in breeding, and it's lively to see your comments! Koala to your park and breedings! Hope to chink glasses with you with a little bit of dragonade.
crumble608 - Perhaps one of the people I know the best on this community, you are always thoughtful and lovely! Your 3D creations are fascinating, and I wish I could buy them! Seeing you around is often a highlight and koala in all your future breeding! Also... A lovely park and avatar. Koala!
@jv's Solar Eclipse Dragon - ...How did you sneak in here? Anyway... You are my favourite dragon in dragonvale and you are officially my new avatar forever more! The Solar Eclipse army will rule forever more! And as more members join, we will grow and we will conquer the parks EVERYWHERE.... Ummm.... I mean... We will join and form an alliance with everyone else.... And their parks... #SEArmy
mishkasmom - Since I joined, you have always been there, constantly inputting with awesome info, interesting facts, and helping make this community the beautiful thing it is! Your opinion is always very intriguing and I love reading whatever you say about every topic!
tpring1 - A great DragonVale player, providing help for everyone with their device problems, BFS problems and general event problems! Always aiding others, we all owe one to you! Sad to see that at the moment your fire dragon is still trapped. Hope he is released by @bfs soon!
kydolind - A great gem friend, I love visiting your beautiful park and seeing how it should be done! One of the famed Linds, the fun and friendliness must run in the family!
ilovdragons - you may have only just joined, but it's been nice getting to know you and already having a bit of fun! I always appreciate gem friends, and I like to help everyone out!
Cyn - Always providing us with facts and figures and help with the events, you are one of the most determined and organised people that I know. I hope you continue to provide this assistance for a long time on the forum! Keep it going! it's highly appreciated!
Arkynos - A winner of the recent LastCall event, and we've all had trouble fixing your Gamecenter, but we got through the problem together, fortunately! Congrats on reaching your 100th post!
climo - Somehow you run 3 parks simultaneously, with your first park having the highest value I know of and clearly your an avid player, and it's so lovely that this community has found you and vice versa. I must say, your solstice army is very large, but one day my #SolarEclipseArmy will be bigger. Don't you worry!
Skitch - Long time lurker, short time friend! Since you first stepped out of the shadows, you have been a key part of the community, and have made some amazing suggestions! Hope to keep seeing you around!
@jv's plant dragon - Thank you for helping me create the park I have today! Could never have done it without you.... Where would I be without you? Not in this community, for sure! You may be naughty sometimes... But I still love you <3
.TommyB. - Another legend of the forum! Always a great post from you, and although you may not be the one who posts the most, whenever you post, it is with an important message, one we all should know! Quality, not quantity, as they say!
debstoy - The birthday wisher! Always helping making others' days better, I want to give something back to you, making your day better! Hope to see you on soon, you've been gone a while You are one of the other founders of this forum and it would be lovely to see your reply!
Kiyoji21 - One of the best mods ever! And you live in Hawaii, Which is so awesome! Always so helpful and kind around the forum, updating us on the events and it's workings, and always adding new angles to the chit chat over the forum! Please stay and keep doing what you are doing!
reikiquilter - You may have a rocky relationship with BFS, but we do agree on a lot and it's always nice to see someone else who shares my opinion. Your always very thoughtful and a great friend I have gained online!
dragonmagic1 - Always the positive and cool guy who wears their sunglasses! You are a key part of this community as an active poster and admin and it's always uplifting to read one of your posts! Koala!
And last, but never least!
@bfs - Thank you for this game. It has not only been a waste of a countless number of hours in my life, a fun game and a cute game, but also has brought this wonderful community together, one in which I have made countless friends, had plenty of fun and owe a lot to! Your game is beautiful and I hope that you never forget it! Please, please, keep bringing this game more awesome updates! As much as we whinge, we love it, and we don't care, as long as you keep updating it! Love the game and want to play it forever more! <3
Now, with five eggs under my name, named a warm kid, I truly belong here, yet unlike most forums, I felt like that from post one. This has got to be he kindest, most helpful community, and I have definitely made the most friends here!
I love you all <3 and I know that wherever anything goes, I will never truly leave!
So continue this amazing spirit, and I would like to share a few quotes with you all!
"The best and most beautiful things in life cannot be seen or even touched - they must be felt with the heart" - Helen Keller
"Try to be a rainbow in someone's cloud" - Maya Angelou
"If you can dream it, you can do it" - Walt Disney
"Koala in life. Koala in dragonvale. And koala in doing the impossible" - Jamesvaler's Dragons!
"We practice Aloha" - Poppy
The Solar Eclipse Army Founder
Jamesvaler
Koala!
1st --without a doubt -POTM
That was truly an amazingly awesome post--- we are lucky and proud that you are part of the forum. Thank YOU for being here! Koala -
Now I need to get back to RL - just swamped - Koala to all -
Last Edit: Jan 17, 2016 3:41:59 GMT -6 by jamesvaler
No longer active on DragonVale! *briefly back online*
Now to explain the symbolism on my Family Tree Island. To start off with, I'll mention the Winter Wonderland theme. My family has always had lots of fun outside playing in the snow. Also, where we live, the national forest and mountains behind our house are beautiful covered with snow. The house is important, because the house I have lived in for more than 20 years, is my great-grandfather's house (doesn't look at all like that one). The Snowy Trees represent the Christmas tree farm we lived on. Now for the dragons, I crowned the Bouquet and Bearded last August in honor of my parents. They had both died in August in the last decade. The baby Bouquet and Bearded represent my husband and myself as do the two Bed of Roses in the front. The Seasonal Dragons are for our 5 sons and 3 daughters as are the family footprints. The Sprouts do indeed represent the many grandchildren. I only wish I got to see them more often. jamesvaler was correct, the two baby Cottons represent the two grandchildren who will be joining our family in the next few months. I will be sending both EuroKnuter and jamesvaler a gem for guessing.
POTM. Beautiful. The trees i never would have guessed. But the whole island was so well tied together that it almost made me cry! And thanks for the gem!
Last Edit: Jan 17, 2016 3:47:56 GMT -6 by jamesvaler
No longer active on DragonVale! *briefly back online*
In keeping with tradition, this, as my 1000th post, will be very special. Before I write anything though, I must say that I continue to love this community more and more, and I must say it has been great fun getting to know you all better. This forum provides a way for people of all races, religions, ages, countries and genders to talk together in a friendly way without prejudices and all of us on an equal level. This is an outstanding forum and the spirit and community here is unbelievable. As Euroknuter would put it, I have made 100s of enemies here, and intend to keep it that way!
Now, I must go back and rectify a few issues from my previous post. The people who I forgot to mention, but so badly should have mentioned, I will say a few words about below. This includes awesome people that I have since met.
Pixie - How on earth I missed you on my first list I do not know, but I tell you this - it was a huge mistake. For a start you have the highest post count on this forum and that says it all really. You are dedicated hard working and a simply marvellous woman! I may have missed you as that was during your infrequent visiting time, but now, with you truly back, I appreciate you more than ever! Keep doing everything right as you have done for 3 years! oldsmol - A newer member of the forum, you fitted in so well, full of kind words and stunning pictures. I can't wait to get to know you more and see so much of that prized possession of yours- your Eggland! wOMantraNOM - Another newer member of the forum, you are kind hearted and always are there to help other people. I must say that for someone with so few posts, you feel so integrated into the forum already! echo9 - Again, I'm not sure quite how I originally missed you, but whenever I saw your posts I would grin and know that I would enjoy reading your opinions, your park updates or how you are helping out others. Keep posting, and keep making me smile!
Now, having rectified that issue, I have a story for all of you. The story of the forum.
Once upon a time, a long long time ago, there was a dragon, called poppy, who flew about the trees, watching all the birds. Poppy was good friends with another dragon, named fletch, who was a dragon losing its scales on its head. Fletch was interested in everything around him, and particularly enjoyed discussing and debating with the other dragons. So they decided, one day, to make a meeting club at a beautiful lake. Lots of new dragons were attracted to this lake, and visited regularly. Over a long time, the popularity of the lake grew and attracted hundreds of beautiful and shiny dragons. This story starts many years later, at a much more popular time of the lake. A young dragon, named James, decided it was time to start coming to the lake every so often. He would chat with the other dragons about lots of different things. Everybody there talked about their baby dragons and eggs, and their little homes. James was no different, but had a lot less baby dragons, and less dragon eggs, but he was determined to one day have just as many as everyone else. It was known that some of the bigger dragons had so many babies, that at their smoke drifted out of the words, so they were known as smokin' dragons. James liked all the dragons except one, the infamous Greg Darcy, a dragon known for hurting other dragons at the lake, and even eating baby dragons. He was merciless, ruthless and a heartless dragon eater. His main enemy, of course, was a stunning female dragon, Wapatango, who was known for being very bold and standing up to this bully dragon. But when he was young, his fear was calmed by the presence of one in particular older dragon, whom he began to get to know well - Buffy. However, this amount of time after the first meeting by the lake, poppy rarely came to visit the lake any longer, and fletch had left entirely. Therefore James looked up to a mechanical dragon, known as Bloodstone, as the king of the vale. On a daily basis, this dragon would wire up and update all the other dragons on what was occurring in the world. As well as this, another of the older dragons, Pixie, was often by the lake, cooling off and chatting to all the dragons. She was very popular, and was one of the leaders there. Another dragon who James particularly remembered was a dragon who knew all there was to know about dragon speak, and would correct some of the other members if they spelt anything incorrectly. When he was old enough, James was allowed to have some dragonade, served by the biggest lover of dragonade, a dragon who's name was mystified, but was known as the Magic dragon. The magic dragon enjoyed cooling off when he occasionally visited and was known for wearing sunglasses. However, one day, James decided that the occupation of looking after the baby dragons was too hard to do as well as visit the lake, so he stopped visiting the lake for 3 months. Three months later he returned, more mature than ever before! He met lots of other dragons, like vonfirmath and crumble who were really kind and helpful. He also got to know the legendary dragon, Jack, who was famous throughout the lands. Then, one day, Fletch returned to the lake for the first time in months, and out of the blue! Everyone was really excited and happy to have him back, and celebratory dragonade was served. James met lots of dragons there, like Lemmy, Debstoy, Viviane, Anya and Rulilind. At the party there was a dragon who could breathe fire into beautiful pieces of art, who went by the name EX. Everyone thought that the art was fantastic, and EX was therefore well know and well loved. After this, James continued to get to know and have fun and help everyone there. He met loads of awesome dragons, some big, some tall and they all had a lot of fun! One day he and another naughty trickster, Cyn, were approached and asked to help maintain the lake and control the people and help the people in it. Upon the seizing of this power, the two twin tricksters continued to tease one another. James insisted that Cyn call him Sir James, Valiant Knight of the Vale, which was the name of the lake. Then, finally Sir James took on an apprentice, named Euroknuter who was training in the art of teasing and tricking. Sir James then decided that he would make a small magical story every month or so, and everyone who visited the lake would be able to read it. That is the story so far of the Lake Vale and Sir James, and all his friends!
And that nicely brings me on to announce my next news! I will be starting up a newsletter, which will be issued from time to time.
Community members are allowed to submit articles on anything to do with DragonVale or BFS. Suggested articles are talks about recent DragonVale updates, discussion of new dragons and ideas for the future. There is no guide for length, but remember, 10 page articles are far too long, and 3 line articles are too short. Keep it sensible! Please PM Jamesvaler with the article, and I might put it in the next issue, or I might save it for another issue. If you would like to star as the person who's park I tour, please PM me also. That's right, I will be touring a new park every week. Look out for the first issue, it should be coming to your park soon!
Well, that concludes my 1000th post. Wow, time sure does fly by when your having fun! It wasn't too long ago when I posted my 500th post!
Koala and kind regards,
jamesvaler
POTM - quantity and awesome quality. Enjoyed reading and looking forward to receiving your future ones! Would have replied sooner but took a while to edit so there was not so much copied. Cheers!
No longer active on DragonVale! *briefly back online*
Wish granting is a unionized job with a set of bylaws and pandimensional standards that cannot and will not be compromised!
Chief among these rules and restrictions are The Sacred Three!
Firstly, one cannot intrude upon the purview of the Most Sacred Office of the No Longer Living, as per the Reaper Accords of Ctesiphon, which clearly states that wises may not be used to directly cause the death and/or resurrection of oneself or another.
Furthermore, one cannot wish to compromise the free will of another, id est no "love potion number #9" effects. If this is your desire, please instead contact the offices of Sir Reginald Cupid the 125th at Guild of Benevolent Lasciviousness. Make sure to send a self addressed stamped envelope and allow six to eight weeks for a reply, roughly double that in the months leading up to Valentines day or the World Cup.
Finally, last but not least, YOU CAN"T WISH FOR MORE WISHES nor the presence of additional authorized wish granting entities! Under section 37B of the contract signed by youm, as well as any and all aforementioned authorized wish granting entities, including but not limited to genies, leprechauns, shooting stars, wishing wells, et cetera, it states quite clearly that all offers shall become null and void if, and you can read it for yourself online, "I, the undersigned, shall forfeit all rights, privileges, and licenses herein and herein contained, et cetera, et cetera... Fax mentis incendium gloria cultum, et cetera, et cetera... Memo bis punitor delicatum!"
It's all there, black and white, clear as crystalline dragons!
You wished for more wishes, so you get NOTHING!
You lose! Good day, sir (or madam)!
Signed;
Barrister Bloodstone
PS: Be aware that the gnomes DO have you under observation and our lawyers will be in touch. I wouldn't leave the Vale if I were you...
PPS: Seriously folks, read the end user license agreement...it's all there.
I wish this wins POTM!
No longer active on DragonVale! *briefly back online*
No, only an amateur swag snagger would swagger for the weight of the swag a professional swag snagger had snagged, would cause that snagger to stagger.
Wapa, you got my vote! POTM
No longer active on DragonVale! *briefly back online*
21:36 Twenty one hours and thirty six minutes. Gather 'round children and listen to my tale of irony and woe. And triumph.
I took stock this evening. Surveyed my park and contemplated the war chest of coins, treats, and gems I have accumulated. I am a cautious player, in Dragonvale and in life, saving for a rainy day and making decisions with meticulous care. Just recently I annihilated my vast store of treats raising one of each primary dragon type to Elder status. I was unsure I really wanted to do this right away because I am level 70 and this act would bleed a regrettable amount of unrealized XP uselessly into the ether. But I did it. And it made me happy to see my 10 glorious Elders striding and gliding majestically in their various habitats, and it made me happy to seek out the 10 elusive banner wizards celebrating their arrival in my park. And because that heady and wild act made me happy, if treat-poor, I resolved that I would have an Omen. I. Would. Have. An Omen.
So I poured myself a glass of wine and I put on "Dark Side of the Moon" and I began spending gems. When I started I had 2140. I alternated breeding sites depending on which was currently the cheapest to buy out, but only flirted with the CBC now and then to break up the monotony because of the conventional wisdom that the probability of success in the CBC is comparatively miserable. I resolved to remain undaunted by the seemingly endless parade of Silvers, Electrums, Suns, Moons, and Rainbows (thankfully the Doctor never reared his fearsome heads). And, oh, the rush of adrenaline as I dipped into my stash with abandon! You will not deny me, Omen! I will breed you before the night is done!
When I started to approach 1000 gems remaining it occurred to me that the incidence of unwanted Epics was too high. Too high. I had been breeding level 15 Moons and Apocalypses on the theory that the Omen's rarity would be better served by the enhanced probability afforded by higher level parents even though this also meant the double-edged sword of more frequent Epic fails. I needed to shake things up. So I hied me to the Hibernation Cave and retrieved some baby Apocalypses and Moons. I fed them to level 4. Only 4, and not a bite more! I pressed the younglings into service and continued my quest. And it seemed to me that, indeed, the frequency of Epic fails was much lower. But still no Omen. A demon of doubt began to whisper in the back of my mind. I was fast approaching a gem level of 500 remaining. This. Isn't. Working. I need to shake things up again. So I deleted Dragonvale. Don't really know why. Just to try something new. And radical. And utterly illogical. When the reinstall finished I got back into my park and hit Retry. Again. Hey, look at that! Achievements have reset! I'm a Breeder! Again! But apparently not an Omen Breeder. Storm. Cactus. Fail. Fail.
And then it happened. 21:36. I kept hitting the button to double check. Triple check. Quadruple check. I quit Dragonvale and went to the Sandbox. Yup, 21:36. That's an Omen. And look how many gems I have left: 120! That means I spent... 2020. Ahahahahaha! If I had just bought the dragon in the market I would have spent 2015! Hey! Isn't that neat! The Omen's market cost is the same as the current year! That's gotta be an omen! For the first time in a long time I am a gem pauper. And it will make me happy to see the glorious Omen striding and gliding majestically in his habitat!
I. Have. An Omen.
POTM - thanks Skitch for sharing your epic triumph with us. Congrats on your win and KOALA to all those still trying in the last several hours. I will keep mine available for coop breeding through the weekend.
No longer active on DragonVale! *briefly back online*
For me, it was the fourth try in the Breeding Island. It went a little something like this:
First Attempt: Storm
So I waited a few hours, and once a nursery spot opened up I sped up the last two hours of the Storm fail.
Second Attempt: Sun
That's not good, I thought. This is a limited release dragon, and if I don't sped this up I'm going to miss out on almost two full days of breeding! I couldn't have that. Not to mention, I only had one Crypt Dragon in my collection, so in order to bred at another site I would first have to bred another - which would also waste valuable time. Plus, I could, if I wanted to, easy replenish the spent gems with a few dollars whereas outright purchasing the amount of tickets needed for the Pharaoh Dragon would be approximately fifty dollars. I certainly didn't want that, and wouldn't do that anyway - but for me it kind of put things into perspective. Spending the gems to speed up a Sun fail wouldn't be that big of a deal, so I went ahead and sped it up and hit retry.
Third Attempt: (Another) Sun
At this moment, I was certain that somehow, somewhere there was someone laughing at me...
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ ***Meanwhile at BFS HQ***
Another BFS Worker: What did you do this time, Bob?
Bob/BFS' Programmer/Dragon Selector: Some player just sped up a Sun Dragon fail while trying for the new Pharaoh Dragon.
BFS Worker: Yeah, and?
Bob/BFS' Programmer/Dragon Selector: They hit retry, so I sent them another Sun Dragon! *Falls out of his chair laughing uncontrollably* BFS Worker: You're a special kind of twisted, aren't you Bob?
~*~*~*~*~**~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Anyway, I sped up the second Sun Dragon fail, and hit retry again.
Fourth Attempt: Pharaoh Dragon
It just cost me 85 gems... *Thinks about it a little more* *Realizes 85 gems is actually cheap for a dragon*
Koala to all.
POTM! I can just picture Bob!
Last Edit: Jan 17, 2016 3:57:46 GMT -6 by jamesvaler
No longer active on DragonVale! *briefly back online*
As we count our blessings today, I wanted to take a moment to include all of you. This is a great group of players who are generous, patient, helpful and just delightful all around. I so enjoy connecting with people all around the world and knowing we are sharing each others' joys and frustrations as we march forward together in our quests for that next dragon. Happy Thanksgiving to all, whether it is a tradition for you or not, know you are appreciated this day.
POTM - ⬆️ And a prayer added for safety and a blessed day for all those serving others in need around the world!
No longer active on DragonVale! *briefly back online*
Skitch’s “more than you ever wanted to know” guide to maximizing your Iceberry nest egg
We have seen continued confusion about how to save the most Iceberries during the Winter Frostival event, so I thought it would be useful to collect our accumulated wisdom and strategery* into a single post.
TERMINOLOGY - Part of the confusion has arisen over messy terminology, so let’s define some terms first. Iceberries are stored in two distinct places, and we somewhat sloppily refer to both of them as a “bank”. The “Iceberries” icon that appears on your main screen contains currency that you can spend in the prize tent at any time, so rather than calling this a bank, let’s call it the “wallet” (I’m open to other suggestions!). The other place that Iceberries are stored is in the Social menu’s Gifts tab. Iceberries stored here can’t be spent until they are withdrawn into your wallet, so it’s appropriate to call this the “bank”. For the purposes of this guide, “banking Iceberries” explicitly means accumulating them in the Gifts tab.
There is also some confusion over the term “reset”. There are three distinct kinds of reset that are relevant to this discussion. “Park reset” is when your park contacts the server to get new instructions and put new rules or conditions into place. Park reset occurs whenever you restart your app (e.g. after it has been killed or your device has rebooted), when you return to your park after visiting friends, or when your park has experienced a problem and had to reload (e.g. a spell has gone wonky, among other things). “Iceberry reset” occurs daily and means that the Wizards have hidden more Iceberries in your park and have reset the daily cap of Iceberries you are allowed to collect (more on caps later). Iceberry reset occurs at 11:00 AM BFS Time (there is a handy BFS Time clock near the top of our forum pages). “Gift reset” also occurs daily and means that new friend gifts are available to be sent and new Party Hats are available to be tapped when visiting friends. Gift reset happens around 6:30 PM BFS time.
COLLECTING ICEBERRIES - I won’t go into great detail about collecting Iceberries other than to note that they can be found in the same basic ways that we’ve seen in previous events (with, as usual, a wrinkle or two): competing in the Arctic Arena, spinning the Wheel of Chance, playing Name That Dragon, collecting a gift from the new Advent Calendar, collecting DragonCash, harvesting Treats, hatching/selling dragons, competing in the Colosseum, performing Kairos quests, clearing island obstacles, spending Gems, receiving friend gifts, visiting friends to collect Party Hats, and finding and tapping special park visitors. For this event the special visitor is Sandakloz. Sandakloz appears at least once a day in your park, but he may appear again 12 hours later if you find and tap him early enough after Iceberry reset. Finally, you can buy Iceberries as an in-app purchase using real-world money. Iceberries that you receive as friend gifts initially go into your bank and must be moved to your wallet before they can be spent (but you may want to hold off on doing this as I will explain below).
ICEBERRY CAPS - The amount of Iceberries that you can put into your wallet has a daily cap (although there are a few ways that you can put extra Iceberries into your wallet above the cap). The daily cap is 1000 Iceberries unless doubles are in effect, in which case the daily cap is also doubled to 2000. Iceberries that you receive from the daily Advent Calendar gift or that you buy as an in-app purchase are exempt from the cap and will be added to your wallet above and beyond the cap limit. If you have a problem in your park you may receive compensation from BFS in the form of Iceberries as well. Depending on the nature of the problem, Iceberries received in this way may go into your wallet or into your bank. If they go into your wallet they will not count against your cap either. Iceberries that you receive as friend gifts initially appear in your bank and are not subject to a daily cap (until you move them to your wallet). You can receive an “unlimited” amount if you have lots of friends. However, note that there is a practical ceiling associated with device limitations and we have seen problems if the gift tab has too many items in it (twin eggs as well as uncollected gifts). You may withdraw Iceberries from your bank into your wallet as long as you have not yet reached your daily cap by tapping the "Collect" button next to the gift. In addition to gifts received from friends (or from BFS), there are two other ways that Iceberries can be banked: if you exceed the daily cap by collecting a prize from the Wheel of Chance or Name That Dragon, the excess will be credited to your bank. Also, if you wait until you have reached your cap to collect your winnings from the Arctic Arena, those winnings will be placed in your bank as well.
BANKED ICEBERRIES - The precedent that BFS has established for previous events is that all event currency that has been banked will be moved to your wallet and made available to you for purchasing prizes when the event is over (the Prize Tent will remain open for a while after Iceberry collection is over), so don’t be shy about saving as many as you can. However, note that a new wrinkle in this event is that some prizes must apparently be purchased before the event is actually over (sorta like the one day limited offers we’ve seen in previous events), so be sure to account for that.
EXPLOITS - An “exploit” is a technique for using a mechanism built into a game to obtain a benefit. An exploit is not a “hack”, although exploits may be either intended or unintended by the developer. Some folks regard exploits as “cheating” but this is certainly a personal choice. There are two interesting exploits available in Dragonvale. The classic one is to “extend doubles”. This exploit allows you to continue collecting double Iceberries after Iceberry reset on the final day of doubles. To use this exploit, you must be in your park at Iceberry reset when doubles would normally be over. Basically, if you do not have a park reset (i.e. you don’t kill the app or visit friends) then you can continue to collect double Iceberries and your daily cap will remain doubled as well. If you intend to attempt this exploit, don’t quit the app or allow your device to go to sleep (these actions won’t necessarily cause a park reset, but they might), and don't visit friends.
A new exploit was discovered this year and there may or may not be another opportunity to take advantage of it. During the first doubles weekend, doubles actually started before Iceberry reset, providing a short window of time where the previous day’s cap was lifted to double its value and, if you were quick and efficient, you could collect an extra 1000 Iceberries before Iceberry reset. This effectively gave us an extra day of doubles. We have at least one more doubles weekend coming, so keep an eye out for this situation again if you’d like to try to use it.
MAXIMIZING ICEBERRIES - The trick to maximizing your Iceberries is to take advantage of the various ways available for sending them to your bank. Be aware of how big your wallet can grow as you play each day. This is a running total that increases by at least 1000 or 2000 per day (depending on doubles). It is made more complicated by the fact that Advent Calendar gifts or purchased Iceberries go into your wallet without affecting your cap, so pay close attention to the new total each day. As you play, be sure to save 1 or 2 spins of the Wheel (or 1 or 2 Name That Dragon plays) and don’t collect your last (5th) Arctic Arena reward. Note how close you are coming to your limit for the day and try to use small rewards (hatching Plant dragons, clearing obstacles, etc.) to creep to within 1 or 2 Iceberries of the limit. When you are within striking distance, go ahead and use your last spin or two (or your last Name That Dragon play) to surpass the limit. Any excess above the limit will be banked. This can net you anywhere from 0 to 39 Iceberries (or twice that if doubles are active). Once you have passed the cap, now you can safely collect the last Arctic Arena prize, which will be banked in its entirety (resulting in a 50 or 100 Iceberry bank, doubled to 100 or 200 when doubles are active). Also, wait until you have passed the daily cap to collect your Gem and Treat gifts from friends. If you do this you will still be able to collect your Gems and Treats, but the Iceberries will remain in the bank. If you follow these techniques, your bank will accumulate a large BFS gift and a bunch of smaller gifts comprised of uncollected Iceberries from each gifting friend. Again, after the event is over, BFS will move all your Iceberries from the bank into your wallet.
I hope this guide is helpful for you, and if you notice anything I've missed or gotten wrong. please let me know!
Koala everybody!
* Yes, that was on purpose!
I am astounded no one else has decided me this... POTM
No longer active on DragonVale! *briefly back online*
Waaaaaaaa! Too many excellent choices! I love 'em all - can't decide.
Heartwarming Informative LOL
Can I have a vote for each category?
I wish - you'll have to choose that single one which you felt was the best - no matter what category...
No longer active on DragonVale! *briefly back online*
'... overwhelming goodwill, and witty humour, profound grace and compassion blended with the spice of relentless taunts.'
Note: This is an independent forum and is not affiliated with Deca Games, the developer of DragonVale.
It was created by and is managed by DragonVale fanatics.
All who observe the following brief guidelines are welcome to this great community: no personal attacks & no spam.
..... (Sshhhhh don't tell them!)
You are one of the other founders of this forum and it would be lovely to see your reply!
*Thinks about it a little more* 
*Realizes 85 gems is actually cheap for a dragon* 
Too many excellent choices! I love 'em all - can't decide. 
Heartwarming 
Informative 