HOW TO BE THE BEST [LK New Player's Guide][july 29th update]

[avyie]

introduction

YOU: The best trainer, waiting to happen

ME: YOUR LIFE COACH (with GIFs)

lol typed couch at first, fml spelling
I decided to write this guide this way to make it fun and engaging, while creating a conversation about the status of Lake Kindred. Also, I've always wanted to make an LK guide, but I'm not nearly smart enough to keep up with statistics, math, stats, etc on a large scale. Also, this is a living guide. It will be adapted and re-written as Lake Kindred changes, and advice for newcomers changes.

rules
- LIFE IS AN EVER CHANGING JOURNEY. This guide will also change as LK changes.
- This guide is guidance, not law. There are plenty of ways to be the best. Your best way to success is the one that makes you the most content with your experience.
- Feel free to disagree and discuss with me on how to make the guide better!
- Also feel free to ask me any questions about the guide or Lake Kindred.
easy quoting:

[quote="avyie"][/quote]

- This guide may have satire, but the content is honest advice.
- Even if you don't want to be the best, this guide has information for everyone. But mostly winners.
- Yeah, satire like that.

2016
July 29th - Updated the "Leveling" section: finally added Bunny Planet, and a "RIG drop" (yes/no) line of info to every area.


March
March 1st - Edited the Splicing section, since Kins can be spliced at lvl 10 again! Thor and Loki seem happy about it.
March 29th- The images were broken due to Imgur's changes in policy, and now they're up again!

February
February 19th- Cleaned up the guide a bit! Updated the Guides section, edited the "Early Game" money making tips, edited the Sycamorte hunting kin list, and edited the Potion list w/ the new Pet Store potions.
February 26th- Added new tip: vote for runway!!! You get Chirpette bundle for voting 8 days in a row. This includes the kin AND 10 Ally 100% potions. Thanks to curtneko for introducing this information to me. Also added the definitions to every skill type.

January
Jan 1st- Happy New Years! not a big edit, just adjusted Cereus's prices on the guide. Huge leap (80-100bil to 230bil). Hopefully it'll go down.
Jan 5th- added Cereal the Gosling to the list of tree killer kin! Pretty decent pricing, and its the most powerful kin as far as damage goes right now.
Jan 7th- Fafnir's Peak is making RIG farming very profitable right now! Sooo I added tip #5 to "Early Game" section of "Money Making: Gathering Resources" post~
Jan 11th- Added a small box that explained conditions like poison/wither/etc in the "Early Game: How to Make Something from Nothing" section. Also, BIG UPDATE ON THE WAY! Still in the works.

2015

November 2015

Nov 8th- fixed some spelling, still have more to fix I'm sure... Added more about Gaia Labs, added new banner w/o flashing.
Nov 9th- added new section-- Money Making: Burning the Forest! It's still a WIP, since I'm doing research on all kins worthwhile for killing trees, rather than only the most effective ones.
Nov 24th- added Cereus as a top tree-slaying kin.
Nov 24th-SYCA STAT BUFF & GOLD NERF has happened. 2-3bil to 2-1bil. I have not adjusted the guide accordingly, but i will.

December 2015

Dec 9th- Syca Gold Nerf has been taken into account within the guide. There was no Syca stat buff, they decided not to do that after all. Please notify me if there is an inconsistancy that you see! Also, started on the list of kins that are capable of killing trees.
Dec 29th- Changes to the Money Making: Gathering Resources AND Collecting Kin: Gotta Kin-ch Them All posts has been made! New changes to top ideal farming kin, and a small FAQ section to explain some of the changes. Added Mountain Fafnir's Peak to the Leveling section of the guide. Added more detail on evolution! Added Alchemy to list of ways to get kins.

[avyie]

If you're on this thread, you probably already have a reason. But we all need reminders about why this soul-crushing, money-eating, prunny-loving game is worth it.

1. Lake Kindred may be, hands down, the best and cheapest way to earn money on Gaia. If 20-50bil sounds like a large purchase to you, well it won't pretty soon. If you have a lvl 50 Sakura Pegacorn Fluff, you can earn that money in a single hour. Of course, that takes serious investment in itself, but we'll get to that.

2. Gaia is putting a lot of effort into Lake Kindred right now. Although you'll find many players aren't pleased with how the staff treats LK and its updates, the staff still seems to care a lot about what happens to Lake Kindred. Many LK concerns are addressed and sometimes fixed during Ask the Staff events, and most of the recent events are inclusive or focused around Lake Kindred. If you jump on the Lake Kindred train now, you'll eventually reap the benefits of being a veteren player.

3. Lake Kindred has an active and generous community. Giveaways are bountiful, and questions are quickly answered. If you want to make new friends on Gaia, this is a great place to start.

4. Lake Kindred has adorable pets you can collect, level, and be rewarded for doing so with fashionable items, RIGs, in-game potions, and more. Every trainer has a different reason for being attracted to these basic game mechanics of Lake Kindred. Personally, the fashionable part really gets me. I'm addicted to companion items.

You can't be the best without overcoming a game's biggest issues. So here's what you need to know.

1. Lake Kindred provides no explainations for specific battle mechanics; such as how exactly damage and accuracy is determined. You'll find yourself in the dark about these small details that don't seem to matter, until you're really into the game, and realize you know next to nothing about how it works. Most games provide the math equations that the game uses to calculate damage, accuracy, etc. Gaia doesn't; while this is expected from older Gaians that are familiar with Gaia's communication (or lack thereof), know that this isn't an industry standard.

2. Lake Kindred will induce stress on your wrists, fingers, and possibly shoulder. If you're an avid gamer, this isn't news to you. But keep in mind that Lake Kindred's gameplay is extremely repetitive, and going through the same motions will wear you down quicker than most games. Despite my pleas to the staff to create hotkeys to make the game less stress inducing for our joints, they confirmed they probably couldn't do it. Here's what you can do to make it a little better.
---- Frequent breaks. Water, snacks, laying down, whatever you need.
---- A gaming mouse. Amazon has cheap ones, and generally these are bettter shaped for your hand, giving you more comfort and real life stamina.
---- Play on a table. A bed or sofa is comfortable, but its hard to be in a position that is good for all of your joints. Sitting in an office chair with your arm resting on the table is ideal.
---- Use Lake Kindred's Lite version on your phone or tablet. Click here to play! If you use it on your comptuer, it also has generally less lag than the regular version. (ty yaimerys for reminding me of this!)

3. Lake Kindred struggles getting proper "patch" notes, or notifications on what exact changes are made-- including drop rates. This has long been a frusteration of LK players, since (for the most part) we can never be truly sure if bad drops are our luck, or an actual change by the staff. Again, this is far below the industry standard for video games, but it's a struggle you'll quickly be accustom to.


Many other concerns of LK players include: power imbalances amongst kin, how the best kin are only released in Cash Shop RIGs, lack of ally potion drops, why Kindred Capture Seal only releases 25 kin and not more to cheapen it for collectors, and more. However, I feel these are the important 3 to put in the light.

[avyie]

Why thanks for asking! Considering the information above, there's quite a few things you can be the best at. This is how we will categorize the sections of this guide.

So you want to be the best at. . .

1. Grinding for money. Many people enter LK because of how profitable it is; if you want to be the most efficent as possible, there's many ideas on ways to reach that goal.

2. Collecting every kin, or a specific kind of kin. Wow, well this is going to be a journey for you. You can't accomplish this goal without being very effective at grinding for money, due to how popular and expensive Kin are right now. But challenges don't apply to you. Challenges are your bread and butter. you ARE ZEUS, AND LAKE KINDRED IS YOUR OLYMPUS!!!!!!!!!

3. Researching kin, and learning more about Lake Kindred as a game. Many kin trainers have devoted a lot of time to extensive guides on every aspect of LK-- stats, leveling rewards, drop statistics, encounter rates, etc. There's a lot we don't know, thus a lot to be uncovered. If being a Kin researcher sounds appealing to you, then there's a lot of options.

4. Splicing(aka breeding) kin, and/or providing splicing services for others. This is a fairly new option in Lake Kindred, and perhaps breeding excites you. Well, you're going to have the same challenges as collectors do, PLUS the fact you have to level these kins to level 10. So, depending on how many different kind of kins you want to splice, you could say splicing is harder than collecting *gasp*. Or at least, it will be in the future, as more splicing pairs are released.

are you excited
ARE YOU READY
BECAUSE RIGHT NOW, THIS IS YOU



YOU, HOLDING ONTO VICTORY
GAIA IS LIKE "noo you don't want that"
but you can't let go now
this is the beginning of a legend

[avyie]

Just because Lake Kindred gives you a starter kin, doesn't mean they give you a place to really begin. Where do you level? Why do you level there? What kinds of goals/drops should you be interested in? Have no fear, life coach is here.

YOUR ULTIMATE GOAL

If you want to be the most efficently profitable kin trainer possible, your goal is either an Ember the Spirited Fox, Sakura Pegacorn Fluff, Cereus, or Sandman Rose at LVL 50, to defeat Sycamorte trees. Period, pretty much. This is also considering the amount you'd need to invest in the kin to get your money's worth.

Sycamortes begin showing up in Stages 4-5 of Kindred Wilds, and drop 1-2 bil, or a random kin via Sycamorte Seeds, a droppable RIG.



Quote:

EDIT, Dec 9th, 2015-- As many of you know, on Nov 28th, the tree drops changed form 2-3bil, to 1-2bil. Apparently, this is somewhat compensated with the rise in rare drops from Sycamorte Seeds. Overall, this is a HUGE nerf for Syca-farmers, lowering the income per hour from 100bil to nearly 50bil, if you have good focus. Exciteable sloth has said that more rewards are to come.

HOWEVER, Syca-farming is still the most profitable, guarentteed way to earn money on Gaia. Gaia has not nerfed our dreams. Gaia will not nerf our hope!!!! if you think you can't accomplish what you could pre-nerf, THINK AGAIN

ANYTHING IS POSSIBLE. YESTERDAY, YOU SAID TOMORROW.




Comparison. All of these kins have great damage.
Ember the Spirited Fox: ~760 hp. Inflicts SLEEP. Can heal wither and poison on its own. Has a full heal move. Expensive (400bil+)
Sakura Pegacorn Fluff: ~1220 hp. Inflicts SLEEP. Sometimes doesn't even need a heal to finish a battle. Very efficent and blazes through trees smoothly. Expensive (400bil+)
Cereus: ~609 hp. Inflicts SLEEP. This kin actually has slightly less than ideal health-- BUT it hits hard. Being the 3rd strongest kin(along with Pumperilla), it can pew pew its way to victory; just keep a ton of mega heals. Even though trees CAN one shot it, its rare that trees hit for over 609, so if you can get your hands on a Cereus, then you can manage trees fine. It also has an awesome healing skill called Healing Bell for 50mp-- heals all of your health.(~225-250bil)
Sandman Rose: ~769 hp. Inflicts SLEEP. A beautiful, newer kin, and can definitely take out trees. It is nearly identical to Ember the Spirited Fox, since its health and damage are almost the same. Sandman has a full health heal. They even share the same signature move, Diamond Scratch. However, as far as my research tells me, Sandman does not have a skill to cure conditions. That's the only real difference. (217-240bil)
---- POISON tree-killing kins. Good choices if you want a different approach.
Pumperilla: ~700 hp. Inflicts POISON. Higher damage than Ember, and has a full heal, but no Panacea (to remove conditions) and can't inflict sleep. Poison is pretty decent however. Cheaper than others (160bil for Pumpae, its first evolution)
Fafnir the Tyrant: ~740hp. Inflicts POISON. Almost same damage as Pumperilla (~500), but higher resist than Pumperilla. No healing skills; not a big deal if you have plenty of potions. (135bil for Fafnir the Hatchling, its first evolution)

That doesn't mean other kins aren't capable of killing Sycamortes-- BUT you'll require more potions, and more time. These kins are widely accepted as the best for hunting and grinding at this moment.

FAQ


Q: You put Sandman Rose and not Fafnir... Why???
A: Fafnir is a poison kin, and a very good poison kin at that! But for the incredible 220bil+ pricetag, you could easily buy a more decent sleep kin that does a more efficent job at farming trees. If you really want a Poison kin, go for Pumpae/Pumperilla! Wayy cheaper.
EDIT- I added Fafnir because, after looking at Fafnir's stats compared to Pumperilla, Fafnir is technically better. Pumperilla's only trope over Fafnir is that Pumperilla has a great HP healing skill.

Q: There are new kins (i.e. Filligris, Carnelion, Hey Doge, etc) that are comparable to Ember the Spirited Fox... Why aren't they included?
A: In my opinion, they are all great kins-- but none of them are a replacement for Ember's all-around versitility. It has 760 health, a perfectly safe health amount (rather than 600 or less, which is riskier). Its heal skill for BOTH health and conditions is a huge part of its attractiveness. And, its a sleep kin, which is dominant in tree farming. These new kins are likely fine for tree farming! But Ember the Spirited Fox is a classic, safe choice for your money's worth.

Of course, if your 'money's worth' includes things other than pure effeciency, then maybe these newer kins are better for you! This is all my opinion.


(note-- Make sure to evolve your Pumpae at levels 15 and 30, otherwise you'll miss out on some sweet, sweet goodies. Just go to "My Kins" and it will cost Skill points to evolve them.)

Early Game: How to Make Something from Nothing



If you don't even have 2bil to your name or know what the floating lights are, then the concept of making money on Lake Kindred is especially appealing to you. But Lake Kindred requires investment. You need good kin to make good money. So how do you jump in without any money to begin with?



Quote:

[Feb 26th 2016 update] Pro tip: Vote for Runway!! It's free to vote, and after 8 days of voting, you get a Chance item. Recently, Chirpette bundles have been dropping as Chance items. These give you the Chirpette kin AND 10 Ally 100% potions. This is GREAT for getting a headstart in LK. Chirpette isn't a tree-killer, but much better than starter kins! Not to mention you get ten leveling potions!!



1. Sell the potions you get. Many avid kin trainers want to buy potions in bulk, such as healing or antidotes. If you have a lot of these, you're going to get a buyer pretty quick. If you decide to sell your potions on the forums, refer to the Marketplace for average buy price on your potions, to make sure you don't get cut cheap-- or list your potions on the marketplace themselves!

singe = 10 damage to enemy
death dealer = 25 damage to enemy
stamina up = 10 stamina to your kin
mega stamina up = 100 stamina to your kin
small heal = 25% of kin's health restored
mega heal = 100% of kin's health restored
refresh = removes Wither
antidote = removes Poison
magic restore = 50% of kin's magic restored
ally 50% and 100% = gives 50 or 100% of your kin's exp bar
skill 100% and 200% = gives 100 or 200% of your player's exp bar
[new]
Double Ally (single) = 2x experience for 48 hours on ONE kin.
Double Ally (all) = 2x experience for 48 hours on ALL kin.
Resurrection Potion = revives a kin back into battle





Quote:

What are Skill Types/Conditions/Battle Statuses?
- CONFUSION. Will disable you from choosing moves/potions. Your kin will automatically attack randomly, and has a chance to attack itself.
- PARALYZE. Disables your kin from moves/potions for 2-3 turns.
- POISON. Damages your health every turn.
- SLEEP. Disables your kin from moves/potions for 2-3 turns.
- WITHER. Makes all your skills cost extra magic, and regular attacks and potions also cost magic to use.

(variety of names because you'll hear these same things be referred to in different ways)

If a kin is assigned to one or more conditions, it has a chance to inflict the condition on other kin. For example, Cereus is a Sleep kin. In battle, it has a chance of inflicting sleep on its enemies. This doesn't mean Cereus is immune to sleep, only that it can inflict it on other kins.

Antidote can cure Poison, Refresh can cure Wither, and Panacea (a kin skill, only known by few kins) can cure Poison and Wither.




2. Offer a kin leveling, splicing, art, or another kind of Lake Kindred business on the forums. Many kin trainers, myself included, get on their feet with these kinds of services. Without my art shop, I would've lacked a lot of the resources I needed while starting out. If you'd like to learn more about owning a splicing service, it will be later explained in the guide. In response to a question later on in this thread, here are my tips for an art shop.

3. Focus on grinding in Zen Temple for kin drops, and selling them. Due to a recent change, not many places give direct kin drops as often anymore. However, Zen Temple will drop Luminous Kitsune and Brilliant Tanuki at early levels, as well as Ghost Lanterns and Kokeshi Dolls. All of these sell for 0.5 bil in your inventory, so it's a decent start towards your funds. However, with sleep kins and other powerful kins having high encounter rates in these areas, I'd recommend to try to level up your kin a bit before chasing these goals.

4. Stay active around the forum-- giveaways are bountiful! There are plenty of giveaways, because there are plenty of generous Gaians. Keep an eye out on the forums, because there are opportunities for freebies daily!

5. RIG farming: level your kin in Zen Temple or Fafnir's Peak for chances at RIGs! Since the success of LK's 2015 winter event, Gaia decided to keep around Fafnir's Peak's wonderful RIG drops. They even added RIGs to Zen Temple Now, RIG farming is the next best thing, right alongside Sycamorte hunting. If you don't get lucky with these random item generators, then you can sell the RIGs themselves on the marketplace! Or in bulk, and seek buyers on the forums. Many sell for over a billion, so that adds up quickly!

Leveling: Where to Start?



WAIT!! Linda, honey, listen-- you can't start making money in Lake Kindred without some degree of leveling!

LK offers a good variety of options for leveling. So pick whatever suits you. I'll list the pro's and con's to every area.

overall things to keep in mind
- Many trainers speed-train by fighting kin that are 2-3 levels stronger, and using Singe and Death potions (10dmg and 25 dmg, accordingly).
- Poison costs Antidotes, which aren't dirt-cheap, and will add to your expenses. Some trainers will wait 3-6 battles for the poison wear off, but Poison will hinder your leveling greatly.
- this section is extremely opinionized. I haven't personally recorded the frequency of conditions for these areas-- this is just what sticks out in my mind. And you may try a different leveling method than I suggest, and be perfectly content. Which is great! Just keep in mind that the following is not Kindred law, and you'll have to jump into these areas yourself to make the final verdict.

Lake Kindred
Inflicted conditions: frequent POISON, rare SLEEP
Power level: Low to Moderate
Potion drops: Moderate, mostly basic potions
RIG Drops: Yes, not really profitable ones though
My thoughts: Killing these guys is fairly simple. You don't need to think too hard, not that LK combat is complicated to begin with. You'll do fine leveling weak kin here, but remain caucious. The only issue I have is that this place will eat into your Antidote supply a bit, a danger that some new trainers can't always afford. Thus, I recommend going to Zen Gardens-- even though more kin there are more powerful, run from the strong kin, and pick the weak ones. Even if you fall asleep, Sleep doesn't last after the battle is over, like Poison will.

Kindred Wilds
Inflicted conditions: frequent POISON, rare SLEEP, rare CONFUSION
Power level: Stages 1-3 are Low to Moderate, Stages 4-5 are Moderate to High
Potion Drops: Moderate, there's a good amount of healing potions, and rarely you'll get an Ally or Skill potion drop in Stage 5.
RIG Drops: Yes, not really profitable ones though
My thoughts: You won't be able to reach this area until you have higher level kin, but essentially, Stages 1-3 will get you poisoned enough times to eat into your Antidote supply as well. Stages 4-5 should not be attempted until you have strong, high leveled kin. Why? Because this is when Sycamortes start showing up, and (as mentioned) the ultimate goal of every money-seeking kin trainer is to grind them. Sycamortes are VERY tanky, VERY hard-hitters, but also great prizes. Save gold for strong kin, so you can kill these guys.

Zen Temple/Zen Gardens
Inflicted conditions: frequent SLEEP, moderate CONFUSION (if you dont want confusion, just skip the Brillinat Tanuki's), moderate Wither
Power Level: Low to High
Potion Drops: Moderate, mostly basic ones.
RIG Drops: Yes
My thoughts: I always level my low-leveled kin here. Doesn't cost antidotes, and a lvl 8 Ghost Lantern is weak , doesn't apply conditions, and has low health, allowing my kin to level even faster. Other kins you want to grind off of: Lucky, Kokeshi and Spring Kokeshi (although you may sometimes get unlucky and fall asleep & die). Kins to avoid while speed-leveling: Somber Kokeshi, Eerie Ghost Lantern, Nyaruma. Also, now drops RIGs!

Gaia Lab Areas (both)
note - i havent grinded here as much, so I'm not confident with alll the conditions and frequency of conditions inflicted
Inflicted conditions: moderate POISON, WITHER, SLEEP, STUN; low CONFUSION
Power Level: Moderate to High
Potion Drops: Moderate, especially for Small Heals, Death Dealer, and Skill potions
RIG Drops: None
My thoughts: If you just got a powerful kin, and are leveling it up, then maybe I'd level it here. It's the only place with kin over the level of 35, so great for late-game level grinding. But otherwise, it's not the best-- the kin hit really hard, and (while in low levels) you can't speed level without getting killed. And now that the kin and Kandy drops have been removed, there's not as much motivation to revisit this Halloween area. (ty to Pengaana for sharing her exp with Gaia Labs!)

Fafnir's Peak
Inflicted conditions: moderate-ish SLEEP; low POISON, CONFUSION
Power Level: Moderate to High
Potion Drops: None
RIG Drops: Yes
My thoughts: These kins hit fairly well, but they don't have high amounts of health or afflict a ton of conditions on you-- even the Boss kin. This place would be great for leveling all around, if you're leveling tanky enough kin that can handle it. I'd say the LVL 26-50 Stage is perfectly ideal for late game leveling. The only major drawback is that potions don't drop at all.... so far. Also, RIG farming friendly as well! Good ones like Winter Trunk and Ole Fishing Hole are worth anywhere between 2-3bil-- or they can land you some prizes that are worth far more. If you can't farm Trees yet, farming the mountain is a fantastic way to get money, and build your inventory. (ty to I Read Yaoi for reminding me of the RIG profits~)

Bunny Planet
Inflicted conditions: moderate PARALYZE, moderate WITHER; low POISON, low SLEEP
Power Level: Low to Moderate
Potion Drops: None
RIG Drops: Yes
My thoughts: Since this area came out while I was becoming rather busy and inactive, I can't say I have too many thoughts on the profit margin of this region. However, for leveling, it seems like a wonderful place to train kin from levels 1-25, since the kins are pretty predictable. If you have a decent resist, this area shouldn't pose much of a problem at all. Plus, the RIGs seem decent enough to build up $$ as a new player. You may not want to open them, because generally RIGs make good profit when sold in bulk.


tl;dr-- Zen Temple is one of the best options for starting out (lvl 1-10), due to the lack of Poison kin. However, it does have stronger kin, so be wary-- skip them, and only speed level through weaker kin like Ghost Lantern, Lucky, and some Kokeshi dolls (regular and spring). Bunny Planet seems awesome for mid-game grinding (11-25). Kindred Wilds or Fafnir's Peak also are good for mid and late-game grinding (11-35) but the kin aren't as predictable as in Bunny Planet. Gaia Labs and Fafnir's Peak are the only places that provides lvl 35+ wild kin for faster late-game leveling.

Mid/Late Game: How to Continue Growing Your Income



Ok, now you're a big-shot. You either have a reliable kin, or have one of the top 3 Sycamorte eating kins. How do you get even better?

1. Find your grind. Would you imagine doing the same action over and over again is fun? No, not really. But we're not in this for fun-- THIS IS FOR GLORY. Watch Netflix while grinding, or listen to music or a podcast, or talk to someone while doing it. Find the method that works for you to stay focused on making your 50bil per day (usually takes 1-2 hours, depending on focus).

2. Splice kin-- sell the spliced kin, or sell your splicing services itself. More detail will be provided later.

3. Collect and flip kin in the market. Like any other item in the Marketplace, there's profit to be made with selling kin. And if you get lucky with drops(or if you're really determined), the supply and demand of kins will work in your favor. This works great for people that aren't trying to collect kins, and rather just make money.

4. Use Alchemy to create Kindred-specific items such as splicing shards, kins, and more, and sell them. This mostly applies to the previous Halloween event, but considering how some Animal companion versions must be made in Alchemy, there's certainly a market for Animal kin items too.

5. Invest in a Kindred Capture Seal. These things provide only 25 copies of a recolored kin to a winner of a Kindred Capture Seal. These 25 kins tend to sell for 3-5tril a pop! Everyone will hate you, but at least you'll be rich!

6. Buy stronger kin. If you don't have a Sycamorte grinding kin, keep in mind that it's going to pay for itself. So don't be afraid of a large investment for Lake Kindred. A 400bil fashion item won't get you 50bil every 1-2 hours like Sakura Pegacorn Fluff will.

[avyie]

In Lake Kindred, you might think you want to be like Batman; rich, attractive, gettin' girls like Catwoman, saving Gotham, even having an archnemesis to triumph against. BUT, mostly rich.

Yet, to be rich in Lake Kindred, you can't be Batman. You have to make the world burn. I talked a little about this in the previous section, "your ultimate goal," but this will be a way more detailed explaination on how Lake Kindred's most famously profitable end game works. Here's how to be a manical serial killer-- for trees, of course........



kinda ironic since the Joker didn't care about money but UR BETTER THAN THE JOKER

Sycamortes: Why bother?

Sycamorte this, Sycamorte that. Maybe you keep hearing about these things, and don't exactly understand why everyone is obsessed with them. Well, here's a few reasons why Gaia has a lot less oxygen than usual.

1. Sycamortes frequently drop 1-2bil. This really adds up, and once you can farm trees, you can easily cover any investments initially made when buying and leveling your tree farming kin, plus more. But that also depends on how much you're willing to grind.

2. Sycamortes drop Sycamorte Seeds-- a RIG that gives a random kin, ranging from very common to extremely rare. These seeds are very worth your time, believe it or not. Plenty of trainers-- myself included-- have gotten rare kins and very rich from these seeds. Even if you're not a fan of RIGs, many trainers buy these seeds, and it won't take very long for you to find a buyer.

There are TWO types of seeds-- Sycamorte Seeds, and Phantom Sycamorte seeds. There isn't much of a difference between the two; there is simply speculation that the Phantom seeds have a better chance at rare drops.

3. Sycamortes are Lake Kindred's end game, and toughest boss kin. And it's the only kin worth battling over and over. There are many people that farm the boss kin like in Zen Temple, in hopes to get Sakura Pegacorn Fluff or Ember the Spirited Fox; and certainly many get drops and get rich one way or another from this. However, the drops are so sparse that you can spend 900+ battles without a drop. Meanwhile, if you're spending that time on Sycamortes, 900 battles can get you at least 1tril, not considering how much kin you'll get from seed RIGs as well.

Considering how high Sakura's price has risen, however, perhaps farming Zen Temple wouldn't be a bad idea if Sakura is your goal kin.

What makes a kin ideal for tree slaughter?

Sycamortes come in two stages: Stage 4 and Stage 5 of Kindred Wilds (unlocks at skill level 20). Here are some guidelines about what stats to look for in a tree-slaying kin.

Stage 4
(REMEMBER: Trees in Stage 4 are harder to find, and also are less likely to drop good rewards.)
- Over 450 health. Sycamortes are hard hitters; you won't be able to slay them if they can kill you in one shot.
- Around 350+ damage. Faster you can kill it, the quicker you can kill the next one. Time is money!
- At least 60 Resist. Higher resist will make conditions like sleep, stun, poison, etc. less likely to affect you. This definitely affects how smoothly your grinding goes, and how many resources you use in the long run.

Stage 5
- Over 650-700 health. Sycamortes in this stage can hit up to 700 damage; however, they tend to hit in the 400-650 range. So keep your potions stocked!
- Around 450+ damage. Any tree slaying kin needs 450+ damage; or at least its preferable. Or else, you're going to need way more turns than desirable to finish off a tree.
- At least 60 Resist. Same reasons mentioned in Stage 4.

Extra things to look for
- Skill types. Sleep is pretty good, poison is becoming more popular since Pumpae's debut. Honestly, everything is decent besides Wither. Don't get a Wither kin for Sycamorte hunting! The tree simply won't run out of mana is a reasonable amount of turns (if it even would run out of mana) for it to be useful.
- Healing abilities. If your kin can do a full heal-- or even better, a Poison/Wither heal-- then you're in good shape.

Picking a weapon: your kin options

I already compared a few kins earlier. But that's not considering all your options; only the most efficent ones. So let's take a look at some other options.

overall things to keep in mind:
- when shopping, remember that MP prices aren't representitive of a kin's stats. A powerful kin is not always more expensive than less powerful kins-- it highly depends on availability of a kin, and how much of a collector's item it is.
- stats taken from this guide

THIS LIST IN INCOMPLETE and UPDATES SLOWLY. Check this guide out for a better list of kins!

Affordable Kins (0 to 100bil)
Kitsuko the Golden Kitsune ( level 50 stats ) (stage 4 trees only, but usually 5bil or under; a good starter kin)
Cereal the Gosling ( level 50 stats )

Investment Kins (100-500bil)
Candy Corn Skulverine ( level 50 stats ) ( poison, better stats than Ember, although Ember has better healing )
Ember the Spirited Fox ( level 50 stats )
Sakura Pegacorn Fluff ( level 50 stats )
Pumpae/Pumpett/Pumperilla ( level 50 stats )
Cereus ( level 50 stats )
Sandseed/Sandbloom/Sandman Rose ( level 50 stats )

Hella Classy Investment Kins (500bil+)

exclaim WORK IN PROGRESS; not finished exclaim

[avyie]

OK that was a pretty terrible pun. I'm sorry. Nobody's perfect.

Ways to Get New Kin

So I've talked a bit about why you need stronger kin, and especially the most powerful kin-- for the sake of gettin money. Let's say you have some money. Here are your options for getting your next kin.

1. Buying Kindred eggs on the Marketplace. Make sure you buy the egg-shaped item, NOT the companion item with an image of the kin itself. Companion items are equipppables that do not provide the in-game kin. In-game kins provide the companion item once leveled up; usually at lvl 10, but sometimes lvl 5 if its an evolvable kin.

2. Buying the egg straight off the Cash Shop. I did this a lot while starting out, but I also got a huge bulk of my GC from doing GC offers. (12000 GC earned over the past 2 months LOL...) So YES, consider this option, and see what GC offers you feel comfortable with.

3. Getting it as a drop in-game. There's a couple ways this can happen: either the kin drops its own egg, an egg that generally drops in that area (Luminous Kitsunes in Zen Garden, for example, can be dropped by any kin), or it drops from a Sycamorte Seed RIG. There are two Sycamorte seeds-- regular and Phantom Sycamorte seeds. It's said that Phantom has a slightly higher chance at better kin, but its not too high.

4. Trade for a kin with another trainer. Obviously you can haggle other trainers for a kin they're willing to part with. Plenty of people get their kins this way.

5. Free kins from Gaia Events, or player-hosted forum giveaways. The summer event of 2015 gave participants a free kin, and the winning side another free kin-- and it was a pretty decent kin too, stats wise (Golden Kitsune). So Gaia definitely has free kin every once in awhile, and so do the Lake Kindred forums. Stick around, and you may find other trainers contributing to your collection.

6. Crafting it with Alchemy. It's become more popular for Gaia to release kins via Alchemy crafting, such as the sweater collection event to create the Merry Stagony. If you're active in LK and make enough money, it may not be too overwhelming to keep up with.

Evolution: How and Why



YOU HAVE TO EVOLVE. Remember that kid in middle school that had a lvl 100 pichu? I didn't have friends, so no, I don't.... BUT throw away what you know about pokemon-- Lake Kindred simply gives no forgiveness for those that don't evolve their kin.

WHY EVOLUTION:
- Evolution gives you stat bonuses, and can change how rapidly your kin improves per level. That's right, each evolution makes your kin a newer, stronger kin. Not convinced yet?
- if you don't evolve, you will miss out on Gaia's intended rewards, including RIGs, equip items, and companion items.

WHY NOT EVOLUTION:
- literally no benefits. not even one. having a lvl 50 Cria is hipster af

How to evolve:
Before, LK only had kin with two evolutions. Now, some kin have only one evolution! Going backwards, aren't we? I'm just waiting for the "half" evolution.

If your kin has TWO evolutions:

1. Level your kin to 15. If you're really brand new, make sure you have some battles in there, rather than using straight up Ally potions. You'll need to pay up Skill points to evolve.
2. Pay 100 Skill Points to evolve. Go to the "My Kins" section in-game, select your evolving kin, and clck "Evolve".
3. Level your kin to 30.
4. Pay 300 Skill Points to evolve.


If your kin has ONE evolution:

1. Level your kin to 16. If you're really brand new, make sure you have some battles in there, rather than using straight up Ally potions. You'll need to pay up Skill points to evolve.
2. Pay 200? Skill Points to evolve. Go to the "My Kins" section in-game, select your evolving kin, and clck "Evolve". (not sure about the skill points on this one)

Tips for Collecting Kin

- Zen Gardens will drop Ember the Spirited Fox, Sakura Pegacorn Fluff, Wealthy Nyaruma. You'lll need strong enough kin to kill these guys, because they are pretty strong. AND, although they are some pretty fantastic kins, some people spend 200-1000 battles without a single drop. Remember that you're throwing the dice, and it is a risk to grind for them. (They also drop regular, Spring, and Somber Kokeshi Dolls, regular & Eerie Ghost Lanterns, Brilliant Tanuki, and Luminous Kitsune. However, these are more common drops)

- Cash Shop kins tend to decrease value over time, as long as they're still available in the Cash Shop, especially for 499 GC kins; limited quality kins tend to be a different story. If you don't want to spend money to buy them, wait until its affordable in the Marketplace. BUT don't wait until the kin gets taken out of the Cash Shop, because then the price is free game. As far as limited quality kins-- I've seen Bubblegum Cria's price go crazy after it got taken out, yet Barkhest's value has gone down since it got removed from the Cash Shop. So who knows how that works.

- Starting a tracking thread may help. You'll meet other trainers with similar goals, make friends, be more involved in the community. It gives you the little motivation that you need to keep playing. If you don't know what a tracking thread is, it's a thread where you keep track of all your kins, basically. That's the only guideline, you can do whatever else and include as much or as little detail in your thread as you want. Look at other tracking threads in the forums for reference.

[avyie]

oh robert.... you are such perfection....... uh AHEM yes I'm here

Like gathering data & statistics?

There are plenty of ways to do so! All of these guides are active, and contain great information for you, researcher or not. Whether you're just normally playing Lake Kindred or actively going out of your way to help, theres plenty of guides that need your input.

[SinfulCraft] Leveling Rewards Guide
- All the information she needs is mentioned in the first post. If you happen to be leveling these kins, let her know the level rewards you earn!

[TheGrandBazaar] Egg List
- Contains ALL released kindred. Very well organized, and even includes a section for the evolutions of kins. This thread is particularly great for collectors that are accounting for all the eggs they need/have.

[acrid zombie] Pet Stats Guide
- This is a guide for kin stats!! If you own a never-before-seen kin, then this is where you go to share your kin's stats. NOTE: make sure to include its lvl 1 and lvl 2 stats, as the improvement per level is important. Unless the kin evolves, the amount of stats earned per level stays the same, so we can easily predict lvl 50 stats without having to level the kin ourselves.

[Salathielly] Skill Type & Stats MVP Guide
- If there's a brand new, top powerful kin and nobody has mentioned it to this person yet, then you can totally contribute by filling out their provided form. This guide is a great shopping aid when looking for new kin.

[His Kuren] Kin Skill Guide
NOTE: this guide needs researchers! Level 50 kin are needed to record the damage ranges for each skill. Instructions are in the guide.
- At certain levels, your kins gain special skills. This guide is all about those skills. She may be seeking specific information on some skills, so keep an eye out!!

[Chidori Rain]Sycamorte Grinding Guide
- This guide features everything you need to know about tree-killing, including a full list of all the kins capable of killing trees from stage 4 AND stage 5, and with commentary!

[SinfulCraft] Splicing Guide
- This guide goes in-depth about splicing, and includes a list of all the shards/kins that are released so far!

[SinfulCraft] Encounter Data
- If you're going to level up anywhere, you can drop off your encounter data here. This helps people get a better idea of the chance they'll run into certain kin.

[SinfulCraft] Lake Kindred FAQ
- Whilst this guide is mostly self-maintained by Sinny, I felt it should be included to be known. With various questions and even staff responses to Lake Kindred questions, you can learn a lot here!

[S3xy Pantz] Seed Collection and Rewards Data
- Opening a Sycamorte seed? Better record what you get!! This thread is to help players understand the actual chances of getting good/bad kin from these seeds.

[SinfulCraft] Kindred Drops Thread
- Want to help us understand what kinds of drops each kin gives per Stage? Well, this is the thread you're looking for!

OUTDATED guides

[defiant pupil] List of ALL Released Kin
- A list of every kin ever released so far. Whether or not you have something to add to this guide, I thought I'd include it, because it's pretty darn awesome.

[Creative Vision] Lake Kindred Database - used to be included w/ the other kin stat guide



ty to SinfulCraft for helping me decide how to layout this section of the guide heart

[avyie]

This is Loki and Thor trying to splice with two level 10 kins. No matter how many times you try, it just won't work anymore. what, did u expect something different

EDIT: OH? OHH?



WELL WOULD YOU LOOK AT THAT! Level 10 kins are splicable again!!!

Thor: YES. I am most pleased.
Loki: Hahaha... yeahh... this isn't gonna last long.
Thor: like your evil schemes
Loki: u don't watch the marvel scenes after the credits, do you

Why Splice?

- Splicing will earn you kin that you can't get any other way. For example, Ghost kins, Bloody Cria, purple Pumpae, Pumpkin Stagony/Quiver/Lucky, simply DO NOT drop. They must be made via splicing.

- Splicing is rewarding. I recently sold a Bloody Cria for 310bil, and bought another shard for 175bil. That's a decent profit. Not to mention that, with the new level requirements, not-free splicing services may become more common, leading to profit for you, should you choose to make one.

- Your possibilities, profit, and collection may grow after leveling simply one pair. Let's say you have two lvl 10 Leafkits. You use Splicing Item A. That will give you a new type of Leafkit. However, if you use Splicing Item B (a totally different splicing item), it will give you a completely different type of Leafkit. So, if you level one pair, if Gaia releases several versions of that pair, then you're able to make all of them. And that's pretty sick.

Requirements to Splice

- TWO level 10 kin, one solar and one lunar (identified by the symbol shown on the "My Kins" tab in-game). This is pretty challenging, because not only do you need one, but you need two. You have double the task of a collector, plus a leveling requirement. So it's not easy, and it's ideal to have a decent gold amount to work from before attempting splicing.

NOTE: if you need to change your Kin's radiance, never fear! Radiance potions can switch your kin's radiance, and can be found on the MP. They are FIXED and work properly.


- ONE splicing item. Right now, there are only two available: Ghostly and Glowing

(REMEMBER: These shards don't splice all kin, only certain ones.)

Ghostly kin list: Leafkit, Pouncer, Saplynx, Cubdrop, Ursadew, Riptide, Echo, Noctus, Myotistrike, Aerling, Sterling, Stoke, Grunny, Lapinkin, Sonare, Pump Kin, Candinati
Glowing kin list: Quiver, Lucky, Stagony, Barkhest, Cabochomp, Cria(all evolutions), Pumpae(all evolutions)


- ONE billion.

Splicing Services: How They Work

So let's say you're ready to splice, and you've already made your own spliced kin. You can totally pimp out your kins for free, or for money. Getting someone to splice a kin is far cheaper than leveling the kins themselves, then paying for a splicing shard.

Typically, the basic process is that the customer sends you the splicing shard & one billion, and you attempt to splice a kin for them. Remember that Ghostly shards have a chance to fail, and your shop should mention this for newer players. You can add service charges to this as well, or rely on the generosity of your fellow Gaians.

And that's all there really is to it. You can provide screenshots and additional things if you want, but that's all you need for a splicing service. Keep in mind of the other splicing services, as people are too-- and if your prices aren't right, you won't get business. THE FREE MARKET IS VICIOUS, BUT YOU ARE A TIGER, AND THIS IS YOUR JUNGLE.

[avyie]

regular:

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without flashing text:

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image (non animated):

[url=http://www.gaiaonline.com/forum/lake-kindred/under-construction/t.98232973/][img]http://s22.postimg.org/viepcxhwx/VOjfx_SF.png[/img][/url]

[avyie]

[avyie]

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[avyie]

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[avyie]

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[avyie]

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