Does this mean that 600 pass paywalls are going to become a more common feature in events? It wouldn't really surprise me but wow would it suck.

I was looking at the info posted about the Pinata promo, and I saw that pace checkers don't matter with the premium key. What exactly does that mean? If we get the key, does that mean we don't have to worry about traps and being awake at certain times? Because of the extra points?

We'd need to run 2 pace checkers simultaneously because right from the FIRST day people with the Key will be able to move onto Pinata 3 immediately and it snowballs from there.
Also, the help is significant so the chances of you missing out too much are low.

I mean... that's a lot of paces I'd need to keep up with

Just to be sure, the next event isn't the pinatas? If so then I got to come up with a lot of passes really fast

The next event is the Tiles with the Solar System Starry Aura as the grand prize!

I'm trying to plan for the next couple events, what's the big deal with this key? From what I'm gathering, the key costs 600 passes, lasts the whole event, and is the only way to guarantee you get all the prizes? Can someone correct me if I'm wrong?

the key is that it's locking prizes behind a paywall, which is something that *technically* hasn't been done for a while. This is also a relatively new form of paywall that many players don't like. Paywalls was sort of how promos worked way back when you absolutely needed passes to complete the event and win the Divine at the end (there was no real obstacle, though, it was just a fact that you couldn't get enough resources or what-have-you to finish without spending passes).

Then, several years back, Howrse modified promos so that a majority of players would be able to finish them for free and win the grand prize. The difference is that the grand prize is usually an item instead of a new Divine, which were moved to luck items for the duration of the promo like what we see now.

The key makes it so that, once again, players can't totally finish an event unless they spend passes. Granted, the 600 passes is *much* cheaper than it used to cost in the old days to finish an event (I think the range in the old days was usually 15-30 old passes or 1500-3000 new) and get all of the prizes, and most players who are frugal and plan ahead can budget for it, but it's still a type of paywall and that frustrates some players. And the 600 passes isn't netting you a brand new, shiny Divine with a potentially cool perk, you're getting a Chimera which most would argue has less value.

That is a fair point. But back then they did offer new divines for about the same price you would get the new divines today in a luck item. There might be a chance that howrse is trying to revert it back to the old way, but with the Tyche's Crown release, I just can't see it happening. I get the feeling it's going to be a paywall for items or rarely a lower-end divine. 600p isn't a lot, but it's still a lot to spend each event if you're also saving up for other divines. In the end, it is pretty fair, but for non-pass players it just starts to become a really tight spending schedule which is making things very difficult for a lot of people.

"the key is that it's locking prizes behind a paywall, which is something that *technically* hasn't been done for a while. This is also a relatively new form of paywall that many players don't like. Paywalls was sort of how promos worked way back when you absolutely needed passes to complete the event and win the Divine at the end (there was no real obstacle, though, it was just a fact that you couldn't get enough resources or what-have-you to finish without spending passes).

Then, several years back, Howrse modified promos so that a majority of players would be able to finish them for free and win the grand prize. The difference is that the grand prize is usually an item instead of a new Divine, which were moved to luck items for the duration of the promo like what we see now.

The key makes it so that, once again, players can't totally finish an event unless they spend passes. Granted, the 600 passes is *much* cheaper than it used to cost in the old days to finish an event (I think the range in the old days was usually 15-30 old passes or 1500-3000 new) and get all of the prizes, and most players who are frugal and plan ahead can budget for it, but it's still a type of paywall and that frustrates some players. And the 600 passes isn't netting you a brand new, shiny Divine with a potentially cool perk, you're getting a Chimera which most would argue has less value."

Okay, so I actually remember when keys were first ever introduced, and I remember it not being a popular choice. On one hand, I understand, but on the other hand it is a bit frustrating. I guess at the very least, if you complete the daily objectives and do some preplanning, you'll end up with enough. I'm shark obsessed so the prize mentioned is 100% worth it to me, especially since it evidently earns passes as well?

Idk. My thing is this: I was a player from crica the original original art, the summer after the Christmas pack cards that introduced Xanthos etc, saw the original Archimedes introduced, and so on. Back then, it felt like it was impossible to get divines. I was one of the frequent top cross breeders on the game, had a short stint in the top Connemara team at the time, etc. And I never managed to get my hands on any of the divines or the new ones as they got introduced (gemstones were being introduced around the time I left). So to not even have 30 days under my belt on this new account and already have two divines feels a lot better comparatively.