So I was inspired by another thread to come up with an idea which takes the concept they thought of and finds a slightly more user-friendly way to implement it, whilst being in keeping with game features that already exist. Please scroll down and make sure to check out my example of how easy it is to level up a lioness and reach level 7-10.

**This thread is being updated all the time, so please check back for future updates, I'm trying to collect all the ideas and opinions I can to make this work for players of every level**

First of all, unprotected cubs should drop in survival by 15-20% per rollover, this gives you far more incentive to actually use broodmothers for you pride. Protected cub's survival rate drops based on your lionesses level, and higher level lionesses can protect more cubs.

Secondly, the feed all/play all tool should work differently for cubs, I don't think the price should be changed, its affordable but still makes you think twice about if you can really afford (in time or money) a larger pride. Instead of being able to boost your cubs up to 20% numerous times until they get to 100%, it only boosts them 10% one time, so broodmother cubs automatically get the benefit and will survive, but it leaves the unprotected cubs still dropping by 5-10% each day, meaning that without intervention in the form of the bird from the monkey shop, those cubs will definitely die before they reach one year. It'll only delay the inevitable to give you some more time to think really. This is because unprotected or neglected cubs in the wild would never make it to their first birthday.

Nurturing broodmothers should start off being able to protect 2 cubs, and always have +1 cub slot compared to other lionesses of the same level. Other natures could affect it too, although I expect they're being implemented and discussed even as I type. (For instance, perhaps wary natured broodmothers are more alert and their protected cubs lose 1-2% less than other natures). LIonesses can be levelled up through either hunting or the experience they usually gain just by looking after cubs, Hunting them a few times before making the a broodmother would obviously be quicker, but I think that it makes sense that the more effort you put in, the more rewards you get back :)

Here's my proposed levels and the bonuses you get from them
Level 1- one cub, loses 10% survival daily.
Level 3- two cubs, 10% lost
level 5- two cubs, 9% lost
level 7- three cubs 9% lost
level 10- three cubs 8% lost
level 11- four cubs 8% lost
level 12- four cubs 7% lost
level 13- five cubs 7% lost
level 14- five, 6% lost
level 15- five, 5% lost

This is fairly reasonable, whilst still giving you the incentive to level up your lionesses past level 10 for the extra bonuses. Level 5-7 is achievable for even the most casual of players, so with three broodmother slots they still get 6-12 cubs protected depending on the broodmother's personality, which is a decent amount of cubs under 1yr for your average player. I also think that having only one cub able to be protected when you start out will encourage new players to first work on improving their lion a little before starting to breed, and give them some time to save up sb to support them.

What are the benefits to this?
-More uses for lionesses levels, and more incentive to hunt them, plus a good use for the experience they gain from actually being broodmothers.
-Less mass-breeding of bad quality cubs to sell, because it takes a little extra effort to get your broodmothers protecting all those cubs. They still live to 6-11 months regardless, so there will still be the option to sell them as karma fodder, meaning it doesn't really ruin your game-play if thats how you like to breed.
-A potential boost to the game's player market, making you put in some effort for those special babies you're proud of, and giving you some more things to do on the game
-Beloved lionesses who can no longer be bred can be kept around as broodmothers for your pride, meaning that you won't have to retire them early to save space/food, because they'll actually have a purpose! i think that's a lovely idea because i get very attached to my older lionesses.
-A new market opens up for older levelled lionesses, meaning the effort you've put into them isn't wasted if you no longer want them when they reach 8-12yrs
-if you find it difficult to get levelled lionesses, you can either buy them or purchase additional territory slots. Purchasing them for gold beetles helps support lioden and keep the site going.

That's all I can think of for now, and I'd like to take the opportunity to encourage discussion, good or bad, because I think that right now its incredibly easy to get your cubs survival up, and the broodmother feature doesn't really add much to the game. I feel like it could be a far more fun and useful tool.

If you'd like to take the time to quickly explain why you like/dislike the idea, or give suggestions, that'd be greatly appreaciated.

EDIT- The extra effort you put in would be minimal. getting ahold of two ugly nurturing personality lionesses who wouldn't be used for anything else, whilst you level up some prettier ones (through hunting) that could also be used for breeding. Something most players would already be doing is trying to add some stats to their favourite lionesses, and my broodmothers got to level 3 and 4 quite quickly with me just leaving them in that role, so you'd have 4-6 cubs with 100% survival rate just by interacting with them.
2nd EDIT- assigning a broodmother would still boost their survival by 30-40%. That would make it easier on everyone.
-Survival rate shouldn't go down unless you send their mother out to hunt when they're still under 5 months (say 1% drop per hunt if they aren't protected by a broodmother)
-Broodmothers should gain more experience for looking after cubs to make this a useful feature.
-Exp gained should be random, but in a higher range than it is now. I also think that the more cubs your broodmother is protecting (which would mean she had to be a higher level) the more experience she should gain. This makes it more achievable to get those high levels needed.

Thanks for reading!
Flip x
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How Easy Is It To Level My Lioness?
I just so happen to have a broodmother aging up to adulthood tomorrow, so to give you an example of how much effort it takes to level one up, I'm going to use her.
Remember, already levelled older lionesses can take on broodmother duty for a few days whilst you do this.
This is Joker.
Joker is a very funny looking lioness who nobody would ever want, but because she's a little unique I'm keeping her as broodmother. In the next few days I'll send her out on some hunts, screenshot what she gets and let you know how much hunting it takes to get her up to level 5. Then I'll leave her in the broodmother role and tell you what exp she gains every day. Hopefully this will give myself and others an idea of how challenging it actually is to get a good broodmother. Remember, if you did this with a nurturing lioness, you'd be able to protect three cubs at level 5 and four cubs at level 7 according to my model.
I'll be adding a log for how fast it takes just through hunting for another lioness if I need to. Keep in mind that players like myself will always be willing to provide broodmothers at reasonable prices, not everyone will take advantage and bump prices up loads :)
EDT- Joker's first hunt, she's in with level 1-7 lionesses. As you can see from just one trip out in a full hunting party, she's gained enough experience to get to level 3, if she was nurturing you could already use her to protect 3 cubs using my model
Screenshot one
Joker's second hunt put her up to level 4, same lionesses on the same tiles. I cropped the image down a bit but it still shows all of the important stuff for the lionesses
Screenshot two