So. One thing that I've seen come up a *lot* is What do I do for a heir?. Many people who are new to Lioden, or returning players who haven't quite figured everything out, don't know what to do for a heir, or a new king other than your rolled one when you first join. This is a WIP guide to help you through that, first planning, then designing, and finally kinging that dream heir as smoothly as possible!

I'm gonna break it up into steps for easy understanding, starting with might be the most important thing out of them all, planning.
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Planning
PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE don't go and king the first pretty lion you see, you WILL regret it as soon as you see the rest of the options. I've added a little survey/checklist at the bottom, which you can use for your own reference, or fill it out and I can help you come up with something that fits the price range, aesthetic theme and purpose!

Things to think about are:
-Heritage
-Color theme
-Genetics/Breeding/Lionesses*
-Important factors (combo base/combo base factor, markings such as rosettes, mutation, etc.)
-Price Range!

*By Lionesses and Breeding I mean getting some lionesses, maybe bases that are combo factors, and when bred with your king can breed that combo, or a lion with the same mutation, etc.

Designing
For me, I like to start with an actual lion, maybe one that I plan to use as a king, before customizing, so that I know what applicators I'll need, or how many I'll need. You can design, customize and edit lion appearances in the Wardrobe, although since it's just for designing, you won't be changing the appearance of the actual lion itself. You can start from scratch, or you can import a preexisting lion's appearance and start from there, which is what I recommend.

First, you need to come up with a base. You basically have free reign over which one you choose, but you might want to check which ones are available through an applicator before finalizing everything, as some are Breed Only, which means that they are only available through breeding (combo bases, raffle lioness bases, etc.). Some might also be applicable, but SUPER expensive, and since you might want to customize and THEN add a base to whatever lion you want, that might not be the best option.

Next, you want to figure out the markings. Generally, people want rosettes, as they are highly valued and also expensive once you can breed them. I suggest aiming for a double+, which means more than 2 rosettes on the lion, but if you really wanted, you could aim for a triple, although since quads are about 600GB (that's $300 USD, aka on pricey ass lion) I would NOT go with that. After deciding whether you want rosettes and how many, head on over to the Trading Center, and/or browse through the forums, or even post your own! If you decide that you don't want rosettes, maybe think about what other markings you want, and a great place to look at the markings on Lioden is the Markings page on the Lioden Wiki!

Same as the bases, please note that some of these are Breed Only, and might not be possible to apply unless it's already on your lion!

After that, what we've all been waiting for... Mutations! Mutations are a great thing on Lioden, for both breeding and aesthetic purposes, and you have a wide variety to choose from! Most people tend to lean towards pie/patches mutations, while others like primals, or even non-passable mutations such as overgrown tongue. I highly recommend using a passable mutation, and depending on whether you plan on clean breeding or not (see bottom for more on that) either a short generation, preferably G2, or high stat mutie!
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THIS IS A WRITING IN PROGRESS, BUT FEEL FREE TO POST WITH COMMENT/QUESTIONS!