siniri

I finally caught BOTT at 62! Sold 6k of my 19k, because it's up 6 for the day.

 

PEOP is at 38, FYI (up 8 for the day). I hope it keeps going up.

My lab- and school- trained pet's stats:

Lvl : 307
Str : 604
Def : 605
Mov : 603
Hp : 614 / 614

 

I kept track of my zaps for several months and calculated the cost of zapping (and losing species/color) vs. training without zapping, and the extra stats gained "paid for" the Mynci MP to get back to the species I wanted, plus the MI pb to get her to my dream, in less than a year (because 8 codestones/training). Plus I've gotten free pb clothes for some of my other pets along the way (such as zombie flotsam, and even Halloween Mynci for when I morph her back). She's gotten some pretty cool looks that I wouldn't want permanently, but were nice for a while (such as several robot pets). And an avatar or two (still waiting for her to get zapped Jetsam). She has gotten stuck once or twice on some really ugly looks, but only once was I desperate enough to transfigure her (only because I had to stop zapping to avoid bumping to the next codestone level, and I got an avatar anyway, so it was okay)

 

If you want a balanced pet, the lab can still help you. Its main benefit is allowing you to train faster. It saves you money, but you won't actually see the money you saved since you'll just have a stronger pet sooner than you would otherwise. And the more expensive your training gets, the more you save. You can also slow down or stop one or the other at any time. If my HP were rising too fast (which happened a few times before I realized I don't really need to train them much at all, especially when I was on once-per-day TS training), I could stop zapping for a while. When I didn't have a ton of time for Neopets and couldn't afford the codestones (or there was high inflation), I could train only once I got the requested codestones from KQ/Tombola/etc (this was obviously pre-BD drops), while still increasing my stats by zapping.

 

Some food for thought: on January 25, my stats were all around 560 with level around 280; I needed ~180 stat increases to get to the 600 boosts (the SNTS bumps up a codestone with the boost, so if I didn't want to pay double too many times, they all needed to bump up together); let's call that ~168 trainings because of the occasional +2 and +3's. I could train (theoretically) 6x/day, so it should have taken me 28 days (i.e., I could have finished at the earliest on February 22. I actually could only train 2-4 times/day (average = 3) because of life, so that would have pushed me back to March 22. Thanks to zapping (and 13 stats from faerie quests), I reached it on February 25. So zapping saved me ~3*28 = 84 red codestones* in 31 days (I actually had ~13 "extra" stats above the boost across a few different stats, so the faerie quests were a wash). (Granted I was luckier than usual during that month, but still... I might need that 600 boost for the next wave, and I only have it because I zapped.) The time saved was even more incredible when I was at the once-per-day training stage.

 

Sure, I miss my Mynci, but she's getting close to the max boosts (at which time I'll stop zapping her), and I saved years and millions of NP on training by zapping her, and got some amazing free clothes for my other pets and a few avatars to boot.

 

*Keep in mind this is the NET effect of lab-training, including any losses I've incurred. Grainne's level was already a bit high (definitely over 50, and maybe even over 100) before I started zapping her, and she's never lost more than ~2-4 levels, although my avatar-sometimes-labbie pet has been reset to 0 or lost a lot of levels multiple times. It doesn't seem to do that to higher-level pets.

Do both. I zap my pet and train, and her stats are:

Lvl : 307
Str : 604
Def : 605
Hp : 614 / 614

 

I very rarely train HP, and I try to keep strength and defense even (only training level to keep it above 1/2 my max); sometimes I'll stop training for a few days so I don't jump to the next training level before everything's ready. Even if you want to be offense-only, it might be worth training level to half HP just so you can train strength. In addition to training level, you could buy Terror Trove scratchcards and scratch 5/day (they'll on average pay for themselves), play Deadly Dice following a guide (get a few ties, then win, and you can jump several levels in one night), and/or do kitchen quests (which have never ever gone to my battle pet, out of the 30+ stats I've gained, but apparently I'm super unlucky).

 

I think Aquamentis's suggestions are spot-on regarding weapons, and you'd be able to afford to train, buy lens flare, and buy several of those weapons. You could also consider the ability Shade, which defends 3 random icons based on your opponent's defense (and costs a whopping 2 dark blessings), or Icicle (10 waters, does 6 extra icons/turn). Or you could get some thick smoke bombs (1-use, blocks all damage) if you think you'll only need to use them for a few key battles. And/or get a few muffins (the 15-icon ones were 800-1k when I checked a few hours ago). You might find one of the opponents easier to beat than the others, so you might only need the 1-use items for specific faction challenges or the achievements.

You can buy one every half-hour here: http://www.neopets.com/faerieland/springs.phtml. You may want to buy the more expensive ones from the springs, sell them, and buy the cheaper ones using the SW; you'll probably make a profit. Just compare SW to springs prices.

Here's an even easier solution: if you have space, adopt a stronger pet! Some people are offering theirs on the neoboards (make sure you don't give them anything in exchange; it's illegal to "buy" or "sell" pets), or there might be some strong orphans with bad names/ugly species in the pound.

Train HP; every point counts. What are your other stats? And get some healer(s) you can bring into the 'dome.

 

Single-use (check SW to see which is cheapest): bombaberry elixir (11), pale elixir (9), puce elixir (15), amulet of life (100%), jade elixir (100%), life giver (100%), lucky robots foot (100%), juicy elixir (7 - you probably want more than this), condensed faerie essence (10?), ultranova (3-24, ave. 13.5, but also attacks 3.4 fire, 3.4 air, 3 light), dark nova (3-24, ave. 13.5, but also attacks 5 dark, 3.4 fire), supernova (2-16, ave. 9, but also attacks 3 light, 2.6 fire).

 

Once per battle (can reuse in next battle): bronze scorchstone (15), magical healing potion (15), red scorchstone (20), lesser healing scroll (25), helm of recovery (50), mud mixture (1-5, but also attacks 6E and can use w/ a real healer too) and the similar caustic potion

 

Keep in mind that healing costs you an attack and may drag it out an extra round, making you die anyway, so I'd recommend only getting a healer that will heal the majority of your HP, and not bother with the dual-duty ones, except maybe a stronger nova.

 

Okay, your weapons:

Rainbow scroll: 3A3W3L (this is going for about the same as an oversized maractite rune sword, which does 3W2L2P but defends 3W, it's also a lot more than the 9-icon ridiculously heavy battle hammer which does 3A3E3P)

RHBH: 3A3E3P

Scarab ring: 2W2D2P, def 3F3P

Parasol: def all light 3W 1.4-5E

 

You didn't say what your str and def boosts are; I assume they're 20 (1.25x). Your current max attack is 21*1.25 (with no defense) = 26.25, which would take 4 turns assuming they never defended or healed. On easy, the opponents are at 80, so I assume it's a 2x str boost. If they double-attack you, you could be dead on the first round without a shield. I think you can go 2-3 rounds max, with a healer (unless you get lens flare, use a thick smoke bomb, or get really lucky). So you'll need muffins or an upgrade (scroll of knowledge is 11-icons, and scroll of the scholar is 10-icons). Two muffins + static cling = 33*1.25=41.25 icons per turn. You could use 2 muffins+static cling, followed by either 2 more muffins+static cling if you can survive, or heal + 1 muffin+static cling, dual-duty + 1 muffin+static cling (though if you need to go 3 rounds, using 4 muffins might be overkill, and you could replace some with one of your regular weapons). Pick muffins from TDN's database that will get through their shields. Using 2 scrolls of knowledge + static cling, that's 31.25/round, so you'd need to go 3 rounds still.

 

Thief's weapons: 3A3P, 2W2F 0.3-3P, 5A3D3E, 5W3P, 2E 0.3-3P, def 3L3P, def 3A3L3P, 30% stealer. Remember that he can dish out 2x (and defend 2x) the number of icons listed because of his boosts. His 11-iconer would take all but 2 of your HP, unless you used your parasol, which would only save you from (1.4 to 5)*1.25 of the earth damage = 1.75 to 6 (the max), so you'd still lose 16 to 20.25 HP from that one weapon alone. Plus his defense is focused on air, light, and physical, and your two best weapons each deal 2 of these three types, so he could reduce their attacks to a mere 3-icons. He would not be a good opponent for you.

 

You can go through the other opponents here, clicking on their weapons and seeing what they do (read the fine print). Your best bet would be someone who deals a lot of light (with water and earth as their secondaries) and can't defend air/water/light or air/earth/physical. Then you can do some math and play what-if scenarios. You can always get lucky, e.g., if the thief used his stealer and shield on round 1, then his two shields on round 2, but that's going to take a while.

 

With your low stats, getting even 1 win is going to be really difficult (without the special 1-use items I mentioned) unless you get lucky. Pick the opponent you think you have the best chance on, and fight him. You'll get a lot of losses, but you might eke out a win or two. Visit the healing springs every 30 minutes, to heal *and* to buy one of the everlasting apple, dewberry reviver, bubbling healing goo, or super strength healing potions (check SW first); sell them for profit to fund your buying of the cheaper healing potions that are all you need.

It depends. I think filling your "part" bar will help you earn better prizes (including better BD equipment). But if you want to do that by losing, you can (though hopefully by the last round, that won't be possible, because we need some point spread and reward for those who put more effort in). If you want to lose with just the minimum amount of weapons, that's up to you. Now really is the best time to sell, though it might be too late as more people are giving up (you'll need to sell weapons that are useful against the current/next wave; weaker ones probably won't sell anymore).

 

Just make sure you keep enough weak weapons on hand to still be able to beat the first wave so you can get your 15 drops of muffins, faeries, and codestones per day (because those are worth a lot right now, too). And know that TNT might surprise us, with something coming out of the obelisk that we have to work together to fight, and while you might have been able to do it with what you have, you might not with weaker weapons. No one knows what's coming next, so it is a bit of a gamble.

Um, in the Altador Cup, everyone gets prizes and trophies, even though only one team wins. In the war, one faction will "win" based on participation, but who knows what TNT will do after that? The obelisk could turn against us all (and I hope it does, giving us some puzzles in addition to battling, though there were never any puzzles in previous wars, the last of which was ~10 years ago). Like everything else on Neopets, you'll earn a better prize depending on what you put into it. So yes, you should put as much as you can into it (though there are often caps on max participation; the "doing your part" bars might be the caps, but that's just a guess). In the Moltara "mini-plot," the prize tiers were very regimented, but there was HUGE backlash against that. I suspect TNT won't make the same mistake twice, and that somehow we'll get an exact score based on number of wins (though again, perhaps with a cap -- though my friend said there were no caps in prior wars).

 

So, it's both individual- and faction- based. If you want your faction to win for bragging rights/spiffier trophies, do extra battles on the wave you can barely beat. If you want yourself to get more prize points (and a better trophy level), do more battles (at the very least, fill all your "doing your part" bars) -- though no one knows (except TNT, and they're not telling) whether there are caps or what the prize structure will look like.

 

Unrelatedly, I'm killing the third wave with a single weapon in a single round (2-3x over). I hope we get at least a few more waves, though if they keep doubling in points, it's going to get very hard very quickly. I expect to struggle on mighty (and maybe fail) for at least the last wave, since I still need 3 more boosts for both strength and defense, and several of my weapon-types are only advanced, not expert. But I do hope to be able to beat all opponents at least on medium.

I'm fairly certain filling the "do your part" bar will determine what level of prizes you qualify for at the end, so yes, please do it. Have you tried using battle muffins? Do you have any of the more inexpensive weaons suggestions we mentioned in the last few pages? Are you close to the next boost in strength or defense (or can you increase HP and not have to train level)? If so, train train train. This wave will probably last 2-3 days. Do you have any faerie abilities? Enough bottles to get one? If you can afford it, get lens flare (get the air-one first, so lens flare will only be 8 blessings); use it on your first turn combined with 2 strong attack weapons (2 muffins if you need to).

 

Depending on what weapons/defenses you have, certain baddies might be easier or harder. Check TDN's guide to see what weapons they have, and try to match yours. Choose attack weapons (including muffins) with more icons that they have no (or very little) shield for. Choose defensive weapons (reflectors if your stats are low, or the full-light blocking parasol of unfortunate demise) that match the icons they can hit with the most punch. If they're hitting harder than you, you need to end the battle quickly, so focus on attacking rather than defending, but try different strategies.

 

To get the flawless challenge, you might also consider using the 1-use thick smoke bomb, perhaps one of the 1-use healing potions that can be brought into the battledome (pick one strong enough to heal you to full health -- jade elixir automatically does that, but there might be a cheaper one that heals up to X HP if you have low HP -- make sure you can take it into battle). You could take your chances with a green frost cannon (which has a low rate of freezing, but if you get lucky, it's good for another turn, and the losses would help you fill your bar in the meantime. Or if you can afford it, get a scroll of freezing which is a 100% freezer, but fragile. Strategy:

 

If you can take them out in two rounds:

1) Lens flare + bomb + bomb (bomb probably = muffin, but it could be your strongest attack weapon depending on how much of their HP you can take out)

2) Thick smoke bomb + bomb + strongest same-round attack ability

 

If you need more rounds, try:

1) Lens flare + bomb + freezer (if using green frost cannon, if it doesn't work, you may want to lose rather than waste 1-use items)

2) strongest attack ability + bomb + bomb (or use a healer here if you lost HP round 1)

3) thick smoke bomb + bomb + strongest attack ability

 

This is expensive, but it can get you the achievement. The prize is an amber sword, which isn't a very good weapon. In TFR, the achievements made things more fun but didn't count towards final prizes (because you were already given an award for them, on the spot). So it's probably not worth the cost of the 1-use items, unless you're a completist. It could also be used to complete doing your part more quickly, but if you're going to spend that much on 1-use items, you might as well upgrade your weapon(s).

Is anyone else getting a lot of love from the Brute Squad faction? Last wave, I evened up my stats at the end (after having mostly only battled when a challenge was on), and I had 54 wins against them compared to only in the teens or twenties for the other factions. And I'm already on my third challenge against them this wave.

 

Be careful, some of these guys are packing disease-causing weapons.

 

So far, I can still take them out with 1 weapon in 1 round. I don't want to lose! But I want the prize... I'll lose after I "do my part."

Essence of Everlasting Apple can't be equipped and taken into the battledome.

Of course not. But when people are losing, they tend to like to heal back up to full HP before re-entering the BD.

Of course, if I *do* get zapped back to level 1, expect a letter from my lawyer :shiftyeyes_anim:

Sure, but pics or it didn't happen! :P You'd be rewriting all the lab ray guides across all the fan sites.

 

My pet started as a Mynci (which looks like my favorite animal), so of course I was a little bummed when she got her first species change. However, during my few months of tracking, I calculated that the lab had paid for the MP to switch her back to Mynci in about 6 months (I was at 6 codestones at the time) -- and I've been zapping for years since then. I also want to paint her Island once she retires from the lab; I'm pretty sure I've "saved" that much in zapping, too -- except of course I didn't actually "save" it at all, I just didn't spend it.

I really like how well you coordinated the colors! 10/10.

 

Grainne's all dressed for battle (I wish she could hold the sword again, but the lab has been giving me stats lately -- except the day she switched to Tyrannian -- and really, I'm more than happy with the stats, so the sword can stay like that for now).

Yes, there are deadly dice guides that explain the timing of when to click, which will result in either a win (gives you increased levels matching the number of turns you played), a loss (gives you decreased levels matching the number of turns you played), or a tie (gives you another turn). The timing varies based on your internet/computer speed, and lag can mess you up. My friend has a reliable connection and has the timing down.

 

I can't explain more than that because I've only played it a handful of times myself; I lost the first time or two, and once I won, I've never played again. (I only played while on a trip to the West Coast several years ago.)

Static cling should do 3 icons of light damage every single turn. Try it again? The light icon is very... light, and sometimes if my laptop screen isn't tilted optimally, it appears invisible. It's better than either of the other two free ones, so if you can only afford the free ones, get static cling and use it every single turn. (Unless they have a shield against light like Coltom said, then pick the free one based on who you're battling and what they can't defend against, but choose static cling if all else is equal.)

You're 8 trainings from the next boost (which will amplify your attack 1.5x vs. the 1.25x you're getting now; after that, you'd be 20 away from the next boost). Your defense is only 2 away from the next boost (1.25x vs. your current 1x; after that, you'd be 15 from the next boost). What's your level?

Kougra claw attacks 2F 2E 1-2P.
Gilded Kougra Mask attacks 2L, defends 2D.
Silver chest plate attacks 2A 2E, 0.2-2P.
Really big chunk of ice attacks 2W 0.3-3P.
Exploding powder attacks 2F 2L (and is once per battle).
Golden mage robe defends 3A.
Cursed wand of darkness shadow attacks 2E 2D 2P.
Magical Healing potion heals 15 (once per battle).

Okay, a lot of these are pretty bad and could be upgraded. Your healer covers 50% of your HP right now, which isn't terrible, but at your level, every HP counts. Lesser healing scrolls would heal 25, but they're 90k (which is very inflated, but it really could help). The snowager sword is currently about 3k, and it attacks 2W 2A 3P and defends 3F -- that's better than any offensive weapon you have, and its defense is as good as any you have! You could get two of them and use them as your main weapons. The famous scarab ring is only 4.5k and attacks 2W 2D 2P and defends 3F 3P; again, many people use 2. An oversized maractite rune sword attacks 3W 2L 2P and defends 3W, and is currently 12k. For 9 icons of attack, ridiculously heavy battle hammers are now ~7k each (again, you could get 2 if you wanted pure offense, or pair one with a dual-duty that attacks and defends). If you can afford it, a scarab ring + oversized maractite ruin sword would give you 5W 2D 2L 4P attack and defense against 3F 3W 3P, or 13 attack icons and 9 defense icons per turn for ~16-17k.

Golden geraptiku talisman attacks 3D and defends 3D 3E; for 25NP, it's much better than anything you've currently got for a shield -- and it could help against certain baddies who deal earth or lots of dark, when paired with a scarab ring or maractite sword. Elegant jewelled robe defends 3F 3E 3D for 1.5k (and would likewise fill in defensive holes). Other defensive options: expert lens (1NP, not fragile, reflects 50% of light back on your attacker), double dryer (3k, reflects 50% air, fragile), ultradark reflectorb (reflects 50% dark, fragile), shovel plus (reflects 50% earth, fragile), super u-bend (reflects 50% water, fragile), turbo flame reflector (reflects 50% fire, fragile). Use the fragile reflectors only when you really need to (choosing which to equip based on who you're battling and what their heavy-hitters are), and you might want to buy a few in case they break (you may want to only get the ones for icons for which you don't already have a good defense). For a bit more money, a parasol of unfortunate demise is ~20k, and it defends against all L and 3 W 1.4-5 E.

Quite frankly, I would sell everything you've got now, while prices are inflated, with the exception of the magical healing potion (unless you can afford to upgrade, in which case, sell it now!). The above that I've listed mostly haven't inflated too horribly, because there are a fair number on the market. If you have even more money to spend, you could look at things like scroll of the scholar or scroll of knowledge.

Based on your budget, you can definitely get better weapons. If you choose to go with an offense-only strategy (e.g., ridiculously heavy battle hammers supplemented with reflectors), your defense won't matter, and you should train strength. If you get any of the dual duties or shields, train defense first to hit 20. Then train strength to 35, then increase your HP to 2x level (note: if you can't train strength without training level, train HP first). Then see how much time is left in the war.

Hopefully you'll be able to afford at least a few of these upgrades and beat the second wave!

 

ETA: I forgot to mention, I've been getting a ton of stone muffins in the BD. These are decent "bombs," so hold on to them until you really really need them to progress. If you run out, let your fellow Seekers know. ;)

The Lonely Grundo:

dee1972 The Lonely Grundo 1 1,200 NP

unita90 The Lonely Grundo 1 1,495 NP

louisadee The Lonely Grundo 3 1,600 NP

slinkyg6498 The Lonely Grundo 5 1,699 NP

Okay, third time to be cautious: when you just paid for an ability, and you're worried about not being able to use it. (That really stinks, xSummer. Can you play Deadly Dice to level back up? My friend in California does that and gets 2-5 levels per night (he's accidentally lost once or twice, and sometimes accidentally wins instead of ties). It's 3am for me, so risking losing that avatar is not an option for me.)

 

Also, if your pet is under 40, especially during war, you may not want to risk the huge setback that could keep you from training str/def to hit the next boost. The giant losses definitely seem to happen more often to lower-level pets. It happened repeatedly with my adoptee, but I've never lost more than 2-3 levels with Grainne, despite zapping her many many times more than the adoptee.

I suspect the new wave will start tonight. We might get two per week.

 

Kris, good idea to look at the expiration date on the key! I really hope there's something big after the obelisk is "won" by a faction. Or even something small. It's been so long since TFR (the last major plot-or-war event), and this one really should last longer than a month.

I haven't had my level knocked back more than a few levels on this pet, ever. I did have that event happen to my adopted sometimes-labbie with low stats a few times. But it's never happened to anyone with a pet over ~40, with all the people using the lab daily. Even if I were to get knocked down 40 levels, it's so rare, that the average is still a net positive. I've gotten over a thousand free stats from the lab already, so it wouldn't negate it (the net benefit of the lab ray, subtracting the negatives from the positives, is well in the hundreds). 40 levels would take me less than a week to recover from by training alone (and it'd be 1 red codestone instead of 2, while I'd still be zapping and increasing my strength and HP for "half-price," since once I were back to 2 reds, they'd be higher than they were the last time my level was there), so it wouldn't be a waste of time by any means.

 

If I were to get set back to level 1, it would take me about 5 months if I trained as often as possible (4 months if I were willing to pay more for codestones than dubloons), and I'd probably have to stop zapping for a while to keep my stats balanced (though it might be worth it to keep zapping and rebalance once I can). But I'd still be ahead of where I were had I never zapped my battle pet. And I'm confident it won't happen.

 

If you're thinking of zapping to supplement training, I can't recommend it enough. It will save you millions of NP over the long-term -- and more importantly, a significant amount of time. The only times I would be cautious is 1) during a war/plot, when you've just obtained a certain str/def boost (or required movement for an item) -- give yourself a bit of a buffer so you can't lose the boost before zapping again, or 2) when you're nearing the next training cost and you're at risk of paying extra codestones. The solution to both of these is the same: when in doubt, just don't zap that pet. I rarely ever train HP because I get them "free" from the lab while I'm training everything else; I don't worry about training them beyond 2x level, which makes losing stats a lot easier to recover from, and it means I get to zap nearly all the time (vs. taking time off because my HP are threatening to take me to the next training level before everything else is ready).

 

It can seem disheartening to lose stats from a zap, but I just remember that in the long term, I'm coming out way ahead. It helped a lot to track every single stat change I got from the lab over several months, keeping a running average, so I could really see that it was a net positive.

Katalina, what are your stats and weapons? Maybe we can offer some advice. By changing things just a little, you might be able to at least complete the second wave. Do you have the static cling ability yet? It's free.

You know how some really savvy Neopians find images of unreleased items on-site a while before they're released? I just wonder if anyone has found images of other luminous flasks, because that might give a hint as to how many waves we have left (or the minimum number, at least).

If somone is closing in on the next boost, it can make a significant difference; it might let them win instead of draw. And I really hope this war lasts longer than "a few days"! I would hope this war lasts at least a month.

 

I started aggressively training (4-6x/day) once war rumors started (vs. doing 1-3/day as I remembered), even though I had *just* reached the 550 boosts. I hit the 600 boosts two days before the war started. I probably won't make it to the 650 boosts before the war ends (especially since in Ninja School, that bumps you to the next codestone level, whereas it wouldn't in the regular school - which means that in the regular school, you could train just strength or just defense to get a single boost), but I'm training like I could. (But that's because reds haven't inflated like regulars -- during TFR, after a certain point, I only trained once I had the codestones on hand, because I needed several/training and didn't really need the next boost. And codestones weren't being handed out left and right like they are now.)

Ready for the next wave already. I suppose I should try to even up my wins. I feel like a bit of a slacker; I have 65 wins for each opponent in the first wave, but only 13-28 for the second (the thieves are scared to challenge me). I'm still squishing them in a single hit (four times over) with my HCC on mighty, so I'll pull my weight more in the later waves. Assuming we all get to fight later waves. But I should probably still do a bit more now.

Something has happened!

 

Yep, that was the whole thing. No picture, no announcement of what actually happened. Just a mystery I can never solve.

I've been zapping my battle pet since before TFR every single day (with very brief stoppages when I needed to balance her stats before going on to the next training level), and it's never happened to me. My pet is currently over level 300. One hypothesis is that the lab can take a large* number of levels at once very, very rarely, and if that would take your pet below 1, it gives you the "back to 1" message instead.

 

*large being less than 20-ish. I kept track of my zapping for several months, and the average effect is a significant increase in stats. The only stat that has a negative average from zapping is defense, but this can be countered with training very easily, and it's more than made up for by the positive averages for other stats, particularly HP. And actually, over the past several months, my defense hasn't had a negative average -- I guess I've been at the extreme (lucky) end of the bellcurve lately, unless others have noticed the same phenomenon.