So, you've decided to try and make some adorable little lions to continue on your pride's legacy. In order to do that, you'll have to be attuned to the breeding of your females. Not every lioness is the same as the next and so not every lioness is likely to give you a cub. Some are more susceptible to breeding than others and sometimes the genes even get a bit mixed up. This page talks about the fertility system, how it affects your breeding, and how it can affect mutations.
Keep in mind that fertility is directly tied to breeding and mutations. You can read more about breeding through the Lioness Breeding page, and mutations through the Mutations page!
What is Fertility?
Fertility determines how easy or difficult it will be for your lioness to get pregnant when she is bred. It is a chance or a likelihood. This means that you (or the stud you are using) may have to breed with a lioness multiple times before she gets pregnant. A successful breeding could take five attempts, or it could take five hundred—it all depends on her fertility (as well as that blasted RNG!). Fertility also slightly correlates to how "healthy" your lioness's genes are. Although mutations can naturally occur from mothers at all fertility levels, the lower your lioness's fertility, the higher her chance of naturally producing a mutation is.
All lions, regardless of whether they are male or female, are born with a fertility level. This fertility level does not affect males whatsoever, and only starts to affect females once they are adults and are in heat. If you sex change a male lion into a female lion, they will retain their fertility level.
Fertility is genetic and is passed down entirely through a mother lioness to her cubs. A lioness's cubs will inherit her fertility level within a small range of her fertility percentage at the time of the cub's conception.
For example, let's say you have a lioness that is naturally a Very Low (1%) fertility lioness. You give her five Chasteberries and boost her up to Low (51%). She produces three cubs: a Low (56%), a Very Low (45%), and a Very Low (48%). Their fertilities are all similar to their mother's boosted fertility at the time of their conception. If you were to naturally breed a lioness without any fertility boosting or lowering items, the cubs would inherit her natural fertility level within a set range.
A lioness's fertility level does not affect how many cubs are produced in each litter. It only affects how easy or difficult it is for her to get pregnant, her natural chance of producing a mutation without using any items, and what her cubs' fertility levels will be.
Okay, so you know that it's genetic, and you know that it affects how easily a lioness can be bred—but how do you actually find out what your lioness's fertility level is? Well, if you're interested in seeing what your lioness's fertility is, just mosey on over to her page and scroll down to the Breeding Info tab.
You can see that alongside the Father, Mother, Last Bred, View Full Heritage, and View All Cubs Bred sections, there is a Fertility section as well. The category (or "level") of your lioness's fertility is always viewable. Her exact fertility percentage, however, is hidden until you pay a one-time 30 SB fee to permanently reveal it.
We can see that her level is High, but what does that mean? Let's pay the fee and find out!
Now we can see that her exact fertility percentage is 90%, meaning she's right on the cusp of the High level.
You can also visit the Fertility Snake on the Questing page to both temporarily and permanently reveal the fertility of a lioness.
If you have an abundance of skulls but are a bit low on Silver Beetles, you can exchange one skull with any amount of uses to the Fertility Snake, who will temporarily reveal your lioness's fertility at the top of the Questing page!
You may want to record that number within your lioness's biography, as it is a one-time reveal and the only way you'll be able to see what her fertility percentage is would be to either permanently reveal it or pay the Fertility Snake with another skull. Note that the payment is exactly one skull, not one use of a skull.
Alternatively, if you'd like to mass-reveal your lionesses' fertility percentages, you can do so on the Questing page as well without having to visit each lioness's page! To do this, click on the Reveal Fertility (30 SB) button, and you will get a success message identical to the one that you receive for permanently revealing the fertility of a lioness through her page.
Resetting Negative Fertility
If you spotted the Reset Fertility Boost button under the Fertility Snake's section, you may be wondering what exactly it does. If you give a Tackweed to a lioness who then goes through natural fertility degradation, she may end up with negative fertility!
This screenshot is of a lioness at 7 years 11 months of age.
This screenshot is of the same lioness at 8 years of age, after she loses some fertility percentage thanks to natural fertility degradation.
You can see that she is now considered to be Infertile (0%) with a -1% boost. She cannot be bred thanks to her negative fertility effect.
When you visit the Fertility Snake and select the Reset Fertility Boost button, you will receive the following message.
Ta-da! Negative fertility no longer. She can then have her fertility boosted with Chasteberries if you so desire!
Fertility Levels
There are seven total fertility levels on Lioden.
Level | Percentage Range |
---|---|
Goddess | 100% |
High | 90 to 99% |
Good | 80 to 89% |
Average | 70 to 79% |
Low | 51 to 69% |
Very Low | 1 to 50% |
Infertile | 0% |
Is your lioness stuck in one fertility level for the entirety of her life? Not necessarily! Let's read on further to see how her fertility can change, whether naturally or by the use of items.
Changing Fertility
If your lioness was born with a fertility level that's too low or too high for your liking, you can adjust her fertility level with items! Lionesses will also naturally lose fertility as they age. Let's read more about that!
Natural Progression
When a lioness reaches 8 years of age, she will begin to lose 5% fertility each year of her life, until she reaches 15 years of age or her fertility is Very Low (1%). Once a lioness reaches 1%, she will not lose any further fertility, as a lioness cannot have a negative fertility level.
Lionesses that are Infertile (0%) are not affected by natural fertility loss.
There is no way to stop a lioness from losing fertility each year. A lioness will lose a maximum of 40% fertility throughout her life due to aging, starting from 8 years of age and ending at 15 years of age. If your lioness started out her life as a Goddess (100%) fertility lass, she'll end it at Low (60%) fertility. If your lioness started out her life as a Very Low (1%) fertility lass, she will not be affected by natural fertility degradation.
Temporary Items
The following items have temporary effects.
Purchase as a Referral Reward for 10 RP.
Purchase from The Harbinger's Shop for 15 ET. Potential prize for sending a score between 3500 to 4444+ in Serengeti Shuffle.
High Reward from Slots.
Black Stallion Effect
If you use a Black Stallion on a lioness, the item's effect is temporary until her next immediate breeding is successful. You can only give one Black Stallion to a lioness at one time.
While you cannot give a Black Stallion to an Infertile (0%) lioness or a male lion, you can give it to a Goddess (100%) lioness—although that would be a bit of a waste, considering Black Stallions are meant to mimic the effects of Goddess (100%) fertility and allow a lioness to get pregnant on her first breeding attempt.
Black Stallions can be stacked with Chasteberries, Hyena Meat, and Tackweeds.
When you give a Black Stallion to a lioness, the following text will display.
If you attempt to give a Black Stallion to a lioness that already has one equipped, the following text will display.
When you visit her page, you'll see the following text.
Chasteberry Effect
If you use a Chasteberry on a lioness, the item's effect is temporary until her next immediate breeding is successful. Each Chasteberry given to a lioness will boost her fertility temporarily by 10%, and you can use up to five Chasteberries on the same lioness. Five Chasteberries on an Infertile (0%) fertility lioness will bring her up to Very Low (50%)!
You cannot combine the effects of a Chasteberry and Tackweed. If you use a Chasteberry on a lioness, you'll have to breed her to get the effect to go away.
Chasteberries can be stacked with Black Stallions.
When you give a Chasteberry to a lioness, the following text will display.
If you attempt to give a Chasteberry to a lioness that has reached the Chasteberry threshold or is already at Goddess (100%) fertility, the following text will display.
If you give a Chasteberry to a lioness whose fertility has not yet been permanently revealed, her Breeding Info tab will display as follows.
If you give a Chasteberry to a lioness whose fertility has been permanently revealed or you choose to pay the 30 SB fee to reveal it, her Breeding Info tab will display as follows.
Tackweed Effect
If you use a Tackweed on a lioness, the item's effect is temporary until her next immediate breeding is successful. Each Tackweed given to a lioness will lower her fertility temporarily by 10%, and you can use up to ten Tackweed on the same lioness. Ten Tackweed on a Goddess (100%) fertility lioness will bring her all the way down to Very Low (1%)!
You cannot combine the effects of a Chasteberry and Tackweed. If you use a Tackweed on a lioness, you'll have to breed her to get the effect to go away.
Tackweed can be stacked with Black Stallions.
When you give a Tackweed to a lioness, the following text will display.
If you attempt to give a Tackweed to a lioness that is already at Very Low (1%) fertility (whether natural or temporarily lowered), the following text will display.
If you give a Tackweed to a lioness whose fertility has not yet been permanently revealed, her Breeding Info tab will display as follows.
If you give a Tackweed to a lioness whose fertility has been permanently revealed or you choose to pay the 30 SB fee to reveal it, her Breeding Info tab will display as follows.
Permanent Items
The following items have permanent effects.
Angelic Blessing Effect
If you use an Angelic Blessing on a lioness, the item's effect is permanent unless the decor is removed or the lioness runs away due to low hunger or mood. This is because a lion that leaves a pride due to neglect will have all backgrounds and decors unequipped. If you reclaim them, you will need to re-equip their decors. As Angelic Blessings are one-use items, removing one that is equipped to a lioness will destroy it.
While you cannot equip an Angelic Blessing to an Infertile (0%) lioness or a male lion, you can equip it to a Goddess (100%) lioness. If you attempt to equip the decor to an Infertile (0%) lioness, the following text displays.
Along with granting lionesses a permanent Black Stallion effect, it will display a glowing frame around your lioness to indicate she is blessed by the heavens to always have successful breedings.
When you equip an Angelic Blessing to a lioness, the following text will display.
When you visit her page, you'll see the following text, as well as the frame decor around her image.
Event Effects
During August's event, special event studs are released, and you're able to breed your lionesses to these studs. An interesting fact about August's special event studs is that they completely ignore your lioness's fertility (as long as she is at least 1% fertile) and will impregnate her on the first breeding attempt—nifty, huh?
If your lioness is Infertile (0%), you will be required to give her a Chasteberry or boost her fertility in some way. However, if she is Very Low (1%) or higher, she will get pregnant on the first breeding attempt without the use of any items!