A handful of traits will be getting their rarities swapped around, a few traits are getting combined, and some traits will be removed completely. The primary purpose of this is better balancing, but also more logical choices. When Nico made the species in 2021, they had very few trait ideas solidified at the beginning which resulted in some traits in rarity tiers that don't necessarily make sense for the species. 

"What I mean by this is that Xeros are an arboreal species that live in trees with a climbing lifestyle. A trait like a prehensile tail should be more common than a short, useless bobtail that would actually hinder a Xeros ability to climb and navigate in branches." ~Nico

Some traits are fully moving categories, such as moving from ‘Event Traits’ to regular tiers. Some traits may also be separated out further (such as folded puppy ears and fully hanging 'lopped' rabbit ears) in order to make the traits’ usage further defined.

SUMMARY

• Plume Tail is being removed as a seasonal trait (changing to Unusual rarity) and will be replaced by a different future Seasonal trait. Seasonal traits are also being divided up into actual seasons now, with the idea of hosting 3 separate holiday events each year, with each event having 3 seasonal trait items available during it; Instead of Twilight Carnival being very trait-heavy at the end of the year.

• Patterned Skin & Bioluminescent are swapping places. Patterned Skin will become Anomaly Rarity, and Bioluminescent will become a Premium trait alongside Split & Dazzle. Bioluminescent will still be plenty available, as it will be able to be purchased with Orbits in Jackpot Planet, obtained randomly through Mysterious Orbs, obtained through charity donation drives, and earned for free with the yearly Lantern Fruit carving prompt! We believe this will suit the usage and desirability of these traits better.

• Venomous will be updated so that darker markings bordering neon/high-contrast fur markings are optional; the main purpose of the trait is the neon-colored skin. To reflect this change we are also renaming this trait from Venomous to Aposematic, which is defined as an animal that displays bright colors to communicate toxicity.
  
  
• Curly Tail is being combined into Prehensile Tail due to redundancy; Xeros with this trait will either have the trait changed to Prehensile Tail if the Xero features a tightly curled tail, or refunded with a grant of a Helix Bean item if Prehensile Tail is not applicable to their character's design.

• Pigment Mutations are getting a large overhaul. The traits Albino, Leucistic, and Melanistic are being combined into one trait that may be called “No Countershading” - this would encapsulate a Xero of any color (light, dark, or in between) that lacks the typical countershaded belly that is required on all Xeros otherwise.

There are multiple reasons for these trait changes including:

• The original traits were widely considered too confusing to many, from users and staff alike.
  
  
• The change will allow for increased character customization. Currently, there is no way to have a solid-green Xero with no countershading, for example.
  
  
• In addition, it was brought to our attention how these traits may be seen as anthropomorphizing real human conditions such as Albinism. We recognized through discussion that while we aimed to educate about conditions that apply to animals in nature, these conditions occur in humans as well, and we do not wish to reduce those conditions to rare traits as we feel this is not being respectful of those individuals.

• Similar to the above reasons, Piebald is also being removed as a trait. In addition to the reasons stated above, it does not make sense for us to only have restrictions on white splotches as a ‘special trait’, when splotches of any other color are not traited, nor are markings of any other kind (Outside of the species required countershading). We also do not wish to put a paywall on a trait for people who may have a similar-looking condition, such as vitiligo, from creating a Xero that reflects themselves. Owners of all Xeros with the piebald trait will receive a refund of the Sky Melon item since the trait is being completely removed.

• Additionally, the ‘heterochromia’ (different eye colors) part of the Split and Piebald trait is being removed. Split will only be about different areas of skin color, different eye colors will now be un-traited.

In the places of the previous Pigment Mutation traits, we are introducing several ‘new’ traits, some of which were previously locked in as features of other traits:

• Mela Mela Drupe, which previously made a Xero melanistic, will now give a Xero Dark Scleras, allowing the Xero’s scleras to be darker than the iris color. This will be in the Notable tier for rarity.
  
  
• Blanch Berry, which previously made a Xero leucistic, will now give the Xero the new combined Bright Pupils trait, allowing a Xero's pupils to be lighter than the iris. This will be in the Notable tier for rarity.
  
  
• Sky Melon, which previously made a Xero piebald, will now give a Xero Reverse Countershading, allowing the Xero’s underside to be darker than the surrounding fur. This will be in the Anomaly tier for rarity.
• Sweetsap Pod, which previously made a Xero albino, will now give a Xero No Countershading, allowing the Xero to bypass the countershading restrictions. This will be in the Anomaly tier for rarity.