Art based items are nice but we already get a lot of these from participation as it is.
They still depend heavily on appeal because users don't like how it looks or find that
it's not something they need for their avatar eg. frosted branch antlers
they just don't do the tunnel quest at all. Same goes for avatars really.
On the topic of HA items though, I think making art for old clothes is a better idea.
I liked the Halloween Masterpiece too but it's essentially a stat increaser?
There was no content inside from what I remember.
So just intel points plus stuff in library.
Books would be nice though, books with content.
But we still only have one writer lol so idk if spawning quality stories every few months
will be possible.
Although ye I do agree with you on that it'll be an extremely painful wait for battle.
However assured usefulness in the long run still feels better than purely collectable item.