56K Blues by seaminky |  |
Hi, everyone. My name is seaminky, and...I....*hanging my head in shame*...I
have a 56k modem! *hysterical sobbing*
While it's true that this sad fact of life makes success on NeoPets a bit more
difficult than the more privileged users that have a higher speed Internet connection,
becoming one of Neopia's elite isn't as impossible as it may seem. Yes, there
IS hope for us, and I've composed a list of helpful hints to ensure that those
of us with slower connections aren't left in the dust of the speed racers on
the Internet superhighway.
First, we've got to come to grips with a few hard facts: unless you're incredibly
patient and extremely determined, there is just no use in trying to grab something
from the Money Tree, or even bothering with shop restock times. Auctions are
also a source of frustration for those of us with slow connections, and, like
stated above, you're pretty much playing against the odds if you're spending
your time there.
You're probably wondering what, with most of the fastest income generating
sources out of our grasp, a user with a dial-up connection is to do? Never fear,
there are a few guaranteed ways that we can earn ourselves a nice little chunk
of the Neopian pie...even with our slower connections (believe it or not, in
some instances, slower connections are even helpful!).
~Things NOT To Do~
1. Do NOT buy food - If you have less than 1,000 NP, fill your pets up for free
at the Soup Kitchen, located in the Neopian Marketplace. If you have too many
NP for the Soup Kitchen, feed them for free from the Giant Omelette, located
on the Tyrannian Plateau. Or, if you'd rather sell your omelettes, you can find
very cheap food on the shop wizard (Tyrannian food and food from the Lost Desert
can be found for just a couple of NP!).
2. Healing Springs:
A) Do NOT buy medicine to cure your pets when they're ill - If your pet comes
down with a disease, rather than plunk down thousands of NP on a cure, why not
just keep going to the Healing Springs? The kindhearted faerie who resides there
will eventually heal your pet for free!
B) Do NOT use freebies from the Healing Springs - You can sell these from
prices ranging from around twenty NP to several hundred. If your pet needs to
be healed, just keep visiting the springs until the faerie heals them directly.
~Games~
You knew this part was coming! Games, after all, are a great source of NP for
everyone--skilled and unskilled! There are a great many games in Neopia, but
to be honest, I don't like spending most of my time on them, so here's just
a few of the ones I've found to have the biggest payoffs with minimal effort.
1. Grundo's Gym - While the unfortunate decision was made to drastically
reduce the amount of NP awarded to its hard working trainers, the gym can still
be a great way to rake in that extra cash! If you can spare just a few minutes
every day playing the gym, eventually, you can start bringing in over 4,000 NP/day
just by playing that one game!
2. Poogle Solitaire - You can play only once a day, but if you win,
you can earn 750 NP each time! (Hint: if you're having trouble finding solutions
to games like this one, there are many, many help sites devoted to NeoPets!).
3. Switch-A-Roo! - Here's one of the few places where having a slower
modem can actually pay off! You can play up to four times daily, and the longer
you've been playing NeoPets, the more you can win. With my slow connection,
the game doesn't move very quickly, and I'm able to win practically every time
on the "stupidly fast" level (it may take a little practice at first). Since
I've been playing for about a year, this means I can earn up to 3,000 NP+/day.
4. Treasure Hunt - I don't play this one every day (it takes a little
bit of time, and I just don't always always have the patience), but it's another
very simple way to earn money where little skill is required. For winning the
Treasure Hunt game, you get a piece of a map (worth about 3,000 NP). Like Poogle
Solitaire, if you're having trouble, there are many sources of help available
for you if you know where to look!
~Misc. Tips~
1. Quickies - Watch the right bar on the NeoPets homepage for surveys
and other offers to make some quick NP.
2. Wizard - By now, everyone should know how invaluable the Shop Wizard
is. Time spent here is worth every second. Keep refreshing until you find a
price you can afford. Often, you'll find rare items priced far below their actual
value (i.e. Codestones for 500 NP). And to ensure that you always have access
to the wizard, you should have a quest buddy--someone you know and trust to
find the cheapest price on an item for you when you're on a quest unable to
use the wizard on your own.
3. Visiting other users' shops - Some shops take FOREVER to load, and
by the time it finishes, the bargain item you've worked so hard to find is long
gone! If the page is loading for more than 5-10 seconds, hit the "stop" button
on your browser. Usually, the information you really need (the link to the item
you want to buy) has loaded--even if the pictures/background/music haven't.
4. Training - If your pet's stats are important to you, and you're able
to make the investment, get all the pieces to the Lab Map so that you can have
access to the Lab Ray each day. I can't tell you how many levels my pet has
increased from doing this. (Of course, you run the risk of altering your pet's
colour/species/gender, but there are other ways you can always change your pet
back after it's achieved the status you want). I believe that in the long run,
it's much cheaper than training with Dubloons and Codestones
5. Dailies and Shortcuts - I've got shortcuts to the following places
on my own browser, just to make sure I get everything done that I need to do,
in the most efficient way possible! Shop Wizard, Bank, Wheel of Mediocrity,
Wheel of Excitement, Healing Springs, Fruit Machine, Tombola, Omelette, Grundo's
Gym, Switch-A-Roo!, Laboratory, Coltzan's Shrine, Snowager.
6. Referrals - Get your referral link out there! Post it anywhere and
everywhere you can (outside of the NeoPets Web site, of course). If you know
how, create any kind of Web site you can, and let everyone know how much you
enjoy NeoPets!
Hopefully, these tips will help you out as much as they've helped me (I, myself,
am finally edging towards that coveted millionaire mark!). If you have any comments
or questions about anything I've written here, feel free to drop me a Neomail!
I'm always around and willing to help. Remember, if you're one of those unfortunates
(like myself), with a slow, jalopy of a computer, you can be doubly proud of
yourself for every single Neopoint you've worked so hard to earn! Keep up the
good work! |
