What I Wish I Knew When I Started Playing

     We all have to start somewhere. Neopets is such a big site and has been around for so many years now that there is a lot to learn when you just have made your first account. Even after 16 years of actively playing, I still learn new things. There are also still many areas of Neopets I have yet to explore fully. Starting fresh can be a wonderful thing. So many new things to find and potential goals you can make. Everyone's journey is different. I thought I would share some of my experiences and maybe give some tips to help new players along the way.

     Read the news: Not sure why but when I first started playing I did not do this. The news is usually published every day from Monday to Friday. It is always fun to see what is happening. Any new pet colours, items, contests and more are all announced in the news. I also highly recommend reading the Neopian Times where users can have their questions answered by staff members in the editorial, as well as read many cool articles, stories and comics!

     Take part in events: This one coincides with reading the news. Any special event on Neopets will be announced in the news. Taking part in events will grant you prizes in the end. The prizes can be items (that sometimes sell for a very nice profit), avatars or site-themes. The prizes often make for good investments too. If you hold on to them for a long time, you may see the price on them increase significantly. This is especially true for stamps, books, good weapons and popular wearables. Plus, taking part in the events is just a big part of the fun of playing Neopets!

     How to complete quests: As a newbie I would always get excited when the faeries paid me a visit, asking for items. The only problem was, I was not sure how or where to find the items since the faerie quests block you from using your shop wizard. I would normally resort to visiting big malls and trying to look for the right item there. I did not know that you could ask people for help on the Quest board.

     How to price items: When you are new at the game, you will not know which items are valuable and which items are considered «junk». This is perfectly understandable, but unfortunately, this also means many people misprice their valuable items and lose out on a potentially big profit. A profit that really could give you a head start on your way to build your account. I would recommend always checking the shop wiz to see if you can find other people selling the same item and price yours accordingly. If you can't find the item after refreshing the shop wiz numerous times, then you have what is often referred to an unbuyable (UB). This means the item is worth more than the max 999 999 Neopoints your shop lets you price your items at. The next step is to check the trading post to see what other people are asking for your item, or you could even try looking at the auction house.

     How to get the pets I wanted: Adopting and creating pets is such an important part of the game. With so many species available it is not always easy to pick a favourite among them all. It did not take long for me to spot the Poogle and I wanted one really bad. The page for creating new pets told me that I was not able to create a Poogle and to check back later. And check back later I did all the time. I did not know that some species are limited edition. Limited edition means that they can only be created on their special day (once a year) or with the use of morphing potions. Once I learned all this I was finally able to save up enough Neopoints for a morphing potion and the Strawberry Fields Forever Paint Brush I wanted. The next step for me was buying the Secret Laboratory Map and Petpet Laboratory Map, which allowed me to start zapping pets and petpets trying for new species and colours. So much fun! Keep in mind that the Laboratory map comes with some restrictions. There are certain species and colours you can't get by zapping your pet. These are baby, magma, pirate, plushie, Quiguki, royal and Usuki. Most of these require the use of a morphing potion or a paintbrush. The exception is magma (which you can get at the Magma Pool).

     Similarly certain colours can only be obtained by zapping your pet like MSP, burlap, ice, mosaic, robot and sponge. Morphing potions can be found in Kauvara's Magic Shop, or you can buy one from other users visiting their shops, trading post or auction house. Paintbrushes can also be bought from other users in the same way as morphing potions. If you are really lucky you can get one from the fruit machine, using a Nerkmid at the Alien Aisha Vending Machine or simply getting a very lucky random event. If you have your eyes set on getting a mutant pet, you will need a Transmogrification Potion. Using a Neocola Token at The Neocola Machine has a slim chance of granting you one, as well as getting a rare visit from Dr. Sloth with a RE. If these fail, you can buy one from other users.

     Make use of boards/guilds: It took me a while to start venturing into boards and later guilds. But I am so glad I did! Neopets have users from all over the world, and I am sure you can find someone with similar interests to chat with and make some new friends. The help chat can be very helpful if you have any questions you need answered. The avatar chat can help you get started on collecting avatars if that is something you are interested in etc. Most aspects of Neopets have boards dedicated to them, even a separate board for newbies!

     How to earn NPs:

     It can be tricky to earn NPs when your account is brand new. You don't have the Neopoints to restock, resell items or buy stocks. For most that means playing some games to get your bank account started. But what happens when you have saved up for a little bit? It took me a while before I learned how to buy items for cheap in other users' shops, and reselling them for a profit (this is often called sniping). I did not know how investing in stocks can pay off well if you are patient enough to wait until you can sell your stocks for a high profit.

     I hope my little article was helpful. Keep in mind that we have all been a newbie at some point, so don't be afraid to ask if you are not sure how something works or need help with anything. From my experience, most people are friendly, and will help if you ask politely. Have fun, explore everything Neopets has to offer, and you will soon find what interests you the most. For me it ended up being working on getting my dream pets, collecting avatars and things for my gallery. Later I got interested in customization (dressing up my pets) and the NC mall. It might be something completely different for you, or you might do a little bit of everything.