The Many Uses of Plot - Altador

I suppose I’ll start with a briefing on the various ways we’ve come up with for keeping busy. See, with this plot there seems to be a lot of waiting around for clues and (except in the case of the eighth, which was there all the time and we had to be poked in the right direction to figure it out) people who are waiting around tend to get bored. With the first six or so constellations, there was an even gap between releases: when the news for Tuesday, Thursday, and the weekend came out, lo and behold, there was a new clue! The only problem with this prompt schedule is that it leaves at least forty-eight hours between constellations.

There are many amazing things about Neopets, but the one I tend to notice most often is the fact that people around here are willing to do just about anything to help others out, including staving off plot-induced boredom. Granted, there are some people out there who live for flaming and the report button, but there are also some really great ones. Serving as a prime example of this are the ways the people on the Altador board have come up with for amusing themselves.

First, there were the theory boards. These were the first boards to appear to bide the time and they have lived on through the plot board’s life span. At first, we threw around theories of what constellation would come out next. Now the most common theory boards around look like “Who is the second BETRAYER?!?” and “I think I might have an idea…” the later referring, of course, to solving the next clue. Theories are fun to throw around, but some just didn’t find defenestrating them funny enough.

The first form of amusement that wasn’t exactly plot discussion appeared as boards with titles such as “You know you’ve been playing on Neopets too long when…” and “You know you’ve been working on the Altador plot too long when….” These boards were excellent. I can barely remember the ones about Neopets, but some involved calling things by different names, dreaming about having millions of neopoints, dreaming about being attacked by meepits, that sort of thing. The Altador ones were funnier by far. “You know you’ve been working on the Altador plot too long when you start looking for constellations in ceiling tiles.” If you ask me, that is also a good indicator that whoever you should be listening to is far too boring, but, hey. I’m guilty of doing that. I even had friends join me. I think we made it to the Farmer before the bell rang.

Everything on Neopets comes in fads, and, as such, the “You know…” boards slowly disappeared. They were replaced with random trivia and riddles. Most of these boards were completely unrelated to the Altador plot, but they passed the time. You can learn a lot by reading threads hundreds of posts long that simply list tons of useless facts. I know I did. The riddle boards were excellent. They made you put your brain to work, a warm up for all that clue hunting. Multiple choice trivia, anyone? We’ve got that somewhere around here too. Just join in fast or you’ll fall behind on points and chances are you’ll see the right answer before you can read the choices.

These are only the most popular ways to come about. One of the less popular forms of entertainment, and one that is considered more annoying than interesting, has to be categorized as the LYK OMMG!!!11 I FONUD IT1!!!1 boards. (For those of you that have yet to venture or wade among the threads, if you see a thread like this, just ignore it. People who really have the clue are usually calmer about it, more ready to offer help, and more grammatically inclined.) At first, the posts were much more subtle, and once you clicked the link you were rewarded with a joke of some sort, like: “It was behind my ear the whole time?.”

More and more people caught on and continued this trend, with less satisfying jokes until, at last, anyone posting that they found anything is immediately flamed unless they can provide proof in the form of a screenshot. Though, as screenshots can easily be faked, I’m not exactly sure what the point of using one for proof is. I guess it works for them.

These boards are especially annoying when a clue is “late” or everyone is stressed out. At that point, usually just before another clue is about to be released, everyone seems to be very irritable. Say something they don’t agree with? Flamed. Simple as that. But, if you’ve ever been on the board when a clue broke, you know how frenzied it quickly becomes. I was unfortunate enough to be on the boards when the eighth clue broke (yes, the one the news post was about) and have since learned not to try to explain the solutions until most of the people posting on the boards have it already.

That leads me to the best use for the Altador chat: help. I’m almost certain Ms. Droplet doesn’t want me giving out any hints as to the steps of the plot, so all I can really say about this is that whatever you need help with, go post it on the boards and, more than likely, someone will help you. Whether you’re stuck at the very beginning or somewhere in the middle or just want to check if any new updates are out, the Altador board is the best place to go. As long as it hasn’t been days since the last constellation, that is.

One of the easiest ways to get help is to go to a board that has an acronym followed by some symbols and a random topic. Some even have numbers after them. These boards are run by Altador Plot guilds or groups of people banded together to help out. They are both helpful and entertaining, and you might even decide to join up with one of the guilds. I would post some examples of these boards, but I don’t know all of them and it wouldn’t really be fair to the ones I forget, would it? You’ll know them when you see them, just remember to read through the rules in the first few posts before you ask anything. Some people are picky (especially when it comes to the spelling of “constellation”).

And, if you just so happen to be one of those people out there who just likes to argue, I am glad to say that this plot board has something for you, too. If you’re in the mood for a bit of controversy, head to one of the boards where the debate is strong. What debate? Why, the debate over plot guides and helping versus giving away the answers, the same debate that is always raging. If you can’t take heated discussions, maybe lurking would be a better idea. People do bring up excellent points for both sides of the argument and paying close attention could even hone your debating skills.

Entertainment, help, and controversy, all in one place. What could be better? The neocam, of course. It is often the topic of discussion, as the Neopets Team has gotten into the habit of leaving us abstract clues that don’t make any sense until the clue is figured out. Just ask about the pig or Ollie’s headless dinosaur; someone will tell you all about it.

If you need any of these things, you can find it by following the Plot – Altador sign that appears in flashing lights. We have everything you could possibly want—things about the plot and completely random things. You’ll never know what you could find. Hanging out on the Altador plot board is a very interesting experience to say the least. If you don’t believe me, go read through some of the threads there. If you’ll be kind enough to excuse me now, I have to head off to find Free Help for Those Who Have Finally Lost It Because of the Altador Plot thread.