Beginner's Guide to L54 Battling, Part 1: Introduction

     What is L54?

     L54, short for League 54, is a form of two-player Battledome competition in which a series of player-imposed rules have been made to make matches fun and competitive. All Neopets have the same stats (hit points, strength, and defence) and all select from the same pool of weapons. Woah, woah…put that Wand of the Dark Faerie back down. Do you think raw power is the most fun? Not always. All competitive games have rules. It would be crazy if Yooyuball players could grow to gargantuan sizes, or freeze their opponents so they could not move, right? In the same way, having some boundaries and limitations in the Battledome allows for freedom for more competition. Otherwise, combatants would simply gravitate to the strongest weapons and not explore the plethora of strategies available.

     Players can use these rules to play many ways. They can have a friendly match here or there with friends, or make new friends by challenging new opponents. There are player-organised tournaments where individuals compete to win the most battles and come out victorious, usually organised between veteran and newbie leagues. Recently, there was a Guild War, something which has not happened for years, in which two Neopets guilds, organising on the Battledome Chat Neoboard, competed against one another using these rules. Each guild vied for victory and bragging rights by accruing the most victories and team points.

     What follows are the common rules for 9-icon L54, which is the most popular version of L54. The first version of L54 battling allowed weapons up to 10 icons, but it just so happens that the power level of 10-icon attackers in Neopets is clustered around a very small number of weapons, and different tournaments may have slightly different rules, or you can create your own variations of rules when playing with a friend! You may find some fun with 7, 8, 9, 10, or 11 icon weapons in Neopets, or may find some interesting gameplay opens up simply by banning a small number of overly powerful weapons in those categories. This section may be a little dry, but knowing the rules is a prerequisite for playing by them:

     Neopets must have 54 HP (that's where the name comes from…), 13-19 strength (so that each icon does 1 damage), and 35-54 defence (so that each icon blocks 1.5 damage). These rules make it so playing defence is important. A guide to training your pets, specific to L54, will be found in part 2.

     Weapons can have a maximum of 9 attack icons

     (Let's take a pause: here I will assume you have no knowledge of the Battledome. A Neopet can equip 8 items in the Battledome. Some attack, some defend, some do both, and some heal. There are 7 different types of icons: Air, Earth, Dark, Light, Fire, Water and Physical. Since in this league we are training to 13-19 attack, each icon does one damage, making math easy. There are such a thing as partial icons; when damage is greater than or equal to 0.5 it rounds up)

     Weapons can have a maximum of 13 total icons between attack and defence

     (Now let's take a pause and talk about defence. If an opponent attacks with 5 fire icons, they will deal 5 damage, unless you use an item that blocks fire icons. Commonly, items may block 3-5 icons of any given type. Because in this league we have defence between 35-54, each icon blocked will block 1.5 damage of that type of icon. So, if we have an item that blocks 3 fire icons, we will block 4.5 damage worth of fire damage. 0.5 fire damage remains from our opponent, which will round up to 1 damage).

     Weapons that block 100% of an icon type are allowed if they attack with 5 icons or fewer.

     Healing is part of the game, and you can equip only one of these healers at a time. The basic options are Leaded Elemental Vial/Rejuvenating Jar of Brains (full healers), or Purple Scorchstone (heals 50 HP, but 'overheals': that is, if used at 15 HP, your HP will go up to 65/54, and any damage will be subtracted from 65, rather than 54. At the end of the turn, however, no matter what, HP can only be a maximum of 54). Any overhealers are limited to 50 HP of healing. The weapon Short Sleeved Yellow Tunic is banned.

     Reflectors are allowed (but usually not useful).

     Stealing, freezing, draining HP, single-use items, and healers which can be used multiple times are not allowed. Once-per-battle or fragile items are allowed if they do not break any other rules.

     The only Faerie abilities allowed are:

     Level 1: Halitosis (Earth icons) or Static Cling (Light icons) - this will be discussed more in-depth in future articles. (In 10-icon L54, Drizzle (Water icons) is also allowed.)

     Level 5: Shade

     Level 10: Positive Thinking

     You can equip two Frozen Water Daggers or two Frozen Wave Scimitars, but you cannot equip one of each (otherwise, you can equip two or one of any other weapon).

     There are a handful of weapons which break one of these rules, but are still allowed:

     Asparagus Dagger, Deadly Pugio, Devious Top Hat and Cane, Fighting Folder (and yes, it can be equipped it with other healers), Kau Knight Helmet, Sunblade Replica, Twisted Dark Dagger

     Finally, there are a handful of weapons which do not break one of these rules, but are specifically banned:

     Castle Defenders Shield, Dr. Sloths Personal Body Armour, Faerie Tabard, Ghostkershield, Grudge Keeper, Hubrid Nox Memorial Shield, Mirror Mote, Thyoras Tear, Whirling Mopper

     Funnily, most people don't have these rules memorised. When a new Battledome item is released, it is helpful to examine it in light of these rules to see if it is allowable in the League. Most commonly, you can refer to any number of Petpages with a list of weapons that are both legal to use and strong enough to be useful. I prefer:

     https://www.neopets.com/~Peatrik.

     Not convinced yet? Here are a few reasons why you should consider it. First, the Battledome is a staple of Neopets, and you are missing out on a large part of Neopian history and gameplay if you ignore it. Second, L54 battling has existed for years, so it has staying power. Investing some time and Neopoints in getting involved would not be wasted. Third, the investment is low. L54 was designed with minimal training required and there is a form of L54, called "pauper", in which all of the weapons are buyable on the Shop Wizard (meaning, they cost less than one million Neopoints), so everyone has equal access to the best weapons. It seems in recent months The Neopets Team has been releasing L54 staples, such as Twisted Dark Dagger, Glaive of Verdency, and Sinister Scythe, widely so that everyone can participate.

     Finally, L54 is fun! The planning, strategy, and competitiveness of two-player Battledome fights can be so much more than what your experience in the Battledome has been so far.

     Perhaps you do not see yourself as a battler. Perhaps the Battledome Chat Neoboard seems intimidating. Do not fear! The BDC is secretly (and do not tell them I told you) the nicest Neoboard in Neopia. You can ask any question and someone knowledgeable, experienced, and loyal to the art and gameplay of Battledome competition will give you a helpful answer.

     After reading this, you may be eager for the next submission in this series. You may also be curious about other player-created Battledome leagues. Luckily, to help tide you over, other Neopian Times contributors have ably described these leagues. L97 is L54's big brother, where combatants have 97 HP, the 20 strength boost, and the 35 defence boost, and weapons can have up to 13 attack icons. Fyora League and King Coltzan Society are two leagues for stronger Neopets, although they are not very popular in the modern era. Instead, something called the Darigan Dedication League is more popular, in which battlers have 130 HP, 13 Strength, and 13 Defence, mimicking a battle between Neopets with 1950 HP, 750 Strength, and 750 Defence (but on a micro scale). And, there are even comics celebrating L54 battling!

     This article serves as the introduction to L54 battling. In future articles, I will teach you how to train up a Neopet for battle, go over some of the top weapons, including strategies to use them and to beat them, and then finally go over some turns of battle to give you an idea of the thought process behind them. I hope this whets your appetite for battle, and we meet sometime in the Battledome.