The Elusive Art of Trophy Hunting

     Game Trophies

     To start with the most numerous of trophies on Neopets; game trophies. These are trophies given out for excellence – or sometimes just persistence – in any given game that the site has to offer. The basic idea behind this is very simple; the top 17 scores at the end of every Neopian day on every single game will receive a trophy. Gold if you are in the top three, silver for places four to eight and bronze for those down to number seventeen. It is worth noting that the game scores reset every month, so you have a far higher chance of staying in those top places if you get there early. By the time you reach mid-month, the scores have been creeping up and you will find it more difficult to get onto the leader board.

     There are really three types of games here; first, the games that you need luck for, second the games that you need persistence and grit for and finally, the games that you just need to be very, very good at. Of course, many games manage to straddle those boundaries awkwardly, meaning that you might have to be good but you also have to be lucky, or you might have to be persistent and lucky. Nobody said trophy hunting was easy or necessarily quick now, did they? By and large, if you need skill to win a trophy, the trick is going to be playing it again and again and again until you have the reflexes required and you have learned the tricks of the trade. Many games are like this; Meerca Chase, Turmac Roll, Dubloon Disaster, Jubble Bubble and Cooty Wars amongst them. But those are a topic for another writer.

     Games that require persistence are probably the easiest trophies to get from the list in terms of skill, but they will require you to put in a lot of time and effort to get there. Good examples of this are Neoquest I and II where you are playing the role of an adventurer in an RPG. The bronze trophies in particular are not difficult to obtain; you just have to play through the game and beat the final boss. Just remember to keep your level at least equal with the enemies you are fighting and skill up your characters well. It does however take a while to get there and you will have sunk many hours into the game before that final showdown. On the plus side, you gain Neopoints as you go through the game so there are some immediate rewards to be had as well as the final trophies.

     The cumulative game trophies are perhaps extreme examples, but if you keep on playing at Pyramids, Sakhmet Solitaire, Scarab 21 and Neggsweeper you might… eventually… get there. The current cumulative scores are in the millions mind you and you can only earn a set limit of Neopoints a day, so it is going to take years to get there. I’ve just started on my Pyramids quest and only have 19,500,000 points to go. As a hint though, Pyramids and Scarab 21 also have trophies for winning and you can get regular high score trophies in Neggsweeper and Sakmet Solitaire. Cheat is another card game with an easy trophy to get as you only need to get to round seven to get the shiny gold, whilst Cellblock is quite easy to get the hang of and the lower levels will still net you a trophy result.

     If card games aren’t your thing or that just seems like far too much time and effort, there are flash games that simply require a small amount of skill and a reasonable amount of persistence to get into the trophy lists. Instead of months of effort, you can get a shiny trophy in a matter of hours. Bouncy Supreme is one of these as with a little skill and judgement you can easily keep that Blumaroo bouncing all the way into the tens of thousands of points. Hannah and the Kreludor Caves is another game that simply requires persistence as you can repeat levels to your heart's content, meaning you can rack up as many points as you have the patience for. With a couple of hours, you can easily get to a hundred thousand points which should be enough early in the month to net you the gold trophy. Faerie Caves II: Fyora’s Quest and Bruno’s Breakaway only require you to get the maximum score from finishing the levels and collecting everything you need; learn the levels and the prize is surely yours.

     Site Participation Trophies

     These trophies are a little more elusive than the game trophies and take a little bit more forward planning but you can get them by being active around the site and entering various competitions or challenges. If you’re quick off the mark then Kadoatery feeding might be for you; a new set of Kadoaties require feeding every 28 minutes, although there may be smaller influxes in between those set times. It’s easy to be fooled into thinking that the Kadoaties only request high ticket items that cost a fortune; thankfully, this is not true. It’s just that people are rather quick to feed them and so the less expensive items go quickly. But with patience and timing, you can find yourself feeding a Kadoatie for well under 10,000np.

     Then there are content trophies; for having the most beautiful or interesting user lookup, gallery or Neopet. Customise well, use original art or just have something quirky and unique and you may find yourself lucky enough to be featured proud and centre as the winning entry. If you’re particularly good at art then think about drawing your pets for the Art Gallery. Is poetry your thing? Then the Poetry Contest is worth trying your hand at. Or do you just enjoy writing? Well, the Storytelling Contest is always worth a shot and there’s always the opportunity to write for the Neopian Times. All of these contests award trophies and you have nothing to lose by giving it a shot.

     Event Trophies

     Now these are perhaps the easiest of trophies to get as all you have to do is participate in events and plots to get them; obviously the more effort you put in, the better your trophy but participation also counts. There are many events that run annually and each of these will give you a shiny trophy for your lookup if you take part; Charity Corner, the Games Master Challenge, Daily Dare and of course, the Altador Cup are all prime examples of these events.

     Don’t know what to do with all those Piles of Dung or left sandals or random consolation prizes from the tombola? Stick them all in your Safety Deposit Box and wait for the next Charity Corner to come along. Not only will you get a trophy for your diligence, you can also win perks that are useful around the site like increasing your bank interest, placing more bets at the Food Club, increasing your Battledome stats or even converting your pet. It’s never been so profitable to be charitable!

     For Daily Dare and the GMC, you are rewarded for beating scores and playing games in addition to your regular Neopoints. Not only do you get a trophy for taking part – and if you beat the challenges each day as it comes you get the best trophies – but you often get prizes that you can keep or sell for each challenge you complete. And of course, the Altador Cup. This is the crowning jewel of all the Neopian events of the year. Pick a team and then play, play, play to make them the reigning champion of the year. You gain points for every game you play and the prize shop at the end will be more than worth your while.

     But the annual events are not the only opportunities to win trophies. Every once in a great while something important happens. Something catastrophic. Faerieland falls to the ground, earthquakes erupt, and entire factions go to war. Yes, of course I am referring to the fabled plots. There will be puzzles to solve, battles to fight and all kinds of wonders to discover. Keep your eye on the ball as anything could happen. One thing is certain though, there’s usually a trophy at the end of it all!

     So, there you have it. A whistlestop tour through the trophies of Neopia. Of course, there are many, many more than I have mentioned here. Some are easy, some are hard and some seem nigh on impossible, but with practice and patience and a whole lot of time, who knows how many you will have decorating your lookup.