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Basic Tips For Getting Started submitted by katiekittykatt

This guide mainly focuses on making you np rather than the side of Neopia where you are spending all your hard earned np lol. It is only a guide to getting you started and is based upon my experience/opinion only. Other players may give different advice. Some of the things here are also mentioned on other pages, but this is basically a cut of one of my pets pages that I thought may be useful here too. One thing you may not realise is how much time Neopets will take up if you want to be successful at it. There are no 'get rich quick' schemes. If anyone offers you that, it's a scam, so be careful. Beware of Scams: Make sure you are aware of the types of scams that are run on Neopets by checking the Neopets Wall of Shame. Don't fall for a trick and lose your hard earned nps. If you see a bargain, make sure that it really is a bargain and not a scam. Don't let anyone have your password and if you think someone has got hold of it, change it here straight away. If you need to contact Neopets regarding any scams you see, this page has an automatic form to help you do that. (It also has all the addresses to contact Neopets for a variety of reasons). The Golden Rules page has rules to help you keep you and your account safe. Use the Guild: Check the Guild Message Board often. You will often find good tips on the message board, particularly about new events and competitions. Make use of the Guild Database ~ it will be invaluable in helping you learn about Neopets and for gaining lots of hints and tips. Things to do each day: Wheel of Excitement (every 2 hours). Wheel of Mediocrity (every 40 minutes). To be honest, I rarely do this, as I don't think it's worth it, but it tends to be on all the lists you find of 'things to do', so I put it here. The Wheel of Misfortune (every 2 hours). This is a relatively new addition to the site and I'm not sure if there's any real benefit to doing it. I rarely bother. Healing Springs (every 30 minutes). If your pet becomes sick, the Healing Springs will eventually cure it, althought it may take a few visits. Far better than buying expensive cures. You will also get your pet fed, have its hp restored and be given items you can sell. Tombola (once a day). The Tiki Tack man goes for lunch 12 - 1 pm NST. Coltzans Shrine (every 12 hours) Fruit Machine (once a day) Free Omelette (once a day) Buried Treasure (every 3 hours) Scratchcard Kiosk (every 6 hours). There are 5 types of cards you can get. Each costs 600np and are given randomly. Personally I scratch the the Race to Riches and Terror Trove cards and sell the Faeries Fortune, Peak O Plenty and Icetravaganza ones. The Kiosk Wocky pops out for breakfast between 9 - 10am NST and lunch between 12 - 1pm NST btw. Deserted Fairground Scratchcards (every 2 hours). Each costs 1200np and are given randomly. The introduction of the Deserted Fairground Scratchcards and the changes to the times you can go to the Scratchcard Kiosk have made this a bit confusing. You can buy a card from the Deserted Fairground Scratchcards every 2hrs, that also means 2hrs wait if you have bought one at the Scratchcard Kiosk. You can buy a card from the Scratchcard Kiosk every 6hrs, that also means 6hrs to wait if you buy one at the Deserted Fairground Scratchcards. You can scratch a maximum of 5 each within a 24 hour period, including ones you get from shops/trades/auctions. Thanks old_red_eyes for the update on these :) Snowager (Times: All Neopian Standard Time (NST) 6:00 - 7:00am, 2:00 - 3:00pm and 10:00 - 11:00pm) Grundos Gym (once a day). The np you gain from this is small initially, but every time you reach the 5th level you are given a lifetime membership card that increases how much np you make. You will also get food given during this game and your pet's agility will be increased, saving you an expensive training session. Employment Agency (4 per day). Be careful which jobs you apply for, some do not allow enough time to complete it and some you will not make np from, you may even lose it. As far as I'm aware, you can only do basic jobs at the moment. Job coupons have no use at the moment. Soup Kitchen: If you have less than 2000np, you can feed your pet for free here. Free Jelly: (Once a day) Games: Play the games and find some that you are good at. (Personally, I do reasonably well with Kiko-Match, Carnival of Terror and Destruct-o-Match). Play these each day to make np. Aim for maximum np for as short a time spent as possible. The tips sites and the Guild database have tips on how to play them to best effect. Do the Crossword each day ~ tips sites like www.pinkpoogletoy.com usually have the answers. They are also usually posted on the guild message board daily. Your pet may get increased intelligence from this and from... ...Playing Poogle Solitaire each day. The solution is available on most tips sites and on the guild database. Every so often your pets will refuse to play. This isn't permanent, but it may be a few days before they will let you play it again. Enter the monthly Multi Player Competions. If you get 1st, 2nd or 3rd place you get np and a trophy. Your opponent often doesn't even play the game, so you can get these without even playing in some cases. Your Shop: Open your shop as soon as possible. It costs np to open and expand it's size, but it's the best way to make np in my opinion. Once the shop is open, you can use this to sell the items you find randomly and also start shopping. The 'Est. Value' shown when you look up an item in your inventory does not mean that you will be able to sell it for that. An example of this is a 'Bottle of Black Sand'. It's Est Value is 4750np, but you can buy them for 1np in lots of user shops. This works both ways ~ some items are worth more than their Est Value and some are worth less. The price that you can sell something for is influenced by a variety of things. For example, battle items, codestones etc. rise in price when war is impending. When the disease given by the skull on the Wheel of Excitement changes, prices of the new cure rises quickly, while the price for the cure of the old illness drops quickly. This is where keeping an eye on the news, your guild message board and Neopets chat boards is invaluable. When Neopets change something or announce a new event, it may have an effect on shop prices for good or bad. To do well, you need to be able to react to these changes. To work out the best price for the items you wish to sell, you will need to check on the shop wizard. The page that your item will appear on isn't random. It is based upon the first character of your user name. Before you price the item, have a look at the shop wizard to find the page that your item will appear on. If you want a quick sale, change your price so you are within the first 2 or 3 on that page. If you have bought wisely you will still make a profit. This is how the shop wizard is organised by user names: a i q y 1 9 b j r z 2 c k s 3 d l t 4 e m u 5 f n v 6 g o w _ 7 h p x 0 8 I've learned to my cost that some groupings do better than others (and sadly the page that I appear on as a 'k' is generally the page that has the lowest prices on lol). Unless you have a huge shop that people can also find in the market place user shops, pricing low on your page of the shop wizard is the most likely way to sell an item. People will always take the cheapest item they can find and are very unlikely to buy from you if they can get it cheaper elsewhere. Shopping: When shopping at the main shops, you will need to be careful what you buy. For some items the resale value in user shops is less rather than more. The only thing I can suggest is that you try to research the prices of some items and shop specifically for the ones you know you can make a profit on. A fairly good bet is the Chocolate Factory. Buy chocolate items for up to 200np. They usually sell for a lot more. 1/2 price day is the 3rd Neopian day of each month. All the main shops are then half price. A great day to stock up! The Igloo Garage Sale is always worth shopping at. It restocks a little after the main shops, so you can usually gain a good idea of when it is about to restock. You can get some good bargains, but again, be aware that some items you will not make a profit on. I also use Neoitems.net and browse the shop wizard looking for bargains in user shops. It's amazing what you find ;) Bank: Worth having to keep the thieves hands off your hard earned np. You also gain interest on it if it is in the bank. (Talking of thieves, keep your items in your safety deposit box, rather than your inventory to keep their hands off them too!) AUCTIONS: This was how I started using the np made from games when I first started in Neopets and didn't have enough np to stock my shop with more expensive items. Buy items from user shops, searching using the shop wizard for the cheapest. Sell them in the auctions at a higher price. Don't be greedy on the price as it won't sell. You can put 8 items through the auction per hour. They will not always sell, but they do in most cases if you price right. The profits are usually small, but it soon mounts up and will increase your buying/spending power so you can move on to shopping for more expensive items. Make sure you monitor your buying and selling carefully and try to be aware of market prices. Tip Sites: These are the best ones I've found: Pinkpoogletoy.com NeoItems.net There are lots of others. They contain a lot of information. Check them regularly as the best ones update quickly and will help you get a head start on new Neopian events. This can help you get in there first on good deals. Read as much as you can about Neopia. The quicker you understand it, the quicker you will achieve what you want. NEWS: Check the Neopets News regularly. You will find out when new things are introduced ~ this is often a great way to make np by getting a head start on other players. TROPHY HUNT: If you want trophies, easy ones to get first are Snow Wars, Cheat, Go-Go-Go, Pyramids, Sakhmet Solitaire, the MultiPlayer Competition Games ~ Geos, Armada, Kacheekers. These can be time consuming, but all will make you np and get you a great looking user lookup ;) QUESTS: Random Faerie Quests: with the exception of the Earth Faerie (she only feeds your pet ~ something you can do yourself, much cheaper), these are always worth doing. Your pets stats will be increased, usually for a very small price. Refuse Earth Faerie quests, but remember to return to the quest page after the 599 seconds penalty time limit they set, so that you can start receiving them again. This is what one of your pets stats will be increased by for completing a quest: Water Faerie ~ plus 2 Defense Fire Faerie ~ plus 2 Strength Light Faerie ~ plus 1 Level Dark Faerie ~ plus 2 hp Air Faerie ~ plus 2 Movement Faerie Queen ~ plus 1 Level, plus 3 hp, plus 3 Strength Fountain Faerie ~ allows you access to the Rainbow Fountain to paint your active pet Space Faerie ~ plus 4 Level, has been reported. The quests that you can obtain at any time require some judgement. They can cost a lot more than the items you receive in return. There is no penalty if you do not do the quest. (After the hyperlinks, I've added the limit I personally put on how much I spend on these quests. I don't always make a profit with these limits, but I stand a good chance. You'll have to make your own mind up). Kitchen Quests: If the cost is more than 1500-2000np, I do not do the quest Witches Tower: If the cost is more than 1000np, I don't do it. Edna is unavailable at 12am - 1am and 12pm to 1pm NST. Snow Faerie: If the cost is more than 2500np (occasionally to 5000nps max), I don't do it. Braintree and Esophagor: I have never found these worth it, however I have only done them once or twice, so I am not a good judge. If you do them, do the Braintree first, and then go to the Esophagor for the answers to the Braintrees questions. You will need to feed the Esophagor twice. I haven't included Jhudora and Illusens Quests here as they are games rather than single quests. They can work out very expensive and you are unlikely to recoup the cost of the items you have bought for the quests, unless you manage to get the very rare items that are given in the later stages of the games. Most people fail way before these items are given as quest prizes. I'm not saying don't do them, but I would wait until you have lots of spare nps as the quests get very expensive as the games progress. MISCELLANEOUS A page that is worth a look is the Neopoints Rewards page. Some of the ways of earning neopoints are the luck games. These aren't normally too expensive to have a go at and you never know your luck! lol. If you know people who might like to join Neopets, let them have your referral link. The Referral Program can earn you neopoints and some nice items to sell or use. Pet Central lists the current competitions. Things to leave until you have nps to spare: Probably: The StockMarket. If you decide to buy stocks, there's an affiliate site of pinkpoogletoy.com called Neodaq that gives good advice. You can find a link to it from the main ppt site. training your pet (always compare prices between codestones and dubloons. Dubloons are usually cheaper, although the training takes longer). buying battledome items to equip your pet with. Definitely: neohomes painting your pet galleries buying limited pets (ie: draik, tonu, krawk etc.). stamp album Basically, all the frills and nice things that make this more fun. But once you have a nice amount of np, you will be able to do all these things anyway.