The Race To Riches Guild Guide to Riches
We all want to be rich Neopians. This guide is designed to help both veteran Neopians looking for new ideas as well as Neopians who are just getting started. As we all know, NP is the currency of Neopia. It's the only denomination, and there are a lot of ways to both make and loose np, as well as things that have the potential to do either. This guide is designed to help you make informed decisions when managing your np.
Making NP
There are many, many ways to make np. The most obvious is games. It's most of the point when you JOIN neopets, even. You're here to play. The whole THING is a game. And playing flash games is a great way to make np (though, CHANCE games are risky, and will be addressed in the last section).
There are two ways to make a lot of np a day by playing games (three if you cheat and use more than one account, but that's a great way to get frozen fast, so I don't recommend it)
1) Find a few games you're really good at (or find a few games that you really like) and practice. Set a score goal for yourself, and don't send score until you hit that goal. This may take a week or so of steady play, and you may find yourself sending score when you just get more than you have before. That's fine, don't think less of yourself. You're still working towards your goal, and you're making np while you do it. Eventually, the goal would be to make 1,000np a game (the limit for flash games) each time. If you practice enough, you should be able to get there. If you find four games you can do that on, or even three...or even TWO, you're doing really well. Even if you only find ONE game, you're still pulling in a flat 3k a day from that game. That's nothing to scoff at.
2) Play more than one game a day. ALWAYS play more than one game. Take out an hour of your day, if you get online everyday (and most of us do), and just play games. Find ones you're good at, or LOVE to play. Even if you only make 300np a play, that's 900np for each game. If you play ten games a day, you'll make 9,000np a day just playing games you're OK at. If you can find one game you're also amazing at, you'll make over 10-11k a day. In ten days, that's 100k.
Not bad, huh?
There are actually a few games that everyone seems to be good at: Whack-A-Kass. A good secret to this game (credit darkwolf_untamed) is to wait for the wind factor to be 9 meters. Hit the Kass and HOLD DOWN the mouse button until it levels out or looks like it's going to start to fall. Then release the mouse button, and the kass will coast as it comes down. When the kass starts to bounce, hold the mouse button down each time it goes UP and let it go as it comes down. That means, just hold the button down for a second each time it bounces.
It's about wind resistance and aerodynamics. Holding the mouse button down stops the kass' jacket/wings from flapping in the breeze, so it goes higher as it goes UP. But when you let go, the wings flap...and instead of falling straight down, it rides the wind and goes farther. If you do it right and practice, you should be able to make around 500np a play, which adds 1,500np a day to your final tally.
Another game that most people are good at is Turmac Roll. This game is just a matter of patience and concentration. Play on hard, get the turmac going....and rest your finger on the UP button, keeping your eyes on the right side of your game window. To jump over things you can't ROLL over, hit the up key. After a few times practicing, you'll get the idea. Then, you just have to have enough patience to keep him going until you get over 1000 points...you make what you earn in that game. It'll take a little while. You'll hit things. But after a few days, you should have it down.
Between these two games, that's 4,500np a day.
Really not bad, huh?
Selling things is also a pretty simple way to make NP. You pay 250np to set up a shop, in which you can have five things. You can't sell them for more than 100k in the shops (that's what the Trading Post is for...I'll address this later) and items costing 0 np won't show UP in your shop. Anything else is fair game.
Kind of.
Remember when selling things to check the Shop Wizard for the lowest price. If you put a codestone in your shop and ask a price of 10,000, and it's NOT a war, you're not even going to show up on the Wizard...which means no one will buy from you. You want to be around the lowest price on the Wizard, and you want to retry the search a few times to make sure the lowest price IS the lowest price. However, there are then two schools of thought:
1) MANY people believe that you should put your item in your shop for slightly less than the lowest price (IE: If the lowest priced Bottled Water Faerie is 4592, you'd put YOURS in your shop for 4590) to undercut the lowest price and sell the item fast. This method has the obvious advantage that you get the np almost immediately for easy to sell items (ETS).
2) SOME people believe that once you know the lowest price on the wiz...you should price your item slightly ABOVE that (IE: If the lowest priced Bottled Water Faerie is 4592, you'd put YOURS in your shop for 4900 or so, though some people might just go for broke and price it out at 5000). The idea behind this school of thought is that the prices change constantly (which is true) and the lowest priced things sell off fast (also true) and therefore, eventually YOURS will be the lowest priced, and you'll get more for it (might happen).
The problem with this idea is that there is also the chance that so many people have your item the undercutting will just keep going even as the lowest priced items are sold off, and eventually, when it stops or comes to a rest and the price DOES begin to go back up...your price will be so far above all the others that you won't even come up during a search. This is a risky way to sell, but not TOO risky...if you have patience you can usually wait for the price to come back to where it started and THEN undercut the price, and all you've wasted is a little time.
No, I don't mean in stocks. I'll come to that later. I mean in items.
Investing in items is a great, but not incredibly obvious way, to make np. However, before investing in items, remember to consider four things:
1) How much does the item cost NOW?
2) Is the item likely to go UP or DOWN in value?
3) How NEW is the item?
4) Is the item easy or hard to sell?
The first point is a relatively easy thing to figure out. If it costs more than you're willing to invest, don't buy the item. It's a simple judgment call.
The second point is a bit more important. Some items go UP in value, some go down. It's all a matter of knowing how Neopia works. If it's a petpet...if it's a cheaper petpet that people win on a regular basis from the fruit machine, it's likely to continue to go down in value, as it's reusable, can be attached and then detached, sold, traded, etc, and there are no records, as far as I know, of petpets being lost or destroyed. Petpets are usually a bad investment unless they're retired, or VERY rare, like the Kadoatie, however, even these can go down in value. Buying one for your PET is one thing, and not an investment, but an indulgence, and no one judges those on Neopets. *grins* However, something like that is NOT a good investment.
On the other hand, investing in something that is one use is usually a good idea. A codestone will never lose value, as once you've paid with one, it's gone. So even though it's winnable from the tombola and random events, they're one use. However, codestones only really go UP in value during a war, which are rare. So unless you have a lot of patience, codestones usually are better as savings than investments (also, if you get all ten, you get an avatar). They are a great way to SAVE your np rather than in the bank, if you have habit of buying on impulse.
Good one use items that tend to go up in value are books. Choose books that are hard to find but not impossible to find (for a list of books go to http://www.neoitems.net/ ). Try not to find ones that are already expensive, as it will take longer for those to go up in value, and books aren't all that incredibly easy to sell. The easiest items to sell once invested are petpetpets (sizable investment, but they're one use, and on occasion go VERY high in value [re: mootix]).
On the third point, just remember that when items are new, they're very expensive. A week later, they'll probably be worth HALF what they originally sold for. Never invest in new items.
Last point is also simple. Keep in mind if you're investing how fast you'll want to get NPs out of your items. If you have patience, then investing in hard to sell items is fine. However, if you're going to get frustrated with trying to sell items that don't move, and you'll constantly be lowering the price, hoping someone will buy NOW...you need to invest in items that are easy to sell.
You can't lose NP on the Snowager if you know what you're doing. Even if you get blasted with ice, the healing faerie usually does a pretty good job of healing everyone. (more on her later)
There are also a lot of ways to LOSE np (I didn't skip ways to make it. :p The rest are in the risky area)
Losing np
Quests are a great way to lose np. Most, if not all the time, you will lose np one quests.
NOW...I am NOT TALKING ABOUT RANDOM EVENT QUESTS. If a real faerie stops and asks you to do a quest, chances are, the reward will be in some way worth the quest. I'm talking about Jhudora, Illusen, Edna, Esophagor, Brain Tree, Ice Faerie, and the Flotsam Chef. They're a HUGE drain on bank accounts, and rarely, if ever, will you get something back that's worth more than you paid out. Edna, Jhudora and Illusen are worth it if you're an Avatar collector...but if you're actively spending np on avatars, you're probably not reading this page. Other than that, all the quests will do is drain your np, get you all stressed out (since they're timed) and disappoint you with the return. Unless you have np to spare and you just like the challenge, it's not worth it.
It's a big new thing. Everyone went and tried it. But the fact is that it costs 500np, and the most expensive item you can get back is a book or stained glass window worth 1500. Granted, that's a 1000 np return. But those prizes are NOT the norm. Most of the time, you're going to get the 'grand prize' of useless knowledge from the king's mouth, a brightvale berry (worth about 5np on the open market) a SECOND spin, which is the WORST thing you can do, or the water faerie, who almost never comes up unless your pet is completely healthy. If you have the np to spare, it's worth an occasional try for the mystery prize, which is always a games cheat, but the wheel will never make you any np.
The Kadoatery is a great way to throw np down the drain. Unless you're a trophy chaser, all The Kadoatery does is cost np. The Kadoaties eat expensive food (like DRAIK EGGS) and all you get is a trophy (and an avatar, randomly, as I understand it). You get NO np back. You could spend 200k on an item, and that's it. It's gone. Unless you're very wealthy, it's entirely not worth it.
The lottery is just that. A lottery. What are the odds of you winning in your state lotto? Now, realize that Neopets is played by MILLIONS of people...in MULTIPLE countries. How likely are you to win the lotto? I don't think so.
There is no way to make money on a concert ticket. None. You get a t-shirt. You get an avatar for Chomby and the Fungus balls...but again. If you're spending np on avs, this guide isn't meant for you.
Risky ways to make NPs are of course, our next section. These things can either earn you a lot, or seriously kill your bank account.
Np risks
We went over how games are a great way to make np. But playing games is still risky sometimes, especially when you're playing games of CHANCE.
When playing
games of chance, you need to look at four things.
1) How much are you spending to play?
2) How much is luck and how much is skill?
3) What are the odds against you winning?
4) Will the prize be more or less than you put out?
The first point is easy. It always tells you right up front what you're spending. Sometimes, like with Bilge Dice (my personal downfall) you choose how much you're risking.
The second point, again, is not so easy. Again, with Bilge Dice, you are choosing what dice to keep, and what dice to re-throw. So it's partially skill. You need a strategy. However, you HAVE to keep one dice before you throw again, so it's partially luck. If four threes come up, you have to keep one anyway...and that will drag down your score. So, before you play a chance game, figure out how much is skill, how much is luck, and whether you feel your skill can outweigh the luck of the game.
The third point is usually easy to figure out. Play the game three times. If you just lost three times in a row...the odds are most definitely against you.
The prize is usually more than you put out if you play one game and win one game. The trick is to not go into the red. Don't keep playing when you've lost five games in a row, and the prize only equals what you'd pay if you played FOUR games. You've now LOST money even if you win.
This isn't as risky as games of chance. If you buy at 15 a share (and you really shouldn't ever buy higher than that) then eventually, if you check everyday and have patience, it WILL go up and you'll make money. The risk comes in that sometimes, the company tanks. And disappears. And you're out all that money. The best thing to do then is to cut your losses and sell when it's lower as you see it diving. You make SOME of your np back and don't take a complete loss. Again, though, that's a risk...because the stock might soar five minutes or days later, and you've just taken a loss anyway.
USUALLY you'll get something ok from the wheel. You can win anywhere from 200np to 10,000, or you can win items that sell for much more than that. HOWEVER...you can also get zapped by lighting,
All I'm going to say about this is THIS: If you win one, go ahead and use it if you want to. But do not buy them to sell them, and do not buy them to use them. That's just a waste of your np.
Any kind of race is a risk. It's just basically luck of the draw. If you like watching races, go ahead and bet, and cross your fingers.
Ways to SAVE np are around the site, too. Things that will help you not spend your np on unnecessary things.
Your pet can get sick. It happens all the time. You accidentally feed it a rotten omelette thinking it's cheese, you click the wrong button, you hit the skull on the wheel of Excitement. However! If you go to the healing springs every half hour, EVENTUALLY you will get either "name of pet is fully healed" or "All your neopets are fully healed." The happiness level will go down, but you can bring it up by playing with them. This can save you anywhere from 400np to over 100k for some of the rarer diseases. If you have patience and can avoid feeling guilty for the pet being sick for so long, the healing faerie WILL eventually heal your pets.
Ok. You gotta be FAST. But you can find good food under there, and therefore NOT have to pay for food for your pets. You can also find other items like healing potions and such, to bring up your pet's health points.
I know this was in the last one, but the best way to save money is to not spend money on food and get it free. You can get one free omelette a day in Tyrannia, and one free jelly a day in Jelly world (www.neopets.com/jelly). An omelette is worth three meals, and a jelly is worth two. It's enough to keep even four pets full to bloated every day.
OK! That's it. That should get you going, and I hope it gave some veterans a few new ideas...I didn't touch on all the freebies around the site, but those are posted on the sidebar *points to guild right hand menu*. Just remember to try and never spend more than you're going to take in.
And always keep in mind that it's just a GAME! You're here to have FUN, people! So, lighten up, go play some games, and smile. *grins*