iDB Community Forum

Hi Guys!

I have an Eyrie, which I don't want to morph. Here's the stats:

Level: 140
Health: 267
Strength: ULTIMATE (271)
Defence: ULTIMATE (261)
Move: ULTIMATE (233)
Intelligence: ULTIMATE GENIUS (566)

I used to codestone train, but they've gotten so expensive, I've switched to KQuests. Lately, I haven't done too many of them, as I really want to improve my set. Speaking of which, here's my current set:

Wand of Reality
Scuzzys Comb
Ramtors Spellbook
Downsize!
Greater Healing Scroll
Leaf Shield
Immense Rubber Axe of Doom
Scarab Ring

Those last two are almost never used, if I'm doing a DON challenge, I usually replace one of them with a thick smoke bomb. Oh, I do have most of the useful abilities too (Sink, burrow, drain life, regeneration, & fiery gaze).

So far, I've just done 1 player, I'd like to do two player, but with this set, anyone at my stat level would probably pound my poor Eyrie into dust. I've been saving hard to get some better weapons, and I now have 11 million in the bank. I make about 20 to 30K a day when I can play, but I've started investing in stocks, so the 1st 15k goes to that - of course, every once in a while I can sell, and that day my income is much better.

So, my problem is what to do first - I think I know the set I want to get eventually (SOS, PCC, GBomb, FPot, BoHD, GFD, GShield, FTal), but it will be many years before I can afford all of that. So, my question is what should I get first?

Should I start with a big offensive tool like the SOS (which I could get now), or the GFD (which would take a couple more months of saving). Or would it be better to get the freezer first and save as fast as possible to get the GBomb to go with it? Or do you think there's another way to go?

I look forward to your advice, thanks!

You should first purchase either H4000 Helmet or Freezing Potion because other purchases because your opponent will really pound your Eyrie into dust if you don't have a 100% freezer in this level.

Thanks for the advice. I've neomailed one person about an H4000 Helmet in the TP. Anyone else have an opinion before my NPs disappear?

Also, should I succeed in getting the freezer, that will leave me with 3-4 mill left. What should I do with that to improve my set, since I won't have enough to get anything else on my desired set list - or should I just stick with the NQ2 stuff I've got until I can afford the GBomb?

Firstly, the "problem" with Two Player will always be finding someone with a set equivalent to yours. You first need a freezer (H4KH/F-Pot) for the first turn, and then a 50% healer for the sheer advantage there (it's assumed your opponent has both).

For Two Player, do not buy SoS first (or second, or third, or until the rest of your set is finished). You can assume your opponent will have either Ring of the Lost or G-Shield.

At your level, there's really no reason to include the Axe or Scarab Ring in your set.


Your Scuzzys Comb becomes worthless in Two Player (with G-Shield crippling it and the Tabard cutting it in half). Ramtors Spellbook is crippled by the G-Shield, but cuts cleanly past the Tabard. Both will be cut in half by either Dusty Magic Broom or Air Faerie Crown. Wand of Reality also gets hit hard by both, but (in your distant future) stacks up nicely later on with PCC.

You have a few options offensively: double up either the Wand or the Bow (given the prominence of G-Shield over Faerie Tabard, dual-Bows are generally stronger). Portable Kiln and Mask of Coltzan (the latter being an, in my opinion, usually weak dual-duty) are other options.

I'm not sure whether to recommend Ghostkerbomb before or after building a solid weapon set. My gut tells me before, but I can't think of proper justification for that instinct.


You've decided to spend your money, but if you changed your mind and decided to sit on your funds, I'd recommend you continue K-Questing, even if you cut your rate in half, or start being particularly stingy about how much you spend. Since you're not labbing, and since K-Questing is more cost-efficient than Codestones, it's really your only training option. (Though it depends on how much you care about One Player also.)

Thanks Shattered,

I never got a reply from my neomail, so for now, I still have my NPs. I have heard that some people think GBomb and GShield may retire, like GSword did. Do you think there's any chance of that, as it would be a reason to buy the GBomb before a full set.

With regard to training, I haven't completely stopped, but I've cut way down for now. My feeling is that I spent too much time & NPs on training already, while neglecting my set, and now I'm in the state I'm in where all I can really do is one player. As you mentioned, I need to get my set way up before I can do any two player at my stats, so that's my focus for now. I suspect that the kitchen will always be there for me when I get back to that.

Thanks, Dave

Is there a chance? Yes. Is it likely? No.

We just saw TNT add Glittery Faerie Dust to the Tower... two months ago? Three, maybe? If I recall correctly, TNT usually retires at the same time they add items. (Unfortunately, I don't recall what the most recent HT retirement was.) And, when they do retire things, I don't think they retire more than three (and usually two, I want to say). Add in the nice random factor to their retirements (or seemingly random), and it's probably a safe bet that Ghostkerbomb will still be there waiting for you.

Though it might be better to let paranoia goad you into picking it up first.

Hi Guys, thanks for all of the advice to date - I've made some progress, so I wanted to update you.

First, I lucked out on the fruit machine and got a faerie paint brush, which added almost 2M to my NP fund. I then succeeded in getting an H4000 Helmet in auctions for 6.8M, which seems like a pretty good price these days. So, here's my updated set:

Scarab Ring
Wand of Reality
Scuzzys Comb
Ramtors Spellbook
Downsize!
Greater Healing Scroll
Leaf Shield
H4000 Helmet

Now I am left with about 7M to spend - should my next goal be the GBomb, or the bag of healing dust? The BoHD seems pretty hard to find, there were only 3 of them on theTP last time I looked, while there were quite a few more LEVs around. Of course, I have no way to afford an LEV.

Thanks again for all of the help!

I'm too lazy to figure it out for you, but it's pretty simple to find out whether Bag of Healing Dust or GBbomb would be better. They're both once per battle, so just figure out how much each one is typically worth in HP... Obviously one deals damage and the other heals but it's still equivalent. So Bag of Healing Dust is probably worth 125 HP or so on average when you use it, GBomb is better if it deals more than that on average at your strength boost (although don't forget to account for chance that it might be blocked).

Others have covered the tactical pretty well, so I'm just going to add a brief economic insight:

Your highest priority should be buying any retired items you want in your set. As those have limited supply, the price will not ever go down and speculation will generally serve to inflate them faster than anything else. So if your set hinges on something like Hobans Hat, AFC, RotL, YYPS, Jade SS, G-Sword, Sloth Gel, etc, get that first.

Your next priority should generally be ongoing prize weapons. These tend to have steady supply, so the price merely increases with the general inflation in the neopian weapons market. However, since the higher end weapons tend to inflate at scary rates, these are (usually) worth getting sooner rather than later. (items such as Scuzzys Comb, Wand of Reality, Bow of Destiny, Dark Faerie Collar, and Moehog Skull fall into this category). Beware that the lower-unbuyable prizes have been vulnerable to the release of newer cheaper, equivalent weapons within the past year and a half or so.

Next you'll want the high-rarity restockables. These have continuous, but unsteady supply, so prices tend to fluctuate a lot and the general trend is again in line with neopian inflation - with the notable caveat that the supply on newer weapons in this category may not have reached equilibrium yet. You'll want to keep an eye on the prices of these and buy at a low point in the fluctuation -- at those points you'll want to make these your highest priority, but otherwise you'll want to wait and see. For some examples: Black Frost Cannon, KLP, GoC, Sophies Magic Hat, Prickly Potion, HRoT, Freezing Potion, LEV and T-Tear are all high rarity restockable items.

Finally, at the lowest priority, you'll want to get stuff that is still in the Hidden Tower. Since the supply is virtually unlimited, the HT itself serves as a price cap and nothing in there will ever appreciate in value. Since the general trend in neopia is inflation, that means that having any item currently in the HT is actually losing neopoints. I'll give you a personal anecdote to illustrate: About 4 years ago, I bought a Portable Kiln (which later got glitched away) but assuming that I still had it, I would have a Portable Kiln , which I could sell for around the same 3 million np that I paid for it. Had I instead left the NP in the bank for those 4 years, I would instead have about 4.5 million NP. Had I bought a Hypno Helmet (now H4000) instead I would be able to sell it today at over 6 million. Had I been really ingenious I could have done even better by investing in other items which have appreciated even more. Now the risk here is that when items do retire from the HT, their prices tend to roughly triple inside 12-18 months and continue to rise after that, so if you miss buying something in the tower before it retires you will pay a premium later. But historically the odds are against your particular item retiring.

Thanks Rabid (and everyone else who provided advice before),

Well, at this point, I have obtained both the H4000 Helmet and the Bag of Healing Dust, so I'm pretty much out of NPs now. I will be saving for a better offensive weapon next, or maybe a gbomb to go with the freezer, but it will be at least several months before I can do anything else. If I'm lucky, I'll see some of my stocks take off soon.

Rabid, I understand your point about not prioritizing the hidden tower stuff, but taking out the investment side, most of the good items outside of the tower are way beyond my means - LEVs are what, about 20 to 30 million now? T-Tears? Freezing potions would be higher if not for the magical marbles in the tower, I would want to trade up from my H4000 to one of them at some point. I have most of the better NQ2 prizes already, as I enjoy that game, but the plot prizes since I started neopets have been junk compared to what was given out earlier - the first plot I did was Altador, but then I missed the quiz for the Hoban's mini plot, and I didn't have time for the first altador cup. I then did the next three plots, but the prizes for ToW, AC2, and JtLI were pretty poor. That makeshift ships hammer was very disappointing compared to an RotL. I'll probably redeem my points for those three plots soon and get the books to sell.

Anyway, thanks again to everyone for the help - at least I've got a couple of decent items now, and I should do a bit better in my battles.

While you may certainly feel that way, that's really not true in the general sense:

For restockable weapons, I'll grant that LEV and T-Tear are beyond the reach of most battlers, BUT Heavy Robe of Thievery, Winged Scarab, Crisp Blue Tunic, Bag of Healing Dust, most species healers and the various r99 75% reflectors are all extremely powerful weapons that are easily within the reach of people buying stuff from the hidden tower.

For ongoing prize weapons, I'll grant that Moehog Skull, Wand of the Dark Faerie, and Illusens Staff are nigh unattainable, but Leaf Shield, Honey Potion, Wand of Reality, and Bow of Destiny are all useful and affordable to mose serious battlers.; Nimmo Finger and Jhudoras Potion are somewhat more than equivalent weapons in the tower, but not by a large enough margin to be unattainable.

While I share your frustration, this is also not true in the general sense. I still have an Icy Clockwork Skeleton and a keyring mountain of DOOM that proves otherwise. Even compared to the Exploding Acorns I sold way back, Ghost Paint Brushes and Makeshift Ships Hammer look pretty decent. As to the LDP, AC1 and Hoban plot prizes - those are the exception and not the rule.