Lab Ray: Down to level 1

[Neomancer]

Never been able to find an answer to this, might have to ask Neopets staff, but it will take years for an answer probably ;)

 

We know that the Pet Lab Ray can do wonderful things, but it can also zap a pet back to level 1. But I once heard this only happens when the pet is below a certain level, say 30. Is this true? Or can I zap my level 200+ pet down to 1 just like that?

[Zephyr]

I doubt you have to worry bout it if your pet is at 200+ . According to JN, it stops at around level 20+ or 40+ :)

http://www.jellyneo.net/?go=labray

[Neomancer]

Can somebody with a high level pet confirm this before I risk it? :D

[siniri]

I've been zapping my battle pet since before TFR every single day (with very brief stoppages when I needed to balance her stats before going on to the next training level), and it's never happened to me. My pet is currently over level 300. One hypothesis is that the lab can take a large* number of levels at once very, very rarely, and if that would take your pet below 1, it gives you the "back to 1" message instead.

 

*large being less than 20-ish. I kept track of my zapping for several months, and the average effect is a significant increase in stats. The only stat that has a negative average from zapping is defense, but this can be countered with training very easily, and it's more than made up for by the positive averages for other stats, particularly HP. And actually, over the past several months, my defense hasn't had a negative average -- I guess I've been at the extreme (lucky) end of the bellcurve lately, unless others have noticed the same phenomenon.

[Neomancer]

I've had the Lab Ray for years, but stopped using it ages ago for fear of zapping my pet(s) back to level one, which has happened to one of my pets. I believe it was higher than level 20, more like 30-40. Don't remember exactly, I just always thought 'Back to level 1' was an absolute option regardless as much as a change in color.

Imagine if it would happen though. It would take you months (if not a year) and millions of NP to train it back to level 300. But yeah, TFR has been over two years ago...should be fairly safe I guess.

[siniri]

I haven't had my level knocked back more than a few levels on this pet, ever. I did have that event happen to my adopted sometimes-labbie with low stats a few times. But it's never happened to anyone with a pet over ~40, with all the people using the lab daily. Even if I were to get knocked down 40 levels, it's so rare, that the average is still a net positive. I've gotten over a thousand free stats from the lab already, so it wouldn't negate it (the net benefit of the lab ray, subtracting the negatives from the positives, is well in the hundreds). 40 levels would take me less than a week to recover from by training alone (and it'd be 1 red codestone instead of 2, while I'd still be zapping and increasing my strength and HP for "half-price," since once I were back to 2 reds, they'd be higher than they were the last time my level was there), so it wouldn't be a waste of time by any means.

 

If I were to get set back to level 1, it would take me about 5 months if I trained as often as possible (4 months if I were willing to pay more for codestones than dubloons), and I'd probably have to stop zapping for a while to keep my stats balanced (though it might be worth it to keep zapping and rebalance once I can). But I'd still be ahead of where I were had I never zapped my battle pet. And I'm confident it won't happen.

 

If you're thinking of zapping to supplement training, I can't recommend it enough. It will save you millions of NP over the long-term -- and more importantly, a significant amount of time. The only times I would be cautious is 1) during a war/plot, when you've just obtained a certain str/def boost (or required movement for an item) -- give yourself a bit of a buffer so you can't lose the boost before zapping again, or 2) when you're nearing the next training cost and you're at risk of paying extra codestones. The solution to both of these is the same: when in doubt, just don't zap that pet. I rarely ever train HP because I get them "free" from the lab while I'm training everything else; I don't worry about training them beyond 2x level, which makes losing stats a lot easier to recover from, and it means I get to zap nearly all the time (vs. taking time off because my HP are threatening to take me to the next training level before everything else is ready).

 

It can seem disheartening to lose stats from a zap, but I just remember that in the long term, I'm coming out way ahead. It helped a lot to track every single stat change I got from the lab over several months, keeping a running average, so I could really see that it was a net positive.

[xSummer]

i've had my pet at level 30 for abilities and now she is at 1.

[deadninja6]

It's 20. That's why I trained my Neopet to 21 at the time when I was very close to gaining the lab ray. I've been zapping for weeks, and it hasn't been zapped back to 1.:3

[siniri]

Okay, third time to be cautious: when you just paid for an ability, and you're worried about not being able to use it. (That really stinks, xSummer. Can you play Deadly Dice to level back up? My friend in California does that and gets 2-5 levels per night (he's accidentally lost once or twice, and sometimes accidentally wins instead of ties). It's 3am for me, so risking losing that avatar is not an option for me.)

 

Also, if your pet is under 40, especially during war, you may not want to risk the huge setback that could keep you from training str/def to hit the next boost. The giant losses definitely seem to happen more often to lower-level pets. It happened repeatedly with my adoptee, but I've never lost more than 2-3 levels with Grainne, despite zapping her many many times more than the adoptee.

[xSummer]

its also 3 am for me but its ok i only ever zap. only trained to 30 because of the abilities.

[essiw]

Okay, third time to be cautious: when you just paid for an ability, and you're worried about not being able to use it. (That really stinks, xSummer. Can you play Deadly Dice to level back up? My friend in California does that and gets 2-5 levels per night (he's accidentally lost once or twice, and sometimes accidentally wins instead of ties). It's 3am for me, so risking losing that avatar is not an option for me.)

 

Also, if your pet is under 40, especially during war, you may not want to risk the huge setback that could keep you from training str/def to hit the next boost. The giant losses definitely seem to happen more often to lower-level pets. It happened repeatedly with my adoptee, but I've never lost more than 2-3 levels with Grainne, despite zapping her many many times more than the adoptee.

? You are talking about deadly dice if it has a strategy and if you get loads of ties, am I missing something?

[jcpet]

So just to clarify, it's 20+ or 30+ or even higher? My pet is a lab rat and it's level 27 right now. It hasn't happened to me, but I would hate for my pet to go back to level 1.

If it's 30 or higher, then I might as well train to level 50 so I can get lens flare. But then again, I would probably have to train up to level 60 to prevent the ray from zapping it back to under 50 :S

 

Edit: Did not know there was a trick to deadly dice. If this is the case, I might just play everyday until I get to level 50 !

[siniri]

Yes, there are deadly dice guides that explain the timing of when to click, which will result in either a win (gives you increased levels matching the number of turns you played), a loss (gives you decreased levels matching the number of turns you played), or a tie (gives you another turn). The timing varies based on your internet/computer speed, and lag can mess you up. My friend has a reliable connection and has the timing down.

 

I can't explain more than that because I've only played it a handful of times myself; I lost the first time or two, and once I won, I've never played again. (I only played while on a trip to the West Coast several years ago.)

[hrtbrk]

Getting this back on topic, I'm also agreeing with deadninja that it's level 20. My lab pet is never under 20 for that very reason.

 

I've been zapping this specific lab pet for several years now.

[Neomancer]

OK, thanks. Although I am glad that it seems to be safe to start zapping my pet again, I am also a bit annoyed that I didn't do it sooner :P

 

siniri, it is definitely true that the Lab Ray ends up being more beneficial in the long run. Coincidentally, I just found the record I used to keep (last updated 6 years ago :P) and there was mostly ups instead of downs. I found three instances of 'Down to level 1'. It was badly kept though, so can't see what level I was at at the time. Pretty much all the stat changes in my battle pet (except level) are the result of the Lab Ray.

 

Ha! This is my lucky day:

Of course, if I *do* get zapped back to level 1, expect a letter from my lawyer :shiftyeyes_anim:

[siniri]

Of course, if I *do* get zapped back to level 1, expect a letter from my lawyer :shiftyeyes_anim:

Sure, but pics or it didn't happen! :P You'd be rewriting all the lab ray guides across all the fan sites.

 

My pet started as a Mynci (which looks like my favorite animal), so of course I was a little bummed when she got her first species change. However, during my few months of tracking, I calculated that the lab had paid for the MP to switch her back to Mynci in about 6 months (I was at 6 codestones at the time) -- and I've been zapping for years since then. I also want to paint her Island once she retires from the lab; I'm pretty sure I've "saved" that much in zapping, too -- except of course I didn't actually "save" it at all, I just didn't spend it.