Secret Laboratory, do or don't?

[erato_]

I've been thinking about buying a Secret Lab set for a while now, but I just can't seem to get to a decission.

If someone would be so nice to answer my questions it would make the decision so much easier for me. I was wondering;

- is it worth the money? I'm barely over 2 mil now so that would be major set-back np-wise.

- what are the most common changes? Do the pets mostly just change colours and up- or degrade in stats, or are there a lot of species-changes aswell?

- would it be better to get a side-account and move the pets I want to zap over?

 

 

Please help me out here, I'm really stuck here.

 

 

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[Rune Valentine]

- is it worth the money? I'm barely over 2 mil now so that would be major set-back np-wise.
It depends highly on what you want your Lab Ray to do for you. If you want it to lab-train a battle pet, then it's completely worth it to spend ~800k on a full set.
If you want it to change a specific pet into a specific colour/species - then you'll have to be incredibly lucky. Target-zapping is a constant headache for those who do it.
If you want it to just zap a pet, see what it changes into, and see if you like it, then yes I'd go for a lab map. It's good to get for people who don't know exactly what they want, until they see a pet zapped into it.
Overall though, I'm definitely a lab map advocate, it does so many things for your pet that despite the frustration you might have with it, it will eventually pay off. If you want to save up a bit more before you buy a lab map, then don't feel rushed. Lab Map Pieces aren't running out any time soon :P It's always fun to come on Neo and see what zap you're going to get!

Personally, I adopt pets from the pound and zap them until they're "desirable" and adopt them out, that makes it really worthwhile for me to have a Lab Map.

- what are the most common changes? Do the pets mostly just change colours and up- or degrade in stats, or are there a lot of species-changes aswell?
Stat changes are pretty common, Agility and HP mostly; throw some strength in there and sometimes some defence, but mostly a lot of "goes back down to level 1" or "changes gender" or "nothing happens". It's pretty frustrating to put it that way, but it's realistic. The Lab won't always give you nice changes. Species & colour changes are rarer but some will happen consecutively. It's completely random and there's no way of telling what you're going to get.

- would it be better to get a side-account and move the pets I want to zap over?
Again, it depends on what you are currently doing. If you have a full main account and don't want any pets there to be moved to a side, then a side account with a Lab Map might be good for you. I, personally, wouldn't put it on a side since I'm forgetful and will probably end up not zapping if I'm not doing it with my other dailies on my main account.

Long post, whoops. But I hope that sheds some light into making your decision!

[erato_]

That is quite helpful, thank you ^^

 

I haven't been able to find a full set in the TP for under 1.1 mil, though. Should I just try to get each piece seperate then?

[Rune Valentine]

Ah, that might be due to war inflation. Or me just not checking prices in a while :P I'd wait out for the plot to finish, actually. It'd make more sense that people would be playing KQ more often after the war...therefore more lab map pieces in circulation.

 

Wars tend to make the Neopian Economy a little wonky so yeah, I think it best to wait it out for a bit, since you don't seem to be in desperate need of it, and it'll give you more time to save more NP :)

[plotinus_theos]

I just recently cleared 1 million nps so I'm running through the same questions in my head. I've come to basically the same conclusion: wait until the plot's done, save some more nps, keep my eye out for a quick sale or good deal.

[erato_]

Why didn't I think of that, haha.

 

Anyway, thank you for the advice, I really appreciate it. I will wait a little longer and check the TP prices often, there's no harm in that.

 

I'd love to hear more opinions/advice in the mean time ^^

[deadninja6]

For me, it was worth the money, and I actually worked my way toward it, every day, earlier this year towards it, when I didn't have the money, and spent all but a tiny bit of what I had for it, so that should say something. I mean, honestly, as long as you aren't too picky about having a non-basic color, the Lab Ray will eventually end up changing your pet's color, and if you like it enough to keep it on that color/species, then it's very likely it would have saved you a lot of money in the long run. Look at my Kougra, for example. I've only had the ray for a few weeks(really should have written down the date so I know when that turns into months. :P), and it's already changed it from Orange to Halloween, and then from Halloween, to Darigan.

 

As for what's most common, the answer is definitely stat changes, and trust me, I've gained a lot more stats from the Lab Ray, than I've lost. The Mad Scientist Scorchio actually says on the main page, before the pet selection screen that the ray was designed to give your pet super powers, and great strength, so, that should tell you something.:3

 

That being said, you should definitely be careful. If you love your pet's species, but are bored with the color, you should really think about whether or not it's a good idea to try it out on that pet, or just use it on a different one(assuming you have more than one.) For example, my beloved Hissi was turned into a Meerca, and I hate Meercas.:c

So, at the end of the day, it's all up to you, and all that, but I say it's worth it.:3

 

Edit: Oh, and as for the buying every single piece or the whole set question, yeah, it'll probably save you about 100k or so to go looking for the individual pieces, although the ones that are too expensive to buy in shops are a bit of a hassle to find. So it's really a question of how much time or money you're wanting to spend.

[siniri]

- is it worth the money? I'm barely over 2 mil now so that would be major set-back np-wise.

Absolutely, depending on what you're using it for. I use it to supplement training, and it will pay for itself in under a year in stats alone (net, even factoring in the occasional losses). It seems like the big losses in level happen mostly to lower-level pets (below 40), so you may want to train a pet above that before using it. More important than saving money, it saves considerable time in training, so that you can be more prepared for the next plot/war. I've saved millions of NP off the cost of training (I calculated that I'd save over 6M by the time I got to the Secret Ninja Training School, and I started at ~2-4 codestones in the training school -- I'm now on the second level of SNTS training), and I'm probably 1-2 years ahead of where I'd be if I didn't zap, with ~3-4 years of zapping.

 

Other things you can get from it: avatars (if you get lucky and get an avatar pet -- this has only happened to me once or twice, though, in years of zapping; but I think there's also a lab-ray avatar), the Lab Ray Scientist as a BD challenger (she can change your pet's gender -- I say "she" because I stole her weapon that did this and used it on her once, and she was zapped from female to male -- this allowed me to paint my boy Flotsam Royalgirl, which has much nicer clothes and coloring than Royalboy, in my opinion, and then change him back to a boy. I can't remember if the Lab Ray Scientist is part of DoN or not), and clothing for your other pets (this is more common: I've gotten disco and Halloween Mynci for when I stop zapping my battlepet and change her into an Island Mynci, and Zombie and Christmas Flotsam; and then loads and loads of clothes for other species that I don't have: Island Bori, Peophin, and Chia; Halloween Korbat; Baby Aisha dummy; Aisha collars; Bruce bowties; Robot Bori, Uni, Tuskaninny, Hissi, and Cybunny; Snow Chia; Disco Lutari -- so yes, four useful sets of clothes over years of zapping, but I already have the species and paint job picked out for all my pets -- if you were more flexible, you could use more of the clothes).

 

- what are the most common changes? Do the pets mostly just change colours and up- or degrade in stats, or are there a lot of species-changes aswell?

It's most often stat changes; the net effective is very positive on HP, moderately positive on strength and movement, and slightly negative on defense and level (these are more than offset by the gains in the other stats, and it's very easy to keep a pet balanced if you train as well as zap). If I get a species change, it seems to always also come with a color change as well, but I do get color changes alone, as well. My pet has changed color twice since the plot began; I think the average is at least once a month (probably more like once every two weeks or even once a week), though it's not regularly spaced -- I've gone months without one, and I've also had one a day for over a week at a time. The species changes slightly less often; maybe after every 2-3 color changes? I know a lot of people track every single zap, but I don't know where (some do on their petpages, and apparently SN has a tracker); looking at their records would give you a better sense of frequency.

 

- would it be better to get a side-account and move the pets I want to zap over?

Probably not? If you collect avatars, battle the Scientist, or get clothes for your other pets, wouldn't you want those on your main? You can always transfer a pet to another account if it has pb clothes for a species on that account, then strip it and send it back before zapping it a new color. I wonder why would you want to move them to a side account; I can't come up with any advantage to having it on a side (unless you want the petpet lab for pets already on your side, or have all the pets as you like them on your main already, but you asked specifically about moving pets from the main to a side just to zap -- and my answer to that is that I can see no advantages but several disadvantages).

 

Should I just try to get each piece seperate then?

Absolutely: if you have the time, you can save a bundle. Plus you can have mini-goals, saving for one piece at a time, so it's not so overwhelming. I waited until I had most of the pieces, and then bought the last few. There's a trick for searching SW for them -- hover over a shop, and notice that the item ID changes based on the piece. So when you're refreshing, only record prices for the pieces you actually need (and try to price-check all -- or at least most -- of the letter groups for each piece if you can because prices can vary widely). You can also rarely win them from KQ.

[Subliminal]

I was in the same position as you two months ago. I had roughly 1.5mil NP but was fed up with boring pets and paintbrushes just cost WAY too much to keep buying the ones I wanted. I chose to go to the lab map and I certainly don't regret doing it, although I should point out that in the two/three months I've had it, it's never once changed my pets' species and only changed colour of them twice. Usually either nothing happens or I gain/lose movement points (and the occasional defence point). It's not particularly exciting, but this morning I was lucky enough for it to change my Red Pteri into a Maraquan one!

 

What I think I'm trying to say is, it's really up to you and what you want. It's good fun if you don't mind what you get out of it, but if there's a particular pet you really love or spent a lot of NP on its colour, keep it out of the lab ray to avoid disappointment! Maybe adopt/create one pet you could use as a Lab Pet?

[karmacow]

The laboratory is SO fun! So I definitely think you should get it, unless there are other things you are more in need of. Everyone else has pretty much said what needs to be said, so I'll just inform you that I have been cataloguing my zaps since October last year on the petpage linked in my signature. That will give you an idea of how often the different changes occur.

[crazy_cat_luv_bb]

Btw, do you know after about how many level your pet reach, the labray will not reset your pet's level? I'm also thinking of buying a lab map, but for me it's too expensive. Maybe I will practice key quest to see if I have luck with the lab map or not first XD

[karmacow]

Btw, do you know after about how many level your pet reach, the labray will not reset your pet's level? I'm also thinking of buying a lab map, but for me it's too expensive. Maybe I will practice key quest to see if I have luck with the lab map or not first XD

 

I've heard anywhere between 20 and 40, so I guess 40 to be safe.

[Rebecca~]

I think that the lab is a tonne of fun, and I've had some seriously fantastic zaps from it (grey, maraquan, a lutari... the list goes on). But then I've gone more than a month straight without a single colour or species change. You have to be aware that there can be really long stretches where it seems like nothing is happening, or all you're getting is decreased stats. If you're thinking that it's a cheap way to train your pet, you should realise that it's VERY slow (you have a CHANCE at gaining a couple stats a day, but an equal chance of losing them), and that you will likely make your pet 'untrainable'. Meaning, the HP will be very high (it's the only stat that the lab ray can't remove), but your level will likely be low. Since your level has to be half of your highest stat... well, you can see where the problem would be when your HP is 200+, but your level is 1. If you want to avoid this, you have to train alongside zapping, which can suck when you keep losing the levels that you're paying to train. But you may find it better in the long run.

(there isn't anything WRONG with having an untrainable pet, but it can make things more difficult. You will be unable to use most faerie abilities, and your training will be slow, as I said.)

 

TL;DR.

Basically- if you go into the lab ray thinking that it is going to be a lot of fun and completely random, you'll enjoy it. If you have certain expectations, you will probably be disapointed.

[KaylaTheHedgehog]

I got my first map a few months ago, and I've never regretted it.

 

All of the pets on my main are the colors I want, save one, and the color I want him isn't an uber expensive color, so I just transferred it over to my side. I use it to zap adoptees from the pound in the hopes that they'll get a color that someone wants.

 

I've already got an owner lined up for a Lemon Chia I zapped, and all we're waiting for is for my account to age up enough.

[Neomancer]

I say do.

Meanwhile my pet turned into a Red Nimmo lol. Oh well, at least the colors weren't that expensive That's the only downside: you can't make your pet look exactly as you want them to until you stop using it. Imagine having your Wraith Draik zapped into a Blumaroo!

[erato_]

Thank you, everyone for answering ^^

 

I've come to the conclusion that if I were to get a set, I probably wouldn't use the ray on my own pets since I'm pretty attached to them. But the idea of taking pets from the pound and zapping to help them get adopted really seems fun and helpful so I'm gonna see if the prices indeed come down after the war.

[KaylaTheHedgehog]

If you don't want to buy all the pieces at once, you might want to stalk the Shop Wiz every now and then. You can sometimes find someone selling the individual pieces cheaper than you would find them on the TP. I bought my pieces over a few months.

[LAkeena]

I originally collected all the pieces from chance events and probably bought one or two in the end (sorry it's been 5 years so can't really remember).

Initially I used it to train my main (battle) pet but after about a year and a half decided that I wanted her to be an Eyrie again, transmogrified her and then used the Magma Pool to get her current colour. Have been spending a lot of money since to bring her stats back up to something more even. The lab ray really doesn't help if you are looking to level up or gain defence.

After that I created a new pet and decided to zap it until I liked its species and or colour. After two years of torture by the lab ray scientiest she is now a blue Lutari with typical lab ray unbalanced stats.

Last two plus years have been spent zapping my current lab rat. I am hoping to turn this one into either a Darigan Gellert or a Draik. So unless I get extremely lucky this one will be seing the lab scientist for quite a while to go. ...lets see where the journey goes.

 

I have actually been keeping track of all changes the lab ray has done. This is the summary of changes against all three pets I have sent to the lab ray since and does not take any other training into account. The lost level change may not be entirely accurate as there were a couple resets to 1 which I counted as loosing 2 levels since I didn't keep track of levels to start out with and they would be single figure anyway as gaining levels is rare with the lab ray.

 

total stat change / number of occurrence / percentage of occurrence

hitpoints 442 / 130 / 14.44

+ defense 147 / 58 / 6.44

- defense -148 / 64 / 7.11

+ strength 276 / 107 / 11.89

- strength -125 / 53 / 5.89

+ movement 262 / 103 / 11.44

- movement -164 / 67 / 7.44

+ level 88 / 46 / 5.11

- level -176 / 89 / 9.89

gender change 84 / 9.33

colour change 66 / 7.33

species change 33 / 3.67

no change 32 / 3.56

[Koralis]

You've obviously got a lot of input already that has probably helped you make up your mind, but just in case, here's mine :)

 

- is it worth the money? I'm barely over 2 mil now so that would be major set-back np-wise.

Obviously that would depend on how much you value your NP, if you're saving up for something more important to you, etc. However, I've never regretted buying it. It's a lot of fun, you can get a number expensively painted pets that would save you a ton on PBs, you can save on training (as long as you don't mind uneven stats) and an avatar :)

 

If you want to save NP, don't buy a completed map from sellers though. You can get it cheaper by putting it together yourself. I sell full maps myself and I put them together for around 400-500K - but that takes time, a lot of refreshing the SW, luck and sniping skills (if that's even a thing). You may not be able to get it that cheap, but my point is, buy the pieces not the map.

- what are the most common changes? Do the pets mostly just change colours and up- or degrade in stats, or are there a lot of species-changes aswell?

It looks like you've already got a good answer to this so I'll just skip over it.

- would it be better to get a side-account and move the pets I want to zap over?
I don't really understand why people put their lab map on a side account. I would suggest just to put it on your main, that way you can get the avatar on your main account.

[KaylaTheHedgehog]

- would it be better to get a side-account and move the pets I want to zap over?

I don't really understand why people put their lab map on a side account. I would suggest just to put it on your main, that way you can get the avatar on your main account.

 

Well, the reason I put it on a side account was 1) I have all four pet slots on my main filled and 2) I'm happier using my Lab Ray to zap pounded pets into the higher tiered colors so that there's a better chance that someone will want to adopt them, rather than just getting random stat boosts/drops.

 

I don't plan on signing up for Premium, and all but one of my pets are the colors I want. The PB I want is one of the less expensive brushes (Pirate), so there's really no point it having it on my main.

[erato_]

Thank you, everyone for answering.

I eventually deciced to go through with it, and today I was able to buy a full set for 950k and a Starry PB (yes, I'm impatient so I spent a little more than I wanted to, but hey..). I transferred the pieces to a new account, caprician, where I will use the ray on abandoned pets in order to improve their chances of getting adopted.
I adopted a Lupe, with a name too long too remember and right now I'm too lazy to look it up, and on his first zap he changed gender, lol.

I'm not gonna use it on my own pets, though, since I'm attached to them as they are and I would hate to see them change species or turn into a colour I don't like. But I suspect I'm gonna have fun enough with it anyway, and I have a noble cause, for it to be worth its money.

 

So in eight zaps, Tsugaru turned into a male Darigan Lupe. Would it be best now to put him up for adoption, him being zapped into an expensive colour, or to keep zapping for something else uncommon and meanwhile increasing his stats?

 

 

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