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[GillyTook]

I sold the soup and the knife because I didn't know they were good.  **facepalm**  

Is the ghostkerbomb also once per battle, then you get it back, sort of like the pingrenade?  I might hold off on that (I'm STILL trying to get to 100 million np in the bank, slowly as can be.) but could be a good upcoming purchase.  For shields, I'm assuming I'd be using one weapon/one shield, right?  So instead of doing double damage with two weapons, I'd be doing one weapon's worth of damage, plus blocking some of the attack coming at me?  That's sort of why I've just been sticking to two weapons, really.

 

I'll decide if I want to sell a second or get a bunch of other stuff (I'd be about 10 points short of everything I wanted if I got the second staff, so unsure right now!)

 

Ohhh, and thank you

[Aquamentis12]

5 hours ago, GillyTook said:

I sold the soup and the knife because I didn't know they were good.  **facepalm**  

Is the ghostkerbomb also once per battle, then you get it back, sort of like the pingrenade?  I might hold off on that (I'm STILL trying to get to 100 million np in the bank, slowly as can be.) but could be a good upcoming purchase.  For shields, I'm assuming I'd be using one weapon/one shield, right?  So instead of doing double damage with two weapons, I'd be doing one weapon's worth of damage, plus blocking some of the attack coming at me?  That's sort of why I've just been sticking to two weapons, really.

 

I'll decide if I want to sell a second or get a bunch of other stuff (I'd be about 10 points short of everything I wanted if I got the second staff, so unsure right now!)

 

Ohhh, and thank you

Oh man, that's a shame. TNT really threw us a curve-ball with those two items. Almost nothing from the advent calendar, weapon-wise, is usually very useful. Actually, if you use Roxton's Trusty Bowie Knife and the Altador Cup Weapon, the Extra Loud Techo Fanatic Megaphone, you can effectively stop 75% of a Super Attack Pea. Both do 15 icons of damage, but while Roxton's Trusty Bowie Knife blocks 75% of Earth, the Extra Loud Techo Fanatic Megaphone blocks 75% of Air while doing a combined attack of 30 icons. You won't likely run into any Super Attack Peas anytime soon though. I'm just mentioning that because it's a killer combination.

Yes, the Ghostkerbomb is once per battle, you'll get it back for the start of every new battle. And it's ok to not buy it, now or ever. It is at the Hidden Tower, but you might find it slightly cheaper from another user. Some people don't use bombs, some do. It's mainly useful if your primary multiple use weapons are weaker than the bomb is. If I had a Super Attack Pea, one or two of them, or one of them and a Wand of the Dark Faerie, I might consider getting rid of my G-bomb, just because the average damage I could do in one turn would be on par with using 2 G-bombs at almost max attack. (Ghostkerbomb has some fractional icons, so it doesn't always do 30 icons of damage.)

Then again, Ghostkerbomb might be useful if were then to go up against an opponent that could block dark, earth or air, or multiples, but not the icons the G-bomb uses, Earth, Fire and Physical.

For shields. It depends on the shield. There are 2.5 types of shields. There are defenders, that only defend. There are Reflectors that can reflect some damage back at the opponent, and then there are the Dual-Duty weapons, which can do more than one function at a time. Feel Better Soup and Roxtons Trusty Bowie Knife, are examples of a Dual Duty weapon.

Depending on your opponent you might want a straight shield. IMHO those are generally good when your opponent has a lot of a certain icon-type. Like, Lava Ghoul, has a fair amount of Fire and Light. So, something like Flaming Oven Gloves, would block some of each of those... If I recall correctly, 3 of each, or maybe it was 4 of one and 2 of the other..... I used to use them, but I can't recall now. lol But you would use your weapon and the shield as your two items that turn. Plus whatever Faerie Ability you think is best. Although, if you're using Lens Flare, or when you get there, Warlocks Rage, as you know you can use 2 weapons while using those abilities since you don't have to worry about being attacked when using them.

A Reflector can be decent if you're running low on health or defense items, and you still need to attack and defend at the same time. There are 50% reflectors for every element except Physical. (That icon can't be reflected.) But most of them are cheap but will eventually permanently break. At least the 50% ones. There are stronger reflectors that will not break and reflect more. Let's see if I recall them..... these restock at the Defence Magic shop and WILL break after several uses.

50% Dark - Ultra Dark Reflectorb
50% Earth - Shovel Plus
50% Light - Dual Battle Mirror
50% Fire - Turbo Flame Reflector
50% Water - Super U-Bend
50% Air - Double Dryer

There is a caveat to the Dual Battle Mirror though. From Coltzan's Shrine you can get an item called an Expert Lens. This reflects 50% Light as well, but will NEVER break. Plus they are CHEAP!

The higher level reflectors also restock at the Defence Magic Shop, but they are all r99 and most reflect 75% of their element. I managed to see and snag a Combo Battle Mirror once, though it's probably the "cheapest" of them on the player markets so it's not worth an even trade with the others. There's one that I can think of called Superior Reflection Shield. This one is awesome because it reflects 100% of light, but ALSO 25% of Water. So it's a couple of Steps above the other light reflectors.

The last type are the Dual Duty. Hanso Charisma Charm is a good example that I haven't brought up yet. 10 icons attack, and blocks 100% of Dark. It's like a weaker version of Illusens Staff. Which while technically classified as as Dual Duty, should probably be classified as a multi-function. Though I haven't seen anyone else call it that. I think it could be classified as such because it has more than 2 functions. It attacks, can block all dark, and under the right circumstances, reflect some dark and heal. There are a few weapons that could fall into this imaginary category of multi-function.

Ah yeah, if there are items you want Illusens Prize Shop and they would cost more NP to buy than you would get from Selling a 2nd Illusens Staff, then I would say go for the other items. The staff will probably take awhile to regain some of it's depreciated value on the player market so it's all in if you're willing to wait to sell it, while the other Illusen items you'd like will probably go up in price as well over that same period of time.

And you're welcome. I hope this new post is helpful to you too.  

[GillyTook]

My weekly quest this week gave me a The Mystical Tablet (**eye twitches at the grammar**).  Jellyneo rates it really high.  Should I put it in my lineup?

Oh, and I took your advice and just kept the Sword of Malum (wait, thatw as it, right?  Eh, the one you said to keep) Illusen's Staff, healer, and pinberry for now.  It's working, though I still don't tend to go for anything I can't beat in one round.

[Aquamentis12]

6 hours ago, GillyTook said:

My weekly quest this week gave me a The Mystical Tablet (**eye twitches at the grammar**).  Jellyneo rates it really high.  Should I put it in my lineup?

Oh, and I took your advice and just kept the Sword of Malum (wait, thatw as it, right?  Eh, the one you said to keep) Illusen's Staff, healer, and pinberry for now.  It's working, though I still don't tend to go for anything I can't beat in one round.

Wow @GillyTook, that is a GREAT prize! Not having played Legends and Letters I didn't know about it, so I had to look it up over at JN.

So while the attack is rather weak, 9 total icons. The defense is amazing! It blocks 100% of BOTH Physical AND Darkness! It also heals 3-30hp. I'm not sure if this is PER turn or not, but there doesn't seem to be an indicator of "one healing item at a time" so you can most likely equip it WITH a healer.

Yes, Sword of Malum is almost as good as the anagram swords in the Hidden Tower. So definitely keep that in your line-up! It sounds like your set is more versatile now. that's good. When the battle plot starts, you should be set up to go pretty far! For defense, I would recommend a Downsize! from the Defence Magic Shop. As it blocks 50% of all damage once per battle. Downsize looks like this.

https://items.thedailyneopets.com/items/downsize

It's an r68 and restocks frequently. Usually sells in Player shops for 3k-5k. So you can buy it from a player shop or the Defence Magic shop in the Neopia Bazaar.

Congrats on the GREAT very cool weekly prize! lol I hope I get a chance to earn one from the weekly prize pool one of these days!

[GillyTook]

So I'd be using it a shield that also does a bit of damage and heals?  Just to confirm.

[Aquamentis12]

4 hours ago, GillyTook said:

So I'd be using it a shield that also does a bit of damage and heals?  Just to confirm.

For The Mystical Tablet? Yeah that's what it's stats look like! That's even better than the Altadorian Swordbreaker! (a weapon that has only 6 icon attack and blocks all physical).

[GillyTook]

Are shields actually worth it?  I think I've asked this before.  Like, the shield did around 35-40 damage, but my normal attacking weapons do 70-90.  Small healing aside, why is it more worth it to do less damage and draw a fight out vs. doing more and ending it more quickly?

Again, though, I've not ever gone for opponents that take (usually) more than one round to kill, so I'm not used to fights that go on a few rounds or more.

[Aquamentis12]

18 hours ago, GillyTook said:

Are shields actually worth it?  I think I've asked this before.  Like, the shield did around 35-40 damage, but my normal attacking weapons do 70-90.  Small healing aside, why is it more worth it to do less damage and draw a fight out vs. doing more and ending it more quickly?

Again, though, I've not ever gone for opponents that take (usually) more than one round to kill, so I'm not used to fights that go on a few rounds or more.

It really depends on the opponent. I know you usually battle opponents you can beat quickly. But in a battle plot, chances are there will be opponents you won't be able to beat easily. In which case an item that blocks all of one, or in this case 2 icons could be useful, depending on what the icons of their weapons consists of. For example, if your opponent attacks you with Wand of the Dark Faerie. This will COMPLETELY block it's attack! Wand of the Dark Faerie is one of the best weapons out there currently. If I recall correctly, it's got a variable attack, but a max icon count of of 29. That's one less than the Ghostkerbomb, and the Wand of the Dark Faerie is multiple use. The Mystical Tablet isn't just a shield. It's a dual-duty. Since it defends AND attacks, it's a weapon I would recommend holding onto. Also, just a reminder, it blocks 100% of both Darkness and Physical icons. 100% blockers are great because you know you'll receive zero damage from the icons they block regardless of your defense stat.
I know you won't probably come across an opponent with a Wand of the Dark Faerie in the opponents you usually fight. But it's not a bad idea to prepare when there's a battle plot incoming is it? We don't know what we'll be facing in it yet. And, I have a theory that this battle plot will be used to test new fixes to the battledome. In which case, I ALSO theorize that TNT MIGHT make it so that  the ability Shhhhhh! MIGHT be able to stop Lens Flare and Warlock's Rage. This is ONLY SPECULATION on my part, but it's been something I've wondered since the last BD update, and that was a long time ago. TNT has a habit of not keeping things "fair" for the players in battle, but we as players merely have to deal with what they give us.

For example, in the past, 1p opponents have been known to use once per battle abilities more than once in a battle, successfully. If Shhhhh! gets an "upgrade" from TNT, battles will require more thought than simply using Lens Flare/Warlock's Rage and your two most powerful weapons. But again, this is just speculation on my part. I could be wrong this time. But I believe in being prepared for different scenarios that may be put into play.

I'd still recommend keeping such an interesting weapon. But if you want to sell it or something, that's up to you. I can only offer my opinions on it.

[GillyTook]

**looks sheepish**  Welll, turns out I'm one of the lucky ones and got a seasonal attack pea from the advent calendar.  Erm, wow!  It's doing twice as much damage as the other weapons I have.  So for a good strategy for anything potentially powerful in the upcoming plot, should I use the pea, either the grenade (first) or staff, maybe the shield, and my two faerie abilities? (ha.  I need to look up when I can get more, and what is good, don't I?) This thing is ridiculous.  It can take out the koi warrior (codestones!) in one shot without me needing a second weapon, AND I can use it with one of the other weapons to take out the Giant Spectral Mutant Walein!

[Aquamentis12]

2 hours ago, GillyTook said:

**looks sheepish**  Welll, turns out I'm one of the lucky ones and got a seasonal attack pea from the advent calendar.  Erm, wow!  It's doing twice as much damage as the other weapons I have.  So for a good strategy for anything potentially powerful in the upcoming plot, should I use the pea, either the grenade (first) or staff, maybe the shield, and my two faerie abilities? (ha.  I need to look up when I can get more, and what is good, don't I?) This thing is ridiculous.  It can take out the koi warrior (codestones!) in one shot without me needing a second weapon, AND I can use it with one of the other weapons to take out the Giant Spectral Mutant Walein!

WOW! You are VERY lucky! CONGRATULATIONS!

The Seasonal Attack Pea is one of the strongest weapons in the game. Dealing a WHOPPING 28 SOLID icons! A mix of Light and Earth. For comparison, a Super Attack pea, the strongest constant in the game, deals 32 solid icons.

LOL It's no wonder you are one-shotting most of your opponents with a weapon like that in your arsenal!

I'd love to win one too, there's still MOST of the Advent Calendar Days left, so I have hope!

So, just battle as efficiently as you usually would. You could use your SAP and your Grenade along with Lens Flare for your first turn, and if you still haven't defeated your opponent then, then just do your second turn like you normally would. Maximize the damage you deal while minimizing the damage you take. Since the SAP is multiple use, you can use it in round 2 as well, with your 2nd strongest weapon you'll wipe the floor with most opponents! lol You should have a MUCH easier time with even stronger opponents than the ones you listed too.

I hope that answers your question. If you've any others, feel free to ask! And Congrats again!

[GillyTook]

Woo hoo!  I haven't tried stronger (yet, haha) but am itching to at some point.  I mean, if nothing else I can go up against Boochi a few times using my healer, haha.  

I was floored when I saw it.  I didn't even know it was in the prize pool until I saw a (TON OF) thread complaining about it on reddit, then a couple days later. . .  I VERY quickly ran to my inventory and equipped it because I wanted to take no risk that something would happen to it.  

[Aquamentis12]

LOL Well with one of the beat weapons in the game in your arsenal, that's GREAT to hear you're itching to take on some stronger opponents! You still should take SOME opponents on at their easier difficulties. Though if I had some stronger weapons I know I'd want to tackle Snowager on Medium, just to see how far I could get. lol On Medium, he has ... I think it's 15,000 hp, and can do over well over 3000hp of damage in one turn. It's been awhile since I last tried him on Medium so I don't recall if I'm entirely accurate with his HP, but I KNOW he can still one-shot me, and my peophin has over 3000hp! lol But that's just one example where you'd still be better off trying some opponents on their lower difficulties.

That being said, with the SAP you'll have a lot more options for who you can battle, and I am sure that it will be of GREAT use to you during the upcoming battle plot!

I don't blame you for equipping it ASAP! Such a rare prize that was once only available at Smuggler's Cove. You definitely don't want anything to happen to it! I think the TP price is around 300-350mil for one. That's a lot lower than it's inflated price used to be, thank goodness, but still  out of the price range for many neopians, myself included. lol

Take good care of it and it will take good care of you.   Although, one thing to keep in mind for the battle plot. If TNT is making these available before the plot, then they MIGHT be thinking up some counter-measures for later on during the plot. Normally, I don't think they'd be that sneaky, but it's unusual for them to release such high-end items for free as they have over the last full year. Including last year's Advent Calendar weapons. I MIGHT be overthinking things, I tend to do that, but I feel it's a good idea to have an idea what to do if you need to swap out some equipment during a battle plot. But DEFINITELY keep your SAP equipped, so nothing can happen to it! Even if you have to swap out other pieces of gear.

I can't really make much in the way of suggestions before knowing what the plot enemies are using, and for that, we must wait until they've been released and those of us among the TDN staff can discern what their weapons are. But if I recall correctly, you should have some good alternate weapons to rely on for attacking if they have some strong defense items. Anyone with a SAP or that tier of equipment should be set up to do quite well in the next battle plot.   That should make it feel more fun.

Heh, even if I don't get a SAP, I'm prepped with my intermediate-level set to do some damage. High-damage items don't necessarily make a battle plot more fun, though it can help to extend how far you can go, which can help extend an aspect of the fun. Not to mention that the further you go, typically the better the rewards. I hope you have a lot more fun with your SAP!

[GillyTook]

I've been sticking to hard difficulty because that way I get all my NP rewards early, and only have to play a few more to get all the regular rewards (and the koi warrior's dome supposedly has a higher chance of dropping codestones so I can train more!) after.  Do the others give better rewards that'd make up for it if I sold them?  And more NP, so I wouldn't need to play quite as many rounds per day to finish?  I know some of the littler guys (like poor old Boochi) on easy mode only give like 15 np per battle, so that'd take forever.

[Aquamentis12]

Considering the max NP per day is like, 1,500np it's not a huge help to get it all, but every little bit helps, right? lol

Some, like Snowager on Easy, can SOMETIMES give you a Frozen Negg. These are rare but sell for around 270,000np right now. Snowy on easy has 700hp, but can do a bit of damage if you let him attack you. Trust me when I recommend against trying him on Medium. He has like, around 15,000hp on Medium, and can hit for over 3000hp damage. So you won't get your NP very quickly from fighting him on Easy, about 50np per battle. Most of the time it's junk for prizes. Usually frozen food. lol But, you can also get a couple of books and codestones from Snowy. I tend to battle him for the chance of a Frozen Negg or two.

I'll battle Snowy first, to try for the prizes, and then if I feel like battling after that, I'll take on something a little easier on Mighty difficulty like Jelly Chia or Shadow Usul. Oh, I don't know what the prices are anymore. But Jelly Chia has a couple exclusive items. Jelly Pop Stamp, Jelly World Stamp, and Jelly Mysteries, a book. I used to sell Jelly World Stamp for around 100k each, but that was years ago. lol The value is probably still much lower, but you'll get your NP pretty quickly fighting Jelly Chia on Mighty difficulty.

[GillyTook]

Well, I cannot beat the snowager on easy mode.  I got him about 2/3-3/4 before his second hit finished me off, using the grenade/pea for the first round, then the pea/mystical tablet, then the pea/please let Illusen's staff do a bit of. . . nope, dead.  Ah well, at least I know now!

[Aquamentis12]

Sounds like you made a really good effort! Definitely work on your training and you'll get there!

Depending on your training costs, you might consider doing Kitchen Quests to help with training. The prizes for Kitchen Quests is either a somewhat low-value item, an amount of NP usually under 1000np, or 1 point to a random stat. When I do a KQ I usually limit my total cost to around 5,000np. If all the items combined cost more than 5,000 I decide if I want to risk getting a lame prize, or stat point. Depending on your income and codestone training costs you might set this amount higher or lower if you like. Whatever you are comfortable with is fine.   KQs usually ask for 3 or 4 items, and you get a lot of time to complete them. So if you want to skip one, waiting for the timer to run out can be a bit of a pain. Completing KQs also count toward your 10 on-site quests per day. Along with Snow Faerie, Edna, etc. After you've completed any 10 of these quests in a day, you must wait for Midnight NST for the counter to reset.

Another option, is if you buy NC. The Faerie Quest Fortune Cookie costs 100nc each, and lasts for 9 days. 9x24hours. It will run out at the same moment you opened it, 9 days later. This can be a good way of training as you get one quest per day the cookie is active and as the regular random faerie quests give 3 stat points. With a few exceptions. Light Faerie I believe gives 2 levels, not 3, and Soup Faerie quests give 2 points to each of 2 random stats. Space Faerie and Fyora still give their heightened points, so those are good quests to hope for. And the Quest Refresh boon from the Obelisk War skirmishes will let you refresh the cookie quests too.

I hope this helps! Good luck!

[GillyTook]

I looked into the KQs, and it said that the stat goes to a random pet, not necessarily your main pet.  Is that still the case?  Because if so, I'll definitely pass on it.  

I have bought nc once, and that was to get the extra ten pet slots on my account, haha.  Definitely don't need a random stat I paid for potentially going to (once I get a couple more) one of sixteen pets!  

Currently I'm on 5 codestone training (funny enough, I paid a lot to drop my str after a random event put it to 201, then got two blasted battle faerie random event quests in a row that bumped it back up.  Just my luck!) I've currently got a small enough stack of codestones, mostly via random events and the battledome, so I've been working through those and not looking forward to when I have to start buying them.

I normally hope that I can get the bank bribery boon, or failing that cartographication.  

[Aquamentis12]

16 pets?! WOW!!!! You're devoted to your neopets that's for sure! I currently have 2 pets and the only stat-stealing I've experienced was when winning a level increase from a scratchcard in the Happy Vaelly kiosk. All of my stats from random faerie quests and Kitchen Quests have gone to my active pet.

Those are the boons I prefer too. But with the last skirmish win, neither was an available choice so I went with Quest Refresh.

[GillyTook]

I think I've got 3 slots left to fill that on my main, and I kinda think I know of two I'd like to have?  **shrugs**  

I also got a maraquan commander's helm today from the weekly quest rewards.  I'm gonna assume it's not as good as the tablet as a defence method, but can I get confirmation on that before I see if it's still able to be sold?

[Aquamentis12]

6 hours ago, GillyTook said:

I think I've got 3 slots left to fill that on my main, and I kinda think I know of two I'd like to have?  **shrugs**  

I also got a maraquan commander's helm today from the weekly quest rewards.  I'm gonna assume it's not as good as the tablet as a defence method, but can I get confirmation on that before I see if it's still able to be sold?

You're right. The Maraquan Commanders Helm only defends 3 water and 3 dark icons. Your tablet is definitely better! Some of these weekly prizes aren't very good, the one I'm currently working toward is a White Ixi Plushie, only worth about 10k, maybe less by now. lol

[granny63020]

On 12/18/2023 at 1:45 PM, Aquamentis12 said:

 

I was trying to copy your UN and instead the above is what happened. I wanted to ask you about your thoughts on the  The Power of Friendship item. Do you think this item is worth having in your arsenal of weapons? Would you please post your thoughts about this?  Please and thank you!

[Aquamentis12]

5 hours ago, granny63020 said:

I was trying to copy your UN and instead the above is what happened. I wanted to ask you about your thoughts on the  The Power of Friendship item. Do you think this item is worth having in your arsenal of weapons? Would you please post your thoughts about this?  Please and thank you!

Hi @granny63020! I actually didn't realize it was a weapon. I just got home from visiting family and I didn't have time while I was gone to check out the items from the Advent Calendar. I checked out JN's entry for the weapon, and apparently it does fractal icons with a total of 13 icons. This makes it decent/good for beginners, but if I recall correctly, it's too weak for your set. So you don't need to equip it.

[granny63020]

3 hours ago, Aquamentis12 said:

I checked out JN's entry for the weapon, and apparently it does fractal icons with a total of 13 icons. This makes it decent/good for beginners, but if I recall correctly, it's too weak for your set. So you don't need to equip it.

OK, thanks for looking. I have a hard time figuring out the JN rating and would rather have your advice.  Your right it may be too weak for me. I'm going to sell it then while it's still worth a few NP's.  Hope you had a wonderful time with family!

[Aquamentis12]

2 hours ago, granny63020 said:

OK, thanks for looking. I have a hard time figuring out the JN rating and would rather have your advice.  Your right it may be too weak for me. I'm going to sell it then while it's still worth a few NP's.  Hope you had a wonderful time with family!

No problem! I'm always glad to help.

For understanding most of JN's entries, for an attack-only or defense only equipment. I recommend paying attention to JN's "Actual Icons" and "Notes" sections. As their actual rating seems based on scores given by the staff reviewers, and the reviews are mostly based on what the weapon does, availability, and cost.

 

[Angeló]

14 hours ago, granny63020 said:

I was trying to copy your UN and instead the above is what happened. I wanted to ask you about your thoughts on the  The Power of Friendship item. Do you think this item is worth having in your arsenal of weapons? Would you please post your thoughts about this?  Please and thank you!

it's not really worth it. its icon damage is weak (2.6 icons from each element) 

Bundle of Burning Branches is better in that range