HOW TO PLAY NEOQUEST® II NeoQuest® II is an adventure that spans many worlds. You play the role of Rohane, a young Blumaroo who has left his home in search of adventure. Exploring the World You can move around the game world by clicking on the directional arrows on the right side of the game map. As you move, you will encounter monsters to fight, merchants to buy from, and other characters to interact with. You may even find people willing to join your party. When you do encounter other characters (also known as NPCs or Non-Player Characters), when you come close enough, you will be given menu options on the lower right: You will be able to Talk to or Trade with each NPC. As you move around the world, you'll find that certain kinds of terrain cannot be crossed. Mountains, oceans, solid rock, the walls of buildings, and so on are all impassable. If you need to get to the other side, you'll have to find a way around. Levels and Experience Your main character, Rohane, starts the game at level 1. As you defeat monsters, he (and any other party members you might find) will gain experience points. After you gain enough experience points, you will gain a level. The maximum level you can gain is 60. Fighting creatures that are weaker than you will generally gain you less experience than fighting creatures that are closer to your strength. Skills There are also skills that you can choose to customise your character's fighting abilities. Each character has seven skill trees they can spend points in. To see descriptions for each character's skills, click on the Skills link above the map, next to the character's name. Each time one of your characters gains a level, they will gain a skill point that you can then spend in one of the seven skill trees. Combat As you roam the world, you will randomly encounter up to four monsters at a time. When you are fighting a monster, you can choose to use your regular weapon attack, use one of your combat skills, use a potion, flee from the monster (if you do not want to fight), or do nothing at all. Once the monster's health drops to zero or below, it is defeated, and you will gain experience points and possibly items for defeating it. Monsters that are too weak compared to you will not grant any experience, though they can still give you items. Your chance to encounter a monster as you roam the world is affected by your movement mode. There are two modes: Normal - this gives you an average chance to encounter creatures on each step you take. Hunting - this gives you an greatly increased chance to encounter creatures on each step you take, as you are hunting them down. You may change your movement type whenever you are not in combat, by clicking on the movement type below the directional arrows. Healing Potions, Health, and Defeat Any monster you fight has a chance to drop a healing potion when you defeat it. Healing potions can be used while you are wandering around, or in combat, to give yourself health back. If the health of all the characters in your party drops to zero or below, you will be defeated and will lose half your gold, so be careful! And be extra-cautious on Insane difficulty... if you lose a battle there, your party will be KILLED and you will have to start the game over! Insane difficulty is only recommended for the truly INSANE! Non-Player Characters There are some NPCs (Non-Player Characters) scattered around the world who will give you information about this ancient Neopia, and some of them can serve other functions, like healing you or giving you quests. For example, they may ask you to find an item for them. Doing so may result in a reward or in additional information about your goals. Be sure to talk to every NPC you see. Some NPCs will have additional things to say once you complete certain quests or defeat certain creatures.