A Prickly Potion Explanation (Finally!)

As far as Battledome weapons go, there are no weapons that can do what the Prickly Potion does in its price range.

The Prickly Potion, released in late 2007, changed the way battlers viewed some of the very difficult 1-player opponents.

But why? What has changed? And how can you harness this benefit? It’s important to realize Prickly Potions can take down some of the most difficult opponents out there, as long as you know how to use it.

The Basics:

• Prickly Potion (also known as "Ppot") is a Battledome weapon. It does 6-reflected icons.*
• Prickly Potions are multiple use; they will not disappear.
• 2 weapons can be used per turn in the Battledome on any given turn.

* - "Reflected Icons" is just a fancy way of saying "You do 6 icons of damage, but with your opponent's strength boost" (I will give an example later).

So let’s assume your pet is a pathetic weakling, and only has 10 strength (boohoo, newbie!) and you’re about to go fight against a 500 strength opponent. When you use a Prickly Potion, it’s the equivalent of your pet using 6 icons of damage with the 500 strength pet’s damage.

Why this is great:

In 1-player, as a rule of thumb, the opponent's health points relate to their strength boost* (in most cases). Because of this, we can assume the Prickly Potions will only do more damage as the opponents become more difficult. But be careful! The opponents won't just sit around and let you use their strength boosts while you cream them! Don’t forget to play a defensive game and not to just assume your Prickly Potions will be your saviors.

* - A "strength boost" is a certain amount of strength at which a pet or opponent will do a noticeably higher amount of damage (Some examples would be: 8str, 12str, 20str, 35str, 55str, 85str, 125str, etc.)

Great additions to Prickly Potion battles:

• Greater Healing Scroll (heal +50hp, once per battle)
• Leaf Shield/Other Shields (know your opponent, and plan accordingly on which shield you want to use with your Prickly Potion)
• Reflectors
  • For: Space Faerie – Dual Battle Mirror
  • Ghostkerchief – Double Hair Dryer
  • Mootix Warrior – Dual Shovel

The History Lesson:

The Prickly Potion has found its popularity for two reasons: its effectiveness against high strength opponents, and its extremely low price.

The only alternative/upgrade to the Prickly Potion style of battling is a Rarity 99 weapon known as the "Glowing Cauldron." This is a 10 reflected icon weapon that usually goes for 17,000,000-21,000,000NP. Many refer to Prickly Potions as "the Mini Glowing Cauldrons," simply because they do the same thing, just fewer icons.

The Freeze:

If you have rendered your opponent incapacitated in a battle using a freeze attack, remember your Prickly Potions will not have the same effect! Since your opponent is technically not battling while he’s frozen, you’re unable to use their strength boost to attack them. So unfortunately, you’ll only be doing 6-icons with your strength, and would be better off buying a cheap 7+ icon weapon.

Recommended Abilities:

Though some abilities are important in all battles, regardless of what your set looks like, when using Prickly Potions (especially 2 in one turn) you leave yourself vulnerable to strong attacks. To resist these, faerie abilities should be acquired by blessing your pet with bottled _______ faerie:

Bottled Earth Faeries 4x – Burrow (requires level 10 pet)

Bottled Dark Faerie 7x – Drain Life

Bottled Dark Faerie 8x – Sink (requires level 30 pet)

When using 2x Prickly Potions, using Sink or Burrow can nearly fully defend against 5 of 7 types of icons (For each ability!). This means you can have two turns of 2x Prickly Potions, and still have a relatively safe stance in the fight!

Sample Use of Prickly Potions (Against Space Faerie):

Let's put ourselves in a pretend-battle against the Space Faerie (+450 difficulty). Let’s also assume we aren’t the richest of Neopians, and need to beat her on a budget. (We can’t eat omelettes forever, am I right?!). So to take down this Space Faerie, we’ll need a pet of 70+hp minimum, though I’d recommend 120+hp. Lets take 100hp for example purposes:

Battledome Set:

Prickly Potion

Prickly Potion

Scroll of Freezing

Downsize!

Thick Smoke Bomb

Shooting Star Muffin

Shooting Star Muffin

This set should cost you roughly 800-900k (but you can sell the Prickly Potions afterwards and make back most of that.)

1st Round:

It’s important to get an early freeze, and drain life when your opponent is at full hp since it is most effective, so:

Prickly Potion + Scroll of Freezing + Drain Life

2nd Round (frozen):

Shooting Star Muffin + Shooting Star Muffin + Berserk Attack* (or Fierce Attack)

* - "Berserk" attack you get when your pet is level 50.

3rd Round:

Prickly Potion + Prickly Potion + Sink*

*- Space Faerie does mostly Light/Dark/Fire icons. Burrow can only stop the Fire icons out of those. As a last resort you can use Burrow, but it won't be a great defense.

4th round:

Prickly Potion + Downsize! + Defend

5th Round:

Prickly Potion + Thick Smoke Bomb + Species attack (ex: Tonu Charge, Kacheek Smile, etc.)

If at any time in this battle you feel that your hp is too low, or your chance of beating her is lost, it’s okay to withdraw (going back to the Status Page) and try again. Also, buying a healer is an option. A great one-time use healer is the "Lucky Robots Foot," but remember these can become very costly very quickly.

Another approach, as mentioned earlier, is the use of reflectors. This is similar to using a Prickly Potion, but instead of "using your opponent's strength boost to attack," you’re literally "reflecting back your opponent's icons." Reflectors can be lifesaving in situations where your pet simply won’t be able to withstand a hit from the opponent without crumbling apart.

To recap:

• Prickly Potions are cheap and effective to beat some high-end Battledome opponents.
• If you’re battling on a budget, Prickly Potions are your only option to beat some opponents.
• Using 2x Prickly Potions leaves you vulnerable to attack. Unless you defend using an ability. It’s recommended to use a shield along with 1x Prickly Potion.

The Battledome is an amazing place! Learning the ropes and harnessing the secrets of the Prickly Potion can help you overcome nearly any opponent. What are you waiting for? Get your pets geared up and headed in for a fight!