Denewbiefication!

But hey, you there! Don't stop reading just because you're an older player. The user lookups of older accounts vary greatly. Some seem to be absolutely amazing whilst others show distinct lack of care. In fact, the total NP earnt and items hoarded could be exactly the same in both types of account. Always bear in mind that your lookup is where other Neopians immediately turn to when they want to find out more about you. Most users will prejudge you based on what they see here. So why not spend the little extra effort to show others your hard work?

Do not fear, help is at hand. With 5 easy steps, your account can be whisked from newbie status to give an appearance of an amazing experienced account. And the best news is that all these steps require minimal NP and html input!

What are you waiting for? Let the denewbiefication begin...

STEP 1: FILL IN YOUR PROFILE

So many accounts I've seen haven't even filled in their profiles clearly. Your user lookup is what other players look to first to find out more about you. An empty user lookup immediately gives the impression of a newbie account.

I'm not necessarily talking about a jazzy layout. Just filling in some boxes will do the trick:

Write in your hobbies, enter a guild, and create a neoadventure to fill up the user info box.

Create a shop, gallery, and neohome to fill up the rest of your lookup. You don't actually have to furnish your neohome or use your shop and gallery space. Just by being there, these 3 applications make your account look well cared for. Only after closer examination will anyone actually notice the size of your shop or the emptiness of your neohome and most players only have time to glance at their fellow Neopians' lookups.

Adding an image or some text about yourself at the top of the profile also does wonders for the overall look.. A few lines stating how much you love Neo or how none of your pets are up for trade will do. Lots of cute images and animations can be obtained from the neopets pictures page . Play around with the font; make it larger, change the colour, position it centrally on your page.

Adding a background to your lookup will also do wonders. Do not fear, this does not require html experience at all. Why not just fill in the background colour - a simple line of html code. You'd be surprised what a bit of colour does to the overall appearance of your lookup. Alternatively, if you're looking for something more snazzy, all you have to do is search for premade neopets backgrounds or ask on the chatboards to find some free beautiful layouts. They're too many to choose from. Just remember to mention the original creator.

STEP 2: PETS

Your pets take up a huge portion of your lookup, so a little effort on your part to keep them at their best will immediately give the impression of an experienced Neopian and more importantly a great owner! Don't starve your pets and heal as soon as possible - sad pets that are crying on your lookup immediately suggests neglect.

Your pets don't even have to be painted to be admired. The trick is to customise your pet well. This does not have to be expensive at all. Backgrounds can be bought with very little NP; pretty floral background, starry backgrounds, grassy meadows background. In addition, check out the advent calendar clothes if you're short on NP. There are many to choose from that can be found at very reasonable prices.

With the addictiveness of restocking and Neopets games, it's sometimes easy to forget that Neopets should primarily be about caring for your neopet. With these few additions your pets will be well cared after.

STEP 3: AVATARS

Avatars are very important to signal the newbieness of an account. Whenever you post on the message boards and whenever anyone looks up your username, the avatar is the first thing they see. A common misconception is that avatar collecting will require millions of neopoints. This is only the case if you're trying to get on the high score collectors list. For our purposes, it is very easy to appear experienced in the avatar department. You only ever use one avatar at a time so all that is required is to change your chat preference from the standard neopets avatar to any one of the hundreds that there are to collect.

Increasing your avatar count on your lookup is also very simple. There are over 80 easy clickable avatars. In fact, with a little more effort you can very easily get over 100 avatars by playing the games and completing quests. Now, when someone looks at your lookup and sees your avatar collection in the 3 figure range, you'll lose your newbie categorisation.

STEP 4: TROPHIES

Your trophy cabinet takes over a huge portion of your lookup. Having a few gleaming trophies here will definitely provoke admiration and respect from other Neopians. You do not have to be amazing at the games to fill up your trophy cabinet. Luckily, there are at least 10 easy to get game trophies that do not necessitate being on the high score table so can be achieved by anyone.

There're so many trophy guides out there, so I'm not going to go in more detail, but in my own opinion the easiest 5 to get would be: NC Mall Album, Cheat, Go Go Go, Snow Wars and Cellblock. Other ones that require a little more time to get but are still very achievable include: Pyramids bonus, Sakhmet Solitaire bonus, Neoquest and Neopoker. Don't forget to participate in any site events and plots that are going on, as these will also give you very nice trophies. The Royal Astronomer site event trophy can still be won if you complete the Altador Plot. Although time-consuming, the shiny award is well worth it.

STEP 5: BATTLEDOME, NEODECK and STAMPS

The 4 steps above are the most important for denewbiefication of your account. I have hit at the compartments of your lookup that are most noticeable. With these improvements in place, from a glance you will no longer appear to be a Neopets beginner at all. However, the complete denewbiefication treatment requires that all areas of your lookup are cared for. Any 0s anywhere do not look good. With little effort, the Battledome, neodeck and stamps areas can also be filled in.

Most new players venture far away from the Battledome, which requires skilled pets with high statistics and expensive Battledome equipment. However, to get your one player BD wins up from 0% is incredibly simple. After all any neopet can beat the Inflatable Balthazar. Just one quick battle and voila - 100% Battledome wins!

It's nice to add a few stamps and a few cards to your albums too, just so they do not appear empty. Again, for our purpose any of the cheapest stamps and cards will do - look out for the Key Quest one!

When my account was only 2 weeks old, I was asked countless times how I got it to look so amazing on the outside. With this in mind, I have put together the above guide. I hope it's been useful. :)