Back From Hiatus: An Old User's Guide to Returning

I have decided to share some tips, as well as some of my experiences and opinions of "returning to Neopets" by writing this article. Whether you’re an old user who has decided to return or not, you may find this article interesting and maybe even helpful.

Petpetpet Habitariums

I’m mentioning this first because to me, it’s one of the most exciting newer additions to the site! At first when I came back I decided not to try it. As a Premium member a few years ago, I beta tested Petpetpet Habitats and didn’t get that into it, though it was cute. Then I learned you could get Neopoints from playing the new Habitarium game, so I decided to give it a try and now I wish I had earlier. The Neopoints build up with each level, and by level 50 you’re making almost 100,000 NP! If you’re anything like me and you have a lot of free time on your hands, just open up your Habitarium when you log into Neopets, and leave the window minimized while you surf around the site. Check up on your petpetpets (also known as P3s) every 15-30 minutes to see if they need anything, and you’re good to go! In fact, you don’t even have to be playing Neopets. Right now, I’m writing this article and my Habitarium is at work! No, you don’t always have to keep the window open/minimized, though for the most experience points and to avoid your P3s growing hungry, tired, or sick, you’ll want to. Also, if you ever need any help, the people on the Habitarium boards are always friendly and willing to lend a hand!

Customisation

If you’ve been gone for a very, very long time, about four years or so, then you may have noticed Neopets (the site and the pets!) got a completely new makeover. With this makeover, your Neopets are now able to wear clothing. These clothes are known as wearables, as not all "Clothing" items are able to be worn by pets. All pets may have a background or foreground item, but pets of certain colours or special painted pets that have yet to be converted to their customizable form will not be able to wear clothing. Customisation has created a whole new market and a whole new creative Neopian hobby! Visit the Customisation boards to get your pets’ outfits rated, search for certain wearables you need, get outfit ideas, etc. There is also a new contest called the Customisation Spotlight, similar to the Beauty Contest, but instead of voting for one pet for each species, you can rate a hundred pets a day from 1 to 10! And if you really get into Customisation, buy yourself some Neocash so you can purchase exclusive wearables at the NC Mall!

Trading Pets

I was already acquainted with the new pet transferring feature introduced a few years ago, but after my hiatus I discovered something that used to be nonexistent due to complications and trust issues. Trading pets is all the rage now. The PC (Pound Chat) boards are constantly flying through pages! The process of creating applications to adopt pets is still quite popular, but has grown less popular since now many people would rather trade their pets for something they like better. Be careful, though; it’s highly addicting! I find myself browsing the boards for hours on end, and most of the time I never have much luck, but I just can’t stop. Vigorously saving for a Draik or Krawk? Well, if you’re dedicated enough, if you have a very good eye for fair trades, and if you’re feeling a little lucky, you can get a Draik, Krawk, or unconverted pet without spending a penny (err... point)! In addition to all this, Pound Surfing boards are still equally as popular as ever. Another type of popular board that regularly pops up are Name Purge boards, filled with people dedicated to tracking and scrounging up unused names for their pets.

Trading Neocash Items

With the NC Mall being years old now (boy, time sure flies, doesn’t it?), and with the retirement of multiple NC items, trading Neocash items has become a new craze much like trading pets. Though unlike when trading pets, when trading NC items it is in most cases easier to calculate the worth of the items you are trading and the items you are seeking. Usually, if you’re offering up a retired item that was once in the NC Mall for 200 NC, then you should be able to easily trade it for another retired item that was 200 NC. Likewise, an item that is currently in the NC Mall for 200 NC is worth just as much as an item that is also currently 200 NC. This can vary, however, depending on item popularity or rarity if the item is retired, and of course whether or not the person you’re offering to is seeking what you’re offering!

Neoboards Chat Groups

Over the years, the Neoboards haven’t really changed much. However, I used to be an avid FCer (a regular Fan Clubs chatter), and with my return to Neopets I have been disappointed to discover the FC is much less active than I ever recall. There are these special new groups of people that seem to have popped up, though, and not just on the Fan Clubs boards. These groups are called CGs, short for Chat Groups. CGs usually have a theme and a petpage explaining what they’re all about, and members all have similar interests such as the Battledome, anime, roleplaying, music, etc. They are very much like guilds, without the requirement of joining a guild! So you could be a member of a guild, as well as a member of multiple CGs for your multiple interests. If you’re into making Neofriends, joining Chat Groups can be a great way to do so.

Avatar Collecting

The avatar collecting hobby has somewhat evolved in the past couple of years. There may not be as many avatars getting released as there used to be, but people are still constantly working at building their collection! With the ability to transfer/trade pets, lending out pets that can grant you a specific avatar has become a much simpler task. Oh, and guess what? They finally figured out how to get the Chef Bonju avatar! But now there’s the mystery of the Wishing Well, avatar that’s apparently been underway for quite some time now...

Altador Cup

The ever-popular and exciting annual Altador Cup is finishing up its sixth year! The tournament has generally remained the same over the years, aside from teams being added and removed here and there. There is, however, quite a special new addition to the fun this year! With 750 NC in hand, you can visit the NC Mall to purchase one of many VIP Passes! Each pass allows you to visit a specific area of the Altador Cup, and each area grants special Altador Cup-themed wearable prizes! If you’re an Altador Cup fanatic, I recommend you collect the passes and special wearables!

The Faeries’ Ruin Plot

As much as I would love to, I can’t offer very much information on Neopia’s latest plot (aside from the Altador Cup) because I wasn’t around to participate. However, I can tell you that because of the plot, Faerieland has received a major makeover! Also, some of you may find it exciting that due to the Faerie Paint Brush being a plot prize, the price of the item on the Trading Post and Auctions has dropped some! If you’re interested in learning about what went on during this plot, the comic is still viewable.

And that, my fellow returnees/interested newbies, is what’s currently up with Neopets.com compared to how things have been in the past. If you have come back from a hiatus, whether it’s been a couple months or many years, I hope you found this guide to be somewhat of a help. I wish you much luck in continuing your Neopets adventures, and I am glad you have decided to return as I have. I certainly did not cover everything that has shown up or changed, but sometimes it’s more fun to explore and figure things out for yourself, eh? ;)