Stand behind yer sheriff Circulation: 193,049,732 Issue: 676 | 16th day of Sleeping, Y17
Home | Archives Articles | Editorial | Short Stories | Comics | New Series | Continued Series
 

Avatars Speak Louder Than Words


by jirachi68106

--------

Avatars are a symbol of how much time you spend on Neopets working towards a specific goal. With well over 300 available to collect, each one conveys a different message about its user. With this guide, you can figure out what the avatar you've been using tells others and others' first impression of you when you post with it on the NeoBoards or send a NeoMail.

Default – Includes all the default avatars

While some people use these avatars to show off their favorite pet, keeping your active pet as your favorite and choosing a more notable avatar to flaunt around is better. These avatars tell others that you're a newbie, regardless of account age or experience.

Clickables – Just a step up from default avatars, avatars such as Tonu – Mutant and Cyodrake are obtained by viewing or clicking on a certain page, thus earning the name "clickable."

Although they are classified as secret avatars, they're easily attained and thus not very impressive. Like the default avatars, these avatars still tell others that you're a newbie, but at the very least, you're a newbie who's making an effort to look cool.

Basics – Item avatars such as Fire Paw and Mad About Orange

These avatars are usually earned with minimal effort, but effort nonetheless. Although inexpensive, these avatars show that you're starting to put effort and Neopoints into your avatar collecting.

Ugly – Includes avatars like I'm Smelly and Rubbish

These avatars tell others that you only shower once a year, so they make befriending others difficult. Don't be surprised if your Neofriend list is empty after making one of these your active avatar. Don't do that to yourself. Don't use these. Don't.

Seasonal/Annual – The avatars Evil Jhudora, Plastic Fir, and Easter Cybunny all fall under this category.

Again, these avatars aren't very rare, but the Neopians who forgot to log on to their accounts on those special days will be extremely jealous, especially if you show off the avatar the following day.​

Pets/Petpets – This category includes avatars like Quadrapus and Draik – Hatched.

While most of these avatars are easy to achieve by yourself, people are often lent a handful of these avatars, so most avatar collectors have unlocked these avatars. Any of these avatars will show off your love for pets or petpets.

Battleground of the Obelisk – Only six avatars fall under this category – the Battleground of the Obelisk avatars.

Unless you have a decent Battledome pet, using one of these avatars tells others that you're a freeloader and that you're totally okay with letting others do all the work while you reap the benefits. Either way, these avatars show off your love for battling.

Restocking – Avatars like Uni – Faboo and Chocolate! can either take anywhere from a few minutes to a few months to achieve.

These avatars show your fast internet connection speed and your love of refreshing a page for hours on end for little to no profit.

The Big Three – The three most expensive lendable avatar items – BGC, MSPP, and SuAP.

Most people obtain these three avatars by being lent the item, so unless you purchased these items yourself, using one of these, like the Obelisk avatars, just shows that you reap the benefits of others hard work. However, being lent the avatar also exhibits trustworthiness. Recently, these avatars have been easier to obtain, so if you're going for the "Basic Neopian" impression, using one of these as your active avatar would be a good call.

Expensive – This category includes HT – Rich, Richer, and Richest as well as all stamp avatars.

These avatars are flashy, but they also others that you have (or had) plenty of Neopoints, so unfortunately, people are likely to try to GD you upon seeing your avatar. Use at your own discretion.

Game – Ranging from the easy game avatars like Kass Basher all the way to most difficult such as Ice Cream Machine and Grundo – Snowthrow!

These avatars show that you either have a lot of skill or a lot of time on your hands. Game avatars tell others that you have spent a decent amount of time in the games room and you probably have more than a few trophies to show for that.

Luck/Random – From Snowager – Rawr! to Bilge Dice – Lucky Streak, these avatars are coveted by most and unlocked by few.

What makes these avatars so frustrating is that a newbie could have earned five of them while a ten-year-old account only has two – earning them is completely random. Since these are random, not many Neopians have them, so by using one you're likely to turn at least a few heads.

Creative Avatars – This category includes avatars such as Site Spotlight and Neopian Times Star.

If you post on a "Do You Have the Avatar Above You?" board with one of these, you're likely to stop people from posting on the board for quite awhile because nobody ever wants to post "No." If you use one of these, people will notice your skill and dedication and give you "cool person points."

Retired – One of the most coveted types of avatars, this category includes the avatars Free Jhuidah and, most recently retired, the Random Contest Winner.

The longer ago the avatar was retired, the less likely others will have it. These avatars exemplify your account age and that you were just as active years ago as you are today.

*Specialty Avatars

These avatars' messages will be described separately because there aren't any other avatars quite like them in terms of method of achievement.

Kadoatery – Mew!

The Kad avatar lets others know that you have a great internet connection as well as a lot of time on your hands. Often associated with the Kad avatar are overfeeders.

Avatar Collector

This avatar is usually the main reason why Neopians try so hard to achieve those nearly-impossible-to-get avatars. This avatar shows that its user is dedicated to avatar collecting. The avatar is respected and admired by collectors everywhere.

Depending on the rarity and appearance of your active avatar, it can either allow you to stand out from other users or blend you into the crowd of Neopians. With hundreds of avatars, from the easily attainable to most difficult to achieve, an avatar out there will likely suit you.

 
Search the Neopian Times




Great stories!


---------

From Dawn to Dusk
The air was hazy as Theodore descended onto the landscape of his favourite planet, Neopia. Where, or perhaps when, he was landing was...

by azienskieth

---------

Elderly Time Travel
Embarking on that quest for youth!

by toffeedatepudding

---------

No Clue
That could be anything.

by topaz644

---------

Woe to the One who Deals with Sloth
I shouldn't have looked out the window that day.

by flufflepuff



Submit your stories, articles, and comics using the new submission form.