Prepare For Battle - On A Budget!

The Battleground of the Obelisk is an ongoing battle mission between multiple factions (you can choose which you'll align with after each round of battle). The goal is to defeat the other factions you are up against and win not only glory, but prizes like a secret avatar or special boons that will help you out in other areas of Neopets. Using this activity as a practice arena for a potential war is an amazing way to get yourself prepared for what is to come. Try to work your way up through the varying difficulties of the enemy and get in as many battles as you can, the skills you learn doing this will get you ready.

The Basics

Before you do anything else, you are going to want to get your pet enrolled in a training academy. The cheapest option, designed for new battle pets with a level under 40, would be the Swashbuckling Academy. This is the best budget option but the training time can take a bit longer. If you want something faster for a small increase in cost, or if your pet is higher than level 40, you need to visit the Mystery Island Training School.

Once your pet is on a training course and strong enough to take on at least a few enemies in the Battledome, it is time to gear up with some equipment.

Budget Weapons

All weapons have various stats that go into a complicated algorithm with the stats of your pet, creating the final result of damage dealt or damage blocked (or what kind of effects are given to your opponent). "Icons" are a type of multiplier that determines how strong the weapon is, and each icon comes with an element attached to it. This element determines the TYPE of damage dealt, or in the case of shields, the type of damage blocked. For example: you don't have to use a weapon that deals 10 fire icons against an opponent who has a shield that blocks fire icons. With this in mind, we'll look at our items.

-Scarab Ring

The Scarab Ring is a strong combination of attack and defense, utilizing icons from multiple icons. It deals water, darkness, and physical damage while also blocking fire and physical damage. This means you will deal some heavy hits and at the same time you will block damage that is dealt to you by those icons. It is very cheap, only costing a few thousand Neopoints, and readily available. You'll be able to find it easily on the Shop Wizard. This weapon is so good I recommend you have two equipped at the same time, especially for the price.

-Golden Compass

For a little more money, you can get this compass. It does more icons of damage than the Scarab Ring, a total of 9, but it has less defensive icons (and only blocks dark icons). This is a good tool to have if you are up against an opponent who has high HP but isn't making too much of a dent in your health. It's a good item to have to finish off an opponent near the end of a battle, or if you were able to freeze the opponent for a turn with faerie abilities or freezing items.

-Leaf Shield

This is relatively affordable, especially since it is given out as an Illusen's Quest Prize at level 29. It is a defensive shield that blocks 13 icons (a mix of earth, air, and darkness icons). It is very helpful when you are newer to battling and can't just take out your opponent in one or two shots. Combining this with the other items on this list will create a great beginner combo of items. All of these have upgrades, of course, but that is when the prices start going up by a lot. These will last you a while before you outgrow them.

-Oasis Tonic

When you take a bit of damage, it is important to have an item to replenish your health. There are many items out there that heal a lot of HP, or a percentage of your pets HP, but for those battling on a budget that are newer to the Battledome, this is a good option. It will heal your Neopet's health by 35 HP. It isn't a lot of HP to heal once you start training more and more, but in the start this is powerful enough and affordable. When you are upgrading your weapon set, the first thing you'll want to focus on upgrading is the healer. The next step up would be the Greater Healing Scroll, get it when you can.

Faerie Abilities

Faerie Abilities are almost like bonus weapons that you get from using bottled faeries. You unlock more abilities based on your pets level. They aren't too expensive to obtain as bottled faeries are still pretty cheap. The main ability you should be striving for is "Lens Flare". Lens Flare is obtained at level 50 and using 15 bottled light faeries, it will render your opponent stunned and they won't be able to attack for a turn. This is amazing for getting in some heavy damage without having to use a shield or damage blocker for that turn.

The other ability you should focus on getting can be obtained earlier, at level 25, by using 10 bottled water faeries. It is called "An Icicle" and does six icons of water damage to your opponent. It is a quick attack that stacks on top of your weapons to cause a heavy stream of damage.

Practice

At the top of this article, I talked about the importance of practice, but I want to reiterate that point. Practice makes perfect, and will make you a better battler. You can splurge on the most expensive weapons but if you don't understand how to use them and how your opponent operates, you won't be able to win. These items aren't the best of the best but they are fairly cheap and can get you on a good start for the beginning of the war. Train your pets stats, the sooner the better, so when war does break out you will be ready and waiting!!