|
BATTLEDOME - War time in Neopia is similar to war time in the real world, in that
both cases results in a change in the economy. However there are major differences
for one very simple reason. In a real war the economy is affected by those who
do not participate in war. In Neopia, the larger part of the population participates
in the war because, let's face it, the Battledome is one of the greatest aspects
of the whole game. Nonetheless, the economy is still changed by rumors or news
of war.
Weapons Prices: Inflation
It is obvious to most people that a Neopian war changes the prices in weapons.
Weapons' prices begin to rise. To some battlers, the thought of selling when
everyone needs it incurs a large profit. However, the selling of one Battledome
item usually leads to the need for buying another to replace it. The idea of
selling and getting more Neopoints for your Battledome weapon is correct. But
some people tend to forget it costs more to buy a new weapon during war, as
well. At the same time the opposite occurs. Some people save a lot more to buy
weapons in times of war because they plan for inflation. They forget that selling
their current weapon will result in more profit.
The idea is that if you plan to sell one weapon and replace it with another.
You cannot forget that in both cases, the weapons will cost or sell for more
during war. Do not become short-sighted and see that your weapon will sell for
more, while forgetting that you must pay more for a new weapon.
Healing Potions
It is widely believed that healing potions will rise in price, just like weapons.
However ,with healing potions it is much more different. Healing potions do
not increase by 100K or even 10K because healing potions are given out at the
Healing Springs. Weapons are not as quickly generated and restocked in Neopian
shops. Another healing potion appears from the Healing Springs and put out on
to the market every two seconds. This causes the price to stabilize. The thousands
being generated and the demand for them sort of cancel each other out. So the
healing potions don't really increase in price.
Why are healing potions needed? Most people think to themselves, "Well, I
don't need healing potions, I could just fight Punchbag Bob and heal myself
with a scorchstone or a healing ability". That works very well when there is
no war. But in times of war all other 1-Player Battledome challengers are disabled.
So that means no more healing from Punchbag Bob.
The price of healing potions remain stable, usually. In some cases so many
healing potions are stockpiled ahead of time (because some people believe it
will rise in price) that healing potions aren't needed by the masses. However,
again, due to the huge number of healing potions and the huge number of Neopians,
healing potions don't really escalate or deflate in price.
Stockpiling
A very risky move in times of war is stockpiling. Usually stockpiling occurs
while war talk is just rumors and not official yet. Basically, stockpiling is
the idea of collecting a large amount of a few items in hopes that they will
rise in price due to war. Now, I'm not saying buy every last one of an existing
item, because that is self-inflation and it is against Neopets rules. I'm talking
about collecting a large sum of one item and selling it when the price is raised,
naturally. Such items that commonly skyrocket in the price in times of war are
codestones, faeries, snowballs, muffins and other cheap one time use items that
pack a lot of damage.
In writing this, it may cause massive inflation of those above mentioned items.
However, I must warn, stockpiling is a risky game. It is always a gamble because
there is no guarantee that, that item will rise in price. If the item does in
fact rise in price, and you have some stocked away it is a nice profit.
So why do these items rise in price exactly? It's simple, they are in demand.
Prices of things rise when they are in greater need. The one-time use weapons
are especially in greater demand because they disappear after one use so there
is always a need to replace them.
Deflation of Everything Else
Now this aspect of war doesn't always hold true. In theory, this is what usually
occurs. When there is talk of war people start saving for weapons and training.
This causes a recession. A recession is basically when the economy is hurt because
no one is buying anything so no Neopoints are in circulation. Because all the
Neopoints are going into training and weapon purchases, the cost of other nonessential
items begin to decrease. Furniture, toys, gardening, gifts, they all begin to
plummet in price. This is caused by the lackluster of sales in that category.
When an item sits in a shop for a long period of time, the owner usually lowers
the price, if this process occurs over and over again, the price drops dramatically.
Deflation After War
Weapons prices after the official end of war usually drop slightly. It is
never enough to make weapons insanely low in price. I am not suggesting that
Hidden Tower items will go to 500K, I am merely suggesting, some weapons may
drop 100K or so because there is a rush to get rid of the weapons. For everyday
battlers, they hold on to their weapons. For people who only battle in war and
has no need for weapons, they are the ones who cause the prices of weapons to
lower slightly.
Stabilizing
A few weeks after war and the prices of everything begin to settle. The inflated
items deflate and the deflated items inflate. This is caused by the need to
get rid of inflated items and a larger desire for those items that were not
essential during war.
So in summary, war changes how the economy works in Neopia. Prices fall and
rise based on what the people believe will happen. Some points in this article
might not hold true during the next war but it is a generalization of all wars.
If there are any questions or comments you could Neomail me, rimrocka13.
| 
