Deckswabber - A Great Way to Earn Dubloons! by drawrose |  |
Want to train your pets for battle with impressive stats? Hate waiting for
random events of Codestones to chance upon? Tired of searching the Shop Wizard
for the cheapest Codestones (which are still ridiculously expensive, considering
that any lucky person can get them for free...)? Then you should read this article,
my fellow NeoPet owners!
Well, first of all, I suppose everyone should have heard of the Swashbuckling
Academy in Krawk Island (it's been around for a month or so) by now.
I found it a great place to train my pets, as compared to the Mystery Island
Training School. Although it takes a really long time, up to 10 hours if your
pets' levels are 31-40, the courses are all paid for in Dubloons, not Codestones!
And the better news is... Dubloons can be found in the Shop Wizard, and sometimes
when you visit Coltzan's Shrine in the Lost Desert! BUT, the best news for all
my dear readers... is that Dubloons can also be earned, just by playing these
3 games: Armada,
Deckball,
and Deckswabber!
Isn't that great news? Just imagine earning Dubloons to pay for your pets' training,
while earning NP and having fun in the meantime! :)
Armada is actually a pretty interesting and simple game to play, involving
lots of planning and strategies. But it gets really irritating at times, especially
when your opponent's quit when they're losing. I have the satisfaction of completing
only 1 game, a game in which I lost. The rest of the time, my opponents would
have backed out even before we have half the board covered. I really hate it
when that happens.
As for Deckball, I found it really difficult to control Pawkeet. The UP key
for moving forward, and the LEFT and RIGHT keys for moving the PetPet according
to its left and right, always end up tying my fingers into knots, and my PetPet
spinning uncontrollably. Only on rare occasions, and by minimally moving my
PetPet, have I been able to score a few goals all by luck!
Thus, I turned to Deckswabber, and found it the perfect game to earn Dubloons
and NP! The main aim of this game is to use the blue pirate Blumaroo, bounce
around the 8 x 8 deck, and change the colours of the tiles as indicated. In
addition, there are villains to avoid, gold to collect, self-destructing crates...
doesn't this game just sound exciting?! So, what are you waiting for? Oh right...
some tips! ;P
Okay, I'm not a grand master at this game yet (you'll need 800), and the furthest
I've gone is Round 5, but I shall share what I've picked up so far, with all
of you who have been patiently reading this lengthy article
Well, if you are not sure of the game, and wish to read the instructions again,
you can load up the Deckswabber game, and just scroll your mouse over the window.
You can get lots of information by pointing at the Blumaroo, and how to read
the tiles by pointing at them (bottom of the window). You can also point at
the flag, or the words 'score', 'gold', 'round', and 'level' for their description.
To start the game, just click on the blinking red cross below 'start'.
First and foremost, I would advise everyone to turn on the speakers while playing
this game. The sound effects can aid in warning you of dangers appearing and
health being lost. The bouncing of the Blumaroo may also help get a rhythm going.
But do not turn it too loud, as the 'boing boing boing' does drive some people
(and my family members) mad.
Health
Always take note of the health meter, the green flag on the extreme left. At
the top of the pole, your health is a full 10 points, but as it lowers, your
health is declining. Towards the bottom, when your health is 3, a red flag will
peek out from the bottom of the green flag. As it drops to 2, more of the red
flag will be seen (about 1/3), while some green flag will disappear behind the
red flag (about 2/3 of the green flag will still be seen). At 1, you will see
2/3 of the red flag, and 1/3 green flag. At 0 health (yes! you're still considered
alive), you'll still see a little of the green flag peeking out from behind
the red. When you are dead, only the red flag will be seen, with a black flag
rising to the top of the pole. The game is now over.
The best way of ending your game would be to jump into the water. For goodness
sake, stay away! They will reduce your health to 0 in seconds! That is why speakers
are useful, as you can literally hear your health draining away. The only other
way you can lose health would be to jump onto the same tile with another villain.
So please, avoid them at all costs!
I'm sure you would like to know if there is any way of restoring your health
back to maximum. Yes of course! These appear as miniature flag poles with red
crosses on white flags. There are 2 types: the flag flying at half-mast (restore
part of your health), and the flag which flies at the top of the pole (restores
your health fully). Do chase after them, especially if you have less than 4
health points.
Do try to lose as little health as possible, as they will reflect as health
bonuses at the end of each level, and added to your total score. Also, do not
bother to chase after a flag if your health is full, as it cannot be more than
10.
The Bad Guys
There are 4 different villains, but only 2 will appear in each level (as far
as I've seen). They, too, can't swim, so you can use the water as barriers to
your advantage.
1. Cannons - These are the green things which go thumping loudly around
the deck, and usually appear in the lower rounds. They seem to just wander aimlessly
about, and may even back away when you approach them. Moves leisurely.
2. Pirate Mynci - A purple monkey in green pirate-wear hopping around,
who can miss it? But beware, as they move faster than the cannons, and may actually
make an effort to follow you. Commonly found in lower rounds, but may appear
in higher rounds too.
3. Pirate Techo - A bright red jumping lizard, which you must make a
conscious effort to avoid. They are really smart and quick, and will chase you
all around the deck! The only loophole is that they will travel the shortest
possible routes (i.e. straight lines) and thus if there is water between the
2 of you, he is not smart enough to detour around it to reach you. More common
in higher levels and rounds.
4. Kiko Skeleton - This is a skeleton pirate that will kill you instantly.
(I haven't seen it though.)
Pretty often, a sword would appear. Don't worry, they are your friends! They
will actually slay the villains for you, but only 1 villain per sword (kamikaze?
haha). You can step into the same tile with them too, and will not lose any
health. Only 1 sword will appear at any 1 time, or they might not appear at
all.
Gold
Gold comes in 2 forms: Dubloon coins, and treasure chests. I would highly
recommend you to collect these, and at the end of each level, they will be added
to your total score as treasure bonuses. It's a pity they can't be cumulative,
and brought over to the next level.
The Dubloon coins hop around the deck with a 'clicky' sound. There are 3 types:
5 (bronze), 10 (silver), and 20 (gold). The 5 and 10 usually appear in the lower
rounds, and the 20 at higher rounds.
Treasure chests are harder to come by, and if you do see them, it's advisable
to go after them! There are also 3 versions: a wooden box with silver linings
(50 Dubloons), a wooden box with gold linings (75 Dubloons), and the definitely-must-chase-no-matter-what
golden box with gold linings (100 Dubloons!!!).
Treasure bonus is calculated by dividing the amount of gold you have collected
by 10. The result is rounded up if it ends up with a decimal. For example, if
you have collected 10 gold, you will have treasure bonus of 1. If you collected
25 gold, you will have a bonus of 3. Get the picture? But sadly, the maximum
bonus you can have at each level is 10. So even if you have collected 105 gold,
by calculation, you should get a bonus of 11 right? Nope, only maximum of 10
per level. Thus, don't bother running after another coin when you have collected
100 gold, you might end up losing it all if you die. Also, if you think about
it, collecting one 5 Dubloon is equivalent to collecting two 5 Dubloons, so
why bother?
Wooden Crates
These would self-destruct (not timed; it just explodes as and when it likes!)
and restores the affected tiles back to the original brown. If you look carefully
(and you should), there are 2 different designs on these boxes. One of them
is a square design, and when this box explodes, it would affect the 8 adjacent
tiles directly surrounding it (3 x 3 square). The other more destructive design
is a cross (or rather, 'plus' sign), and it would affect all the horizontal
and vertical tiles to the tile it was on, up to 14 tiles at 1 go! They would
not reduce your health if you happen to be in the vicinity when they explode,
but they still cause effort and time lost to re-jump onto those tiles. The only
way to destroy them would be to jump onto them yourself. The sword is not able
to harm them.
Time Bonus
If you had noticed, there is a little timer at the bottom right hand corner.
That would give you your time bonus at the end of each level. The maximum you
can get is 10. I do not know how it is calculated, but as long as you finish
each level within 1 minute, you can be sure to get a 10.
Now that you know what to look out for, let's see what's to be expected in
each round.
Round 1
Levels: 1 - 5 Aim: brown -> yellow
Villains: usually 2 cannons, 1 cannon, 1 Mynci at higher levels
Gold: 5 Dubloons are common, may have 10, occasional wooden box with silver
linings at higher levels
This is the easiest round, as even if you step on a yellow tile, it will remain
yellow. This can be used to your advantage, especially to chase gold or health
around.
Round 2
Levels: 1 - 5
Aim: brown <- -> yellow
Villains: mostly cannons and Mynci, Techos may appear at higher levels
Gold: 5, 10 and 20 Dubloons, treasure chests (sometimes)
Be careful, as if you step onto a yellow tile, it will change back to brown.
If possible, step on all tiles once, as you would use the least time, and thus
gain the most points. Chase after gold if they are very near and within reach,
as it is not worth the time and effort if you have to re-jump onto the tiles
which you changed back to brown (unless it is the golden chest of course!).
Round 3
Levels: 2 - 6
Aim: brown -> yellow <- -> red
Villains: Mynci and Techos are common
Gold: 10, 20 Dubloons and treasure chests
This round isn't that bad, as compared to round 4. I have found it easier if
you can change all tiles to yellow first, then jump again to change them to
red. The downside is that Techos appear frequently, and really do chase you
all around the deck. There is a new deck (level 6) too, slightly harder than
the rest.
Round 4
Levels: 3 - 7
Aim: brown -> yellow -> red -> brown
Villains: usually Techos and Mynci
Gold: treasure chests, sometimes Dubloons
I did not like this round, but have since gotten used to it. It gets tedious,
especially if you get chased, and have no choice but to jump onto red tiles,
changing them back to brown, and having to change them all over again. It also
helps to change all tiles to yellow first, but this time, try not to jump back
onto tiles which are already red. If you have to, you can try jumping forward,
then backwards to change that tile to red, and jumping forward again, repeating
these steps till you get your objective.
Round 5
Levels: 4 - 8
Aim: brown -> yellow -> red <- -> green
Villains: mainly Techos
Gold: treasure chests
If you can get till here, bravo! I have never made it past this round, it just
gets more and more tough. By round 5, level 4, you would most likely have a
score of 450 and above (expert at 400, master at 600, grand master at 800).
You can use a similar strategy as in round 4, by changing all tiles to yellow
first, then red, and finally green. I'm usually zapped by the aggressive Techos,
especially in level 8 where there's this narrow strip... Oh! you'll see if
you get that far. I won't spoil the fun by describing it now. ;P
Scoring
At the end of each level, there would be 4 bonuses calculated to give a total,
which would then be added to the score at the top left hand corner. The 4 bonuses
are namely: level bonus, health bonus, time bonus, and treasure bonus. Maximum
of each bonus is 10 (which I've described earlier), giving the maximum total
of 40 per level. But as you won't be expecting maximum treasure bonus every
time, the best maximum total would be 30. I usually set this as my goal, especially
in the lower levels/rounds. It's really easy to get 30 per level for round 1,
up to level 3 of round 2. This would easily give you a total of 240, and above
if you happen to find gold.
If a villain is on your last tile, and you can be very sure that IT is your
LAST tile (do check that there are no hidden unchanged tiles around), then just
jump into it. The score board will appear even while your health decreases till
the black flag is raised, but it does not matter! You have passed the level!
The health bonus would also be recorded as the health you have just before jumping
onto the tile with the villain You have nothing to lose in such a situation.
But do be warned that if there IS an unchanged tile hidden somewhere, you actually
die and have the option to restart or send score.
A score of 300 would earn you a 1 Dubloon coin, 500 points giving a 2 Dubloon
coin, and with 700 points, a 5 Dubloon coin!
Every time you restart the same level, you'll lose 30 points. Also, you can
restart up to 3 times. By keeping this in mind, you can decide whether you would
like to restart or not, if you're playing this game just for its Dubloons. If
you pet needs a 2 Dubloon coin for his/her course, and you have a score of 507,
would you want to restart? It's really all up to you, if you are confident of
passing the level then go ahead! But do bear in mind that when you restart,
it will bring your score back down to 477. And if you did pass the level but
only have a total bonus of 22, your final score would only be 499. And what
if the next thing you knew, you were killed again and have no more 'restarts'
left? Sending a score of 499 will earn you 499 NP, but not a 2 Dubloon coin.
Sad, but true. :(
One last tip before I end: try to move in straight lines! It's the easiest
and fastest method, as you will not be jumping on tiles which had already been
changed, thus saving time too! So now mates, are you ready to go swab the decks? |
