Zap It? by bluescorchio104 |  |
Recently, I considered using the Lab Ray on my faithful Scorchio, Bluefire104.
Since he is my only Neopet, it made the decision even more significant. In case
you don't know, the Lab Ray (or Secret Laboratory Ray as it is formally known)
is a ray which you can visit once a day. The ray can raise your Neopet's stats
or decrease them. It can also change its species, gender and colour. To gain
access to the Lab Ray, you must first collect all nine pieces of the Lab Map.
For ages I pondered the question: To zap or not to zap? Finally, I resorted
to the method of problem solving whenever I have trouble deciding something
important: making a list of pros and cons.
Pros
- According to the various articles I have read about the Lab Ray, in the
end it usually raises your stats significantly.
- With the upcoming war, high stats would be (obviously) a great advantage.
It's also financially profitable in the long run. I mean, why buy Codestones
and Dubloons for training when you can just go for a daily Lab Ray zap?
- Also, I've always wanted a Robot Neopet, which is only available through
the Lab Ray. I bet you would love one too, right. You gotta admit, some of
them look cute. Others, like the Robot Jetsam, look extremely ferocious.
- Maybe I'll get a rare painted Neopet, for instance a Lost Desert Poogle.
That would save me hundreds of thousands of NP in paint brush costs and morphing
potion costs.
- Even if your Neopet's gender is changed, the Lab Ray can always change
it back.
Cons
- If you've worked hard at earning the NP for Codestones to finance Bluefire104's
Training School courses, you'd hate to see the stats reduced.
- The Lab Ray raises your Neopet's speed stats more than anything else. Since
speed has absolutely no relevance in the Battledome whatsoever, that's a big
minus.
- I'd also hate for my Neopet to change gender, because no paint brush ever
could fix that. And if I waited for the Lab Ray to zap him back to his original
gender, well, that could take weeks, months, even years if you were really
unlucky. I, a normally cautious person, am not willing to take this risk.
Even worse, what if Neopets decided to suddenly retire the Lab Ray?
- Another big problem is that you need at least 90,000 to 100,000 NP to buy
the map pieces. Although the Lab Ray is financially profitable in the long
run (as mentioned before), you do need that huge wad of cash to begin with.
And no, the Neopian National Bank does not do loans, and no, you cannot mortgage
your NeoHome or pawn your items (unfortunately). However, in my case, that's
not a problem, since I just got an extremely valuable Icetravaganza Scratchcard
from the Scratchcard Kiosk (which should, if the prices stay the same, cover
just about all the costs).
- Since my Neopet's name is directly related to his colour (his name is Bluefire104
you see) it might be embarrassing for him if his colour suddenly changed to
split or shadow. And since my username is named after the colour and species
of Bluefire104, that might also present difficulties. Chances are, this problem
won't affect you.
- If you don't own a single piece of Lab Map, like me, the search for the
Lab Map pieces will not be made easier in the slightest. Not to mention that
it will take a while searching for the pieces, since the pieces all have the
same name (irritatingly enough).
So, you ask, what did I end up doing? Well, first I weighed up the pros and
cons--there might be more cons, but the cons are not really as significant as
the pros. So, it ended up weighing up pretty evenly (well, in my opinion anyway--it
might not weigh up so evenly from your point of view). So, I decided to do what
every good owner should do--I asked my Neopet if was willing to be zapped. After
he pondered the question, and made a list just like I did, he decided no. He
told me that he liked himself exactly the way he was, and I respect his decision.
He did however, hint ever so slightly at the desire for an Electric Blue Paint
Brush (which is pretty silly when you consider it, since Scorchios can't be
painted Electric, but hey, he never stops hoping. Nudge nudge, wink wink to
Neopets Staff).
Note: This is my own personal view, and I may have forgotten various factors.
DO NOT go out and buy all the Lab Map Pieces purely on the basis of this article.
Neither should you stop using the Lab Ray (if you already have it) purely on
the basis of this article. |
