Extreme Herding

As many of you know, Extreme Herder is an extremely tough game to master. It is a test of speed, coordination, and strategy. With the proper mixture of all of these elements, it can be an exciting, fast-paced, and fun game! I created this guide so my fellow Neopians will hopefully be able to understand and love this game as much as I do! You begin as Samrin, a Kacheek who wants nothing more than to keep Neopia's Petpets safe from the extremely large Balthazar. (Balthazar has an appetite for Petpets.) Each time you save a Petpet, you get points.

Objective

The object of the game is to grab as many petpets as possible, one by one, and safely put them into the paddock (the middle of the screen) before Balthazar eats them. You want to avoid Balthazar yourself, as he will eat you, as well! You have three lives to save the petpets.

Controls

The main controls are the Arrow Keys. The up arrow moves you upward. The down arrow moves you downward, and of course, the left and right arrows move you left and right. To grab a Petpet, simply touch it. The Spacebar will drop the Petpet, though I don't recommend using this feature unless it is absolutely necessary.

Power-Ups

There are two Power-Ups in Extreme Herder. The Snowflake will freeze Balthazar for a short period of time. This can come in handy, but I don't recommend going out of your way to get them. The Orange Orb will give you a burst of speed! These are also very useful, but again, don't go out of your way or let a Petpet get devoured to get one. They aren't THAT helpful.

Tips and Tricks

At the beginning levels, there will be four openings into the paddock. As you get into the higher levels, they will eventually disappear one by one. Also, toward the beginning of the game, there will be openings in the outside walls on each of the four sides. These act as portals and will transport you to the opposite side. (For example, if you go into the north portal, you will come out at the south portal.) These will also start to disappear in the later levels. These portals will be very useful. Some petpets, as you will see, have a gold diamond on top of their heads. This means they are worth more points than a normal petpet. Each normal petpet you save is worth 1 point. The Bonus petpets will be worth more and more as the levels go on. At the end of each level you will receive a "Saved All Bonus" (assuming you saved all of the petpets in that specific level). This bonus is very important, and you should do your best to get it every single level. In later levels, you will not receive a Save All Bonus. If Balthazar is heading for a group of petpets (2-3), move yourself into his mouth, so you will lose only one life, as opposed to the 2-3 if he ate the petpets. Stay calm and breathe! It really helps to be relaxed. (It doesn't hurt to keep a good posture, either.) Lastly, I find it helps to take breaks at the end of each level. If you hold the last petpet for the level, Balthazar will stop chasing petpets, so you are safe until you save the last petpet, at which point you would start the next level.

Levels

-Level 1: 3 petpets. Total possible points: 7.

-Level 2: 4 petpets. Total possible points: 9.

-Level 3: 5 petpets. Total possible points: 11.

-Level 4: 6 petpets. Total possible points: 13.

-Level 5: 7 petpets. Total possible points: 15. You will lose the North portal in this level.

-Level 6: 7 petpets. Total possible points: 9. You will lose the South portal, as well as the "Save All Bonus" in this level.

-Level 7: 7 petpets. Total possible points: 10. You will lose the East portal in this level.

-Level 8: 7 petpets. Total possible points: 10. You will lose the West portal in this level.

-Level 9: 7 petpets. Total possible points: 10. You will lose the North paddock opening in this level.

-Level 10: 7 petpets. Total possible points: 11. You will lose the South paddock opening in this level.

-Level 11: 7 petpets. Total possible points: 11.

At this point you should have a perfect score of 107 points. If you don't, start over until you do. You will also notice there is only one paddock opening left (the West opening), and no portals left. This is how it will be for the rest of the game, so you have to just get used to it.

This is also where the main strategy comes in. Many of you may think "I wish all the petpets were in one spot, close to the paddock opening, so I could just put them in the paddock opening really fast". Unfortunately, this won't help you at all. You really want all of the petpets to be spread out among the whole page. Try to keep Balthazar West of the paddock the whole time. If he is moving East, North of the paddock, get a petpet that is more North than South, and Balthazar will switch directions heading to the South of the paddock. At this point, you would get a petpet more South than North, switching his direction to the North. On occasion, you may have to get two petpets to switch his direction. Repeat this technique until all of the petpets are saved! This is the main idea behind the rest of the levels. Don't forget, practice makes perfect!

-Level 12: 7 petpets. Total possible points: 11.

-Level 13: 7 petpets. Total possible points: 12.

-Level 14: 7 petpets. Total possible points: 12.

-Level 15: 7 petpets. Total possible points: 12.

-Level 16: 7 petpets. Total possible points: 13.

-Level 17: 7 petpets. Total possible points: 13.

-Level 18: 7 petpets. Total possible points: 13.

-Level 19: 7 petpets. Total possible points: 14.

-Level 20: 7 petpets. Total possible points: 14.

-Level 21: 7 petpets. Total possible points: 14.

-Level 22: 7 petpets. Total possible points: 15.

-Level 23: 7 petpets. Total possible points: 15.

-Level 24: 7 petpets. Total possible points: 15.

-Level 25: 7 petpets. Total possible points: 16.

-Level 26: 7 petpets. Total possible points: 16.

-Level 27: 7 petpets. Total possible points: 16.

Conclusion

I really hope this guide will help many Neopians out there understand and love the game Extreme Herder. Don't forget, practice is a huge part of this game! The more familiar you are with the controls, the better you will be able to move around the screen, successfully saving petpets. Good luck, and I wish you all the best on your Extreme Herding adventure!