The Many Communities of Neopets

     Collectors

     This is the area I’m most familiar with and spend most of my effort improving. I like to collect avatars and stamps mostly, and am just getting into Neodeck cards to keep myself occupied between stamps. If games are your thing, you can rack up the shiny trophies on your lookup. Galleries are the ultimate pedestal to show off your collections of items, and seeing just how many creative themes there are out there is so fun. Some Neopians love to restock in the shops and their extra-large shops prove that, so I would consider that a form of collecting as well.

     Battledome

     I do my daily 1-player battles to get my NP and items (okay, sometimes I do), but I have the most basic of weapons and don’t know anything beyond that. Spending just a few minutes on the Battledome boards will show you that this arena (get it? I’m sorry I had to) is so much bigger than that. The Battledome world has its own set of acronyms to learn for the most popular weapons available and frequently sought after. Then, there are 2-player battles. Entire guilds exist that are solely for engaging in battles with other players. Seeing whose pets are stronger, which weapons and abilities work the best, and who comes out on top is the ultimate goal.

     NC/Customization

     The extent of my pet customization is - *drum roll please* - backgrounds. I know it’s not news to any of you that there are so many more items out there other than backgrounds. Pants, shirts, dresses, capes, wigs, makeup, accessories, need I go on? Whenever I try to play around with any of these, it never comes out looking respectable. But take a gander at the customization chat and you can see some outstanding looks and combinations on pets. Going hand in hand with customization is the NC trading portion of the site. I never got into this part since I don’t purchase NC myself and usually only used the free NC we’re given for faerie quest cookies. However, when I was working on my afternoon tea themed gallery (did I mention that I focus on collecting?) I was forced to dive into this area to try to get the NC items that fit my theme. What I found was that the NC chat moved much quicker than I was used to, and I had to learn the values of the items I had to offer and was looking for. There are some wonderful people out there who are willing to help you get started and point you in the right direction.

     Pet Trading

     Now, I obviously have always been aware that pet trading was part of the site. I traded around a little bit years ago to help get me my favourite pets. By years ago, I mean when I recently went back to the PC to check it out, it was like trying to read a foreign language because I was so out of touch! T1-T7? 3L, 4L? RW, RN? Excuse me? Neopians take this stuff seriously. It doesn’t take long to decipher what these all mean, but it does take a lot longer to try to understand how these tiers work. Throwing UCs into the mix changed up so many things. I’ll admit I would love to attain a little-me’s dream of having a UC Baby Kougra, but figuring out how to break into trading for one is a whole monster in itself. I’ve met other users who spend all of their time in this part of the site and I give them credit for knowing the ins and outs of trading.

     Art

     This is the community that most surprised me. When I started making buttons, I made a post on the Art boards if anyone was interested in one, and I was humbled! I’m not a very creative person myself, and definitely can’t draw, so seeing these characters that other users created was so inspiring. I never thought of diving into my pets’ stories, backstories, personalities, or anything of the sort. Seeing this whole new world where so many people take part in this was when I realized that Neopets still was very much active and alive. The Beauty Contest is a great way to display your amazing pets and potentially get a trophy out of it too! If character development isn’t in your wheelhouse either, there is the Art Gallery that you can submit drawings to, or you can show off your graphic making talents by entering the User Lookup Spotlight. Other graphics are out there from shop layouts, to buttons, banners, petpages, and so much more to showcase just how talented our fellow Neopians are!

     In conclusion, I’m sure there are even more specific subgroups than what I’ve covered here, but these are the main ones I’ve discovered. You might be a part of one or more of them already, but I know I was surprised to see just how active some of these areas are that I never even knew about. It can be intimidating to jump into something new, but I found that most people are willing to help you learn their ways and habits. I hope this helps you think about other communities of Neopets that you may not have thought about before. It can be scary to go out of your comfort zone, but we all had to start somewhere. If you find yourself in a slump, or are unsure what to do, remember there are other parts of the site worth trying out. Happy exploring!