Basic Training and Weapon Guide by Gustha

Hi everybody! You might (or might not) remember me from the “Hacking secrets revealed” article I sent in once. This is a guide written to help new people to the battledome train their pets and get the most out of their hard earned NP. I myself as a battledomer know how hard it is to make the right decisions, whether it be which weapons I should buy or which training method I should use.

Let’s start off with training. We come across various choices. We have the lab ray, for those who don’t mind its random effects (sex change, change in species, etc). This may be the best method if you have a good 90k to shell out and if you’re not planning on using species weapons (I.E. Iron Lupe Sword). The Lab Ray might change your pet’s species on the first shot, making your specialized weapons useless. The next method we come across is the training school. This is what most people will use to train, but it can prove to be very expensive. Training your pets up to 40+ stats can mean you must buy around 70 codestones, at 3000+ each, summing up to a grand total of 210,000np. Yikes! We’ve already spent all that NP without even buying any weapons! The last option I will mention in this guide (this doesn’t include less efficient means like the kitchen quests or faerie quests, etc) is the Swashbuckling Academy, where you do not pay in codestones but dubloons. Dubloons are less expensive than codestones, but training at the Academy takes much longer, and becomes even more expensive to train your pet in later levels. Why, the Academy only takes pets up to level 40! Still, if you are on a strict budget, and don’t mind the wait, I suggest you take a serious look at the Academy.

Now for weapons. A fair warning to all, rare weapons are not necessarily good. Not so long ago someone discovered that damage is calculated by your strength and the amount of icons a weapon does. Somewhere around the vicinity of 40 – 50 strength does 2 damage for icons. This means that if you want to get the most out of your NP you should look for cheap weapons that do a decent amount of icons. One good example is the Grand Lightning Beam. For 20,000np you get a weapon that does 5 – 6 icons per turn, never less. Another good weapon is the Scarab Stone Slingshot. At 30,000np you get a weapon that does constant 6 icons. If you have a large budget you should take a serious look at the Hand Painted Scarab. At 210,000np this weapon does not come cheap, but it does 7 constant icons, plus it defends from wind and physical damage (if I am not mistaken). You should also equip a few single-use items so you can pack a strong punch on the first round, then finish them off with your main weapons. A good arsenal might include: Grand Lightning Beam, Scarab Stone Slingshot, Stone Snowball, Stone Snowball. Use the two snowballs in the beginning of the first round, then drain the health left with your weapons.

This is the end of my guide (my first attempt at writing one too ^_^). I might end up writing one on healing items and faerie abilities. Until next time, this is Gustha (with a pet by the same name) saying goodbye! If you have any doubts feel free to contact me through MSN or AIM, but no emails please, I have my junkmail filter set to exclusive.

Guide written by Gustha
MSN Messenger: da_pimp55@hotmail.com
AIM: SaintGargomon