Author’s Note: There are many guides out there telling you how to get the packrat avatar, but how many truly take into account other Avatars, or an actual plan? I hope this guide can help someone on their way!
Your Safety Deposit Box- No matter what you do, it seems like you cant get the 1000 items for the elusive Packrat avatar. You could go out and randomly buy things that you see, but where is the fun in that? All you can do after you get the avatar is sell it right back out again, to another person if anyone wants it. After going through the experience ourselves, my pets and I have decided that we would like to share our plans with all of Neopia, so that they may have a fun and enjoyable time packratting too.
Chances are, if youre reading this article, you have been drawn into the world of Secret Avatars. In order to accommodate your interests, the prime focus of this article is getting your Safety Deposit Box (hereafter referred to as your SDB) filled while getting even more avatars. And in the end, you may be pleasantly pleased with a profit. (And yes, I did just try to say that five times fast. I couldn’t)
The Ten-item Avatars: Make sure your SDB includes at least ten items with the word orange in their names, and do the same for the word dung. And while it may be tempting to sell or use the Codestones from the Tombola right away, try to resist the urge for at least one of each type.
Petpet Avatars: There are quite a few avatars that can be gained by using petpets. Usually you have to equip them to one of your pets for a certain number of days, although the Drackonack is a notable exception. Make sure to include at least one cheese for it. If youre lucky enough to have a Jetsam, get an aquatic petpet for it to eat.
The Secret Laboratory Map: If you dont already have it, these nine little pieces will bring you places youve only dreamed of! Besides the species-change (Pwnd) avatar, it can also change your pet into other avatar getters, such as a Halloween Lupe, a Grey Pet, or even a Coconut JubJub! It also frequently changes statistics, usually to your benefit (except when it comes to levels; that was never my strong point!). This will help you defeat some of the Battledome challengers for even more avatars!
Collectible Cards: Some need simply to be put in your NeoDeck, others must be viewed to unlock a Battledome Challenger, which in turn you must defeat. An upside to this is that the cards can be taken and resold to other players.
Morphing and Transmofiguration Potions: Two more avatars on the way! For a distinct advantage, use them for a Lenny, Shoyru, Lupe, Kacheek, or Elephante. If you have a Fountain Faerie quest, you may want a buzz. These pets all have nice species-specific advantages for avatars – the Shoyru has two! If the morphing potion is pink (Shoyru being the only one available, as the existance of the Pink Draik Morphing Potion has yet to be proven), youve gotten another avatar in one!.
Paint Brushes: If you have the NeoPoints and you didnt snag a pink morphing potion, try and get a Pink Paint Brush on one of your pets; the Lenny would look especially cute! Id also advise you to paint a Peophin with a Grey Paint Brush, they are adorable! (Please note that I love all Grey Pets). An Orange Paint Brush would both get you the Orange Grundo avatar and count towards your ten Orange Items!
Foods: Youll want a Spooky Food to feed your Lenny, and a Bag of Peanuts will please your Elephante. Id also keep about 50 random, not-to-expensive foods on hand for later – those Kadoaties need to be fed! If youre interested in joining the gourmet club, Id try to keep around 50 of those handy for afterwards, too.
Meridell Avatars: Now its time to traipse off to Pick-Your-Own and make sure you dont get any dung. Those items can be a handy pocket in your SDB, as will that Abominable Snowball you stole from the Snowager; you know Turmy needs a snack! (Please note: The Author does NOT endorse feeding petpets to the Turmaculus, and has an ancient Abominable Snowball that shall never get eaten… hopefully)
Stamps: Collecting these for your album may be an expensive business, but filling up certain pages already leads to some avatars, and may soon lead to more. You can start off with cheaper ones, and look for deals, plus others will be impressed with these super-rare avatars!
Books: Your pets always seem to want to become smarter. Maybe someday they can even reach the ranks of the smartest pets in Neopia! It is advised that you start out with about 50 nicely priced books, and read them to one pet. If the pet refuses the book, just try changing the language and reading the book again : ).
Collections: If you have a collection in your gallery or shop, you should temporarily relocate it to your SDB. If you dont, nows the time to start! More popular collections include plushies, petpets, pet-based or related items, and colour collections. Of course, Faerie Items and Paint Brushes are popular, but extremely expensive. For more on choosing something to collect, look around the Neopian Times back issues! (And Future ones ^_~)
Dailies Prizes: Youve gotten food and random items from the Daily random places: Turmaculus, Snowager (who may still need to give you his avatar!), Coltzans Shrine, and more! There are so many possibilities when it comes to this, you could easily get more than 100 items!
Multiple-feeding Foods: If you have multiples of omelets, apples, jellies, or other multiple-meal foods, have your pets eat portions of them, as half-eaten jellies, bitten apples, and 2/3 or 1/3 omelettes take up just as much space as their whole counterparts. Make sure to keep one of the whole version, too! If you have a Carrot and Pea Omelette, eating part of it will get yet another avatar.
Faeries: Save at least one of each. If you have doubles, use one on that Shoyru you got from your potion escapades. If you have a full set, you can often get very nice offers on the Trading Post, or make a nice offer yourself! If you are a Battledomer, you might wish to use them on your other pets.
Weapons: Again with the Battledome stance. You might also wish to stock the avatar weapons, but use lesser-cost but more efficient weapons in their place for the fights. Battlecards are always a good bet fro defeating medium-rank opponents- stock up on them!
Here are some more tips and tricks:
Keep all your items from the Advent Calendar and the McDonalds giveaways. Theyll stock up a nice portion of your SDB. Advent items also tend to gain quite a bit of value over time- just look at the Christmas Paint Brush and the Snowbunny!
Buy concert tickets to all avatar concerts- always check whether they are cheaper on the Shop Wizard or at the Ticket Booth.
Get a Rarity 90 item from the Chocolate Shop and something from the Clothing Shop.
Keep a Garlic item, Blue Evil Fuzzle, and a grooming item in your SDB, and another three avatars will soon be yours.
If you happen upon random items, keep them.
If you randomly come across a notably cheap item (in comparison to other prices for it), buy it! You can sell it later for a nice profit, and it helps you on your way.
While this guide may not get you all of the way to the Packrat Avatar, it can get you pretty close. And after you get your money back from some of these items, you can get yourself a nice reward! Go and search for the Hidden Tower. Once you find it, buy a Faerie Queen Doll (the original version). Just for doing that youll get an avatar- and if you let your pets play with it, yet another one – Togepi_Forever