This guide was written on the 16th of April 2006.
Introduction
Being new to the battledome can be a very tough and daunting experience, you will often encounter many people with bigger budgets and stronger weapons in their arsenal than you have. Basically I am trying to help out new battlers with smaller budgets and who need a helping hand in the battledome.
Me and my Pets
Ive learned a lot about low level battling on a strict budget, I used to fight with weapons in the 100k+ range but after I was hacked it all changed. I decided to make a new account and a new pet so I could fully start over, quickly I learned about the low level weapons, which of them were strong and useful and were worth the price. With a simple battledome set of under 20k I managed to win my first 50 battles with only 3 losses under my belt.
Equipment for Certain Budgets
1. When you first start Neopets you wont have a large budget, but when you hit your first 5000 NP you already can start battling with some decent weapons.
Your first battledome set should consist of these items (feel free to change items this is just a guideline).
Slime Potion-This is your healing item, whenever you are in trouble use this and it will heal 10hp, it is very price efficient at just under 1000np.
Mud Mixture x4-These are great for low level battlers, they are usable once a battle but deal 5 icons and heal 1-5hp each, so basically when you use 2 at the same time you can not only hit hard but heal quit significantly.
Bone Sceptre-For less that 200np you can get this, it deals 6 constant icons of different variety, so not only is the damage high but it is extremely difficult to block, for its price possibly the best weapon around.
Scarab Ring-Like the Bone Sceptre this deals 6 constant icons, so it is a strong hitting weapon, however the reason to pay the extra 2k comes in the defense it blocks 3 physical and 3 fire which can be very useful to go along with the attack.
Frozen Collar///Species Shield-The price range doesnt have any great blocking weapons, however you can pick up a frozen collar for about 700-800 NP. Frozen collar gives a reasonable defense against a wide variety of icons, used with the scarab ring would mean very good defense. In alternative is a species weapon, some species have good defensive weapons for this price range, so search around for your species.
Using this Set in a Battle
Basically, in a battle situation this set covers basic battlers needs, the scarab ring and bone sceptre are the 2 main attack weapons, they deal 6 constant icons each which makes for powerful constant attacks. The mud mixtures act as grenades, at the start of the battle they are very useful to use as they can deal 10 constant icons, meaning a strong attack and heal you so you also dont get killed or badly injured on the first move. The frozen collar provides a number of icon defense so if your in a tough situation this can come in handy and the slime potion with heal 10hp which in a low level battle is usually enough to get you back to your full hp or close to it.
TOTAL SET COST-Approx. 4800np
2. After you have started to build up some NP you will want to look for some stronger and more powerful items. When you hit about 30,000 NP you will be able to afford a reasonably powerful set with better all round weapons, here is a strong set.
Slime Potion-By this stage your pet wont have to much hp and the price difference between slime potion and its next level up, the bronze scorchstone is about 20k and only heals 5hp more, so for price efficiency best to stick with the slime potion.
Illusens Earth Potion-This is a powerful grenade, it is usable once per battle but can cause serious damage, it deals 6-9 icons and comes at a price of 3k. The time of use is crucial because if it hits to its full potential it can easily change the battle into your favor.Mud Mixture x2- 2 of these should be helpful enough, with the addition of an Illusens Earth Potion you will be all set for grenades, as I said before the mud mixtures are very useful for low hp pets as the healing and attack work well together.
Downsize!-This weapon is an extremely handy defensive item, it is only usable once per battle but it slices the opponents damage by 50 percent, so It becomes a top defensive move, while you defend with this you can use this move to hit hard with another weapon. The downsize is fairly costly for the current budget at 8000 NP but well worth it.
Leaf Shield-At 9000 NP its not the cheapest shield, but certainly for its price one of the best, it defends 5 water icons, 5 earth icons and 3 physical icons, those 3 icons are very common in the battledome so the leaf shield can clean up most attacks.
Scarab Ring x2-Once again, I cant stress the importance of this item, with two of them there wont be much getting past. Using one of these and a leaf shield means only 3 types of icons can full get through to means for very good defense and also some offence, scarab rings are a steal at only 2k each and well worth it.
Using this Set in a Battle
Having this set means covering most types of combat except freezing, unless you come up against someone with a 100% freeze, or very powerful weapons you should be covered. The leaf shield and downsize! Are very good defensive weapons, with these you should be able to resist most attacks. Onto an offensive note, the bone sceptre has been replaced by an additional scarab ring, 2 of these.
Should be very handy, dealing constant 12 icons and blocking 6 physical and 6 fire when used together. The illusens earth potion provides a heavy hitting grenade and the 2 mud mixtures give the healing and attack abilities, all topped off with slime potion to heal you back 10hp. This set is very useful and comes at a relatively cheap price.
TOTAL SET COST- Approx. 26k
Conclusion
In conclusion, these two sets are the very beginning stepping stones into the battledome, both sets are very price efficient and both do the job, there are other weapons which I didnt mention however these are up there with the best for the suggested budgets. Species weapons arent listed in this guide as it depends on what type of pet you have, but there are many good items out there, after you surpass the beginning stages of the battledome you will learn new ways and weapons to fight and stronger weapons to buy, thank you for reading I hope you enjoy battling as much as I do
Note: for information on a weapon the www.pinkpt.com/idb battlepedia has most information on weapons – H_3_c_t_1_c