NeoQuest (aka NeoQuest I, NeoQuest 1, NQ1) is a game created by Neopets.
NeoQuest is more than 20 years old (released 2001-10-15), and there are many (scattered) resources available.
This NeoQuest guide differs from other guides in that it provides
- 1) an easy-to-follow, step-by-step checklist with minimal commentary
- 2) high-resolution maps
- 3) detailed information on skills, equipment and items, and monsters and bosses
Starting the game
★ Your NeoQuest game is linked to your active Neopet. If you change your active Neopet, you change your game.
★ Your NeoQuest game resets after 1 year of no interaction. Moving once will reset this timer.
★ On this page, checkboxes will retain their checked state if you return to this page after it is closed.
★ On this page, click the colored, underlined words to view additional information, like maps and skills.
Game modes
Complete normal mode to select evil mode. Bosses have 20% more health, enemies have 50% more health, and enemies have increased minimum and maximum damage.
Complete evil mode to select insane mode. Enemies are the same as evil mode. Experience required to level up is doubled. If you are defeated in a fight, you must reset your game.
These modes only increase the time spent training--though you should be more careful on insane mode. This guide will be same for whatever mode you choose to play. I have done exactly as this guide suggests on every mode.
These modes will be available to play even if your game is reset due to inactivity. However, these modes will still only be available when your active pet is the pet with which you completed normal mode.
Skills
- avoid fire and ice magic
- add some points to life skills, which heal
- add some points to spectral skills, which are defensive
- add most points to shock skills, which offer stuns, defence, and extra damage
A note on Absorption: in this guide, it is the only castable skill you will acquire. I do not recommend consistently using it. Your expected damage per turn is most likely much higher than your enemy's, so it is better to attack than to use Absorption. Boss enemies generally will resist absorption.
You need not follow the skill suggestions exactly. I've selected what I think to be best. 1 point is put into the first 3 life skills because Lifesteal has a 65% chance at level 1 to restore 1 HP when damaging an enemy; this is really good in the beginning of the game. The first few points in the spectral tree provide the most value. Shock magic is preferred over fire and ice, as it adds passive damage and effects, enabling a more "lazy" playstyle.
Part 1: Neopia City
★ Rapidly click the compass arrows to move quickly. You will move 1 tile each time an arrow is clicked, so you may move and turn in multiple directions by clicking the arrows in sequence before the page reloads.
★ Your health is fully restored when you gain a level. Minimize potion use when close to leveling up. Otherwise, use them as you see fit both in and out of battle. They are commonly dropped.
★ Boraxis (northwest city tile) will heal you for free (and is the only NPC that will do so). There are no rest points or shops in Neoquest 1, but you will find NPCs that will trade for equipment.
★ If you want to go somewhere quickly, set your movement type to sneaking (5% or less encounter rate). If you want to train, set it to hunting (40% encounter rate). There's no need for normal (10% encounter rate).
Find the following items while you train on the Plains Lupes and Aishas:
★ Throughout the game, you'll often have a choice between two pieces of armour. They will both provide the same defence points, but may have different special bonuses or abilities. These extras usually do not activate often enough to sway your decision one way or the other. Create whichever one you find materials for first.
Find materials for either of the following:
Energy shield
Cloth robe
Energy shield
- a glowing stone
- a chunk of metal
- a small yellow gem
Cloth robe
- a glowing stone
- a blue thread
- a plains lupe pelt
Part 2: Dank Caves
Enter the Dank Cave in the hills northwest of the city.
Find the following items while you train to level 13:
Plus materials for either of the following (the glass and cloth are dropped by monsters in Xantan's room):
Mirrored force field
Magic robe
Iron wand
- a glowing stone
- a tiny obsidian
- a corroded ore rod
- Xantan's ring
Mirrored force field
- a glowing stone
- a tiny obsidian
- a lodestone
- a piece of smooth glass
Magic robe
- a glowing stone
- a tiny obsidian
- a cave lupe pelt
- a stretch of rotted cloth
Part 3: Jungle Ruins
Remember to equip your new weapon and armour by opening "View Items" and equipping them. Go to the Jungle Ruins (south of city). You are on the base level. Take the northeastern stairs down.
Find the following items while you train:
★ The upcoming enemies can inflict fire and ice damage, stun, and heal. This can be a slow part of the game. It gets easier after you receive your next weapon, which has healing abilities.
Nature wand
- a glowing stone
- a jungle beast claw
- a noil's tooth
- jungle pauldrons
- Staff of Ni-tas
After upgrading your weapon, upgrade your armour. It only takes a minute or two to reach the desert if you are spamming the movement arrows. Leave the Jungle ruins by returning to the base level; there is a patch of grass that acts as an exit. Go west of Neopia City. Pass through the swamp. Go south to the desert.
Dawnshine generator shield at Mokti
Sorcerous robe at Leirobas
Part 4: Jungle Ruins Again
Return to the Jungle Ruins base level, then go down to dungeon 1 and down again to dungeon 2.
It is unnecessary to do anymore in the Jungle Ruins. NPCs can be spoken with on the upper floors, but they offer nothing of use.
Part 5: Temple of Roo
Return to the desert. Enter the Temple of Roo in the cave in the desert. You can sneak through most of the Temple of Roo, then begin hunting after passing the trees in the southwest corner.
On this level, you must find the keys in order. In each room, a monster that drops the key may appear.
All the monsters on this map have a chance to drop an emerald. Be sure to find one.
Growing jewel
- a glowing stone
- a tiny beryl
- an emerald
★ You are awarded the "NeoQuest - Wise and Powerful" avatar when you receive the coruscating gem.
Life staff
- the coruscating gem
- the growing jewel
- a carved oak staff
★ Cast the life staff's special ability to heal 100 health. Use it instead of a potion, or use it near the end of a battle to top off your health.
Part 6: Techo Mountain Caves
Leveling up now should be faster during this part, as the monsters you will fight will be closer to your level and do not have healing abilities. With your staff's Spirit of Growth, you should find that you rarely use potions.
Head south of the desert to the Techo Mountain Caves. Notice Mr. Irgo, the Jetsam NPC near the beginning of the Techo Mtn. Caves. You will return to him when you have received a set of the items below. When an enemy attacks, the energy absorber has a 5% chance to heal you for the damage you would have taken, and the robe of protection has a 10% chance to negate the damage. Because your health cannot go above your maximum health, the robe is the better pick.
While you train, find materials for either of the following pieces of armour:
Energy absorber
Robe of protection
Part 7: Mountain Fortress
★ Because they give a fixed number of experience points, hold off on defeating the other guardians until you're level 42. Common monsters will give less experience as you level up, so you minimize time spent training this way.
Part 8: Kal Panning
★ Monsters will not appear after Faleinn is defeated. Do not defeat Faleinn until you have leveled up.
Part 9: Palace of the Two Rings
★ After exiting the north end of this cave, you may not go back. Defeat weak enemies outside the entrance to the cave to stock up on Greater Healing Potions. Spirit Healing Potions are rare; save them for the final boss(es).
★ Watch out for the two rings archmagus and the two rings warlock in the Two Rings Hills and Forests. They both can do 80 damage and stun on the same turn. They cannot use that power twice in a row, but their max regular attack damage is 50+. Consider healing at 140 health or fighting the lower-level enemies in the hills and forests to the south to conserve potions. Once inside the palace, the enemies can hit up to 100 but will not stun.
On normal mode, you fight Jahbal. Be mindful of his 70 damage + 3-turn stun attack, especially when poisoned. It would be wise to heal even when your health is high (200 or even more), especially on insane mode. You should resist many attacks, and you will not always be hit for max damage, but I came close to defeat on this boss. Unfortunately, this boss can (and does) use its attacks in such a way that you're unable to counter it. The only thing you can do during the fight is to have high health at all times.
On evil mode, you fight Jahbal then Mastermind. Fairly straightforward, Mastermind cannot stun, but could do up to 170 damage if you are hit with both a drain and a max hit attack. You are warned 1 turn before the drain starts; it lasts 3 turns and you may resist it on any of the turns.
On insane mode, you fight Jahbal, then Mastermind, and then Xantan Reborn. Xantan Reborn is significantly easier than Jahbal or Mastermind. He does 50 damage every turn, but you may evade or resist taking damage.
★ If you defeated the boss(es), congratulations! NeoQuest complete!
You may start a new game by choosing "Options" under the compass then choosing which mode you'd like to play.
If you are defeated on normal mode, you can return to the boss and try again. If you are defeated by Mastermind, you'll have to start a new game (be it intended or a bug, Jahbal will not appear on the map, so you cannot start the fight against Mastermind again).
For skill descriptions, see the skill description page.
Level | Normal Exp. | Insane Exp. | Skill Name |
---|---|---|---|
1 | 0 | 0 | Life: Life Weapons 1 |
1 | 0 | 0 | Life: Field Medic 1 |
1 | 0 | 0 | Life: Lifesteal 1 |
1 | 0 | 0 | Shock: Shock Weapons 1 |
1 | 0 | 0 | Shock: Disable 1 |
1 | 0 | 0 | Shock: Fortitude 1 |
1 | 0 | 0 | Shock: Shockwave 1 |
2 | 600 | 1200 | Spectral: Spectral Weapons 1 |
3 | 1400 | 2800 | Spectral: Evasion 1 |
4 | 2400 | 4800 | Spectral: Absorption 1 |
5 | 3400 | 6800 | Spectral: Reflex 1 |
6 | 4500 | 9000 | Life: Life Weapons 2 |
7 | 5500 | 11000 | Life: Field Medic 2 |
8 | 6800 | 13600 | Life: Lifesteal 2 |
9 | 7900 | 15900 | Shock: Shock Weapons 2 |
10 | 9300 | 18600 | Shock: Disable 2 |
11 | 10600 | 21200 | Shock: Fortitude 2 |
12 | 12000 | 24000 | Shock: Shockwave 2 |
13 | 13400 | 26800 | Spectral: Spectral Weapons 2 |
14 | 14800 | 29600 | Spectral: Evasion 2 |
15 | 16400 | 32800 | Spectral: Absorption 2 |
16 | 18000 | 36000 | Spectral: Reflex 2 |
17 | 19600 | 39200 | Shock: Shock Weapons 3 |
18 | 21300 | 42600 | Shock: Disable 3 |
19 | 23000 | 46000 | Shock: Fortitude 3 |
20 | 24900 | 49800 | Shock: Shockwave 3 |
21 | 27000 | 54000 | Shock: Shock Weapons 4 |
22 | 29000 | 58000 | Shock: Disable 4 |
23 | 31000 | 62000 | Shock: Fortitude 4 |
24 | 33000 | 66000 | Shock: Shockwave 4 |
25 | 35000 | 70000 | Spectral: Spectral Weapons 3 |
26 | 37000 | 74000 | Spectral: Evasion 3 |
27 | 39000 | 78000 | Spectral: Absorption 3 |
28 | 41000 | 82000 | Spectral: Reflex 3 |
29 | 43000 | 86000 | Shock: Shock Weapons 5 |
30 | 45000 | 90000 | Shock: Disable 5 |
31 | 48000 | 96000 | Shock: Fortitude 5 |
32 | 51000 | 102000 | Shock: Shockwave 5 |
33 | 54000 | 108000 | Spectral: Spectral Weapons 4 |
34 | 57000 | 114000 | Spectral: Evasion 4 |
35 | 60000 | 120000 | Shock: Shock Weapons 6 |
36 | 63000 | 126000 | Shock: Disable 6 |
37 | 66000 | 132000 | Shock: Fortitude 6 |
38 | 69000 | 138000 | Shock: Shockwave 6 |
39 | 72000 | 144000 | Shock: Shock Weapons 7 |
40 | 75000 | 150000 | Shock: Disable 7 |
41 | 79000 | 158000 | Shock: Fortitude 7 |
42 | 83000 | 166000 | Shock: Shockwave 7 |
43 | 87000 | 174000 | Shock: Shock Weapons 8 |
44 | 91000 | 182000 | Shock: Disable 8 |
45 | 95000 | 190000 | Shock: Fortitude 8 |
46 | 99000 | 198000 | Shock: Shockwave 8 |
47 | 103000 | 206000 | Shock: Shock Weapons 9 |
48 | 107000 | 214000 | Shock: Disable 9 |
49 | 112000 | 224000 | Shock: Fortitude 9 |
50 | 117000 | 234000 | Shock: Shockwave 9 |