College Craziness

Oh my, it has been a month since my last post. How terribly impolite of me!

Yeah, sorry about more or less dropping out of the Spiral entirely. I took a temporary hiatus from distractions this month due to the onslaught of work. I have 7 AP classes, colleges to apply to, and exams to study for. The life of a high school senior is harrowing (no, I don't really think that. I am simply being dramatic).

I thought that, in the interest of my grades and writing nice, well thought out and polished essays for college entrance, it would be best to block myself from all distractions. And yes, this regrettably includes Wizard101.

I think that it is important to note that this is not a permanent absence. I am not leaving Wizard101, nor am I shutting down this blog. I am simply devoting time to my life outside the Spiral. When all the applications are done later this month, you can expect my return, as well as all those articles that I promised that I would write.

Thank you for all understanding my plight.

Until next time!

Celestia: Two weeks later

Oh my, it has been a while since I posted anything. Well, I'm going to rectify that right now!

Celestia is fantastic! As much as I wish that it was longer, it just couldn't be. Between it being a four day weekend for me, and me being an enormous nerd, I ended up finishing the entire thing up rather quickly. I do not regret finishing it, though, as it allows me to begin farming for super awesome level 58 gear! I already have my boots and robe.

In addition, I have gained the (currently) ultimate Ice spell, Snow Angel! It was quite a doozy to get, but it was worth it!

Between the effect, a star and moon spell, and an Iceblade, this bad boy is capable of taking out most of the mooks in Celestia with one hit. Granted, it takes a few turns, but that gives me the chance to use the Treant polymorph (my second favorite new spell) to heal.

Also, I achieved the (not so) impossible and recieved the Spiral Geographer badge! This special (again, not really) badge is given to those who have completed every quest in Celestia! Hooray!

Wow, I do seem to be in a sort of parentheses mood today. ))))))))))))))))))(((((((((((((((((

All in all, Celestia is wonderful. Beautifully planned areas, stunning artwork, clever mooks, and all in all a fun (and challenging) experience for all.

I suppose the one downfall of Celestia is that it is really hard to get going. At the early stages, one will be surprised with the length of the battles and the strength of the enemies. The Astral schools really help here, and they actually beef you up to the point where short battles like the ones in Krokotopia are once again possible.

All in all, great job KI. You pushed the envelope so far, it turned into a bar, which you then promptly raised to the heavens.

My word, so many cliches.

Until next time!

Celestia Day 2

Between my college applications and my course load, I haven't had much time to play on Wizard101. People had finished Celestia before I'd even begun. I am perfectly okay with this. I want to take Celestia at a more gentle pace, rather than rushing through it. We waited for 6 months for Celestia, and I don't want to run out of things to do in a week.

So, last night, I began my epic quest! I ventured into the Survey Camp, and two long hours later, the deed was done. This morning, I almost completed the Grotto, and intend to head back ITS after this post. I did manage to see a glimpse of the power of a critical after my friends Ice Colossus did enough damage to twice kill the boss we were fighting.

Heck yeah!

Remember, Ravenwood Radio is hosting a Halloween / one year anniversary party tonight, from 4 - 6 Central time. Be there!

Also, if anyone wants to hatch a satyr with my colossus, comment on this post and we'll work something out.

Until next time!

Celestia, Castles and... Wildbolt?

Long time no see, blogosphere! I've been busy with college applications for the past week, so between that and my conviction to not play on the test realm and leave Celestia unspoiled, there has not been much to discuss.

However, between the discovery of the level 58 spells, the double wide GameStop cards, and the test realm changes, I think we can fill up a decently sized blog post! Let's begin, shall we?

Hoo boy, the level 58 Spells! I think that, clearly, KingsIsle worked hard to make sure that no school went unheard! Each school got a spell that was cool, executes well, and is well balanced with the other schools! Good show, KI, good show.

Next on the agenda, the Massive Fantasy Palace. I was lucky enough to tour one, although I did not take any pictures, regrettably. However, by now, there are multiple pictures, a few video tours, and more than enough testimonials for everyone to know that they are awesome. However, so as to generate hype for these new goody bags, KingsIsle gave a select group of bloggers a castle of their very own. This unfortunately incited the first blog war in Wizard101 history, as many felt that, as they blogged, they deserved a castle. I personally think that it was quite unbecoming of the community that almost won Best Community at the GDC this year. Thankfully, it was a short battle, and an armistice was signed before many knew what had happened, myself included.

Thirdly, the most recent item on the agenda, the Wildbolt fiasco. KingsIsle just added a change to the Test Realm. For many, it went unnoticed. But for some, this act was high treason.

Changes? To Wild Bolt? Who do they think they are, the people who kindly built the game, programmed it, planned the classes with a system that keeps everything in balance and generally keep order? It's very hard to type with a sardonic tone.

Many are up in arms over the fact that KI decided to remove two Solar spells with the power to reduce pip cost and the Celestian wands second power pip boost. But mostly, they are angry about the Wold Bolt thing.

Gather round, children! It's Uncle Winterstaff's story time! Today, I'll tell you a tale from way back when, two years ago when Wizard101 first opened..... It was an optimistic time! Everyone was happy, and you saw wizards of all types frolic as they completed quests and traveled the Spiral. One group, the Storm wizards, had a very powerful spell: Wild Bolt! Although it was a very powerful spell for such a low cost, KingsIsle lovingly gave it to the Storm school, on the condition that they play nicely. As an added measure, to make sure that its great power was checked, they made it a very low accuracy spell. The Storm wizards thanked KI, and merrily went on their way. Two years later, at the release of Celestia, Storm wizards gained access to new, powerful armor that boosted their accuracy! Suddenly, the Wildbolt spell could be used much more! KingsIsle noticed this new development, and, realizing that their old method of checking the Wild Bolt was inefficient, changed it. Now, Wild Bolt could either strike well, or not very well! The Storm wizards felt slighted. How dare KI make their Wild Bolt spell a game of chance, and what's more, with POSSIBLE NEGATIVE EFFECTS! The Storm wizards, in their anger, looked for a place to relieve the frustration, but, lacking a real source at which to complain, they chose their nemesis: PvP. Long had the insidious PvPers been jealous of the Storm Wizard's power. Players of PvE and PvP had always been enemies, as they both felt their needs weren't being addressed. However, KingsIsle was unable to divide spells

for the two categories, and the two bicker to this day.

Seriously, have any of you tried to program a game? Dividing the spell book between PvP and PvE is incredibly difficult! Be thankful that they didn't eliminate it entirely. I don't know where this sense of entitlement came from, and I really do not like it. Between Leviathan and Tempest, you guys are still the strongest school, and no longer have the lowest accuracy. Suck it up.

See you next time!

The door to Celestia is open!

...or at least on Test Realm.

Woohoo! After months of waiting, we have been rewarded! Click here to see all of the fun new things!

Aside from the Celestia, some new advancements have been made! First and foremost are the new level 58 spells! We know that Balance's spell is Horus, and that Fire's is a djinn, but I can't wait to see the rest!

Also, Celestial magic! The three branches, Sun, Moon, and Star, don't have any attacks, but each will be useful. Sun works much like current enchantments. They have spells to increase accuracy and power, and to mutate spells into other schools. Moon allows the wizard to change shape, taking on new stats and a new deck for a limited time. Star casts Auras, which are used on the caster and amplify various stats for some time.

Hmm... I, personally, think that the Moon school is the coolest. It allows you to branch out, and greatly vary your strategy. I do enjoy using Schrodinger Fu!

See you in Celestia! Don't forget to vote Wolf Winterstaff for Ice School Student Teacher!

Until next time!

Fall/Winter Student Teacher Elections

As you may or may not have heard, Diary of a Wizard is hosting another election! This time, the positions open are Fall/winter Student Teacher for each school, plus the additional position of Student Body President.

I myself have decided to take a leap and put forth Wolf Winterstaff for the position of Ice School student teacher. If you think this is a good idea, and would like to support me in any way, please do so! You could certainly use twitter to spread the word, or show off this neat campaign poster that I drew up:

Pretty neat, right? I honestly feel I am the best candidate for this position. I spent days and days farming for that cool coordinated Ice school outfit, because I care that much. And in the end, isn't being the Student Teacher about exemplifying your school? Surely the act of farming shows my perseverance and patience, the values most associated with the Ice school.

So, vote for Wolf Winterstaff for Ice Student Teacher! Spread the word! Tell your friends!

Until next time!

Shark Mount and Selena Quest are Live

Yes, I realize this news is old. Please bear with me.

On Sunday, I managed to get 2/3 of my new outfit. It uses the death robe because there is no Ice robe available for that model. I think it looks pretty cool, but you be the judge.

Then, on Tuesday, once the quest was live, I thought about whether or not the shark was worth the money. Which, as it turns out, was pretty hard to do from a shark's back.

YEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAW!

*ahem*

So, once the quest was fixed properly, I decided that the Selena Gomez quest was worth the 20 minutes for, if nothing else, the Monstrous card. Cue dancing crabs, etcetera.

Unfortunately, I cannot proudly display the Selena statue, so I've taken to hiding it in my dorm room.

On the plus side, Crab Alley is quite fun from atop a mighty shark.

Alright, it's time for the answer to the riddle! The question was which of the 6 worlds was the odd one out, and why. And the answer is.......

Mooshu!

In every other world, you can see the edge from some point in the world. In Wizard City, Colossus Boulevard offers views of the void. Marleybone flies you over the edge on all flights from Digmoore station. You can see the edge from the commons in Krokotopia, Dragonspyre and Grizzleheim.

But Mooshu? the world is bordered by mountains, so the edge is nowhere to be seen.

Thanks to all who answered or at least thought about it for a bit.

Until next time!

Farming Youkai = Huge pain!

As the title implies, I am farming Youkai in the Tree of Life instance. I am putting together a different, additional in game outfit using his death robe and ice shoes. In addition, I am collecting the reagents necessary to redo my kitchen using any money I gain. As such, I wont be playing very much on my Myth alt, so don't expect to see very much of him.

Until I actually put the outfit together, I won't have much to blog about. The results of the poll are up, and it looks like you guys voted to give my myth alt a Marleybonian Mansion! Good choice!

I'll leave you all with an interesting problem, so you have something to look forward to in my next post.

Wizard City. Krokotopia. Marleybone. Mooshu. Dragonspyre. Grizzleheim. One of these is not like the others. Which one, and why? Here's a hint: it has nothing to do with climate, theme, level, or any game mechanics. Leave your answers in the comments section.

Until next time!

So, Selena Gomez...

Eh, could be better, could be worse.

What I'm interested in is the other information revealed by the video.

Firstly, both underwater and on land areas for Celestia have been revealed. An on-the-beach area, and some undersea street with coral encrusted houses. Sweet. The Shark is indeed an underwater mount, and wizards don't appear to require any sort of helmet for deep-sea exploring.

Also, two spells have been revealed: A large, bird-faced man wielding a pole-arm and an ankh, and a djinn straight out of the mythos of the Middle East. For those who don't know, the bird-faced man is likely Horus, Egyptian sky god, son of Osiris, god of the dead, and Genie is actually an English corruption of the word 'djinn' who are spirits in Islam that hide in another dimension. Due to the fact that Horus matched Balances' Egyptian theme (Scarab, Locust, Scorpio, Judgement, Alhazred) and that Djinn are described as 'spirits of fire', I would place my money on them being Balance and Fire, respectively. Awesome.

Can't wait to see what the others will be, especially if they keep expounding on this theme of mythology.

Until next time!

O-U-T of Krokotopia!

Yesterday, my myth alt beat Krokhotep in the Emperor's Retreat. Then, after defeating Grumish Greataxe, I was off to the Tomb of Storms.

But the day only got better from there. I managed to complete all quests in the Tomb of Storms except the Tomb of Beguiler, Culminating in a very satisfying defeat of Krokopatra.

My work for the Manders done, I was off to the land of night and science, Marleybone!

As a gift, I bought my alt some of the best Marleybone gear. I also have decided that I am stitching his GM gear to this outfit.

So, now that I am in Marleybone, should I go to Grizzleheim and finish some quests there before returning? Or should I press onwards?

Also, he deperately needs a house. I'll be putting up a poll to see what you guys think.

Until next time!

Spiral Map Updates

Hey, look! The Spiral Map updated with Celestia! Hooray!

I take this to mean that they are done tweaking it and will be turning on the test realm either this week, the next, or the week after. Hopefully.

So let's take a deeper look. The world icon shows that, somehow, Celestia is inside a sphere of water. Somehow the gravity of the island keeps the ocean perched in fishbowl form? Regardless, It provides an answer to the question that many were asking: If all the worlds are floating in the sky, how can Celestia be underwater?

Now, the concept art doesn't add anything. It's the same pictures that we have had for some time now. But what really draws my attention is the entry below.

Long ago, the Astral Wizards of Celestia created powerful magic using the energy of the Stars, the Moon, and the Sun. The sorceress Morganthe, a Queen of the Shadow Web, wanted the secrets of the Celestian magic at all costs. The Celestians Refused her, so she raised a Dark Army and sent it against Celestia. After Decades of battle, the Astral Wizards realized their world would fall. They summoned the Storm Titan to defeat Morganthe’s legions and to take their world to a place of safety.

The Storm Titan betrayed the Celestians by Sinking their world beneath the Waves along with Morganthe’s invading forces. Realizing they were Doomed, the Celestians raised mighty Domes to protect some of their treasured city from the waves, though it was too late! They Perished along with Morganthe's invading army. Celestia was lost to the Spiral, its Spiral Door closed forever.

Centuries later, a team of brave explorers from the Spiral Geographic Society, led by Sir Thurston Plunkett, re-discovered Celestia. They landed with an Air-Ship and built Exploratory Undersea Domes to explore Celestia’s ruins. Plunkett and his fellow explorers soon realized that Celestia was now inhabited by a strange new culture... the Crustacean Empire. Unfortunately, the explorers did not come alone to Celestia. Morganthe’s followers, the Shadow Weavers, stand ready to take Celestia’s magic for their Queen.

After receiving the Spiral Geographic Society’s Distress Call, Headmaster Merle Ambrose of the Ravenwood School for Magic seeks any young Wizards brave enough to journey to the undersea world of Celestia and discover the secrets of its Lost Magic.

What will you find there?

What worries me about this description is a single, insignificant article: A Queen of the Shadow Web. If Morganthe is indeed the final boss of Celestia, this certainly implies that someone even worse is waiting in the wings. That does not sound good.

Until next time!

Re: Back to School Bash

Boy, I had a great weekend! The Back to School Bash hosted by Diary of a Wizard sure was fun! It sure was fun talking to/ seeing the more famous bloggers, players, and in-game celebrities.

Unfortunately, when I left temporarily to retrieve my party hat, I found that the friends whom I had ported to earlier were in a Sunken City instance, and so I was unable to rejoin the party. The 10 or so minutes I was there for were fun, though!

And now for something completely different. After resolving to keep trying and get through Krokotopia on my myth alt, Wolf Griffintail, he's made a fair bit of progress. He's only learned the Cyclops Minion spell, but he's very much almost done with the Krokosphinx!

I'll keep updating with his progress as time goes on. The day he gets free of Krokotopia is a happy day indeed.

Until next time!

Back-to-School Bash

To those of you who assumed I had fallen off of the Earth, I am still very much alive. Turns out, being a senior in high school with 6 AP classes leaves you little time for games. I am still cranking through Krokotopia, and am currently up to the Vault of Ice. Soon enough, I will be out of there, and on to Marleybone.

I still play around on Wolf Winterstaff, usually for pets, parties, or farming. I will be attending the Back-to-School Bash, even though I might be a tad late. I will see each and everyone of you there!

About the week long hiatus

Sorry! Things have been a little slow so far, game-wise. I have to work really hard in my classes this year. Besides, I finished all the goals I set out for myself in the game, so there isn't much to report. However, I will try my hardest to make at least a weekly update. Should I not, at least look at my twitter feed, I will explain myself there.

Until next time!

Getting through Krokotopia

For those of you wondering where I was last week, I was out of town looking at colleges. You didn't come to hear about that, so I'll say no more.

With no quests left on Wolf Winterstaff, and Celestia not yet out, I have been grinding Wolf Griffintail through Krokotopia. He is almost done with the Chamber of Fire, and hopefully will soon be on his way to the Krokosphinx.

To be frank, it isn't much fun. Krokotopia has never been my favorite world, between the dim underground passages and the lack of power pips. My only real consolation is that afterwards is my favorite world, Marleybone. Yes, I am serious. I love the theme, the clothing, the more advanced battle strategy, and pretty much everything else. The whole 'no sidewalk' thing is but a minor grievance.

Until next time!

Ladies and Gentlemen, Wolf Winterstaff - Master Artisan

Title says it all, really

In a fit of farming spirit, I managed to get the 180 Black Lotuses necessary for the 12 Black Pearls all in one day. Luck sure was smiling on me!

My new goal is Kitchen Refurbishing. I want to take all the cool new Kitchen accessories from Grizzleheim and rework the kitchen in my castle. When I'm done, I'll put up a video tour of my house!

And if you look to your right (unless you use your computer upside down), you'll see a brand new Blogging Club Badge! John Lifeglen accepted my application, and I am now a member of the illustrious Wizard101 Blogging Club.

Until next time!

Thunderchill Cloaks- Complete

Those of you who read this blog regularly are aware that my current goal is to complete the final crafting quests in this game and become a Master Artisan. Well, tonight I am one step closer!

Hooray! The best news is that I can simply make more Black pearls, and I have bought everything else. Soon, I too shall proudly wear the badge of crafting superiority!

*ahem*

Well, silly rants aside, I'm really excited.

Until next time!

News Post

So, after quite a long time without a word from KingsIsle, news is beginning to appear. First, the August Newsletter. It featured standard stuff, including online safety tips and the Book of the Month club entry, but what really attracted attention was the Producer's Letter from Leah Ruben, perhaps better known as the woman behind Dalia Falmea. Besides detailing her wonderful life at KingsIsle, she hinted at (read: talked a fair bit about) some new features to accompany Celestia, including 3d movement through water (swimming), more spells (although whether or not she means celestial schools or normal schools, we do not know) and a boatload of other things. She was even kind enough to show us some more concept art!

Part pet, part enemy, part mount, all awesome. I (and I'm sure many others) will name mine Bruce.

In other news, It's Friendly's (and some other peoples') birthday today! If you haven't congratulated him yet, do so now!

And finally, The test realm is open! Don't get your hopes up as I did, because they are just testing/improving login speed for the game. But I have a wondrous feeling that all this activity by KingsIsle is a sign heralding the opening of Celestia!

Of course, I could be wrong.

Until next time!

3 Parties in 4 Days

The blogosphere has been buzzing as of late, and parties have been happening a lot. Maybe it's the pent-up excitement over the coming of Celestia, or maybe three parties just happened to convene in the span of a half of a week.

First up, last Wednesday, the Ravenwood Radio crew put on a fantastic show as always. I did not attend the afterparty, but I heard it was interesting.

Then, the very next day, John Lifeglen, owner of Through the Eyes of a Sorcerer and pioneer of the Blogging Club hosted a Blogger's Club party at his brand new Watchtower Hall. Although I was intially offended to see that the tower proper was open only to a select few, it was a wonderful party.

Quite the crowd showed up, despite the troubles with the Teleport Bus.

Me and Kevin Battleblood had a nice conversation in the waterfall tunnel.

Between you and me, I think I wore the robe better. :P

Then, earlier today, The Ravenwood Radio Crew, Fallon Shadowblade of Diary of a Wizard fame, and Thomas Lionblood from The Friendly Necromancer teamed up for a third time. Their mission: To conquer the Warehouse, home of the toughest, meanest rule-ignoring bosses.

Although things got dicey a few times, and both Thomas and Leesha had to flee and return, they met with success.

Quite the crowd gathered at the foot of the tower, wishing them luck and listening with rapt attention to the broadcast.

Of course, what's a gathering without a party? As everyone crammed into the Nightside, the immediate vicinity around the stars instantly became a tangled mass of limbs and mounts, littered with the shouts of friend requests. A good time was had by all, and there was much rejoicing.

Until next time!

New Becketts MOG! -or- Celestia = Steampunk?

Which means, of course, a look at that article Friendly has been writing. It's fantastically written, informative, and provides an accurate and thorough look at the Power Pets system. Well done, Friendly!

In addition, I got a code for the new Dragonclaw Blade!

This little beauty uses the same model as the Cerulean Edge, but instead of solid gold with a blue aura, it features a more subtle silver with red aura. It adds 5 cards of Major Fireball to your deck, a 0-pip, 75-damage fire spell. Expect me to carry this around for a good long while.

The poll is over, and the result is a tie! In the event of a tie, I will keep the outfits separate, as both are nice, and I farmed a lot for the jester outfit. Besides, if I didn't dress like a jester, I can't very well be the Icy Harlequin. I'm sure that we will see similar clothing later in Celestia.

Speaking of which, more of the Celestia picture has been revealed. Between the robots, the Wayfinder Set, all the domes and submarines, and the wrenches in abundance, Celestia looks like it may be a mix between Ancient Greek/Roman and Steampunk. For those not familiar, Steampunk is a subculture based around a fantasy setting during the late Victorian Period where all modern technology is available in the form of steam. It's incredibly nerdy, but I love it. I first thought Marleybone was going to be semi-steampunk, what with the Victorian London theme right alongside little airships in the sky. Unfortunately, they really played up the Victorian elements, while never really mentioning the cool dirigibles. They had the robots with furnaces in their chests, but that's about the limit. Hopefully, Celestia will be different.

Until next time!

Friendly, I may need to borrow Glitch...

As a programmer, I understand that getting code to do what you want is difficult. Many walk through walls glitches are just a messed up line of code that means that the space beyond the wall is solid ground. However, some glitches are just odd.

In that picture, you see not one, but two people wearing the same Ice Jester robes as me. Not a glitch in and of itself, but that's not the odd part. You see, I fought long and hard for that robe, so I don't like seeing a lot of people wearing it, as if it dropped commonly. But then I noticed something weird.

One of them was wearing purple and yellow. Storm school, I thought. But then I wondered why a storm wizard would wear Ice robes, so I checked his equipment page. The portrait on the equipment page had no such ice symbols on his robe.

Why did the game suddenly start overlaying all Jester armor with Ice symbols, and why only in the Bazaar? Next time I went, it had stopped.

Weird.

In other news, The Local Wizard is having a Midsummer Festival of Fire!

Location: Golem Court (later switching to The Local Wizard's house)

Date: Sunday, July 25, 2010, 3:00 P.M. Eastern Time, 12:00 P.M. Pacific Time, 2:00 P.M. Central Time, 8:00 P.M. England Time

Realm: Vampire

Area: 1

Host: The Local Wizard

Events: Jump your way to the top of the Tower of Fire, created by The Local Wizard. Hang out on the sky deck with your friends (no pushing, please). Enjoy a marvelous meal you will never forget. Compete against other wizards in mount races. Meet The Local Wizard himself. And much much more!

Sounds like a lot of fun!

Until next time!

I'm probably a little late, but...

I decided that my prejudice towards Twitter could be subdued enough for me to actually get one. From now on, I am IcyHarlequin on Twitter! No, I don't know where that nickname came from. Yes, I do think it is really awesome.

So, if you think I should follow you, drop me a line!

In other news, I will be attending the National Bloggers Day party later. I held off announcing my attendance because my room got repainted and all my furniture had to be moved. I wasn't sure if my computer would be replaced in time to play. But it did, so I can attend. Hooray!

Yeah, that's pretty much it.

Until next time!

My Recent Escapades

So, more than a few things have happened recently in game.

1. Ravenwood Radio # 20 was last night! Congratulations, you guys! It's good to see a podcast make it so far without showing any sign of slowing down. And a big congratulations to both the cast and crew!

I attended the after party for the show, but left before Stephen and Overlord Leesha got there.

Still, it was quite a bit of fun!

2. Hot on the trail of my victory in the Warehouse, I managed to conquer Briskbreeze Tower! I did not get my ring, but looking at the stats, I don't think the unnecessary power pip boost and slight strength boost are worth the loss of mana.

Of course, this means that all I have to do to keep myself busy until Celestia is Crafting Quests.

I recently completed my second ring of apotheosis, but unfortunately, the second and third quests will take awhile.

Sorry that it's so hard to read, but it says that I need 8 Black Pearls. Combined with the pearls needed in the third quest, I will need 27 more of them. My options are a) finding them, which is highly unlikely, or b) farming for the 375 black lotuses needed to craft each pearl.

Clearly, this will take a long time to finish.

Until Next Time!

The Wizard, The Wayfinder, and the Warehouse

Hey, kids! It's time for Wolf Winterstaff's Word of the Week! This week's word is trounced! As in, I was completely unprepared for the Warehouse, so Estrakir and his buddies soundly trounced my group.

Against my better judgement, I joined a group waiting outside the Warehouse Instance. Things were going surprisingly well. Until, of course, the last floor.

Beaten doesn't convey the strength and swiftness with which we were defeated, and owned doesn't sound elegant enough. Trounced really conveys the ease and speed with which we were dispatched, like they didn't break a sweat.

However, I am incredibly stubborn, and decided to try my luck once again. And, through dumb luck, we managed to win!

I bet you're thinking, well, surely he's had enough of that place! No, not at all. I went back a third time, to attain the full set of Wayfinder Armor.

I can't tell if I want to stitch my GM armor to this, and trade out my 'Icy Harlequin' look for an 'Adventurer Archaeologist' look. I may just put up a poll to see what you guys think!

Until next time!

Hey, You Guys!

I'm ba-ack!

Had a great time at Arkansas Governors School, which is less like camp and more like a gradeless, homeworkless, awesome version of school. In my Math Class, we learned that there are actually infinite infinities, each somehow larger than the last.

But that's besides the point. I'm free and clear for the remainder of the summer, so i'll be present when Celestia goes live! I got to the Warehouse, but I'm not going to try it until I actually beat Briskbreeze. After that and those new Grizzleheim quests, I'll finish up crafting and build myself a Watchtower Fort.

Nothing much else to say, as I got back this morning.

Until Next Time!

But Now I Must Go

Not forever, and not because blogging is boring. I am attending this thing called Arkansas Governors School, and will be away for four weeks. I thought I would give an update on my recent accomplishments before I dropped off the grid.

1. Gurtok Ring!

Now I have a complete set of GM gear (of course, when Celestia is released, it'll be a moot point).

2. New Pets!

Meet Madame Annie the Firebat and Lord Cleo the Crabling! I still need/want the Ianthine Spectre, Frostzilla, and Ice bird pets.

3. My Colossus is halfway to Ancient!

That's about it.

I'm sure that some information will be released in my absence, so I will depend on each of you to blog well and blog often to keep us up to date!

Until Next Time!

Celestial Magic Ideas

With the promise of magic based around heavenly bodies, and an ever-increasing array of sun, moon and star motifs in the promotional artwork, everyone wants to know the deal with the Celestial Magic. Where will we get training points? What will the spells be like? Will they be battle spells, or used outside of battle, for puzzles? I have more than a few ideas.

Firstly, I don't think that KingsIsle will be making any more spells for the seven original schools. Simply the fact that we have these "Master of" titles implies that we have learned the entire book on our respective elements. These medals only became available with the level 48 spells, and the only explanation I can think of is that those were intended to be the very last spells.

Secondly, this new magic will be KingsIsle's way of allowing us some choice in our higher level spells without having to make brand new spells for each school. Perhaps each attack can have a different efffect, or each of the three schools of Celestial magic will combine two of the previous schools, i.e. Sun is Fire and Life, Moon is Ice and Death, Star is Myth and Storm.

Thirdly, the spell schools will be located in Celestia. Everyone cites a cramped Ravenwood as a good reason not to have more schools, but as Alhazred shows us, schools can be anywhere.

Fourthly, perhaps Celestial Magic is KingsIsle's way of opening up a world of more complex magic. Most magic requires the caster to draw a magic circle or sigil, or otherwise will create one under their feet while casting. Previously, the sigils in Wizard101 have consisted of the school symbol, slowly rotating. I think of something more like this when I think of magic circles:

Credit for that image goes to mondu of DeviantArt, and CLAMP. The picture itself is one of a magic circle from the show CardCaptor Sakura, which is a guilty pleasure of mine. The plot involves her capturing/befriending magical cards, and later using them to summon magic spirits (sound familiar?).

The cards she captures are like these:

The common celestial motif is a common one in magic.

Will the spells we learn come with new magic circles, and far greater power? Only KingsIsle knows.

Until next time!

Obligatory Post

Although there isn't much in the news at the moment, I feel I have a duty to update. I was gone last week for Boys State, and will be gone for a while starting next week for Arkansas Governors School. So, I'll update some this week, and then there will be a large break with no news.

I didn't get a chance to post about Diary of a Wizard's Anniversary, but it was quite a fun party.

As you can see, I'm standing next to Friendly at Fallon's Awesome Storm House.

In other news, I have Blackrock's Obsidian Deck and the Shockblade of the Hoarder, so I only need the Gurtok Ice Ring and my set is complete.

My goal after that, I suppose, is to gather some pets and level them. I want to get an Icezilla and a Crabling, and buy an Ice Mander. After that, crafting quests for Dragonspyre and Briskbreeze require completing, so I suppose I'll do that.

Until next time!

Power Pets Go Live Tonight!

I haven't seen any other posts yet, so i'll break the news!

Power Pets are going live tonight! After weeks, we can level our pets and have it actually matter!

Until Next Time!

Tossing around Ideas- School Clothing

In an effort to become more prominent and involved in the blogging community, I shall start a new column. It will not be regular, as it will be about my possible ideas for the game. These do not come regularly, so these will be rather infrequent.

First idea: School Clothing. When a wizard reaches endgame, they want something to show off for all their hard work. Most people use the title "Savior of the Spiral", but with all the low level characters porting to cast a bloodbat at Malistaire while their GM friends pull off super combos, that title has lost its meaning. Some farm for all the GM gear and show it proud, for all to see. But, to be frank, the Dragonspyre gear is a little boring. It all has something to do with war, and it doesn't stand out very much. The reason why I stitched my gear was to be unique. Not many wizards have a set of wizard city gear inscribed with school symbols. This brought me to my first idea.

My idea is to have a set of clothes unique to each school of magic. Similar to the new school of magic houses, these will not build upon any theme from the worlds. For example, none of them will be eqyptian themed (except maybe balance, but I'll work on that later). Each will be based around the theme for each school: For ice, a cool, blue robe trimmed with fur, some gloves, and a hood; Life students could dress like druids of old, and myth wizards could be decked out in ancient Greek armor. However, unlike the schools, or the school staves from Sunbrand, these would be untradeable and not in the Crowns Shop. These would be received as a set from completing a quest line late in the game, as a way of showing off your commitment.

Let me know what you guys think, and if you get any ideas for the other schools, tell me!

Until next time!

Spiderkeeper's Icemantle: Acquired

After farming forever for this hat, I now own the Spiderkeeper's Icemantle, the absolute best hat for Ice wizards. Of course, this means that I am one step closer to a complete set of Dragonspyre Armor. I now only need my deck from Boris Blackrock, My sword from the Giant Homunculus, and my ring from the Fire Gurtok Demon.

As much as I love the look of Dragonspyre armor, I had to stitch it to my Icy Jester Hat. I play this game to be a wizard, not a warrior. It follows that I dress in cool, Ice symbol robes.

Up next, Boris Blackrock is going down!

Until next time!

The Test Realm and Power Pets

Some say that wanting something a lot makes having it a bit of a let down. Sometimes the actual product can't possibly live up to the hype. It's understandable, because the imagination has a habit of skewing what we see. However, knowing that doesn't make something less disappointing.

The Power Pets. After more than a month, we excitedly crowded the test realm...only to find that the pets weren't as powerful as we thought. I know I'm not the only one, but I still want to voice some complaints/suggestions.

The Maze Game- The controls just feel a bit weird. The whole not-four-set-directions-to-move make it seem a bit cumbersome to move around in the maze, which makes the game itself harder. It's still possible to get an "Awesome!" rating without having every piece of fruit, but it seems less fluid somehow.

Dance Game- Gotta agree with Friendly on this one. Either make it full on DDR, or Simon Says. As it is, it seems so..basic. I feel like the mechanics as they are just aren't challenging enough. Maybe ramp it up just a little bit?

The other two training Games I don't have much of a problem with, although there are some bugs to be worked out (Anyone else hit the target in the cannon game without it counting?).

Pet Derby- Do love this one, but some serious issues. Namely, the lag, the walls, and the derby powers. The lag isn't really the fault of anyone, but is in many cases a game breaker. It really can determine if you win by a longshot or trail miserably. The walls are just misleading. Are we supposed to be able to 'dodge' them like fences? I sometimes get a slowdown message, and sometimes not. I can never tell if it's a bug, or lag, or I got lucky and successfully dodged. Also, the derby powers really seem unfairly distributed. Some pets get the power to lay bombs, or speed up without cheering. My Colossus sure got the short end of the stick, with the ability to make others morale go away. Sure, it inconveniences them, but it sure isn't as powerful as blasting an opponent.

Also, does it seem very fair to raise the XP gap between levels and make it cost more per game? Baby to Teen is no problem, with 125 XP required and only 2 energy required per game. By Ancient, you need 1000 XP and you can only play six times on a full energy bar. Epic pets are supposed to be the very best, but that seems a little bit large.

Three quick, unrelated notes: One, I got a full Ice School Jester outfit, which means that from now on I shall be rejoicing in the name of the Winter Harlequin (or something. I'll work on it). Second, my myth wizard, Wolf Griffintail, made it to Krokotopia yesterday!

Excellent. He is well on his way through the Royal Hall, so he should be to Marleybone quickly enough. Third, I shall be taking AP Exams starting tomorrow and lasting until next week. I need to do well on them, and so shall be focusing on them instead of Wizard101 for the next 2 weeks. Don't expect posts until next Wednesday at the earliest.

Until next time!

The New Pet Expansion

Just saw the new ad on TV whilst watching Avatar: the Last Airbender. It confirms most suspicions that people had about the new pet systems, which is great. What's not so great is that, although the commercial is playing, the test realm remains closed. However, this weekend will probably be the so-called "big-reveal" and test realm will open! In my experience, the test realm opens on weekends.

When they do release it, it will be a party the likes of which Wizard101 has never known(except for Dragonspyre, housing, Grizzleheim, and mounts). I can't wait to make an ice clockwork golem!

Until next time!

Adept Crafter!

(kinda hard to see, i know)

Anyways, sweet! I have officially completed the Mooshu crafting quests and obtained the title of Adept Crafter. All that's left is the Dragonspyre quest, although it's multiple parts, and the first part alone will take awhile. Both rings together require 18 Ghost fires, 30 Diamonds, and 40 Black Lotuses. That's gonna take quite a while, and I'm not sure exactly where to get ghost fire.

Still have that quest and Briskbreeze Tower as things to do, and then there's completing my set of GM gear. Hopefully this can be enough to keep me interested until the pet system's release on test realm.

Until next time!

Musings on the Upcoming Pet System

I'm just wondering what it will entail. They usually reveal information on a Friday or Saturday, so it looks like no Test Realm this week.

My ideas :

The Pet Derby and Pets fighting seem interesting. It seems it would require a full set of stats for pets, in addition to, say running and jumping for the minigames. The Pet Derby makes me think that it will be a triathlon of sorts, made up of a few little minigames. From the Picture revealed alongside Celestia, I think the hatchery will in some way not only make a new pet that looks like the two "parent" pets, but in some way will combine their stats. If so, I am totally combining my Colossus' strength with my Clockwork's speed (Anyone who has done Marleybone knows how obnoxiously fast they can run). And maybe I'll pick up a storm bat for flight. Me and my Ice Clockwork Bat shall be unstoppable! MUAHAHAHA!

...*ahem*

I am also intrigued about the leveling of pets. It says they can be raised from eggs to Ancient Beings, but how does that work, exactly? I suppose we'll see..

Until next time!

Dragonspyre: Complete

Ah, the Drake Rider title. One of my favorites, notably because it means I completed all quests in the Forum. Which means I am done with Dragonspyre. Forever. I have no more quests to do there. Considering the things that I went through to complete Dragonspyre, it's quite a victory.

Unfortunately, I have much to do before I am completely done.

1. Gotta get my hat, ring, deck, and sword from Dragonspyre. At least it isn't mandatory.

2. Need to finish up Briskbreeze tower. Considering all that I have heard, it sounds as fun as walking across hot coals. You do it once for the quest and ring, then never look back.

3. Crafting quests. I can't seem to find a good supply of scrap iron. I suppose simply running the roofs is the best way, but incredibly tedious.

After that are the titles, and all the pets to get...

And, of course, another wizard to level...

Certainly enough to do 'til Celestia!

Until next time!

My first foray into blogging...

so please bear with me.

My name is Wolf Winterstaff, and this is a blog dedicated to Wizard101, the family MMOG by KingsIsle Entertainment. This blog will detail the adventures of my characters, Wolf Winterstaff, my level 50 Ice Main, and Wolf Griffintail, my level 8 Myth character. I will create other characters as I play, but those are the only two right now.

So, until next time!