The polls are in!

Meet Archie, The Skeletal Spider on Skates.

Yes, Archie is a running joke between Fallon Shadowblade (Diary of a wizard) and myself, since they first announced the possibility of mounts. So, unless KI decides to make Archie a reality, he will remain the "gag" vote.

So, in regards to the actual voting, thank you all so much! There was a lot more interactivity than I would have imagined, and it's good to see you letting your voice be heard. Let's take a look ath the breakdown, shall we?

In the category of Mounts/transportation:
With nearly 50% of voters saying "yes", I'm sure this reflects the probable opinions of the player base at large. Me, in all actuality, am more on the "Perhaps" side, since we still haven't really heard much about just how these mounts would function. Time is the revealer of all truths, I suppose. I still think a Skeletal Spider on Skates would be funny, though, (KI, feel free to take the idea and run with it!)

Next up: On new content. Some surprises here, (for me, at least):


It would appear that the vast majority of participating voters are willing to wait for new content to be released. This is the "Measure twice, cut once" camp. This is where I personally voted, as well.

Somewhat less surprising is the "Gimmme more NOW" camp. I'm only guessing, but I'd be willing to wager the Grandmaster ratio in there is astronomical.

Most surprising of all, to me, is the "We have enough" camp. I expected this category to get Zero. Nada. Zilch. Goose Egg. Bubkis. And yet, there they are, at least 9 votes. Bless you, members of this camp, for you are a rare breed to be cherished.



There it is, you, the reader base have spoken! I'm thinking, in the future, that a 30 Day poll is about long. Should we even have polls? Hmm...this calls for a poll...

"Homework" Assignment

Attention all you PvP'ers..

I have me an idea. One that just recently occurred to me. Yes, I know it's not original. But I want to see it. Mind you, I said I want to see it, not do it....

See, thing is, I don't PvP.
Ever.
But I'm curious as to "what would happen" when a Grandmaster team of all one school dueled a Grandmaster team from another school. Say, 4 GM Necromancers vs. 4 GM Life Wizards.

I want to know which School really rules. (Of course we know it's Death School, but who comes in a close second? lol). So, in tradition of Hogwart's Inter-house rivalry, I present you with the W101 version :

The Ambrose Cup

Yes, this soon-to-be-coveted award will be posted in honorarium to the school which can claw and cast it's way to the top. The winning School and it's team members will be posted prominently on this site for 1 year. Yes, that's right, 365 days. For all to see. And if you (preferrably) record the match via YouTube, I will gladly post the battles here, on this site.

Each school can have more than one team. Teams from the same school will (at the end) have to fight eachother for dominance. Like Highlander, "There can be only one".

What do you think? Is this something you, the readership, would be interested in?

Please do let me know.

MAKEUP!

Whew! Just got out of the Make Up Blogger's Meet and Greet, hosted by The Awesome Pyromncer's own Jessica Fairyheart , and "Wow, crazy busy". Unfortunately, I couldn't stay very long, whereas I'm not really feeling well. (No, no pity required, ty.) Here's a few bits and pieces from the Meet:

Of course, I HAD to try getting a "Tenure for Dworgyn" rally going, since we were right there.


And, as you can see, my buddy Countess Shadowbane was there, in all her pink necro-glory. You know, Countess, no offense, but everytime I see you , I can't help think of the Mighty Morphing Power Rangers. Hmm..Maybe we need a W101 superhero group, like the Mighty Morphing Necro Rangers, or something,,,

(Now accepting applications for the Red, White, and Blue Necro Rangers, lol)

Ahem..okay. right. Moving on...

Apparently, I was to be one of the "judges", (which I didn't discover until Event Time). I'm not really good a being a Judge in things like that. However, there WAS one "look" that *really* stood out, to me, I will not say he "wins" or anything, but his look caught my eye , repeatedly.

I give you: Devin Owlblood

Sure, perhaps he IS a Master of Fire, but that look SCREAMS "I have the heart of a Necromancer!"

As always, an impressive turnout, which merely re-enforces my belief in our little W101 Community. Now, I'm off for some rest.

Be well!

Farming in the future?

First off, an well-earned "Gratz" to Thomas Lionblood on finally getting his Kraysys boots!

For a great definition of "Farming and Drops" see THIS post at Modern Auto Magic

The whole thought of farming in W101 gave me an idea, recently. Something to "streamline" it a little. Let's call it "Hall of Saviors". You don't even need to make a new area: just make it a menu option at the Arena on Unicorn Way. Heck, you can even introduce it into the quest line:

(Merle Ambrose: Ah! You've beaten Lord Nightshade! Excellent! Now, go beat him again, to really make a statmement! Go see Diego, and he'll point you in the right direction.")

You could even make re-beating every boss in the Hall an achievement:

Badge Earned: Hall monitor

No huge idea , here. Just a single location to go and revisit Boss battles that you've already beaten in the quest line, (like unlockable content). Here's an example:

I want to farm for the Wraith Statue. Only Grubb drops it, in Sunken City. Well, just getting to Grubb can be a half hour or more, each run. So, having run Sunken City "proper", Grubb becomes "unlocked" in the Hall of Saviors.
Now, instead of trudging through all the gates, and towers, and Marla, ect. I simply engage in the Final Battle with Grubb, in the Hall.
Note that nothing changes in this: he still has his minions. His drop rates are unaffected. It is the same battle as actually running Sunken City, but without all the extra filler of actually running Sunken City.

Now, take that same theory, and apply it to Malistaire. Once you've beaten him in the Crown of Fire, he becomes the final "unlockable" Boss in the Hall. Now, you can farm him "on demand", without all the stuff in between, arena-style.

Mind you, this is not a replacement, in any way, shape, or form, to the game's Quest lines. No Boss is available in the Hall untill it has been defeated in Quest. Moreover, a party member cannot join you in the farming until they have met the same requirements. Just like the Jotun Battle in GH, everybody needs to have done the brothers, or everybody gets to battle them again.

Or, say you prefer the "pre- patched patch" battle with the Jade Oni, you know the one I like to call "Helephants on Parade", where he summons the other Oni's? Simply select "Jade Oni-HARD" from a menu, vs. "Jade Oni-Normal".

To my mind, this idea kind of balances out the "easy farming" battles, where they're just inside a tower entrance, (or Oyotomi, for that matter), with the "have-to-run-the-whole-instance" like the Dean in the Labyrinth.

So, what do you think? Is this a viable idea, or does it, in some way, alter the playability of the game "proper"?

Would the real comic please stand up?

Please stand up.
Please stand up.

No, this is not an entry.

Isaiah Spelldust, over at Defenders of the Spiral, is announcing a new W101 Comic Contest!

Here's "da rules":

-Anyone can enter!
-The comic has to be Wizard 101 related
-Entries can be submitted between July 22-August 13
-No run-offs of anyone elses comics!
-The winner's ( 2-3 ) will get to make a comic with me. Except YOU get to make up the theme!
- You must submit all comics to me via e-mail; Isaiahspelldust@gmail.com
-Have fun! And relax, there's no rush in this race!

Have fun!

Bazaar Updates- Sorting

This just across the wires..


New Bazaar!
Elik has updated his Bazaar in Olde Town. The new Bazaar allows players to sort items based on name, quantity, school, level and cost.

When you first arrive at the Bazaar, everything will be sorted by name. As you can see from the following picture, there's a yellow arrow under the word 'Name'. Click the word Name to sort from A to Z or Z to A.

If you'd prefer to sort by the quantity of an item, click the top of the column with the # sign. You can sort from high to low, or low to high.

If you'd prefer to sort by level, click the letters LVL at the top of the column. Again you can sort from high to low, or low to high.

If you'd prefer to sort by school, click the top of the SCH column. A small spiral image indicates the item can be used by any school.

Finally, if you'd prefer to sort by cost you can do so by clicking on the top of the column with the word Cost. You can sort from high to low and low to high.

If you only want to see items that your current character can use at this time, select the Usable checkbox in the lower right corner of the window. This will filter out all items that you cannot currently use due to level or school restrictions.

We all hope that you will find shopping at the new and improved Bazaar an easier and faster experience.

Absence makes the heart grow fonder

I have not been around the Spiral, lately. I took this measure to prevent "MMO burnout". You know, when you overplay a game, and in doing so, risk making it "not fun"?. So I've been on vacation.. in the Carribean. POTC Online, to be exact. You know Autumn Duskhunter, the Necromancer, but did you know Autumn Duskhunter is also a pirate? True fact! So, it's like "home away from home" whenever the voodoo spells some out.

All I can say is "POTC is NOT W101". (Duh!) Wow, I cannot believe Disney allows it's name on this game, Sure, W101 may have some "areas of opportunity", but POTC Online is just awful. Easily, one of the worst MMO's I've played in a while. More bugs than an exterminator's paradise. Which makes me appreciate W101 *so* much more. I even went a bought a game card for this game, to see if it improved anything. Two words: Never again. The $9.95/mo for 'pirates' isn't worth the same value you get from KI with W101. So, I'l stowaway with Baldur Goldenpaws, and get back to my Home Port in no time.


So, yes, I'm sitting here, watching Pokemon Marathon, waiting for a code. I haven't posted in a bit, and the blogosphere has been quite abuzz, has it not?

Aside from the pet codes, and test realm stuff, (which many fine blogs have already covered), I wanted to point out a couple recent posts that caught my eye:

1) Amber StarGem, my friend at The Myth Master created THIS post, in dedication to "Homework". All I can say is that I hope to be worthy of such friends. Rock on, Amber! I should have you over my house to show you "the" homework graveyard. (spent way too much at Bazaar, lol)

2) Valerian's has a great idea, also on the graveyard theme. A graveyard for Wizards. , a living memorial site to friendships past, now online at Wizard Graveyard.

Well, that's my little update, for the moment..back to watching resurrected fossils slug it out on Pokeon. I want me my Death Scarab...and I'm certainly earning it, *groan*.

Gimme My Death Scarab!

The Codes:

Brock2009 Death Scarab (yay!)

W101 Downtime Announcement

Wizard101 the game will be offline from 3am to approximately 4am on Tuesday July 14th*.

This downtime is necessary to address the issues listed below:

▪ Wandering creatures in Dragonspyre will no longer gain Power Pips naturally, however the bosses of the Spiral still maintain this ability.

▪ Sgt Skullsplitter will be taught another lesson by Merle Ambrose and will stop casting interrupts on players.

▪ Baby Drakes will once again appear for the Break An Egg quest.

▪ Scarl Soomhowler will appear more frequently for the Clean Them Out Quest.

▪ Players will get a message after they complete Trade Voyage to seek out Merle Ambrose and gain access to Grizzleheim after level 20.

▪ Scarsnout will now properly resist Myth spells and be weak to Storm spells.

▪ Reagents in your Reagent section of your backpack will now be alphabetized.

▪ The creatures in Raven Fortress will be less aggressive and won't pull Wizards into combat as easily.

▪ Krokotopian Scarabs can properly be bought and sold from the Bazaar

▪ Yardbird Quest goals will be more clearly defined.

▪ Veil of Verdancy will no longer be bright pink and can now be dyed.

▪ Hood of Ashes will now have a level 45 requirement.

▪ Amaranthine Staff will no longer be eligible to sell at the Bazaar.

▪ The following house items will now work properly in your house:

◦Dogfish Statue

◦Dragon Wall Bust

◦Dragonwing Bust

◦Stone Fireplace

◦Brick Fireplace

◦Soda Barrels

◦Tiny Arched Door

If you do not see them where you placed them before tonight, you may need to go to your attic and pick all items up in the house for it to appear. We apologize for this slight inconvenience, but it may be the only way to ensure you can retrieve the item.

▪ The Eye will once again be an item players can interact with for the Eye of Truth quest.

▪ Tall Wooden Shelf & Rough Wooden Shelf can now be picked up once they've been placed in a Castle or Dorm.

▪ PvP Ranked Match results will now be correct after PvP match completion.

Please know this downtime only addresses the issues listed above, and we are working diligently to fix others that players have brought to us.

Watch the message boards and the Ravenwood News for upcoming information about additional updates and fixes.

*please note this downtime may be extended without notice, but we will try to message any extensions on the Wizard101 game launcher.

---

So, you want to be a blogger?

You want to be a blogger? Why not! Free speech! Power to the people! Rock on!


I want you to be successful. If you're reading this blog, chances are you want to be a W101 Blogger. Great! Join the family! There's always room under the pagoda...unless it's a "Meet and Greet"..(those are just crazy busy, lol)!

However, (and there is always a 'however'), might I suggest some tips, gained from experience?
Don't consider them "Rules", they're more like 'guidelines', savvy? "Keep to the Code!"

Item, the First: Do it for the love of the subject you're blogging about. DON'T do it for fame. That's a losing proposition. Don't do it for profit, either..statistically, you will lose more than you gain. Blog about what interests YOU.

Item, the Second: Be yourself. Don't try to be Thomas Lionblood. Only The Friendly Necromancer is The Friendly Necromancer. "But imitation is the sincerest form of flattery". Certainly, copy his dedication, and work ethic, and service to the community, but don't try to be a "Friendly clone". Thomas didn't get where he is by being someone else. TFN is an excellent example of what a blog should be. He has worked long, and hard to become (what I consider), "The Flagship of the W101 Blogging Community".

Item, the Third: Content. This is the hardest of them all. How to fill all that blank canvas? You're on your own, here. This is your blog. You are the Captain of the ship. You decide "what goes, what stays". How often will you be able to update? Content creation is the hardest part of any creative process. (Think of it this way, I had to create this content, so you could read it).

Item, the Fourth: Your audience. I'm gonna guess "W101 Community", on this. But which segment of the community,( if not all). Will you lean more towards quest grinders, PvP'ers, House designers? This ties in to items 1, 2 and 3. If you can find a balance, blog about what you love, being yourself, creating original content, then you're doing well. Your audience will follow you. Do not rely on "I get no comments", or how many people you see following you. I thought I had only 5 or 6 people reading Homework, until I put up a poll. 70+ votes (at time of writing). The audience is out there, and more oft than not, they will watch quietly.

Item the Forth, Part Deux: Bad Eggs. You will get them. How do you deal with dissention? What about a troll? . There are those who will disagree JUST to provoke you. Don't get reeled in, it's a sucker's bet. However, where do you draw the line between flaming, and debate? If you shut down ALL opposing views, (which is an option), then people will not feel they have a voice. A blogger needs readers, like a ship needs a crew.

Item, the Fifth; Graphics. (I" plead the Fifth", on this one). Haha, little joke. Graphics are completly optional. So , you don't have PhotoShop. Neither do I, (though I miss it terribly). Each and every graphic you've ever seen on Homework was done with a 'powerful' graphics program call MS Paint. Yup. That free little paint program that all MS Windows users have. Fortunately, for me, my medium is more the "collage" style, so I have infinite possibilities, only fettered by my imagination, and by recreating it, ala 'Andy Warhol', I reduce the risk of copyright infringement.

Item, the Sixth: Grammar. No, not your Grandma, (though she's welcome to follow your blog, too). Punctuation. Spelling. Grammatical Cohesion. You know, all that stuff that bores/bored you to tears , in school. A little goes a long way. I am constantly re-checking my stuff, (because I have very mild dyslexia). And when words aren't "right", they nag at me. But, that's just me.

Take this famous example:
Cna yuo raed tihs? Olny 55 plepoe out of 100 can.
i cdnuolt blveiee taht I cluod aulaclty uesdnatnrd waht I was rdanieg. The phaonmneal pweor of the hmuan mnid, aoccdrnig to a rscheearch at Cmabrigde Uinervtisy, it dseno’t mtaetr in waht oerdr the ltteres in a wrod are, the olny iproamtnt tihng is taht the frsit and lsat ltteer be in the rghit pclae. The rset can be a taotl mses and you can sitll raed it whotuit a pboerlm. Tihs is bcuseae the huamn mnid deos not raed ervey lteter by istlef, but the wrod as a wlohe. Azanmig huh? yaeh and I awlyas tghuhot slpeling was ipmorantt! if you can raed tihs dgig it or use aentohr srecive wtih the sarhe it btotun bloew!

Freaky, huh?

Item, the Last. Forget everything you just read! Who the heck am I to tell you how to run your blog? Absoloutely nobody. Hence, therein lies the freedom. You are free to succeed or fail by your own merits. I wish you well. I hope that you have gleaned at least something from this, even if it's only a moment of bemusement,

Yes, all the refrences were so I could add this pic.

Be Well!

Can't touch this?

Well, we all knew it was inevitable. W101 is a successful MMO. And as such, it will have growing pains. With expanded chat, over 2 million players, and a rising chorus , Wizard City, saved from Malistaire, is beginning to smell a bit like the Old West. One possible solution: the most controversial, misused, and feared weapons in any MMO: The Banhammer.

Who should weild such fearsome power? Well KI, of course. Problem is, there's so few of them and so many of us.

Yes, we have a "report" button. We, (I), use it, as appropriate. Spammers, Con Artists, Filter Foilers, all fall prey to the button. Then it continues. I would absoloutely HATE to be the poor intern at KI who has to review each report , and weigh in on it's validity. That's a 48 hour-a-day job. It's like the "inbox" that never empties.

Then, there are "Player Mods", regular wizards like you and me, who are given the sacred duty to weild "minihammer" powers. Something like a "mute " button. Again, one has to have a dedicated Justicar to sift the valid, from the "grey area", from the invalid reports. KI could not well afford to have a bunch of Judge Dredds running around, lol.

So, what's a MMO to do? There are no expediently perfect answers. I was a Player Mod in ASDA Story before, I can tell you, it's a thankless task. Usually, it's done for the love of the game. When it become your JOB to interract with new players, (usually requiring hours per week, dedicated), only the strongest of characters can avoid becoming jaded. Seriously, how many time do you think you could answer "Where is Lord nightshade?" before you snapped?
10 times?
100 times?
Do you have the W101 Wiki on "speed dial"?
Nevermind the "Fine. ban me. I'll just make another account" types.
Familiarity breeds contempt. That's a HUGE sacrifice to make, on behalf of a game.

So, for the love of the game, what IS the solution? It only takes a few bad apples to spoil the bunch, and the Wizard City Commons , Shoping District, and PvP Arena areas are starting to become noticeable. It seems that the ones to be weeded are usually the ones with nothing to lose. Should there be a "Trial Member" realm? Problem is, *I'm a trial member, and I've all-but-finished catching up. So, a dedicated realm for "non subscribers" would hurt the Crowns Players. Unless they conferred some membership upon Crown Players. it just keeps getting messier as we go. How about Shops and arenas that only subscribers and Crown players can get to? How high do you raise the bar?

At least we don't have gold spammers.

Ideas?

Meet and Gree...oh my Gosh!

WOW!

So...many...people!

In game achievement!

"Wow" is really all I can say. The Bazaar can only hope to ever be as crowded and jovial as the Meet and Greet was today! Soooo many great people! You know, if there are any bloggers that feel they do "what they do" for nothing, then they need to have an event like this, because you'll never feel unappreciated again! My friends list went from Five to "I can't count that high!".
I will not name names, because I would end up forgetting someone, and that would be bad. So,

I THANK YOU ALL!

In meeting all of you, I am invigorated to keep "doing what I do".

Without you, the reader, "Homework in a Graveyard" may as well be a closed book.

Teleport Bus Details for Meet and Greet

4:55 to 5:10pm EST. Wu Realm. If I am not there, wait a minute or two, I WILL come get you.
Last "bus" leaves at 5:10pm est.

"How does a 'Teleport Bus' system work?"
Here's how it goes:

1)Everyone who wants to go friends me, the "Bus Driver"
2)I will choose a person from the group to tell when to "teleport to friend" (Driver).
3) When I get to our destination (Moo Shu), I tell THAT person "now".
4)THAT person tells everyone else in the group, everyone teleports to the Driver.
5) Gratz! You're in Moo Shu! Enjoy the Meet and Greet!

Meet and Greet! Update!

The Evil Theurgists is proposing a Blogger's "Meet and Greet", and I endorse this idea! This event is for all W101 bloggers AND readers, (whom without which, blogging would be for naught)

Details, are as follows:

Sunday, July 12th, 5pm EST.
(Here for a time zone converter)

Wu Realm, Jade Palace (Moo Shu), minigames area (1)

Note: If you have not progressed far enough to get to Moo Shu, I will be running a "teleport bus" service from behind Golem Tower,(Wu Realm), checking every couple of minutes from 4:55pm EST, to 5:10pm EST. If you're a "crowns" player, (like myself), you will have to buy Jade Palace.
Hope to see you there!

Eye on Kingsisle

Spying on the headquarters in Plano, TX.
(Be sure to zoom to street level)
They must have Wizard Cloaking "on"
Wonder what's brewing in there.

Standing in traffic, facing north. Can you find the disabled motor vehicle, and the driver walking in the median?

Isn't technology scary, sometimes?

W101 Card News

Greater options to get your cards!

WIZARD101® LAUNCHES PREPAID GIFT CARD PROGRAM IN SELECT RETAILERS

Wizard101 gift card distribution expands to include major retail stores

PLANO, TEXAS (July 8, 2009) – KingsIsle Entertainment, Inc., creator of high quality, downloadable, family-friendly MMO’s, announces the release of Wizard101® prepaid gift cards in major retailers nationwide. Wizard101’s prepaid gift cards are available in $10 and $20 increments, depending on location, and include a limited edition in-game collectible pet that can protect and assist Wizards as they venture through spell-binding virtual worlds.

Earlier this year, Wizard101 launched their prepaid gift card program in all Rite Aid® and 7-Eleven® stores nationwide. After the program’s successful start, KingsIsle has expanded the gift card program to include distribution at the following retail outlets, with anticipated launch dates specified below.
• Blockbuster® (Release date - June 29)
• Best Buy® (Release date - July 15)
• Wal-Mart® (Release date - July 27)
• Toys “R” Us® (Release date - August 3)
“Wizard101’s prepaid gift cards provide young members of our growing community easier access to the game’s premium content and gives parents a fun, convenient gift that kids can enjoy for days,” said KingsIsle CEO Elie Akilian.
Prepaid gift cards provide players, especially those without a credit card, access to “Crowns” Wizard101’s in game currency. “Crowns” help players access new worlds and can be used to purchase virtual goods such as wands, treasure cards and advanced equipment for their characters.
Wizard101 players enter the magical world of Wizard City as student Wizards setting out to hone their Wizard skills, cast spells and summon powerful creatures to fight evil forces. The characters and worlds of Wizard101 are influenced by literature, history and pop culture, giving the game a depth and quality appreciated by adults and enjoyable for families to play together. The game provides a safe online, virtual environment for kids to game together by offering special community chat levels and parental controls.

About KingsIsle Entertainment, Inc.
Founded in 2005, with operations in the Dallas area and Austin, KingsIsle is creating massively multiplayer online entertainment offerings that are innovative, compelling, uncommon and of high quality. They have brought together a team of highly creative, energetic, accomplished and skilled professionals to develop these projects. The team consists of individuals with unique and in-depth experience in the development of video games, online environments, communications and commercial software. For more information, please visit www.kingsisle.com.

KingsIsle and Wizard101 are trademarks or registered trademarks of KingsIsle Entertainment Inc.

Hot off the virtual presses, updates coming!

As reported on other fine blogs, be sure to check out J. Todd Coleman's Interview at MMORPG.com. Hear from the man behind The Headmaster!









And from Professor Greyrose:

There will be an update to Wizard101 July 8th at 3am Central US Time that will include the following important updates!

Enhanced Boss Encounters Update
The bosses of the Spiral have been taught a lesson by Merle Ambrose, and they will no longer interrupt your combat! All the Enhanced Boss Battles are back to normal, but the bosses have kept their knowledge of Power Pips, and they will earn and use Power Pips just like a Wizard.

Crafting Updates
More Mist Wood and Scrap Iron will be appearing in the Spiral, and should be easier for Wizards to find as they learn the ways of Reagents and Crafting.
Cool down timers on some recipes have been lowered to allow Wizards to create items more quickly.
Reagents have been added as rewards for Mini Games!
The reagents needed for Treasure Cards have been reduced, most notably the number of Treasure Card ingredients needed to create the final Treasure Card.
The descriptions for some of the Craft-able Items were incomplete and should now reflect all the bonuses the items grant the player.

Treasure Card Updates
Harold Argleston in the Wizard City Library, and Zan’ne in the Krokotopia Library will have some of their inventory of Treasure Cards renewed, but at a cost. Treasure Cards in the Library will be more expensive than in the Bazaar, and the Bazaar will be more expensive than Crafting your own Treasure Cards. *

Quest Updates
The Weapons Cache in Merkholm will once again allow players to interact with it, without having to switch Realms.
Death Students will be acknowledged for completing the Sweet Revenge quest.
Stump Worms will be appearing once again for the Good Eats quest.

Housing Update
The Wallpaper and Floor textures that had suddenly turned pink and purple for many Wizards, will once again appear as their normal wallpaper and floor patterns!

Thank you to all our young Wizards who gave us feedback and bug reports!

See you in Wizard City!

-Professor Greyrose

Here's a "well rounded" idea.

Well, you know how I gripe, every now and then, about "this and that", about content, ect, ect.
I am now gonna play "Devil's Advocate", and toss out some ideas for the next world.

Let's call it "Celestia". Original, no?

So, here we have it, a new world. A succesor to Dragonspire. The next step. If you're here, you know what you're doing, right? Good. Because were going to add a new idea to dueling: Dimension.

With this release , we have flight. No, don't ask me about the mechanics, I'm just an "ideas" person.

Battles in the sky. Floating Islands. Sky Pirates. Yes, I know it's been done before. Everything has been done before.

Up till now, you've had your basic, flat, "Battle Disc". We're gonna add height to it. Depending on the height you choose, your attack will increase, at a cost to defense, you stay where you are (like on a disc- nothing changes, or you drop to a "low, defensive position which increase your Defense, at a cost to your attack. Illustrated in this very crude cutaway:

Now how would this look in an actual "Battle sphere"? Glad you asked. Here is a horrendous "Artist's Concept" .

(You know, I really miss PhotoShop):

Height can be changed, once per turn, at the cost of "passing", making a height change a "0 pip" move. Say, you take a low position to build up your pips for a devastating attack, then have to take not one, but 2 turns moving up to"high attack". Pray you don't fizzle. All spell animations would play level middle, same a a disc.

Also, in this new world, there will be "spheres of influence". What this means is certain zones will have "bonus" ATT/Resistance to certain schools. The best way I can describe it is this:

Say you're in Firecat Alley. That's a "Fire" sphere of influence. All fire spells cast have, say a 10% increase in attack, and any Fire Mobs have an additional 10% Ice resistance. Does that make sense? I hope so, because I barely have it worked out, myself.

Do I realize the staggering programming and coding work that even this "simple" change would take? Well, vaguely. Remember, I'm an "ideas" person. That was an idea. My work here is done.

Feel free to begin debating the pros/cons of this idea. Does it merit consideration, or is it utter garbage? You decide.

Mounts? Really?

WET BLANKET ALERT! Concerns for the future of W101 to follow.

Now THIS is A Necromancer's mount!

Unfortunately, it's already been done.

As I'm sure many, (if not all of you), are aware that there is a poll at W101 Central concerning "transportation", i.e "mounts" of one flavor, or another. Yes, I cast my vote, as well.

But the real question is "Why?".
Do we really even need mounts? With the staggering options already available to us, (Home, mark location, teleport to friend) and the introduction of "Teleport stones" in Grizzleheim ,(which I really like), what is the actual purpose of having a mount? Running gets you where you need to go. Will being on a mount keep you from being "pulled" by mobs? I don't see that working, either. And a Dragon, as a land mount? That's called a Lizzard.

"Ok, Autumn, what got you all into a tizzy about mounts?"

It's not about mounts, specifically. You see, I'm a WoW refugee. I have a Lvl 80 NE hunter, which I no longer play. At all. WoW got stale. After that, I bounced around from MMO to MMO. I did a lot of the Asian F2P's, I hit all the big titles. Most of them lasted 2 weeks, for various reasons.

Then came W101.

I was hooked. Still am. I loved the feel of Grizzleheim. The way it was less like "riding on a rail", like Krok, or Marley. You could cut corners. "Take the path less trodden.."

And it reminds me of WoW.

Not that that is necessarily a bad thing. But when I saw "motorcycles" as a possible mount, it was like a flashback. Why , Grizzleheim and Northrend could almost be related land masses. Both of them have a Nordic Mythology baseline, (but only W101 has Ravens).

On it's own, these things would have little bearing on my outlook. However, with Grizzleheim "Live before it's time" , when there's fixes still to make in Dragonspire.

Now, we boost the Bosses. Now, we plan to "revisit the issue" due to Malistaire being INSANE. I just helped a friend defeat the "new" Jade Oni, and, all I can say is "Wow. That's not a soloable battle,(anymore), at Moo Shu levels. Barely even at Grandmaster Level."

Grizzleheim is completed by most (existing) grandmasters in 2-5 days. And still level 50. Blogs like Valerian's give voice to a rising chorus. Yes, content creation is difficult. I'm glad I don't have to do it. Trying to do anything that hasn't already been done is a noble, and Herculean task.

IMO, (which counts for naught anywhere but here), KI should stick to their vision, and not be swayed by the masses "wishlist of the moment". "Measure twice, cut once". You want to give us someting? Give us FLIGHT. Take dueling into 3D. Dragon's wing's were never meant to be clipped. Don't try to be WoW. Even WoW has a hard time being WoW. Be the W101 we all fell in love with.

Please, don't get me wrong. I still love this game. i love the people I've met through it, and this blog. I would just really hate to see W101 become a victim of it's own success.
So, that's it, for the moment.
Back to being positive!

Well, that was fun.

Worked my way "all by me onesies" all the way up to the Storm Father. Peeked in, and thought ,
"Oh, not just no, But Michigan, NO! ". Noting that my friend Blake Dragonblade was on, I asked him for some advice. Not only did he have advice, he had his own Team, in the form of Padric Bluerider and Reed Nightsword, who all came to thrash The Final Four with me. Here we are just prior to battle:
Now, I knew I was in good hands with these wizards. They, apparently, routinely fight together, in PvP and PvE. I could tell, because they were constantly communicating strategy amongst eachother. No stress. A lot of impressive "power" moves. I was actually watching THEM more than the 4 bosses we all came to kill. Co-operative Teamwork is a joy to behold! And, in "no time flat", we were done.
See that? not one, but *2* swords. The Ashbringer and the Wildbranch. One Death, one Life. I couldn't have asked for more.

As a special bonus, Blake had me teleport to him afterward, because there was someone who wanted to catch up with me. Know who it was? None other than Countess Shadowbane from "Tales of the Countess Shadowbane and Dragon Master DragonBlade " So, as you can see, I was in good company today, and a good time was had by all.

Bless you, one and all.

Beware imitators.

As you may/may not know W101 has a Facebook Page . This is the only true "official" one, all others should be eyed with suspicion, so you don't look foolish, like me.

Word to the wise crafters:

Nice thread on the crafting chain HERE

Now about the word to the wise:

Yes, I know I spelled "Gallantry" wrong.

Moral of the story: Check your backpack carefully before selling "trash" to the NPC's.

I am redeemed.

As you can see above, I *did* remember my Reshuffle cards. Sorry, no merciless berating today.
I followed the advice of this post , and found Jotun to be an almost agreeable battle, having previously dispensed with both brothers. Fortunately, it keeps track of who has fallen to you, so I didn't have to re-battle Ullic, which is the battle that I got my posterior saved in by Blake.

Off to Ravenscar!

Oh, btw, am I the only one that wants a Grendel for a pet?

Fort of Jewel Lie

Heroes and Fools.

Some people never learn.
Some people, some idiots, fail to recognize sage words of wisdom when they are spoken.
Some people hypocritically laud the praises of tactical planning, and fail utterly.

Last night, that person was ME.

Yes, despite the fact that I should know better, I wound up in an eerily similar situation.

Let me set the stage for you: After a CRUSHING defeat at the hands of Jotun & Co, Ltd., I took on one of the warrens. Not too bad..till the very end. Fortunately, (for me), I had a Hero at hand: Blake Dragonblade , a fellow blog follower, and HUGE fan of Homework, (okay, I added the "huge fan" part), who came and rescued yours truly from wasting an hour or so of effort.

Here's what it looked like:

Yeah, see what's missing? No Reshuffle. I would have "fallen on my sword", were it not Blake's intervention.

So now, humble and contrite before you, dear readers, I pledge this solemn vow:

"I, Autumn Duskhunter, shall heneforth and always carry a minimum of 2 reshuffles in my deck.
Should I ever fail in this vow, it shall be the right, and duty of any/all readers to berate me in a public, merciless, and unrelenting fashion. So it is pledged, so shall it be."

Our Wizness is Crowns, and Wizness is good!

WET BLANKET ALERT! grousing and mathematical frustration to follow

Well, I'm a little less-than-happy, atm.
Why? Grizzleheim is LIVE!
Well, that's EXACTLY why.
Huh?

I'm a "Crowns" player. Have been since I started. I feel a little gyped, actually. I did a rough sum of what I've spent, to date, on W101, including both Ashley Duskhunter and I:

I've "bought" all of Wiz City, Krok, Marley, MooShu, Dragonspire, and now..buying Grizzleheim.
And for all that, I do not have "free chat", although I have a valid Credit card on file, only subscribers get that. I can't post in W101 forums, only subscribers can do that. 80 crowns per match in PvP? Good thing I don't PvP.

And now, we have:

Rare no longer is. Buy all you can, then run to Zeke to cash in more crowns! Hurry! (you know they bank on impulse buying) "You don't have to.." Yeah, riiiight.


I have spent more than 3 years subscription equivalent ( at Family Plan Rates) , and find myself still hamstrung by a "trial" account. You want my crowns AND a subscription?

I waited until GH went live, to see what changes, if any, went live. IMO, KI is leaning towards more and more "microtransactions". Not a good sign. Yes, I know it's a business, but at what point does it become plain old greed? I think there shouild be some kind of "threshold" where crown players get 'recognized' as members of the w101 community, and get the same rights as the level 1 that just subscribed.

I tried figuring out the rates, but math is far from my stongest suit, ( THIS is what happens when I try to do math.) So, if someone else can work it out, and get the proper conversion totals, I'd be appreciative.

*sigh*. Okay, that's the end of my rant.

I gotta go, the bazaar is calling me.

True Magic: Congratulations Thomas !

Baby Boy Sawyer,4:13 am, 7lbs 8oz, 20 inches long

Best wishes from "all of us" at "Homework". May all be happy and healthy!

Of vocal enhancements

You know, I'm loving the voice overs now, with the release of Grizzleheim.

However, one particular voice caught me "off guard". The voice of "The Narrator". I didn't see that one coming. I, myself wonder who it is that provides that voice.

See, thing of it is, is I do daycare for 2 little ones, ages 2 and 4. And one of the *few* programs they can agree on is Calliou. Now, whatever does this have to do with W101? I'm so glad you asked. You see, when I first heard our new Narrator, my mind instantly connected it with another Narrator. Yes, you guessed it. The Narrator for Calliou. Here's a clip, to compare for yourself:


See, (or, rather "hear"), a similarity? Other candidates that I might have considered would be Marion Ross or perhaps Waylon Jennings, the "Balladeer" of The Dukes of Hazzard, Except he's passed on..

I duuno, just thinking aloud, is all. ;)

Yet another blogger.

I don't know if I trust THIS ONE. I'm gonna have to keep a "weather eye" on that particular horizon, lol.

Ashley DuskHunter now has her own blog.

The end is nigh.

busy day of NOT farming

No, the newest iteration of farming will be : Bazaar!

It's the eBay of W101.

I went from NO blades to SEVERAL blades. And a couple new staffs.

I have new pets.

I have several rare furniture drops.

"Rare" no longer is. Bazaar farming consists of staring at the refreshes for the category you're hunting.

RIP, gameplay.

2 Hours.
120 Minutes
7200 Seconds.
Here I sit, mesmerized. I *know* what awaits me on "the other side". I embrace it. Yet here I sit. Staring.
Watching.
Waiting.
omgican'ttakeitanymore! Curse you, Housing wad! Nine times you turned me away! NINE! And now, your counterpart, Dragonspire wad is folloing your lead? I have gaming needs! I have no patience! I need to get my Grizzleheim on! If I can score an "Oyotomi's Jade Blade" at the bazzaar , I'll need not farm...as much. Yes, I KNOW there are roughly 2 million other people doing the exact same thing I am. I NEED to PLAY NOW!


DING! Patching Complete!

Well, there you have it. The post I would have made, were I not a rational and patient individual.

But, as we all know, yours truly is very patient. and very rational..
and patient...
and patient some more...
and some more...

(Yes, a blogger with no game to play is a terrible thing, Muah-ha-ha!)


See y'all in Grizzleheim!

Grizzleheim.

Live.
Today.

That is all.

Actually, that is not all. See TFN for fun new, previously unannounced features.

Now THAT is all.