Apocalypse Now & Then

Top Layer: Apocalypse Azteca
Middle Layer: Normal Azteca
Bottom Layer: Azteca... at dusk?


Once the inevitable has occured and Xibalba has hit Azteca, the world just doesn't disappear for us. It's still there to visit, but drastically different. The sky color is eerily similar to Khrysalis, icy bits of comet rain down every which way, the "Song of Creation" riff plays its endless hums.

Whenever a wizard quests through Azteca, every area they encounter will be different once the sky has fallen, so to speak. Here's a comparative look at certain scenes, before and after the apocalypse. Even if tedious, many parts of Azteca are very vibrant and great to explore, but they all end up undergoing this significant change.

** Note: This post won't exactly be text-heavy, but will indeed be very large in pictures. Remember, click to enlarge! **


Three Points - Before

A tranquil marketplace set against the forested backdrop. But a look from the other direction isn't quite as serene..

Perspective changes things, folks :P

It gets worse, though.

Apocalypse loading, aaand...

Three Points -- After

 General calamity, multiple pieces of comet crashing into buildings, three shades of color in the sky. Basically your everyday apocalypse.

"As you can see to the left, the prophecy is indeed coming true, my cold-blooded friends."

Cenote - Before

Mycin, just now coming upon the end of Azteca, checks out the still-tranquil sky while prowling zombie dinosaurs lurk nearby.

Cenote -- After

If not for the overhanging plant life, Arlen might as well be at the center of a pitch black zombie apocalypse. No specks of comet around, though.

Mangrove Marsh - Before

Similar to the Cenote, just some weird purple wisps.

Open air, a plaza, plenty of water - no wonder the reptiles wanted this area back from the avians.

Mangrove Marsh -- After

Unlike the Cenote, the apocalypse feels free to disturb the din.

Conflicts just seem petty now that the air is cloudy and the plaza will become rubble.

Saltmeadow Swamp - Before

Why search for a Fountain of Youth when a comet will kill you? :P

A nice summer shower is usually a good thing...

Saltmeadow Swamp -- After

Sky and swamp turn the same color (and so will the Monquistans when they see what happened)

...Unless you have a comet raining down.

Zultun Dock - Before

The avians tend to pick out good spots, complete with treehouses that look like faces.

Zultun Dock -- After

You guys can fly, right?

There's the differences in the first half of Azteca. Rather similar only if you don't look up or notice crashing pieces of ice all around. I've somewhat warmed to the atmosphere of Azteca while questing, but going there after level 90 is rather gloomy. Hearing the depressing "ah, ah ah ahhhh ... ahhhah uhhh" Apocalypse Theme doesn't help that feeling :P

The other installment (Cloudburst Forest - Twin Giants) will come in a few days. Better not to make one huge post of pictures in this case.

Happy Adventuring!

Something Fishy..

 Crafting and Gardening have seemingly always been a part of Wizard101 (5 and 3 1/2 years, respectively). It's a wonderful surprise, then, that a major new system has been introduced nearly six years into the game. It goes withot saying that I'm jumping at the bait for ... fishing!

  

As any friendly pelican will tell you, fishing is a pretty simple task while going through the motions. However, it takes a truly patient wizard to collect some of the more unique fishies out there. In fact, Swordroll and Kelsey Fireheart are already compiling a list of fish found from just outside Ambrose's Office to the distant wilds of Grizzleheim.

My personal reaction to the news was immediately thinking of Animal Crossing, a completely different game. There, going fishing is also an easy-to-grasp task, consisting of reeling in the fish at *just* the right time. The rarer the fish, the quicker the reaction time necessary. Wizard101 has taken a somewhat different path, though. For one thing, there are trained fishing spells (much like gardening), giving wizards better output at the cost of some energy. Naturally, there will be some complaints, with what little energy we have now surrounding three different tasks. But the whole purpose of fishing lies in giving wizards something more to do, and the community has been eel-ectric with excitement ;)

New fish species are still being revealed, which makes one wonder. What will be the ultimate prize out of this venture? In Animal Crossing, catching every fish is a big accomplishment, as the list goes beyond one hundred species. The fisher's bane there is the Coelacanth - in real life an extremely reclusive ancient fish that was once thought to be extinct since the dinosaurs. It can only be caught in certain conditions, and has a size very similar to that of the most common fish; the Sea Bass.

Kingsisle is following a similar track, putting forth the Dekoi, a sort of joke fish to frustrate everyone looking for something a little rarer. The description even says "find them wherever more impressive fish are hiding." But what will be our Coelacanth? So far, two particular fish have been giving wizards quite the fit - the Owl-Eyed Pike and Fish Sandwich. They're rare, but are found in Wizard City as part of Lucky Hookline's second quest. Thus, they're necessary to rank up in fishing (although word from the KI devs is that this will be fixed <--). Aside from those, not enough time has passed to gauge the rarity of many fish. Not all fishing holes have been thoroughly checked, and it is quite likely that not all fish have been discovered.

 

Last in the simple yet complex fishing spectacle, the obvious matter of luck comes into play. The school of the fish factors into it here - 'fire' bait is most likely to catch a fire-based fish, for example. Even when a perfect attempt (reel completely underwater) also occurs, the fish can still get away. A new elixir even supplements 25-50% more luck for an hour. Without the elixir, many wizards have experienced frustration, so going fishing may become a little easier before it goes live. Difficult or not, fishing does promise to be a lot of fun. Even if you're not an experienced crafter or gardener, it won't be hard to get your feet wet with fishing :P

 

No, Medusa, your gaze won't help me catch a Troll Trout.

Remember to look at the Update Notes for more instructions, including information about new housing crafting recipes! This is a great update for the busy crafter as well :)

Happy Angling!

End of Khrysalis - Shadow Palace Showdown

So it shall be, that I finally wrap up this post series a month after actually finishing Khrysalis. It's been almost four years since Celestia and my quest-posts began, and it's gone from Morganthe's introduction to her defeat. All things come to an end, though, including the presence of the Shadow Lady.

The defeat-warlords-again dungeon was particularly frustrating. But it does prevent the Spiral from being rewritten, after all.

 

That's reassuring *sigh*

'Final Countdown' for Malistaire, 'Final Challenge' for Morganthe. Time to tell Morganthe she can't sing.

Yeah, she gets beyond creepy here.

Cue the battle pictures!

 Very appropriate that a level 22 spell should kill the final Morganthe.

No idea where that leaves my dead memory..

Go figure - Morganthe and Malistaire are both floating in space now. 

Posing over what I shall call Morganthe's Nebula :P

"From the shadows I strike, and the skies will fall" seems to have backfired...

Dyvim was definitely the best part of Khrysalis ;)

lol, not sure how I feel about Arlen bugs.

"We"? I haven't been locked up for eons like you, man.

Ohhhh. Gross. How did so many creatures fit under that hood?

Obvious Third Arc clues. I'm most excited for Polaris, honestly. Seems like a frozen Celestia with penguins.

Ambrose's indifferent demeanor is odd. Did he anticipate Old Cob's weird awakening or just downplay it? Unlike the end of Malistaire's saga, there are a lot of specific questions that follow the end of the Second Arc. The biggest one, though - will it be over a year before the eleventh main world comes out? :P

Once again, the community settles in for an inevitable wait, hopefully equipped with teasers. Another side world like Grizzleheim (which came out between DS and CL) would be nice, too...

For the last time until whenever,

Happy Questing!