Azteca - Underground + Celestial Calendar

Before my membership ran out in December, I managed to get some work done under the mountains of Azteca. Many of these pictures are 7 months old, but oh well.

As if panning for gold wasn't a dirty job already..

No plaque-fighting ingredients in that, buddy.

Minions who rival Zafarian bosses in health? Check...

Pitch Black Lake was a cool experience, a bit more varied than Lake Nimue, it's Avalon counterpart. Personally, I enjoy the underwater experience. A whole zone of underwater areas in the upcoming worlds would be fun - maybe a little lighter in atmosphere though, like Celestia. Possibly the areas getting deeper and deeper underwater as the quests progress? There's an idea for Kingsisle. Maybe turn our animal mounts into fish underwater? :P

 Tierra De Brea was also unique as an area with caves being mined. It was a bit dull for my tastes though, not much else to say about it.

Time for the Calendar spell :D

Very philosophical and biblical, I like it.

It's a very decent damage attack that's effectively 8-9 pips with the 'Steal 1 Pip' bonus. I like it, but I'm getting a little tired of relying on my outdated Humongofrog spell for an AoE (hit-all) attack on mobs. Hopefully the next big Myth spell will be an AoE, as the last four have all been attacks for one enemy (Orthrus, Medusa, Basilisk and Calendar). A 2-round Stun attack, DoT spell and Steal-pip bonus is great, but give me an AoE any day.

Transcendant Crafter! The Agave Leaves/Turquoise were a bit of a pain, but overall it was an easier quest IMO than the Zafaria crafting one.

When the midnight moon rises, a monster never seen before appears in the dark...

Werewyvern.

In other pet news, I still can't get a pet with 3 decent talents. It always stops at Spell Proof+Spritely+Selfish talent, but my day will come. One day.

Other than that, I'm training some pets in the Test Realm both for myself and Petnome. There are a large number of pets close to completion, so remember to help out Petnome by training incomplete pets in the Test Realm if possible.

I've got quite a bit of post material for once, and summer doesn't last forever, so expect more frequent posting for awhile. Plus, I have a small pet project/post I'm working on that I should have ready by August. Well, nothing major, but I'm enjoying it :P

Until next time,

Happy Questing!

Test Realm Notes: Myths, Minions & Miscellaneous

Are you ready for some new dungeons and.. stuff?!

According to the Update Notes, Aquila will be a "collection of zones within Wizard City" - like Crab Alley, just much larger and harder, it sounds. Or just a lot of places like the Waterworks. Or like Wysteria, but for higher level wizards? ..I'll stop the comparisons. Personally, I don't go into the Test Realm, but a lot of other bloggers and wizards from Twitter ('twizards') are supplying constant updates of the new content. My blogroll to the right of the screen there already has some recent posts from other bloggers about the content, in fact. I'll have to see for myself when the Aquila content comes out in several weeks, but for now I'll have to just give my first impressions of the Update Notes. Maybe if I go really fast and the Test Realm is really slow, I'll reach Aquila in Pirate101 before the content comes out in Wizard101. Just maybe.

These "Immortal Games" (hey, sounds like the Wysteria Tournament) are, as I quote from the Update Notes again, "an excellent test of determination, wit, and fortitude". Hopefully, this means there will be puzzles to go along with the combat, much like the Temple of Storms puzzles in Krokotopia, but harder. Or, maybe the battles will involve the complicated schemes of beings like those in the Warehouse or Briskbreeze Tower (I will always hold a grudge against Estrakir! hmph). There I go comparing stuff again - either way, I'm sure we'll encounter cheating bosses, one way or the other. As for where these zones are exactly, I'm guessing Cyclops Lane will be the entrance to these new dungeons. It fits very well. Enough theorycrafting for now, though, the content is already out and being tested.

As for the new minions -

The new Myth minion is 6 pips, as Talos was 5, I suppose.

Like the level 28 minion quest, these new school minions come as part of a quest, given by Balestrom. Hopefully, they'll play some more buffs and heals. Talos hitting away my traps in boss battles is annoying, but the Hex he uses can be very helpful. Higher damage attacks and more blades and traps would be optimal, in my opinion. Also, ability to critical/block wouldn't hurt. I'm excited to learn what the new minions can do, and whether they have any of the new abilities. I don't want my minions relegated to the back of my deck again, in other words. 

...Speaking of decks -

Woohoo!

Even though I don't PvP, this is really useful. I have 2 mob decks (one for myth enemies) and several boss decks which follow the same principle. Besides the Aquila content, this is definitely my favorite update. There aren't many names to choose from, of course, but they'll suffice. Other than that, there isn't much to comment on about this change, but it's a great addition that will clear up the game for anybody who uses multiple card decks.

Lastly, one can't forget the 

MISCELLANEOUS UPDATES: 

• Locks: Another very convenient update - the dreaded realization that you just sold an expensive item is all too common, and this update provides a decent solution to the problem. A post-it note to myself, if you will, that I shouldn't sell certain items.

• Silver Chests: Now available pretty much everywhere. I doubt the rewards for the WC/KT/MS chests will be large, but the wizards who come across them can get extra practice for those chests in later worlds with better rewards. Next up: Gold Chests? I wish :P

• Dragonspyre Library: Wait, what?!?

• Other: Many other minor solutions to minor problems, all of them particularly convenient.

Even though we've all had gripes with Kingsisle before, whether it be the Hoard packs or the PvP system, this Test Realm seems to be tackling minor problems that have been a problem for wizards for the last five years, and coming up with solutions that are more than satisfactory. Even though Aquila isn't even a world in Wizard101, the content promises to be exciting, and the next main world will likely be here before the year ends.

Unless developments take another sudden turn, I'll be back to post about my escapades in Azteca in another few days.

Happy Testing!

Two-faced Devereaux

Recently, I bought a combo W101+P101 membership, and Pirate101 has honestly proven to be harder to multi-task with. In other words, I've been too engrossed with Cutthroats and Monquistans to post, but I probably should by this point.

So, after taking the school test..

Yeah, I'm that Marleybone-based dude with the eye patch. Cool with that.

From first impressions, it feels very similar to Myth in the sense that I'm supporting henchmen a lot, but on the other hand, I'm getting some decent healing spells. I must say I love Witchdoctor attacks as a secondary; Ghostwail does a lot of damage and Jobu's Breath is obviously based off Death school's drain spells, but relative to what level you are. I'm still developing understanding for the battle system (I just figured out what my +50% Will spell does), but I can grasp most other aspects of the game by now.

My beautiful new appearance for Monquistan royalty

This ledge reminded me of a similar spot in Vigrid Roughland in Grizzleheim. A few turns up a hill and I ended up with this nice view of a bunch of beehives.

This quest from the same spot reminds me of this side quest in Mooshu, minus the fact that it was a poisonous frog this time. Ah, ignorant sheep and monkeys.

Old Scratch's Pirate saves the day :D

I liked the purple clouds and Celestian music in these cross-world skyways - nice touch.

I ended up letting the ship sail itself a few times...

Bananas :D

Really?

To Cool Ranch!

It looks very pretty, almost like I'm navigating around the Grand Canyon in the Skyways. The Buffaloons are pretty weird though. Plus, with 5 skyways, I think I'm going to be here for a while.

I'll probably post again sooner than later, and until then,

Happy Adventuring/Questing! (or what have you)