Aquila - Tales And Fails

After a brief wait for Aquila, I finished the content by Monday. It took awhile to find a successful group to beat Tartarus with, but we finished.

First things first, though -

Pros:

2,000 health, will effectively take away damage from myself before I attack a boss. Also starts out with more pips than I do.

Cons: 

Still no Critical/Crit Block. I'd gladly have Vassanji be an extra pip or two for the Critical ability - he is a level 75 minion - but alas, it is not yet to be.

I will leave a couple spots for Vassanji in my deck, however. Bosses can do a lot of damage, and his frequent attacks can influence a boss to attack him, effectively taking away a lot of damage meant for me. Kind of like the Minotaur minion, just with a lot more health, no shielding and more attacks.

Back to the main business though.. Aquila!

So majestic.

Mt. Olympus went by breezily, at a Mooshu/Dragonspyre difficulty. I would think it's more designed for Level 40 than 30 - awfully tough for a Magus wizard. 

My favorite part, as evidenced by the pictures, has to be the boss animations. Bird gods with streaming arrows and thunderbolts aimed right at you? It's hard to beat that.

Atlantea, on the other hand, was a definite challenge for my Promethean self. I died several times, notably on Poseidon, but thank goodness for the minions staying dead when returning.

Much like Poseidon, I found it hard to stay alive long enough to kill the Mt. Olympus secret boss, Gladiator Dimachaerus, a.k.a the winning word when Wizard101 has a Spelling Bee. I ended up killing his ice minion, dying and coming back to fight him solo. Not very time-efficient, but soloing is like that sometimes.

First item down! :D

I still have to farm for the Alpha & Omega Ring.. and an Enchanted Armament pet would be nice.

Tartarus is supposedly as far below the earth as Mt. Olympus is above it.

..That picture is misleading, I just thought it was pretty.

Must not be a lot of wizards afraid of that prospect o_O

Eh, looks dark enough.

The Death Satyr and Minotaur were early-Aztecan difficulty (though the 3 minions were particularly annoying). Certain aspects reminded me of the Great Spyre, particularly the mood and music. Snaking around the annoying Bronze Hoplites was reminiscent of those Myth Colossus minions in the Great Spyre, too.

... Now what business did a Gobbler have down here? 

The Stheno maze was simple enough - pick up all the Urn pieces and activate them by I, II, III, IV.

On the other hand.. eww, snake pit.

Cerberus is a huge yet endearing mutt, and a little bit confusing in his battle tactics. After a run or two, though, he's not too difficult.

If you're having difficulty with Cerberus or Hades or just need a strategy, I'd recommend checking out Katherine Lightwalker's in-depth guide over on Central for Tartarus.

First I'm just being recorded to the poets if I die, now I get sent to some sort of heaven? Make up your mind, little birdies!

Evident by the picture, my first run ended in disappointment. One player disappeared early in the dungeon, and the all important storm wizard had to leave in the middle of the final battle, right after all his blades were destroyed by an ill-timed Earthquake. Can't get much more disappointing than that.

The second attempt went off with few hitches, thankfully.

At this point, I'd rather not be a Percy Jackson-esque demi-god.

Honestly, I really couldn't decide which one is better.

Power Pip % and Accuracy isn't a big priority, and the new hat gives better Critical & Resistance, but the old hat still gives more Damage and Health. 

Total Gear Comparison

            w/Poetic Chieftain's Helm (+40% Mythblade card)

• 4,167 Health      
• 67% Power Pips
• 50% Damage
• 24% Universal Resist
• 20% Accuracy
• 188 Critical (31%)

       

            w/Helm of Unknown Tartarus

•  4,055 Health 
• 74% Power Pips
• 43% Damage
• 29% Universal Resist
• 14% Accuracy
• 261 Critical (47%)

        

I suppose I should go with the new Helm, but I love the extra stackable Mythblade of the old one. Otherwise, most of the decision hinges on the Critical Rating. Critical is almost obsolete in boss battles, what with their ridiculous critical-block percentage (tone their crit-block down a little next word, please?), but it could come in very handy for normal mobs.

For now, I'll probably stick with the Poetic Chieftain's Helm for most battles, leaving the Helm of Unknown Tartarus for mobs or bosses with sensible (or none) Critical Block Rating. I must say though, it's a little weird when a Level 56 Hat rivals the supposed best Level 90 Hat out there.

Personally, my Aquilan wishlist goes as follows:

- Exalted Life Amulet (Hades)

- Armor of Unknown Tartarus (Hades)

- Boots of Unknown Tartarus (Hades)

- Alpha & Omega Ring (G. Dimachaerus)

- Blade of the Felled Titan (Cronus)

- Enchanted Armament Pet (G. Dimachaerus)

- Harpy Pet (Sand Squid)

Better get cracking some more!

Lastly, I did a couple battles with Cronus. Besides being a prime Amber producer, he drops the new Blade of the Felled Titan.

How exactly was he "felled"?

Cronus was destined to be overthrown by his sons - Zeus, Hades and Poseidon. To overcome the prophecy, he swallowed all of his children. However, he was tricked into swallowing a stone in substitute for Zeus, who eventually grew up, forced Cronus to disgorge his siblings, eventually overthrowing him with the help of other Titans.

Of course, he was cast deep into Tartarus - for eternity in the Cave of Nyx, to be precise.

But.. you're not my father D:

Looks more like Marleybone if anything.

Besides doing Aquilan content, I've been farming the Loremaster and getting some done in Pirate101. The only luck so far is my Balance character getting the Loremaster's own spell - I hope to get Deer Knight on one of my Death characters before too long.

Next up, I'll probably post on my Pirate101 travails, or maybe something else. I've been working on multiple posts lately, so this one comes as a bit overdue.

Until then,

Happy Gear Farming!

Sometimes I Feel Like Throwing My Reagents In The Air...

"Friend’s not here with his Spritely pet, so I’m lookin’ around, switchin’ realms, but no one’s there…

So, I’m runnin’ around in the Hatcherry, going “WHEEEE!”, “WHEEEE!”

A man with a Sandman comes strolling in, offering, “would you hatch with me?”

Not having one myself, I’m ecstatic at the suggestion,

So when it doesn’t cost as much as I thought, I question..

But, seeing a Sandman with a pedigree of 70,

Is enough to randomly have some tea,

So, I’m runnin’ around in the Hatcherry, going “WHEEEE!”, “WHEEEE!”

So, I’m runnin’ around in the Hatcherry, going “WHEEEE!”, “WHEEEE!”

Training it up, getting Spritely,

I’m so happy my face is shining brightly,

And then, it gets Spell-Proof.

I’M ALOOF!

So, I’m runnin’ around in the Hatcherry, going “WHEEEE!, “WHEEEE!”

And when it gets Spell-Defy,

I believe I CAN FLY!

Going around in the Commons,

So happy with my perfect pet, I’m all grins..

So, I’m runnin’ around in the Hatcherry, going “WHEEEE!, “WHEEEE!”

So, I’m runnin’ around in the Hatcherry, going “WHEEEE!, “WHEEEE!”

“WHEEEE!, “WHEEEE!”

“WHEEEE!, “WHEEEE!”

But wait..

Is that a Jade Onee?" ------------

Thats a random song/poem I made up from a random tweet with the "WHEE!" line from someone. LOL. Whatever background sound is best for you, feel free to sing it :P (scary.. am I watching too much Weird Al?)

So, about that hatching picture, I'm close to 3/4 completion of a perfect Boss pet! Currently training a Fierce Hound on Sophia, got Spell-Proof at Teen, and will be Adult first thing tomorrow, with, very likely, Spritely or Feinting. And 50/50 it'll end up as an Ancient Feinting, Proof & Spritely pet :D. Though, as I've said my last want talent is 'May Cast Tower Shield'. Thats a rare one. Blech. I've got a friend with the many of the only pet with the talent, Vigilant Dragon, who may train some up soon, though. So, I'm getting there :). The Pale Maiden was from a hatch with a Central Member who had Feinting on it, plus I now have one for my DS House, lol.

In Housing, I got the Headmaster Statue after a little bit, but have zero luck with Labyrinth Statues atm. I've gotten several Kraken Statues over time from the Silver Sentinel in the past, so there might be one in a bank somewhere. The main enemy is that loose Storm Boss (it'll come to me.. not the.. gah, WHAT ARE THEIR NAMES?) but anyway, he drops the Wyrmkin Statue. I've seen plenty of people with it, but I've fought him uncountable times and nada. JUST ONE, I ASK! Hopefully I'll have that luck tomorrow. But its just one item, sir annoying Storm Boss who I always forget the name and often forgets my Storm Prisms. A little to do with Housing, I'm making a little Gardening comeback, as I made 2 big plots of Prickly Bears for Mycin and am planning, just need to follow through, on a King Parsley garden on Arlen. Well, that DS Farming isn't a total waste. At least I don't have to craft anything for a while, except those Jade Chairs, right?

-----------------------------------------------------------

"Crafting is so stressing,

(Worse than bad French Dressing!)

So instead of working on that Mannequin,

I’d rather buy some Fish Fins

Sometimes I feel like throwing my reagents in the air

(and I just don’t care..)

Sometimes I feel like throwing my reagents in the air

(and I just don’t care..)

Celestial Observatory?

Bo-ring!

Sunstones, you say?

Nay-ay.

Fire Blossoms are a pain,

Its too lame..

Sometimes I feel like throwing my reagents in the air

(and I just don’t care..)

Sometimes I feel like throwing my reagents in the air

(and I just don’t care..)

Golden Pearls are so rare,

Grendelweed won’t appear,

And that’s not even the start of what to fear.

Aquamarine, Diamond, Lotus, Fossil?
They’re so docile, but I just want to swear…

Sometimes I feel like throwing my reagents in the air

(and I just don’t care..)

Sometimes I feel like throwing my reagents in the air

(and I just don’t care..)

Oh wait, I have all the requirements for a Mannequin?

Crafting, is win!"

-------------------------------------------------------------------

I borrowed a little line from an annoying modern song. Hey, maybe I can make a "Hatched This Way" parody next. And feel lucky I didn't include my Bee Gees cross-over to Questing song in this post. (Wait, you don't know who the Bee Gees are? -.-)

Happy Farming!

Waterworking

*insert catchy greeting here* So, I officially finished WT, among other things :)

One of the catchscenes, gotta love those

Mixed-up picture here :P at the end :)

What could I ask for? SWEET talents. I hatched with Paige Moonshade who had a Spritely/Spell Proof (and Durable, hopefully that will stay away :P) Fierce Hound. Proof, Spritely & Pip O'Plenty are 3/4 of my 'want talents', last is Feinting Spell which I'll hopefully hatch for later. Can't wait to train him tomorrow. Miss Gracie is a very nice Wyvern!

On the first try! I'll eventually take it off for a Sudrilund crafted hat, but its good for now :)

Got Sophia's Hat & Shoes, Arlen's Shoes on the first try and Sophia & Arlen's Robe on the second, so, success! I also got the Baconator Shoes on Arlen, woot :D. Sophia looks like a nerdy librarian, haha. I did a 3rd today on Tarlac with some others on a fun run, talking with them on Skype and my first without dual-boxing 2 accounts (annoying IMHO :P) but didn't get anything of use :/ (except the usual Mega Snacks and a bit of gold) but trying again more tomorrow, probably.

I passed this on a wacky rug-glitchy MFP, and the view was just... well, wacky! It was pretty darn cool, so it was pic-worthy.

Sophia's final look as the Librarian ;P

I figured out how to get on that ledge as mentioned in that last post - there seems to be an invisible little bridge or something. So, I'm standing on air! :D

Thought this was interesting in Luska Charmbeak's Lair. She's a fun boss, and no minions. Drops the WT Hats. There's an awesome guide by a very nice friend of mine from Central that I'd recommend if you have trouble with the Waterworks bosses. Fun challenges IMO :D

Finished Science Center on Sophia, and this was a common message. But, they were my first big experiences with mobs & Snow Angel, so I've figured out a good, quick strategy. Crustacean Empire tomorrow, maybe. IRL, my Grandma is making the journey here tomorrow, which is a fun surprise, we always go to see her xD. Be fun to show her the house and everything, plus I've got the Waterworks to do of course, so tomorrow should be pretty fun. And, lastly, me & Mistheart recorded for the Lounge Wizards podcast today, so you can hear my fuzzy (technical issues :P) voice and his talking about the game in the 2nd episode HERE. The turnout wasn't bad, but we're doing recorded sessions till we get the hang of it as RR first did. Its a pretty big deal, so I'll possibly talk more about that. Oh, and Judgement Day passed with hardly anything uneventful at all. I wasn't really worried, but the fun thing is to see the believers' reaction tomorrow to that, lol. I'm religious and all, but as a scripture says, "only God knows the exact date", and all these weird mathematics to prove today will be it is kinda ridiculous. But, this is a W101 related blog, so I'll stop now. Have a good week!

Happy Farming!

Newbie News

So, I've been doing a bit of power-leveling and a teeny bit of running-around questing on my newbie account! Taken a lot of pics, of course.

Interesting. It seems Pots have replaced Short Square Vases in Dorms. Guess they want to give us a further head-start on gardening at LvL 12+

Sophia, as my only Ice wiz (besides the retired Pearlward) has gone first, hitting 18 doing the most questing, and is already close to KT. The others (except 2) are near 15 after joining MS Dungeon runs and are all set to advance to the 3 Streets.

I tend to be part of the Grammar Police, so I couldn't help but find this interesting. LOL, find the error yourself :).

One of the many animations I've encountered. Cool!

EXACTLY what real PvP trolls feel like. Egotistical, rude, will "prove" their point without any evidence, etc.

Tavia sporting her Contest Seahorse

1. I've found a couple errors in these "buy area" things, as you should be able to point out a #CassSpeak (should you ask, that is the special misspell alert named in honor of Cass Dragonheart :P) in there. BUT, it gets more interesting!

So, I exited that little brochure to buy Tatakai, and it let me walk down a road that feeds into there. Thing is, it let me keep walking.

So, I ended up in a big clearing quite like Oyotomi's Place, but a little wider and with Green Bamboo. And if you walk out, you end up in, well, Tatakai Outpost. Unless you mark your spot, you're basically trapped. Weird! I believe I came up on a video that showed this exact clearing, but I don't remember what its called (and, not surprisingly, the maker said it was "a secret". Not anymore, it isn't.)

Wise words from Wethersfield.

Another cool animation! Balance seems to fight and see all these random creatures from all schools in spell quests.

I noticed I was very close, so I sold a few teeny reagents to put it at the exact MAX number for no reason, xD. But there you go ;). I bought a Red Dragon so I wasn't uber-rich on Mycin anymore, and it will go well in a certain place when 'roaming mounts' come out.

Glitchy Seraph I passed by going to pick up some books. Seems to be raining glitchy white droplets O_o.

Except for Alura Dawneyes & Myrna Thunderslinger, I'm done taking them all through the MS Dungeons for gear & EXP to progress through WC/KT more easily. I won't be too sad if they ever take out 'power-leveling' in MS (they did in CL), but its helpful nontheless. Also, in the same Death Oni battle, Mycin got his 2nd wanted Gong of the Oni and Amy got a Dire Ghoul! Woot! Plus a neat Prof. Wu picture from Yakedo and various sweet gear for my newbies at 35/40 highlights the good drops. (Wavebringer continues to be stingy on the sweet Stormbat, but he dropped my second Bubbling Cauldron) And so today, I should get Alura and Myrna to LvL 15, then I suppose I'll do a lot of low-level mostly talking quests (not to mention Golem Tower) on the newbies so I can get my Balance & Death duos at the same point in quests. I might lessen my time on them after that, excepting taking them on bosses/dungeon runs I'm doing (like I seem to be getting a bit of Labyrinth askers lately, and I need some stuff in there!), but, we'll see. Plus, I've upgraded my wanted dream pet to: Pip O' Plenty, Feinting Spell, Spritely & Spell-Proof, and I just need to find someone with a pet with Feinting (Fierce Hounds can give it, so it shouldn't be hard to find someone) and mix a lot to hopefully in the end make an Egg with those, and eventually mix with my newbies when they get the gold, etc. I believe thats it for now..

Happy Farming!

Pretend This Is A Catchy Title

Yo! So, again, not much up besides seeing some epic games in the Basketball Tournament. Michigan lost by 2 to Duke :/.

Yay for Paige Moonshade! :) I got the Egg from a hatch with her Egg. It gives a Tower Shield card, so I really want to make an awesome Egg pet in terms of talents. There's another project.

Another PvP party for Amber & Mary's bloggy-versary, which I attended for a while. Took out the rug from under me at one point as you can see O_o. Fun times!

So, I've been helping others, farming random dungeons for things I need -still including KP- and helping out a good site - http://starsofthespiral.pbworks.com - for editing purposes and such :). And, gah, its Sunday evening.. I've procrastinated IRL on Math and stuff.. -.-. And Ohio State is crushing George Mason, lol. But its the 1st day of Spring and nearly time for the Cherry Blossoms to bloom :D!

I know everyone could use this...

Happy Farming!