Revisiting Top 10 Lists

While perusing some old posts for my latest post on the Labyrinth, I stumbled across an entry from August 2010 that was actually pretty interesting -- Top 10 Lists. Given that David Letterman just retired, I feel a post full of my favorite things across Wizard101 and Pirate101 is only fitting. And so, I bring you another "Revisited" post, although this time, there are going to be some pretty different lists.

Top 10 worlds in Kingsisle games
- For the sake of argument, I'm leaving Skull Island and Wizard City out of qualification, as I wouldn't know where to rank the real hubs of Wizard101 and Pirate101.

10. Aquila (P101):
It has its share of frustrating long quests. The mythical monsters, though. And that Odyssey-inspired trip and final showdown with Antinous... great stuff. As long as you don't bide all your time here in the two years since Pirate101 released it, Aquila is quite interesting.

The saddest moment ever.

9. Khrysalis (W101):
Speaking of long and frustrating quests... despite being a grueling challenge most of the way, Khrysalis seems to have an unlimited share of moments that are purely epic. We put Morganthe out of her annoying misery, and, well, Khrysalis has Dyvim Whitehart. Enough said.

8. Krokotopia (W101):
I've come to appreciate this world over the years. Yeah, it's mostly nostalgia. After all this time, though, the pyramids retain a sense of familiarity and mystery at the same time. I've been looking forward to questing through the land of manders and crocs once again.


He doesn't need two arms
 to be the coolest dude ever.

7. Marleybone (P101):
We can't get enough of the Armada, from Beachhead to Trafalgar. All the same, the admirable Admiral Nelson does win in the end. Apart from all the war stuff, there are some very intriguing Radicals, gang members, and sweet little orphans to deal with.

6. Avalon (W101):
I really like how Kingsisle somehow managed to make every area completely unique, even as you would think this world would be pretty straightforward. The whole missing sword plotline is annoying, yet I'm always amazed by the characters and settings just around the corner.

It's the island greeting that we send to you...

5. Celestia (W101):
Admittedly, some of my love for Celestia may stem from just making it there after all those months of impatient waiting in 2010. It really does mark an interesting turn for Wizard101 as a game. Almost nothing was the same afterward. Celestia, though, just felt like a magical underwater adventure.

4. Grizzleheim/Wintertusk (W101):
The longer, the better, in this case. Grizzleheim is kind of boring, it's just the scenery that's so amazing. Wintertusk is mercifully shorter while retaining that beauty and adding an extra challenge. Still, lots of memories were made at Jotun and the Raven$ (ever realize that certain bosses in both GH and WT have always been relentlessly farmed for gold?)

3. Mooshu (P101):
Somehow, Pirate101's Mooshu adds an entirely new dynamic to this amazing world. And not just at Moo Manchu's tower. We get giant turtles, Shiruko Neko, and villains with names that would be better served at the Chinese restaurant downtown.

2. Marleybone (W101):

The Orthrus in its natural habitat. Yep: Mooshu.

Okay, if the sidewalks haven't been nerfed enough for everyone else to love this world like I do, just go through it again. Steampunk dogs and cats and rats are all engaged in late night shenanigans. It's Sherlock Bones versus Meowiarty. I could go on all day.


1. Mooshu (W101):
I looove the setting, the way we get drawn into the story, and just, I don't know, ninja pigs? The Tree of Life will forever remain my favorite dungeon for the secret bosses and really ethereal pre-dawn feel. It's a struggle to come up with a bad memory, frankly. Mooshu is so mooving.




Best Wizard101 music themes
- For this list, I decided to deviate from the Top 10 style, instead compiling 32 of my favorite themes (30 from Nelson Everhart, 2 from Nick Jonas) in the game, and breaking down my absolute favorites bracket-style. There were a few decisions I had a really tough time deciding (denoted with an *asterisk), so I went to former blogger Alia Lotuspetal for a second opinion. Winners of the first round are bolded, winners of the second round are projected on the right, and the final four are underlined.


Avalon Wyrd vs. Avalon Haunted*
                                                                                              -- Azteca Zultun
Azteca Zultun vs. Azteca Haunted


Dragonspyre Main* vs. Dragonspyre Buildings
                                                                                              -- Dragonspyre Main
Austrilund vs. Nastrond



Grizzleheim Dungeons vs. Grizzleheim Main
                                                                                              -- Grizzleheim Main
Grizzleheim Battle vs. Grizzleheim Pet Derby 


Hametsu Village vs. Yoshihito Temple*
                                                                                             -- Yoshihito Temple
Hive vs. Khrysalis Main 1*



Khrysalis Shadow Combat vs. Khrysalis Combat 2
                                                                                             -- Khrysalis Shadow Combat
Krokotopia Main vs. Krokotopia Dungeon 


Marleybone Main vs. Royal Museum*
                                                                                             -- Last Wood
Last Wood vs. Sardonyx



Tyrian Gorge vs. Shadow Palace
                                                                                            -- Shadow Palace
Scotland Yard vs. Floating Mountains


Shoshun Village vs. Temple of Storms
                                                                                            -- Wizard City Tower
Wizard City Tower vs. Wizard City Dreamworld



I was all but done with this list when I realized that I completely forgot Celestia. Oops. Just as a side note, I'm adding my favorite Celestian theme as the #5, which happens to be a pretty accurate placement.

5. Floating Lands 
This is the one area where the music just initially stood out to me. Never mind that it's the only above ground area in Celestia... me from 5 years ago loved this tropical ditty.
4. Last Wood
In this theme, Dyvim's homeland is evoked very well. I can see all the pretty flowers and streams of Khrysalis' Last Wood mixed in with all the blight brought by the Shadow.
3. Yoshihito Temple
As mentioned earlier, the Tree of Life is my favorite dungeon, and this brings back those memories more than anything else. It's also an appropriately beautiful and somber theme for all the spiritual undead stuff going on in this area of Mooshu.
2. Wizard City Tower
If you need a break during Golem Tower, just stop and turn the volume up for a bit. This theme seems to incorporate jack-in-the-box tunes, Marleybone's steampunk, and Celestia's angelic feel. It's like the hidden masterpiece within Wizard101's free content areas.
1. Azteca Zultun


I only really paid attention to this theme in the summer of 2013, months after Azteca was released. Then I made a point to fully immerse myself in it. You can almost feel the imminent despair amidst the current thriving life in the jungle. It's a bit of a shame that the Apocalypse theme, while also beautifully haunting, takes over the entire world after the completion of Xibalba. I didn't love questing here, but the second half of Azteca is very nice in its own way.



Coolest fish
- Difficulty, type of fish... none of that matters. It's all about how cool they look. And yes, I'm going with the bracket of 32 species again. (Compiled with help from Duelist101's guide and Swordroll's guide)


Black Catfish vs. Be Mine Fish
                                                                           -- Codfather
Boss Hog vs. Codfather


Cold Cod vs. Doodlefish/ette
                                                                          -- Ember Parrot
Ember Parrot vs. Errol Fynn


Execushiner vs. Frankenfish
                                                                          -- Freshlava Smelt
Freshlava Smelt vs. Gargoyle


Hard Albacore vs. Jackson Pollock
                                                                          -- Hard Albacore
Kid Carp vs. Krokotopian Eel


Mistletoe Angler vs. Musushi
                                                                          -- Musushi
Ninja Fish vs. Origami Fish


Polar Bearracuda vs. Rainbow Trout
                                                                          -- Polar Bearracuda
Rambo Fish vs. Royal Gurnard


Rune Fish vs. t Bass
                                                                          -- Sharkspeare
Samurai Fish vs. Sharkspeare


Shamrockfish vs. Stormacuda
                                                                          -- Todd Pole
Todd Pole vs. Vampire Squid



4. Todd Pole
J. TODD COLEMAN!

3. Musushi
The silly little beard and ponytail make this really difficult little guy worth catching.

2. Freshlava Smelt
This new fish has a really sleek orange look, like it's brimming with steel and lava. Also, I really like the screenshot on the right that I took.

1. Codfather
I didn't exactly expect to settle on Codfather from this list. He's just, you know, the Codfather.



Top 10 Cool Companions (so far)
- As a disclaimer, none of these companions will be Buccaneer or Musketeers specific, as I have never played those classes. Hence the "so far". Sorry, axe and gun wielders.

10. Goronado
The only companion I don't have among this list, I feel the need to include him because he just gets stuff done when I see other pirates use him. And, you can only unlock the ability to pay for him via a Heart of Darkness showdown. That's pretty cool.

9. Iago
He's just another Privateer-only dude, but he's also a knife-wielding unicorn. Those three words give him a spot here.

8. Bonnie Anne
Ah, let me just admire my appearance in the mirror before blasting this guy behind me. That move is pretty sweet. Not to mention her really interesting Radical background.

7. Sarah Steele
A fencing mouse is bound to have a lot of good qualities: cute, nimble, and deadly when necessary. Sarah has a nice bit of alliteration going on in her name, too.

6. Kan Po
This kickboxing goat just becomes so much more intimidating when he's out battling baddies. He really packs a much-needed punch for Witchdoctors.

5. Hawkules
Unbridled egotism aside, he did trap the Minotaur and smash the heads in of many Aquilan beasts. Strength and a really punny name goes a long way.

4. Mormo
He's really cute! Especially when he summons all those little versions of himself. But I suppose he doesn't want to be known for that.

3. Shiruku Neko
Not only is she a ninja, she's a ninja cat. Plus, you have to save her master from a ninja curse. This is the one Pirate101 side quest that absolutely cannot be skipped.

2. Subodai
My post about the parallels between the Mongols and the Amber Horde spurred me to create a Swashbuckler, which resulted in this follow-up post about Subodai. One of the most expansive and most interesting empires is represented well in this awesome horse barbarian.

1. El Toro
The man - or bull - behind the mask, El Toro does everything with a flourish. It's a little weird that he married his stepsister, but the whole father-son dynamic we have to salvage humanizes this great hero quite a bit. In battle, his skills are integral to every class. He's the most interesting hero in the Spiral, to say the least.

Four of those was more than enough :P

Happy Listing!

The Labyrinth, Revisited

Nobody likes the Labyrinth. At first. You have to go back for the obsidian chest and, for some, a level 48 spell. It's like the catchy song you don't want to hear at first, but end up listening to on repeat. 

Just snake (snake snake snake snake) it off.

In all seriousness, the Labyrinth used to be hard. I rated it #5 on my list of hardest dungeons before Celestia. It is still rather long, though. Imagine 7 bosses in a row in Khrysalis. By level 150, that dungeon would be a breeze, albeit a lengthy one.

Though no one's really going out to farm for level 45 gear, the Labyrinth is still a surprisingly nice place for loot. Love pets? Vladimir Darkflame drops three of them. Two of them are crowns pets: the Death Leprechaun and Pale Maiden, the latter being retired from the Crowns Shop. 

Rare statue? Yep.

New jewels? Got them.

It's a pretty neat place to fish, too, although there's only one unique species.

Bottomless cliff fishing. What could go wrong... right?

There's also plenty of weird phenomena going on in this otherwise calm area where criminals walk the streets. Kind of sounds like Gotham City, really. It's when you get behind the gates that the Labyrinth becomes a little bit of a freak show. 

It has...

Boss clones. ✔

Mobs invading your personal space. ✔

Like, really invasive mobs. I can't fish and kill you at the same time.

Lastly, I felt like Lord Spike - my old Orthrus who still holds a place in my heart and blog banner -  needed some closure. I paid a visit to the old owner of his dog collar.

Ranulf, the red-faced... whatever the heck you are.

You could even say his face glows after being hit with cartoonish vomit.

I then observed another weird phenomenon when I logged off and came back.

Yep, the dungeon restarted. And I was still behind the gate.

Locked in with the personal space invading monsters?!? This was too much. I had to log off.

Curiously, I couldn't seem to replicate the glitch. I guess it only happens after you beat all 3 floors of Ranulf's tower (and you can only be a Myth wizard to do that). Perhaps it's for the best though. Imagine being roommates with those discolored trolls and minotaurs.

Last but not least, I had to take this opportunity to do the Labyrinth's reagent map. I wasn't exactly looking forward to it, but I did get that Wyrmkin statue and neat jewelry from all the repeated battles.

Voila. Red-faced Ranulf approves, I guess.

Happy Crafting!

Sharrrks In Arrrgust

Thanks to the Discovery Channel and the weird tradition they started, Wizard101 and Pirate101 celebrated Shark Week in their own way. On the Pirate side, shark-related items were put on sale... including the Cutthroat Bundle.

So, with last week's deal going on, I went ahead and purchased my first Pirate101 bundle. That meant looking through the Cutthroat's Cove house for the first time. I'm pretty out of the loop when it comes to these things..

It's certainly spacious, but I feel like Pirate101 doesn't have enough furniture to work with right now. That, and I'd like to make the house a mix of Robinson Crusoe and Jurassic Park, but I've never seen the movie :P

Meanwhile, the PvP area is pleasantly useful for open-air dueling. Me and Ma1kavian may need some practice for the upcoming P101 Central Tournament.

CHOMP! Now onto the Wizard101 side of Shark Week, where the Warhammerhead Shark made its introduction.

The 64th fish -- and first seasonal one -- is swimming around most of Grizzleheim for another week. They're actually easy to catch for Epic fish; I've caught 50 (across four characters) so far. In pursuing the unusual Warhammerhead Shark, here are a few things to remember:

Although classified as an Epic fish, Warhammerheads behave more like Rare fish. They reside in four areas: Vigrid Roughland, Northguard, Helgrind Warren, and Triton Avenue. Being the only Storm species in Grizzleheim, it isn't difficult to locate one.

Warhammerhead Sharks also fetch a high price at fishing vendors. They're always worth upwards of 2,000 gold.

Don't forget to catch one before they're gone! I'm still trying to catch a Whopper for my little Aquarium Project, personally. I've crafted homes for 20/64 species, and have a loose goal to catch a Whopper or Small Fry of every fish.

Getting there, one Dekoi at a time.

Happy Fishing!

63 Fish In The Tome

... 63 species of fish. 

Take one out, put it in the Tome,
62 species of fish to go.

If you couldn't tell, this number denotes the number of fish species available to catch so far. Naturally, I've been on a mission to catch every one, and it was heating up as I got closer to the ultimate goal. As Arlen had a garden to tend, I relegated the task to Tarlac, my level 80 Life wizard. He would see a lot of action in the next couple weeks.

The fish had a propensity for blinking took when I took their picture. Hmm...

This was probably my favorite punny fish. The description doesn't lie.

For awhile, I focused on the three Grizzleheim epic fish. In rarity, the Polar Bearracuda was probably the easiest to get, although it is pretty difficult to find one ice fish right beside a waterfall.

Are you hibernating now, or..?

It's hard to get a Rune Fish to show up, but pretty easy to clear the Mirkholm Keep pond and come back. As usual, the little guy decided to fall asleep in my screenshot.

 The Boss Hog ended up being the toughest, by far. It takes a few minutes just to clear the pond after using 'Reveal Fish'. This is where I learned a useful tip: once a fish has noticed your lure, click on the 'Fishing' tab on the right side of the screen. Instead of waiting for the fish to miss, then, you can just reel your lure back in without using energy. It was a time-saver, but it would be awhile before I found that bossy fish :P

Catching at least one of the two Krokotopia epic fish was easy enough.

Jellyfish are the cutest little things.

My last real focus was on Mooshu, which has the most epic fish (four), and all of them ended up being pretty stingy aside from the Bubba Fish.

Probably my proudest catch, considering I ran through Crimson Fields 3-4 times (and did a lot of waiting) just to reach the pond. Surprisingly though, Mr. Musushi here only took second place in time spent trying to catch a fish.

I forgot to fish for the Goldfin-ger for awhile, but it didn't take too long to catch. Like many of the Water Dojo fish, the Goldfin-ger is a fire species, but it's hard to miss as this guy really motors through the water quickly.

That marked 62 out of 63 fish. The Boss Hog and the Musushi put up a real challenge, but which one was my greatest undoing?

I ran through Emperor's Retreat a few dozen times before the Silver Streak showed up -- and that's a conservative estimate. It's a cool dungeon, but I am definitely sick of it by now :P

A couple days ago, Wizard101 made the 'Summon Fish' spell available for Level 6+ fishers. Despite the 10 energy cost, it was very helpful, as I could just re-stock the Emperor's Retreat pond with fish without waiting a good 15 minutes or so.

Last night, after re-stocking the pond with fish once again, I finally saw the little loading spiral for the Silver Streak. I was a bundle of nerves, to say the least. Looking in the biggest Emperor's Retreat pond where they're usually found, I didn't see any fish moving with significant speed. Sure enough, I caught two Garrrfish. Had I scared the Silver Streak away?! Where was it?

In the front pond? That didn't seem right. But there was a fish moving crazy fast through those waters. Following it, I attempted to cast a lure but was met with the "Insufficient Energy" message. Drat. Waiting around had prepared me for this moment, but I wasn't just going to wait another 15 minutes. There was one more Energy Elixir in my gift list (thanks, Grub Guardian), and I used it.

Voila. On the night of August 7th, over three weeks after Fishing was launched, I was done catching all the new fish. In fact, the publishing of this post solely depended on when I caught the Silver Streak.

Finally, Tarlac Lifegiver can take a well-deserved break from fishing. That is, until I start crafting Aquariums for every fish I have. That's a lot of Lifecudas. So, take your time, Celestia and Zafaria.

Happy Angling!

Future Fishing: Celestia and Zafaria

In the recent Update Notes for Fishing, Kingsisle made a brief promise: 

"Fishing is currently only available in Wizard City, Krokotopia, Grizzleheim, and Mooshu. Fishing has only just begun in the Spiral and more Fishing Holes and species are just waiting to be discovered!"

This seems to suggest that an update expanding fishing to the Morganthe-Arc worlds is inevitable. All worlds from Celestia to Khrysalis could be updated all at once, or only several at a time. So, until then, why not theorycraft? (or theoryfish, if you will)

                                                                                                      

Celestia is nearly all underwater, albeit mostly covered by an underwater dome. As stated in the Update Notes:
You currently cannot fish in underwater areas.

It's a long shot, but could fish be being pumped in from the ocean? Possibly small creatures, like plankton, anemones, or other reef fish. In that sense, underwater fishing could happen. However, Celestia's only above-ground area, the Floating Land, is a more distinct possibility.

The Floating Land in itself could bring many more fish to the Spiral. Wouldn't it be great to catch more sharks, squid, and other exotic fish? There could even be a theme on the Sun, Moon, and Star schools that make Celestia stand out. For instance, the Sunfish is actually a huge fish in real life, and coincidentally, its scientific name sounds more like a Water Mole - Mola mola, to be exact. The Starfish, of course, is also well known. 

Any way you look at it, Floating Land's so-called Blue Sky Beach is pretty large, and may house a surprising amount of new fish. Freshwater species are a likelihood too - there's a little river that runs by Tupa Taua, for instance.

A water-mole fisherman offering new spells - or even a small quest - would be sweet, too. There's only two ranks of fish currently, and as such only the Lesser and Minor lures. It would make sense that there will eventually be a Rank 3 lure (Major, perhaps), whether in Celestia or beyond. As for fishing levels, the current fish count (63 throughout four worlds) places an experienced fisherman only up in the Level 7 range. With fishing spells of levels 8-10 in Grizzleheim, reaching these heights with new fish species makes sense. If enough fish are added with Celestia and Zafaria, the peak level for experienced fisherman may go up to Level 9. 

Celestia is interesting to think about, but Zafaria's long rivers and watering holes make it a much more likely hub for fishing. It has one major river (possibly inspiration from the real-life Nile or Congo), which in itself could host more than a few new fish. In addition, the Great Baobab tree is the source for several likely fishing holes, including infamous Mirror Lake.

Why go underneath Mirror Lake to defeat an evil zebra when you can catch, maybe, a Zebrafish? (Which is an actual species of fish, by the way)

                                                                              

The Savannah's watering hole is the only Zafarian fishing spot that does not have a clear source, aside from rain that we never see. The water here is initially diseased, but is purified near the end of Savannah questing. This would also make this spot unique, as a low-level wizard could fish anywhere but here.

 Next up, the Zamunda Outskirts wild rapids. This appears to be a tributary of the major river that goes from the Drum Jungle to Baobab Market.

Stone Town rhinos control the side rendered impassable by the broken bridge. That other side is likely an island or strip of land that separates Zamunda's tributary from the main river. 

Given the rapids and rather remote location, it's likely that some of Zafaria's hardier, wilder fish reside here. For some examples, I looked into some of the species endemic to the Congo River in Central Africa. 

A common fish in the Congo that would fit perfectly in Wizard101 is the Elephant Fish. Like actual elephants, they are very intelligent compared to other fish.

Put a slightly more believable trunk on this guy, and we have a perfect W101 fish species. Perhaps it would look like Dumbo, with the ears/wings acting as gills instead?

D'awwww

Adorable cartoon creatures aside, the Elephant Fish is a prime candidate to be Zafaria's one rare fish. If you're not familiar with the four rare fish in-game, there is one in every world, found in every area of its designated world (i.e. the Bearracuda is rare, but can be found anywhere in Grizzleheim). Why not have a large, aquatic pachyderm in Zafaria?

Going back to Zafaria's geography -- Shown on the left are the outskirts of Stone Town, forming the eastern edge of the barricaded rhino-controlled island that is integral in separating Zamunda's tributary. This leaves those wilder rapids cut off from Zafaria's main river, also shown above.

For the main river that goes from deep into the Drum Jungle to Baobab's Marketplace, there are even more places just ready to be fished. Who knows what we'll encounter among Zafaria's fishing holes?

Last and least seriously, I came up with some creative possibilities for Zafarian fish species, and equally bogus descriptions for each. Do you have a unique ZF fish idea? I may end up doing a little contest on Twitter (@arlendawneyes), so stay tuned :D

• Bao Barbel: One of Zafaria's oldest fish, and still firmly rooted to its home.
• Belloq Barbel (Epic): Shady black market dealers. Find them hiding in the shadows of Zafaria.
• Carp Diem: Catching this fish is a real confidence booster. Lives without regrets in Zafaria.
• Elephant Fish (Rare): Don't bother trying to fool this fish, as it never forgets a face. Seen stampeding around Zafaria.
• Finoceros: Large and in charge of their environment. Only dangerous when their weight is joked about.
• Painted Finoceros (Epic): The main mischief-makers of Zafaria. Not to be confused with the Zebrafish.
• Gazeel: Can outswim most Zafarian predators, but inevitably ends up on the dinner menu anyway.
• Hatuna Matata: Laid back and always worry-free. Found in relaxing, still waters.
• Lion Kingfish (Epic): Poised to rule its fishing hole. Remains wary of other scheming fish.
• Spider Witch Fish: Don't get on the dark side of these fish. Found performing magical rituals in Zafaria.
• Silverback Gar-illa (Epic): Leads by instinct, for better or for worse. Find them making questionable decisions in the jungles of Zafaria.
• Zebrafish: Keeps safe by travelling together, but often gets split up from its group. Seen getting mixed up in Zafaria.

(My favorite is the Hatuna Matata, obviously)

Happy Angling!