A Quest A Day Keeps The Juju Away

..Although I didn't entirely bind myself to one quest a day, per se. It was more like, 3 quests during the week and then 4 to catch up on over the weekend. Nevertheless, Wicked Valkoor Vane is done questing! Here is the first of two posts with his travels over 3 worlds in approximately 3 months.

Barely level 40, Valkoor sailed into Mooshu relying on Dan Drake's sharpshooting. To be fair, I did have my companions set on random.

After breaking up some weddings in Mooshu, it was evident that maybe a few Cool Ranch companions were becoming obsolete. Sorry, Skyfire. I love your name but would prefer tasking you 24/7.

When doing one quest a day, you realize just how long the infamous Inoshishi quest is. For once, I entirely agreed with Ratbeard.

On the guise of getting Mormo a cooler Mardi Gras mask, the introduction to Moo Manchu went off with few hitches.

Okay, I cheated a little and did a side quest too.

...but it was for an awesome, fire-wielding helephant. :D

General Tso's dungeon was a real challenge -- enough that all but 3 or 4 of my companions had died after several battles with him. [T]so, I only had one more chance with Carcarius as my best companion.

After a long battle and minimal health left, the chicken was successfully threatened! On to Khotan!

First, an obligatory Stormzilla screenshot. Tiny arms are your worst enemy when tumbling into a hill.

With enough Will and a Super hit, I was pleasantly surprised with the damage Valkoor could do. With regular hits of 1000+, Khotan was smooth sailing for the most part.

The awesomeness of Kan Po really comes through at pivotal moments. Hamakala Temple is one of my favorite battles -- very difficult but not terribly frustrating.

The Metal Guardian challenge, though... that's pretty frustrating.

With Mooshu complete, I took a moment to hang with the levitating cow.

Oh, and Kan Po took care of the whole Yak-wearing-sunglasses dungeon. On to Marleybone!

A little comfortable bliss before all the war stuff.

Nothing like Beachhead for action movie screenshots!

Bishop is also a fun battle, with or without the sweet Witchdoctor powers.

Bad breath rebels, on the other hand -- not so much.
Even if many of my companions regularly died, I got through Marleybone with relative ease. Having one quest a day can actually be pretty convenient with the recent (well, ten months old, but it doesn't feel that long ago) Advanced Companions update.

I also came through with a cleaner conscience! Sort of.

Catbeard... not so much.

On to Monquista! Err, Aquila.

Like Gortez and his Queen, may your Valentine's Day be regal... and not full of civil wars and monkey business.

Happy Questing!

S.G.S Warehouse Revisited

First off, Happy St. Patricks Day! 

Remember to get your all-new Green Spider pet before Midnight ;)

My favorite part of St. Patricks Day :D

I like to think of my 2010 blog days as cringey n00b nostalgia.

My 2011 days weren't much better (I tried way too hard to be funny on my post titles).

That said, you have to go back to 2010 to see my first encounters with the dreaded Warehouse (here and here). I was very, very unlucky. I believe I eventually beat Estrakir, but I can't find that particular post. Nevertheless, he became my worst enemy during those 2010 days (which is saying something considering the grudge I held against Yeva Spiderkeeper).

Thus brings the point of this post: revenging old "unfortunalities", as I once put it.

At some random point a couple years ago, I decided to pick up the Warehouse quest for my Storm wizard, Mycin. That quest has lingered - and tempted - long enough.

The sage Daren (wearing silly low-level gear) marks the beginning. Four people?! Pshaw!

Curiously, the early floors feature Marleybone mobs with Dragonspyre-health. Nothing a blade and a Tempest can't handle.

Haven't manders suffered enough? :P

Never underestimate a crab in a clocktower. It's good to hit hard and quickly here.

Example #1

Did I mention that this is no (crab)cake walk?

This puzzle requires four wizards to stand on four sun tablets simultaneously. 

Another mob battle for me, then.

You and me both..

The bug himself. His business-as-usual attitude is arrogant but refreshing. It's definitely a change from the typical boss reaction, which goes more like... "What's this? A wizard listening in? NO! IT CANNOT BE! KILL HIM!"

There were certainly no pets casting Unicorns in 2010. In fact, the Advanced Pets update was put in only a month before the Warehouse was introduced. I'm willing to limit historical accuracy for the sake of beating this guy, though :P

So I assume a key was found and magically fixed for those who didn't brave the Warehouse. Alright then.

Soloing Estrakir on Mycin didn't come with initial success. I needed a critical at the perfect moment after two previous defeats. However, Estrakir proved to be easier with Arlen - who was, after all, the subject of many defeats at level 50. I filmed the end of my "revenge run" for viewing pleasure:

Okay, I got another critical at the end, but I would've won anyways :P

When Morganthe is gone, I'll have to pick a new archenemy besides Estrakir Gloomthorn, I suppose.

Happy... lucky wouldn't make sense.
Happy Pot O' Gold Finding!

Piratin' to Sixty-Five

I haven't posted about Pirate101 much. This summer, I got through the grueling world that is Cool Ranch, and since then I've quested through the more enjoyable (and recognizable) worlds of Marleybone and Mooshu. I lost the pictures I took when I got a new laptop, but I didn't plan on posting many of them anyways :P

As an update though, here's what I've been doing in P101 recently:

Many a good time was had at Autumn Walker's Nautical EXP extravaganzas. Getting all that loot even bought me an Aquilan Galleon, something that seemed so far away when I finished Marleybone at a lowly Level 40 nautical level. Sadly, Autumn left the Spiral yesterday (<-- link to post). Although I did not know Autumn very well, she was on my friend list and I was hoping to become a better acquaintance through the biweekly NXP events she held through Secrets of the Spiral. Alas, Autumn's presence will certainly be missed in the community. Thank you for your efforts!

As I approached the level cap, I took the liberty of making a second character to fill some time. Almost up to Monquista on Jacques Jackson! (Nice alliteration bit there, no?)

Arlen's questing takes precedence, however ---

That's one krazy kat o_O

Owing to his stylish hat and robe, Swing has been beaten repeatedly by overzealous pirates. His fashions are a little extravagant for my tastes.

Quite a likeness there.

Catbeard swag.

I'm finding Pirate101 to be a lot more solo-able. The Hydra battle is the only boss I've encountered that's as frustrating as a pre-nerfed Aztecan beast. Kind of needed a henchman for that...

It isn't apparent from these stoned creatures, but Medusa was a surprisingly easy nemesis.

Gotta love crossovers. Where's Malistaire to help you now?! :P

It looks like we have to find a way into Valencia again. I'm thinking that may involve visiting Monquista's second skyway. There are a lot of theories floating around until new content is finally released. I wouldn't mind dropping in on Krokotopia, for one thing.

Won my current first mate in a Twitter giveaway. Him and El Toro can really blow the field away, especially with Riposte :D (one reason I created a Swashbuckler second).

In the meantime, I'm looking forward to whichever update comes first. Wizard's won't come out for at least another month, it seems. Morganthe continues to get a reprieve.

Until next time,

Happy Questing!

From Another Point Of View

I could use the excuse of school, laziness and computer issues, but lets face it: It wasn't a very active January, no? Still, we had the Raven's Hoard, Grub Guardian, and new transformations. This looks to be a more active February for me though, with the Death duo inching towards Dragonspyre..

Yes, now you're able to see cats in Celestia, wolves in Wizard City, manders in Dragonspyre.. you get the point. Pretty cool new transformations, but still just cosmetic. It should make for fun parties, though! As for the level 70 gear.. no power pip or accuracy %? The critical ratings and the fashion is very decent, but it's hard to go without those. So, as you can tell, overall opinion = not worth it. I do like the astral throwbacks a lot, though. I feel much older now, having had several pairs of that old astral gear from '08-'09.. ah, the old days..

So now we get into a little, say, psychology portion of the post. I *accidentally* got a family friend (in late elementary school years) hooked, now as a Level 33 Necromancer, I believe. So, I borrowed a few of his many screenshots (14/113 of them, to be exact.. yikes) and cropped them some for better pictures. Here are some of them, sort of through the view of a newbie to Wizard101.










The striking thing here is the Magma Man having 5 pips :o






Ah, he saw the midget bear. Of course.









Strangely-timed picture immediately following a storm hit.. head in the clouds much?












Treants in a cave..

Ever had a tent-flooding, Bristleback?








I dub thee lightning-breath.. :&

Do I see a gentle hint for a furniture item here? I've always wondered what those little school-decor-pool-thingies are. Future housing item? Pleeeeezzze?

Oh my Bartleby..












Delicate dragon mosaic - nice Wizard's Watchtower catch. Feels like a dragon church :P










Though this would be a menacing entrance for a churchgoer..







Which reminds me - Happy Chinese New Year! This year of the dragon ought to be interesting.










Uncomfortable close up, lol









BOOM.












And lastly, as well as oxymoronically, if thats a word. Snowman in Krokotopia!





And, onto the Death duo! Admittedly, I haven't covered them much on here, but I have made lots of progress. Skipping side-quests makes Marleybone pretty quick. And I dare say that's a nice reward for my 4th Big Ben run (2 spoiled by lost connection. Egk.)












What's with all the quests being questions? Don't think that's a great sign..






And, another well-deserved reward, this time for helping my Ice character Sophia finish the Trial of Spheres.. which I found out she had never done. Oops. After the Death duo, I'm really going to need crowns on that account for Zafaria, and I just found that Tavia hasn't finished the ToS also. Grrrr :P

I would of covered this project too, but I figured I'd start it after the Raven's Hoard pack came out and finished it about a week ago. Why another house crafting project? With all the new items from the Raven's Hoard plentiful in the Bazaar, I realized I could use this nice house. So, hours of TONS of reagent collecting and buying (all characters on the account making it are broke), success. *droops in exhaustion* Ok, that was worth it ^-^. Can't wait to decorate the house, though I still need an overall theme. My Dragon's Fjord on Tarlac (which I updated and is nearly finished) has a camping/cabin motel theme, and a big kitchen. So, I'm thinking Sophia's Watchtower Hall = battle theme, with quite a few hammers, trees, and frozen warriors dotting the landscape. Creepy. We'll see how it turns out, I'll work on it.. eventually ;P.

Well, since I'm sort of on the Hoards topic, I'm sure you've all seen Pack-a-Palooza out. As much as I want those pets and an ice wand (or axe, or bow.. whatever..) for Sophia, I have to hold out. My main account does have 2800 crowns, but must. save. Well, maybe just 3 to even it out around 2,000..*noooooooo*. Since everyone else seems to be giving their opinion on Hoards lately, mostly negative, I might as well give mine as it is---

• The packs aren't necessarily useless. You still get a lot of stuff, even if it's not what you want, you can sell it or what not. That being said..
• The Dragon's, Wyvern's and Nightmare Pack were enough. Now I audibly groan whenever a new pack comes out. Don't succumb to temptation too often.
• Solution: As others have pointed out - let major items from the Packs sell individually, so we don't have to keep risking it. Some people just want the mount or whatever, and they use up 40,000 (What is that, $50 or so?) crowns just to try to get this one item. Let it be a choice, basically. Also, no more packs. Keep the ones you have, but no more, please? From personal experience, it's a bit like taking advantage of kids---that family friend earlier has been spending most of his crowns on the latest Pack, thus setting him back on buying areas instead. He's had 50k crowns so far, only 2/5 (more or less) spent on areas.

Granted, my opinion was much different at the beginning: I mostly welcomed the first several Hoards, but I think their popularity is a bit like Hoover's 1928-1932 presidential ratings - good at first, but a very noticeable decline as time goes on, and more packs are released. (History lesson! Find out about Hoover's ratings yourself :P).

Well.. that's pretty much it. The Death Duo has gone well into Mooshu---I'll provide more screenshots from them next time! I'm probably forgetting something else too, but it's been a whole month, a lot has gone on :P. Hope everyone has a great February (and Super Bowl tomorrow!)

Happy Questing!