Wizard101 Year In Review

2014 wasn't the most eventful year in my gaming career. But it was all worthy enough for a blog post, especially since I'm still catching up. :P

Note: Dates come from the day I took the screenshots, not when I actually included them in certain blog posts.

January 1st, 2014: Ghost Dog goes down to ring in the new year. A brief wait for Khrysalis pt. 2 begins.

February 14th: On Valentine's Day, the Sirens were serenading Warehouse baddies. Many levels later, I effectively earned my revenge against a 2010 archenemy.

February 24th: The Sirens got even more action when Mycin and Sophia began Azteca. It's been fun, dinos.

April 25th: A day after Khrysalis pt. 2 opens, Arlen crossed the sea on a giant bug.

Annoyed by the lack of trees on the other side, Arlen then turns his farm into a strange forest of everything from pines to palms.

April 30th: Five days and many boss battles later, Arlen hits the level cap!

May 3rd: Morganthe goes down! And Old Cob does something weird. Nevertheless, only joy is felt when the Spider Queen plummets into space.

July 11th: Mycin and Sophia wrap up Azteca with their new level 88 spells! It's the end of the world, but they're feeling fine.

July 22nd: Chase impersonates another Ravenwood student and almost gets away with it (if it weren't for those meddling noobs...)

August 7th: A month after wizards started casting their reels, Tarlac finally finds that last pesky Silver Streak for his collection.

October 3rd: The BOXES make a sudden appearance around the Spiral, and Arlen gets to save Halston from a life in Newgate -- over stolen jewelry (surprise surprise).

October 26th: Dugan blazes through Wintertusk and sends honorable bear warriors to... somewhere over the rainbow, presumably.

November 24th: Mycin and Sophia begin Khrysalis with a surprising amount of allies -- namely, Mary and Morgrim Dreamshade and Dyvim doppelgangers.

December 26th: In the House of Scales, being turned down results in an afterlife of misery, but that doesn't stop Arlen and Mary from going all "turn down for what" to the new member emotes.

December 31st: More dancing highlights the New Years Eve festivities as the Commons celebrates the coming of 2015!

Here's hoping there's a lot more to dance for in 2015.

Happy Resolution-breaking!

Nightmare After Christmas

Since I didn't have time before winter break (hence the lack of posts), this week has had me catching up a bit -- a la spooky quests in December.

The overly philosophical vampires and werewolves certainly made an impression...

Per Katherine Light of Mercenaries101: "The lungs are the tastiest part". I did not ask why she would know that.

Mutated spells are getting a little unusual. I did not come in expecting Obelisk Lords. :P

Yay, refractory light bending and optics and physics..............

Sorry, I'm boring myself. Moving on to the Upper Halls!

As you can see, even the lung-hungry werewolf was a little easier to bear than my own guide.

That's not very appetizing either...

The relentless cheating was rather tiresome, but the upside of that was getting to see some of the new spells in action!

 Yes, I was hit by a Mythic Colossus before getting my own. :P

Here are all of them if you haven't seen them yet:

            courtesy of Heather Shadowslinger, Duelist101

In terms of animation time, Call of Khrulhu appears to be the longest-lasting, while Glowbug Squall is the shortest. Coupled with the Sirens-like effects, Glowbug appears to be the most convenient of the seven spells.

Anyone could (again) lament at how OP the Storm attack is, but each spell appears to be appropriate for the school. Personally, my favorite animation is Fire From Above. It's a little long, but as a recreation of the Khrysalis kermes fire scene, it's awesome. Plus, it reminded me of Snoopy and the Red Baron.

The difference being, of course, that the lovable mice actually hit their target. ;)

Some of the others are just plain weird. Where did Gaze of Fate come from? What crazy, nightmarish creature does the Caterpillar turn into? Did Yeti really need to be turned into a spider? ... Features aside, though, they're all pretty exciting.

Of course, I have to go in-depth on Mystic Colossus. It does over double the damage of Humongofrog (even factoring in adding a Colossal), and remains a very viable option for mob battles with the low 5+1 pip cost. Granted, shadow pips are not so easy to come by, but I can see myself using MC -- my future shorthand for the spell -- just as often as Humongofrog. Finally, a break from,
um, tossing his cookies all over enemies. Kudos to Kingsisle for giving us Conjurers another AoE that we'll actually use in mob battles.

This also begs a question. Will all of our future spells start using a combination of normal and shadow pips? After all, the maximum number of pips could very well have a set cap at 14 (7 power pips), and we're up to 10 by now. Hmm. Shadow magic appears to be evolving both as an alternative and as a complement to the other schools. Swordroll has a more analytic look into each spell if you're interested in learning more.

In any case, I finished the Upper Halls - thanks again, Mercenaries101 - and got my Mystic Colossus!

Speaking of horrors, I've heard a lot of griping about Darkmoor's final dungeon -- it sounds like P101's Moo Manchu tower, except runs are still taking upwards of 3 hours. I'll probably do it at some point before break is over, but I don't want to save it for this post (especially since I already have my spell, woo).

Of all the new areas, though, my favorite was Kembaalung -- basically a mini Wizard101 version of Tibet. It finally offers a glimpse into the mountains of Mooshu and into the Moodhist ideology, complete with the removal of a demonic spirit. If you've played Pirate101, think of a mountainous Paths of Penance.

Oh, and the scenery is a desktop background made in heaven... or Shangri-baa.

Chillin' and dancing with the Dalai... and the Queen :P (with a nod to long-retired blogger Mary Dreamshade for putting up with me)

I ended up getting a Ninja Piggle as my Hamakala reward. Pretty much a tie between this guy and the Dapper Corgi for cutest new pet. :D

I'll be back within a couple days. Enjoy the new year, wizards and pirates!

Happy Questing!

Haunted Skyway Halloween

Wicked Valkoor Vane has been plodding through Cool Ranch for the entire school year - which also happens to be the reason for my October absence. Nevertheless, I've been reliably questing almost every day. After spending the earlier part of the month in Port Regal, the last three weeks have been all Tumbleweed and Haunted Skyway for Valkoor. 

As it happened (and I didn't plan this, honestly), I had to do these three quests between October 31st - November 2nd: Old Scratch's promotion quest, Miranda, and Motherlode Mine. It's hard to get death-ier than that in Pirate101.

Check that. You're, uh... looking good lately, Death.

I had no doubts about purchasing the "Mascarilla de Muerto". Now me and El Toro are masked buds; perfect for the spooky season.

What? How could you tell I wasn't "dead enough"?

I like the little "spirit world" glimpses in both Wizard101 and Pirate101. In W101, the end of Mooshu and Avalon have plenty of surreal experiences. Similarly, the celestial backdrop of Cool Ranch's spiritual realm is one of a kind.

Don't mistake Miranda for a "spiritual realm", it's just a really gloomy ghost town :P

Bat has proved a useful companion on many occasions, especially paired with Carcarius Grimtooth's Will-boosting power. Critical hit chains, anyone?

Quite at home, indeed!

 (Speaking of home - don't try placing dynamite on random objects at home)

After dealing with mobs of death, Cool Ranch was finished after dealing with mobs of machines.

 A new map piece, a new ship, and new adventures await in Mooshu as Valkoor continues on the long and winding road to Level 65. Will the pace of one quest a day be fast enough to beat out Pirate101's next update, or will his journey go on beyond Aquila? In any case, I'm glad that the year will end in Mooshu and Marleybone. Two months was enough for Cool Ranch, and will hopefully be the same for my two favorite Pirate101 worlds.

Most of all, it's nice to have only one quest again. :D

Happy Questing!