Tons of Exclusives! Mannequins go LIVE tomorrow morning? (Grizzleheim too?!)

Hello all,

Our friend Fernando (Marketing and PR guru at KingsIsle) has been busy handing out some really cool exclusive stuff today. I'd stay tuned to your favorite fan sites for more information unfolding over the next couple of days.

Two exclusives that I noticed off the bat were . . . 1) an exclusive Wizard101 desktop graphic over at West Karana and 2) an exclusive Grizzleheim desktop graphic over at Wizard101 Central. There's also an exclusive interview about crafting over at MMOHub, which even features a picture of Fallon from Diary of a Wizard. (I actually pitched an e-mail interview about crafting with Kingsisle a couple weeks ago, but it didn't work out . . . no biggie though--I have some other good news to share.)

(**Update** The Wikia received a cool Krokotopia wallpaper as well! click here **Update**)

Sooooooooo, it's basically an exclusive fest today for KingsIsle!

And not to be left out, Fernando has a little something for my readers as well. As he said in an e-mail to me:

"... Attached to this email is a unique, exclusive peek at a new feature that will be introduced with our next major build that is scheduled to reach the live game environment tomorrow morning: Mannequins! ..."

So I think I got a two-fer there: Mannequin screenshots, and this little nugget, "our next major build that is scheduled to reach the live game environment tomorrow morning." I don't know about you guys, but I'm reading that as GRIZZLEHEIM GOES LIVE TOMORROW MORNING. How about you guys? Could it be? Tomorrow? Grizzleheim at last?!

Ok, on to the mannequin photos (these are pretty awesome btw):


That first shot there shows the actual crafting of the mannequins. I'm looking at that recipe and just thinking, whoa . . . that looks like one intense ingredient list. Fun!
~~~~~~~


This second screenshot shows how you choose a hat, robe, and shoes to adorn your mannequin with. This is so awesome. It almost seems like additional storage doesn't it? Plus, you get to show off your favorite gear right there on your mannequin! I wonder if they'll ever add in a weapon slot for mannequins in the future?
~~~~~~~


This third shot shows how clothes will look on the girl mannequin model. (Notice the cool Celestia gear that everyone loves . . . .)
~~~~~~~


Here's another girl mannequin photo. IT'S PINK!
~~~~~~~


And finally, the boy mannequin. It's like owning a little haunted minion from Triton Avenue all to yourself there, isn't it? (Only this haunted minion has bull horns and a fetish for black and blue clothing.)
~~~~~~~

And that's what they sent me today. :-)

So, this is all fantastic news. Kingsisle keeps instituting game changing, fun things and treating their fan base wonderfully. Thank you so much to the wonderful people over at Kingsisle from all of us. Keep doing an amazing job!

See you all in the newly expanded spiral and HAPPY DUELING!

How do you record a video?

Hello readers, a question here from Ms. Silverheart:

Question=How do you record
Videos on wizard101?

Well there are a couple ways to do this, but here's what I do: I record my videos with a little program called fraps. This is a pretty easy to use, free program that will allow you to take little 30-second video clips of whatever computer video game you're playing. You can pay a small fee and unlock unlimited recording as well. A word to the wise though, these little video files can eat up a TON of disk storage space if you're not careful.

The other method I use is recording from X-fire. X-fire is a great program that does a lot more than just record videos. It's basically like a social networking program for gamers. While you have X-fire running on your machine it will track which games you play and allow you to record video while playing!

After I have the raw footage from fraps or X-fire, I usually just dump the files into the free Window's Movie Maker program (which has come free with Windows for many many years btw, most people don't even know they have it on their computer) and stitch them together into something cool.

If you get really creative with fraps or x-fire you may even be interested in checking out the hobby of Machinima. Machinima is when you combine video game footage with your own scripted cinema. There's a lot of really creative stuff out there.

And, last but not least, youtube it.

Best of luck making those videos!

Happy Dueling!

Can I get the Jade Oni Sword if I'm an ice wizard? (And Stone Roses?)

Here is a question from a reader that goes by the name Christina BlueCloud:

“I have battled and defeated Jade Oni numerous times now and still do not have the Jade Oni sword. I am an ice wizard. Can I not get the Jade Oni sword as an ice wizard? P.S. I am a mom whom is hopelessly addicted to Wizard 101. LOL

I would greatly appreciate any help or advice on this as well as hints to locations of the stone roses in dragonspyre.”

Oh, Christina, I share your pain. I battled Yeva Spiderkeeper in Dragonspyre for my hat so many many times. When she finally coughed it up, it was so awesome. Yes, you can get the Jade Oni sword as an ice wizard! Keep at it! Keep in mind that you’d rather be unlucky farming the Jade Oni than you would be farming your class robe from Malistaire. So, just pretend that you’re storing up your luck. Yeah, that will help. ;-)

OH, and Stone Roses you say!? All the information you need to farming the stone roses can be found under the discussion tab for the quest over at the Wikia. The big ones that you’re not going to want to miss are the stone rose locked away at the back of the Labyrinth and the stone rose up by Malistaire. The rest are not going to be so hard to get to, but those two roses are crucial. If you miss them, you’ll end up having to do a long instance all over again. (But most people end up doing the Malistaire instance a billion times anyway to get aforementioned class robe . . . unless you’re lucky . . . STORE UP THAT LUCK!)

Thanks for the question!

Happy Dueling!

What do Distract and Pacify do?

Hello all,

I have a good question from Mycin Ravenblood that I'd like to address:

Question=First I want to say you are an example
and hero so to speak to us Necromancers
just starting out, I read your blog to
try and keep head of the game. Thanks for
having this. Second, is my question. My
twin brother and I (both Journeyman
Necromancers now) were wondering if
you could explain a couple of spells
we've come across for us. First would
be Distract. What exactly does this
do? We can't seem to figure it out. The
second we can't figure out is
Pacify. All we can find is what the
card says and well, that's not a whole
lot. So if you could please explain for
us what it is, we would be most
appreciative.

Thanks.

Mycin Ravenblood of the Ravenblood twins.

P.S. There are others like that
we've seen, but not since earned to try
out. If you know what those mean, it
would help us in the future on whether or
not we actually get them.

haha. Thanks for the praise. I try to do the best I can and "represent for the Necros, yo," and you're welcome. Actually I try to represent for all Wizard101 players! But, thank you. I appreciate it. :-)

Ok, so on to your question. Right, so there are two or three cards that a lot of people don't get (or use). Distract, Taunt, and Pacify. The idea behind those cards stretches back through many many fantasy games.

You see, in traditional MMOs you usually have a group of people that the slang users like to call "tanks." Tanks are the people that generally have large hit point counts and serve as the protector of the group. Tanks (who usually wear large bulky sets of armor--thus the name "tank") usually try to gather all the incoming monsters and get their attention so they are only attacking them.

Why?

Once again, in traditional MMOs you usually have a group of people that the slang users like to call "squishies." Squishies are the players who generally have low hit points but put out huge amounts of damage or heal a lot of damage. If a squishy player (who usually wear cloth robes) gets the attention of all the monsters, they are usually dead in a few hits.

Tanks usually come armed with all kinds of tricks to "taunt" the monsters into attacking them. In the game Everquest, Fighters would hit their "taunt" button over and over so as to save the squishies. They would also hunt down special weapons that would generate taunt, which people called "Building agro." meaning, the were building a lot of aggression against them.

In wizard101, everybody is a caster who wears robes; however, it's kind of set up so that ice and life wizards are the ones who have a lot of hitpoints, and storm wizards are the ones who don't have a lot of hitpoints. In other words, ice wizards were meant to be the tanks of Wizard101 and storm wizards were meant to be the squishies of Wizard101.

So Kingsisle gave us a few cards that they probably thought we'd be using a lot more than we do, namely, Distract, Taunt, and Pacify.

Distract and Taunt do pretty much the same thing. If you cast it on a monster, you build threat on your character so they are the focus of the attack. Distract is a zero pip spell and Taunt takes all your pips.

Pacify does the exact opposite. If you cast it on a monster, you lessen the threat on your character.

Now, the other trick that some may or may not know is that you don't need these cards to build threat. You can build threat or aggression on one character by sending that character in first, letting them cast a heal or stun or something and then have the other characters join in the fight after the first or second round.

Here's the rub, these spells are pretty much a PVE only spell for the most part. If you cast any of those threat spells in PVP on another character, it's not going to do anything . . . it's wasted mana. I guess you could cast a threat spell against a minion, but . . . yeah, you just don't want to waste the mana.

How many times have I cast a threat spell? I think maybe once in Kensington Park. /shrug How many times have I cast pacify? never. But who knows? Maybe there will be a new use for those spells in Grizzleheim.

Also! (Before I forget) You'll notice that certain minions in the game do cast taunt spells quite a bit. In that instance (when I'm soloing), a minion casting a taunt has saved my skin a time or two . . . so the cards aren't completely worthless. Ya' know what I'm saying?

I'm sure the readers of The Friendly Necromancer can add their two cents if I missed anything.

Hope that helps!

Happy Dueling!

FW: Important Note to our Player vs Player Community

This just came through the news wire from Professor Greyrose!

 

"With the release of Grizzleheim, Crafting, the Bazaar and updates to our Player vs Player system, we will be starting a new Player vs Player Preview Season. This means that all Player vs Player ranks will be reset. Your Arena Tickets will not be affected, nor will any items that you purchased with your Arena Tickets. This only resets your Player vs Player Rank.

     

At that time, all players will be reset to the default PvP rank of 500. Please watch our Ravenwood News Page for updates regarding the date and time that this new Preview Season begins!"

 

Best of luck duelers and Happy Dueling!

 

Player Trading Card of the Day--Cassandra Griffindreamer

Hello Duelers,

It's time for another player trading card of the day. It's Cassandra Griffindreamer!



Very nice staff you have there Cassandra! I think that's the level 48 balance staff from the Drake Hatchery, right? Someone wanted to see what the balance staff looked like, and I think that's it. (not 100% sure, of course.)

Happy Dueling!

The Road to Rebirth (and item of the day too!)

Ah, friends. Yesterday was pretty awesome. I took Kyle to a local amusement park for a dad and son day and got completely wiped out. The same thing happened to me a week ago when I took Amber to the amusement park . . . I didn't learn my lesson. Ouch, I'm sore.


However, before and after the amusement park fun, I was (of course) playing wizard101 with Amber and Kyle's characters. I'm very motivated right now to have them complete the game before the new baby comes. You'll be seeing that "2.5 kids" over there in the description rolling to a "3 kids" in about a week.

So, anyway, I have a story from completing the level 48 quests for Kyle and Amber's spells. Collecting Kyle's spell was uneventful. They didn't even make the storm wizards go that deep into the Labyrinth. Amber's spell collection on the other hand. Whew. Now that's tough.

Oh sure, at first you're skipping along and you grab a chunk of bark from Bartleby:


And then it's over to Niles to get some vines:


And finally you run over to Oakheart to get whatever and, if you're like me, suddenly you can't get in his room. It's like you've come up against the great waterslide of Mooshu.


Eventually I cleared up the question mark over my head when I went back to read something I had vaguely remembered Professor Greyrose posting (click!). Yup, I had forgotten to do those Tree of Life quests that you don't have to do to complete the instance. /smacks head.

While I was at it, I picked up this amazingly large torii from finishing that side quest in the Tree of Life. (Yay Item of the Day!)


So, yes, the question mark over my head dissipated and the one over Oakheart's head finally appeared!


Was I done? No. You have to battle The Hoarder and then get all the way back into the back of the Labyrinth (back by the paladin) to find an elite dude and take him down. Sean Emeraldweaver popped in and helped me finish the Labyrinth instance, and then finally, after all of that, Amber Deathsong had her rebirth card and that happy satyr pet, Duke Honey.

Whew.

Happy Dueling!

Ridiculously Smarmy!

Wow! Amber is so stinking lucky sometimes! haha. You just don't see this sword that often. And Amber got it on her first try . . . much like the jade oni sword she got on the first try. haha!



Why? It's locked away at the top of the safehouse tower. I mean, it takes 45 minutes just to get to the boss that has this drop. So, here's Amber, doing her thing, looking smarmy infront of the death school with her new glowy sword of green death.



Congrats Amber!

Happy Dueling!

Player Trading Card of the Day--Autumn Duskhunter

I don't know if you all have been reading Homework in a Graveyard, but Autumn does a fantastic job. You should check it out. A big thumbs up to the work Autumn is producing over on her blog.



Thanks for stopping by and leaving comments, Autumn! They are appreciated. :-)

Happy Dueling!

Is there a Wizard101 podcast?

Just got a question from Mindy DragonSong:

Question=Hi! I recently
started playing W101
and have been
enjoying the game.
I was surprised,
however, when I
checked iTunes and
found no Wizard 101
podcasts listed!
Can you recommend
any Wizard 101
podcasts or do they
not exist?

I don't think there is one . . . yet. It sounds like a great idea!

Just to be sure I sent the question on to Professor Greyrose (The Community leader) at Kingsisle, and she said that she hadn't heard of one. THEN, she sent the question along to Fernando, the PR guru at Kingsisle, and this is what he said:

"You mean do we sponsor or put one out? If so, no. If you mean have there ever been podcasts that include Wizard101, yes."

So it sounds like Wizard101 has been talked about on a podcast or two in its day, but never had an official one all of its own. Interesting question, thanks!

Happy Dueling!

How do I get a cool pet that's not from the vendor?

Got another question here from a reader:

Question=hi I'm a 22 ice
student and i don't
know how to get a
cool pet not the
ones you buy. I have
a dark fairy total
lame to me . Please
write back as soon
as possible.

Thanks for the question! I actually have the perfect place for you to look right here on this blog!



Just click that pets link and there's all kinds of information on where you can get cool pets!

Happy Dueling!

Player Trading Card of the Day--Sierra StarSong

Here's another avid supporter of The Friendly Necromancer! It's Sierra StarSong! (She goes by StarsongKY in all the other forums.)


It's great to finally get an ice caster in the deck! woot!

While we're at it, StarsongKY has some great advice you may want to check out here:

Some players recommend carrying a huge spell deck so you don't run out of cards, but then you have trouble drawing the card you want when you need it. A stripped down deck (or a partially full one) helps you get those critical cards but cut it too close or fizzle too much and you can run out.

If you find yourself frequently running low on cards, stop by Mildred Farseer in Colossus Boulevard to learn Reshuffle, and always include a pair of them in your deck. Why two? A single one lets you reshuffle once, but it's discarded after your deck resets so it can't come up again.

Always include two Reshuffles and discard the first one you draw, so you have one in your deck and one in your discard pile at all times. Then when you Reshuffle, you're shuffling one back in and discarding the other, effectively giving you a bottomless deck.

- StarsongKY from Wizard101Central

Thanks for the tip StarsongKY and it's a pleasure to have you as the featured player trading card of the day!

The Smarminess Returns!

So you may remember those smarmy photos that I took when Thomas Lionblood got his terminus. It's been a long time, so here's the link in case you don't remember.

Now Kyle and Amber are ready for their smarmy poses in front of the opposing school.

First Kyle with his awesome new trident of death, um, storm staff:


(I digitally touched that up a bit because the end was blurring with the yellow of the myth school)

And now Amber with her branch of the world tree staff getting smarmy in front of Dworgyn's hangout:


Congratulations kids! Malistaire is in our sites and only a half a level until the level 48 spells! GO KIDS!

. . . and speaking of Malistaire . . . be sure to go read about my adventures with Tara last night trying to best the new Malistaire on the test server. It's an excellent read! It's an interesting script now where the Ghost of Sylvia Drake comes and gives you a hand while Malistaire pounds you with meteors. We both agree that we're missing a piece of the puzzle somewhere.

Happy Dueling!

Enable/Disable Dungeon Warnings?

Professor Greyrose forwarded me an answer to a very specific question today.

She had been asked this:

There used to be a warning everytime I walked into a dungeon that mentioned how long that dungeon may take to complete, and warn when leaving a dungeon. It seems I may have turned this feature off by accident. How do I enable the dungeon pop up warnings again?

She has an answer that involves poking into an xml file in the game directory.

This link here is a good read if you're having this problem.

Happy Dueling!

Player Trading Card of the Day--Rogan Goldenforge

And now I present, ALT OF ELIJAH!



*shakes head* I'm not sure if I want to know what "Announcer: In Krokotopia . . ." even means. *shakes head*

Happy Dueling!

The Friendly Necromancer by Elijah Stormheart

It's an Elijah type of a day today.

I just wanted to share with you all a drawing that Elijah did for me a month or so ago.



It's an amazing likeness! I'd recognize the terminus and that cheesy grin anywhere!

Two thumbs up!

:-)

Player Trading Card of the Day--Elijah Stormheart

Here he is!



Elijah has been bugging me to feature him on my blog from day 1 or 2. MR. CORNDOG IN THE EAR HIMSELF! (Those are definitely his words not mine.)

Enjoy that limelight, buddy. :-)

Elijah asked me to make a card for his balance wizard too, but I just ran out of time . . . maybe later today if I can.

Happy Dueling!

Player Trading Card of the Day--Devin Fireheart

Today we're featuring the Devin Fireheart card:



She's a fellow Death wizard with an awesome attitude. She notes that her goal here is to gather all her level 50 gear. I think that's a very timely goal since things are looking a lot tougher with select bosses after the test realm. I'm hoping the tweak it a bit, because the people over at central are saying some of the fights are impossible.

Happy Dueling!

Player Trading Card of the Day--Isaiah Spelldust

Ahhhh, the Isaiah Spelldust card!



Just so you all know, Isaiah runs the Defenders of the Spiral blog. He's an amazing guy and has amassed a lot of information over on his blog. It's definitely worth keeping track of. And his affinity for Saturday Night Live videos makes the sad panda happy. :-)

Keep up the great work, Isaiah!

Happy Dueling!

I bought crowns, how come I can't see the test realm?

Question here from Gorman RavenHunter:

Hi, I bought crowns on the 6th (it was my birthday!) and I can't get into the test realm.
Can you help me?

Hey! Happy Birthday, and thanks for the question. I have no idea why! As the test realm page states:

"This is a Test Realm available to Subscribers and Crowns Players who have made a purchase in the last 30 days. Free to Play Players will not be able to log in to the Test Server."

So based on what it says there, it seems like you should be able to play, right?

Let me just make sure you know how to play on the test realm. You need to log on to the wizard101.com page with your account, then click the red ribbon on the upper right hand side of the screen, and follow the steps at the bottom of the next webpage (it involves a download).

Otherwise, I'd suggest contacting customer support.

Happy Dueling!

How are you making those cards?

Katherine Deathstone asks this question:

Question=Well, I know this
is sort of random,
but how did you
make those trading
cards for your
kids? They are so
awesome.

Thank you! Answer: Ancient Chinese Secret.

Actually, if you just do a google search on "make your own trading cards", then you'll find tons of links for making cards online.

Of course, I'm also doing some photoshopping so the look isn't so "canned." I may make further changes to the card as I go along. I really wish I had access to the software programs from work here at home. ;-)

Thanks for the question.

I figure I'm going to need 4 players from each class by the end of this for my finished 1st round "player deck" (There's going to be a monster deck as well . . .). I've been spending some time today figuring out some basic rules for this card game (of a card game) I want to develop.

Happy Dueling!

Are there houses for Grizzleheim?

Starsongky has a great question that she sent me,

Can we buy houses in Grizzleheim? I'd love to see what a house there looks like. That would help me decide whether to go ahead and buy that MooShu mansion I've been saving for, or wait and get one in Grizzleheim once it goes live.

Well, I dunno. I mean, I *thought* they said there were going to be Grizzleheim houses, but I haven't seen a vendor yet. Hmm, let me log on . . .

*time passes*
*insert jeopardy music*

Ok, I found the hut where the vendor is hiding!



It's just to the left of Mr. Ironclaws (that first NPC that Merle asks you to go see).

I ran inside and there's no turtle. There is a friendly bear fella selling some housing items though. Unfortunately his "castles" tab is greyed out.



People over at the Central seem to be asking the same question.

The official test realm patch notes page (found here) says this:

"As student wizards adventure through subsequent worlds, Grizzleheim will offer new quests, new locations to explore, new opponents and new Viking-themed decorative housing items interspersed throughout the mid and higher levels of the game."

Man, all I see from that statement is that there will only be new housing items.

Hmmm. Tell you what, I just sent Professor Greyrose an e-mail. I'll get back to you with an official statement from her if she gives one.

Happy Dueling!

Housing Item of the Day--Grizzleheim Shield

I've been spending a bit more time on the test realm! In completing some of these first easy quests (well, for a 50th level character anyway), I was able to complete a quest called Talon Tales.



This resulted in a small wall shield that has a cool bear claw print on it in a swirly spiral pattern. Fun!



So happy to be discovering these new items on test. :-)

Happy Dueling!

Trading Card of the Day--Kyle Skystaff

What the heck . . . I know I already put Amber's card up, but here's Kyle's. It's a two-for-one father's day special!



Thanks for playing with me kids and "letting me" play your characters from time to time. ;-)

Player Trading Card of the Day--Amber Deathsong

Sorry for the lack of updates yesterday. Honestly, the opportunity never arose. I was too busy riding rollercoasters with Amber Deathsong all day. We had a daddy daughter date to a local amusement park.



I am completely wiped out today here on Father's day. We had a great time!

So, I'm throwing down the Amber Deathsong card for you all. I did a quick interview with her and she let me know her favorite saying and told me what she'd like to communicate to the Wizard101 playerbase with her card.



Happy Dueling!

Grizzleheim -- my first hour (a bit of a spoiler)

Hey all . . . here's a little spoiler video for those that haven't been on the test realm yet to run around. :-) Don't watch this if you want to experience the first stuff all for yourself.



I'm so excited about all this stuff! Sorry the audio is a little low.

Happy Dueling!

Housing Item of the Day--Basic Crafting Station (from the test realm)

Well, there it is! My first new item from Grizzleheim off of the test realm. This one came from the intro to crafting quest from Eudora Tangletree.



Hmm, now I need to create a little work spot in my house. You'll be using this to make all kinds of stuff it looks like! Woot!



This is so awesome!

Happy Dueling!

About that patch message . . .

Ok, so it's taking a while for me to load up the test realm . . . and the best thing you need to do is go read those patch notes while it's loading. WOW! There are a TON of game changing things going on.

- Grizzleheim (access through olde town)
- Bazaar (prices based on supply and demand)
- Crafting (oh man, that's going to make the housing item list go through the roof . . . but believe me, it doesn't stop there. You'll be able to craft much much more.)
- Open Chat for 18+
- Chat channels including a group chat
- Grouping (yes grouping)
- No more stun locking
- and more!

Seriously, you need to check those patch notes out.

Grizzleheim up on test!

On your mark, get set, GO LOG ON TEST!

For immediate publication.

Grizzleheim and many other Features are now available to preview on the Test Realm.

To find out what features are being added to the Test Realm, please consult our Update Notes Page.
https://www.wizard101.com/site/home2/wizard101/page_8ad6a40421d3cc310121e9bb0cd10440

To participate in the Test Realm, please visit our Sneak Peek page.
https://www.wizard101.com/site/home2/wizard101/page_8ad6a4041e1e376d011e47499916066e

I told you it'd be up on test this week! ;-)

Happy Dueling!

Trading Card of the Day--The Friendly Necromancer

Heya Duelers,

I just wanted to see if maybe we could try out a new feature for a little bit and see how it turns out. What I'd like to do is make a trading card like this one below for a number of Wizard101 Players.



If you're interested in being a part of a cool Wizard101 player deck, sign up below. I haven't invented any kind of a game around this yet, but you never know.

Evil Twin Chat--Episode 21

(click to enlarge comic)

Every gathering thing like that, I seriously kick myself for not buying the Indian Headress from November.



Kyle and I rock like this.

Complete Housing Item List

Ok, so . . . as far as I know, I now present you with the most complete housing item list for Wizard101 on the net. Click the link up top. That's 817 items on one spreadsheet! Yeah, there's some duplicates and a few odd things, but that's too be expected with a list that big. I'll try my best to keep that updated and trim and fix when I can.

The yellow items are vendor items (both crown and gold purchases). The peach colored items are quest items. The light blue items are world drops. The white items are reward items from defeating baddies all around the spiral.

Thanks for all the feedback!

Now I just need to decide if I'm going to retire the item of the day series or not.



(Too bad there's no hammock to go with a couple of the tall pall trees in the housing list)

I would like to finish my house up and video a run through of it for you all in the near future. /shrug I still have a lot to do with it.

Happy Dueling!

Improved Housing Item List

Whew . . . I am going blind from looking at spreadsheets tonight. I just compiled a huge list of items (541 of them) from three separate threads over at the Central into one grand table. I still want to add into this list all the crown items and vendor items for sale to create one huge master list. Click the link up top to check it out.

Previously I had only included the Housing Items that I had published on this blog as an item of the day. Now, wow . . . this is a resource that I will definitely use myself and I hope it serves you all very well.

I had linked to these threads (well two of them) previously. I also borrowed from Donna Pixiesong's thread here. I also combined in the stuff that I had found that wasn't mentioned as well.

So there are a lot of people to thank for those posts. Nice work to the community as a whole. I look forward to expanding this list as time goes on. Also, I'm still looking for a hosting solution that doesn't involve popups for those tables. Things will be improved!

Happy Dueling!

Downtime message

This just came through from Professor Greyrose:

Wizard101 the game will be offline for maintenance for an extended period of time.

From 3am to 7am Central US time, on June 17 2009, Wizard101 the game will be offline.

Players will not be able to log in. Players who are logged in at that time will be prompted to log out.

Please note, this downtime is only for technical maintenance, nothing is being added to or changed in the game during this period.

Thank you for your understanding, while we continue to improve the game for everyone.

No annoucement about Grizzleheim . . . just some downtime!

Happy Dueling!

Grizzleheim "might" come out on test today!

IGN was given the scoop!

Grizzleheim is on the test servers on Tuesday, and expect it to roll out to the live game sometime in the near future.

Go check out the full article. You won't want to miss the screenshots over there as well. Three really good ones of the new races.

Keep in mind, no official announcement has come from Kingsisle to the fansites yet. When that happens, I'll forward it along. I just think KI wanted to give IGN the scoop. IGN has been a fantastic gaming newsite site 1998, so it was an extremely good choice.

How do I get to the Krokotopia Arena

I got this question from a comment on my youtube profile from Steven Shadowhunter:

how do you go to Krokotopia Arena?

I think someone was watching the very first video I made for Wizard101! I should go back to the Krokotopia arena and make a REAL version of me tearing it up now that I'm a Grandmaster. See I'm super fly, super dooper fly.



So, to get to the Krokotopia Arena (and more specifically the Colosseum in the Grand Arena) from Wizard City Commons, it would go a little like this.

Wizard City Commons-> Ravenwood-> Spiral Door to the Oasis in Krokotopia-> Boat to Krokosphinx-> Entry Hall-> The Grand Arena-> Colosseum



The Krokosphinx is the second area of Krokotopia, so you'll need to have all of Wizard City completed and The Pyramid of the Sun completed in Krokotopia.

Best of luck. The Arena is definitely one of my most favorite spots in the game.

Happy Dueling!

Gathering 2009!

Yesterday was the 2009 Wizard 101 gathering sponsored by the Wikia and Evil Theurgists! I was a bit late because I was busy pulling weeds from my front lawn, but I did come inside in time to attend the last half and even brought Kyle along with me.

Here's the footage I got from the event!



Thanks for the fun! I was really happy to have met a bunch of you. :-)

Happy Dueling!

Will Grizzleheim be released on test tomorrow?

Got a question here from Jesse:

. . . do you have any info on the grizleheim test realm I here it would be open tommorow but do you know when are they going to realese grizzlheim yet?

Here's the deal, there has been no official announcement yet. BUT I can tell you that around Wednesday last week they (as in the developers) were still reviewing the music for the world. When Grizzleheim was first announced, the music for it wasn't even written yet. Those two things, I know for a fact.

I wish I had a definitive answer for you, but from the sounds of it, they were putting the final polish on it (like the music) before it went to test.

All the fansites will get a mass e-mail the moment the decision is made to release Grizzleheim to the test realm. I can tell you that no announcement e-mail has been delivered to my inbox yet today, so things are looking slim for tomorrow. On the other hand, we're only half way through the day! We can hope! When they announced Dragonspyre was going to be released, they announced it really late on a Friday. It was like midnight. I swear Professor Greyrose never sleeps.

So, that's all I got on Grizzleheim. I do feel some pressure to provide you guys with some actual news, but as I said before, all I can do is speculate at this point (we all know how wrong I was on the wand being from Grizzleheim).

Also looking at the past, from the time the first Dragonspyre pictures hit the street to the day that Dragonspyre hit the test server, it was about two and a half weeks. Guess what, we're at two and a half weeks.

So, with all that detective work out of the way, here's my speculation for the release of Grizzleheim . . . some time this week. Let's see how wrong or right I am. /shrug

Happy Dueling!

Housing Item of the Day--Krok Moon Plaque

Hello duelers! So this morning while I was answering the question in the previous post, I had the luck of getting this housing item from Krokhotep himself.



It's the Krok Moon Plaque!



(Whoops. I said tablet in the picture, but I meant plaque. yup.) This goes nicely in my bedroom above one of my sarcophagi.

Happy Dueling!

Do you have information on the Emperor's Retreat?

Got a couple Questions here from a reader:

How many Kraken treasure cards do I need to get through the Emperor's Retreat in Krokotopia?
Also, how many bosses are there and their ranks + schools?
I hope you don't think this is pushey but what are their health numbers?
By the way can you meet me there on your level 50 Thomas LionBlood?
Realm:Greyrose Area:.1
Please?

How many Kraken treasure cards do you need to get through the Emperor's Retreat in Krokotopia? None! Just sail on through using your own deck!

BUT, I decided to go into the Emperor's Retreat this morning just to refresh my memory on the zone and answer your questions.

Basically you need to defeat five ice caster bosses all in the rank 3 or 4 catagory. Each comes accompanied with a companion. So, here's how they roll out (with health noted to the side):

Boss 1
Sokkwi Frostmancer--435 health
Prince Sutan Sokkwi--750 health



Boss 2
Sokkwi Frostmancer--435 health
Prince Kebi Sokkwi--750 health

(Don't get caught by any encorcelled slaves while freeing the mancers)

Boss 3
Sokkwi High Guard--525 health
Overseer Panini--750 health

Boss 4
Sokkwi High Guard--525 health
Keymaster--750 health



Boss 5
Sokkwi High Guard--525 health
Krokhotep--800 health

Now, a kraken treasure card costs 250 gold and damages for 605-665. Given that you are taking out any tower shields with a wand cast (these are all ice casters mind you) and that you are not buffing yourself up with any blades. It would take 15 Kraken Treasure cards for a total of 3,750 gold.

Me? I used 5 scarecrow cards 5 death blade cards and a few death traps.



Also, I've been getting a few requests for me to meet up with people and put them on my friend list. My friend list is actually full right now. I need to find some time to weed through it and find the extremely unfamiliar names and trim!

Maybe sometime in the future I'll post up a time and place when I'll be farming, and I can meet whoever shows up. So, I'll get back to you on that!

Happy Dueling!

Housing Item of the Day--Green Foodcart

Today's housing item is a free food cart from Digmoore Station in Marleybone.


It's a free world item, so all you have to do is walk up to it and press X . . . and then charge all your houseguests a buck an orange from your foodcart.



Happy Dueling!

The Facebook Code is IN!

Click over to Autumn Duskhunter's blog and read her excellent post. She walks you through what you need to do on Facebook and on the Wizard101 website to redeem your special code for becoming a fan of Wizard101.

I GOT MY FREE GOLD! THANKS AUTUMN!

(You better hurry, this code won't last long!)

~~~~~

Wait a second, it isn't St. Patricks day?



And the resulting remix from the news story.



haha. Youtube is such a monster. Today Facebook is the leprechaun for Wizard101 players. ;-)

Happy Dueling!

Housing Items of the Day--Bottle Burner, Lectern, and Park Bench

Hello housing item collectors!

I have a few more items from our friend, Sestiva Hex--three of them in fact. She just had so much good stuff around her house. Anyway, this should round out the featured items from Sestiva nicely. (Thanks again for showing me around!)

This bottle burner comes from finishing the golem tower quests in Wizard City. The actual name of the quest is "The Final Piece."


That looks like it would go good next to a brain jar for sure.

Next up is a lectern that you get for completing "The Dark of Nightshade" quest in Wizard City.


I can sense that Sestiva gives many a dark lecture from this lectern. If Dworgyn gets tenure as Autumn is proposing, maybe Sestiva should consider giving this up as a donation to him.

And finally, here is a wonderful bench that Sestiva had surrounded by trees in a park setting. This "Park Bench" comes from completing the "Another Delivery" quest in Marleybone.



Happy Dueling!

New Links Up Top

This is a test of the emergency broadcast system . . .

Just a quick note to let you all know that I spent some time organizing things a bit and added some quick links up top. I'll try to keep that housing item list up to date as I do the item of the day posts.

. . . If this were an actual emergency . . .

FW: Are you a Fan of Wizard101?

Hey all, this just came across.

Begin forwarded message:

________________________________

Are you a Fan of Wizard101?

Did you know that Wizard101 is on Facebook?

If you are a Wizard101 Fan on Facebook, or become one before Friday 12 June 2009 at 5pm Central US time, you will be sent a promotional code for a special gift!

Visit our Facebook Page to become a Fan!
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Wizard101/15105063450
________________________________

I have, in fact, been a fan of Wizard101 on Facebook now for a few months! I wonder what the special gift will be.

Housing Item of the Day--Marleybone Flag

I've got another Sestiva furniture item today. It's the Marleybone Flag from the Keys to Success quest.



I don't even want to know how Sestiva got that up there on top of her roof. Here's some general ladder safety tips kids. Be sure to pester your folks with these next time your dad wants to get on the roof to do Christmas lights:

1. Be sure straight ladders are long enough so that the side rails extend above the top support by at least 36"

2. Don't set up ladders in areas such as doorways or walkways where others may run into them, unless they are protected by barriers. Keep the area around the top and base of the ladder clear. Don't run hoses, extension cords or ropes on a ladder and create an obstruction.

3. Don't try and increase the height of a ladder by standing it on boxes, barrels or other materials. Don't try and splice two ladders together.

4. Set the ladder on solid footing against a solid support. Don't try and use a stepladder as a straight ladder.

5. Place the base of straight ladders out away from the wall or edge of the upper level, about one foot for every four feet of vertical height. Don't use ladders as a platform, runway or scaffold.

6. Tie in, block or otherwise secure the top of straight ladders to prevent them from being displaced.

7. To avoid slipping on a ladder, check your shoes for oil, grease or mud and wipe it off before climbing.

8. Always face the ladder and hold on with both hands when climbing up or down. Don't try to carry tools or materials in your hands.

9. Don't lean out to the side when you're on a ladder. If something is out of reach, get down and move the ladder.

10. Most ladders are designed to hold only one person at a time. Two may cause the ladder to fail or throw it off balance.

I'm also pretty sure, Sestiva didn't use one of these.

FW: New Chat Enhancements Announced

Another one just came across the wire . . . now this one seems to have the potential to stir some controversy I think.

*HOLD ON TO YOUR SEATS*

~~~~~~~~~~

New Chat Enhancements Announced

We are releasing new community enhancements very soon!

One of the enhancements is 18+ Chat*. 18+ Chat will allow players a more open communication environment with other 18+ players. Starting tonight, we are adding web-based account controls for 18+ chat. Please be aware that although the control will be added to your account, 18+ Chat will NOT be launched tonight.

This chat feature is in response to our community's requests. To ensure the highest level of safety, we have chosen to launch this for our active Subscriber community only. Please note that this option is off by default, and you must actively select this option under Account Management.

Our terms for in-game communication with other players will remain the same. Violent and abusive behavior, as well as the exchange of personal information is still not acceptable.

Once we launch this feature, the following updates to chat will apply:

Menu Chat (default setting for under13)
• players will continue to see only Menu Chat.

13 to 18+ Text Chat (default setting for 13+)
• players will continue to see only our Dictionary Text Chat.
• players will NOT see the 18+ chat.

New 18+ Chat
• will be filtered for profanity.

*Accounts must be 18+ and must be an active subscriber with a valid credit card on file.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Happy Chatting to the 18+

*gulp*

FW: What They Play is Seeking Fathers in the Military

This note just came in over the wire from the Wizard101 peeps:

What They Play is Seeking Fathers in the Military

If you’re a father in the military who plays Wizard101 with your children back home or you play Wizard101 online with your father back home, we'd love to hear from you. Stripes GAMER.com – in partnership with What They Play, the family guide to video games – is developing a special Father’s Day feature story that you could be a part of.font>

Sign Up Here

Happy Dueling!

Housing Item of the Day--Telescope

Hello duelers,

Today's housing item comes from our dear friend, Sestiva Hex! This particular item really caught my eye as I was rummaging through all her belongings like a soccer mom at an upscale garage sale. Sestiva saw me looking longingly at her items and said, look no further and instead look farther--cast your corneas into this telescope and envision a closer definition of extended sight, all right? (she's just poetic like that.)



From what I'm reading over at the central, this telescope comes from the Bad News quest in Marleybone.



Honestly a really cool piece. It makes me excited to play Isaiah and the evil twin again so I can snag this.

Happy dueling!