February 2025 Zone of the Month -- Gumdrop Forest

Keeping the tradition alive!  Randomness has returned us once again to Karamelle. Truly the universe is telling me I need to move along.

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Name: Gumdrop Forest

Location: Karamelle -- Just run through the main tunnel in Karmelle City and hang a right. You'll see a sign guiding your way to the sweetest tourist spot in Karmelle -- welcome to Gumdrop Forest!

Sweet sights are ahead!

Description: Karamelle's famous gumdrop trees await you and, even more so, the beautiful sights drawing all the tourists to this wonderful land. This area is a smaller hub beyond the main hub of Karamelle City. From here you can head to Sweetzburg, Nibbleheim, and Gobblerton. 
 

A resident of Mooshu takes in the beautiful sights of the Gumdrop Forest and beyond

Cost: 2295 Crowns -- For this price you'll also get Sweetzburg.

Zeke Item: You gotta find those Lemonheads! This one hides in a far corner of the zone just beyond a soda lake.

Sticking out like a sore thumb in this darkened corner of the Gumdrop Forest

Chests: Yes there are, in fact, BOTH wooden chests and silver chests in the Gumdrop Forest! Chests seemed to drop just under 1000 gold each! Enjoy!

A silver chest peaking out from the side of a cave

Secrets:  There are no major secrets for you to find in the Gumdrop Forest, but one of the most charming scenes can be found here: tourists from Polaris and Mooshu enjoying the sights and skipping along. If you don't stop to smell the flowers in Gumdrop Forest, you may just miss it!

Happy Penguins visiting Karamelle.

Reagents: Unfortunately, for being a world so rich in flora, there are no reagents to be found in the Gumdrop Forest. You'll have to go a bit deeper into Sweetzburg if you're looking for Pretzel Sticks and Parchment.

Fishing: No fish can be found in Gumdrop Forest just yet. Maybe someday, though! Just imagine fishing up some Swedish Fish, Caram-eels, or a Tetra-misu. Lots to hope for the future!

A simply delicious world!

Teleporters: There are no teleporters in Gumdrop Forest, but none are really needed. Travel is fairly straightforward here with no major twists and turns.

What's the 4-1-1? When the Grand Nana finds out you are the Scion of Bartleby, she sends you on a quest into the Gumdrop Forest to find the cause of the Sour Gummies. She believes there you will be able to cure a witch's curse that's causing the gummies to sour. 

Once in the Gumdrop Forest, the Gnome Ranger will ask you to help fend off the hungry stomachs of the gobblers invading from Gobblerton and then send you on to Sweetzburg to talk with the factory workers there about the sour gummy situation.

Just look at those candy cane six-shooters!

Who's that Boss? While the Hangriest Gobbler is a great boss for farming spellements, this zone's most interesting boss has to go to the Tree Mugger. He's got a really interesting cheat that uses the Impede spell. For some tips and tricks on how to handle him, be sure to check out the guide at Wizard101 Central.

It's all about the mustache.

Don't Miss this Sidequest! After dealing with the hungry gobblers, don't miss the Gnome Ranger's follow on quest to hunt down an angry gnome who likes to punch trees. When you beat the Tree Mugger, you'll be rewarded with a legendary socket wrench, which unlocks sockets on items from levels 135 to 170.

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Thanks for reading! I hope you take a chance to visit an old favorite again this new year.

Happy Dueling!

January 2025 Zone of the Month -- Knight's Court

Welcome to 2025 and to another Zone of the Month! Randomness this month has brought us all the way back to Marleybone and one of my favorite TV Show puns from Wizard101.

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Name: Knight's Court

Location: Marleybone -- Once you exit the gate to Marleybone, you head to the left over to Scotland Yard.  Take the elevator to the roof and head straight back past your good friend Watson and on into Knight's Court.

Fashion, Scratching, Trolls, and Black Widows galore!

Description: Knight's Court is a maze of rooftops where you'll encounter the standard fare Marleybone's Prowlers, Scratchers, and Street Sweepers. What makes Knight's Court stand out, however, is the presence of trolls and spiders as well! The main centerpiece of this zone is a large tower with clockwork gears called the Knight's Tower, wherein you're sure to encounter a sneaky scratcher named Jacques.

Jacques the Scratcher in Action

Cost: 1,200 Crowns -- this is the only zone you'll receive for your purchase.

Zeke Item: Marleybone is all about Stray Cats, and you'll find one in Knight's Court just hiding off to the side of the grand Knight's Tower.

He's got cat class and he's got cat style!

Chests: While I haven't found any silver chests, you certainly can find a wooden chest or two in Knight's Court. Final Bastion also notes you can find the new Multiplayer Cantrip Chests there as well.

Lots of chests in far away places 

Secrets:  Possibly the best secret found in Knight's Court comes from a book inside Knight's Tower. Henry Wellingbrook gives a wonderful quest that helps you unravel the history of Marleybone. A juicy piece of lore comes from this book, which reveals that a Marleybonian by the name of Herold Digmoore read a line of ancient magical text that transported him to Wizard City and led to the discovery that Marleybone was actually a part of the Spiral.

Secret-y Secrets Revealed!

Reagents: Any old-school Wizard101 player can tell you that Marleybone is the best place to find random Scrap Metal for your crafting projects! Knight's Court is a great place for that and all your standard stone block and mistwood needs.

Fishing: Unfortunately you won't find any fishing holes on top of the rooftops in Knight's Court. You will find a few fish bones lying around as scenery though! I bet those scratchers would love for you to bring them a catfish or two.

Teleporters: OF COURSE there are teleporters!  Marleybone is one of the birthplaces of those handy zone teleporters after all. You can find the hub near the Knight Tower and it's connections take you to Beeman's Warehouse, Brick's Warehouse, Amy Brooks' Place, and back to Scotland Yard.

The Teleporter hub in Knight's Court!

What's the 4-1-1? Watson has a hot lead while on your quest to find Meowiarty. A nefarious criminal by the name of Jacques the Scratcher has been scratching up the citizens of Knight's Court. Watson sends you to talk to Sergeant Steeg who directs you to help Linda Milltop, a recent victim of the scratcher's scratching. 

While in Knight's Court, you'll fight Jacques twice and uncover clues about this mysterious scratcher.: a black bag, a glove. Can you uncover Jacques's identity and stop these horrible scratchings? Of course you can! Go make Steeg and Watson proud!

Jacques awaits you inside!

Who's that Boss? In addition to Jacques, you'll also be able to fight Mickey the Brick, the Black Widow, and even a Daily Quest boss named Jordyn Malniz! Farming Mickey may yield up a couple of rarer housing items such as the Square Metal Platform and Silver Chest. Farming the Black Widow can get you a set of Widow's armor or even a black widow pet. Farming Jacques could get you some of his special armor or maybe one of those cool-looking frog street sweepers as a pet.

Nothing worse than a missing purse!

Don't Miss this Sidequest! There are a couple great sidequests in Knight's Court. One involves chatting up all the ladies in the zone who are busy getting ready for the big Policeman's Ball. For completing this questline you'll receive a cool airship photo housing item as a reward. The other quest involves messing with trolls and eventually confronting the Black Widow boss, a farmable boss with some interesting loot. Both are a lot of fun!

A troll for a stroll under Marleybone's beauty untold

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Thanks for reading! I hope you take a chance to visit an old favorite again this new year.

Happy Dueling!

December 2024 Zone of the Month -- Karamelle City

Hey all! I thought I'd try to bring back a time-honored tradition as I discussed in a post last month and do another Zone of the Month!  

To those ends, I made a list of the 256 zones in Wizard101 and used a random number generator to let randomness do what it does best to choose our zone.  The random zone of the month this month is none other than an idea that was first birthed from a flight of fancy from the old Professor Greyrose on this very blog.  Thus, the rumors of Candyland began back in 2009 and finally became a reality with the World of Karamelle in 2020.

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Name: Karamelle City

Location: Karamelle -- Karamelle City is the main hub of the world Karamelle and is the location all players will enter upon taking the spiral door to that world. You'll wander through Karamelle City often as you weave your way through this world's story.

A wonderful world of sweets and treats!

Description: As described on Wizard101's Karamelle World webpage: "Karamelle is a world of smiles, of Gumdrop Forests and Licorice Trees, of Chocolate Mines and Soda Lakes. Happy villages stretch from Karamelle City to Gutenstadt and everyone, everywhere, is always singing and whistling while they work." Of course, as you travel on, you begin to understand that happiness in Karamelle really is just skin deep.

Spilled Ice Cream in Karamelle City, complete with a trail of ants leading to it.

Cost: When you purchase Karamelle City, you'll also receive the zones of Von Trap Estate and Rock Candy Mountains for the price of 2295 Crowns.

Zeke Item: In Karamelle, Zeke has you hunting down Lemonheads. In Karamelle City, you can find the zone's Lemonhead right inside the gateway leading to Rock Candy Mountain. The Lemonhead is quite easy to see to the side of a bench there.

Someone dropped a lemonhead next to the bench here.

Chests: There are no chests or silver chests in this zone for players to collect, which is too bad since there are plenty of places to hide them. 

Secrets: The biggest secrets of Karamelle City come from Nana herself and her factory! You should go talk to the Grandnana in her office. While you're there, make sure to inspect her desk, you might just find a free Dinette Set housing item waiting for you there!

Is stealing dinnerware behind Nana's back a crime in Karamelle City?

Reagents: There are no reagents in this zone for players to collect. You'll have to head in a bit deeper in the world to find the Pretzel Sticks you may be hunting for.

Fishing: Despite having a wonderful, bubbling Soda Stream, no fish can be found in Karamelle City. I take it as a hope for things to come! Just imagine fishing up some Swedish Fish, Caram-eels, or a Tetra-misu. Lots to hope for the future!

Teleporters: While there aren't any teleporters to get you around within Karamelle City itself, there is a Nanavator to help you traverse the different worlds within Karamelle, like, Sweetzburg, Nibbleheim, Gutenstadt, Black Licorice Forest, Candy Corn Farm, and Gobblerton.

Just take the Nanavator to where you need to go!

What’s the 4-1-1? When you arrive in Karamelle City, you've been sent there by Ione as the Arcanum Liason. Maulworf Von Trap is your inside informant on Cabal activities and a summit happening there at the request of The Great Old One. 

Upon arriving in Karamelle City you quickly find the problem of Sweet things gone sour and must dispose of evil gummy bears. It's a plot to be more fully explored later in Karamelle City.

Not the Xtra Limes bear!

At the summit of The Great Old One, you are asked to join the cabal by the Great Old One himself. As you're about to shake his hand, the great old one falls into a giant hole, or rather, a cavity. Sour candy is causing all kinds of problems! Perhaps Nana herself will have answers about what's going on with the candy gone wild?

Who’s that Boss?  There are a few Bosses in Karamelle City, but the most notable one is the one you fight at the end of Karamelle. If you follow the world's story line to the end, you'll find yourself facing off against The Aberrant Paradox, which just happens to be . . . YOU. Looking for a strategy on how to fight the big bad, The Final Bastion has all the info you need.

Don’t miss this Side Quest! After you've completed the main quest titled "Candy Crushing," make sure you talk to the Good Will Ambassador to take the Quest "Good Will Stunting" and the follow-on quest "My Stars and Gobblers!"  It's worth it just to get a look at Professor Plump in the Nana Corporation Lobby.

Professor Plump I presume!

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If only I had the power to discount this zone for you all!  Hope you enjoyed reading about this month's zone of the month.

Happy Dueling!

Of Content Mills and Zones of the Month in Wizard101

I've been waxing a bit reminiscent lately about all my time and energy spent working on Wizard101. There are a few good stories in me from those days, and I'll have to write them out someday. Today, however, I'm thinking a lot about the Zone of the Month feature I instituted. 

I'm really fond of list projects like this that choose a random "thing" and expound on it a bit. It feels like there's a natural sense of surprise and collection to them that all feels good to me.

A couple examples of this here on my blog are how I used to do a pet of the day feature for Wizard101 or how I made a collection of wizard101 player mini-interviews and turned it into a card game. I LOVE IT! It's such an easy content mill for blogging.

Ahh, the Death Cyclops pet!

At Kingsisle I instituted (and it's still going on) the Puppet Pirates "of the month" comics with Jeff Toney where every month you have a new comic that fans caption. I instituted the Rogue's Gallery spotlights "of the month" that highlighted NPCs in Pirate101. Again, it's just a great content mill format that fans track and appreciate so much. 

When I was knee-deep in Wizard101 community management, I set my sights on bringing that content mill to the newsletter with something that seemed endless to me: all the freaking zones in Wizard101. There's a bajillion of them. You'll never run out of them! Even better, we still had access to the original zone-level designers, and I felt like it would be great to partner with them and pick their brains. 

When I was concepting the article, I asked my old coworker Natalie Akilian about how we handle zone pricing, and when I found out we could sneak in price changes with weekly maintenance, I sold our Marketing Manager on it and we were golden. I got approval to discount that zone to go along with the article and with the help of Natalie, we made it happen.

So there it was and my randomness led me to close my eyes and point to a list of zones and BAM, in the December 2017 Wizard101 Newsletter, I was gathering info on the Celestia Science Center, talking with the writers and designers, using the flycam to take screenshots, reading quest text, coordinating zone pricing, and working with the marketing web designer to make it happen.

The flycam let me get great shots like this one!

It went over surprisingly . . . quiet . . . at first. I think people were a bit confused, but eventually, the masses seemed to approve and the discount was actually what made people appreciate it the most. There typically weren't any discounts on zones for Crowns-only non-subscribers, so picking up a random zone on a discount was actually pretty welcome and unique. 

I kept that feature going strong each month up until my transition out of Marketing into Design in August 2018. So in the end I helped coordinate these:

• July 2018--Zone of the Month: Zanadu Sewers 
• June 2018--Zone of the Month: Pegasus Place 
• May 2018--Zone of the Month: The Wild 
• April 2018--Zone of the Month: The Crystal Grove 
• March 2018--Zone of the Month: Crescent Beach 
• February 2018--Zone of the Month: Savarstaad Pass 
• January 2018--Zone of the Month: Chamber of Fire 
• December 2017--Zone of the Month: Celestia Science Center

What's pretty great to see is that the Community Manager and Marketing Team kept that going well beyond what I started, which is impressive. 

• February 2020--Zone of the Month: Chronoverge
• January 2020--none 
• December 2019--none 
• November 2019--Zone of the Month: Aggrobah 
• October 2019--none 
• September 2019--Zone of the Month: Throne Room of Fire 
• August 2019--Zone of the Month: Jade Palace 
• July 2019--Zone of the Month: Regent's Square 
• June 2019--Zone of the Month: Sunken City 
• May 2019--Zone of the Month: Firecat Alley 
• April 2019--Zone of the Month: Pigswick Academy 
• March 2019--Zone of the Month: The Oasis 
• February 2019--Zone of the Month: Urville Station 
• January 2019--none 
• December 2018--Zone of the Month: Northeast Aero Plains 
• November 2018--Zone of the Month: Aeriel Shores 
• October 2018--Zone of the Month: Pet Pavillion (again) 
• September 2018--Zone of the Month: Pet Pavillion 
• August 2018--Zone of the Month: Wizard City Commons  

Good on 'em! I'm glad they kept it going as long as they did.

Seeing all this is making me wonder now, hmm. I wonder what it would be like if I brought this back on my personal blog? Obviously I couldn't direct zone discounts anymore, but it might be fun to let randomness once again direct a zone of the month. It certainly would get me back in the game and playing around more often!

I don't know ... I guess, don't be surprised if you see it pop up again here on TFN!

Happy Dueling!