The Test Realm OPENS: NEW GAUNTLET OF WOE = UGH!

Hey Everyone

So, I'm pretty sure everyone has heard of the Test Realm opening sometime yesterday or the day before (I haven't been on the computer because my cousin has been over- which is also why I haven't been blogging). Let me give you the slimy, Jimmy:

Let's go over the small updates first (or at least the updates that weren't expected/ not about Celestia). One awesome new update was a NEW GrizzleHeim house called Dragon's Ridge (or something like that). However, this wasn't the house we were expecting.

This was the house everyone was expecting. Instead, we got this awesome house:

So, I'm not saying that I don't like this house, I mean trust me, it's awesome. But I'd also like a look at that biggER (yes, the ER is capitalized for a reason) house.

Now, let's talk Shadow Weavers. For those that don't know, The Shadow Weavers are an evil force of insects trying to keep Celestia in the shadows; and it's up to you to stop them. Here is some pics:

They're awesome! Greta, Great Job, KI!

Anyways, they also supposedly put in a pet shop at MarleyBone (That I haven't been able to find); they've lowered the cost to hatch pets (W00T!); they have added a "remove guest from house" button; KI has made the quests and enemies easier, as well as giving them more exp, and some other features I haven't really thought of off the top of my head. Check out this page for the whole list of updates.

Ok, so now the main update in the Test Realm: The Quest Chain that leads up to Celestia! THIS IS WHAT WE HAVE BEEN WAITING SINCE MARCH FOR! WOOOOOO! SQUEELS!

So, I started with Luke. At first this was super easy, and very, very interesting. But then I got to THE quest; The Gauntlet of MarleyBone. Before I start my rant on The Gauntlet 2, let me tell you about this storyline:

So, Pr. Balestrom tells you of a device he has made to receive messages from worlds throughout the Spiral. You activate it (knowing that you're going to get a message), and you get a Celestian message. Now, you COULD start taking out your pen and paper and start writing down this message to decode it, but I didn't do that. Here is the message if you want it:

So anyway, BaleStrom says to talk to Zan'ne in the Oasis to see if he has anything on this language (we know it's Celestian, but technically we don't in this part of the quest). He tells you to see if Alhazred has anything that can decode it. Alhazred says that he would use the Stone of Mazzarath, but it was stolen. He gives you the first thief in the D'jeseret tomb, and this is your first encounter with Shadow Weavers! W00T!

So, you go back to Balestrom, and he tells you where the other stones are located (Village of Sorrow in Mooshu and the Crucible in DragonSpyre). You get those pieces, as well as figuring out that the Shadow Weavers have also forced people/ bargained with people to keep the stone. Once you put all the pieces together, you get this message:

You then go Back to the Professor, and he tells you about the Geographic Group of the Spiral. He tells you to talk with a dude who looks like Pr. Winthrop. After talking to him, he says that you have to check the warehouse to find the Spiral Key to Celestia. This Warehouse is also named the Gaunlet of MarleyBone. Any guesses why? I don't know, maybe it's just VERY similar to the GAUNLET OF WOE in Colossus Blvd (AKA Brisk Breeze Tower).

YEP! There's a mandatory Brisk Breeze if you want to get to Celestia! Now here is where my concerns come in; THIS IS WAY TOO HARD! Please, KingsIsle, fix this! There are four bosses, half of which cheat. The first boss is just brutle. All of his minions can use level 48 spells, and they only need 2 pips. That's right, you heard me, 2 PIPS! I was almost dead by the time his storm had cast storm lord 2 times in the same turn. Not to mention the life had used rebirth!

So yeah, there are some things they need to change. Check it out for yourself!

P.D.