Hey Gang,
So I just wanted to give everyone a quick update on the party coming up!
Location: The Location actually changed from Gilroy SkullFlame's Sunken Palace to Luke GoldHorn's Wizard's Watchtower. The port bus will be waiting in the Ice Tower in Ravenwood on Vampire Area One. I repeat: ICE TOWER, VAMPIRE REALM, AREA ONE. Her name will be Erica GoldHorn
Time: The port bus (if you do not have me, Luke GoldHorn added) will be waiting in the Ice Tower from EXACTLY 6:55 P.M. EST to 7:25 P.M. EST. Allow me to translate times for you:
Eastern: 6:55 P.M. - 7:25 P.M.
Central: 5:55 P.M. - 6:25 P.M.
Mountain: 4:55 P.M. - 5:25 P.M.
Pacific: 3:55 P.M. - 4:25 P.M.
The party ends whenever everyone leaves. If you do not have me on your friends list and cannot make the bus at the times given, please contact me via twitter or post comment and we will work something out. Don't forget, the party is on Friday, December 23rd, 2011.
If you have any questions for me, please contact me via twitter or psot comment, as I will be likely to respond faster to a question in that form v.s. any other form of communication. As far as contests go, I'm still thinking on what exactly I can do financially. I'm looking into having sponsored prizes by KingsIsle, but there's a huge chance they'll deny my request, so there may not be contests. There will be PvP at my Sultan's Palace as well (transportation will be provided to the palace and back to the tower via teleporter). Hope everyone's excited!
***List of Contests:***
1. Winter Wonderland: I've decorated my Wizard's Watchtower with a forest filled with Small Snowy Pines. Can you guess exactly how many Snowy Pines I used? Everyone who guesses the correct answer will be put in a random drawing. Entries may be sent from 7:00 P.M. EST until 8:00 P.M. EST to tpdcontest@gmail.com. Winner will be decided/announced by Christmas day. Prize is a mystery code sponsored by The Friendly Necromancer (http://www.thefriendlynecromancer.blogspot.com)
See ya there!
P.D.
***EDIT: I AM accepting prize sponsors! Please submit your W101 Name, Name of your site (optional, can also use Twitter name if none), What you can donate as a prize, and Your contest to lukegoldhornchristmas@yahoo.com! That's right, if you donate, you can make your OWN contest! Thank you!***
Showing posts with label Personal News. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Personal News. Show all posts
Monday, December 12, 2011
Monday, December 5, 2011
Balance Shield: Why Not?
Hey Gang,
First, before I start off on my ill-tempered rant, I'd like to say Happy December! I'm really excited for my Christmas Party AND Christmas Day, and I know you probably are too! December is a great time of year; a time of giving, caring, and overall kindness, which is why I generally love it. However, I'd like to talk to you guys about one small thing before I move on with my loving and giving December mood:
Those of you who occupy Wizard101 Central every now and again might be familiar with this thread. If you don't want to read through that huge block of text, it's basically a Central user known as MLHagan who is "petitioning" for a Balance Shield. Hagan, a Sorcerer, mind you, wants KingsIsle to implement a Balance Shield ( a specific Shield that blocks -80% Balance Power) in hopes that, along with that Balance Shield, KingsIsle will ALSO create a Balance specific blade, trap, and possibly bubble. Hagan claims that Balance has been undermined by KingsIsle for far too long, and Hagan claims that it is time for these Balance specific charms. Hagan also tells us that Balance has the least amount of buffs and debuffs, and that a Balance Shield was actually hinted at by KingsIsle via the level 68 quest.
In my opinion, it is NOT time for Balance to gain school specific buffs and debuffs, and I don't quite believe it will ever really be time for them.
Now, before I begin, I'd like to state that I really am thankful for MLHagan. This W101Central user got me on the road to blogging, and without them, this blog post you're reading right now probably wouldn't have ever existed. They were my mentor for a long time, and we spent much a time theorycrafting and discussing different possibilities on new worlds and spells. So I hold a lot of respect and thanks to MLHagan.
That being said, a Balance Shield kinda defeats the purpose of a Balance Wizard. A Sorcerer is known for their many charms or enchantments that they can use on their allies and themselves to effectively take down their opponent. Thus, when you mix every blade, what do you get? You get a Balance Blade, HOWEVER, this Blade becomes Universal. Why? Why, when we mix all the blades, do we get a universal blade? To me it's obvious; since you mixed buffs from every school, it yields a single buff that can be used by all schools. I don't really know how much more basic that statement can get. While I understand Balance is a combinational school, not a universal school, combining all the schools often yields universal spells; spells that can be used by all schools of magic.
Don't forget, we also have a universal shield to counteract that universal Balance Blade. Although trained in the Ice School, it's known as Tower Shield. Now why KingsIsle put Tower Shield in the Ice School, I don't know, nor do I quite agree with (even if it remained trainable, I honestly think it should be trained from Alhazred), however that's not my point; each blade has a counterpart. Fire Blade has Fire Shield, Life Blade has Life Shield, etc. It wouldn't make sense to implement a Balance Shield into the game; a shield with no "true" counterpart. A solution to that, made by the opposing argument, was to either make a Balance Damage Only Blade or make Balance Blade a Balance Damage Only Blade. However, this can't be. Why? For several reasons, one being it would simply stray from the support build of the class. It would teach Balance students to be more "selfish" if you will, to use charms on themselves rather than on the stronger players for the good of the team (hence why Sorcerers attacks aren't necessarily the strongest out there; it encourages them to buff other players to build STRONGER attacks). This fact is supported by other Support Classes; take Life for example. There is no such heal that can only be used to benefit Life Students (in other words, there's no heal that can only be exclusively casted on Life wizards. ) Sure, a Life Blade can in fact be cast on other wizards, HOWEVER, only a wizard of Life could truly put that Blade to its best use. Hence, Balance is encouraged to work for the team by possessing universal buffs and debuffs.
Another reason why a Balance Damage Only Blade cannot exist is simply because it goes against the lore of the game. While the different schools of magic USUALLY come together to form a whole new school of magic (aka Balance), this is not always the case. Examples of this would be Spectral Minion, Spectral Blast, Hyrda, and more recently Chimera. These spells show that, when the different schools come together to make up a Balance Spell, the end result is not always a Balance based effect. This is the same case when it comes to Balance Blade, and to a degree, Tower Shield. Now obviously, KingsIsle is responsible for when the output of Balance combination is 1 (a Balance based effect) or a 0 (non Balance based effect). The same applies for the spell Hex.
Now should Balance have a power-boosting field bubble? My personal opinion is yes and no. While Balance has Power Play (+33% Power Pips; correct me if the percentage is wrong, but the general effect is what I'm looking to describe), they kinda got the short end of the stick when it came to the field bubbles. However, on a small tangent that I won't talk much about, they aren't the only ones, as some might say. Death got Doom and Gloom (once -50% healing, now -65% healing) and Life got Sanctuary (+50% healing), so it would not be accurate to say Balance was the only school to not get a power-boosting bubble. However, the reason I surface that argument is because of its relevancy to the topic. Life, a support group like Balance, gets a bubble that supports or encourages their role in a party. While Power Play does help a party in theory, it becomes less so in later levels, whereas that +50% healing is ALWAYS helpful. Therefore, I purpose that Balance get a power-boosting bubble to encourage their destined role in the party. HOWEVER, if this were to be implemented, it would HAVE to be a UNIVERSAL boost. This would encourage that support role meant for the Balance class while at the same time "even the playing field" for Balance Wizards. I've also been suggesting a Balance Prism for quite some time (transfers Balance Damage into random Life, Death, or Myth Damage) as have many players, however our attempts are obviously so far unsuccessful. However, I'm straying from the topic...
I also took the liberty a few days ago to go through each and every one of my characters' decks and count up the number of buffs each wizard had respective of their school (so, for example, spells such as Elemental Blades, Spiritual Blades, and Feint would only count for Balance and Death). I defined the term "buff" as the following: Any spell that increased the base statistic for a player in a positive way (thus, wards, dispels, or prisms, however, I did count any and all blading for minions). The results are as follows:
1. Fire: 4 (Fuel, Fire Blade, Fire Trap, WyldFire)
2. Ice: 3 (Balefrost, Ice Trap, Ice Blade)
3. Storm: 6 (Supercharge, Storm Blade, Storm Trap, Windstorm, Lightning Strike, DarkWind)
4. Life: 5 (Life Blade, Life Trap, Sanctuary, Guiding Light, Brilliant Light)
5. Myth: 4 (Myth Blade, Myth Trap, Time of Legend, Blade Minion)
6. Death: 5 (Death Blade, Death Trap, Feint, Curse, Dark Pact)
And now Balance...
7. Balance: 9 (Balance Blade, Hex, Elemental Blade, Spiritual Blade, Elemental Trap, Spiritual Trap, Bladestorm, Precision, and Power Play)
Another Wizard101 Central user know by the name egaad also went and counted up all the debuffs of each school. This list would include spells that nerf or buffer the base stats of a spell. Spells such as these would include removing wards or charms, dispels, or infection/weakness type spells. These would also include spells that not only do damage but have an effect that summons a debuff. Here's the run down:
1. Fire: 4 (Steal Charm, Quench, Smoke Screen, Efreet)
2. Ice: 2 (Steal Ward, Melt)
3. Storm: 5 (Disarm, Dissipate, Cleanse Charm, Sirens, Leviathan)
4. Life: 2 (Entangle, Gnomes!)
5. Myth: 5 (Earthquake, Shatter, Pierce, Cleanse Ward, Vaporize)
6. Death: 4 (Choke, Virulent Plague, Plague, Dr. Von's Monster)
And now Balance...
7. Balance: 6 (Power Nova, Weakness, Black Mantle, Unbalance, Spirit Diffuse, Elemental Diffuse)
So credit goes to egaad from W101Central for counting those up. So it's very apparent that Balance does not in fact have the least amount of buffs and debuffs; this also proves that buffing and debuffing allies and enemies is Balance's specialty.
Some say that a Balance Shield actually exists, however:
This picture, also seen at the top of the post, is a picture of the Balance bookshelf in the Hoarder's Tower in DragonSpyre; this is where you are sent to retrieve your class's Level 68 Spell. Some believe this is undeniable proof that this is a message from KingsIsle saying that a Balance Shield will come soon. My opinion? It's simply a decorative item to represent an idea. If they put a Tower Shield at the top of Balance's Bookshelf, it would be kind of confusing because the Global icon does not symbolize Balance. It was simply there to designate Balance's Bookshelf. Nothing more. But again, that's just my opinion.
So this post turned out to be longer than I expected. Sorry for that! ^_^! So with that, I walk into the cheery , joyous, and stress less month that is December! Please feel free to post your opinion on the topic below. Also, I'll be sure to clue you in on times and locations for my Christmas Party shortly. See you soon!
P.D.
First, before I start off on my ill-tempered rant, I'd like to say Happy December! I'm really excited for my Christmas Party AND Christmas Day, and I know you probably are too! December is a great time of year; a time of giving, caring, and overall kindness, which is why I generally love it. However, I'd like to talk to you guys about one small thing before I move on with my loving and giving December mood:
Those of you who occupy Wizard101 Central every now and again might be familiar with this thread. If you don't want to read through that huge block of text, it's basically a Central user known as MLHagan who is "petitioning" for a Balance Shield. Hagan, a Sorcerer, mind you, wants KingsIsle to implement a Balance Shield ( a specific Shield that blocks -80% Balance Power) in hopes that, along with that Balance Shield, KingsIsle will ALSO create a Balance specific blade, trap, and possibly bubble. Hagan claims that Balance has been undermined by KingsIsle for far too long, and Hagan claims that it is time for these Balance specific charms. Hagan also tells us that Balance has the least amount of buffs and debuffs, and that a Balance Shield was actually hinted at by KingsIsle via the level 68 quest.
In my opinion, it is NOT time for Balance to gain school specific buffs and debuffs, and I don't quite believe it will ever really be time for them.
Now, before I begin, I'd like to state that I really am thankful for MLHagan. This W101Central user got me on the road to blogging, and without them, this blog post you're reading right now probably wouldn't have ever existed. They were my mentor for a long time, and we spent much a time theorycrafting and discussing different possibilities on new worlds and spells. So I hold a lot of respect and thanks to MLHagan.
That being said, a Balance Shield kinda defeats the purpose of a Balance Wizard. A Sorcerer is known for their many charms or enchantments that they can use on their allies and themselves to effectively take down their opponent. Thus, when you mix every blade, what do you get? You get a Balance Blade, HOWEVER, this Blade becomes Universal. Why? Why, when we mix all the blades, do we get a universal blade? To me it's obvious; since you mixed buffs from every school, it yields a single buff that can be used by all schools. I don't really know how much more basic that statement can get. While I understand Balance is a combinational school, not a universal school, combining all the schools often yields universal spells; spells that can be used by all schools of magic.
Behold Balance Blade, a Universal Card That's a Result of All Schools
Don't forget, we also have a universal shield to counteract that universal Balance Blade. Although trained in the Ice School, it's known as Tower Shield. Now why KingsIsle put Tower Shield in the Ice School, I don't know, nor do I quite agree with (even if it remained trainable, I honestly think it should be trained from Alhazred), however that's not my point; each blade has a counterpart. Fire Blade has Fire Shield, Life Blade has Life Shield, etc. It wouldn't make sense to implement a Balance Shield into the game; a shield with no "true" counterpart. A solution to that, made by the opposing argument, was to either make a Balance Damage Only Blade or make Balance Blade a Balance Damage Only Blade. However, this can't be. Why? For several reasons, one being it would simply stray from the support build of the class. It would teach Balance students to be more "selfish" if you will, to use charms on themselves rather than on the stronger players for the good of the team (hence why Sorcerers attacks aren't necessarily the strongest out there; it encourages them to buff other players to build STRONGER attacks). This fact is supported by other Support Classes; take Life for example. There is no such heal that can only be used to benefit Life Students (in other words, there's no heal that can only be exclusively casted on Life wizards. ) Sure, a Life Blade can in fact be cast on other wizards, HOWEVER, only a wizard of Life could truly put that Blade to its best use. Hence, Balance is encouraged to work for the team by possessing universal buffs and debuffs.
Whole Page in the Spell Book of a Sorcerer, Almost Completely Buffs.
Another reason why a Balance Damage Only Blade cannot exist is simply because it goes against the lore of the game. While the different schools of magic USUALLY come together to form a whole new school of magic (aka Balance), this is not always the case. Examples of this would be Spectral Minion, Spectral Blast, Hyrda, and more recently Chimera. These spells show that, when the different schools come together to make up a Balance Spell, the end result is not always a Balance based effect. This is the same case when it comes to Balance Blade, and to a degree, Tower Shield. Now obviously, KingsIsle is responsible for when the output of Balance combination is 1 (a Balance based effect) or a 0 (non Balance based effect). The same applies for the spell Hex.
An Example of a Combination of Schools That Has a Balance Based Effect Output.
An Example of a Combination of Schools That Has a Non Balance Based Effect Output.
Now should Balance have a power-boosting field bubble? My personal opinion is yes and no. While Balance has Power Play (+33% Power Pips; correct me if the percentage is wrong, but the general effect is what I'm looking to describe), they kinda got the short end of the stick when it came to the field bubbles. However, on a small tangent that I won't talk much about, they aren't the only ones, as some might say. Death got Doom and Gloom (once -50% healing, now -65% healing) and Life got Sanctuary (+50% healing), so it would not be accurate to say Balance was the only school to not get a power-boosting bubble. However, the reason I surface that argument is because of its relevancy to the topic. Life, a support group like Balance, gets a bubble that supports or encourages their role in a party. While Power Play does help a party in theory, it becomes less so in later levels, whereas that +50% healing is ALWAYS helpful. Therefore, I purpose that Balance get a power-boosting bubble to encourage their destined role in the party. HOWEVER, if this were to be implemented, it would HAVE to be a UNIVERSAL boost. This would encourage that support role meant for the Balance class while at the same time "even the playing field" for Balance Wizards. I've also been suggesting a Balance Prism for quite some time (transfers Balance Damage into random Life, Death, or Myth Damage) as have many players, however our attempts are obviously so far unsuccessful. However, I'm straying from the topic...
I also took the liberty a few days ago to go through each and every one of my characters' decks and count up the number of buffs each wizard had respective of their school (so, for example, spells such as Elemental Blades, Spiritual Blades, and Feint would only count for Balance and Death). I defined the term "buff" as the following: Any spell that increased the base statistic for a player in a positive way (thus, wards, dispels, or prisms, however, I did count any and all blading for minions). The results are as follows:
1. Fire: 4 (Fuel, Fire Blade, Fire Trap, WyldFire)
2. Ice: 3 (Balefrost, Ice Trap, Ice Blade)
3. Storm: 6 (Supercharge, Storm Blade, Storm Trap, Windstorm, Lightning Strike, DarkWind)
4. Life: 5 (Life Blade, Life Trap, Sanctuary, Guiding Light, Brilliant Light)
5. Myth: 4 (Myth Blade, Myth Trap, Time of Legend, Blade Minion)
6. Death: 5 (Death Blade, Death Trap, Feint, Curse, Dark Pact)
And now Balance...
7. Balance: 9 (Balance Blade, Hex, Elemental Blade, Spiritual Blade, Elemental Trap, Spiritual Trap, Bladestorm, Precision, and Power Play)
Another Wizard101 Central user know by the name egaad also went and counted up all the debuffs of each school. This list would include spells that nerf or buffer the base stats of a spell. Spells such as these would include removing wards or charms, dispels, or infection/weakness type spells. These would also include spells that not only do damage but have an effect that summons a debuff. Here's the run down:
1. Fire: 4 (Steal Charm, Quench, Smoke Screen, Efreet)
2. Ice: 2 (Steal Ward, Melt)
3. Storm: 5 (Disarm, Dissipate, Cleanse Charm, Sirens, Leviathan)
4. Life: 2 (Entangle, Gnomes!)
5. Myth: 5 (Earthquake, Shatter, Pierce, Cleanse Ward, Vaporize)
6. Death: 4 (Choke, Virulent Plague, Plague, Dr. Von's Monster)
And now Balance...
7. Balance: 6 (Power Nova, Weakness, Black Mantle, Unbalance, Spirit Diffuse, Elemental Diffuse)
So credit goes to egaad from W101Central for counting those up. So it's very apparent that Balance does not in fact have the least amount of buffs and debuffs; this also proves that buffing and debuffing allies and enemies is Balance's specialty.
Some say that a Balance Shield actually exists, however:
This picture, also seen at the top of the post, is a picture of the Balance bookshelf in the Hoarder's Tower in DragonSpyre; this is where you are sent to retrieve your class's Level 68 Spell. Some believe this is undeniable proof that this is a message from KingsIsle saying that a Balance Shield will come soon. My opinion? It's simply a decorative item to represent an idea. If they put a Tower Shield at the top of Balance's Bookshelf, it would be kind of confusing because the Global icon does not symbolize Balance. It was simply there to designate Balance's Bookshelf. Nothing more. But again, that's just my opinion.
Like This Creature ... Probably Never Going to See It, But It's There!
My underlying point is this; although there are other Support Classes in other MMOs and RPGs, Balance is very unique. It employs some different techniques that no other MMO has used before, which is hard to come up with (props on that, KingsIsle). So please; let KingsIsle make the decisions on what is "best" for Balance. While I'm not saying you should never speak up for what you believe to be wrong/right, KingsIsle knows what they're doing, and with the help of their great community, they'll see a problem and fix it thoroughly, as we've seen with all their admitted mistakes. Although we may not see a certain action proper, it may be part of KingsIsle plans in the future to make something even better!
So this post turned out to be longer than I expected. Sorry for that! ^_^! So with that, I walk into the cheery , joyous, and stress less month that is December! Please feel free to post your opinion on the topic below. Also, I'll be sure to clue you in on times and locations for my Christmas Party shortly. See you soon!
P.D.
Sunday, November 27, 2011
Reminder of Christmas Party, Progress in Zafaria, and Gear Guide
Hey Gang,
So I know I'm not posting regularly (well, I haven't for a while now). I'd like to apologize for this; I've been really busy with two AP classes (for those of you who don't know what AP is, it stands for Advanced Placement and it's supposed to be equally difficult as a college course), I've also been conditioning for Tennis in the Spring (it's my first time playing a High School sport, and I'd like to make the Varsity team), AND I've been attempting (and failing) at keeping up with a collaborative gaming blog between Myself and four friends of mine. So as you can see, I'm pretty booked, and I haven't really had time to post much. Once Christmas break comes around, I'll try to post more often. I'll also be available more in the Spring because AP classes end earlier than normal ones.
Anyway, I just wanted to remind you that I will be having a Christmas party! I posted about it back in September, but I just wanted to make sure everyone was aware of the upcoming event. Here's your official invitation!:
So I know I'm not posting regularly (well, I haven't for a while now). I'd like to apologize for this; I've been really busy with two AP classes (for those of you who don't know what AP is, it stands for Advanced Placement and it's supposed to be equally difficult as a college course), I've also been conditioning for Tennis in the Spring (it's my first time playing a High School sport, and I'd like to make the Varsity team), AND I've been attempting (and failing) at keeping up with a collaborative gaming blog between Myself and four friends of mine. So as you can see, I'm pretty booked, and I haven't really had time to post much. Once Christmas break comes around, I'll try to post more often. I'll also be available more in the Spring because AP classes end earlier than normal ones.
Anyway, I just wanted to remind you that I will be having a Christmas party! I posted about it back in September, but I just wanted to make sure everyone was aware of the upcoming event. Here's your official invitation!:
So I hope you all can make it to the party! I'm going to try my best to gather as much prizes as I can, however I might have to deliver some of them a bit later than at the actual party. I'll post more information about what realm you should meet the port bus (if you do not have me on your friend's list) and what time to attend. Hope to see you all there!
I also wanted to briefly update you on my progress in Zafaria. I finished Luke and Valdus about 24 hours after Zafaria came out (I wound up staying home sick that Friday, so I got to play all day, and then I stayed up till about 5 A.M. EST). So Luke and Valdus both have their Level 68 Spells AND are Transcended (one of the firsts, too :D). I also just got my Death Wizard, Gilroy SkullFlame to Level 70, and all he needs to do is enter Mirror Lake. I'm also currently running Patrick FrostHorn (my Balance Wizard) and Oran FoeHammer (my second Life Wizard) through Zafaria with Ryan RainCaller (a Storm Wizard), one of Paige Whisper's alternate characters. They are currently finishing the Savannah. I'll probably take Mycin StarGem (my Storm Wizard) through Zafaria next, (probably) followed by Diana GoldHorn (my first Life Wizard) and lastly Noah GoldHorn (my Myth Wizard).
So it seems I'm going through Zafaria really fast (or at least to me, anyway). I'm trying to finish somewhat early for several reasons, mainly because I know I'll get lazy and decide to put off leveling my wizards. I'd like to be prepared early for the next worlds that come at us (even if they aren't main worlds, which will probably be the case), and getting all the work done early is the best way to do just that. While some might think I'm going to get REALLY bored and start complaining, this isn't the case; I have SWTOR (Star Wars: The Old Republic) waiting for me December 20th (although I probably won't play it until around mid-January). I have so many games coming at me for Christmas, that I'll be occupied at LEAST until June. So that shouldn't be a problem.
I'd also like to bring your attention to a guide I'm currently creating. I know many of you who follow me on Twitter know I've been calling out for help, but I'd like to remind everyone who keeps up with me that I need your help completing this guide! The guide I'm constructing is on the Level 66 Rings and Athames and the Level 68 Hats, Robes, and Boots found in Zafaria (please only the ones either with Armor Pierce or the Alternatives, both are No Auction). If you wish to contribute, please reply on the guide with a picture, the boss (or enemy) you obtained it from, and the location; you can leave the rest up to me. I WILL credit everyone and anyone who contributes to the guide with the following information (please take note that the item must be undiscovered by someone else). You can find the guide by clicking here.
Anyway, I hope everyone's having fun in Zafaria and dying of anxiety for Christmas! As they say, it's the most wonderful time of the year, so be happy! :)
P.D.
Saturday, November 5, 2011
New York Comic Con Conclusion, Zafaria, and Food For Thought...
Hey Gang,
So it's been a while since I have posted on the blog (almost a month). I'm really sorry for the delay, and I'm going to try to post more often for a few personal reasons.
There's a ton to talk about today, so I best get started:
First, I should probably tell you how New York Comic Con ultimately went. Let me tell you; this event was definitely one I'll remember. I got to see a load of exclusive game footage, received a ton of exclusive items, and went to amazing exclusive panels (did I mention it was exclusive?). I also got to demo some great games including Star Wars: The Old Republic (let me tell you, this game looks amazing for all you Star Wars and MMO fans out there!), Halo Anniversary, and The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword. I even got to make my own Decipticon for Transformers Universe Online (his name is DeathShark)! I also got to meet a friend of mine for the first time, Paige Whisper (we meet through Wizard101). We had a great time running around New York City, and I think it definitely made our friendship stronger.
All in all, it was a great experience, and I'm extremely grateful to everyone who listened to me fan-girl over everything I saw as well as the people who granted me this insanely awesome privilege! I'll be sure to post some pictures in the bottom of the post!
In much more recent news, a BRAND NEW world has come upon Legendary Wizards! In case you didn't know (who didn't?), this new world is called Zafaria! You can find out all about the update notes here at the Game Updates page on the Wizard101 site in case you haven't seen them yet. Zafaria is an African and Indian inspired world that focuses on continuing the Celestia storyline, meaning that we're going to see more of the Umbra Queen. There are four main tribes in Zafaria; the Lions, the Zebras, the Elephants, and the Apes. Of course, there are a bunch of less important new monsters, such as the hyenas and the rhinos as well. The basic story behind Zafaria is finding a group of Wizards studying abroad in Zafaria and their teacher, Umlilo the Flameingo (that's right; Fire Flamingos!). In trying to find this group of missing students (most, if not all, modeled after community leaders ;D) you also get wrapped up in Baobob politics (pronounced: Bay-oh-bob), and things get ... messy.
For those of you that do not have access to the Test Realm, here are some pictures of Zafaria:
This is a picture of Valdus rescuing one of the students studying abroad in Zafaria. You save her after defeating the king of a certain Lion tribe. According to Cassandra GriffinDreamer, this student represents Fallon ShadowBlade! Awesome! :)
This is the Star School Teacher in a city called Zamuda in Zafaria, home to the Zebras. You can activate the pillar at level 64, however as we're about to see, you cannot learn it's spells until Level 66.
A risky new Star School spell, Beserk increases the amount of damage put on you by 40% to give you a +30% damage boost for four rounds. This spell is not available until level 66 and should only be practiced by brave wizards. ;)
Finally a new Star School spell that supports healing! EXACTLY what we've been asking for, KingsIsle (or at least me anyway)! Mend gives +20% healing for the four rounds (ok, so it's not MUCH of a boost, but hey, it's something :D).
This was an interesting picture I took in Stone Town, home of the Olyphants (A.K.A. Elephants). As you can see in the screenshot, the merchant talks about how she wants to visit "common" stops in the Spiral. Two of those worlds (Marleybone and MooShu) we already know. HOWEVER, if you look very closely, she mentions two worlds we've never EVER heard of before; Avalon and Polaris. I'll probably make another post soon to theorycraft on these two worlds, but my basic summary is this; Avalon is going to be a King Arthur themed world, and Polaris will be an Arctic theme (no, not like GrizzleHiem; think more Santa Clause, Polar Bears, and Penguins type of world). Just thought that was an interesting note to touch upon...
One of the towers where you fight a boss (not an actual tower; just a place where you fight a boss). I haven't gotten far enough into the story of Zafaria to talk about what this black stone is (and know my facts, that is), but it seems to be connected to Morganthe, and it also seems to corrupt people using it. Umlilo can also be seen in the photo. :)
This is a picture of the Sun School trainer in the Drum Jungle of Zafaria. You can activate the trainer by completing a quest at level 66. It should be noted that you also need to have access to the Drum Jungle to accept the quest.
One of the two new Sun School spells that shall replace Gargantuan in many decks. With +50 more damage, I'm sure it will be a valued tool to all "Transcended" Wizards ;).
Another picture in the Drum Jungle. This is of the Ape village which is deeply plagued by black stones mentioned above. This is one of my favorite areas of Zafaria (as you can see by my many pictures of it, haha!). I really like the Ape tribe and their village, and I think their history is very unique and interesting :)
This is the HUB of Zafaria, or in other terms the "commons" of Zafaria. It's called the Baobob Crossroads, and it really does look like a basic mixture of all the lands of Zafaria combined. It's a beautiful place :). That Zebra to the right, Inyanga WhiteStripes, is the "main quest-giver" so to speak (comparable to Edith Benchley).
The Savannah region of Zafaria. This land is mainly dominated by the Lions, although some Zebras live there as well. The Savannah is extremely pretty and the wildlife there is fantastic.
This is a dungeon you go through in a part of Stone Town. Again, you can see this reoccurring black rock that corrupts the different factions of Zafaria. The dungeon was extremely interesting, but be careful! A cheating boss lies in there, waiting for you to test him!
This is the Baobob Market, and its the first area you go through (other than the Baobob Crossroads, that is). This is where you can access Stone Town and the Drum Jungle. It's an interesting beginning taste to Zafaria.
Here's the crown of the Baobob Crossroads; this is where all the "action" happens. Here you can find the Library, Zeke and the Seamstress, student dorms, and even political scandals. Not only is this place beautiful, but it's also the center of all social life here in Zafaria.
Lastly, this is a look at the outside of Zamuda. You can see the amazing arching Zebra statues that guard the way into the cities. The flora and fauna are also amazingly beautiful as well. To the right, there's an amazing river. Truly beautiful. :)
~~~~~~~
Lastly, I wanted to touch on an issue that's been encroaching its way into many wizard's real lives:
For many of the twizards of the Spiral, this is their first year in High School or their last year in Middle School. Let's say Bob goes up to his friend Timmy at lunch time. Bob starts talking about this amazing new world in Wizard101 called Zafaria that just hit the Test Realm, but Timmy's not impressed. In fact, Timmy says Wizard101 is for little kids, and a game is only cool if it's rated 'T' or 'M'. So the big question here is; what does Bob do? Does he quit or does he stick up for the game?
Many people would say he should probably quit, because it's just a game after all, and Wizard101 IS in fact aimed at children. Besides, there are some really cool 'M' games, right? ALL the cool kids play 'M' games. There are tons of other games out there, and chances are, Bob's probably going to find another game that he feels just as passionately about.
What people fail to realize is that this problem is deeper than just quitting a game. It's more than giving up Wizard101 for a more "mature" game. The fact is, Bob is being faced with peer pressure. His friends are making fun of him for playing an 'E' game, because children can play 'E' games, which automatically makes him immature.
And, a personal note to all those people against 'E' rated games, PLEASE realize what 'E' stands for. 'E' does not stand for "Child" but for "Everyone". It's geared towards all ages, whether 6 or 66. This, by no means, means any person who plays 'E' games is immature, or a child, and they are just as much a gamer as another person who plays an 'M' rated game.
This is one reason why I really dislike the ESRB rating system. If people saw a game with less "Parental Warnings" versus one with more, there wouldn't be the huge gap of people that there are when it comes to 'E' v.s. 'M'. It's almost like labeling a game.
Maybe I'm just ranting. Anyway, I hope I got my point across to anyone that needed it. And if it wasn't clear; stand up for what you believe in. Tell your friends, family, or whomever it may be that criticizes you that the games you play don't reflect your maturity.Be passionate about what you play. I really hope that helps people. :)
On my final note, I MIGHT be going to PAX East in late April! I'm really excited, and I'll be sure to bring you more news as it comes...
See you in the Spiral!
P.D.
Wednesday, October 12, 2011
New York Comic Con Tomorrow!!!
Hey Gang,
So I leave for New York Comic Con tomorrow! I'm super psyched!
Remember how I told you I'd be posting videos and updates? Want in on them?
You can follow my Twitter (@LukeGoldHorn) and/or subscribe to my YouTube channel (LukeGoldHorn) if you haven't already to get my updates! Here's the first of many videos to come:
Please note I will not be updating via the blog, so while I do appriciate you following the blog, it's not going to help you get the updates on NYCC. I'm also really sad KingsIsle wont be there. I REALLY wanted to interview them or something! Would have been AWESOME!
Gotta run!
P.D.
P.S: Congrats to KingsIsle and Wizard101 for winning the Audience Award for GDCOA!!! Can't wait to see what they bring us!!
Tuesday, October 11, 2011
Blogging; My Conundrum
Hey Gang,
So recently I've been contemplating wether I should update my blog and post more often. It's left me scratching my head most of the time, walking away with a borderline answer.
I love the blogging community. It's an awesome palce to express myself (like I'm doing now), and it definitely gets the creative juices flowing. It's actually theraputic in a way. It's nice to check up on what others are doing and what's the latest news. I really enjoy hearing feedback from my readers on my posts, such as what I should change or add to a certain post or even the whole site in general. It's also pretty awesome when you meet someone in game who's read your posts and recognized you. :)
But then there's a darker side to it...
I initially started a blog in hopes of becoming more popular way back in early 2009. Sure, it's not the purest intention; but it could have been a lot worse. I could have been founded on free items from KingsIsle, or to initiate drama in the community, or even all three combined. Thankfully, it was only fame. However, that intention has grown to be much more fruitful and giving to the community. When I realized how great we are as a whole and how no one was quite "more popular", I had a change of heart. I realized that I should blog BECAUSE I want to, because it would help the community, because I could express my ideas. It was truly an eye opening experience for me.
There's always real-life issues too. I've recently had thousands upon thousands of workloads of homework that's very difficult to keep up with. I barely have time for Wizard101 alone, and when I do, I'm usually not doing anything for myself. Usually I'm helping my friend Paige Whisper who just returned to Wizard101 catch up with the rest of us who've been here ever since the launch of Celestia and ever before then.
While I try and sort out what I'm going to do about blogging, I'd like to update you on my current progress in Wizard101:
Life's been going pretty good in ye olde Spiral. Oran, with the help of Ryan RainCaller, finished Celestia and obtained Legendary Rank. After an incountable amount of WaterWorks runs, I've managed to complete the gear sets on half my characters (Diana, Luke, Patrick, and Mycin), obtain three partially complete gear sets (Oran- Hat and Robe, Noah- Hat and Robe, Valdus- Hat and Boots), and sadly only one wizard who has not even ran the WaterWorks yet (Gilroy). Gilroy and Oran also finished WinterTusk and achieved their school respective Level 58 pets. I'm currently working on my 9th wizard, Amber Drake. I'm really excited to start another Fire Wizard; from what I (barely) remember, Fire was a TON of fun.
I've also been working on "Perfect Pet" training. I'm currently breeding a coral of Nightmare pets to be used for Luke. I'm really hoping to train the Scarecrow and get some decent talents; I really like the Scarecrow and the card it is. However, at the same time, I'd really miss Beau, Gilroy's Fierce Hound. So many possabilities...
So I really have to go. Care to share any insight on my puzzle? Thanks!
P.D.
P.S: I hear a new Mega Bundle is finding its way to Earth soon :) stay tuned to GDCOA!
So recently I've been contemplating wether I should update my blog and post more often. It's left me scratching my head most of the time, walking away with a borderline answer.
I love the blogging community. It's an awesome palce to express myself (like I'm doing now), and it definitely gets the creative juices flowing. It's actually theraputic in a way. It's nice to check up on what others are doing and what's the latest news. I really enjoy hearing feedback from my readers on my posts, such as what I should change or add to a certain post or even the whole site in general. It's also pretty awesome when you meet someone in game who's read your posts and recognized you. :)
But then there's a darker side to it...
I initially started a blog in hopes of becoming more popular way back in early 2009. Sure, it's not the purest intention; but it could have been a lot worse. I could have been founded on free items from KingsIsle, or to initiate drama in the community, or even all three combined. Thankfully, it was only fame. However, that intention has grown to be much more fruitful and giving to the community. When I realized how great we are as a whole and how no one was quite "more popular", I had a change of heart. I realized that I should blog BECAUSE I want to, because it would help the community, because I could express my ideas. It was truly an eye opening experience for me.
There's always real-life issues too. I've recently had thousands upon thousands of workloads of homework that's very difficult to keep up with. I barely have time for Wizard101 alone, and when I do, I'm usually not doing anything for myself. Usually I'm helping my friend Paige Whisper who just returned to Wizard101 catch up with the rest of us who've been here ever since the launch of Celestia and ever before then.
While I try and sort out what I'm going to do about blogging, I'd like to update you on my current progress in Wizard101:
Life's been going pretty good in ye olde Spiral. Oran, with the help of Ryan RainCaller, finished Celestia and obtained Legendary Rank. After an incountable amount of WaterWorks runs, I've managed to complete the gear sets on half my characters (Diana, Luke, Patrick, and Mycin), obtain three partially complete gear sets (Oran- Hat and Robe, Noah- Hat and Robe, Valdus- Hat and Boots), and sadly only one wizard who has not even ran the WaterWorks yet (Gilroy). Gilroy and Oran also finished WinterTusk and achieved their school respective Level 58 pets. I'm currently working on my 9th wizard, Amber Drake. I'm really excited to start another Fire Wizard; from what I (barely) remember, Fire was a TON of fun.
I've also been working on "Perfect Pet" training. I'm currently breeding a coral of Nightmare pets to be used for Luke. I'm really hoping to train the Scarecrow and get some decent talents; I really like the Scarecrow and the card it is. However, at the same time, I'd really miss Beau, Gilroy's Fierce Hound. So many possabilities...
So I really have to go. Care to share any insight on my puzzle? Thanks!
P.D.
P.S: I hear a new Mega Bundle is finding its way to Earth soon :) stay tuned to GDCOA!
Saturday, October 8, 2011
Monday, September 19, 2011
New York Comic Con!
Hey Gang,
So I have something AWESOME to tell you...
I'M GOING TO THE NEW YORK COMIC CON!!!!!!
Now, I know for a fact that KingsIsle won't be there (sad right? The one time I get to go to an expo, I miss out on my favorite gaming company! I actually wrote to them to see if they would consider coming, so I really hope they'll reply with some good news). Anyway, I'll be recording videos (not with me in them, of course! Just my voice! :D) of what it looks like including some different Comics, Anime, and Video Games they have there to play, so if you have something you'd like to see, go ahead and let me know! I'll try to stop by everything that people ask (however, if I don't get to it, I'm sorry!). That will be from October 14th to October 16th, so watch out for that!
See y'all around,
P.D.
Sunday, September 11, 2011
All I Want For Christmas Is You ... At My Party!
Hey Gang,
So you heard it right, I'm hosting a Christmas party!
*Ummm ... Luke ... it's the middle of September ... why are you posting about this?*
Good question, curious readers! One of the reasons I'm posting about this so early is simple for availability. See, with my Wizaversary, I had to reschedule the day because someone had already booked the day for their own Wizaversary. See, I booked the day about a month in advance, whereas the other wizard had been talking about it for a pretty long time, so it was obvious to me that I needed to reschedule. It's just nice to have first dibs and not have to worry about different days being available (and hey, you CAN'T break the international protocol of dibs!).
My second reason is simply because of time constraints. There are a lot of items I want to fill my Sunken Palace with, including rare and (very hard to make) crafted items. Therefore, it's going to take a lot of money, reagents, and time to get this party up to the caliber I expect it to be; I hope for it to be much bigger than my Wizaversary.
Here is the details of the party:
Luke GoldHorn's Jinglebell Rock Party!
Who: Why, you of course!
What: Christmas Party
Where: Gilroy SkullFlame's Sunken Palace
When: Friday, December 23rd, 8:00 P.M. EST (7:00 CST, 6:00 MT, 5 PST)
I'm expecting to have a lot of people, so please, spread the word and I hope you can show up! I'm going to try to get some contests going, so stay tuned for those too. I'm going to post these same details up when the date comes (much) closer, so don't feel pressured to keep coming to this particular blog post.
Hope you can make it and spread the word!
P.D.
Thursday, September 1, 2011
My Opinion of the Sunken Palace
Hey Gang,
So I know it's been a while since I blogged or made a video. You see, I've been moving, and school's coming up tomorrow, so I've been trying to enjoy my time in game as a casual player that also tweets a bunch. So what have I been up to? My latest project has been leveling my second Life alt, Oran FoeHammer. For those of you that don't follow me on Twitter, I made a goal to have Oran at Legendary by September 6th, 2011 (which is in fact tomorrow). I'm sad to say that I did NOT reach my goal. Oran is currently Level 55 and beginning the Floating Land questline. The only real play time I have left is tonight. With this new Sunken Palace (that I'm fixing up to talk about) begging me to decorate it, I'm fairly certain that Oran will not reach his intended goal.
Anyway, let's cut to the chase; my pros and cons of the Sunken Palace. I'll start with the outside, and work my way in. In case you're uniformed of the deets of this house, it runs your pocket for 10,000 Crowns or 100,000 Gold. I have also started decorating this house as well, so you will see furniture items (if you are looking for pictures of the house plain, I'd recommend checking YouTube or The Friendly Necromancer's Blog Roll):
Pros:
1. The Entrance: The entrance to this grand castle is amazing! Let me just point out that the street lamps and the bushes are housing items so I do not confuse anyone. It really looks like you're walking into a fish bowl! I love it! :)
2. Passage on the Side Leading to the Boat: I really like this passageway off the main entrance simply because it's simple. It cuts down traveling time and it blends into the scenery.
3. The Ship: For the sake of clarity, I'd like to point out that the boxes are housing items. I really like this piece in the house. It's what the player's have been asking for ever since last October, and it just adds to the fishbowl feel I described earlier. This is what I love about KingsIsle; they listen to their players.
4. The Marketplace: For clarity, the food carts and fountain are housing items and do not come with the house. I really like this area, but I couldn't find a good name for it, so I called it the Marketplace, however it can serve as a forum, courtyard, or other rooms.
5. The Walkway: For clarity, the wooden benches are my housing items. I really like this stone walkway at the entrance of the house. I've actually nicknamed it the Boardwalk (that's what I was going for with the wooden benches!).
6. Stairs to Master Bedroom with Sitting Area: I really like the spiral stairways leading up to the master bedroom because it adds class to it. I also really like the sitting area off to the right of the stairway.
7. Sitting Area: The chairs, the bookshelves, the fireplace, and the piano are all my housing items. I really like how there's a specific room to sit down and chat with your friends. I also really like the chandelier!
8. Guest Room: The best thing about this room is that it can be anything! You can make this into a sitting room, library, guest room, and much more! It has a lot of potential which makes it a great room for housing!
Cons:
1. The Cave: While some may like the cave (I'm actually in the process of turning this into a Dragon's lair), I find it to be really ... random. I don't know, it just seems out of place and alienated, and it doesn't have much potential.
2. The Ship: Don't get me wrong, I LOVE the ship! But do you see how the lights are on? I want to go IN the ship! How cool would it be to be able to go into an area that still had air in it?! I personally think that would be awesome.
3. The Toll Buildings: Again, don't get me wrong; the toll buildings are actually one of my favorite features of the house. However, I really want to be able to go inside! I want to see what it looks like in there! I feel like it'd be awesome!
4. The Pedestals (also, Water): This change follows the pattern of the last. All I want from this is to be able to place a statue on the pedestal. I think it would be amazing if I could place my statues there. Also, a little side note (it's a bit short to be an actual stand alone con), I think the water shouldn't be as murky. I understand that some people like it murky, but I feel that clear water like in Calypso's instance would be really cool!
5. The Water: I simply cannot stand all the water! Why, you ask? For two reasons: 1. Because I cannot place objects in the water, and 2. It takes up a TON of housing space! Either of the above (or both!) need to be fixed, because it gets to be a bit too much!
That's really all I can think of at the moment. I'm thinking of hosting a Christmas party at my Sunken Palace instead of a Halloween party at the Wizard's Watchtower, but there's penty of time until then, so I'll be sure to update you by the last week of October with a date and a time! I also wanted to take the time to say Happy Birthday Wizard101 and Christina IceDreamer! We have such a great community and game here, and I just wanted to say thanks to both of those important idols! I'll catch you guys later!
P.D.
Thursday, August 11, 2011
The Commons Courier- Episode Three
Hey Gang,
Episode Three of The Commons Courier is here!
Hello withces and wizards of the Spiral, and welcome to Episode Three of The Commons Courier! After a semi-long break, I, Luke GoldHorn, am back to take you through this awesome Spiral we are graced with. Stay tuned as I talk about recent news in game, give PvP tips, interview Cassandra GriffonDreamer from Witchwarrior101, answer questions, and much more! Thanks for tuning in, and don't forget to submit your entries to the Jackpot Segment and submit your questions!
***Jackpot Segment Winners***
1. NicholasLionRider
2. Senthose365
3. Ethansherr12
Thanks for entering, and the winners should receive a code by Sunday (8/14/11) latest!
The Commons Courier- Episode Two
I never posted Episode Two on my blog, so here it is:
***Transcription coming soon***
Tuesday, July 26, 2011
What I Really Want Is...
Hey Gang,
I'm sorry I haven't been around lately. I'm on break at the moment, and when I feel excited enough to play Wizard101 again, I'll definitely start blogging and posting episodes of The Commons Courier again as well! Currently I'm into Minecraft. You can check out the game here. If you ever been into legos, or if you think you might want to be an engineer, I highly suggest checking it out. Right now it's in Beta, so the price might go up in a few months. I'm currently making a remodel of Hogwarts. :)
Which, interestingly enough, brings me to my next topic: a few weeks ago, as I announced on my blog, I went to the Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 Premier. It was great, but it was also really sad. I started reading the series after I saw the first movie when I was around 8 or 9, and ever since then I grew up with Harry Potter. I followed him through Hogwarts, battled the Basilisk with him, helped him save Sirius Black, and even fought in the Battle of Hogwarts. The movies helped me remember that, and the feeling I got when I read those books. Now, not only are the books gone, but so are the movies, and the only thing I might possibly have left is Pottermore (which I'm currently staying up for right now).
Anyway, so all this got me thinking; why not make a Harry Potter MMO? Now obviously this isn't an original idea; there have been millions of other people who have thought of this before. Heck, even the part-owners of the Harry Potter Franchise, Warner Bros, has thought about it before, however, there seemed to be a problem when the game was actually in development, and it was canceled. However, I personally think that Warner Bros. should pursue this game for several reasons:
1. Tons of fans: There a millions, if not billions, of Harry Potter fans. I'm sure for a pesky $10-15 a month would be considered a STEAL for any Potter fans who wish to join Harry at Hogwarts. Now, use some multiplication: take those billion fans and multiply by $10. That's roughly $10,000,000,000 ($10 Billion). Mind you, that's also a monthly income. If Warner Bros. did their work right and invested a great amount of time and money into this project, they could have a gold mine.
2. Millions of accessible features: In the Wizarding World of Harry Potter, there are tons of features we don't even see or hear about in the books or movies. For example, how many of you knew there were vampires in the Wizarding World? My point is; there are thousands of features that can be accessed. I've heard of Dragontaming, Potion making, Order of the Phoenix fighting, Teaching, Ministy-working, and even the occasional Death Eating. After a student leaves Hogwarts, there's many thing one can do, so this (lack of content) cannot be used as an excuse to avoid making this particular MMO.
3. Wizard101: Why do you honestly think Wizard101 succeeded as much as it did. Did you think it was particularly good graphics? While the graphics are pretty good, they aren't the best out there. Did you think it was the gameplay? MMOs are meant to be very involved and socially based; a relaxed MMO isn't really attractive to many hard core MMO players. This particular flavor of MMO players happen to be the most populous. Wizard101 has succeeded as it has thus far because of one word: Magic. No, it wasn't a miracle that Wizard101 succeeded. It was the fact that Wizard101 was based around a magical school.
Now please don't get me wrong; I'm not saying Wizard101 is a cheap remake or knockoff of Harry Potter. In fact, KingsIsle played their cards smart, right, and legal. They realized that there was a particular fondness in the world of humans of attending a magical school and learning different spells. The makers of Wizard101 also noticed that there was no current Harry Potter MMO, and as they saw this, they also realized all the money that was hidden in this glorious gold mine. My point is; If you think Wizard101 was not inspired by Harry Potter at all, you're living under a rock.
I would like to say that I believe 100% that if a GOOD Harry Potter MMO came out, they'd steal almost all of Wizard101's players in a heartbeat. As sad as it is to think, it's very true, or at least I believe so.
Anyway, now you know what I'd like to see. I'll see you around,
P.D.
P.S: HAPPY BIRTHDAY HARRY POTTER!!!!! (July 31st, 1989!!)
Monday, July 11, 2011
Analysis of The Commons Courier
Hey Gang,
So this past Friday, the first episode of The Commons Courier was uploaded to YouTube (for the third time; there were a few technical difficulties the first two attempts). I just wanted to talk to you guys about the feedback I've been getting from all the viewers. To me, it's really important to share with you how I feel about anything I produce and share with the Wizard101 community. You can assure yourself that this is one of those times.
Let me just say that I never expected the turn-out of views and support that I got. I really didn't expect people to like The Commons Courier this much, and I was planning on stopping at around episode four or five because I didn't believe it would ever make it. However, you can know beyond a doubt that I plan to develop The Commons Courier until I simply can't stand it anymore.
I must say though, it was a lot more work than I expected. There were over 200 clips (attempts at correctly filming the segment) of bloopers. There were multiple technical hiccups when editing the episode. I had to scrounge up things to talk about. It was a lot of work. However, it goes to show you that with dedication comes success.
Anyway, I have a TON of cool stuff coming for you on The Commons Courier. On the next episode, I even have a special mystery guest! :) Also, please don't forget to submit your questions and Jackpot entries. Simply commenting on the post/video does not enter you; you must tell me you want to be entered for the weekly jackpot, along with a way I could contact you (please try to stray away from emails; I'd like to explore any other possible option before emails). Also, dont be afraid to enter! Every week, 5 codes are going to be given away, which means over 260 codes will be drawn! Please don't pause to enter because you'd like to give others a chance. There are enough codes for everyone. :)
On an unrelated closing note, I'm going to the premier of the last Harry Potter movie EVER! I know, so exciting right? And I'm going to the 3D premier, which means I get these:
I really am super excited! Harry Potter was my roll model way back in my early childhood (I think I lived up to him pretty well as a very successful Pyromancer of Ravenwood, don't you think?) I'm kinda sad to see the whole franchise come to a close (and not like, "Oh, the last book's coming out, but we're only on Movie 5." But more "The last book's been out for a while, and this is our last movie!") *tears* I'm happy to have gotten premier tickets though. I think I'll cry a river when seeing this movie.
Finite Incantatem!
P.D.
Friday, July 8, 2011
The Commons Courier- Episode One
Hey Gang,
So the first episode of The Commons Courier is here! Check it out:
I really hope to have a transcription out soon for those that can't hear. If you're interested in helping out with the transcribing, let me know, and we'll work something out (leave something like a W101 Central name, YouTube name, Twitter name, or something of the sorts). If you need any links to any of the topics discussed, read the video description on YouTube. If you want to enter the Jackpot Segment or ask a question for the Question Segment, you can either comment on this post or on the actual YouTube video page. I'm going to try and upload episodes every Thursday evening.
***EDIT: TRANSCRIPTION IS AT THE BOTTOM OF THE POST!***
There are a few things that I'd like to ask of the listeners who liked the show and see potential in it:
1. Participate! Ask questions and enter the Jackpot Segment giveaway! KI Free Games codes are getting to be really valuable nowadays, as they're giving pets, mounts, wands, gold, pet snacks, furniture, transforms, and other awesome prizes! Questions can be asking my opinion, asking for tips, or even questions that ask about the prerecorded podcast itself.
2. Spread the word! Tell any friends that you think may be interested in the show and get them to spread the word if they like it too! I personally see a lot of potential in this podcast, and more people = more views and more publicity.
3. Submit your ideas and feedback! If there's a way to improve the show, I'll do it by all means! I could also use another idea for another segment for the show, so if you have any ideas, don't be afraid to submit some of your ideas!
Thanks for all your support!
P.D.
***EDIT: P.S: I've been getting asked (quite frequently, actually) if people could put this video on their blogs. I honestly have no problem with anyone using any piece of my work, as long as they don't take credit for it. I just wanted to tell this to my readers so they don't hesitate to share something of mine because of fear that I would get angry. :)
Transcription (The Commons Courier Episode One):
Greetings wizards of the Spiral, and welcome to the very first episode of The Commons Courier! I’ll be your host, Luke GoldHorn, and it’s my job to take you to the awesome [and] exciting world of Wizard101 prerecorded podcasting.
Now normally, we’d be heading into the news right about now, however, since it is our first episode, I’d like to take this opportunity to introduce myself. That way, you, the listeners, will have a better understanding of me, the host of The Common[s] Courier.
My name’s Luke GoldHorn, as I previously stated, and on Wizard101 Central, I’m known as Drdemon411. That’s D-r-d-e-m-o-n-4-1-1. My favorite badge is the Yojimbo. You can get this badge by defeating 100 Samoorai in Mooshu. I’m a Legendary Pyromancer, which is fancy for a Level 60 Fire Wizard. I run a community blog called The Pyromancer’s Digest. Lastly, the attire you see me in here is pretty much the same as I usually look, except for a few differences: One, my normal clothing color is red and the trim is usually yellow. Two, my pet’s usually a Shadow Phoenix, and, well, her name’s Pepper. Three, I usually wear a Celestian Trident, not a sword.
Now onto the News. There hasn’t really been much news in-game, however, there’s been a lot going on in the community and for KingsIsle itself as a corporation. First on our list is the Epic Bundle now arriving at Toys R Us. This is a HUGE relief for a lot of wizards out there who haven’t gotten their Epic Bundles yet. You see, there’s been a rumor out there, and [it’s] not necessarily a rumor, I should say more of a theory, about how these bundles are only lasting for a certain amount of time. The theory is, when one bundle goes in, the other goes straight out the window! So a lot of people thought with the new Mega Bundle coming into GameStop, the Epic Bundle was going to be completely forgotten, or maybe they’d have to wait another one or two years to get it. However, KingsIsle has assured us that they are just moving it to another store, and it’s still available for wizards who want to purchase it.
Onto the next point of news, KingsIsle has announced that Wizard101 has reach 20 MILLION players! THAT’S HUGE! A lot of MMOs don’t even have that many players. So I would personally like to give a huge congratulation to KingsIsle for reaching this epic and momentous achievement.
Next on our list, KI Free Games has updated their loot tables. I recommend going there and checking it out, I mean, everybody knows that, back in the beginning of June the updated it for the Pet-a-palooza. I mean, we were seeing Energy Elixirs, Mega Snack Packs, Mega Snacks, Pet Snacks; all that good stuff. Now, though, we’re seeing Pet Snacks, Furniture, Pets, Mounts, and all types of things! So I recommend you go check it out. If you have an interested in helping KI Free Games improve their site, they are asking any wizards who have Twitter accounts to tweet the following: the mini game you played, the score you had in that mini game, the prizes you won, and the hashtag [#]kifg. For those of you that don’t know, a hashtag is a pound sign [#]. So be sure to go on the lookout for that.
Next on our list is the Patriotic Leprechaun. Now, this came out about last Friday, however, it’s only going to be here for a certain amount of time. For those of you that don’t know, the Patriotic [Leprechaun] gives one Satyr card, comes with a 58 pedigree, and will only cost you 2,500 Crowns. So for those of you who have the Crowns, I suggest you buy it, since, you know, it’s only going to be here for a few more days.
Now onto our last note of business. Have we seen it all for the summer? Professor Flamea, who writes the Producer’s Letter for Wizard101, has recently announced in June that KingsIsle has been observing a few worlds out there far out in the Spiral seeing if they’re safe enough for us to travel to. Now personally, I think she’s talking about a new world, I don’t know about you. So, it seems KingsIsle has a few still up their sleeve. What do I think? I personally think that we won’t hear anything about this supposed new world until late July [or] even mid-August, and we won’t actually see the world until about October or November. What do you guys think? That’s pretty much it for the News; let’s head into some other segments.
It’s that time again wizards; Rush Hour! During Rush Hour, I’ll give tips for crafting, gardening, and housing; basically, anything that’s kinda like a job in Wizard101. Today we’re going to talk about Rare Reagents, and I’m going to tell you basically some of my routes that I like to run, and I’ll give you some tips on how to run them.
Let’s start out with Black Lotus. I like to run my routes for Black Lotus in the Village of Sorrow. Specifically, I go to Oyotomi, then to both portals and switch realms. I sometimes transmute Nightshade, which can be a difficult reagent to find at the Bazaar, but I pick a lot of Nightshade in Deep Mushroom (which is their earlier transmute) on my Black Lotus route through the Village of Sorrow as I just said.
Lava Lilies aren’t too hard to find, as not many people look for these or did look for these, because with the addition of the Celestian Observatory, this has sorta changed. Before they weren’t needed for anything special. You can find these at the Atheneum and Tower Archives route as I’ll later explain in my Ore route. Basically, you just go along the lava rivers in these areas and you’re bound to find a whole bunch of them! You can also find Stone Block and Ore, as I said earlier, on this route.
For Scrap Iron, I usually go to Hyde Park in MarleyBone. The route there isn’t quite too popular, and there are many exceptions to it, which make it worth checking out. If you just switch realms between the three portals on the street, and check behind the water towers, you should be able to find a decent amount of Scrap Iron.
Ore tends to be rare nowadays, and you should consider yourself lucky if you can find a decent route that isn’t well used. The route I use, however popular, is in the Atheneum in DragonSpyre. I go behind the actual Atheneum building, where the stone rose is, and you can actually pick up some Stone Blocks doing this as well. Then I go over to the mini games and also in the Tower Archives at the two open areas right outside of the door to the Atheneum. This route can also be used to farm Lava Lilies, as I said, due to the fact that you can always stop by the lava river at the Atheneum or in the Tower Archives.
For Red Mandrake, there are two routes I run, the later usually being more successful. The first is in Nightside in Wizard City, but the thing about that one is, too many people know about it and use it, so you can find yourself waiting for hours with not much to show for it. However, there is also a less popular route in Cyclops Lane that is usually more prosperous. If you start out by Eyus Maximus’s Tower [and] then head over to Romulus’s Castle, you should be able to get a decent amount of Red Mandrake. That’s it for this week’s episode of Rush Hour, be sure to stay tuned!
Welcome to The Community Portal segment. During this segment of the show, I’ll basically be talking about what’s been going on with official fansites and blogs. First on our list, Wizard101 is now again accepting fan fiction submissions. While I realize the Wizard101 site is not really a fansite or a blog, I want to recognize the fans who write these stories. They are, after all, fan fictions, and fans are a part of the community.
Next on our list, Jessica FairyHeart from An Awesome Pyromancer’s Diary has been taking a lead role in organizing the Guardian Support Team. What’s the Guardian Support Team, you ask? It’s basically what it says; a support team for the Guardians. You’re expected to wear black with silver lining. Now … what? Guardians? Who are Guardians?
That brings me to my next topic, Homework in a Graveyard’s recent contest. Now, it’s too late to enter the contest already, however the contestants that are already submitted are called The Guardians. See, if wizards who aren’t the Guardians support the Guardians by cheering them on, then, supposedly, we’ll all win a prize! There are several ways you can support The Guardians: One, you can go to Jessica FairyHeart’s blog, An Awesome Pyromancer’s Diary, and comment on her post “Guardian Support Team” to join the Guardian Support team. You can tweet about it. Simply tweet anything as long as it has the hashtag #WizardsforGuardians in it. And lastly, blog about it if you have a blog! Just make sure the blog post has something in the title along the lines of Wizards for Guardians.
Lastly for our Community News, Wizard101 Central is coming up to their Third Anniversary in August! They said that they’re going to have a lot of awesome contests coming up, so be sure to check that out soon. Ok, let’s roll on to some of our other segments!
It’s question time! Unfortunately, since it’s our first episode, we obviously don’t have any questions, but we can change that! For the next episode, make sure you ask questions it could be asking me an opinion about something, or asking me about tips or advice; anything! [Just] as long as it’s Wizard101 related. You can ask a question by commenting on my blog or commenting on this very YouTube video. Let’s roll on with the segments!
It’s time for our final segment: The Jackpot Segment! Now, unfortunately, like the Questions segment, since it’s our first actual episode, we don’t have any entries. But basically, how this segment would normally work is, I would announce five or seven (or somewhere between that) winners of KI Free Games codes. In order to enter, simply comment on this YouTube video with your wizard name, and a way I could contact you. This could be a Wizard101 Central name, it could be a YouTube account, or it could even be a Twitter account. Just make sure I have a way to contact you with the code. Ok, that pretty much wraps this up!
Ok wizards, that pretty much wraps up our show! I really hope you enjoyed it. If you did, subscribe, comment, spread the word please, [and] make this really cool, and I really thank you so much for tuning in to this first episode of The Commons Courier. See you in the Spiral!
Thursday, July 7, 2011
Commons Currier
Hey Gang,
Sorry I've been away so long; I was on a family vacation. Anyway, I have something exciting to share with you!
So remember when I had that poll waaaaay back in about May asking if I should start a vlog? Well, I kinda mutated that idea into a pre-recorded podcast! The show will be called The Commons Currier. Here's what I have so far:
1. News Segment: What would a podcast be without a news segment? Here I will just cover any news happening within the Spiral.
2. Community Portal: This segment will talk about any news going on around the community. This mainly includes certain contests that will be held by OFFICIAL blogs and fansites. The only reason why I say official is because I'd like to post these episodes on Wizard101 Central, and I cannot do that if I have links to unofficial sites in the description of the video.
3. Rush Hour: During this segment, I'll cover different tips on any career-like actiivities in Wizard101, such as crafting, gardening, housing, and pet training.
4. Questions: Obviously, here I will be asking any questions the show is given
While I'm really enjoying seeing this show come along, there are still a lot of things that need to be done. While I'm not accepting any segments from anyone nor am I going a co-host, I still need a TON of help, and I'd really be thankful for every ounce of support I get. Here's how you can help:
1. Spread the word! Tell your wizard friends about the show! Get the word out!
2. I need about two or three more segments, and I'm just about out of all my ideas (I do have quite a few, however, most of them are already being used). Simply comment below if you have an idea, or tweet @LukeGoldHorn on twitter.
3. I need to make some title images for the segments. If you wouldn't mind taking on one of these yourself, or if you have an idea, I'll certainly see if it can be done. If you want to make one, try to make it simple, yet awesome! Also, I ask that you use a picture editing website (GIMP, Photoshop, etc.) and not a simple screen shot. I'd like the image to be sorta original.
Again, I'm thankful for every ounce of support I have gotten, am getting, and will be getting in the future!
Have fun in the Spiral!
P.D.
Friday, June 24, 2011
Censorship!
Hey Gang,
So last night I was up late at night, and I was hanging out on Twitter. People were talking about writing last night, and I mentioned that I love to write. Diana WildHeart, who's an awesome person and wizard, gave me the idea of starting a blog specifically for writing. So I did, and you can go to it.
HOWEVER
PLEASE NOTE THE SIGN:
Please do not enter if you are offended easily. There have been some messages on Twitter going out saying, "Don't curse" (as you might have guessed, these messages were sent out by Twizards). I can assure you one thing: NEVER EVER EVER EVER NEVER EVER EVER will you read a curse word on The Pyromancer's Digest. However, I censor myself for Wizard101 only. If you chose to read one of my blogs that curses, that's on you. I've warned many people that censorship will not be of my concern when doing anything other than Wizard101.
"But why, Luke? Why do you care if you curse or not?" Again, I honestly don't mind censoring myself when it comes to Wizard101. But when it comes to situations in real life, I'm not going to censor myself because there may be a few young people reading it. Wizard101 is different for several reasons:
1. It's against the Terms of Use that I agreed to.
2. It's a game where many children play.
3. It's not seen as publicly acceptable
Basically, my point is this; when you read something of mine that isn't Wizard101 related, PLEASE don't expect me to keep things squeaky clean for the little ones. This is my official warning label. This is also my last warning on the issue (I must have warned everyone a billion times by now). SOME THINGS I SAY THAT DON'T REGARD WIZARD101 MAY OR MAY NOT BE CHILD FRIENDLY!
That being said, for those of you that are interested in this new writing site of mine, it's called PAVed Destiny (you can find out why in the first post: www.paveddestiny.blogspot.com). I don't curse excessively (there are only two curses on the site so far). Again, there is some un-child-friendly material there, so PLEASE take caution!
P.D.
Sunday, June 19, 2011
My Old Idea
Hey Gang,
So have you ever had to go out on a long (or short) trip out of the house but need to get some chores in-game done? This has happened many many times for me and pet training. It seems that when I need to get pet training done the most, I have to be somewhere else or I'm simply not in the mood for repetitive minigames. Well, I have a suggestion for KingsIsle that's been thrown around in my head for quite some time: The Pet-Mobile!
I know, maybe doing a corn spin-off of the Book-Mobile wasn't the catchiest name out there, but you get the idea; pet training on the go! There could be an app where you could train your pet while you're on your way to a location like school, dinner, or a family event. Not only would this allow people to play [semi-]new minigames for Wizard101 on the go, but it would also give players a chance to get some tasks done even if they aren't at the computer. Here's how it would work:
You'd click on the App on you iPhone list of Apps. The same screen that shows when opening Wizard101 and WizardBlox opens of the KI logo. After that, the screen with Merle Ambrose and the Crystal Ball Appears, asking if you are a new or returning wizard (the same screen we see when you redeem a code on the WizardBlox App). After you sign in you'll see six boxes; three on the top of the screen and three on the bottom. These boxes will have your character(s)'s names printed below, along with a school doodle (Death Student Doodle, Fire Student Doodle, etc.) representing the school of that wizard.
When you tap a character, a list of pet names that are currently in that character's backpack will appear. The menu will be a single-file drop list of pet names with portraits next to the names (you may scroll up or down on this list). When you select a pet, a big circle will appear that's split into four pieces. Each will have a name of a mini game as well a a screen shot of the game being played. When you press on the piece of the circle. It would take you to the rules of the minigame, and below that would be what we normally see below the rules; the different snacks we could play with. Touching a snack would bring you to the minigame. Here's how I pictured each of the games working:
1. Cannon Game:
This minigame is probably the most compatible with the iPhone/iPod/iPad touch screen movements. The buttons to move power, position, and tilt can easily be taken out and can successfully be replaced by simply sliding your finger along each gauge. Example of gameplay is shown below:
2. Dance Game:
This was one of the simpler games to adapt to the touch screen of Apple's products. All that's needed to replace your directional keys is buttons on the screen to represent the directions that your pet needs to imitate. While sliding your finger along the screen could probably work as well, it may get confusing for the iPhone/iPad/iPod to determine which way your finger is moving and may mark it wrong when it was indeed right. Example of gameplay shown below:
3. Maze Game:
Adapting this game to the touch screen was probably one of the hardest. This game needs to have the space for a player to see, and putting a directional pad to the side might inhibit the player's sight on the side. Therefor, I decided to put the directional pad on the very bottom of the screen. This made it so it would not interact with the sight of the player however it would still function well. Example of gameplay shown below:
4. Gobbler Drop Game:
If I had to pick which minigame was the hardest to adapt to the iPhone/iPad/iPod, it'd have to be the Gobbler Drop Game. There are several actions needed to be successful in this minigame, and squeezing all of those buttons onto a tiny touch screen can make it kinda crowded. In the end, I decided on a directional pad to the left and a "Jump" button to the right, however I wonder if the directional pad would go best on the bottom like the Maze Game. Example of gameplay shown below:
When the game ended, you'd be brought to the same screen you are brought to when you finish a minigame on the computer where you may feed your pet a snack and choose to either play again or leave the game (at which point it would bring you back to the circle with the four minigames).
I hope you liked my idea! Don't forget the Diary of a Wizard party is THIS Saturday! Also just some personal news: I recently completed my Legendary sets on Diana and Luke! So congrats to them! Noah is blasting his way through WinterTusk (FINALLY!), as he is currently starting Sundrilund (but after that, there's really only Nastrond :P). After that, I must finish up with Mycin in WinterTusk (he's in Vestrilund) and finally Gilroy (who's currently has to face Jotun still).
I also trained a Sea Dragon I got to Ancient which obtained Pierce Train, Tower Shield, and Dissarment (I had another Sea Dragon who obtained Health Gift at which point I stopped training it), so I'm hoping to scrounge up the gold to mix it with my Shadow Phoenix.
That's really all I have for now. Until next time!
P.D.
P.S: Sorry the pictures are so horribly drawn, it was midnight so I was tired and I'm not very good at drawing on the computer anyway!
Saturday, June 18, 2011
Party Analysis
Hey Gang,
Every scientist knows that the best way to come to a conclusion for a problem is to analyse the data of your experiment. You could say my party was a social experiment, because, well, I had a lot of facets to my party that were never really used before. So, I'd like to point out some tips for future party-planners (and some can even be used in real life situations):
1. Something may sound good in theory, but...: The Red Carpet sounded like an awesome idea in everyone's heads. I'm pretty sure that was the most anticipated part of the party. However, there were some challenges that I simply didn't think of. Some Featured Wizards couldn't tune in to the livestream because their computer couldn't handle it. Others were deaf and could not hear me call their name. And some were just embarrassed and didn't want to be put in the spotlight. All in all, this part of the party wound up a being a complete disaster. People who weren't Featured Wizards were trying to get on the Red Carpet before it was open, which really frustrated me. Then some would start freaking out on me when I sent them away because they were not supposed to be on the Red Carpet. It was way too stressful and it simply didn't yield anything worthy of going through that amount of stress. If you would like to try the Red Carpet idea for yourself a few tips I would give would be:
a. Have a practice or two before the day of the Wizaversary for the Featured Wizards to know what's going on. A confused Red Carpet Event is a bad Red Carpet Event. This will also give you more time to deal with the problems presented.
b. Get a headcount of the Featured Wizards attending. You can do this over Twitter, Facebook, or by simply asking the Featured Wizards to comment saying that they will attend.
c. Have what you're going to say about each Featured Guest prepared and ready. For those tuned into the livestream during the Red Carpet Event, you'd know that I was a mess when talking about each guest. While I thought that I could just wing it, I learned that writing it out before time would have made it seemed organized. Also, if you plan on having a featured guest that is deaf, be courteous and at the very least write out your thanks to them in chat.
d. Have what you're going to say about each guest short, sweet, and to the point. Don't ramble on about each guest, and don't take so much time to do the event, because guests (even the Featured ones) get impatient and bored. Constantly entertain your guests.
If you're planning on trying a Red Carpet Event, I wish you luck. Not only was it challenging to scrounge up the gold and materials, but it made a lot of people impatient and angry. I have to admit, not one of my best ideas. But like I said, it DID sound good in theory.
2. Keep your guests busy: I already said this in the previous point, but I feel it should be emphasized. People have short attention spans. Watching people PvP can get boring. Do something out of the box to entertain them! Have some people running instance, have a dance floor, and come up with some of your own wacky ideas to keep your guests entertained. Even if a plan doesn't work out, at least you know for the future.
3. Keep ALL your guests in mind: Again, I realize I already talked about this, but this is a HUGE tip that needs to be stressed. Try your best to make the event for everyone. Write out things for people who can't hear or for people who can't tune in to listen to you talk. Have something to do for people who don't like to PvP like a Fashion Contest. If you can keep your event as open as possible, it will turn out as best as possible.
4. Do a LOT of Decorating: I worked very hard on my Sultan's Palace to make it look the best it could, and from what I'm hearing from attendees, it sounds like all my work paid off. Hundreds of thousands of gold and Crowns were dumped into those decorations, as wells as a ton of time and opinions (*cough**cough* Paige MoonShade :D). Take your time on setting up the house, and finish decorating a week or two early. Also, come up with your own unique ideas for the house, or build off of another's idea (but don't steal it!). Use other people's housing decor as a spring board to do something even better.
5. Invite your guests to explore your house: As I stated above, a lot of time went in to the decorating of the house. But I wonder exactly how much of the people actually explored and how many people just ran straight to the dance floor. Create a unique and interesting way to invite your guests to explore the house. Of course, there will be some guests who will do this on their own. But there are some who are just there to party, so create a way to make them appreciate all the hard work that went into accepting that huge project.
6. Don't take on a ride that's too tall for you: This kinda relates to my first tip, but it's not exactly that. I'm not sure if anyone saw the huge garden of Trumpet Vines, but that was a roller coaster that I simply wasn't tall enough to ride. With the Dragon Hoarder's Pack just releasing, I spent around 10,000 Crowns just trying to get that Skeletal Dragon (oh yeah, I totally regret that). I didn't have the crowns to buy Energy Elixirs to take care of my Trumpet Vines, so they kept wilting. This was simply too much for me too handle, and I recommend learning from my mistake by not doing something you can't handle.
7. Be Organized: This also relates to not taking on challenges that are too big. If you're not organized, things are going to get pretty messy. As I learned with the PvP Tourney and the Red Carpet Event, being organized is key. Get contestants you can rely on, and don't take maybe for an answer. Your contests and your Featured Guests have to be 100% sure that they can make it to the event. If they aren't sure, don't accept them.
That's pretty much all I have to offer as far as tips go. The party did turn out to be cool in the end. Here are some photos in case you missed it:
Also, here are the Winners of the Contests:
*PvP Tourney*:
1st Place- Abigail DawnPetal (Diana WildHeart)
2nd Place- Connor MistBlade
*Fashion Contest*:
1st Place- Katherine LightWalker
2nd Place- Ben FrogStone
3rd Place- Jasmine Smith
Ok, well, I've got a lot of work cut out for me. I hope everyone has fun in the Spiral!
P.D.
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