Progress check - We've reached evergreen Mooshu (and some other stuff)!

      Well, this post has been delayed for a lot of reasons -- mainly, life is life-ing (as Autumn and Zachary also know quite well). I could list excuses, but what I'd really rather talk about is all the cool stuff happening in my fake life :D

Only moments after rubbing Mooddha's belly for good luck

      After power-questing through Marleybone, Autumn and Zachary have made it into the lush green fields of Mooshu, and not a moment too soon. All the garbage and sound pollution of the city was starting to get to me... not to mention those snooty poodle ladies and all their purse errands... Ugh! Now it is time for open spaces, fresh clean air, and many many grave markers.

Who died? More like who hasn't died, amirite?

      I have a special place in my heart for Mooshu, not only because it is the place Professor Wu came from, but also because I have many fond memories with old Wizard101 friends there, who taught me how to play with real strategy. No seriously, I got through the first 3 worlds with my old wizards not even knowing how to play right. I mean, my first character was fire/storm, and yet I wasted so much angry energy not even realizing that those classes fizzle the most. But I digress. 

      We've gotten up to Crimson Fields in Hametsu Village, but we're taking a bit of a break because of some real life dramas, and other stuff. Also, we are a smidge burnt out, after power-questing through a lot of stuff.

 I mean, I wouldn't say this place looks intimidating but... well, you've seen it.

       As for Victoria, which I really consider my "main" character (since I find it more fun and easier to solo as a necromancer), things have been rather... difficult.

       These Ultra Dungeons (Kembaalung and the like) would on the surface appear to be a manageable enough dungeoun, much like Colossus Boulevard in Wizard City or The Ironworks in Marleybone. In fact, I did solo Kembaalung with nary a problem, and I thought perhaps this other place, Zigazag, would be much the same. I was, um... rather wrong.

      Through my endless frustrations, I neglected to take any screen caps/recordings, but I can list to you some stats. 

• Total time spent: 7 hrs, 38 mins 
• Total wizards: Just 1 -- me!
• Total times killed: 6 
• Total crowns spent on minions: OVER 9000!!!
• Total swears uttered: Also over 9000!!!!! 
• Total times D/c from server:  ~42. No, seriously. 

       In spite of it all, I managed to beat it, technically solo, and collected a lotta swag in the process. It did not dawn on me until later that I would not be able to return to Zigazag, and the 2 side rooms hidden within that I couldn't enter because I had no key are lost forever. Honestly, though, I'm so glad I finally got through it after all that happened, that I think I don't really mind.

 After judgment day came, my heart really was light as a feather

  

      Well, that's my ultra summer so far. Some exciting information about That's Life! is coming up, but I think that's an update for another post. Until then, sizzlin' journeys, young wizards!

Getting beefy beach bodies

  Greetings, young wizards!

  Well, it has been a busy couple weeks in the Spiral, what with finishing Wintertusk on my necromancer, Victoria Ravenblood. She has now returned to Celestia to continue the main story line, which I've been working on for, like, a year now :P

 At first I thought these guys were mecha-reptilians and I was like :D

 But then I realized they were eels and I was like :(

  What else is new? Well, with the imminent return of That's Life!, my fiance and I have been training up Autumn and Zachary to keep them nice and limber. After all, they'll be doing a lot of running around in the next episode. I won't say much regarding the premise, but I can tell you it will be a grand adventure. And the journey along the way is quite enjoyable too!

  For my fiance's birthday I got him 30,000 crowns (which, by the way, are on sale for 25% off for the rest of summer -- a fantastic deal!), and this will be more than enough to unlock quite a good deal of areas. Right now we are working on the rest of Marleybone, and after that we will probably be knocking out a good deal of Grizzleheim.

If you look really closely, sometimes the Queen's guard actually blink.

  So far, our journey through Marleybone is only about halfway through. We've been struggling with the burden of all the tiny ridiculous side quests. This is the most back-and-forth world of all, and I'm truly remembering why it is my least favorite place in all of the Spiral. Well, except for the sights and sounds...

 Plus, this guy has the sweetest pair of shades.

   But the cool part of coming back during the Summer is that there are plenty of activities. In fact, we've even paid a visit to the Professor recently

 We were... kind of hounding him so he was dogging us out. Hahaha, woof.

  Other than that, not much else is new! Although we're constantly on the lookout for any good gear. Anyone know of a boss that drops some tough death gear for level 66-68 necromancer? Victoria is still using Malistaire's robes and I feel like I'm way behind everyone else!

  

  Well, until next time, safe journeys everyone!

A Grendel Dance Party

ETA: I've finally made a twitter for my Wiz101 stuff! @ACuriousReagent

It has been quite some time since my last update (5 whole years, omg!!), but I've finally been getting back into Wizard101 since the recent crown sale. Had a bit of fun today while trying to get rid of some of my Grizzleheim quests. Hope you enjoy watching as much as I enjoyed making :P



In other news, my hair has changed! Bet you didn't recognize little ol' Victoria Ravenblood, didja??

THEN:

 

 NOW:

I love a good transformation, don't you? :) Safe journeys, young wizards!

Success!

Well last night I got my necromancer to level 48. Victoria Ravenblood is now a Master of Death! I just finished the obsidian chest quest for her and now I'm thinking of taking it nice and slow :P I mean, no hurry now that I got one of the most important things done (the scarecrow spell). Tomorrow will be a filming day for That's Life! episode 3, as well as probably Thursday, then I will be editing it on Thurs/Fri. Busy weekend, folks, very busy.

To celebrate my newfound success I will spend the rest of the day playing Left 4 Dead 2. Woot!

Safe journeys, everyone!

No life - A quick way to level up!

Remember that death wizard I have, the one I started and kind of abandoned as soon as I hit Marleybone? (I really strongly dislike questing in Marleybone >_>) Well, 3 cans of Coke, 14 hours and 2 tired eyes later I have gotten her out of Marleybone once and for all and have now started her on MooShu :D I am well aware of how insane this makes me sound and I embrace that. Because after half a day of running errands for lovelorn St. Bernards and snooty debutantes, I pretty much AM crazy.

Don't know if I have the same will power to finish up Mooshu in a day. But I know now I won't be in as much of a hurry because Mooshu actually has sidewalks, and less running back and forth. And oh glory, there are more teleport stones! Quests are easier, too. "Oh, go over into that rock garden and let me know when you're ready for more experience points."

In other news, I am going to be working on a special Wizard 101 project that I think will be uber cool. I've got it all outlined, now I just need to make it, which will take a bit of resources. But it will be worth it when it's complete, methinks. I will post about it when it's complete :D

Anyway, that's all I've got for now. Too foggy in the brain to write more.

Safe journeys everyone!

Wizard 101 - The Worst (and Best) Year I've Ever Spent

Seeing as how it's coming up on the anniversary of when I started playing Wizard 101, I decided I would write a review (or rather, a warning to potential newcomers) about the game. After all, it is very important to keep the influence of addictive drugs out of family life.

I've got to say, it's been a difficult year for me. Between being a straight C college student and lazing around the house, it's hard to find time for anything, especially video games. But the moment I saw the commercial for Wizard 101 on Cartoon Network, it was all over for me. There was nothing else that mattered more in my life. From then on it was Wizard 101 all day every day for the rest of my summer break. I thought I could quit anytime I wanted. In fact, I even tried a few times. I was a crowns player (crowns is the in-game currency for buying certain items that cannot be bought with gold), so the way it workedwas I would have 10,000 crowns with which to buy certain areas of the game (and they would go fast, believe me). It would be smooth sailing for a while, but then the dreaded would happen: I would run out. I would try so hard to wait until I had money for more, but the withdrawls would drive me crazy. Finally I would get my hands on some more crowns, and the cycle would begin again. You may be thinking, "Who could do such a thing to our youth?" Well, it's all the fault of one company.

KingsIsle is a notably small video game developer company in Austin, Texas. But don't let their size and seemingly innocuous location fool you. Behind their facade lie devious minds, conspiring their dastardly plans against humanity. And the fact that they have won numerous awards -- including the bronze on a list of top 10 MMO's since WoW and a NAPPA award from Parenthood -- is a testimony to how hard they will work to hook you on their product.

And it makes sense that so many people would get so hooked on it. It's an incredible fantasy world; one in which even a simple kid from a small, unknown world can become a master warlord across the fictional universe called "the Spiral". This game takes you on an amazing journey to distinct worlds that span all of culture and history, from the pyramid-laden deserts of Krokotopia to the steampunk era rooftops of Marleybone. The frightening thing about it is that, when you're caught in the grind of menial quests and finally getting tired of playing, you're sucked in once more by the beauty and unique qualities of the next world in the Spiral. It truly keeps the players coming back for more.

This purple mountain's majesty is centered in a world of deceit, addiction, and a nifty dinosaur.

Not to mention everyone's journey is different. Aside from the typical avatar customization, you can also choose how your wizard functions and grows. So far there are seven different schools for wizards, with seven different types of magic that have different effects on the enemies that players battle throughout the Spiral. Players can choose secondary schools for their wizards as well, or they can mix and match the spells to bring out the strongest potential of their own school's magic. It truly gives players free range to customize their characters to their full extent.

 Warning: when playing this game you will get a sense of euphoria and invincibility. Do not drive or operate machinery while under the influence.

While the main plot of the game is typical (young wizard must conquer the evil villain to restore order to the universe), the branching story lines for each world in the spiral are all unique and very well thought-out. Players are sent on multitudes of small quests that slowly reveal the back story from before things went into chaos, defeating the bottom blocks of the pyramid of bad guys along the way. And as the story becomes more complex, the quests become more difficult, presenting the players with a constant challenge that satisfies their desires to become stronger wizards. Even when questing becomes scarce and the level cap is reached, farming and frequently added developments keep old players coming back to re-experience the feelings of discovery that new players have in spades.

That looks a lot like another kind of crystal, doesn't it?

Aside from all those things being very alluring, the most influential thing about the drug that is Wizard 101 is the fact that the dealers -- I mean, developers -- really listen to the player's suggestions on how to make the product better. They perform regular maintenance to eliminate bugs and add new little features here and there to make the gaming experience better. They truly work hard for the money they get. When players decide to make the leap from the free zone to the paying, they're getting more than just excellent graphics, a killer soundtrack and a well-written story line. They're getting the collaborative effort of very hard-working and talented people... and it's really worth every cent.

It's all fun and games till a magical talking tree loses its eye.

And so fellow players, potential players, and everyone at KingsIsle: I want you to know that I have spent 12 months, many sleepless nights, and around $200 on Wizard 101. And I don't want any of it back :)

Safe journeys, everyone!

Green is lucky - At least for me.

Well everyone, meet Autumn Greenleaf.

If she's an angel, I guess she'd be Farrah Fawcett.

 Yes, I spent a lot of crowns on her outfit :D It's worth it cause she looks stylish and all the new wizards ooh and ahh at the Valor sword she has. She's one quest away from being level 15 and she's just barely* starting Krokotopia today. I decided to take the advice that a lot of people put on Wizard 101 Central and won't be giving her a secondary school. Instead she'll be studying ice all the way to tower shield, death until feint, and storm for whatever other points she may have. I think this is a pretty good plan since there aren't nearly as many life bosses as there are any other kind, and when I encounter life I can just use prism and a death wand/blade to get rid of shields. Plus it stinks to have to wait for 7 whole rounds just to get enough pips to use the good spells in a secondary school. Better to just have more stuff to power up your primary school spells. Once I get centaur I will be unstoppable. Now my main mission is to save up all my gold for a life house! :P

Mr. Pepper: "Good luck with that, you shopaholic!"

Safe journeys, everyone!

*Barely being used very loosely in this case. I actually just started this character the day before yesterday. Can anyone say "addict"?

 

Back in the saddle - Or rather, the broomstick.

It's been a long time since I've played Wizard 101 extensively, let alone blogged about my progress. But seeing as it's summer break and I'm a bit burned out on Combat Arms, I decided to log in and see how things were going in the Spiral. And of course the Wiz101 Facebook memo saying the new pets were live definitely piqued my curiosity. Needless to say I was excited to see if my firezilla would have all the new features that the new pets did; lo and behold, I had a special "new" zilla that was already a teen (which was handy because I'd rather not get addicted to training it). I think the new pet area is great, it's a good place to waste time if you're tired of the regular grind of farming and want a little bit of old fashioned competition. I also like that you get exp. just from talking to the people there :P


Aside from that, I've already spent a lot of time farming some more on my Grandmaster, Autumn. I got a couple new swords, a new pet, and tons of loot to sell on my new life character, Autumn Greenleaf (yeah, yeah, I know. But I've tried all the other schools and none of them were the same. Life is the only one for me). I got $20 worth of crowns too and spent it on a wings mount, so now Autumn looks like a true valkyrie :P That's about the extent of my crown splurging. I decided that for the house I would save up 100,000 gold on my new character (an insane endeavor, I know). Shouldn't take too long, since all the loot I get on Autumn will be auctioned by Autumn Greenleaf. Malistaire will aid me greatly in this mission.


Hopefully the limited update will tide me over until the level cap is raised and Celestia is released. Until then I'll just be trying to farm bosses for swords and pets. I plan on making my home a huge pet reservation.


That's all for now. Safe journeys, everyone!

Zing - Marleybone calling!

Have a few updates for ya!

Krokotopia is now a thing of the past! Victoria Ravenblood is now level 27 and an official Marleybonian.

"By Jove, a NECROMANCER! There goes the neighborhood."

That's right, I got a Marleybone mansion :D How, you ask? I literally lived in my dorm until level 25 (sadly this very closely resembles real life). I also sold everything except the clothes on my back and some awesome furniture. Turned out to be worth, it, wouldn't you say?

Also I used my grandmaster character to splurge on some new threads!

 "Spot on, I've found the elusive species Wizardus Necromancus!"

I totally fit in perfecly now, wouldn't you say? I must admit I was a little worried that I would never make it to Marleybone. I was so stressed over trying to finish the Tomb of the Beguiler, and I was thinking "Why the heck did they make this so flipping hard for such a low level world?" And then I realized it's like the Sunken City of Krokotopia. Needless to say I did a mental facepalm.

(Not pictured: my mental facepalm)

I also have a new staff for when level 30 rolls around. *rubs hands together greedily*

Other than that, nothing new has happened. Unfortunately my IRL friend hasn't been able to play much due to restrictions (real life... such a chore!), but he said he'd try to play more, which is about as much as I can expect from someone who actually has a job. I think I will try to focus on the crafting quests before the others, that way it won't just be sitting there crowding up my quest page 9_9

Anyways, that's all for now. Safe journeys, everyone!

Fighting Malistaire - The biggest anti-climax I've ever experienced

      Well, last night I finally fought Malistaire on my life wizard - twice! Thanks to the best teammates ever (props to everyone)! Even though I made a ton of gold, got a bunch of drops and had lots of fun, it was sadly the most anti-climactic ending ever. All this build-up for 50 levels and... what, Malistaire and his wife's spirit just disappear? No big resolution? No long-winded monolog from Ambrose? I want plot, people! Where is it?? I dunno, maybe my expectations were too high. I realize that the point of the game is the journey and not the ending but still... I'm a writer. I look for the story in everything. I really hope KI will be adding more plot soon with Celestia (if they actually are developing it). Oh, and sadly, the only things I got from Malistaire were a Death robe and a Storm robe. Boo.

      I worked on my death character a bit more today too. I must say that I'm liking necromancy more and more every day :D And now that I have death prism it will make fighting bosses so much easier (not that it wasn't already). I'm really excited to get through Krokotopia, though not too thrilled with the prospect of doing Marleybone again. We have a history, gearheads and I; one wrought with much drama and frustration. I will spare you the details since it's way too "interesting" to listen to.

      Oh, and I have a question for any other necromancers who may be reading this (which I doubt, since nobody reads this :P) -- does anyone have issues with never getting any gear from their school? I mean, I know everyone encounters that now and then, but seriously I've only gotten like 2 or 3 things for death school, the rest are either life or ice. It's really bugging me. I'm holding out hope for getting better stuff in Krokotopia, but honestly I never had it this bad with my other characters. Weird.

      And......... well, I guess that's all for now. I'm hoping for better days :P

Grind - The slow, painful process of levelling up.

      I worked on Victoria a bit more today! She's level 9 now and I'm really diggin' how easy it is to be a necromancer in Wizard City. I imagine it only gets way harder from here on in, but for now I'm enjoying my school. Just as I expected, it totally sucks being a noob again after having such a high level (read: awesome) wizard. But I'm excited to see how necromancy compares to theurgy. I'm guessing now that I have a ninja pig pet that comes with dryad, I'll be pretty close to unstoppable. *evil grin*

      Made my first friend on that character today as well, and I suspect he's foreign. His English is just a tad on the awkward side, and he keeps calling me a beautiful rose. It would be hilarious if it wasn't so creepy :P He's pretty handy to have around for when the more daunting bosses come up. I didn't get many drops today, but I sell whatever I get, and I plan on saving all my money. Why? Oh, no particular reason...

      Oh, and I also got to Malistaire's lair today with my life wizard. Gave up because of too many setbacks. Plan on finishing sometime tomorrow, no matter what it takes. Seriously, no matter what.

Idle - Between the quests.

      Well, it's happened again. That distinct feeling of boredom I get when I'm stuck on a quest I don't wanna do. (Specifically, one where I have to kill a zillion crystal spiders to find something or other for some lady.) Yup, this is what happens when things get too tough. I retreat. At least that's what my therapist would say*.

      So what do I do when I'm not questing? I can't stand to give up my one and only love (read: Wizard 101). I finally got around to decorating all my houses, which is why I'm broke now. Of course there's only so much someone can do to their own virtual house, so I had to do something else. I went on a tour of all the houses in the spiral, even enduring the annoying comments from the tour guide. (By the way, amazing tool, KI! So glad you added this feature!) Also splurged and bought another mount. (IT WAS ON SALE, OKAY? DON'T JUDGE ME!) Now at least my main characters will both be really fast, and therefore eliminate a lot of stress. Thank goodness we're allowed to trade mounts between characters.

      Oh yeah, and I finished crafting for Autumn in MooShu, which oddly enough was WAY easier than in Marleybone. Was it supposed to be like that? I thought it was supposed to go from easiest to hardest. Weird. I literally got it done in like an hour (or would have if not for the outrageous cooldown times). Anyway, I received the crafting quest for Dragonspyre. Clearly I won't be finishing that for quite a while. 18 diamonds? 8 ghost fires? I've never even heard of ghost fire! Where in holy Bartleby do you find it? I'm guessing somewhere in Dragonspyre Academy, right? I dunno. Gonna have to go ore hunting later!

      Also, my necromancer is now the hero of unicorn way. What can I say, I really hate fighting ice spiders! :P I can't tell if I'm really good at this or if it's just the repetition that makes it easy for me. So far so good with the death school, then again I haven't gotten to the enemies that have resist yet so... we'll see! Oh, and I still haven't chosen a secondary school. So many choices, so little time! I'll just keep it in mind for later.

* I don't really have a therapist. Just a voice in my head.

Victoria Ravenblood - Death is just the beginning.

      I started a new character last night, my first Death wizard! *is excited* I haven't decided what I want her secondary school to be. What's a good supporting class for death wizards? Not sure if I should choose an element school or a spirit school. Hmm...

      Anyway, this is what she looks like! I haven't finished my adventure with Autumn yet so I won't be focusing entirely on Victoria, but I'll be blogging the adventures of my death character from the beginning to the end.

      Her hair cracks me up, btw :P