It's done! (new spell)

(I want to apologize for predicting the end of Wizard101 so soon - Skelemystk put me straight. Companies sometimes have to gut themselves when things go bad and KI made a bad prediction. Come on, I'm not buying mobile games, my phone is a phone #1 priority.)

DEER KNIGHT!!!!

Finally: After a month of slaving away and being in Khrysalis lock for years, I finally got the spell I wanted for a Necromancer for so long!!

DA DEER!

Woo hoo!

I was lucky that a few Cronus runs(with some nice Life Wizards helping Nat out) got two lucky Amber Drops and another Gladiator run got me a third. I also got a bunch of Sunstone from the Bazaar to craft the last Amber. So now I can use Da Deer!

Sorry, but I was so eager to use this spell after so long. After many sad runs of Loremaster, wasted Crowns on Knight's Lore and what not, Natalie has finally gotten her own...

Not my image, go here to the link

Until Khrulu in four levels, mind you. ;)

The Future of Wizard101... in Wizard201?! (idea post)

The last two posts in this blog have been sort of somber and dark, thinking about what's wrong with Wizard101 and how it could change. Now, I am not saying that Wiz is a bad game; every MMO, even the best and longest(WoW, cough cough) have their issues and people leave the games there. I'm just saying we need to look over how Wizard101 could become better in the future, if it's to last as long as big name games like MapleStory and WoW, and I wanted to bring up something I came up with a long time ago but never really brought to the public...

Yes, we need to have a sequel to Wizard101. Wizet has created a MapleStory sequel with 3-D graphics called MapleStory 2, which is pretty good, but I'm not talking about that... I'm talking about having your character in Wizard101 retire and sire a successor for Wizard201, where new adventures await in the same places.

Zenmaster Blue and Blaze LifeHammer, in their co-op walkthrough, discussed the possibility of there being a Unicorn Way 2.0 where all the enemies are much tougher. Zenmaster Blue shot it down but wished it would happen...

MapleStory has something like that - well, not really; they have Future MapleWorld where Ereve becomes a tyranny ruled by corrupted Cygnus and the Cygnus Knights after the Black Mage cursed Cygnus and her knights to become evil incarnate. But that's where the Dark Oriel comes in...

Here is my backstory for Wizard201: It's been ten to thirty years since the destruction of Azteca(you cannot go there any more) and the events in Darkmoor(where Malistaire was finally put to rest); Morganthe is gone, Old Cob is gone, and the Spiral knows peace at last.

A year ago, Merle Ambrose retired from headmaster of Ravenwood and head of Wizard City and appointed Gamma to find a suitable heir, then he vanished to parts unknown. When we start a new character, we get the same sort of scene as in Wizard101's character creation... only we are greeted by the sole character of Merle Ambrose's ghost. He's clearly dead but won't say why. We go through the usual character creation process, picking our school from the Book of Secrets(or skipping it and choosing a school) and then we are greeted by the new headmaster, which can be the wizard in Wizard101 whose player has died or participated in a recent Make-A-Wish visit(they've done that before in the past - Allan GhostDust is actually a player's wizard who stopped playing when the player died of cancer. :( ) and was appointed by Gamma due to his/her services to the Spiral.

I don't have any ideas for a story except that a big bad villain is harming the Spiral again. Maybe Morganthe 2.0 or something like that. But whatever the story, it'll include favorite places like Krokotopia, Marleybone, Mooshu and Avalon with Wizard City being the hub world again. ^_^

If KI cannot keep Wizard101 running, they can give players of the game compensation before it shuts down forever, giving them "perks" to their new wizards in Wizard201 like free pets, a large vault of Crowns for the Crown Shop, or even exclusive spells that only they can use(not recommended as it would make them better and players who have never played Wizard101 will feel cheated).

Here are some ideas that MapleStory could give to Wizard201:

1. A "Reboot" channel which is only switchable to if you own a special key that requires you to complete some very simple quests. In that server, there are some restrictions(you can't trade Treasure Cards and the Bazaar is locked) but you get more money and better loot drops from enemies as well as items that you can earn to almost guarantee good loot drops from bosses and the Second Chance Chests and some items(like Elixirs) only need gold(a lot of it, though) instead of Crowns, so players who have completed Darkmoor and don't want to go through the bosses and are RICH can burn all their gold in the Second Chance in hopes of a good gear. ;) Oh, and to ensure no abuse of the system, you are immediately switched out of the Reboot channel when you log out and cannot return to it for a few hours.
2. Pet raising is much simpler - instead of having the pets learn talents randomly, you can give the pet an affinity stat which is raised by things like having it equipped, feeding it the snacks it loves and having it do perfect in the pet minigames. The higher the affinity stat, the better the chance that it will learn the talents you want. It's still semi-random, but not by much.
3. Have double benefits occur more often. They're doing well with the various member benefits but they need to have them happen once a month for each.
4. Drop the pay-to-play aspect and have every world in the Spiral accessible without Crowns. I know it's a huge profit blow to KI but follow the example of MapleStory, let newbie wizards enter Avalon and get killed by dragons. It's not like you don't restrict players in Wizard101 to go anywhere they want. To remove the problem in Wizard101 which has new wizards getting joyrides to Polaris via porting, you can have the "Your friend is busy" error pop up whenever a wizard tries to port to a friend on a world they haven't visited via the Spiral Door at least once.
5. Let players do a quest to gain an extra pet slot so they can equip two pets; also raise the chances of triggering May Cast healing spells to give new players a break with their borrowed pets. They need to have some help.
6. Make Team Up more efficient and pair off wizards who are competent with new wizards so the newbies get to learn the lay of the dungeons. This makes it easier for solo wizards to get help.

I have a lot of ideas, but this is just the tip of the iceberg and I'd be stuck here typing all day. XD But we need a sequel to Wizard101 so that KI can keep players of that game happy. Feedback? What do you think about this idea? Please comment in the section below. Ciao!

THIS is why Maplestory is better (mini-rant)

Come on, Karma! I need six more Amber! Don't force me to craft it! :(

Now, before you tar-and-feather me, let me just say that I am not trying to be selfish - I KNOW that at 2:05 PM, all the kids are still in school(elementary school hasn't let out for summer yet) and adults are usually at a JOB - one which I sorely need. (I'm on Welfare.)

But would it KILL for Karma to have one straggler like myself show up to help me farm the Gladiator for my Alpha and Omega Ring? *angry growl*

Oh well, I can always do the B.O.X.Es. - at least ten people are hovering around the Professor's Box since, unllike Tart, it won't be around forever. *sigh*

The Cat Who Predicted Doom and Gloom (sad rant)

I'm sure everyone has heard the news - KingsIsle just had a huge downsize of its staff:  For no reason determined, they laid off 40% of their staff, including most of its art branch and Leala, who had been joining the Friendly Necromancer in KI Live podcasts for the past two years.

That is an omen...

An ill omen. Whenever a company has a huge lay-off, it means that they are in serious financial trouble, they are not making the skills to pay the bills, and it's inevitable that such companies end up filing for bankruptcy and disappearing from the Earth.

KingsIsle is doomed to fail and, because of this, they'll have to shut down their servers and delete their MMOs programs for Wizard and Pirate, meaning that, just like what happened to Star Wars Galaxies years ago, they'll have a farewell party and then, the countdown to shutting down forever. Then they'll dissolve and sell the computers to pay off what debts they have before going their own separate ways.

Now, don't get wrong. I'm not trying to be pessimistic here. I'm just looking at the facts: KI have to do a big layoff that gutted them. You don't have to be an economics genius to know why this sort of thing happens:

1. They aren't making enough money to pay the salaries of the people they had to lay off.
2. They aren't getting enough new players, or players who are willing to play beyond Triton Avenue and thus spend Crowns or buy sub cards like me.
3. Bigger games that have been around longer(MapleStory, World of Warcraft) are stealing players from them with bigger temptations(MapleStory is free to explore and World of Warcraft just turned Free to Play with more places to adventure in).

If KingsIsle wants to get back the people they had to lay off, they need to start making more money and ASAP before it's too late. They've already gotten Phase 1 of the Bankruptcy Syndrome - a big lay off that guts their company in the core(they had to lay off their head of art!). They need to wake up and work fast to fix the syndrome before Phase 2 - forced downsizing of their products, like having to cancel Rise and Destroy and AlphaCat and having to double the prices of their Crowns purchases and drop sales altogether - occurs. Because if they don't, the final phase - complete bankruptcy and the end of their products - happens and we can kiss Wizard101, Pirate101 and anything connected to them goodbye. No Mirage, no third arc, and no more PvP or cute piggles. :(

Here are my suggestions. I am linking this to the Friendly Necromancer's post in hopes that he sends this post to the bigwigs and convinces them to take action fast! I do not want to see Wizard101 be shut down and cease to exist because of bad financial decisions, I love that game.

Tips to Make Players pay more and get more money without them knowing:

1. Wizard City is Free-to-Play: You edited Pirate101 so that the Traitor's Cave and a new area were free-to-play, giving more content. Do that with Wizard City! I know it's not easy to reprogram an area and you might lose some Crowns Areas but new players will not feel cheated. Right now, if I want to create a new Wizard and explore all of Wizard City, I have to buy a sub card because free-to-play is restricted to only Unicorn Way and Triton Avenue. At the very least, make Firecat Alley and Cyclops Lane free-to-play so new wizards can get the Savior of Three Streets badge and feel good about it. Colossus Boulevard, Crab Alley and Sunken City are optional areas and thus should cost Crowns because by the time a new player wants to explore those areas, they'll have been sold on the fun of Wizard101 and be a payer. As it is, if I were a new player, the instant I got barred by the Crowns Area screen after Triton Avenue, I'd say "screw this ****" and go back to MapleStory. :(
2. Skeleton Keys in the Crown Shop, more Key Bosses: You went in the right direction by adding the Divine Ra as a Wooden Key boss in Zan'ne's library, he is an easy fight(3000 HP, only a little more than Meowiarty, which most players will be at by then) that has few cheats and gives some really nice loot, including some rare permanent mounts. Do more of that - have a range of Key Bosses from the ridiculously easy(maybe a buffed-up Riverclaw in Triton Avenue with a Wood Key) to the insanely hard(well, not as hard as Omen Striborg, who is impossible to solo ;) ) for every rank of Wizard. Three new Key Bosses a year for a couple of years will be enough to whet new and old players. To make it easier to farm these guys - as that is what people will want - and keep them spending money on subs, make Keys available in the Crown Shop, but not cheap: 500 Crowns for each Wooden Key, 2000 Crowns for each Stone Key and 5000 Crowns for each Gold Key. Players love fighting bosses for loot and if they want to save time farming areas like Darkmoor, they WILL pay the money for the keys. That's what the average players want to do - they don't want to farm for keys, they pay to win. :)
3. Update More Frequently: I know your programming isn't as clean as MapleStory's and it takes longer, but don't leave us hanging without some progress reports. You don't have to be fancy, you can Tweet #Heywearegettingthere with some concept art.
4. More Events: I love The Lost Pages and the B.O.X.E.S. event and the new Daily Assignments are just great for pulling players in every day, but you need a little more. MapleStory has tons of holiday events. Wizard101 has its usual anniversary event and Halloween event every October but it could do with a Christmas event and an Easter Event, not just having a holiday vendor hanging out in the Shopping District that nobody cares about. I'll be glad to give some ideas your way if you are interested. These events make old players interested in the questing and they MIGHT decide to hop over to your Crowns Vendor and buy a souvenir or two. ;)
5. Reduced Crowns Areas and Contests: Finally, drop the price of your areas a bit. I know that means a small $$$ loss from the Crowns Players, but you're going to be adding new worlds and you can make up that amount in due time with more people joining in. Also, give contests where the Grand Prize is a one-month free membership. By giving away a free membership every so often, a lucky player will enjoy the benefits and realize that, hey, I'd better drop my life as a Crowns Player and buy a subscription FAST, how could I live without member benefits and the other stuff from being a member!

I hope KI reads this and gets some ideas for Mirage and future worlds... if they ever come. After that big lay-off I am not holding my breath for the new worlds to show up until the Holidays, if we ever celebrate the next birthday of Wizard and Pirate, considering how bleak things are looking. Please, KI, listen to your players and maybe your games will celebrate their 11th anniversary like MapleStory is doing. In fact, go play MapleStory and find out how it lived for so long. ;)

As for me, you still have a loyal player in me, who will pay and play to the end. Natalie Owlwraith and her friends will keep questing until we reach Polaris. ^_^

Nat's journey through Azteca continues (update)

Nat's been rather busy as of late - while I do have Pirate101 rebooted and got through to Jonah Town there, I have four Wizard101 accounts with one month of time so I decided to get Nat through Azteca... oh, and I got a rare teleport tapestry from fishing!

Sadly, no Amber yet, not even after a couple of runs through Tartarus and...

Oh YEAH, Nat's Promethean now so she has access to the last Aquila dungeon and the money maker for gear. However, she only got the lame armor and another Poseidon trident after two runs of Hades.

She did get the Blade of the Felled Titan after her first battle with Cronus, however. It now sports a +7% power pip opal,  +5% Death Pierce Onyx and +72 HP opal. :D

Thanks to a nice Prodigious Theurgist called Connor Lifehammer, who had a surplus of wood keys and was met in the Pagoda of Harmony, Nat faced Ra several times and got her dream pet, the Mummy Cat. It's now Teen now. ^_^

 

Nat's also completed the final Astral spell quest in Azteca(which is actually easy since the required boss is Balance with two Life minions, but you still have to be careful), and in midway through the Floating Mountains as of this post. I plan to spend the next two days getting her to Khrysalis.

Also, the Silver Chest games are becoming more worth it - TWO SUNSTONES!!! (She'll be helping Ethan Jadeblade get through Azteca once Blaze and Blue get there in their video co-op.)

I also replaced my speakers with headphones(which my dad donated) because my speakers have given up the ghost - they still work, but only 90% of the time now.

Ciao for now!

Putting this blog in the blender... for now

So as it is, Natalie's doing well - she's gotten to Zultun Dock and is progressing through Azteca.

I also bought her third house and decided to create a "Hall of Everywhere" for it just like Skelemystk did for his glitched Life House, which includes teleport tapestries to everywhere she needs to go...

And after some consideration, I made a decision not to spend my $ on the new Ratchet and Clank yet  instead, I decided to renew her account time as well as some others... for a new story. ;)

Also, I didn't mean to lie - Nat's still got a ton of Sunstones to collect if she ever wants Deer Knight.