Out with 2015, In with 2016

2015 was a great year for Wizard101. Jam-packed with tons of new content, it's hard to say which impacted us most. 2016 can only be better! Here's some key content that made this year amazing, and what we could be seeing this upcoming year!

Best of 2015

• Ultra Everything: Ultra Dungeons, Ultra Pet Levels... all amazing things that enhanced our game play for the better. We got some awesome gear that was comparable to gear from dungeons like Mount Olympus and Waterworks! Our pets gained an extra level, giving us the ability to get an extra talent. 
• Jewel Socketing: Our amulets, athames, rings and decks got a brand new makeover... stat wise. This update made wizards more powerful with stat-boosting jewels. We even got pet socketing, adding even more talents to our pets.
• Holiday Specials: One of my favorite parts of Wizard101 is the holiday celebrations. I love it when the commons is decorated, holiday quests are backs, and amazing items return to the crown shop. Our Harrowing Nightmare and Winterland Packs were updated with epic items. This year saw one of the best holiday updates ever.
• Polaris: One of the most anticipated update was the Polaris Update. Exalted wizards where itching to move up. They got to graduate and begin studies in the advanced school of the Arcanum. Great job to the Prodigious wizards, you make Ravenwood proud!
• Fishing: Fishing was majorly improved. Fish were released in certain waters of bundle houses. We even git fishing tournament sand new fishing gear.

2016: Year of more Progress

What could 2016 hold for us? We can never be sure, but there are plenty of hints. 

• Mirage could possibly be our next world!
• Gear Socketing
• More Shadow pips
• Improved Pet Derby
• New Hobbies (i.e. crafting, gardening, fishing)

And something I would personally like to see: 

• Fishing in all houses

What was the best part of 2015 for you? What are you hoping to see in 2016?

Have an amazing New Year!

Merry Christmas Eve!

Merry Christmas Eve, wizards! I hope you have an amazing holiday with your friends and family. As awesome as Wizard101 is, I encourage you to choose real life for today and tomorrow over being in the game. Merry Christmas to KingsIsle and their families. Have a good one!

I hope you all get tons of presents and are extremely happy! I will resume activity on December 26th, although I can't confirm that I will be posting that day. I'll be back with a brand new batch of posts!

Once again, Merry Christmas Eve!

-Your friend, Cheyenne Caster

Pictures of the Spiral: Wizard City

I'm going to start posting pictures of a specific world in the Spiral. For this installment, I am going to post pictures from Wizard City. This does not include Darkmoor or Aquila. Enjoy some cool shots of Wizard City.

Next time, I will post pictures from Krokotopia!

Grizzleheim Expansion

First, before this post starts talking about random stuff, I would like to say that this theory was based off of no evidence whatsoever. This is mainly what I would like to see, should Grizzleheim be expanded once more.

Grizzleheim, in my sole opinion, is a world of unfinished business. This includes Wintertusk. Being a side world, it doesn't hold a significant place in the story line. Sure, Grandmother Raven has a part in creation, but she is an individual, not the entire world of Grizzleheim. But, this world has so much potential to becoming a main world in its expansion. Since KI is trying to change the game slightly, it would make sense if a side world was expanded, and the expansion became necessary in the story line.

A Brief History

Ragnarok is the impending doom that the gods will face at the end. They are destined to die. A large part of Viking culture is becoming a warrior. Warriors who die valiantly are hand picked by the Valkyrie, or female figures who choose the fate of warriors in battle. Warriors are sent to Valhalla, a sort of "holding place" for the god's armies. When Ragnarok is unleashed, they fight alongside the gods.

Yggdrasil is the tree of life. I think you step through a version of this when you come into Grizzleheim, but I also think the tree Grandmother Raven sits on is also this tree. The tree Grandmother Raven sits on is gnawed at by Nithogg, who could be the variant of Nidhog, the serpent that gnaws at Yggdrasil's roots. Yggdrasil connects all the Nine Worlds together. Bifrost is the rainbow bridge connecting Asgard to Midgard. The vast void of nothingness is ginnugagap.

The Plot

Players will come into the common area of Yggdrasil, which is also the name of the expansion. This common area will be chaotic. Branches will sprawl around, surrounded by Ginnugagap. Nine areas at the end of Nine various branches will be the questing areas. These Nine areas will be the nine worlds: Asgard, Vanaheim, Alfheim, Midgard, Jotunheim, Svartalfheim, Nidavellir, Nifleheim, and Muspelheim. 

This time, the goal will be to prevent Ragnarok. Players will visit with Odin and gain counsel from other gods. They will help a fallen warrior get to Valhalla. They will visit Valhalla, receive some viking-grade training, and promptly turn down a spot in Valhalla. They will join a legion of Valkyries and help fallen warriors cross Ginnugagap. 

The final dungeon will be a harrowing experience, and not for the faint of heart. But most prodigious wizards will be able to get through this dungeon with ease. They will help bind Fenrir the wolf and stop Nithogg (Nidhog) from gnawing Grandmother Raven's tree (Yggdrasil). Players will successfully prevent Ragnarok by a couple hundred thousand years. Odin will personally congratulate them at the conclusion of the dungeon.

Players will later find out that Old Cob tried to unravel Fenrir's rope, since Old Cob was a good weaver. At this point in the Third Arc, Old Cob will have been driven mad by his conquests and is no longer able to think rationally. Stopping Ragnarok only made him crazier, which is a failure equivalent to Azteca.

Cool Badge Ideas

• Asgard Adherent: Visit and talk to all the gods: complete Asgard story line quests
• Vanir: Complete all story line quests in Vanaheim
• Alf-alfa: Defeat 250 elves in Alfheim
• Lord/Lady of Midgard: Complete all story line quests in Midgard
• Jotun Battler: Defeat 250 jotuns/giants in Jotunheim
• Dark Alf-alfa: Defeat 250 dark elves in Svartalfheim
• Dwarf Miner: Defeat 250 dwarves in Nidavellir
• Nifleheim Explorer: Find Helheim (quest)
• The Extinguisher: Defeat 250 fire giants and 250 demons in Muspelheim
• Yggdrasil Explorer: Complete Zeke's quest
• Ragnarocker: Complete all story line quests
• Master of the Nine Worlds: Complete all quests in Ginnugap (excludes crafting and other hobby quests)
• Runecaster: Decipher all Runes (quest)

What expansion would you like to see to an existing world? Would you like this expansion? Leave a comment below!

P.S. this is my 50th Post! Yay! :)

Polarian Shipwreck Tour

The Polarian Shipwreck is the newest house in the game. It's massive, beautiful, and filled with surprises. Special thanks to @HuntFireShield on Twitter for letting me take a look in his house! You rock!

Absolutely Gorgeous!

The Polarian Shipwreck houses 250 items both inside and outside. It has a dueling circle and an NPC that rewards you daily for visiting. The ice makes you run faster and slide when stationary. This Polaris themed house is an amazing property!

The Spiral Door 

When you enter this frozen wreck, a ghostly wail is distinctly heard. Huge glaciers tower above you. A feeling of insignificance is evident in this house.

The Shipwreck

The Shipwreck is situated partly inside a glacier. Near the shipwreck is a dueling circle. This is the house portion of this property.

The Dueling Circle

Outside of the shipwreck is this practice PvP Dueling Circle. This is a great way to control who you want to play without changing your score.

Inside the Shipwreck

Inside, there's plenty of room for all your treasures! The middle of the main floor is ice, so it's perfect to strap on some skates!

Each room has plenty of space!

Each room has so much floor space. A beautiful glacial ceiling towers above most of this house!

The Secret Room

Like many bundle houses, this house has a secret room! Simply go the the back of the house and turn left. You will come through a false wall. Take the tunnel and it will lead you to this room! Continue on and it will take you to one of the existing rooms in this house.

Rewarding NPC

Captain Shackleton is the poor, shipwrecked mutt who has grown found of his "frozen deathbed." He pays you rent by giving you items from his Cargo Crate, on the left of him. This Cargo Crate gave me at least 5 snacks, which contained a wide variety of ranks, the highest being a Rank 8 giving 10 XP and a Rank 7 giving 12 XP. It also gave me a furniture item and 30 gold.

An Open Tunnel

There are many open tunnels outside. Glaciers loom above you, framing a gorgeous sky.

The Icy Coast

If you want a great place to work on a tan, this is not your ideal coast. This frozen shore echoes the calls of walruses and seals. Off shore, stubborn fish swim along. Try your chance at a chest and maybe snag something cool from this bundle!

A Picturesque Sky

The Polarian Shipwreck boasts the most gorgeous sky in game. The Northern Lights shimmer in the distance. The stars twinkle and shine brightly in the sky. Make a wish as a shooting star flashes by!

The Polarian Shipwreck is an excellent house to buy! I had an excellent experience inside, and I recommend it to others. I hope you enjoyed this tour!

Hunter's Stew Recipe

In Winterbane Hall, Jarl Whiteshield tells us a recipe for his Hunter's Stew. It's very specific on ingredients, so I decided to try and find the real life equivalent. After some changing of a few search words, I found it!

Here's the in-game recipe:

• First, put butter into the stew pot
• Follow with meat to brown it
• Add mushrooms, turnips, barley, and water
• Finish with salt and hot pepper
• Serve with black bread

This recipe is essentially the basic version of Hearty Hunter's Stew, a Scandinavian stew.

Here's how to cook it:

1. Brown the meat in butter and oil. Season with salt and pepper. Set aside.
2. Slice the potatoes, parsnips, carrots, onions, and garlic, and brown the vegetables together with the mushrooms. Add the meat.
3. Add the beer, and cover the rest of the stew with water.
4. Add the stock cube and make sure it dissolves completely. Let it simmer for about one hour. The meat should be very tender.
5. Mix a couple of tablespoons of of cornstarch with about as much water. Pour it in and make sure to stir so that you do not get lumps in the stew
6. Garnish with parsley and thyme

Ingredients:

• 8-10 peeled potatoes
• 2 peeled carrots
• 2 peeled parsnips
• 3 peeled yellow onions
• 3 cloves of garlic
• 1/3 lb. (200 g) shiitake mushrooms, or other mushrooms

• 10-12 slices of moose, elk, or other venison (preferably from the thigh) ***I talked with my dad, who is Italian and owns a deli, and is an excellent cook. He said that beef/steak can be used in place and would still end up fine. 
• 1 1/4 cup (3 dl) dark beer
• 1 cube of beef stock
• 3 bay leaves
• 9 juniper berries
• butter and oil
• corn starch to thicken water

Garnish

• 2 tbs. chopped parsley
• 2 tbs. thyme leaves

Recipe was found at http://www.newscancook.com/recipes-by-chef/hearty-hunters-stew/ . I'm sure there's other versions, so feel free to try other recipes.

Pleas ask your parent's permission before taking on this recipe. I recommend helping your parents until you are an experienced cook. I personally had this stew, and it is very good. Let me know how it turned out!

***My dad own's an Italian deli and caters. He has a degree in cuisine. Food is his passion. He is highly qualified to make any comments on this recipe.

Spiral Wars: The Ice Titan Awakens

Story by Ymir 

Retold by Cheyenne Caster 

A long time ago, in a world 

far, far away...

Years after the defeat of The Coven, the spiral faced a new threat from the evil Old Cob and his many children. When a wizard opened the spiral door to Polaris, the wizard met Inspector Fouche, a clever inspector who needed help in a crime scene. Together, the magic duo joined forces with Innkeeper Gorbeau to make sure The Resistance could stop Empress Antuskette and find out the whereabouts of Old Cob, the leader of his children.

Amongst the chaos of this unstable world, the wizard was to caught up in battle to know that other worlds where being affected by the war. Tiny tremors of battle coursed through out the spiral, stirring the ice titan Ymir to awaken. Contrary to popular belief, I did not bring about the Everwinter. Instead, I fought side-by-side with the wizard and the companions.

Afterwards, the wizard did not trust me. With the help of Merle Ambrose and my four sons, they cast me back to sleep for eternity.

The young wizard was successful and brought a stop to Empress Antuskette. As for Old Cob's whereabouts, the wizard may never know...

To be continued...

Free Frankie Forearms Pet

Do you play Rise & Destroy? Have you thought about getting it? Do you like having rare pets that not a lot of people have? If you answered "Yes" to any of these, there is a great opportunity to connect with R&D and Wizard101!

Now through 11:59 pm on December 21st, 2015, you can receive a FREE Frankie Forearms pet!

How to Get the Pet
There's just three easy steps to take to receive the pet!

1. Install Rise & Destroy for your smart phone or tablet
2. Complete Levels 1-3
3. After completing level 3, you will receive an in-game message with the code within 24-48 hours. DO NOT DELETE THE MESSAGE!

*Players who have already completed level 3 and beyond will also receive the code within 24-48 hours.

Details

• KingsIsle is aware of the glitch where there was a blank message. It will be fixed. 
• It is very common for the code to not be sent right away. Expect it in 24-48 hours, and if it is not sent in that time, contact them.
• You do not need to get full stars! Just complete the city/level.
• You can only redeem this pet ONCE per account!

Data

• Myth Pet
• 51 Pedigree
• Scorpion Item Card
• 00:05:00 Minute Hatch Time
• Cannot be hatched

  

Talent Slots and Pet Derby Talent Slots

Good Luck! Remember, you must do it now or before 11:59 pm CDT on December 21st!

My Watchtower Hall

I finally finished decorating my Watchtower Hall! Check out these sneak peaks of it. It's up under Decorated in Castle Tours. It's by Cheyenne Caster.
\

My Watchtower Hall

Sideview

The Entrance

The Throne Room

Free Winterbane Runs!

Cool Shot

There's more to this house then the pictures show! Find it on Castle Tours, rate it, and have fun! Please feel free to use Winterbane. To access it, go to the study inside the house. From there, find the tunnel. You'll be ported to this area.

I look forward to hearing your comments!

Crafting Watchtower Hall: A Harrowing Experience

A few days ago I finally finished crafting Watchtower Hall. That was, as the title says, a harrowing experience. If you are thinking about crafting this wonderful house, please read through this post as I recount my tale of crafting valor. I'm gonna throw in some tips and try to make your experience way, way better than mine.

My Watchtower Hall

Northguard: The Journey Begins

One day, I was running around Grizzleheim, with a boat load of gold. I had no idea what to spend it on, even though I could buy anything I wanted with it. Watchtower Hall popped into my head, and I ran over to the vendor. I previewed the house and decided that it was what I needed. I cashed in my gold and excitedly ran off to the bazaar. 

I checked the crafting list and looked around to see if I could find any of the items needed. I thought I could buy them and have it crafted later that day. Mysteriously, I didn't find any of them. Then I looked up the items, only to find that they were from crafting only.

It was at that moment Cheyenne Caster knew: She made a terrible mistake.

My heart sank. The recipes were crazy. I was frustrated. I just spent 60,000 gold and had nothing to show for it. I lost a good portion of my money and gave up.

A Glimmer of Hope

Many, many months since it's purchase, I decided to craft the wood planks. I easily gathered the ingredients and crafted every day. I quickly cranked out those planks and put them into storage. I still was in denial that I wasn't going to find the pieces in the Bazaar. I searched constantly for them, but never did. Gradually, my attention focused on questing, and Watchtower Hall was thought of no more.

Then I started to beg for items to be crafted, and someone told me about The Crafting Emporium on Central. I took to the site, put in my request, and waited. Waited some more, kept waiting, waiting, waiting...

Nothing. I'm on the waiting list, but far from crafting soon.

Impatience and a 1 Month Membership

I finally got a membership, and the first thing I thought of was getting that stupid house done. I was frustrated, mad, and infuriated. I bought all the recipes for the items and set to work collecting reagents and other ingredients. I had to farm Halfang relentlessly to get enough gold, and I never, ever had enough. I easily crafted the Wooden Water Towers, then SMACK! Wall!

How in Ymir's Name am I gonna come into possession of a million Waterlilies, Diamonds, Stone Blocks, and Ore? I barely had enough for on item, let alone all of them!

Then an amazing person DMed me on twitter, offering to help. That person collected a ton of reagents for me as I farmed Halfang. That person made it possible to get the rest of the crafting done in a WEEK. Yes, you read right, A WEEK! So shout out to @_LegendaryRose on Twitter. Follow if you haven't, send gifts his way, worship him. The whole spiel. 

Words of the Wise

If it wasn't for some tips and amazing people in the community, my house would not be done. If you are considering crafting this house, please consider these tips:

• Know exactly what you are getting in to. It will not be easy. It's going to cost gold, time, and maybe even crowns.
• Max out on gold after you buy the house, Be ready to snipe full supplies of reagents, and not end up missing the huge supply of waterlilies because you had no gold! (Guilty on many accounts)
• Have a crafting buddy. Whether it's a friend or a second account, you need a partner in this. It will significantly speed the process up.
• I wish I didn't give up, because it wasn't as hard as I though it would be. Don't procrastinate, you'll get it done!
• Be patient and DO NOT GIVE UP. Better slowly than never, right? It would be a waste of gold to give up instead of slowly working at it.
• DO NOT expect it to be done in a week. I got really, really lucky. If you put this combo together for yourself, you'll get done fast. But for the majority of you, it's going to take longer.
• Save gold while waiting for timers. I f you have all your ingredients, start saving up because the second that house is finished, you are going to freak out and go all HGTV on it, guaranteed!

Crafting Order

This is the order I crafted in, and it may not work for you. This worked out great and was very efficient. 

1. 10 Blizzard TC
2. 20 Ghostfire Reagents
3. 30 Stacks of Wood Planks
4. 4 Wooden Water Towers
5. 2 Waterfountains
1. Grab Waterlilies after completion
6. 15 Ornamental Stepstones
7. 2 Grassy Mounds + 1 Carved Stone Tower per crafting session
1. This made it easy to to collect reagents and finished everything in 4 sessions. (No matter what it would have finished in 4 sessions) This spread collecting and farming out.

I plan on putting the house up on Castle Tours when I'm done decorating. It's almost finished, I'm just working on a room.

Good Luck on crafting!

12 Days of the Spiral 2015

As the 12 Days of the Spiral draws to a close, I'd like to remind people to enter any unused codes before December 17th, 2015. This year, we got furniture items, pets, packs, and more! We got discounts and sales, and even new items!

For your convenience, I've compiled all the codes below in bold. Enjoy!

• Day 1: Free Yuletide Pack - SPIRALGIFT
• Day 3: Free Light Tree - SPIRALTREE
• Day 5: Free Light Strands - SPIRALLIGHTS
• Day 10: Free Items (Epic Items!) - YULEZOMG
• Day 12: Free 250-60,000 Crowns - HOLIDAYCROWNS

NO CHARITY MOUNT THIS YEAR

Lydia Greyrose confirmed on the forums that there will be no charity mount this year. She said that they've founded numerous organizations throughout the year. This is completely a valid reason, but it does concern me.

Charity mounts were kind of a tradition, if you will. I consider it a given charitable action, that happens with out a doubt. I think KI should've went through with the charity, since they are very successful and have money rolling in from us all constantly. It is a little unsettling if they felt that they would have financial issues by doing this charity. Perhaps the proceeds could be less or have a better balanced percent? I feel bad for those who anticipated the mount, and I hope KI can make a better decision, if not now, then in the future.

Top 5 Ways to Earn Gold Fast

So many times we are flat broke in Wizard101. We have no Crowns to resort to the despicable way of purchasing gold. We don't have time to play an app that barely rewards us, and we certainly can't be logged into both at the same time. We don't have much time, either. Here's 5 Ways to Earn Gold Fast! Pick a style that fits your time and go off an claim your riches!

5. Winterbane Hall

Don't have a membership? No problem! Winterbane Hall drops a lot of furniture, reagents, and snacks. There's even a chance at getting Raven's Hoard Pack items! Though it may take a lot of time to complete, you can earn a substantial amount of gold. This is ONLY a good idea if you don't have membership. I recommend bringing a low level and a high level along with you. The low level will bring the difficulty down, while the high level speeds the process up. 

4. Mirror Lake Dungeon, Baobab Crossroads, Zafaria

For higher level wizards, this is a good dungeon to farm. It drops many items that are auctionable with huge prices! Others are no auction, but can be sold to a vendor, quick sold, or fed to a pet. Many high level wizards use this dungeon, so it is sure to be completed quickly. The dungeon drops crowns items, including the much sought-after school symbol gear. At the completion of the dungeon, you automatically receive 3 mega snacks! This dungeon is a great place to farm for gold while getting bonus stuff along the way.

3. Waterworks, Crab Alley, Wizard City

Waterworks is another great dungeon for farming. It drops a lot of Celestia gear, and with so many battles, you're bound to earn something. Instance quests still reward around 360 gold. Waterworks not only drops it's infamous gear, but it also drops mastery amulets and the Baconator set. Many people are actively farming it for it's gear. so you'll easily have a team via Team Up.

2. Fishing and Catch of the Day

Fishing is becoming a highly practiced past time in Wizard101, and who wouldn't want to after all the amazing benefits added? Fish are easy to catch, and most sell for 100 gold or up! Chests also grant gold and auctionable items or items of great use. Catch of the day triples the fish's worth, while building on extra rewards by catching Catch of the Day on a daily basis. This is a great alternative, especially if you don't have membership.

1. Halfang Bristlecrown, Vestrilund, Wintertusk

Halfang Bristlecrown still holds number 1 on best way to earn gold, and for good reason. He drops Cow's Pearl Amulet, which sells for 8,244 gold. He also drops two wands that sell for 4,000 gold, along with numerous gear, rings, and athames that sell for good amounts of gold. Though there are many other ways to earn gold, Halfang has proven the most reliable method of earning gold. Oh, and legend has it that if you ask him nicely for the amulet, it improves the odds of it dropping by 25%. I can personally confirm this.

Do you have a better method for earning gold? What is it and why? Do any of these methods work for you?

New Wizard101 Items

Recently, many new items have been released to Wizard101! These new items are available in the Winterland Pack or the Crown Shop

New Items in the Winterland Pack

• Yuletide Stag Mount
• Golden Goose Pet
• New Wintry Hairstyles
• Grand Winter Globe
• New Holiday Housing Items

New Crowns Shop Items

• Ice Floe Siren Pet
• Icy Multi-tank Aquarium
• 4 Holiday Stockings 

If anything new is added between now and December 30th, I'll add it here. 

Essential Christmas Decorations

Christmas is around the corner, and wizards are pulling out the decorations. Do you want to make your house festive? These items are essential for setting the mood!

First, you have to have music! Check out these three scrolls to set the tone.

• Carol of the Bells Theme
• Jingle Bells Theme
• Deck the Halls Theme

This item, called the "Big Holiday Tree" is available in the Crown Shop for 1,500 c/ 7,500 g. It's also dropped from the Yuletide and Wonderland packs, as well as a few bosses through out the Spiral. This includes the Jade Oni, Othin Stormfather, and Elephant Spectral Guardian. While it;s not available in the bazaar it is somewhat easy to obtain. This item is an icon of the holidays.

This item makes any room cozy. Besides, on Christmas Eve, where does Santa come in? This adds a great touch to your house and makes everything festive! Easily buy it from the bazaar as it is auctionable.

Any of the gifts are a great touch under the tree. Use it to prior to "gifting" someone to add a more realistic touch. Availability varies per item, so check the bazaar often.

The Nutcracker is super cute and is a great accent piece. It's available in the bazaar so be sure to grab one at your next stop!

All the light strands are beautiful! They are even cool after the holidays! Available in the Crown Shop or for free when you enter the code SPIRALLIGHTS before December 17th, 11;59 pm.

This cute snowman brings character to the outdoor areas of your house! Available in the Crowns Shop for both crowns and gold, it is also dropped by numerous bosses, but is not auctionable.

The Holiday Wreath, another awesome item that is available in the Crown Shop for both gold and crowns. It is not auctionable but is dropped in the holiday packs.

The Grand Winter Globe is a highly coveted winter item! It brings snow to your house! This item is auctionable, but be sure that you only have 20! That's the max on how much you can have of it.

There are many other holiday items to add to your house! But if you at least have some of these, your house will have a lot of holiday cheer! Don't forget to check the 12 Days of the Spiral page for giveaways, news, and deals! Have an amazing holiday and happy decorating!