Top 10 Greatest Houses

Wizard101 has a large variety of houses available. Some are extravagant, others are simple. Whether you like small, cozy houses or large, beautiful houses, I've created a list of what I think are the best houses in the game! This includes the showy houses and the useful houses!

10) Royal Playhouse

The Royal Playhouse is one of the first houses players encounter, and most buy it. For a small price of 15,000 gold, wizards get a nice big house, huge yard, and large theater to entertain guests. This house is perfect for new players and decorators alike! It's design and versatility makes Royal Playhouse number ten.

9) Polarian Shipwreck

The Polarian Shipwreck is the newest house in the game! It's stunning details, such as the Northern Lights and Huge Glaciers are an excellent touch. This house is useful and is part of an awesome bundle! It's impressive sky pushes the Polarian Shipwreck into the number nine slot!

8) Sun Palace

The Sun Palace is a picturesque house with tons of surprises! It's fun layout makes it ideal for housing games such as tag. The house itself is very big and is very fun to decorate. There's so many places to explore in the Sun Palace! The Sun Palace's amazing layout places it number eight.

7) Watchtower Hall

Watchtower Hall is a unique house! This house brings Grizzleheim to you. It's refreshing waterfalls and lakes are a real crowd-pleaser. You can even spend some time watching the beautiful sky above you! This gorgeous house with its beautiful surroundings land it the seventh greatest house!

6) Death House

The Death House is no doubt the spookiest house in the spiral! It's ability to go nicely with Halloween makes it a really fun house, especially for parties! The house is scary-good and all around awesome! The Death House screams it's way into sixth, but don't be fooled. This house is known to give out good candy!

5) Royal Estate

The Royal Estate is one of the most charming houses in game! Live the life of luxury and glam in this amazing house from Marleybone. With some decorating in mind, the Policemen's Ball could be held at your place. Not about that life of hosting parties? Go crazy and decorate it to your heart's content. The boys in blue think number five is kewl!

4) Island Getaway

When it starts to snow, everyone wishes they could be at the beach. Skip it all and live in paradise at the Island Getaway! It's easy to throw epic parties or just relax at this house. Not only do you get the comforts of the beach, but you also get a nice view! Island Getaway surfs up to four! Hang ten, dude!

3) Wysteria Villa

The Wysteria Villa is a beautiful home nestled above the sea! With a great view, cascading waterfall, and plenty of space, the Wysteria Villa is the greatest houses! This lovely house has so much character and works nicely with all kinds of furniture. This classy house slides into the top three!

2) Treetop Getaway

The Treetop Getaway is a pretty house with so much to see! It's winding vines, towering trees and beautiful scenery make for a great house. A truly fun and unique house for all wizards alike! Towering in at number two is the Treetop Getaway!

1) Red Barn Farm

The Red Barn Farm is an excellent house for gardeners. With huge gardening plots, this house pays for itself! Beyond gardening, this house has room for everyday decorating. If you like to drink out of a mason jar and enjoy barn weddings, this IS your house! The Red Barn Farm's green thumb stamps it into number one for being the most useful house!

This list is solely my opinion. If you don't think this list is correct, you are right. That's because both my opinion and yours is correct.

If you are looking to buy a house, I wish you the best of luck! Have fun and happy house shopping! 

Watchtower Hall Crafting Guide

Watchtower Hall is one of the coolest houses in the game. I like it for obvious reason. Unfortunately, the house requires a lot of time, effort, and gold to create. This guide not only has a list of the recipe, but also the recipe for each item.

Watchtower Hall is a luxury-sized castle that is not tradeable and not auctionable. It can hold 250 items inside and 250 items outside. It does not have a dueling circle.

The recipe is available for 60,000 gold from Torald Wayfinder in Northguard, Grizzleheim. You must have the Master Artisan crafting level. It takes 24 hours to cool down.

• 10 Blizzard Treasure Cards
• Easily available from the Bazaar
• 20 Ghost Fire Reagents
• Bazaar
• Yuji Hamada - MoosShu
• Many other vendors through out the spiral
• 4 Wooden Water Towers - Outdoor 
• Recipe from Balthazar Dragonthorn - 2,150 Gold
• 4 Evil Snowman Treasure Cards
• 5 Shadow Oil 
• 1 Glass Vial
• 50 Mist Wood
• 24 Scrap Iron
• 16 Frost Flower
• 60 Bronze Gear
• 4 Carved Stone Towers - Outdoor
• Recipe from Toshio - 1,000 Gold
• 2 Locust Swarm Treasure Cards
• 3 Shadow Oil
• 1 Glass Vial
• 42 Stone Block
• 20 Diamond
• 12 Scrap Iron
• 44 Bronze Gear
• 15 Ornamental Stepstones - Outdoor
• Recipe from Wul'yahm - 595 Gold
• 4 Shadow Oil
• 1 Simple Vial
• 14 Ore
• 6 Nightshade
• 20 Ectoplasm
• 30 Stack of Wood Planks - Decoration
• Recipe from Eudora Tangletree - 138 Gold
• 3 Black Coal
• 1 Simple Vial
• 6 Mist Wood
• 8 Grassy Mounds - Outdoor
• Recipe from Balthazar Dragonthorn - 2,370 Gold
• 4 Nature's Wraith Treasure Cards
• 6 Shadow Oil
• 1 Glass Vial
• 68 Deep Mushroom
• 26 Water Lily
• 20 Parchment
• 2 Water Fountains - Outdoor
• Recipe from Balthazar Dragonthorn - 2,700 Gold
• 2 Seraph Treasure Cards
• 1 Shadow Oil
• 2 Glass Vial
• 80 Ore
• 30 Waterlily
• 18 Frost Flower
• 64 Bronze Gear

Total Price for Recipes: 68,953 Gold

Happy Thanksgiving!

Hello wizards! Today is Thanksgiving! In the spirit of thanks, here is 5 things I'm thankful for!

1. My Readers: From page views to comments on Twitter, I'm so thankful you take the time to read everything I work hard to bring you!
2. Five People: Swordroll, Frostcaller, Vanessa Mythdust, Soultamer Gaming, and Sophia Lifecaster. You've helped me set up my blog, spread the word, reached out to me and have been an inspiration for my blog... Thank You!
3. My family and friends: Who love me and are always there for me. They already know what they do, so Thank You!
4. Food: Food is awesome! Who doesn't love food? Thanks for being awesome! :)
5. Wizard101: For being an awesome game with all around awesomness!

Give thanks this year by entering the code "givethanks15" for a bunch of Thanksgiving themed items in both Wizard101 and Pirate101!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Bones of the Earth

Story by Ymir

Retold by Cheyenne Caster

Child, you have journeyed so far to find me. Perhaps you've noticed all that Grizzleheim has? Such a beautiful world! I long to see the tall trees and cold creeks. You know, there is quite a good story about them.

The creatures of Grizzleheim think I'm dead. You see, in their minds, I was killed by brothers Odin, Vili, and Ve. They think I was so huge that I covered the entire Earth. My body became the Earth. I am the Bones of the Earth.

I am the trees, the creeks, the mountains. I am the soil, the plants, the animals. 

Maybe it's true, though I am not dead. Perhaps I live on in these things. Perpetual sleep I must carry out. Child, if you find this true, that I live on in these things, please treat them well. 

I must go on, living in this world but not truly alive in it. Child, perhaps you have broken, in a way, my perpetual sleep? Though my body sleeps, my mind will wander through the trees, the creeks, the mountains, the plants, the soil, and the animals. 

Child, I thank you for your deed. You'll never truly know what you've done, but I will forever thank you.

The Future of Fishing

With the new Polaris Update, magical fishing has become more competitive and useful. Players can earn arena tickets, badges, prizes, and gold. Fish are now swimming in the waters of select houses. House Fishing Chests are dropping bundle mounts and gear. All this is happening as our energy is going down the drain.

Fishing Chests in the House

One of the most controversial topics of the Polaris update is the fishing chests. They aren't just dropping gold, seeds, furniture and reagents. They're dropping mounts and gear to their respective bundle homes! Some people love this idea, others... not so much. Let's look at the pros and cons of this concept.

Pros

• For wizards who don't get to buy stuff for the game, this is an excellent opportunity to get much-needed and very-wanted items
• For free-to-play wizards, there's something fun to do with out loosing interest in the game
• Wizards can transfer items to other wizards on their account to make them more successful

Cons

• Wizards who bought the bundle get a slap in the face- why buy it if you can fish for it? Ultimately, it's a waste of money
• More wizards with the same gear makes the bundle less unique and the novelty wears off

In my opinion, since its really hard to get the items, its a good idea. KingsIsle isn't just handing out free stuff, you have to work hard for it. But, it has to be making bundle sales dip down, so why would they do this?

Fishing in Houses

One thing I wonder about is why they decided to add fish to houses in the first place. It kind of cancels out reasons to buy the Mystic Fishing Bundle. You can get a First Mate Otter through hatching, similar fishing gear with Arena Tickets, and get a Mount that adds energy. Also, why get the Private Fishing Escape when you could just visit a bundle house?

Then I started thinking, are people really buying the Mystic Fishing Bundle a lot? I don't think they are. One thing businesses do is promote a product to help sales out for something else. Let's see what House Fishing is helping sales with:

• Energy Elixirs: With all the fishing, you run out of energy quickly. You probably bought a few elixirs, which is money to KI
• Bundles: When you visit bundle houses, you are exposed to all the cool stuff it offers. It sparks a need for it, so you end up buying the bundle for yourself
• You probably will never complete a set of gear through fishing, so speed up the process and actually get the bundle
• Fishing Luck Elixirs: Self explanatory
• Aquariums: You probably want to show off all those cool fish, so buy some of the crowns aquariums 
• Fishing: When you get into the activity, you'll buy anything and everything to make you the best. Anything that is bought with crowns that helps you 
• Hey, why not? Just get the Mystic Fishing Bundle because there's more fish to catch!
• Locations: Even though it's not related to houses, players may want to expand their fishing and buy locations to fish at

KingsIsle can afford to take a minor hit to promote sales in other areas. It honestly makes sense from a business perspective. (I take business and my family owns a business. I know what I'm talking about)

In the Future
KI will probably add fishing to all houses with water. Perhaps chests will grant unique items for that their respective house.

Magical Fishing Poles
Something I think KI should add is Magical Fishing Poles. For one, it looks kinda weird throwing a lure with a sword or wand. Fishing Poles shouldn't be required, but could grant amazing stats. This includes cards, luck, and energy. They can be school only, universal, auction, no auction, tradeable, no trade, crowns, gold, and dropped!

The item would be equipped and only visible while fishing. Rods can have different looks, such as long and shorts, varying colors, varying types, and varying casting animation styles. It would be fun to watch wizards fighting and reeling in a fishing. It gives fishing a more realistic aspect, and *gasp* more money opportunities with crowns items.

So...
I think KI sees fishing as a money making machine. It's hard, addictive, and almost has the same affect as packs. Fishing could become one of the most updated and played past-time in game. As KI moves towards making more money, do not be surprised if fishing requires more crowns than skill.

Do you think fishing will be a major source for money? Do you think KI is planning to make fishing a major source of money, or am I getting to extreme? Any thoughts?

Harvest Hannah Hype Song

During KI Live, Tom & Leala announced that Harvest Hannah is returning to the Spiral, They also mentioned Harvest Hannah Hype, and someone making a Harvest Hannah Hype Song. I decided to do it. 

"Harvest Hannah Hype" by Cheyenne Caster

**To the tune of The Addams Family theme, Lyrics also Parody**

Harvest Hannah

Harvest Hannah

Harvest Hannah, Harvest Hannah, Harvest Hannah

She's tall and dressed like a pilgrim

A black hat with a brim

She's all together slim

Harvest Hannah

Her shop is a stand

When wizards come to buy wands

They end up spending one grand

Harvest Hannah

(Wheat)

(Meat)

(Treat)

So load up on some crowns

Some gear you can stitch on

We're gonna pay a visit

To Harvest Hannah

She's tall and dressed like a pilgrim

A black hat with a brim

She's all together slim

Harvest Hannah

And, if you still didn't get the hint... Harvest Hannah is coming to the Spiral! 

Congratulations Class of 2015!

"Our belief in sorcery."

The day's finally arrived... your graduation from Ravenwood School of Magical Arts! As you, the first class of wizard move on, let's remember some amazing parts of the past few years at Ravenwood.

Nostalgic Speech

"Remember your first day at Ravenwood? You were pretty scared when you dueled Malestaire's cronies. But then you conquered Unicorn Way in a breeze! By the end of the month, you were packing your bags for Krokotopia!

I bet you don't remember choking as stepped into the hot desert. Maybe you remember all those hieroglyph rubbings you did? Who can forget your glorious take down of Krokopatra? She was pretty electrified by your performance.

Did you have a good time in Wysteria? You did a good job representing us! Way to bring back the Spiral Cup!

Remember your hooligan adventures in Marleybone? Please don't tell your mother, she'll be very angry you were up so late. What... What's that? She's in the crowd? Ma'am, please sit down. Your child is alive and well, and IS graduating.

Ladies and Gentlemen? Attention please. Thank you. I have a special note from Zeus Skyfather. 'I remember the day you bested me. I thought it was pure luck, but now seeing you are graduating, I'd like to congratulate you. I could use some sky guardians. If you are interested, I'm where I've always been!' Such a great letter from Zeus, am I right?

Now where was I? Ah, have you meditated on your MooShu trip? You came back truly changed. I could tell you were at peace with yourself and the spiral,

Dragonspyre. Dragonspyre, Dragonspyre. What a memorable time. You blazed through that place! Not to mention, Malestaire ate dust when you confronted him! He stood no chance whatsoever!

How can we thank you for uniting Grizzleheim? Stopping the coven? Preventing Ymir from waking up and bringing about the Everwinter! 

I bet you enjoyed your educational vacation in Celestia, You came back very, very sophisticated! You handled Astral Magic like it was a piece of cake! You gained so many talents there!

I must say, we are thoroughly impressed by your performance in the Water Works, Not many wizards are successful.

Zafaria was most impressive for us. You were done fairly quickly and did a great job. You helped us narrow in on Morganthe even more!

Poseidon wanted to tell you that you did amazing in Atlantea. He wants his triton back.

In Avalon, you gained so much knowledge of history. You learned about Headmaster Ambrose's life and learned of so many traditions. Amazing job to our Knights of the Silver Rose!

Azteca, um, great job, kind of. Moving on...

Hades the Unseen is coming for you for your excellent job against him. You may want to be cautious around shadows.

Khrysalis... one of our proudest moments! Morganthe was taken down for good! Unfortunately, Old Cob kinda got out. Oh well, we can find that spider another day.

Malestaire's name may send shivers down your spine, but he's finally happy now. He's with Sylvia, and that's all that matters now. 

Polaris held many adventures for you all, and it still does. I think you've earned this diploma."

-Someone

A quick toast from yours truly

Wow. I can't believe so many of you are graduating. It's been awesome looking up to you all. So many of you were mentors to me, you've helped me out in battles, passed information to me, taught me new things. I'm really gonna miss going to school with you.

Beyond this game, so many of you have been supportive to me. You've taught me about programming and blogging and techniques, and I don't think some of you know that. If you've ever talked to me, you did influence me. Thank you for all that you've done. Good luck at the Arcanum and safe travels!

Here's to the Ravenwood School of Magical Arts Class of 2015!

-Cheyenne Caster, Level 82 Archmage Sorcerer

Thank You for all your contributions to our community, both in-game and out. Have an amazing Graduation!

November News

Isn't it amazing we are half way through November? So many amazing things have come to Wizard101 since my last recap. I kept on putting this off because so many new content would be added, and I'd have to constantly update. So finally, here it is: the most jam-packed recap ever in the history of Nordic Champion!

Test Realm OPEN! 
In early October, KingsIsle teased us with many amazing concept photos of Polaris! Later, the Test Realm was opened! It brought the new world of Polaris, level 110, new spells, and more!

Jewel Crafter's Bundle
Wizard101 introduced a groundbreaking bundle! It's mount gives stats! This amazing bundle gives you the Shard Warrior's Armor set, Shard Warrior's Hammer, Crystal Butterfly pet, Crystal Unicorn mount, and Bountiful Mine item. The mine grants you rewards once a day. The bundle comes with your choice of 1 month of membership or 5,000 crowns! Check out this amazing bundle available at GameStop for $29!

Halloween

Halloween was amazing this year! Amazing new items were added to the Harrowing Nightmare pack, such as the Midnight Owl and Winged Catastrophe.

Rise & Destroy

Rise & Destroy was officially released! This amazing mobile app is, surprisingly, not related to any 101 game of KI's! A special KI Live took place regarding the release, and many questions were answered. Also, some pretty cool tips were shared! This game is free put has some in-game purchases.

Extra Life

KI's team was very successful this year! We raised over $9,000! The original goal was $3,000. Participants who raised over $100 received the new Polarian Explorer's Bundle. Congratulations and Thank You to our Extra Life Wizards! (And Pirates)

Veteran's Day
Veteran's Day was celebrated beautifully in Wizard101! The Commemorative Poppy Display had a beautiful poem, and the community's support was amazing!

Polarian Explorer's Bundle
The Polarian Explorer's Bundle, originally offered to Extra Life winners, has hit stores nationwide! This bundle left me awestruck with it's beauty! The bundle includes Polarian Explorer's Gear, Polarian Explorer's Pickaxe, Proper Penguin pet, Battle Narwhal mount, and the magnificent Polarian Shipwreck house! As always, it comes with the choice of 1 month of membership or 5,000 crowns!

Test Realm is Going Live!
The Polaris Test Realm is going live on November 18th, 2015! Good luck to all our exalted wizards, and have an awesome Graduation! Congrats Class of 2015!

KI Live
KI Live will take place this Thursday, likely celebrating the launch of Polaris and the first wave of Ravenwood Graduates.

Cheyenne Caster
Yes, I'm still level 82. I'm stuck in Azteca and have no membership. I wish I could be graduating, I've already got senioritis! Have an amazing time in Polaris!

-Nordic Champion

Veteran's Day 2015

Thank You to our veterans. Without you, our country would not be free! Wizards, please keep them in your thoughts.

Wizard101 and Pirate101 are giving out a free Commemorative Poppy Display. From now until November 17th, enter the code "poppy2015" to redeem this gift. The display is interactive. A poem is recited when you press "x." 

Please visit this link to read more about the gift.

I decided to find the poem, and it's called "In Flanders Field" by John McCrae. The poem is beautiful and embodies Veteran's Day perfectly.

"In Flanders fields the poppies blow 

Between the crosses, row on row, 

That mark our place; and in the sky 

The larks, still bravely singing, fly. 

Scarce heard amid the guns below. 

We are the dead. Short days ago

 We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow 

Loved, and were loved, and now we lie 

In Flanders fields. 

Take up our quarrel with the foe: 

To you from failing hands we throw 

The torch; be yours to hold it high. 

If ye break faith with us who die 

We shall not sleep, though poppies grow 

In Flanders fields."

-Colonel John McCrae, WWI Surgeon

To learn more about this poem, please click here. I highly recommend reading about it as it is a moving story.

The Mystery of Dragonspyre

Dragonspyre is a mystery. It's one of those worlds that you can't figure out what it's based off of. There's so much contradicting evidence that you can't pick just one culture. I decided to do some research, and I think I finally have the answer.

First, I started with a Twitter Poll. I asked if people thought Dragonspyre was based off of Rome/Greece, Russia/Czech, or Russia/Byzantine. Each tweet had the majority voting Rome/Greece. So I referred to everything I knew about Rome and Greece. Coincidentally, my current world history unit at school is Rome and the Byzantine Empire!

• I figured that the architecture is Greek and Roman, especially all the columns
• Creatures like the Minotaur and Cyclops roam the streets. These are straight out of Greek mythology
• Being a militant society, it could be based off of Sparta
• The Forum is a Roman place of government and exchange of ideas
• The Necropolis, meaning "cemetery," has the word -polis in it. -Polis is a Greek word for "city."
• The Atheneum, meaning "school," also means "Temple of Athena." Athena is Greek goddess
• The Basilica, which means "royal palace" or "church," is originally a Greek/Latin word
• The Labyrinth is from Greek mythology. 
• The Dragonspyre standard is from Rome's Eagle Standard

Not to mention the layout of Dragonspyre: It looks like an acropolis. Notice the tiered levels and walls, surrounding the more important parts of Dragonspyre? Dragonspyre Academy is in the up most area. Also, the volcano could symbolize Mount Vesuvius and Pompeii, which explains how destroyed the world is. Dragonspyre seems pretty Greco-Roman, right? But then we hit a wall...

Unless you played with mute on the whole time, chances are you heard the accents of the NPCs. They don't sound Italian or Greek at all. Their names aren't either. So I looked up the origins of some names, and what I got was unsurprising. The names were from Russia, Ukraine, and Czechoslovakia. 

This actually makes a lot of sense. Why? There was a blend of these cultures, and it was called the Byzantine Empire.

The Byzantine empire was created when the Roman Empire was split into East and West. While Rome fell and descended into the Dark Ages, Costantinople rose. It was located between Greece and modern-day Russia. Now we have Greek, Roman, and Russian cultures all in one area!

This excerpt sounds a lot like Justinian's campaign to take back the Roman Empire from the Barbarians.  

The Empire was brought down by a plague, which is mentioned in the History of Dragonspyre.

In short, Dragonspyre bares enough evidence to point towards being based off of the Byzantine Empire. Do you think Dragonspyre is based off of the Byzantine Empire? Why? I look forward to seeing other point-of-views!

Rise & Destroy

Rise & Destroy has been officially launched! Rise & Destroy is a mobile game that includes smashing and destroying... EVERYTHING! This is also an intense strategy game. Smash through 60 levels of challenging cities and collect monsters! Monsters evolve at levels 5 and 10. 

I've played the game, and it is fun. Although, it is definitely challenging and at times confusing. Currently, I am on the 6th city. Hehehe. Not much to say on that.

Today's KingsIsle live was centered around Rise & Destroy. Many questions were answered and insight given. I did my best to take some notes on this KI Live.

Before I rattle off the list of notes, I want everyone to remember that Friday-Saturday daily rewards will be doubled! 

Tips

• Run-FAST!
• Destroy everything
• utilize the domino effect!
• Level 2 is good to test destruction out
• Missile Launchers: Don't stand on the "x" - that's were the missiles land. Instead, stand near it and by things you want destroyed. The missile will inflict damage to those things instead.
• Smash humans into buildings
• Get 3 stars to complete Monster Cup Challenges
• More Stars = More Gold
• More Monster Cup Challenges = More Gold
• More Gold = More Success
• Utilize elemental powers

I probably won't blog about Rise & Destroy anymore than this. If any of this is incorrect, please let me know. 

Gear-A-Palooza 2015

Gear-A-Palooza 2015 is here! Now through November 8th, 2015, save 50% off crowns prices on your favorite gear! 

Save 50% off the following:

• Rockhammer's Jewel Pack
• All Weapons
• All Mastery Amulets
• All Hairstyles
• All Clothing Bundles

Don't miss this important opportunity!

If you still don't have enough crowns for a Mastery Amulet, check out my guide on drops here.