Pack, Pack, Pack, what Pack is that?

Over the years of playing Wizard101, I have purchased a number of packs.  The reasons for the ones that I purchase are many and varied, but "what is the best pack to buy" is a question we are often asked, and it is something I found I couldn't answer without knowing more about the person asking the question.  So, instead of that, as it can take some time, I thought I might compile some stats on the packs and the rules that I follow to help you go through your own process to select and buy a pack.

An interesting starting stat.  Do you know how many packs there are?  I know I didn't know!  After a little research, here is how I see them:

• 7 Lazy Packs
• 15 Furniture Packs
• 6 Housing Packs
• 3 Aquarium Packs
• 15 Gear Packs and
• 9  Miscellaneous Packs

That makes, as of mid-July 2014, a total of 55 different types of packs!  Wow!

I never realised there were actually that many!!

OK, I know I have broken these up into my own kinds of categories, but when I realised just how many there were, I knew I had to get some sense of order for them so I could put something together that made some kind of sense!

Let me try to explain my thinking here:

1. Lazy Packs:  These are packs with just lots of reagents (100) that are pretty common around the Spiral.  You might think that, just because they are common, they should be easy to pick up at the Bazaar, but that isn't quite how it works.  These reagents are the basis of Reagent Recipes.  If you want to get some of the more challenging reagents, you can craft them, and they need these simple reagents as a basis for that recipe.  That makes these seemingly common reagents actually a bit tricky to get a hold of...so...perhaps the next time you see that Cat Tail or Mist Wood, perhaps you should just pick it up?
2. Furniture Packs:  The packs that just focus on Spiral World themed furniture.  Used effectively, this stuff can be awesome.
3. Housing Packs: The packs that just contain generic housing items that aren't really themed.  These are more things to support your house and will support a variety of different decorations.
4. Aquarium Packs:  These packs have a set of 3 of each type of aquarium.  A nice easy way to do it if you can afford the 750 Crowns.
   
5. Gear Packs:  These are the the real lucky dip.  You can get some truly awesome stuff in these packs and it is usually worth the effort to roll the dice.  That being said, some are definitely better value than others.
6. Miscellaneous Packs:  These packs don't really fit into the other categories (in my way of thinking!) but are interesting to play with from time to time.

So, to that end, I might write a post or two about the different packs.

I can remember when I was first trying to figure out what pack to buy, just reading the description in the Crowns shop was something that I found difficult to understand.  Hopefully it will make it a little easier for those young Wizards looking to buy their first pack.

See you 'round the Spiral!

Morgrim

Yule want to read this!

Happy Christmas in July to all fellow Wizards! .....

• A Festive Field - Another Tabitha challenge, with a festive theme
• EPIC Guide - Swordroll has outdone himself with this truly epic fishing hunting guide
• Christmas in July - Get your yuletide packs in the Crown Shop for a few days!

Stepping away from Fishing just a little bit, this week saw the coming of the strange tradition of Christmas in July. I have been waiting for this with some trepidation as I had been cultivating my garden in time for a reveal on the 25th July!  Don't forget that Christmas in July also means your favourites in the Crown Shop and the return of Felix in the Shopping District. Swordroll has been fishing up a storm and has so many useful tips and tricks. For this and all the other stories shared by Wizards around the globe, click on the paper.

Of course it wouldn't be Christmas (even in July) without presents, so don't forget to claim your Christmas gift!! We'll be back with another copy next week.

Until Next Time,
Tabitha

Oh! What a Treasure!

Hey everyone,

So I've become an angler. Yep - I've joined the ranks and cast many a lure in many a pond and stream, mainly around Wizard City - but I have ventured out to other lands too. I've spent thousands of gold on Training up to Rank 5, and completed the initial quests.

And whilst it is great to catch a new fish (and to marvel at the ingenious names and looks they have been given!), I have to say though, I am loving the Treasure Chests! What an array of items those chests hold! I took some snaps of some of them today.

 I know the gear isn't great, but it would be if I was just starting out in the Spiral. And that amount of gold is great.... free Gold is always a bonus :)
But the real bonus, no the real Treasure came in the next Treasure Chest.  Yep - I scored a new Pet, and the stats on that Pet aren't too shoddy! A Spiny Fish - a good looking pet, and my second "Patch".

The only trouble now is, the energy I am using for Fishing means Pet Training is impossible. But at least I have all those awesome Mega Pet Snacks waiting to be used when I do choose to train.

And another reason not to be disappointed when you score a chest, it still counts as a catch for your badges, so even if you are not fussed on the contents it's not a total waste of energy! Swordroll has a great post going which gives details on the badges discovered so far. Find out more here.

So what about you guys? What have you scored in the Treasure Chests? I'm keen to find out what other bounty they are holding!

Have fun, until next time,
Tabitha

Hooray for the Happy Holidaisy

Hey everyone,

Back in May, Wizard101 was celebrating the onset of Spring and seeds went on sale in the Crown Shop. One of those seeds was the Happy Holidaisy. At the time I mentioned that a small purchase back then would reap rewards in time for Christmas in July.

So skip forward a couple of months and that curious time of the year has arrived. Christmas in July - made for us over here in the depths of Winter (day temps still 20 degrees though!) when the evenings are cool and fires are burning. Perfect setting to celebrate a more traditional style of Christmas.

So I bought 2 seeds. And I have been tending to them, nurturing them and watching them grow in number bit by bit. I also planted a couple of Snow Apple Trees in pots, and started to create a more festive surrounding for my emerging field of Happy Holidasies.

Of course, Snow Globes have come out to play, and my Christmas Trees and other festive regalia have been relocated to this hidden patch in my Winter Castle.

Now the rewards for this particular plant are not great. A little gold, chance of another seed and some low level pet snacks. Every now and then though, you also get the added bonus of a pet at elder! Now I got 4 of these pets, they are all the same - the Christmas Elf. They all have a new home in my Christmas paradise :)

One of the other things I was wondering, is what state to have the plants in for the reveal on the big day. I wanted all the plants to be the same through their life-cycle, so I waited patiently for them all to go to elder. It was quickly apparent though, that this is not a good look for the Holidaisy. They need to be shown in red and white to look their best.

 While I waited I continued to move things around to set the rest of the scene. I also planted a couple of these festive plants at the end the bridge you cross have to cross to reach my new garden. These have now gone to elder and they will stay that way. When separate they look pretty cool at elder, like they have been frozen in time. But when you have a field of them, it is such a bright white that it is almost blinding! So with everything at elder, it is time to harvest and re-plant.

The next trick will be to have the plants at the right stage by the 25th. I fear I have planted them too early, so I have removed the couple of likes I had in place; the medium fir tree, and the ever useful tropical garden gnome.

As you can see here, I have quite a number of Happy Holidaisy plants now. All these from those 2 little seeds I bought on sale. If you look closely you should see a couple of those cheeky Christmas Elves dancing around in the snow too :)

As with most challenges I set myself in the Spiral, it has taken a little dedication, and a lot of patience. As in the real world, good things often come to those that wait, so a few more days of looking after my garden will be worth it.

And again it is time to skip forward a few days.......

And time to say "Happy Christmas in July!"  The garden came together well, and I have another 8 Happy Holidaises in my backpack already.

A small purchase of 2 seeds that were on sale, has turned into this little festive paradise!

I'm curious. Did anyone else make a purchase? Do you have your own Christmas paradise to show? Would love to hear from you. As for this little garden. I think I will let it go to elder and then leave it as a frozen garden. What do you think?

Have fun, until next time,
Tabitha.

Have you found the Knobkerrie?

Hey everyone,

As much as my week was huge IRL, the week was also huge in the Spiral with the update machine going into over-drive. Consequently, the Spiral is suddenly filled with anglers, and the water everywhere now has dark shadows moving around! The crafting updates are live now too - and I can't wait to get into those either!

Over in Zafaria, I was in the market, when I suddenly remembered there was a new Housing Vendor. And that was when I decided the next blog would take me back to Housing, and back to the Barn. I had not finished it. It bothers me not finishing things.

This new vendor has lots on offer, and I decided I would start with the main bedroom at the Barn.

I was a little excited because there is new Wallpaper, and there is new Flooring! This is fantastic! Even better, more shields and tribal decorations. New drums, even a new rug. And something else I haven't seen before, a vanity. Just right for my bedroom.

Lets take a look at some of my purchases. First up the drums. I collect all drums that I see, so it was no drama that this would be first on my shopping list. There are two on offer that I didn't have in my collection; so obviously I bought both. The smaller one is the "Blue Top Drum" and will set you back a mere 400 gold. The other one is the "Talking Drum" and costs double at 800 gold.

Next up are an array of racks. These are all new additions to my collection too. The "Knobkerrie", the "Zebra  Shield" and the "Gorilla Shield" racks. These range in price between 450 and 800 Gold.

The Savannah  vanity just had to be bought. It is one of the things that I think has been missing from the furniture you are able to buy, so I am glad to see it's arrival. It will probably be usable in an array of houses as it is not too tribal in design too. Previously I have used a Celestial Shield as a mirror in a bedroom (in my Myth house), but that look was rather different to here.

You may have noticed that the wallpaper is rather different too. There is much to choose from (3 pages no less!), and my Barn will showcase a few of them before I'm done. I loved the colours in this one.

You can see it much better in this image, along with the new 4-post bed. How awesome is this? Flames and tribal art, it really is a centre piece to the room.

I'm going to have fun finishing the Barn. After I completed much of downstairs, I literally ran out of ideas. And that was really because I had already chosen most of the items available and had placed them. Now I have a whole new set of items to find and use.

Oh and one last thing, I popped over to the Bazaar to sell a few Pet Snacks, and was excited by what I saw (and bought!). I'll say no more right now :)

Have fun, until next time.
Tabitha

Don't worry - it's BACK!

After a week's break, the Weekly is back with a round-up from the Spiral .....

• Dino Bundle - Morgrim discusses the virtues, or not - will you buy?
• Wizard City on Sale - Don't let lack of crowns stop you conquering WC, with this 1/2 price sale
• Complete Fishing Guide - What about spells? Duelist gives us the low down.

It's actually quite difficult to go anywhere, both in the Spiral and the Web and not come across Fishing. It is everywhere, and I have been having a go at it myself today. Got to the heady ranks of level 5 in a fairly short time, and managed to snag a few rare fish. Hope you guys are enjoying this new past-time too. I have left the duelist guide up on the paper this week, as it is extremely helpful - I've been over there a few times today myself already! For this and all the other stories shared by Wizards around the globe, click on the paper.

And what about the Dino Bundle - did you buy? We'll be back with another copy next week.

Until Next Time,
Tabitha

The Dino Bundle - Last Minute - Yes or No!?!

With the imminent demise of the Dino Bundle, I thought it might be worth checking it out in detail.  I tend to delay purchases like this sometimes, but I hate to think I will miss out on something really special, so when these Bundles reach "End of Life", I will go through everything included to determine what I should do.

So, is the Dino Bundle something I shouldn't let go?  Is there a little gem that is worth the USD$39?

OK, let's start with the House.  Like Tabitha, I like my houses.  I collect only those that I consider to be the best.  What is the Pyramid of the Lost Horizon really like?

First, it is big.  Really big.  I like that - a lot :)  It does mean that to create something special here you do need to think carefully.  If you don't, it can look messy quickly, or you will churn through your 250 item limit without even trying.

It has two, no three(!) secret areas...another really good bonus.  I like the hidden surprises.

In fact, this house is amazing.  All different kinds of scenery, size that you can get lost in and hidden features all over the place.  I'm kinda excited already!

The mount.  If you have been playing Wizard for more than a few days, you will have seen this guy thundering around.  The massive two person T-Rex is a beast (I have always loved the T-Rex) .  He is currently the tallest walking mount around and can carry two wizards on his back.  Hmm...that is another big tick from me.

The wand - a Hunter's Bow, or more correctly "Deathspitters Bow".  I have to admit, before they became popular, I loved my bow.  Now that they are more popular, there is less of an appeal, but I do still like them. Given the stats and the cards that come with this wand, I think the benefits of this one end there.

Next - the warrior outfit.  With names like "Aztecosaur War-Helm", Aztecosaur War-Shell" and Aztecosaur War-Boots", they sound very cool :)

In the world of Critical, which we seem to have entered, it is important to note that there is zero critical on offer here.  Universal Defense and Attack are both good but not great, and the piercing is pretty handy.  If you are a Life Wizard, the cards are for you, with everything from Lifeblade to Mass Triage.

The gear looks quite good, but not quite great.  This is a solid inclusion depending how you play the game.

Finally, the pet.  This guy is solid with two 250s and one 240 stat in the native pet.  He is a Stegosaurus and looks great, also dealing some nice cards as he matures.  His natural abilities are good with a mix of selfish and unselfish talents.  In fact, he has a couple of the less common talents such as Stun Recalcitrant. He is a real keeper.

My only thing here is that you can get pets by cross-breeding, so there is no loss if you don't get it from a pack.

So - what are the real specials that I would miss owning when this pack leaves?

I'd say, definitely that house and the mount.

OK then, what to do?

I think that I need to justify about $30 of value out of this one.  Given past history, I might be tempted to take a chance and see if I can get that mount as a part of a special giveaway, so it comes down to the house.

And it is a helluva house.

Now that I have completed by review, I am confident in my decision.  I won't tell you what I have decided, as I want you to make up your own mind, but if you see me around the Spiral, why not ask?  And if you feel so inclined, let me know...do you think it is good value?

See you 'round the Spiral.

Morgrim

Gift Card - Gauntlet Analysis - The Spiral Cup Gauntlet!

Wow, a new day and another Gauntlet.  It seems crazy but I was wondering when the next one would be released, if at all.

Gauntlets have always been a different kind of approach for KI, and when the Pagoda first came out everyone was racing out to get one.  Once the second one came out, it was game on - everyone in the Commons was asking the same question "Bane?" meaning - "Have you got the Winterbane Hall gauntlet and can I play it?" (I can understand how the abbreviation to "Bane" came about!!).

It was an awesome dungeon as Raven's Hoard goodies were being dropped - and then, of course, there was my favourite drop, the Coldfire Dragon!

Strangely, KI then brought out Castle Tours, and a very astute Swordroll asked the obvious question - if you can simply visit a castle and play a Gauntlet, will anyone buy them anymore?

It seems that KI had the same thought.  As a result, the new Spiral Cup Gauntlet has a handy trick that seems to have gotten around this little challenge.  If you want to use this Dungeon - the "Pigswick Fountain Dungeon" you actually have to be friends with the real owner!  No more Housing Tour shortcuts (unless you know the owner of the house that is...) - it looks like KI have solved that problem nicely.

So, is this Dungeon worth playing?

Well, yes, kind of.

The fights themselves are kind of fun.  These are a little tricky with a couple of cheats - in fact, Dualist101 has outlined these nicely HERE - this data is for Level 100, but the cheats are the key part.  For me, that does present a challenge worth the fight...but other than the fighting, what is there?

From a Reagents perspective, I always like Turquoise and that is a good drop, as is Fish Fins.

From a Seeds perspective, the best you can hope for is the DHE - Deadly Helephant Ears.  These are a commonly sought after seed as they drop Rank 8 Mega-Snacks giving between 25 and 30 points to various Pet Talents.  Always a good thing.

There are a bunch of Treasure Cards, and I'll leave it up to you as to your thoughts on these.

Then there is the Gear - something everyone is always keen to see.  Hmm...brace yourself.  The gear has no stats and an ...unusual... look to it.  I'm sure a lot of people will find this appealing, but I cannot see myself wearing them.  Oh, there is also the Greenwarden's Brilliant Boots, but that is the only item of note if you are keen on stats.

Finally, the Pets.  These are pretty cool.  The pick of the bunch, the Rude Goblin Pet, doesn't have the best stats, but has a great card.  For 5 pips you get a 450-530 Myth hit, but then he will also summon one of two minions!  Normal rules of minion use applies and if you have one on the field, it will be replaced.

OK, that is kind of it for the Dungeon, but what about the rest of the Gauntlet Gift Card?  As usual, you get some items with your $39 Card, and one of these is a real keeper.  The Tanglewood Vine mount.

This mount looks great.  It rolls and tears up the ground as you ride it.  The best thing is, if someone is riding one on a floor above you (say in a 2-storey house), you can see the vine moving through the ceiling!  It looks fantastic in the water, and is possibly the best part of the Card.

Then there is the Pegasus Pony.  I can see a number of people just loving the look of this one.  While its base stats aren't great, with Critical Block, Stun Resistance and MC Conviction, it certainly has some handy talents.

The Gear that you get with the card is OK, and there is a definite emphasis on Power Pip % and absolutely no Health at all!  This is certainly different, but I don't mind it.  In general, Wizard health has just kept going up, and I'm not so sure that it needs to.

The wand is different, and in a good way.  We finally have a wand that is a book...of sorts.  The way you carry and use it are a little different, but I think this is a good option for people to have.

So, the verdict.  Well, for me, it is line ball...would I spend the $39?  The 5,000 Crowns are always great, and the Gauntlet is pretty good, but I am not sure the Tanglewood Vine mount is worth buying the pack for, and that is the only thing I'd be after.  The Rude Goblin would be great, but I know I can probably hatch with someone to get it.

Then again, it is mid-year and perhaps this is one of those things that you can spoil yourself with.

...and that Vine mount does look amazing...

What do you think?  Am I being a little harsh?  Why would you buy the Spiral Cup Gauntlet?

See you 'round the Spiral (and if I'm on a Vine mount, I must have reconsidered and it was worth it after all :))

Morgrim

A Crafters Dream comes True!

Hey Everyone,

I thought I would share the rest of the news for other updates that will be making their way over from the Test realm when the new update goes Live. I'm quite excited as there is big news on the way for those Wizards who love to craft - and yes.... that includes me!!!

Recipes for Castle Blocks

Seriously? When the Arcane bundle was released, I'm not afraid to say I was somewhat jealous as I knew it was not to be released in Australia. But no more; it seems everyone will get chance to build !

Look for Castle Blocks Recipes at "Lloyd FallingWater" in the Wizard City Shopping District near the fountain, where the other NPCs appear during the holidays.

The awesome guys and gals at Duelist have got all the info on the expected recipes - see here. They are reporting an extra 59 recipes to craft the blocks to build the ultimate castle, though of course this is still in test so could change.

This is brilliant news and I seriously can't wait for this update! I might even think up another competition with Morgrim on this - you game Morgrim? 

Teleport Tapestries!!

This is another awesome update.... the ability to craft teleport tapestries! I was very lucky to get my eminently usable Bazaar tapestry in a give away on MMorg, if I didn't have it then I would be crafting this one straight away.

Actually I might buy it anyway and have one at each house!! Once again the awesome Duelist crew have come up tops with the information for these recipes.  Head on over to their page for full information.

Different Crafting badges are required for different tapestries, but one thing you will notice is that fish are in these recipes!

Get the recipes from the following Vendors:

Eudora TangleTree in Olde Town * Wul'Yahm in Krokotopia * Felicia Worthington in Marleybone *  Balthazar Dragonthorn in Dragonspyre * Gearwise in Celestia.

There is a new housing vendor coming our way in Zafaria too, so make sure you pay a visit to Jihane Abletusk in the Baobab Market when the update goes live.

There are a few other random updates that are not quite as exciting, that I have also listed here:

• Silver chests in many worlds have been updated to provide world appropriate rewards.
• Creatures on the rooftops of Marleybone should be a little easier to avoid.
• Listen for additional ambient sound effects as you adventure through many areas of the Spiral.
• The MooShu quest "An Ailing Emperor" is a mainline quest, and can no longer be declined.
• Groups of four players should no longer be split up when entering towers within Sunken City.If you're dueling alone and are defeated while you still have an active Henchman, you will now have a full 30 second planning phase in combat that will allow you time to flee or purchase another Henchman.

That's all from me on this one.... lots to look forward to!

Have fun, until next time,

Tabitha

The Bountiful Bazaar

Hey Everyone,

Just come from the Bazaar, and this one was a particularly bountiful and expensive trip. I haven't done much

leveling up and I knew looking at the gear wouldn't yield much..... so I skipped straight to the Treasure Cards. Then straight to the Astral cards, my first purchase was 30 Virulence. 30 of them! I have only ever seen 1 or 2 before. That made me wonder if there was many Gargantuan cards around, Sometimes there might be 14 or so of them, but never more than that. OMG! There were over 100! So I bought 50 of them at 200 each. Bargain :)

Hmmm ...... this was good, I wondered if there were a bounty of reagents to be had too. And the answer was a resounding yes!

One thing you need to know (if you didn't already!) is that I buy things at the Bazaar that I don't need. If I see them, and they are few in number and expensive then I'm clicking BUY!

Morgrim once wrote about his quest for Turquoise... they do not show up often. But tonight... well I bought 22 of them. They were mainly in batches of 4, but they totaled 22, and now I have 84 of them.

And then there are those reagents that appear - you have no idea what they will ever be used for, but hey! they are few in number and cost a lot - therefore? Well therefore they should be bought!!

Agave Leaves and Agave Nectar  are two of those. I have absolutely no recipe that needs them, but they do not show themselves too often. So when they are there..... and I have the gold....... I buy them!

And when a new world appears, then new things show up in the Bazaar.... Take, for instance - Comet Tails or Astral Shards - sound cool, no idea what they are needed for - but you know what? I buy buy buy !!

Consequently my Gold reserves are falling short again right now. But I know that the purchases made tonight will serve me well later in the game, Gold can ALWAYS be re-stocked!

Until Next Time,
Tabitha

Why Wouldn't You?

Hey Everyone,

Popped onto the Spiral to do some gardening this morning, and noticed that it's "Mega Snack Monday". That got me to thinking about how much my Mega Snacks would be worth in crowns, and I just had to work it out!

Now all my Mega Snacks are a result of gardening Evil Magma Peas. We have lots of posts on the Keep about these wonderful plants, but they have resulted in 248 Mega Snacks in my backpack. So lets do the sums:

248 Mega Snacks - all rank 9. (I am not including any rank 8 snacks in my calculations)

At 7 snacks per pack, you would need to buy 36 packs. Remember this is rank 9, when you buy the packs you get rank 8 and 9!

They normally cost 2,500 Crowns, so that would cost you 90,000 crowns, but currently they are 40% off, so that reduces to a mere 54,000 crowns. Now the best deal on Crowns is the Crown Sale that gives you 50% extra, if you spend $80. So the best possible price for the Pet Snack sale is $80 hard cash, with some Crowns left over.

I was chatting to Morgrim about this, and he has 475 rank 9 snacks. Wow - that's a lot, and yes they are all from gardening. Let's do the sums again.

475 Mega Snacks - all rank 9, at 7 snacks per pack you would need 68 packs! At normal price this would set you back 170,000 crowns, and even while the sale is on this is still 102,000 crowns. As you can see, $80 cash will not be enough to buy this amount - and this is the sale price. Imagine how much it would be at full price!

So my question to you all is - If you are not gardening then why not?

Have fun, until next time,
Tabitha

Hook, Line and Sinker - Fishy News

The Test Realm is open for Business...... and the Business of the Day is Fishing .....

• Fishing Frenzy- Test Realm Fishing - the news released from Wizard101!
• School Location & Guide - Swordroll gives us the info on the schools
• Complete Fishing Guide - What about spells? Duelist gives us the low down.

I have devoted the weekly to the news of fishing in the test realm this week. There are some awesome things to find out about what this means, so all the stories are related to this big news item. Find out about the new Aquariums to hold your prize fish. What about crafting a teleport tapestry? Catch some fish and you'll be closer to making that a reality. Click on the "Fishy News" to see all the stories, not all fishing related!

Find yourself a quiet spot, throw out a line and enjoy.....  Look out for another round up next week!

Until Next Time,
Tabitha

Winston in the Limelight!

Hey Everyone!

Well I finally got round to some pet training. Poor little Winston has been hanging around for a while now. He only ever gets trained when I feed him seeds and household items!

Much like Morgrim and Alia, my favourite Pet Training game is the dance game. It is very quick to play and relatively easy with a little concentration!

As you can see Winston is already more than half way to Epic. So I decided it was time to take him to Epic and see what talent he has been hiding all this time.

I have a lot of Mega snacks - all from gardening, mostly from EMPs and only have two gardens on the go right now so I also have plenty of energy to play with.

Time to get on with it. If you know your Mega snacks, then you'll know that some give you more XP than others. The best in my pack is the Fancy Yoghurt - worth 50 each time. Getting Winston to Epic isn't going to take long at all.

In fact it will take a mere 9 Mega Snacks.

As it gets near time to level, I use other snacks as I don't need the 50. Winston doesn't 'like' any of the snacks so he doesn't score extra XP from the snacks. Not that that matters with Mega snacks.

Anyway, here we are with one more game to go. This is also a good time to check out the stats here. Winston is pretty close to perfect with 4 of his stats at the maximum 250, and just Intellect letting him down with a 248.

Lets get this last game out of the way!

Well done Winston - EPIC at last!

Pain-Giver - 6% extra damage to all schools, which isn't too bad. I know I need to move away from the purely healing pets and this is a good start. Winston's full Talents to EPIC are:


Not looking too bad. Think I may need to find a hatching partner and see if I can get those stats to 250 all round.

Hey Morgrim - how many of your pets have the full 250 for all stats? And what other talents? Just a thought :)

That's all from me for now.

Have Fun, until next time,

Tabitha

Here Fishy Fishy!

* TEST REALM * TEST REALM * TEST REALM *

This is the latest news in the spiral. I've not had chance to look into it yet - so thought I'd just share the news from Wizard101 updates page for you all. Look down at our Blog Roll too as Frostcaller, Swordroll and TFN have all got news  to share on this one!

Magical Fishing comes to the Spiral!

Fishing is something we've wanted  to include in Wizard101 since before we launched the game almost 6 years ago! And now, we bring you the magic of Fishing in the Spiral.

Players who are at least level 7 can speak to Lucky Hookline in the Wizard City Commons on the Test Realm only. He's easy to spot, he's a Pelican with a fishing pole! He will teach you all you need to know about Fishing and give you the quest "A River Runs Through It".

If you want to fish, you have to go where the fish are! Many areas of the Spiral are populated with fish, and you'll know you're in the right spot when the Fishing Icon appears above your Journal. Clicking on the Fishing Icon displays your Fishing Spells. Fishing is a magical activity in the Spiral, ya know! Fishing is currently only available in Wizard City, Krokotopia, Grizzleheim, and Mooshu. Fishing has only just begun in the Spiral and more Fishing Holes and species are just waiting to be discovered!

There are different types of Fishing Spells, including Fish Catching Spells and Fishing Utility Spells that allow you to reveal a fish's school, or even restock the ponds!

When you're near a body of water, you just have to click on a Fish Catching spell to cast a Magical Lure. These magical lures look like orbs and they act as both a lure and a float, drawing nearby fish to it, as well as bobbing up and down when they bite!

If you don't like where your Magical Lure landed, you can click the cancel button and quickly recast the spell again.

When the Magical Lure flashes, that means a fish has noticed it and is coming closer to take a bite. As it bites, the orb will rise and fall a bit. The trick is to wait until the lure completely sinks below the water and when it does you're going to want to act fast by either clicking on the spell icon again, or pressing the Space bar once to catch that fish! 

If you succeed and catch the fish, you'll see the name and size. Small Fries are the tiniest ones, while Whoppers are the biggest.

Fish are stored in your Fish Basket. The Angler's Tome displays a record of all the fish you've ever caught.

De-tails

Some quick notes about Fishing. Catching fish consumes a small amount of energy. Energy will also be consumed if the fish gets away. Don't get discouraged if you don't catch the first few fish you lure. You'll get better with practice. It's all in the timing. Just watch for the orb to fully submerge before you reel them in. Fish have schools, in more than one sense of the word. You have a better chance at catching a Fire School fish with the Fire School Fish lure spells. If the fish gets away, it will give you a hint as to its school with the color of the splash: Black for Death, Crimson for Balance, Yellow for Myth, Red for Fire, Blue for Ice, Green for Life, Purple for Storm. The fish you see in the ponds are exclusive to you, other people will see their own fish. You can scare away your fish by running too close to them. Other players and mounts won't get in the way of your fishing view. You currently cannot fish in underwater areas. There's more than just fish in the lakes and rivers of the Spiral...

Extra Energy

Energy Boost Players who are level 7 or higher will get a boost to their base Energy. This boost to your energy can be used for Gardening, Pet Training or Fishing! Don't forget there are also some items that boost your energy such as the Beastmaster's Set in the Crown shop!

Lucky Charms

Fishing Luck Fishing luck is a stat that increases your chance of catching a fish when you use a Magical Lure. There are two new Elixirs in the Crown Shop that increase your Fishing Luck.

That's all from me, Tabitha