How Many Pips was That?

It was just another day in the spiral. I was farming up some gold from Halfang and saw a fellow death. I went in, bladed and waited for his move. He started the fight with a... Deer Knight?

Wait a minute, Deer Knight costs 5 pips and you only start with up to 4. I quickly clicked on him to find out what he was wearing and I found it. As well as his extra power pip from his wand, his Deck had an extra pip to start off with!

I imagine that lot's of others would be working on getting this as it's very powerful, but this is the first time I've actually seen one on someone!

As soon as I saw it, I thought of PvP. If you were going second in a match, you would be able to cast a SEVEN pip spell in round ONE! Imagine being in a 4v4 against all storm wizards. You're going first and after your turn, you get hit by FOUR STORM LORDS! It's Insane! I'm not sure if this will affect PvP as I'm not the greatest at it, but I just can't imagine going against a team of storm who do that.

Well, that was my first thought on the deck. It's obviously going to be very helpful in PvE. especially with something like Deer Knight which can be cast first turn now. :)

I hope you're as amazed as I am at the power this deck could have and good luck if your planning on farming for it.

Thanks for reading,

Blaze

Just what is "The Manual of Mastery" for Wizard101?

Ah...just what IS "The Manual of Mastery"?

You know, that is such a good question - and funnily enough, here at the Keep, we know the answer.  But first, let me ask you some other questions:

• Have you ever encountered a new item and weren't entirely sure if it improved the stats you were after?
• Have you ever wondered what the best possible Healing In / Healing Out could be for your Wizard, out of all the items in the Spiral?
• Have you ever considered what might be the best gear for PvP?
• Have you ever just leveled up and wondered what the best new options for gear are?

If you have answered YES to even one of those questions, you need to read on, there is a fair chance that the Manual of Mastery is for you!  If you want to truly Master the Spiral...you should check it out.

The Manual of Mastery is a Wizard101 Companion unlike any other.  It doesn't matter what level you are, what school you are, the Manual of Mastery can help you.

So, just how does it work?

First, you enter your Wizard - name, school level etc.  This will become the basis for the calculations that are being made.

Next, you have the option of adding those items you have in your inventory.  With nearly 10,000 items included, including the Khrysalis gear, it makes it easy to select your items.  We update the items list regularly, but, if between updates Kings Isle brings out new items and they are not in our database yet, you can always add them manually.

This is the same for your pet, as we all know how important a role your pet can play.

As a bare minimum, adding your pet can be very helpful.

Now you can equip your Wizard.  Add to them the items that you are currently wearing.  This step is also optional, but it will give you your current stats.

Now, whenever you get a new item, you can add it to your backpack and compare it to what you are wearing.  Because all of your stats are displayed on a single page, and there is a direct comparison, you can see the + or - that the new item would give you.

But, do you know what the real value is?  Where the real magic happens?

The Optimizer...

...imagine being able to select a few key criteria and getting the top 3 recommendations on gear?  This is a complex little part of the software, but what it tells you is amazing...I know I am constantly surprised!!

(and if you want to know more ... just click here http://manualofmastery.com)

BUT - more on that in my next post... :D

See you 'round the Spiral!

Morgrim

Treasure Cards and PvP

You know, Treasure Cards are one of the more controversial parts of the Wizard101 game.  Some people simply hate them, especially for PvP.

I can completely understand Ed's position on using them in PvP.  If you goal is to level up, they can really help.  Here are some interesting cases of use (abuse?) of treasure cards in PvP.

• Wild Bolt - There have been experiments with Level 1 Wiz just buying a heap of Wild Bolt treasure cards and casting nothing else.  You can go a fair way with this tactic and there is little that can be done to combat it.  Esp. if you don't look like a Storm wizard.  They normally kill quickly against opponents at that level, before they realise they need to shield.  Is this a fair use of Treasure Cards?  It certainly takes the skill out of the game.  There are several YouTube videos that relate to this.
• Dispel Life - Another common spammed spell.  "Everyone pick on the healer".  This pretty much takes the most powerful healer out of the game, and almost everyone carries them.  
• Weakness / Plague - This one is designed to frustrate the hitters/hammers in the team.  It is a very effective tactic, especially combined with a Virulent Plague, it can really take the sting out of an attack.  Any attack boosted with balance cards will find a sustained defensive move like this difficult to deal with.

It is worth noting that both of these spells are fine as normal spells, but it is when there is no other tactic but to turn off the brain and play the next Treasure Card, there are no real tactics, just a reliance on blind luck.  It is no wonder people get annoyed with PvP when that is the case.

So, when can Treasure Cards be useful in PvP?  Combined with good timing and tactics, treasure cards can be a game changer in PvP.  This is where the real tactics can be found.

• Doom and Gloom - If you play PvP, you really should be packing this card.  It all but takes pet healing out of play.  A good Life Wiz can work around a Doom, but once you have your opponent on the ropes, you need to keep them there.
• Scald - In a multi-player PvP, especially as you are starting to build for your attack, this can be a very handy spell to wear out an opponents shielding.  Played in round 2 or 3, while it prevents effective use of big traps, it can break down a defensive player quite effectively.
• Guardian Spirit - Another spell that can get a fair bit of airplay from non-Life Wizards as being unfair.  This is just a really nice tactic for PvP for a school that typically doesn't hit hard and cannot defend like an Ice Wizard.  It's spell cost is high enough for it not to be easily spammed, but if this is the only tactic used, the Life Wizard will die, it is not a true game changer.
• Tower Shield - The most useful shield.  Any attack, any school.  Pack these and use them at will.  This isn't a spamming technique, this is just good common sense.  Anyone who doesn't have at least a few of these will regret it.
• Reshuffle - The only card that has to be mandatory in any serious PvP deck.  How silly would you feel if you have been battling for an hour, only to realise you are out of cards?  And with the recent changes, you need to consider whether packing one is enough....and then there are the people that have 15+ of this card...but that is a topic for another day.

Treasure Cards and PvP.  The discussion / argument / debates will continue as long as PvP is a part of the whole Wizard101 experience!

If you have any cards that you like to spam (or hate when others do) or any others you feel a 'must haves', why not let us know?  Leave a comment below.

See you round the Spiral!

Morgrim

Wizard Stalking

Oh dear. Despite having a good start to PvP, I played a couple of rounds last night and I was defeated every time. Now I know I am new to this and shouldn't be so hard on myself, but there must be a better way to know the best gear to wear to help in a PvP. Maybe the best resistance to all schools, or the biggest damage to all schools.

Last night was tough, and I do find myself almost wizard 'stalking'.... what I mean is clicking on a wizard's stats to see what they are wearing and what the end results to their stats are. But to be honest, it doesn't mean much because I don't have the same gear as them or are not the same school or are not a high enough level.

I'm sure there must be more to it than Merle's crystal ball!



Practice makes perfect..... maybe?

Until next time,
Tabitha.

Tabitha and Galen

You may have noticed that I have been trying out some of the other Wizard101 things to do, rather than just questing. And over the weekend I decided to have a go at PvP. I have been partnering up with a fire wizard named Galen mostly, and we have been doing quite well. Surprisingly well when I see some of the PvP stats we are up against sometimes!

One thing I have noticed are the spectators in these battle arenas. Sometimes they just like to talk! Recently we were in one, and the conversation in the background was about which team was which. Apparently one team was Death-Fire and one team was Death-Balance. They quickly decided that "Team Tabitha" (their words, not mine!) was Death-Balance. Throughout the whole game they were very confused and kept switching and were eventually proved wrong. But the constant was that Tabitha = Death Wizard. So I decided that I needed to change my gear to something that didn't scream Death! As I was partnered with a firey who looked anything but, I decided to go red. My hat and boots were already red, it was my robe that needed changing. So I found one and re-stitched so I could keep my stats.

And it worked. Our most recent PvP was against two Fire Wizards, and they were the talkers this time. As soon as we entered the battle arena, they were stoked to find themselves up against Fire wizards..... The biggest problem for them is that I am a Death wizard and I have trained my secondary school as Ice.... let's just say it wasn't long before that battle was over, and I don't think the other two wizards will trust the clothes to identify the Wizard's School again!

Maybe next week I'll Go Green! Who knows?

Until Next Time,
Tabitha

What is it with all the arrogant Ice?

OK, yes, I'm new to PvP and it has taken a while to tune my deck.  That said I am nearly there.

Nonetheless, what is it with all these arrogant and cocky Ice wiz in the Spiral?

I was doing a 1v1 the other day and as soon as the fight started, my opponent realised I was Fire and said "Hi" then "Check out my resist".  As everyone who PvPs knows, you don't talk - it just gives away your stats and gives your enemy a chance to find a soft spot.  But not this guy..."Jack Frost" or so his cheer squad called him, then proceeded to goad me for the next 20 mins.  With 92% Fire Resist, he was feeling invincible.

"Use Efreet like those other Fire corpses!"

"Ah, not talking - a classic noob"

It was funny though, he really didn't like my minion - lol

Well, with me surviving through the brunt of his attack with some handy Ice shields, I weathered the storm. Then it was clear that he was in trouble.  He was running out of cards, and I had found an Unbalance.

A +195% backdraft, a feint, fire bubble, infallible, extraordinary and a prism and...

...the cocky Jack Frost had fled.

Ice - if you are going to be cocky, you had better be good enough to back it up.

See you 'round the Spiral!

Morgrim

Ice..tough fight

There are times that I love being fire, and times...well, when it is frustrating.  It is still the school I love, but when you see what these Ice Wizards wear in the Arena, it can get a little challenging.

Tonight Alia and I took on a couple of Level 89s, an Ice and a Death.  The Ice guy had 82% resist to Fire and 49% resist to Life.  What a battle.

Alia and I are still learning the PvP ropes, and are both Privates, these guys were a Sargent and a Commander.  We were in for a tough fight.  Worse, the Ice guy had a Fire mate who hung around the Arena taunting us for the first 90 mins.  No doubt a young kid, but annoying nonetheless.

We targeted the Death guy for the first part of the fight, but his pet was doing a pretty good job of keeping him alive.  After trading blows for an hour, the Death guy was dead, and the Ice guy was pretty much untouched.

Ice guy had a Life Amulet so it wasn't long before it was 2-2 again.  They had a lot of Smoke Screens, Dispel Life and Bad JuJu.  Very annoying.

At the one hour mark, we both had Guardian Spirits on and were healthy, thanks to the amazing Alia.  Death guy was coming back from the dead and soon after Ice guy got a lucky Lord of Winter on Alia and took her out in a single hit.  Of course, she bounced right back, but Death was waiting for her and took her out again.

Finally I got a decent Dryad onto her and we were back.

An aggressive Gnomes followed by a heavy piercing Efreet took out 50% of Ice's health.  He had reshuffled once by this time and soon after, Death was down to 150 health thanks to an unblocked Critical Efreet.  The Death's pet took over and got him back to 2000.  Neither Alia nor I, both having reshuffled, could draw the card to put him away.

By this time, we were 2 hours in. Everyone had reshuffled once, and Ice had done it twice.

Finally, a chunky Forest Lord swept away the rubble and left Ice reeling.  A Critical Helephant finally nailed our antagonists and we took the match in a little over 2 1/2 hours.

I can think of more productive ways to spend that time, but it has been a big week already...I am fine to take a little time out every now and then - and the advantage of dual monitors is that you can actually work on the other screen.  But who would want to do that :)

It was a very satisfying fight to win.  

See you round the Spiral and wish us luck for next time!

Morgrim