It might be the Conclusion, but it is certainly not the End...

On the back of the Khrysalis Part 2 release, news in the Spiral quietened down a little as we were all busy questing talking in general about all things new.....

• Four Years Producing - Professor Falmea looks back ... and forward 
• Test Drive - Tabitha has a play with her level 68 Spell
• Looking Good - check out the definitive guide to craftable gear

Whilst Khrysalis Part 2 continues to take a strangle-hold on Spiral stories, a few of us just got back to business as usual.......

With the promise of a roller-coaster ahead, what will the next week bring us? Who knows... but for now it's time to put your feet up and enjoy our round-up from the last week.

Until Next Time,
Tabitha

Professor Falmea - A letter to you all

Hey everyone - thought this was worth sharing with you all. Hope you find it of interest!

Wizard101 Producer's Letter My Dear Wizards,

Spring is the season for rebirth, awakenings, a great time for Life students, and the precursor to every Fire student’s favorite time of year: summer. The longest days, the hottest sun, and the most fun, in my opinion.

This spring is also a time of endings – particularly the release of the finale of Morganthe’s storyline. Let’s take a look back at our travels over the last four years, shall we?

Celestia, the sunken realm, is where you first encounter Morganthe and her army. You learn of the prophecy: "The Mirror will break, The Horn will call, From the Shadows I strike, And the skies will fall…”, as Morganthe attempts to steal the secrets of Astral Magic. You also meet some really cranky sharks and water moles and discover some ethereal Celestians with nifty technology.

You travel to Zafaria to investigate the mystery of some missing students, where you discover Morganthe is behind it in a scheme to rebuild her power. 

You recover the missing students, and help the Lions, Zebras, Elephants, and Gorillas of the world resist her, but you are unable to stop her from recovering her precious Deck of Shadows She leaves this world with a parting gift – the destruction of Mirror Lake.


The next stop is Avalon, which was once Headmaster Ambrose’s home, full of foxes, badgers, dogs, and otters; as well as goblins, faeries, giants, and other mythical creatures, in your search for an artifact that will aide you on your quest – the Sword of Kings. You also learn much of Morganthe's history and face her in a dream of long ago. 

In the end, you break the curse on the Pendragon and restore both King Artorius and the land itself to their former glory.

Azteca is rumored to be the oldest world in the spiral – thought to have been destroyed by a comet, but is indeed still intact and populated by dinosaurs! However, when Morganthe arrives here it causes the dead to rise in her wake! Morganthe and her minions are searching for the Horn to call, and for the oldest spirits of the Spiral: the Lords of Night. In the end, she brings doom to the land, and a great shadow falls upon the Spiral.

Morganthe returns to Khrysalis, her place of power, to learn the Song of Creation so she can finally rewrite the Spiral to her liking. You are sent there to defeat her and free the Lords of Night. 

Along the way, you get help from many courageous folks, most notably Dyvim Whiteheart. In your travels, you also discover for the secrets of Shadow Magic – to defeat Shadow takes Shadow itself. You travel great distances, across impassable seas, through waking dreams, and the prophecy, as it is destined to be, will be fulfilled… just perhaps not as expected.

Four years ago, I became your Producer, and it has been a wild, awesome, fun, fantastic ride from that day forward. I’m constantly in awe of this amazing opportunity I’ve been entrusted with, working with a great group of people to tell this story, to see it through to the finale. It is equal parts thrilling and a little sad to say goodbye to this arc – it’s been a part of our discussions, meetings, emails, phone calls… our lives… for the last four years. Just as in the early days, it was all “Malistaire, Malistaire, Malistaire” back then, Morganthe has been a part of our lives for quite a while.

However, what’s completely thrilling is the team and I are continuing to plan out the next years, the next stories, and the next rollercoaster rides you’ll take in the Spiral. Those discussions are exciting as the details start to come together!

Since we last chatted – besides the epic conclusion of Morganthe’s story – we have certainly kept busy adding and polishing up other areas of the game.

And, we’re not resting on our laurels. Not a chance. What’s happening this summer is going to rock your boat with a vengeance. Oh, yes. You’ll have to make sure that you make time to spend in the Spiral this summer. Because, if you come by regularly, you’ll certainly find it very… rewarding!

Until then, as always, I’ll see you in The Spiral,

Leah "Professor Falmea" Ruben

Producer, Wizard101

And that's all from me too. 
Until Next Time,
Tabitha

Khrysalis 2 - Pets, Crafting, Housing, Tours & Gardening

Hey Everyone,

Time to let you know a bit more about some of those updates that came with the Khrysalis 2 release a few days ago......

Crafting Updates

One for all those higher level Wizards.... If you've completed your Crafting tasks for Oztomeca in Three Points in Azteca, and obtained the Crafting Title of Transcendent Crafter, then Oztomeca has a new task for you.

Visit him in Three Points in Azteca to obtain the quest "Way of the Crafter". That quest will send you to Stendill HammerTail in Silent Market, Khrysalis, to continue your training. The quest Stendill HammerTail will give you is (of course) "Stop! HammerTail".

Crown Shop Reagent Bundles

Not looking forward to collecting more Stone Blocks? Run out of Scrap Iron again? Where is a patch of Deep Mushrooms when you need them?
Never fear! Collecting certain reagents will never be the same again, if you have crowns to spare that is! New Reagent Bundles are available in the Crown Shop:

Gardening & Housing Updates

• Moon Flowers, which are a Rank 1 plant, will no longer attract Rank 2 pests
• Blue Huckleberries, which are a Rank 1 plant, will no longer attract Rank 2 pests
• Honey Bee Plants, which are a Rank 1 plant, will no longer attract Rank 2 pests
• Angel Oak must be planted in Enchanted Soil
• Melting Cheese Trees have begun to attract pests
• Unfortunately, we have been unable to address the issue of rank 5 gardening spells not stacking. We'll continue to work on this and it will hopefully be addressed in an upcoming content update.

Housing

• When in Decorating Mode, items of the same type will now stack in the item placement window
• When in Decorating Mode, the name of the selected item is now displayed when you are placing or adjusting an item
• Avalon housing items are now available as rewards from duels
• More House names & phrases have been added to the Customizable Housing Signs
• Medal Display, Medal Display Case and Commemorative Statue can no longer be sold at the Bazaar
• Curved Vase Case & Vase Case are now properly labeled as Furniture not Decoration
• Items picked up in the world can now be sold in the Bazaar

Castle Tours

When Castle Tours first made an appearance there were some clear issues. Houses were appearing that had not been decorated at all, and that was clearly not the intent of that update. Good news is that this has been fixed and Houses must have at least 50 items inside and 50 items outside before they can be added to Castle Tours.
Additionally, players will be prompted to confirm that their house actually contains a maze when adding a Maze themed Castle

One of the things I always wondered when I had my MooShoo house in the Castle Tours, was how many Wizards had popped over, so it is great to see this update - Castle owners can now view the number of days left on the tour and the number of visitors to their home.

New School Pets!

New Pets have arrived to stand by your side in peace and combat. If you are a minimum of level 98and have your level 78 school pet, speak to your School Professor for your next pet quest.

That's it for this update. As you can see KI have been very busy indeed!

Until Next Time!
Tabitha.

Khrysalis Part 2 - News on Spells

Hey everyone,



The biggest news of the year is here - Khrysalis Part 2 is now live, but with this update comes a whole heap of new and improved things. Almost all parts of the spiral are touched in some way! I have decided to list the changes and improvements to spells, in this post.


Shift Spells!

Shift Spells are part of Moon Magic. They are single-round polymorphs that allow you to perform a creature’s natural attack for one round, after which your Wizard reverts back to their original form.

Players who are level 98 or higher need to speak to Arkyn Moonblade in the Eclipse Tower to train these spells.

These new spells include:

Death SchoolShift Sugar Glider 
attacks for 380 Death School Damage and adds a ward to the target for -25% to target's outgoing damage and -50% to target's next outgoing heal

Storm SchoolShift Piscean 
attacks for 460 Storm School Damage and steals one pip from target

Myth SchoolShift Ogre 
attacks for 340 Myth School Damage and removes 1 shield and 1 charm from target

Ice SchoolShift Dread Paladin 
attacks for 360 Ice School Damage plus adds one of three possible increases to incoming damage for the target (15%, 30% or 45%)

Life SchoolShift Greenoak
attacks for 340 Life School Damage and adds a -25% Damage ward to next spell for target plus a +25% Damage blade to next spell for Self

Balance SchoolShift Thornpaw 
attacks for 390 Balance School Damage plus adds +10% Armor Piercing and Accuracy to self

Fire SchoolShift Grendel 
attacks for 115 + 360 damage over 3 rounds plus adds one random accuracy ward (-25%, -45%, -65%) to the target

New Global Spells



Global spells are the 'domes' that appear over the entire dueling circle, encompassing and impacting all teammates and enemies alike!

New Global Spells have been added for players level 97 or higher. Speak to Amelia StarDust to obtain the quest "A Dream of Avalon" which will grant one spell for your main school of focus.

Fire School
Combustion adds +20% Fire Armor Piercing, +17% Fire Critical Hit
Ice School
Katabatic Wind adds +25% Ice Armor Piercing, +10% Ice Critical Hit
Storm School
Astraphobia adds +20% Storm Armor Piercing, +20% Storm Critical Hit
Myth School
Saga of Heroes adds +20% Myth Armor Piercing, +15% Myth Critical Hit
Life School
Namaste adds +20% Life Armor Piercing, +12% Life Critical Hit
Death School
Age of Reckoning adds +20% Death Armor Piercing, +15% Death Critical Hit
Balance School
Counterforce adds +20% Balance Armor Piercing, +15% Balance Critical Hit

Look for upgrades to the effects on the current global spells too - cast your school's global spell today!
(Time of Legend for Myth, Balefrost for Ice, Doom & Gloom for Death, Sanctuary for Life, Darkwind for Storm, Wyldfire for Fire, and Power Play for Balance)

Spell Changes

• Insane Bolt has an insane new cinematic
• Look for upgrades to the effects on the existing global spells
• Legendary Treant spells are now more powerful
• Cloaked spells that are Pierced should now show the correct damage text
• Wildfire Treant Treasure Cards will now only steal positive charms from opponents
• Backlash will no longer stack when players cast additional shadow forms while currently in shadow form
• Cloaked shields were causing player health to appear differently than their actual health. Sometimes this resulted in a defeated player "popping" back up with some of their health left. Cloaked shields will no longer impact the display of a player's health in PvP

That's all the news on spell changes in this release. I will pop another post on some of the other changes too.

Until Next Time,

Tabitha

Is that Khrysalis Part 2 around the corner?

Leading the pack in the stories this week :

• Khrysalis Part 2! The test realm is up and we seem to be on the final strait for the big release!
  
• MMORG are having another competition. Pop over to get your free elixirs! 
• Duelist101 - Want to find out more about the Maycast Shadow Forged Weapons?

 ....... Remember there is heaps more on offer in the full edition, all the blogs and You-Tubes you may have missed during the last week in the Spiral......

Relax, put your feet up and Enjoy! We'll have another one ready for you next week.... and I wonder what the KhrysalisPart 2 news will be then?

Until Next Time,
Tabitha

Get Comfortable! Time to Relax and Read the Latest Wizard101 Weekly!

Hey everyone,

Here we are in March already! Start of another week, and and the Wizard101 Weekly is ready to be read!

Top Stories this week:

• Is Tabitha a lucky Wizard?
• Update Notes from Wizard101.com - not Khrysalis Part 2, but new goodies for us all!
• Archangel Gear is released.

 ....... Read all about it here!!

Enjoy and we'll have another one ready for you next week!

Until Next Time,
Tabitha

Ooooh - not Khrysalis Part 2 yet...

Hey Everyone,

Looks like the team at Kingsisle have been very busy listening to what everyone is asking for. I know there are plenty of Wizards who are patiently waiting for Khrysalis part 2.... but the test realm has been opened again to test some pretty exciting updates.

According to the updates page "This update is to help prepare for the Khrysalis part 2 world expansion by introducing Team Up! and Dungeon Recall. We are also looking at helping out young Fire Wizards who are just getting started."

So lets take a look!

It's like PvP for Dungeons!!

A Team Up! Button has been added to the “Press X to Enter” window of most dungeon sigils. The button allows players to find other players that want to play the same dungeon even if they’re in different realms.

When you select the Team Up! option, you will be asked to confirm your action.You cannot choose or reject the team that you are placed in. If you're not happy with the team you were placed in, simply leave the dungeon and you will leave the Team. If you leave the dungeon you will have to wait five minutes before you can Team Up! again.

Details

You will not be put on the same team as someone who you have ignored, or who has ignored you
Team Up! ignores Groups. Grouped players do not need to use Team Up! as you can just teleport to your Group members and join the dungeon together.
Team Up! does not use the 10 second sigil countdown, instead you will wait by the dungeon for others to join the team
When one player is waiting, they will wait until a second player joins
When the second player joins, a two minute timer starts. When the timer reaches zero, all players are teleported into the Dungeon
If a fourth player joins, the timer is ignored and the players are teleported right awayTeam Up! is available on most dungeons, but while this update is on the Test Realm, we encourage our players to congregate and test the Team Up & Dungeon Recall features at the following locations:

• Sunken City in Wizard City
• Waterworks
• Emperor's Retreat in Krokotopia
• Big Ben in Marleybone
• Tree of Life in MooShu
• The Great Spyre in Dragonspyre
• The Chancel in Celestia
• The Black Palace in Zafaria
• Ghost Avalon in Avalon
• Glimmering Chamber in Azteca
• Nastrond in Grizzleheim
• Tower of the Helephant in Wysteria

Ever wished you could just recall directly back to the dungeon you just left? Well now you can!

If you are defeated or teleported out of a dungeon that you were in alone, you now have the option to recall directly back to the start of that same dungeon. An icon will appear near your compass, and placing your mouse over that button will show you the Dungeon name, and a countdown timer showing how long you have before the Dungeon closes.



You will only see this icon when you have a currently recall-able dungeon available to you. If you are defeated or teleported out of a dungeon that you were exploring with other Wizards, you have the option to recall to the dungeon, but you will not see a timer.

If your friends complete the dungeon without you, you will not be able to recall to the dungeon and will receive the message that the Dungeon has been completed.If you return to an entry sigil of your currently active Dungeon, you will see the option to Resume your current dungeon.

If you choose to Resume your dungeon, you will immediately be teleported and will not have to wait for the Sigil countdown. This will prevent players from resetting your dungeon progress by joining you on the Sigils.
If you choose not to Resume your current dungeon, you will start a new Dungeon and abandon all progress in your previous version.

Fire Wizards are going to have a little more health in the early levels ( under level 15)
See the full update details for more information : https://www.wizard101.com/game/game-preview
Note: This update doesn't take into account the changes to your stats with the gear you are wearing...

In an attempt to balance the early levels of being a Fire Wizard, the health of some of the bosses on Firecat Alley are being adjusted, as well as modifications to the Fire and Ice Shields cast by creatures in Wizard City. The most noticable improvement for young Fire Wizards will be the changes to the initial damage of the Fire Elf Spell.

A great bonus is that the Fire Elf will gain varied animations. Be cool to see these, so a trip to Fire Alley in the not too distant future is on the cards!

From wizard101.com:

"Khrysalis part 2 is shaping up to be an amazing adventure. We're still continuing to shape and polish this culmination to Morganthe's story, but here's a sneak peek at some Concept art from Crescent Beach."



Hope you find this update useful, and exciting!!

Until Next Time,
Tabitha

Ravenwood Update

Unlike the rest of the family here at Wizard's Keep, I am still a fairly new Wizard and haven't yet completed my first year in the Spiral. This being my first February, it was nice to find out about Friendship Festival time. The latest edition of the Ravenwood Bulletin tells you more. They have even created some Friendship festival Valentines cards you can send to wizard friends.

More items in the bulletin this month are the announcement of the FanSite Tapestries. All the official sites (listed on that page) have competitions this month to win a tapestry. My most used housing item is my Bazaar Tapestry. And I often have other wizard friends porting to me when I am at home to make use of this very handy item. So try your luck... there are sorts of places you could end up!!

There are some super cute quotes littered over the page.... I have copied one of them here, and another at the end :)

"The things that make me different are the things that make me."

For all of you FaceBook users, the banner page is being changed everyday, and they are calling out for Wizards to provide the art work. You can take a screenshot of you with your fiends and send it in to their community email address - don't forget to press Ctrl-G to get rid of the interface elements in your picture. Details are on the Bulletin.

And then right down at the end of the Bulletin there's some concept art for Khrysalis Part 2, yet another sneek peek at the what's coming our way soon!

"I knew when I met you an adventure was going to happen."

 Head on over to the  Ravenwood Bulletin for the full story.  Enjoy!

Until Next Time,

Tabitha

Castle Tours - Much needed Improvement!

Hey everyone,

Have you wondered how the ratings work for the Castle Tours? Or maybe just thought it unfair that a clearly unfinished house is rated top, when there are so many great houses out there? Now I know that the houses with the dungeons rate high, as everyone wants easy access to them. But some houses look like they have just been bought with no decoration inside or out, or maybe just a few scant items.

Seems unfair to me, that some Wizards go to so much effort - those houses deserve to be seen by everyone!

So I was happy to see that one of the other updates that will be included with the Khrysalis Part 2 update is as follows:

This is great news, and clearly shows that KI, once again, are listening to the masses and giving us great improvements in addition to the next part of the Khrysalis story. I understand that only level 10 wizards will be able to rate houses with this release too. Nice one!

Until next time,
Tabitha

Read all About it!

Latest edition of the Wizard101 Weekly is now out.... This edition includes some news on the forthcoming Khrysalis Part 2....... Read all about it here!!

Hope you enjoy and don't forget to look out for a new edition next week!

Until Next Time,
Tabitha

Khyrsalis Part 2 - getting close now!

I imagine there is much excitement out there in the Spiral right now... the news we've all been waiting for is here:

The following little snippet from KI promises much:

Khrysalis part 2 is shaping up to be a fitting culmination to Morganthe's chapter in the story of the Spiral, and watch for news on this upcoming world expansion.

If you head on over to the Wizard101 News page, there are details of other bug fixes and specifics that KI would like the community to test. I hope they have fixed the stitching bug, as I have been very frustrated with that one! Also the rules for the Test Realm are there.

Was chatting to Morgrim about the test realm yesterday, and he told me some people train their pets over in the test realm so they can preview talents without using 'Live Snacks'. As I am training at the moment, I like the idea of this. Last night I trained Lexi, one of my Ianthine Hounds up to Epic, and the talent reveal was Pip o' Plenty of 4%. Not what I wanted. My other hound, Winston requires training so maybe I'll head over and do that in preview mode....


So are you planning to go over to the Test Realm, or do you prefer to wait for everything to be Live?

Until Next Time,
Tabitha