Feb was Fantastic!

You know, it seems like only yesterday when we were welcoming in 2014, now, we are well into it with March kicking off and the year is simply flying past.

Here at the Keep, it has been a big month.  The opening of February was the announcement of our secret project that we had been running for more than 6 months - the Manual of Mastery.  HERE and HERE).  With a few people now owning their own version of the software, it is starting to get people excited at that it can really do!
With that first post, followed by a little more of an explanation of how it worked, we ended up with the most comments we have had on any post!

It was a month when Pack-a-Palooza was back, we started our series on Grub Guardian, and Tabitha's Bazaar stalking started becoming a little bit creepy!   (only kidding of course Tab, we all do it!)

I had a rant at one stage about the joys(!) of being a Fire wizard. and even KingsIsle had some challenges on their hands with pets not casting Fairy!

Absolutely everyone (at high levels) has been waiting patiently - or not so patiently - on the Test Realm being opened again to see more of Khrysalis Part 2, and when it finally arrived, no update was forthcoming, although the updates with the Test Realm were very, very handy!  :)

During February, Tabitha got her first Mega Pet, Valentines Day came and went with some great, although sometimes a little confusing, specials in the Crowns shop and Tabitha also showed a hint of her competitive side, challenging Galen to a 'Buy Off' in the Bazaar on her quest for more Jade Chairs.

The Lost Pages event was back in the Spiral, and there was a little post in there to help people know what to do if their backpacks started filling up with gear they couldn't Sell.  I even ventured back into Wizard City to see if I could inspire some of the young magicians to taking their Wizards on, in the same way I was inspired all that time ago...

Interestingly, and what was very important for us, was the renewed focus in the Wizard101 Weekly.  This newsletter (free!) goes out each week chock full of useful Wizard101 facts etc.

The last big item of note is the introduction of a new Keep member this month. I am looking forward to his contribution and I hope it continues to be worthwhile for you, the reader.

So, that's it for February.  It was a big month!

As ever, feel free to leave some feedback on the kinds of things you would like to know more about, and we'll look to getting some Blogs up for you.

I don't know about you, but I am looking forward to March.  It should be a great month!

See you 'round the Spiral!

Morgrim

What if I can't sell it?

Before I bought a membership with Wizard101, my 80 backpack limit was constantly being breached, and I'd have to figure out how to clean it out again!  Since membership, with the backpack limit increased to 120, it is quite amazing to think that I have exactly the same problem.

Then again, isn't that the way life works? :)

So, when you have this issue, and your friend Professor Lincoln pops up, what can you do?  

Well, as it turns out, quite a lot really!  

You can start by putting items into your Bank (if it is not full too!).  You can also use your Shared Bank for those items you are able to share with your other character.  These two options are the obvious and most basic of ways to fix this problem, yet some people I have come across are not away of the ability to use the Shared Bank.

However, to actually get rid of items, I always start in the Bazaar.  Don't forget you can sell items directly out of your Bank while at the Bazaar. Before KI introduced this, it was quite time consuming to traipse backwards and forwards between your house and the Bazaar!!

Most things can be sold here and for decent prices too...but not every thing will sell.  Those things defined as "No Auction" cannot be sold at the Bazaar.

So, what then?

Did you realise that you can sell items back to the normal shops?  The shops in the Shopping District and around the Spiral will buy most items, Crowns or special, however even a normal shop isn't the best answer for a bursting backpack!

Funnily enough, once you have finished at the Bazaar, the next best place to go is Pet Pavilion and drop in on the Pet Shoppe Boys.  Not only will they buy your unwanted and most of your un-sellable items, they will also buy back your pets! (and this can be a real relief in the middle of a hatching spree!)

However, if you are out and about in the Spiral, or in a Dungeon, there is another nice feature that can be quite handy - The Quick Sell.  You can do it anywhere or anytime.  This will allow you to sell your items very quickly,  The money is not great, but it is very convenient.

Again, not everything can be sold using Quick Sell, but as an emergency it can be quite handy.  If the Quick Sell option doesn't appear, that simply means that item cannot be Quick Sold.

As a fallback position, there is always the opportunity to feed your item to your pet.  This can be useful for either Treasure Cards, Reagents or even Pet Experience...

...but as a final option, when all else fails - you can always just throw it in the Trash (Delete).

I know some of these sound silly or obvious, but I just know that finding about these options was something I learned over time.  I figure if I didn't know about it for a while, there is a fair chance that others might not have known about it either!

See you 'round the Spiral.

Morgrim

Morgrim and the Mission for Turquoise

It's fair to say, I like collecting stuff.  In this instance, the main driver is Spells.

Being Fire, I feel a little disappointed in the crafting spell for Fire.  There are currently 12 spells available and Fire only get one, and let's face it, Brimstone Revenant just isn't a great spell.  4 pips for 440 damage to a single opponent...hardly seems worth it?

However, there are some other spells that definitely interest me.  Death have clearly gotten the best out of the crafted spells available right now, with Deer Knight and Lord of Night being very useful spells.  For a Firey, it also provides some versatility of attack when fighting an Ice opponent with a high Fire resistance.

Crafting spells poses two challenges.  The first is Amber.  Any spell that is crafted needs this reagent.  Very hard to get and an essential part of this kind of advanced crafting.  Gardening and lucky pack drops seem to be the best approach here, but more on this later.

The other is Turquoise.  For any Azteca equivalent spell, this is also a key reagent, and because you need 25, it is normally no small feat.

There are three ways to get this reagent: dropped, purchased or in a lucky pack drop.

Pack Drops - These are hard.  Currently the Pharaoh's Hoard Pack is the only pack to drop this one and it is filled with Krok housing items.  Now, I like housing - a lot - but the Krok stuff just doesn't work in any of my houses to date, so this is an expensive and low probability option for me.

Dropped - Only really dropped at the end of tough fights.  Being Fire, there are not many tough fights really, but they all take time, and at the end of that time, you still have to be lucky to get the drop.  I have participated in many fights with Alia where she has gotten a drop and I have not.  A little frustrating sometimes...

Purchased - For me, this seems to be the best pay off for time versus outcome.  When I finish playing for the day, I return to the bazaar, refresh the Reagent list 20 times and then log off, so when I come back in, I can check again.

When I log back in, again, it is into the Reagents area and 20 more refreshes.  Typically what I find is that, after 20 refreshes, I have had a chance of turquoise a few times.  This is not always the case, it can be that none appear, but more often than not, it will show up.

Then the fun starts.  How quickly can I buy it?  Don't get me wrong, even at 4000 gold, this stuff does not last.  One half click or incorrect mouse move and it's gone.  The lag from Australia doesn't help either!  That said, I have still managed to pick up a fair bit of this precious reagent.

I have crafted the Deer Knight spell, and Lord of Night will be next.  I have the turquoise I need, so it is off to the garden again to see how my next harvest of Amber bearing plants are going.

So, if you see me in the bazaar, there is a fair chance you'll know what I'll be doing!

Farewell for now,

Morgrim