Thursday, October 28, 2010

Gold Guide!

Sorry for not posting for such a long time! Here's a quick update:
Adam, Jack, and Fallon at Grandmaster. I'm taking Adam and Jack through Celestia first, then Jack will help Fallon get through the storyline. From playing Celestia a bit on the Test Realm, I've discovered several important things: Life characters are very handy in near-death experiences. Ice characters aren't. Although they have wonderful health levels and such, their power is just a little too low for the kinds of crazy creatures in Celestia, so if your school of focus is Ice, STICK WITH A BUDDY! Same with Storm, come to think of it. Wild Bolt's power has been reduced (GASP!)...sort of. It has three possible outcomes when cast: 10 damage, 100 damage, and the original 1000. I have seen it hit 1000 twice today, so I guess that's a good sign, but clearly this was an attempt by KI to cut down on PvP cheats (thank you very much KI!! Sorry, Diviners!).

Okay, now for the meat of the post! I've decided to make a brand new gold-making guide for three different level sets! Because my character teams are at three different level stages, I figured it would be helpful for everyone to see what I do to get the most gold possible! So, here is a non-cheating, hopefully helpful guide to earning quick/hard-earned cash!

Team 1: Molly SilverSword (Novice Conjurer) and Logan StarSword (Novice Sorcerer). Here are some tips for characters at Novice-Journeyman levels.

1. Try to buy potions as infrequently as possible. ALWAYS try to muddle through the minigames, because that way, you won't have to spend gold, and you may even earn some. A tip on minigames: play Dueling Diego, beat the first level boss by hitting him with the downward sword movement when he raises his own sword, and then let the first Fire Elf you meet kill you. That way, you're sure to get enough points to give you a full potion, plus it doesn't take too long.

2. If you get caught in a battle, DO NOT FLEE unless absolutely necessary. Fleeing may seem like a good option in the moment, but trust me: it's not. Play the battle through, and you'll get gold, experience, and maybe even an item. You won't lose your spot, either. It's worth it.

3. Once you have amassed about three pages of items in your Backpack, head to the nearest store in the Shopping District (besides the paint shop and the housing shop). Once there, sell all the items that you don't want. If you like the look of an item, or you want to keep it for later use, hang onto it and store it in the bank in your dorm. If you decide later that you don't want it, you can always sell it, which means MORE GOLD!!

4. Farming is always a good option. If you're unfamiliar with the term, farming means to repeatedly fight a boss or creature, usually in order to collect a rare item that is hard to get in a single fight. If you pick a boss that drops good items and is pretty hard, you should farm it. If the boss you pick is too easy, then it's not going to make you a better player, and it probably won't drop great stuff, either. I'd suggest Rattlebones--he's pretty quick, but he drops some awesome stuff, like the 1-day Starlight Pony Mount (which is kinda hard to get, so keep on farming!), the Myth Sprite pet (which I have too many of), and some good lower-level gear! Also, Nightshade (final Wizard City boss), if you've gotten to him yet, even drops some Crowns items, last I checked. So hop to it!

5. Okay, last tip. This isn't one you're going to want to hear. But seriously: don't buy a pet. It was the first thing I ever spent gold on (my dragon, Sir Jackson). I regretted it, even though I loved my dragon. Here are the reasons: first of all, you get a free pet the minute you enter the Pet Pavilion. Second, you can get WAAY cooler, more uncommon pets by farming bosses in ANY area. Finally, you'll end up spending all your gold on boosting up your pet right away. If that's what you want to spend your gold on in the end, then go for it, but if you're saving for something special, DON'T go for it!

Team 2: Kestrel SilverBane (Adept Necromancer) and Finnigan StarBane (Adept Diviner). Here are some tips for Adept-Master levels.

1. Complete side quests. But don't just do side quests that offer big gold rewards--with more experience comes more ability, and with more ability comes more hard-core farming! If you do all of your side quests in each world, it will absolutely pay off in the long run.

2. Finish Grizzleheim. Some people don't like Grizzleheim. It's kinda boring in some places, admittedly, but it offers a LOT of experience and gold along the way! So bring a friend, beat some big bad guys, and rake in the gold!

3. Sell, sell, sell, sell, etc. There are some very high-selling items that can be dropped in Marleybone and Mooshu. In Marleybone, for the upper Adept range, run through the Counterweights and Big Ben. For the most part of the Master range, you can take on any of the Oni bosses and be pretty much guaranteed a good prize. I especially suggest the Tree of Life instance and the multiple bosses scattered through it. You can earn rare pets, rare housing, and rare items from many of those bosses, a lot of which can be sold at a high price. So please, good wizards, I beg you: go forth and farm!

4. Take a step back and go to Krokotopia or Wizard City, for a change! Try soloing Nightside, set up a help service in Olde Town, run through some Krokotopia dungeons or fight all the bosses in the arena! The possibilities are endless. Even if you didn't enjoy WC or KT, you might love going back and showing that you can handle that stuff alone now. Prove your metal: beat some souped-up alligators and creepy dudes in cloaks. It's really a good time.

Team 3: Fallon SilverShade (Grandmaster Thaumaturge) and Adam StarShade (Grandmaster Theurgist). Tips for the Grandmaster range (since I haven't reached Legendary yet!! Soon to come!).

1. First and foremost: KEEP FARMING. Don't stop, yo!!!! Seriously. Most effective gold-earning tactic EVER in the highest range. You have all the worlds to choose from, so do it! If you want a sword wand, head to the Labyrinth or the Drake Hatchery. You'll get your sword in the end, while also earning some other great items on the way to sell.

2. Try out some instances that you had some trouble with before. In Grizzleheim, you can try the Nidavellir instances. They're challenging even for Grandmasters, and the bosses drop amazing level 40+ items for all schools. There are secret bosses, and loads of opportunities to pick up rare pets (Adam got his Life Minotaur there, Jack got a Death Troll, etc.). In Dragonspyre, Malistaire's Lair and the Labyrinth are great options. The Labyrinth is far shorter than the Lair, but what it lacks in quantity it makes up for in quality of items. Malistaire's Lair has Tumok, the Gurtoks, and the big guy himself, all of which offer Grandmaster gear. In Mooshu, run the Tree of Life and fight the Jade Oni. In Marleybone, try out Kensington Park (if you're a Diviner, bring A LOT of converts!). Krokotopia and Wizard City probably aren't great places to return to, though, unless you're up for helping out lower-level wizards and wiping out low-health creatures.

3. While they last, try all of the Halloween towers in Ravenwood! They're fun, quick, and rewarding. Go trick-or-treating up to the top floor of the master tower, and the boss will surely offer you a Grandmaster Athame! Having run that tower many a time since it came out, I have earned thousands of gold coins to prove it.

4. Do Celestia. Simple. The quests so far have given loads of rewards in gold.

I hope this helps you earn some cash! Let me know if you come up with any more ideas, too! I'll be happy to answer questions or give suggestions. Good luck!

Monday, October 11, 2010

Get Psyched! Level 58 Spells ARE AWESOME!

I don't know if any of y'all have seen the new level 58 spells...but lemme tell ya...THEY'RE AWESOME. We now have seen all of the spells, but if you haven't, here ya go! They each cost 8 pips. And did I mention they're AWESOME?!

Fire: Efreet. It's a big genie-type dude with a large golden sword and even better hair than Malistaire. Deals 895 damage with a sword slash, plus gives the opponent a -90% damage negative!

Ice: Snow Angel (!). Love the name, LOL (get it? Like a snow angel? HA). Anyways, creepy cloaked guy (or girl?) comes down from the heavens on a pegasus. He/she (let's call it 'It') is holding a glowing blue lantern-thing, which sprays icy awesomeness onto the enemy! Deals 100 damage, then 660 over the next three rounds (that's 220 each round). Also taunts all of 'em!

Storm: Leviathan. That is a biiiiig snake. It wiggles around a little, then pops up in the middle of the stormy battlefield and spits some lightning out of its nose. Next, it flips over and dives back in, slapping the enemy with its tail! Didn't see that coming, eh? Yeah, I was expecting some lightning-breath too, but I guess we'll have to wait for level 68 for that. :)

Myth: Medusa (thanks comment-folks!). You know, the lady with the snake hair? An earthquake splits the ground, and she rises up with two huge swords...um...and then screams at you? Like Leviathan: why not just HIT you with the swords? Come on, Medusa, get real. You don't hafta show off your cool scream, even though it deals 770 damage. Silly snake lady!

Death: Skeletal Dragon. It's kind of self-explanatory, except for the huge glowing purple wings. It flies, then falls, then shoots Death stuff (DEATH BREATH!) at the enemy for 200 damage, plus 810 more over three rounds (270 per round).

Life: FOREST LORD. Yessss!! It's an AoE spell. THANK YOU KI! 560-640 damage. Wowza. Giant fuzzy green dude appears, makes some trees, grabs their branches, absorbs some tree energy (I guess), and BASHES EVERYBODY!!! This is great. Theurgists: enjoy.

Balance: Ra. Okay, I admit, I totally thought that this guy was a new Solar spell (thanks to Pegasus7 for proving me wrong, LOL). However, Ra makes a great Balance spell, going along with the ancient Egyptian theme (plus giant floating fiery orb). He appears with his staff and Ankh, which he uses to magnify the sun's heat onto all your enemies! 560-640 damage for everyone! ALL HAIL RA!

Okay, guys, do your thing on the Test Realm and keep up the good work!

Friday, October 8, 2010

OMG. WOW. YAY. AAAAAHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!

CELESTIA!!!!!!!! GUYS!!!!!!!!!! (*insert screaming, jumping, and wild dancing here*) HOORAY! Okay, let's get serious now y'all.
If you haven't already, GET ON DAT TEST REALM. Mine's still loading...heh...but read the update!! Link link link!!!

https://www.wizard101.com/game/community/updatenotes

Whew, okay, I'm all right. But get this: new level 58 spells (woah), weird/amazing new school powers (?), and (OMG) buying reagents in bulk! HALLELUJAH. No kidding. ENJOY!! New posts on their way, no worries!!! (*shoves face in pillow to muffle excitement*)

This. Is. Awesome.

Dude.