Idea time!

I had some troubles with the posting of this post-eriffic post, and unfortunately, my issues were not exactly solved. See, I lost the whole thing, and I tried to recover it...it makes me tear up just thinking about it! However...FEAR NOT! I've done my best to rewrite the post for y'all! Sorry for the sadness. I:

I'm back and totally (sort of) out of my writer's block (mostly)! I'd like to offer y'all a bowl of idea soup. It's the best kind of soup, because it's made out of ideas (and broth), and it's calorie-free!! Here's the recipe; enjoy!

1 tbsp school Mounts: it seems unfair to me that permanent Mounts have to be bought. I mean, I went for more than a year without a Mount (before Mounts were even released!!!), and I survived, but it would be great for newer players to be able to get a Mount earlier in the game. They're super helpful, although we now take them for granted. I used to hate long hauls between quests, especially in Wizard City. Walking wasn't much fun. And, as we all know from my post about random stuff that we all love, jumping doesn't actually grant secret access or anything special, so even that loses its novelty after a while. So, here's my idea: set up a side quest for each school. It has to be pretty hard, and it has to eventually enter a solo area, where you can't bring your Legendary buddy or what have you. I'm thinking a quick tower--three floors or so--with a different boss on each level. If you were Fire school, for example, the first two bosses would be Storm and Ice, and the final boss would be Fire, and he/she would drop a permanent Fire-themed Mount. Here are some ideas for the Mounts: Ice = Polar Bear, Fire = Firecat, Storm = BIG Lightning Bat, Life = Centaur (perhaps awkward, but still), Myth = Humongofrog (think about it), Death = Death Scarab (like that cool pet), and Balance = Scorpion. I’d love it, but I’m biased.

2 cups more hybrid-looking pets: okay, picture this—you get a regular, everyday Unicorn pet, mix it with a regular, everyday Firecat pet, and (SHAZAM!) you get a totally cool horse-thing with orange cat paws and a flamin’ mane! Woohoo! That would rock! I’d definitely want one of those. But, besides the potential awesomeness of a Fire Unicorn pet, what would you think about every single pet combo—not just the level 48 ones—having the prospect of a hybrid-looking pet?! This would undoubtedly be a HUGE undertaking for KI, but when they finish with the new worlds/new spells/higher level caps/other stuff that clearly takes precedence, maybe…maybe…they’ll work on this!

3 gallons new pip system: SUPER PIPS! MEGA PIPS! Wait, let’s back up. A ‘super pip?’ What in the name of Ninja Pigs is that weird thing? Well, in my crazy mind, a ‘super pip’ is like a power pip…but for ANY school spell, no matter what your school of focus is! When playing Adam, I find it very annoying having to wait SIX TURNS for an Earthquake after my opponent puts up a Life Ward RIGHT AFTER I’ve fully bladed myself. Now THAT is tedious. Now, a mega pip would be like a power pip, but give THREE regular pips for your school of focus! Just think: when we start to get higher-ranked spells, that mega pip would be a great thing to have. Plus, I wouldn’t mind waiting one less turn for a Centaur or Colossus. ;)

4 pounds school-specific homework assignments: well, I never thought I’d be asking for homework…clearly, something is wrong with me. But hear me out before you call me crazy! This is my greatest idea yet! Okay, I’m gonna give you a scenario.
You are an Ice wizard (GO THAUMATURGES). At the beginning of the week, you get a message from Professor Greyrose. She’s like, “Scoot on over to the Ice school for your assignment!” So, you head over to the Ice school and pick up your homework. This week’s assignment: bounty-hunting! Defeat a specific boss in each world, with one of each of the following: an Apprentice Thaumaturge, a Magus Thaumaturge, a Grandmaster Thaumaturge, and a Legendary Thaumaturge. So, to participate in this assignment, you must be one of those ranks, and you must have a group of that arrangement. Once you’ve found your group, you add them onto your 4-person-max ‘Study Buddy’ list, a temporary friend system that allows players to work on homework assignments with other wizards of their school, without maxing out their regular friend list! Study Buddies can port to each other in any world, and talk to each other in a Group-like setting. After the assignment is finished, your Study Buddy list is cleared. Rewards for these assignments could vary from super-rare housing items to experience prizes, or from huge gold rewards to school-specific pets or clothing items. Also, each participant would receive a grade through a points system. For example: at the end of the week, if only one of the bosses were defeated, you might get one point. If all were defeated, you’d get five or six points. This would make for some great school bonding, too! At the end of each month, whichever school collected the most points in total would win the monthly school competition!! A special prize would be given to the members of that school…say, an organized all-school party, maybe trophy symbols on their clothes, or a special spell that they’d have for the next month. Just throwing it out there.
Okay, I know it’s getting pretty complicated, but there’s one more point to this idea: by winning a monthly school contest, the winning school would collect a YEAR point! So, at the end of the year, whichever school had the most YEAR points would win a HUUUGE award!!!!! I’m talking an automatic level for one character, maybe some Crowns, a super rare single-edition pet, a special Mount…the list goes on and on, I tell you!

5 tsp awesome broth: hey, it has to taste like something.

Okay, there’s your recipe for Idea Soup! Hope it tastes awesome! If you come up with any great ideas, please tell me via comment! I’m sure the Wizard101 community will appreciate your thoughts!

Bengal Tiger--mission success! And other mount ideas

Here's some exciting news: I got the Bengal Tiger mount!!! SO HAPPY. I also created a new character to hang out with Jack Frost on his earlier levels. His name is Logan Shadowstaff, a Diviner, and to him I awarded the Tiger. Jack Frost has a Chestnut Pony mount that he is very proud of and loves to show off. He named it "Wild Bolt" for obvious reasons (I traded him a Wild Bolt treasure card, which I warned him not to use unless in desperate circumstances. He's tried it at least six times and failed, of course).

On the topic of naming your mounts, I thing KI should make a mount-naming program, similar to the one for pets. For now, though, we can make up names! My black stallion is Scarecrow, and the Tiger is Sebastian--I like that name.

I've also been thinking about more mounts that could be added. A Heckhound or Storm Hound would be cool, as would some school-themed mounts. Here are some possibilites I've come up with.
Ice: polar bear
Fire: Heckhound, although the dragons work pretty well for fire.
Storm: Storm Hound
Myth: Orthrus, or a Pegasus of some type...?
Death: something dark and mysterious...skeletal horse?
Life: Unicorn or Centaur
Balance: Hydra!!!

Happy New Year! And my favorite spells!

I just wanted to wish you all a happy 2010, and I hope you had a great New Year's celebration! Now, I devised a list of my favorite spells and the reasons that I love them. There is one for each school. They can be based on coolness, power, or anything else you like about the spell! Make your own list and compare with mine by putting it as a comment on this post! Enjoy!

Ice: As my own school, this one is a tough choice for me, but I have to go with Balefrost. That's right, not old Frosty the Giant or Colossus or Tower Shield (all of which I am fond of). This spell is awesome--at just two pips, it gives ice spells 35% higher damage! Use an ice positive or two, a couple traps, and one whopping damage spell. There is the secret to boss-pwnage, for lack of a better term.

Fire: Yes, I am a dog person, which might make me a little biased--but it's Heckhound. Especially when used by a Pyromancer, preferably with lots of power pips and positives! This guy can deal massive damage in those three turns, if powered up enough. Ah, yes, Briskbreeze Tower has taught me much, including the effectiveness of a decent damage over time spell.

Storm: So Wild Bolt gets a close second, but I have to say, Kraken has really grown on me. When you're in a pinch, pull out that Kraken (if it doesn't fizzle) for only four pips, and make a reasonably large dent in that monster! Sure, Kraken isn't as powerful or cool as a Triton or Storm Lord, but it's totally under-appreciated! So thank you good Kraken for all you have done for us!

Myth: Absolutely Ninja Pig. This will never change. First, they're ninjas, and they're also pigs. It's pure awesomeness in the form of a fat pink animal wearing a mask and chucking weapons at people. LOVE IT!!! It also does a fair amount of damage--640, I think. Not too shabby!

Life: Okay, okay, I have succumbed to the crazy fabulousness of the final spell. But seriously, you don't get much better than Rebirth. It's a tree that gives all the members of your team 650 HP, plus an absorb for 400! I do love a good Dryad or Seraph, but Rebirth is the icing on the cake (the good icing, not the gross hardening kind. Can icing go stale?).

Death: Here's a really great one-pip spell: Feint. This is a useful spell for boss fights, but I would suggest preparing yourself for a strong hit afterward. It gives your opponent a 70% any-attack trap, and the user a 30% of the same type. Just remember, bosses are not dumb. They will figure you out and hit your weak points if you don't defend yourself! So anyway, save Feint for either a low-cost low-power attack to finish the job, or use it at max pips when you want to fire off your biggest attack and make it sting!

Balance: For you aspiring Sorcerers--I really hate to tell you this, but Hydra is totally overrated. What's really great is Power Nova. Another final spell, I know, but I can't help myself. It's a burning sphere of balance that shoots itself at everyone and deals LOTS O' DAMAGE!!! So even though Hydra looks much cooler, and makes a sweet pet, it's Power Nova that you should be looking forward to.

I like it...but I don't get it

I've been thinking about some things in the game that I like but do not understand. KI, if you're out there, please assist. Here are four examples.

1) Jumping. WHAT I LIKE: It's fun, everyone jumps. You can get some big air off a staircase, jump into water, and leap around on mounts for even more enjoyment. WHAT I DON'T GET: what's the point? You can't jump over stuff. Sure it's fun, but it has no real purpose...does it?
2) Sir Reginald Baxby. WHAT I LIKE: He's a zebra with a hat. What's not to like? WHAT I DON'T GET: So I understand that he is working to keep young wizards safe, but how can he do that when he's just standing there quietly on the side of the road, not even where there are monsters? Rule 'A' of fighting wizards: fight magic with magic, not guns. It won't work.
3) The magical rainbow in Grizzleheim. WHAT I LIKE: Yay for walking on rainbows! You hear little sparkly magic noises when you go across! Quite fun. There is also a mini-rainbow in the myth-themed house! WHAT I DON'T GET: Rainbows are supposed to be visions, not bridges. And what do rainbows have to do with the Viking world of Grizzleheim? I'm sorry, but why couldn't it just be a normal bridge?
4) The Centaur's arrow. WHAT I LIKE: That is one cool arrow if it can grow a tree, destroy it, and make all the little pieces come back to hit the opponent; all in the time it takes to eat a piece of chocolate (that's right, I timed it). It's also cool how the arrow is in slow-mo when it's shot. WHAT I DON'T GET: I think the arrow would hurt a lot more if it just nailed the person. But there is a sort of reasonable explanation that I devised. You see, the Centaur should absolutely have been a myth spell, but because a final life damage spell was needed, this guy had to be changed to fit the role. So they made it associated with trees. It's actually a good idea, if you think about it. But I still don't get the slow-motion thing.

Have anything you like but don't understand? Tell me about it.

Mount Madness!

On the ever-intruiging topic of mounts...I personally think that they are some of the most desirable items in the game. Not only do they look super-cool, but they give you a nice speed boost for those long journeys between quests. Here is my opinion on each different type of mount.

Enchanted Broom (5000 Crowns): It's the classic broom design, and low-cost. Perfect for a wizard who loves the functional and is not an animal person.
Purple Glider/Horned Sweeper (7000 Crowns): The Glider features a purple grip and star-shaped amethyst-looking tip (more "girly", shall we say). The Sweeper is sky blue where the other is purple, and is tipped with the head of a dragon. Although these are a little more fancy-looking than the enchanted broom, they are essentially the same.
Faithful Dragoness/Dark Redwing/Blue Dragon (15000 Crowns): The Dragoness is pink, the Redwing is crimson, and the Blue is...well...blue. Dragons are very regal creatures, and I have to say--I envy those who are fortunate enough to call themselves dragon riders. I especially like their little wing flutter as they come down from a jump. They are expensive, though, so not the best choice for someone looking to save Crowns (like me).
Chestnut Pony (5000 Crowns): This pony is a cute little guy, with a windswept black mane and, well, a chestnut coat. The horses happen to be my favorite mounts for no reason in particular, and this one is a sweet deal at just 5000 Crowns. I really have no idea why it costs less, but remember to never underestimate pony power, even if it is 2000 Crowns cheaper than horse power.
White Mare (7000 Crowns): A classic white horse with a bluish mane and tail. Plus the mane is really quite stylish. My only issue with this mount is the weird purply eyeshadow and strangely long eyelashes. I don't get it. These things add a certain amount of unnecessary girliness, which is okay if you like that kind of stuff. But it's not for me.
Black Stallion (7000 Crowns): This one is my personal preferred mount (let's call it a PPM). Sleek, jet black coat, spiky black mane and little goatee-thing. Plus it doesn't look so goofy because its mouth is closed, unlike the other horses, which are grinning. In my opinion, this is definitely the coolest horse available.
Royal Lioness (10000 Crowns): I am a fan of the big cats, don't get me wrong. But the lioness looks like she could lose a couple pounds...lay off the snickerdoodles, know what I'm saying? But seriously, if you love the idea of riding a noble beast such as this, then knock yourself out! Not literally, please.
Proud Lion (15000 Crowns): Yep, more lion power! To me, this cool fellow, mane and all, is a little less fat than the lioness. It might just be me--I'm sorry, Royal Lioness, I still love you.
Bengal Tiger (15000 Crowns): We got any Cincinnati Bengals fans? Detroit Tigers? Any other one of the billions of tiger sports teams? Well it's your lucky day! The tiger is dark orange (I kind of expected a lighter orange) with the usual black stripes. I really like this one, but it's 15000. Not on my budget. But it's okay--I really just like looking at 'em.
(This mount is now unavailable) Charity Meowmodon (7500 Crowns): First of all, it's sort of a strange name. I don't know why they couldn't have named it 'White Tiger' for gosh' sake, but I accept. Second--it makes you feel good to buy it because proceeds go to a childrens' charity! Yay! Third--then it makes you feel kinda sad, because it only gives you a 30% speed boost, unlike the usual 40%. Then it makes you feel happy again, because this is one sweet ride, folks. So please, don't turn it down because it's only 10% less speed. Have a heart. And good taste in mounts.
Bat/Seraph/Swiftshadow Wings (7000 Crowns): They're pretty amazing, because they let you show your wands and they make flapping noises. The Seraph Wings are white and feathery, "Just like a real Seraph's wings." The bat wings are relatively similar to those of a Blood Bat, which is pretty darn cool. They're grey-brown and all ripped up, and yet they still propel you...and the newer Swiftshadows are like black Seraph Wings!
Dream Filly (10000 Crowns): YAAAAAAY! The long-desired Unicorn Mount has finally graced us with its presence! It looks very similar to the Unicorn pet/spell, with a pale blue mane and tail, and a decorative leafy ring around the base of its neck. I <3 UNICORNS!!!
Swift Shark (15000 Crowns): If you want a fierce, exotic ride, go for the shark. It has a layered red, black, and gold saddle. But wait--you ask, "How does a shark live out of water?" Well, my inquisitive imaginary friend, this shark floats. That's right. It hovers above the ground!!! AHHH SO COOL!!

So, what is your PPM (personal preferred mount)? What mounts would you like to see added to the game? I'd love to hear your ideas.