Castle Crafting

Did you Know?

There are castles available for your wizards to craft!

That’s right, there are 4 amazing castles that you can create.  You can craft a home in the stars, or an expansive home in the trees.  In the mood for some creepiness? There’s a craftable house for that too!  Do you need a restful weekend getaway in the mountains?  Craft it and have your weekend getaway everyday!

Watchtower Hall

Watchtower Hall is considered a luxury castle, with 250 housing item spots available inside and 250 outside. You can trade it between your Wizards, but it is not auctionable. This castle does not come with a PVP ring. You will need the crafting rank of Master Artisan and when all your materials have been gathered you will craft it at the Grizzleheim Crafting Station. The recipe to craft this house can be bought from Torald Wayfinder in Grizzleheim for 60,000 Gold.  The cool-down time is 24 hours (Half the time for subscribing members)

Recipe

10 Blizzard TC’s – Blizzard Treasure Cards can be found at the Bazaar for between 250 and 350 gold.

20 Ghost Fire – Ghost Fire is found at reagent vendors in Mooshu and worlds beyond, for 100 gold. Occasionally, it can be found at the Bazaar.

4 Wooden Water Towers – This item can be crafted with a recipe from Balthazar Dragonthorn in Dragonspyre, for 2,150 gold. With persistance you can occasionally find it at the Bazaar.

4 Carved Stone Towers – The Stone Towers can be crafted with a recipe from Toshio in Mooshu for 1,900 gold. Sometimes, you can find Stone Towers at the Bazaar.

15 Ornamental Stepstone – If you are lucky this can be granted from interacting with the Great Moodha Statue in the Shinobi Dojo.You also can craft it with the recipe from Wul’yahm, in Krokotopia, for 595 Gold. Keep your eyes open, because occasionally this can be found at the Bazaar.

30 Stack of Wood Planks – Wood planks can be crafted with a recipe from Eudora Tangletree in Olde Town, for 138 Gold. Occasionally, this item can be found at the Bazaar.

8 Grassy Mound – Craft your Grassy Mounds with the recipe from Balthazar Dragonthorn in Dragonspyre, for 2,370 Gold. Once in awhile, this item can be found at the Bazaar.

2 Water Fountains – Balthazar Dragonthorn in Dragonspyre has the Water Fountain recipe for 2,700 Gold. Like many items used to craft this house, occasionally this item can be found at the Bazaar.

Celestial Observatory

Celestial Observatory is considered a luxury castle, with 250 housing item spots available inside and 250 outside. You can trade it between your wizards, but it is not auctionable. A PVP ring is included with this castle.  You will need the crafting rank of Master Artisan, and you will craft it at the Grizzleheim Crafting Station. The recipe for this castle can be bought from Buxley Turtleton  in Celestia for 75,000 Gold.  The cooldown time after crafting the castle is 24 hours (Half the time for subscribing members)

Recipe

5 Unstoppable TC’s – Purchase Unstoppable from TC vendors for 250 gold.

5 Perfect Onyx – Perfect Onyx is available from reagent vendors for 100 gold.

3 Pristine Vial – Pristine Vial is available from reagent vendors for 500 gold.

7 Crystal Street Lamp – Crystal Street Lamps can be crafted with a recipe purchased from Gearwise for 16,950 Gold. Find him in the Celestia Base Camp. If you keep your eyes open, they can occasionally be found at the Bazaar.

8 Star Chalice – Star Chalices can be crafted with a recipe from Gearwise for 14,430 Gold. Once in awhile they can be found at the Bazaar.

2 Celestian Shield – This decorative shield can be dropped by Carson Spritethief in Celestia. He can be found in the Mysterious Cave in The Floating Land. Curuin Charmtooth in Celestia, District of the Stars can also drop it. If you’re lucky, you might find one at the Bazaar.

4 Celestian Sconce – You can craft the Celestian Sconces with a recipe from Gearwise for 13,005 Gold. It is a rare find, but they can occasionally be found at the Bazaar.

3 Celestian Tree Sprig – These can be crafted with a recipe from Gearwise for 9,690 Gold. As with many other items for crafting this castle, they can occasionally found at Bazaar.

Wyrd House

The Wyrd House is considered a luxury castle, with 250 housing item spots available inside and 250 outside. You can trade it between your Wizards, but it is not auctionable. A PVP ring is not included with this castle. You will need the crafting rank of Master Artisan and you will craft the house at the Grizzleheim Crafting Station. The recipe can be bought from Padraig  in Abbey Road, Avalon for 60,000 Gold.  The cooldown time is 24 hours (Half the time for subscribing members)

Recipe

6 Forest Lord – Treasure cards that are easily found at Bazaar for 2250 gold.

4 Poison – These treasure cards are commonly found at Bazaar for 860 gold.

10 Grendelweed – With persistence you can occasionally find these at the Bazaar for 1625 gold.  It is also a rare harvest from Frost Flower. You can buy them from Diego the Duelmaster for 175 Arena Tickets.  It can also be crafted with the Transmute Grendelweed recipe from Avery Templeton in Celestia. 

40 Mist Wood – If you keep an eye out, and are quick, you can get these at the Bazaar for 175 gold.  They are also found all over the Spiral as a random harvest. They also may be received in many packs, and fishing chests all through the Spiral.

2 Jar of Mushrooms – These are very rarely found at the Bazaar, so it will require patience if you are determined to get them there. The easier way is to craft them with a recipe from Torald Wayfinder in Grizzleheim for 2400 gold.

1 Vine – Vines are sold by Brandon Mistborn in Unicorn Way, for 400 Arena Tickets. They are also a possible reward from Deadly Fly Trap, Deadly Helephant Ears, Frozen Fly Trap and Maelstrom Snap Dragons.  Vines are also found in fishing chests in Aero Village, Massive Fantasy Palace, and in waters throughout Avalon. You can also get them as a possible drop from Gladiator Dimachaerus in the Pit of the Noxii, Mount Olympus, Aquilla.

2 Brick-Walled Pond – This item is commonly found under the outdoor section of housing at the Bazaar for 1092 gold.  You can also craft it with a recipe from Balthazar Dragonthorn in Dragonspyre, for 2730 gold.

2 Cephalopod Obelisk – You can usually find the Cephalopod Obelisk at the Bazaar for 1056 gold. They can be crafted with a recipe from Gearwise in Celestia for 9780 gold.

Treetop Getaway

The Treetop Getaway is considered a luxury castle, with 250 housing item spots available inside and 250 outside. You can trade it between your Wizards, but it is not auctionable. A PVP ring is not included with this castle. You will need the crafting rank of Transcendent Crafter and you will craft it at the Grizzleheim Crafting Station. The recipe can be bought from Cantares Five Flowers  in Saltmeadow Swamp, Azteca for 65,000 Gold.  The cool down time is 36 hours (Half the time for subscribing members)

Recipe

1 Braided Vine – Braided Vines are sold by Brandon Mistborn in Unicorn Way, for 600 Arena Tickets. Some of the gardening reward sources are Deadly Fly Trap and Silver Trumpet Vine. Commonly found in Fishing Chests in Baobab Crown, Caliburn and Elephant Graveyard.  It can  be received as a reward from various bosses.  Unfortunately, it cannot be found at the Bazaar.

3 Sparse Frond – These are quite often found at the Bazaar for 450 gold.  You can receive them as a fishing reward from chests located in the Serpentine Escape.  You can get these as a battle reward from Bacab Skycarrier, Belloq in Three Points, Crimson Eagle, Hielo Spirit, Mazen Stinger Bee, Poison Water Flower, and Zolo Stone Heart.

40 Mist Wood – Mist Wood is sometimes found at the Bazaar for 175 gold.  You can pick them up all over the Spiral as a random harvest. They are a common random reward received in various card packs, and also a common fishing chest drop.

6 Azteca Scaffolding – If you keep an eye out you can find these at the Bazaar  for 900 gold. You can easily craft it with a recipe from Cantares Five Flowers for 27,000 Gold.

8 Azteca Archway – Very rarely this archway can be seen at the Bazaar. Its usually easier to just craft them with a recipe from Cantares Five Flowers for 33,750 gold.

4 Azteca Kiln – This is another rare item sometimes found at the Bazaar. Once again, it’s generally easier to craft this kiln with a recipe from Cantares Five Flowers for 31,500 gold.

10 Dino Pillar – If you get lucky, you might find these at the Bazaar. They can easily be crafted with a recipe from Cantares Five Flowers for 33,750 gold.

2 Amber -It’s possible to transmute Amber using a recipe from Shane MacGobhann for 2,000 Gold. This is also another crafting item sold by Brandon Mistborn for 5,000 Arena Tickets. Amber is a possible reward from many different packs found in the Crowns shop. You can also receive it as a rare drop by Interacting With the Dromel Merchant in Nomads Camp, Lost & Found chest in the Castaways Bungalow, and from the Wishing Well in the  Everafter Village.  Some of the gardening reward sources are Deadly Ninja Fig, King Parsley, Queen Crape Myrtle, Red Bell Pepper, Ultra King Parsley, Ultra Trumpet Vine, and White Tiger Lily. Amber is also commonly dropped by the secret bosses in Mount Olympus and Tartarus, Aquilla.

This concludes the overview of all castles that are available to craft in Wizard101. I have crafted them all and have to say, for me, the hardest was the Treetop Getaway.  They all have their own degree of difficulty, be proud of yourself for accomplishing this challenge if you manage to craft even one! Let me know in the comments which castles you have crafted or plan to craft, and what challenges you are facing! 

Happily Everafter

This incredible new castle is by far one of my favorites! The entire estate is full of fairytales and fables, from Mother Goose to The Brothers Grimm. What truly caught my attention was the morals behind the fairytales represented. I don’t know if KingIsle had an ulterior motive behind their selection of fables, but if they did…..BRAVO! Each area of this home has positive morals hidden within the fable itself.

The Land of Fairytales and Fables

As we arrive through the Spiral Door, we see many pathways leading from a central farmhouse.  The central farmhouse also has a small barn with a secret tunnel that leads to the main house. There are multiple gardening areas all around the central farmhouse. As a bonus, this house is a like for your plants! There is also a lovely lake with a stream for fishing. I haven’t quite figured out what fairytale the main farmhouse represents. Maybe Jack and the Beanstalk? What do you think it could be? I would love to hear your ideas in the comments below!

The first house we’ll visit represents Mother Goose and The Old Woman who lived in a Shoe. It’s a multi-level house, 4 stories inside, with quaint details. The last 2 stories are reached by climbing a ladder, how fun! The rooms inside are smallish, but have plenty of space for decorating in your style.

In the Old Woman and the Shoe, there is a woman who has so many children she doesn’t know what to do! The moral of this story is, listen to your parents and have good behavior.

From there we go to visit the 3 Little Pigs, a fable originally published in 1886. You’ll find a straw house, a house of twigs, and a brick house. These are cute little 1 room shacks.  To the left of them is a path that when followed takes you through a cave to the next house.

Just as the 3 Little Pigs worked hard to accomplish their dreams, so can you!  The moral of this story is you can accomplish anything with hard work and dedication.

The next house we come to is the witches’ house from the Brothers Grimm tale, Hansel and Gretel. This is a fabulous rendition of the enticing candy house. The entire structure is covered in sweet treats that sparkle in the sunlight. The interior has 2 rooms that are vibrantly colored, matching the outside. If you go through the side of the large tree stump, it takes you underground, coming out int the main area of the castle.

Hansel and Gretel got into loads of trouble because they didn’t listen to their parents and trusted someone they didn’t know. The moral of this story is to always listen to your parents and don’t trust strangers.

After climbing a hill, we find ourselves at a wishing well. This well has a daily gift for your Wizard! On this occasion I recieved gold and a pet snack. Climbing a hill to a well is from an old 18th century nursery rhyme, Jack and Jill.

Jack was in such a hurry that he forgot to stay safe and be careful.  The moral in this story is to avoid being hasty and do things carefully.

Rising to the sky we have the Brothers Grimm again, this time with Rapunzels Tower. This whimsical structure has 3 stories with a winding walkway that circles around the main floors.

Rapunzel dreamed of getting out of her tower and patiently waited for that wonderful day to arrive. The moral of this story is to never give up on your hopes and dreams!

There is a hidden door behind the waterfall that takes you to the lower level of Rapunzels Tower!

The mount that comes with the bundle is none other than the Pumpkin Carriage from Cinderella! This is another great multi-person mount from KingsIsle, this one with stunning details.

Cinderella had a hard life but kept a happy heart no matter what. The moral in this story is to be kind, forgive others, and don’t let bad things ruin a good heart.

The pet that comes with this bundle is the adorable, or should I say “toadorable” Noble Toad!  As his crown shows, he comes from a long line of Noble Toads!

Gear fit for a King or Queen

If you’ve ever wanted to have a regal look, this is the gear for you. The stats won’t replace your dungeon farmed gear, but it will make an amazing stitch!

This wand is utterly amazing, so very eerie!  It’s called Poison Apple.  Once again, the stats are not the greatest but it would be another awesome stitch. Does anyone remember where a poison apple comes from? That’s right, Snow White!  

Snow White was envied for her inner beauty as much as for her outer beauty.  Her good-hearted trust in everyone caused problems for her.  The moral to this story is that real beauty comes from within, and once again don’t trust strangers.

KingsIsle has outdone themselves with this bundle!  Not only is it an adorable castle with many features, but it also has wonderful morals for the children of the game. I hope you enjoyed this walkthrough of the Fantastic Fairytale Farm! If you see any other fairytales or fables represented that I missed, let us know in the comments below! Until next time, may all your dreams come true!

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Tunes101: Guide to Music Players

Tired of the silence in your castle?  Well, lets do something about that. There are so many amazing Music Players available, there’s no reason to sit in silence.  Come along with me, check out the players and get your groove on!

Rose Piper-Music Player Recipe Vendor

Rose can be found in all of the Telegraph Boxes, during the 5 Boxes Event.  She has recipes for the most amazing players at great prices!  I told her all about y’all and she is looking forward to helping you find the perfect player for your castle.

Pyramid Player

Crafter Level: Apprentice Crafter
Recipe Price: 1000 gold
Ingredients:
1 Sonic Spring
1 Krokotopia Main Theme Music Scroll
5 Sapphire
10 Stone Blocks
*Available from fishing chests at the Pyramid of the Lost Horizon
*Available as a drop from Grimsnes BurntBlack. During the Five B.O.X.E.S. Event, Grimsnes can be found in the Wizard City Telegraph Box.

Olde Town Turn Table

Crafter Level-Apprentice Crafter
Recipe Price: 1,000 gold
Ingredients:
1 Sonic Spring
1 Wizard101 Theme Music Scroll
5 Sapphire
15 Simple Vials
*Available from fishing chests at the Pyramid of the Lost Horizon
*Available as a drop from Grimsnes BurntBlack. During the Five B.O.X.E.S. Event, Grimsnes can be found in the Wizard City Telegraph Box.

Ravenscar Turntable

Crafter Level-Apprentice Crafter
Recipe Price: 1,000 gold
Ingredients:
1 Sonic Spring
1 Grizzleheim Main Theme Music Scroll
5 Onyx
25 Mist Wood
*Available from fishing chests at the Pyramid of the Lost Horizon
*Available as a drop from Grimsnes BurntBlack. During the Five B.O.X.E.S. Event, Grimsnes can be found in the Wizard City Telegraph Box.

Pigswick Player

Crafter Level: Initiate Crafter
Recipe Price: 1000 gold
Ingredients: 1 Sonic Spring, 1 Wysteria Main Theme Music Scroll, 5 Peridot, 25 Cat Tails
*Available from fishing chests at the Pyramid of the Lost Horizon
*Available as a drop from Custos Decimus. During the Five B.O.X.E.S. Event, Custos can be found in the Zafaria Telegraph Box.

 

 

Marleybonaphone

Crafter Level: Initiate Crafter
Recipe Price: 1,000 gold
Ingredients: 1 Sonic Spring, 1 Marleybone Main Theme Music Scroll, 5 Onyx, 10 Stone Blocks
*Available from fishing chests at the Pyramid of the Lost Horizon
*Available as a drop from Emil SoftPaw. During the Five B.O.X.E.S. Event, Emil can be found in the Marleybone Telegraph Box.

Jade Palace Music Player

Crafter Level-Adept Crafter
Recipe Price: 1,000 gold
Ingredients: 1 Sonic Spring, 1 MooShu Main Theme Music Scroll, 5 Jade, 25 Mist Wood
*Available as a drop from Ostrame.
During the Five B.O.X.E.S. Event, Ostrame can be found in the Mooshu Telegraph Box.

 

 

Dragons Roost Player

Crafter Level: Master Artisan
Recipe Price: 1000 gold
Ingredients: 1 Sonic Spring, 1 Dragonspyre Main Theme Music Scroll, 5 Amethyst, 25 Cat Tails
*Available from fishing chests at the Pyramid of the Lost Horizon
*Available as a drop from Sylvia Spitfire. During the Five B.O.X.E.S. Event, Sylvia can be found in the Avalon Telegraph Box.

Deep Sea Music Maker

Crafter Level-Grandmaster Artisan
Recipe Price: 1,000 gold
Ingredients: 1 Sonic Spring, 1 Celestia Main Theme Music Scroll, 5 Amethyst, 15 Pristine Vials
*Available as a drop from Custos Decimus. During the Five B.O.X.E.S. Event, Custos can be found in the Zafaria Telegraph Box.

 

Music Players from other Vendors

Music player

Sold by: Aubert Quickhammer/Wizard City
Price: 1,000 Gold
*Also available from fishing chests at the Pyramid of the Lost Horizon

Polarian Music Player

Crown Shop- Witch’s Hoard Pack (399 crowns)

PVP Combat Music Player

Sold by: Roland Silverheart/Unicorn Way
Price: 200 Arena Tickets
*Also available from fishing chests at the Pyramid of the Lost Horizon

Baddle Music Player

Crafter Level: Initiate Crafter
Sold by: Balthazar Dragonthorn/Dragonspyre
Recipe Price: 5,000 gold
Ingredients: 10 Baddle of the Bands Trophies

Bubbler Music Player

Sold by: Crown Shop
Price: 2,000 Crowns

Tower Music Box

Sold by: Crown Shop
Vendor Price: 2,000 Crowns

 

Recipe available from Torald Wayfinder/Grizzleheim
Crafter Level: Master Artisan
Recipe Cost: 32,440 Gold
Ingredients:
2 Life Trap TC
50 Perfect Amethyst
8 Diamonds
8 Golden Pearls
5 Sandstone
50 Bronze Gear
1 Solar Decoration
2 Stone Wall Segment

That’s it!  Now you know the who, what and where of all the music players available in the Spiral…..so far.  Gonna close this up now, so why don’t you mosey on down, find you a player, buy some scrolls and get your groove on!

Aphrodite Strategy Guide

Now that we have mastered Darkmoor in my previous guide, the Ravenwood guide to Aphrodite is here. This boss is a key boss found inside The Graveyard. Once inside the gates go left around the battle with Yevgeny. You will find yourself at another gate which opens with a gold key.

If you are a Life wizard you will want to farm Aphrodite for “Sacred Charge” a spell that only she drops. If you are a Storm wizard you will want “Aphrodite’s Storm of Thorns.” This is the best damage athame for Storm at level 100 and beyond.

Wizards of any school may be here to enhance critical rating or improve their energy gear. With the staff for 10, ring for 8, and athame for 6 energy, you can increase your Wizards current energy by 24 points. A significant boost for any gardener or fisher in the Spiral.

Now let’s talk about how to conquer this overgrown flower and her Spirit School Tentacles.

There are four important roles in this battle. Each wizard must understand and fulfill their duty in order for the team to succeed. The positions we need to fill are

                                

Hitter
Healer
Spammer
Trapper

Hitter

The hitter will need to stack traps, then aura, Shrike, and hit. Do not use blades, this includes global rings such as Darkwind that act as a blade. Any school can hit, but over-time attacks such as Dragon are not recommended. Failing to kill on the first strike with an over-time attack, will trigger an overtime cheat from the Life School Tentacles.

A Storm attacker will want to stack different forms of the Windstorm spell. Use regular and Potent Windstorm along with any other Storm traps you can get your hands on. Four stacked Windstorms is a thing of beauty against this rampant vine. You can achieve this, by stacking Treasure Card, regular, Potent, and pet or jewel forms of the card.

If you are a Storm, and your damage is lower than you would like, keep a Supercharge in your side deck. Any blade will trigger an all one enemy cheat from the tentacle diagonally across from you. As long as that tentacle isn’t Myth this is the one blade you want to risk. With a full pip Supercharge and stacked Windstorms, you should be able to one-shot this boss. Your Treasure Card deck will hold zero-pip shields which you should use defensively while building up the Supercharge.

If you are the hitter, do not run in with the team for the first round of battle. Once the spammer lands a hit, it is safe to join the battle.

Healer

I have a specific strategy I like to use for healers with this boss. Like Storm’s strategy, it will serve you well in Darkmoor.

Round One: Cast Empowerment or Adapt

Round Two: Cast Sanctuary

After these two moves, you will have all the pips and all the power you need to keep your team alive. No matter if you don’t yet have the best gear. Even two strong Rebirths in a row can be possible if you make these two moves first. Do your best to replenish your Empowerment or Adapt when it runs out to keep the extra pips flowing in. The rest is up to you and your healing style.

An important note for Life School healers in this boss, you may get hit with Life Dispels. You should carry shields to take them off when necessary. If you have one, equip a may-cast healing pet. This pet might clear those Dispels allowing you to heal the team rounds sooner.

Regular Cards on the left and Treasure Cards on the right

Spammer

In Wizard101, when we ask for “spam” we mean: To hit each round with small attacks. As a spammer in this battle, the most important stat for you to focus on is accuracy. I like to equip a Sidhe Wand for this reason. Whatever equipment you choose, the important thing is to increase your accuracy in every possible way.

Missing or fizzling your spam hit will cause the flower to drop its spores. This means Black Mantle, Plague, and Infection along with an overtime attack on every member of your team. This can trigger a self-feeding loop where one fizzle causes another until the team just can’t win. As spammer, you need enough accuracy to overcome the Black Mantle every time.

You must hit every single round, like clockwork. I like to keep my Treasure Card deck full of one or two pip spells when I am relied on as the spammer, so that there is never any reason to not have an attack.

As I mentioned above, over-time spells are not OK here. If your spammer is Life or Death school, they could end up Dispelled a round. The healer or trapper should have a few small hits in to back-up the spammer, just in case.

It does not matter which Tentacle you choose to spam as long as you spam the same one each time. This will allow the trapper to do their job.

Trapper

The trappers’ job is to stack Feints and traps on the tentacles while the hitter builds the attack. Feints and Potent Feints should be cast on all the tentacles that aren’t being hit by your spammer. Hex, Curse, and Elemental or Spirit traps are all also ok to use. Ideally, the trapper should be next in line after the spammer in battle order. This way, on the hit round a final Feint can be cast.

If the team works together and everyone plays their part, this battle can be fun and smooth. Good luck getting those drops, and I can’t wait to see you in the Spiral!
~ Amber Ravynsong

The Darkmoor Philharmonic

In the first Wizard101 arc we learn the story of Malistaire and Sylvia. Even in death their love holds them together. A dark and mysterious man in a supernatural castle who goes too far. In Gothic literature this is a common theme. This is only fitting for our Phantom of The Opera esq love story. Let’s us take a look at the magic behind the music in the haunted sequel of this epic love story.

Main Theme

The orchestration begins with an eerie celesta solo accompanied by a shrill violin. The bass instruments soon follow, supporting the established sound. This theme calls and responds throughout the ensemble. It travels to the oboe and harp then follows to the flute and pizzicato strings soon after.

The choir and chimes enter at 00:39 seconds in. They trade off beats as the brass and strings emphasize the modulation of a minor chord to a major chord. This repetition develops into a different minor chord. This sets the mood of the dark essence of a Gothic castle.

We continue with a waltz which uses the same texture as before until timestamp 1:13. This is where we enter a Marleybone style orchestration with more organic sections. A change from the block-style Darkmoor tends to use. Then we jump back into the familiar melody introduced at the beginning. The orchestration lightens with several solos before its return to the start.

Tense Theme

The timpani, contrabass, and bassoon begin this section in a low rumble. They solo before the harp’s tone cluster 00:10 seconds in that introduces the high strings.

The alto flute introduces a maniacal theme, doubled by the grandiose pipe organ. This instrument is a familiar feature in pop culture when exploring the Gothic era and its music.

Timestamp 00:27 surprises us by clustering the tones within its chord progression. In the midst of this dissonance, a waltz occurs. The melody is a whisper, stressing tension on the non-chord tones. The bass line becomes overpowering. This reflects the feelings of our Wizard in the quest to conquer Castle Darkmoor.

The next section sneaks in, with arpeggiation in the woodwinds, celesta, and pizzicato strings. The music sneaks around the castle in espionage and exploration. The beginning theme returns in solo instruments, like a hollow echo of what came before.

Reunited Theme

A short piece plays in the Darkmoor reunion scene when Malistaire and Sylvia reunite. This is where they may finally be at rest together.

At timestamp 00:15, the upper strings enter the scene with the first violin sustaining a high note. This reminds us of the start of the main theme. The second violins and violas harmonize on the offbeats, swelling into them. We progress into a major modulation before the music halts into silence.

We continue as before, except now moving onward to a darker minor chord. The timpani interrupts, crescendoing into a tutti section of the ensemble. The great pipe organ swells in a twelve-tone row. In this form atonality all twelve keys are equally presented.

The romantic music begins at 00:58. The romance derives from tension tones added to chord. This makes us feel that we are wanting resolve. It is this tension that makes us expect something brilliant to happen at the climax of the music. Often, it’s a kiss. Here, it’s the finality of death as Malistaire and Sylvia cross to the other side of the veil. Together forever.

Large brass fanfares and orchestral jubilation continue as we say goodbye to Malistaire. Third times the charm, am I right?

Thank you, Starlights, for venturing with me through the Gothic music of Castle Darkmoor.

Disclaimer

Please note: I transcribed the music from the original/classic mode music scrolls. Not all of my transcriptions are 100% accurate, but they are close and the rhythm is properly notated

How to Create a Portal Hub

Dedicating one of your castles to store the portals to your other houses can be a laborious task, especially deciding you want to begin a project like this. If you’re not sure what I mean by a “portal hub,” I am referring to a castle that is the central hub to teleport to your other homes. Successfully completing a project like this is a big accomplishment for any decorator, for your friends to tour your amazingly decorated houses and simply teleport to the next once they’re done.

The Math

Before we begin, there is a lot of math to be done. For this guide, I will be doing the most complex option of how we can interpret this project (and very much so the most impressive!).

Open your list of houses and count all of the houses you want included in this project. I want my Balance House, my Storm House, my Death house, and my Midday Estate included in this project, plus my dorm. My Storm House will be the Hub, and my Dorm will teleport the visitor to the hub. Once the person gets to the hub, there will be several portals they can enter. This is described in the main flow chart. The Marleybone and Darkmoor houses will not be a part of this tutorial.

This means we will need one teleporter for the Dorm, three for the hub, and three more to put in the houses. Therefore, all together, we will need seven portals. We need two for every house we have, plus one for the dorm.

The Portal Plan

Next, we need to figure out the route these portals are going to take. The flow chart to the left makes it look easier than it feels when actually doing it.

We must set up three portals to go back to the dorm, the dorm portal to go to the hub, and the three hub portals to go to the houses. Remember, when you click on a portal without the mark in the corner of its box in the decorating menu, it means you need to select the location it will teleport to first. If it does indicate a point has been selected, you may proceed to place it. 

An Example

To the right is one possible combination a visitor may take. After teleporting to you in your dorm room, they go through the portal in the Storm House hub, and then the Midday Estate. When they decide to leave the Midday Estate, they will go back to the Dorm Room and begin again to see the other houses.

This visual shows where the portals are going to. The violet portal heads to the Storm House. This is color association. By using violet, it is a hint without needing to use a sign where they are about to go.

This works rarely. Most of the time, we need to put a sign nearby, or in the portal to show where people are going.

An extraordinary example of Paige Moonshade’s Portal Hub. Find her Wizard’s Watchtower on the castle tours!

It is always amazing to see houses on the tours that are connected together. Seeing portals linked together like this makes the house feels that its a part of something much larger, and is a product of greater quality. In projects like these, the more houses you have, the more work it will take to maintain it, but there’s a bigger pay off. In the image to the left, it looks amazing to see the portals of every single house in the game linked up together.

Thank you, Starlights, I wish you the best in your Portal Hub creations! Please remember to email your lovely interpretations of this guide to us at [email protected] because we would love to see them. If you have any issues following along with this guide, please get in touch with me in the comments below or on the Ravenwood Academy Discord!

Dorm Decorating: Death School

I ’m sure everyone remembers struggling to figure out what to do with their first dorm room. I had no idea what to do with the original furniture. Honestly, it just wasn’t for me, but after a week or so of fishing, questing, and collecting treasure cards, I had figured out how to make the most of my dorm.

 

First, I started by removing all of the furniture and by selling it in order to buy some furniture I could work with for the style I had in mind. I had to think “What’s a good color scheme?” and “What items are an absolute necessity for a dorm?” and most importantly, “How could I fit everything together to work the best for my dorm?”

Well, after a few hundred trips to the Bazaar (on the fine edge of an exaggeration), I had gathered enough decor to achieve my goal. Some of the first few items I chose were the Wyrm Crowned Bed, the Long Narrow Table, and the Portrait of the Bone Dragon. After I had picked out the larger items, I started searching for others that would work well with them.

I decided on some Aero Dwarf Chairs for the center of the room; this would be the first thing your Wizard would see each and every time you entered. I wanted to make my focus simplistic and fill the outer edges with more decor.

One of the most important things to go by when decorating is to ask yourself “Does this look cluttered?” I don’t know about you, but I definitely like to keep things tidy, especially in my Wizard’s home.

One of my favorite parts of setting up my dorm was glitching. If you’ve never tried it before, it might surprise you how easy it is! This was my first time glitching while decorating and it turned out flawless, in my opinion. All you need to get started is one Maple Bookcase and a Black Checker, the best part is how they always have both of these items in the Bazaar!

 

To achieve the decorating glitch, first set down whatever object you want to float on the floor, then place the bookcase next to it. Then, you place the Black Checker on whichever shelf you want your item to be when it is in the air. Then, grab your Black Checker on the shelf and move it so your bookcase sinks into the floor. Once it’s there, you can move the item into the bookcase and then move the maple bookcase again, and your object is in the air! After this, to remove your bookcase, you grab the checker again and move it so your item stays in place.

My favorite glitch in this dorm room is definitely my Small Fry Keeper Tank. For this glitch, I used my Maple Bookcase to glitch some Purple Dewberries into the tank. Then I used it again to set it up in the window and out of the way! By using the glitch, I saved walking space in my dorm. Plus, it looks amazing, even if I do say so myself. To finish the tank off, I placed a Blue Angel plant on top of the tank to add a splash of blue to the area.

Every Wizard needs a study area, and for this, I completed three separate glitches. I decided to put the Telescope in the window sill with the Castle Magic Help tome beside it. It only made sense to look at all those beautiful Wizard City sunsets up close from the comfort of my dorm! Looking toward the desk area, I glitched the Arcane Rebooter (from Wizard101’s 10th-year-anniversary code) onto the table because it was almost too big to fit otherwise. That glitch definitely freed up more space on the desk too! I added a few specimens in jars, a Bottle Burner, Test Tubes, and a Venus Flytrap plant to complete the look. I found the flytrap in the Bazaar, but you can also get it from Fishing Chests!

I decided to not put too much of an emphasis on the doorway and to keep it fairly simple, I added the Nimbari Sword Rack, one of my favorite decorations in the game. The Dragon Skull, the Black Rock Fragment, and a couple of Glowing Mushrooms to keep things interesting.

Last but not least, I glitched the Wyrm Crowned bed into the wall and placed more glowing mushrooms underneath it! This is a really small bed in the game, so adding the mushrooms turned it into its own focal point! Next to the bed, I have the Elegant Hat Stand, and the Special Hat stand each covered in Darkmoor Cobwebs. You can thank my pet Moose for that one.

I hope you guys enjoyed the read because I loved writing it for you! I hope you all have a blast glitching and creating your very own personalized dorm!

This article was submitted by Guest Author, Jen Skullbreaker

Contest Winners

What a wonderful time we had looking at all of the entries! It was fun for the whole team. 

Here are the winners of the Christmas Decoration contest, prizes will be sent to the email you provided: 

 

- 1st Place -
Austin Death: Aero plains Bundle

- 2nd Place -
Jeffery Shade: 5,000 crowns

- 3rd Place -
Laura Battleblood: Yuletide Parade Truck!

- 4th Place -
Jerry Tom: 7 packs of your choice

- 5th Place -
Nathan Darkblood: 4 packs!

Take a look at these other amazing screenshots

We tired to add many of your pictures as we could, sorry if we missed yours. There might be a special surprise coming from Santa for all of you who worked so hard decorating your homes for the season! Keep a close eye on your emails!!


Thanks to everyone who entered, we will be having more contests like this in the year ahead and would love to hear your feedback or suggestions. Please email us with any thoughts at [email protected] or comment on this post.

Dorm Decorating: Xmas Edition

It’s Christmastime in the Spiral once again! I’m sure all of you are just about as excited as I am (as if that’s even possible!). It’s the most wonderful time of the year and you can show your Christmas cheer with an exciting and original Christmas themed dorm room!

I am completely new at glitching and Castle Magic, but I’ve picked up a bunch of fun tricks this season to share with you all! For my dorm, I didn’t want to use any of the Christmas themed trees we all love so much. Instead, I decided to make my own original Christmas tree.

For my Christmas tree, I chose to use six of the Blue Holiday Ornaments and glitched them into the air using my trusty Maple Bookcase and Black Checker. For this glitch, all you have to do is set down whatever object you want to float and then place the bookcase next to it. Then you place the Black Checker on whichever shelf that you want your item to be in the air. You grab your Black Checker on the shelf and move it so your bookcase sinks into the floor. Once it’s there, you can move the item into the bookcase and then move the maple bookcase and your object is in the air! After this, to remove your bookcase, you grab the checker again and move it so your item stays in place.

I found all of the ornaments used for this in the Bazaar (and for quite a cheap price). All around my tree I have floating presents using the aforementioned ornament glitch. I thought this would be a really magical focal point and it turned out better than I had imagined. Speaking of the actual Christmas tree, it’s the Snowy Polarian Tree shrunk down twice along with the ornaments using Castle Magic. As you’ve probably noticed by now, my not-so-Christmas tree topper isn’t actually on the top of my tree. I did this because outside of Photomancy, the tree is too tall for it to show. For this, I just grabbed a handy Star Staff and enlarged it five times with Castle Magic as well.  

To the left of my tree, I made a cozy sitting space featuring one of the goodest of boys. Right next to him, I glitched a Regular Keeper Tank with a Red Cap Carpe (the perfect Santa fish!) into the floor using a rug and the Maple Bookcase. For this glitch, you start by placing your tank in your dorm and then set out your Maple Bookcase with the Black Checker on the lowest shelf. Once that is done, you grab the checker and move the opposite end on the bookcase into the tank. Grab the Maple Bookcase and set it down so that your tank is up in the air. After this you grab the checker once more and move it so that the bookcase is no longer touching the tank, which is now floating. Then you pick up your bookcase and then place it once more. This time you will put your checker on the second shelf and place a medium rug (either the Medium Magenta or Medium Purple). You then move the checker so your bookcase sinks once more and place the opposite end on the long side of your rug. Next, you move the bookcase and make sure that the rug is placed evenly inside of the tank. As you’ll see now, the rug fits perfectly where the wooden bottom stops and the blue base starts. Once this is done, remove the bookcase by grabbing the checker and place it somewhere else in the room. Pick up the bookcase. Grab the rug and move it anywhere in your room where you want your tank and you’ll see that the tank is sunk into the floor without the bottom wooden piece showing!

Inside the tank, I have a shrunk down Snowman and a Snow Pile. Remember that when glitching items inside of the tank, you need to place them where the tank will be first, which can get tricky if you need to float each item. That’s why sinking the tank is a perfect option if you want some extra flair! For the Snowman and Snow Pile, I shrunk them both using Castle Magic Reflectors and Start Detectors with the shrink cards in place (this is all trial and error, depending on how small you want an item. Using a Magic Reflector, you can use castle magic on up to eight items and you can shrink or grow a single item at least eight times!).  On top of the tank, we have another Snow Pile shrunk down. I also included some Yuletide Candy Canes and peppermints for all of the guests to enjoy.

One of my favorite glitches of all time would have to be putting the Silver Chest over the plain wooden one for your bank. It was revolutionary for me when I first tried it and it worked so well! I simply used two medium rugs and the chest. All you must do is place one rug on top of the other at different angles and rotate the first one until it is under the wooden chest. Once that’s done, you set down your Silver Chest (which is the one found under the furniture tab in the Bazaar) directly on top of your wooden bank chest.  You’ll never have a plain chest for your bank again!

Next to the chest, we have a matching table with the Cookies and Milk glitched on top using the Maple Bookcase once again since they wouldn’t fit normally, you always have to give a little something back to Santa! (even if he is trapped in your fish tank at the moment).

Next to my glitched chest, I used up my spare Blue Holiday Ornaments and glitched them into the air and placed the Azteca Basket underneath. For that, I used the Maple Bookcase and Black Checker glitch with the bottom shelf, one with the second shelf from the bottom. All ornaments were shrunk two sizes down and I enlarged the basket by a size. All the String Lights were enlarged twice with Castle Magic as well. Last but not least, in the window, I placed the Gingerbread House to finish off my dorm.

I hope you all enjoyed my article on How to Make the Most of your Dorm: Christmas Edition! Decorate those dorms and have a very magical Merry Christmas!

This article is by Community Contributor, Jen Skullbreaker

Polarian Shipwreck

Are you ready to take on the next challenge? Is all the equipment there?
We need your valuable help, time, patience and screenshots!
 

I will continue with the Polarian Shipwreck

This is what’s been confirmed or not yet by Wiki and the Housing Item Identifier or other sources.
 

Battle Narwhal

 
Wiki: Verified
Housing Item Identifier: Verified
 

 

Proper Penguin

Wiki: Verified
Housing Item Identifier: Verified

 

Polarian Explorer’s Pickaxe

Wiki: Not Verified yet
Housing Item Identifier:
Currently, it hasn’t been found.
 

 

Polarian Explorer’s

Wiki : Not Verified
Housing Item Identifier: Gear not Verified, shows only the recipe for the mannequin.
Others sources: Not verified as of now.
 

Advice

The Castle contains 4 ponds that are linked together.
The spells will apply to both ponds, so there’s no need to repeat them.
The fishes of this Castle are mostly from the ice school, so use Winnow Ice Fish or an ice lure!
Winnow ice fish can help too if you use the Buoy Chests 1 spell.
The Napoleguin Doodlefish, Ice school, rank 2 is the doodle of this Castle.
 

Secret Pond

At a lower point on the ice wall of the Polarian Shipwreck, there is a different color to the ice. If you walk through, you will find a hidden pond.
 
 
If you get some of the crowns gifts that have not been confirmed in the Wiki, please take a photo with the chest drop and send it to us at [email protected]
 
Thanks for visiting Ravenwood Academy
I can’t wait to see your photos and comments!
 
Thank you and Good luck!