Tag Archives: Malistaire

Aphrodite Strategy Guide

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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

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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.

Click here for our selection of Music Guides

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

The Dragon Titan Army Band

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Intended for Musician and Non-Musician Alike

"Things started turning darker. Kingsisle were talking about dark and epic Mordor Wagner 'Flight of The Valkyries' in The Ring Cycle. I am looking at concept art and the NPC characters had Russian military influence; All the architecture was darker - more foreboding."
- Nelson Everhart in "Musical Tour Of The Spiral 6: Dragonspyre"

“Main Theme”

Just as mentioned in Everhart’s video linked above, we begin our adventure in Dragonspyre with a world-stopping minor-Major seventh chord, which flourishes throughout the ensemble as the harp and woodwinds flutter downward, providing emotional dissonance. We typically associate the word “dissonant” with something that sounds bad, but in this piece, it provides an unsettling air. 

The ninth of the chord is added to the melody bringing even more color and lending an elegant dissonance to the third tone. The third tone of the chord gives the emotion, so this dissonance that rubs against it creates a feeling of tension and suspension.

The intrada stops 00:10 seconds into the piece, bringing us a chord progression that starts in a minor key, then becomes uplifting and progresses back to the same chord with a picardy third. A picardy third is when a minor chord changes the third tone to become a Major chord. This progression carries along, developing the arpeggiating figures and changing the chords before it reaches a climax into a new section at 00:30 seconds. The strings play the main melody as the brass plays a counterline beneath, eventually joining together into a dismal setting at 00:40 seconds. The trumpet enters, bringing a sliver of hope before it fades away into the darker minor chords and ends.

The next section frolics dastardly within the woodwinds and harp, quickly arpeggiating, presenting the feeling of sneaking and slyness. The strings caress the melody beneath this texture, giving support to the voices above and conveying a kind of dark magic brewing within.

Picking up into timestamp 1:26, we transition into the brass as the bridge takes us into the next section, with heavy Lydian chord dissonances in the bass. The music is ascending into this one epic moment. At timestamp 1:45 we are given the antithesis to the main Wizard101 theme, an operatic technique. The same descending arpeggios and textures are used as the brass plays the ascending melody in a minor key. This reflects the darkness of the world and the danger the Wizard is in.

“Theme 1”

Calling back to the previous piece, we begin with the hard percussion, horns, and masculine choir. Through borrowed chords (chords that are similar to the key, but not the same) and chromatic mediants (chords that have slight or no relation to the key), we get a dark and enchanting texture. Also calling back to the previous piece, we have these four-note motifs played in the horns that bring us through the chord progression. The texture thickens with the addition of the woodwinds, but it 

Concept art of the fire wizard from the original Wizard101 loading screen

harkens forth, like a great army coming from the distance, closer and closer.

This brings us into the next section at 00:50 seconds which uses a repetitive eighth note figure in the horns as the rest of the orchestra brings forward tutti stabs, transitioning us into action. The same texture is still present, but now the melody in the brass and the high strings add-in, playing the chord progression while the trumpets sing in the higher register.

Next, the strings section glissandos in unbreaking unison as the flutes play descending Danny Elfman triplets. In film-scoring or in this case, game-scoring, notes in pairs of threes that have the same note on the first and third beat are considered “Danny Elfman triplets”  because it is characteristic of his work in pieces such as his Batman Theme or Alice’s Theme. The triplets develop, changing notes along the chord progression, giving the piece sass.

As the texture from before returns, the arpeggio transforms from being a Danny Elfman triplet, to playing the entire arpeggio. The notes rock up and down, leading us to a flourish that counterpoints between the sections. The piece calms down and recapitulates the music before returning to the beginning. 

“Theme 2”

A military march kicks the piece off, setting the texture and pace with some aggressive snare and bass drums. The dark minor tonality in the low brass gives us the feeling that something powerful is coming, and it is nearby. The choir joins in as the pauses in this motif get closer and closer until an ostinato in the strings takes off with the chimes adding further texture.

The solo trumpet comes in like before, continuing the style of the piece. The low brass and choir responds to the trumpet’s call. This idea repeats, leading to the addition of the strings. At 00:50 seconds, we introduce new musical content. The higher voices of the ensemble play ascending arpeggios, developing the arpeggiating ideas from the other pieces and giving the impression the single idea has split into two. While this is happening, the arpeggio splits among the other instruments, trading between them when they play, creating a more complex texture. Then, we return to the original arpeggio in the woodwinds as the rest of the ensemble sustains onto the chords. This idea trades off between the other instruments in the ensembles, growing in volume. 

At timestamp 1:15, the woodwinds move onto a new idea. Great swooping arpeggios that feel like dragon wings fly over the melody that is being played by the strong brass. This texture is prominent in the next track as it comes to its climax as well. This presents the idea as something we can ground our emotions onto, so we will remember this section when it is recontextualized.

Then the ostinato kicks in as a power drive to the end. The brass plays familiar motifs from the previous melodies to latch on to our memories of the ever-dangerous Dragonspyre.

“Theme 3”

 In the beginning, the drums set the tone of the piece with a stately march, keeping tempo for the horn’s repetitive melody. The lower brass joins the bass drum, thickening and supporting the texture as the woodwinds play the eighth note motif that the horns played in the melody.

The motion stops as the bass instruments play introducing the   

orchestra which joins in with a similar motif. The idea develops through a different articulation by stabbing at the notes rather than playing them legato, or smoothly. Next, we are greeted by a familiar idea in the woodwinds, rocking back and forth between two notes before completing the rest of the arpeggio. This idea can be found in the other tracks and provides texture as the brass harmonizes. Finally, the choir joins in bringing the rest of the brass section, the strings, and additional percussive flourishes, such as crash cymbals.

The excitement halts as the orchestra becomes homophonic, playing in a similar fashion, but harmonizing together. Afterward, the trumpets lead us into a climactic section that develops the two-note repetition idea by playing the first two notes in the woodwinds only, while the strings and brass take the melody. A familiar idea, but now re-imagined in a flourishing major key before becoming tense and heroic to reflect our now deathly situation.

In the end, we come full circle to a military feeling before engaging in an anthem. Very patriotic in style, it presents the strength of Dragonspyre as a force to be reckoned with. This dissipates into the bras and chimes, leading us back to the beginning.

“Theme 4”

Once again, we are greeted by a familiar symphonic texture, giving Dragonspyre continuity in its musical identity. After establishing the mood, the piece drifts to become sad and wistful in the next section. The strings lull us as the harp gently caresses the arpeggios. The flutes join in, embellishing the texture.
The brass crescendos quickly as the rest of the orchestra comes in

referencing the homophonic texture from before. This leads us to a climactic point in which the repetitive arpeggio from before creates tension as the brass sustains the chords. The next section contrasts this texture with stabs. Ideas from the previous tracks peep throughout this piece, greeting us like an old friend for this finale.

At 00:51 seconds in, we hear a theme being carried from instrument to instrument. The theme goes deeper and deeper, much like our wizard coming closer and closer to Malistaire in the story. This theme is played in The Crown of Fire, during the time that our wizard is carried by the young Battle Drake to our final confrontation with Malistaire.  

In the final section, the orchestra splits beats with the ensemble, creating syncopation before joining together. This thrilling moment dies down as the choir begins to solemnly sing. The flute and strings join in, introducing a new melody at timestamp 01:24. We enter a new key. It’s a major key, bright and happy. The future is looking bright and we are uplifted. Although the story is not over yet! Magic and mystery shroud us, and we can never be too sure whether those enemies we have conquered in the past may come back to haunt us.

Thank you, Starlights, for venturing through the music of Dragonspyre with me. Have a wonderful night.

Click here for our selection of Music Guides

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. The example in “Theme 1” comes from Nelson Everhart’s video, as linked.

Darkmoor Runs Event!

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Come join us Saturday November the 17th!!

Meet us at 6pm Eastern in the Commons realm Unicorn for our Full Darkmoor Runs event. Our staff and Dungeon Runners will take teams of level 100+ Wizards through the Graveyard including Aphrodite!

After a few runs we will meet in the commons to hang out and play some hide and seek.

Besides helping you to get that drop, packs and wand codes will be awarded to some lucky wizards!!!

Be sure to tune in on our official Twitch channel so you can watch all the fun! We can’t wait to get together, hope to see you there!

The following Saturday the 24th we have another event! Click here for details.

Darkmoor Strategy Guide

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Hello Wizards, Amber Ravynsong here with the Darkmoor Strategy guide you all have been asking for. Darkmoor consists of three dungeons. First, Castle Darkmoor, then The Upper Halls, and finally The Graveyard. 3495 Crowns will purchase this area permanently, and 495 can get it for 6 hours. Start to finish, all 3 dungeons could be done in just under 2 hours if the strategy goes as planned. You are likely to spend a lot of time here farming for gear and helping friends do the same. Even more so if this is your first Exalted Wizard.


There are some new spells in the Spiral, and I run my strategy a little differently than some of the guides you may have read before. So, I will take you carefully through each boss and all 3 parts of the Area. If you follow this guide, you will have a much easier, quicker time getting through the dungeons, and getting those must-have Malistaire drops will be a whole lot more fun. So, let’s do this!

PART ONE, CASTLE DARKMOOR

Howling Chaney

The first boss we encounter in Castle Darkmoor is Howling Chaney. If you or your pet heals at all while in this battle, Chaney will hit you with Gnomes. That is Chaney’s only cheat, so stacking up some Feints and blades is the way to go. My preferred strategy is to stack a few Feints on the boss, then hit with something like Storm Lord, but blades are just fine here too. Chaney is easy, but don’t get used to it, there are bigger challenges to come.

SIR BLACKWATER

Next, we come to Sir Blackwater. Sir Blackwater will remove any single blades that you cast on yourself. “I Disarm you Wizard”If you are not life or fire you could self-cast spirit or elemental blades as he will only remove the last of the 3. If someone on the team is over-level, Aegis can be used for self-blading to thwart the cheat.

Even though Blackwater presents himself as Star school he has as much storm resist as any true Storm boss, so you will have to pack converts if you are Storm. Blackwater will Dark Pact to remove any weakness or universal traps such as Feint at the end of your casting round. Therefore, the only way to Feint this boss is to Feint the same round the attacker hits.

When we get to round 5, things start getting nasty with the boss casting pierce rings followed by Shadow school attacks within the same round. The ideal strategy here is to stack up as many blades on your attacker as possible in rounds 1-3. Have each team-mate besides the attacker cast a different Feint on the boss in round four while the attacker hits. If you follow that plan of attack, you should be done with Blackwater in short order.

After taking down Sir Blackwater, as you run up the stairs you will see a key door. Inside the room is a treasure chest only. The best drop you can get is a mastery amulet which also provides accuracy, a little damage, and a very useful Shadow Shield. If you were lucky enough to win a Gold Key in the last battle, use it here for sure.

The Howling Werewolf’s Collar is only one example of the Mastery Amulets that may drop here.

Continuing up the stairs, you will find yourself in the final area of Castle Darkmoor. There is a boss here you can fight if you fail the puzzle but this is not often done, as his drops aren’t worth mentioning and we still have many battles ahead. Run up to the crimson box and press X then up onto the platform pull down the center lever. You will see a spotlight on a far door which is the exit from part one, Castle Darkmoor.



PART TWO, THE UPPER HALLS

 

When you first enter the Upper Halls you will find a mob of Darkmoor Gargoyles at the end of a long hallway. It is not necessary for any reason to face this mob unless you are a completionist. They do not drop any important items and cannot be harvested for Animus at this time.

The first Wizard to approach them will be pulled into battle, but the rest of the team should simply run around this mob. Once the team has safely passed the first Wizard should flee and use dungeon recall. When approaching the mob the second time, the “pull” will not trigger and the first Wizard can run around the mob by heading straight for either side door.

This brings us to the first boss of the Upper Halls.

Akhtang

Akhtang is a Fire boss who likes to use Steal Charm to take your blades. So, no self-blades unless you have Aegis to enchant them. When any blade is cast Akhtang will “Rip it from you” This includes Elemental Blades, he will take the third blade from whoever received it. The only way around this is Aegis. This fight can be sometimes hilarious when the minions Insane Bolt and kill themselves, but that same attack can also hit you. Which is decidedly less hilarious.

This boss is quick and easy with the right plan. I suggest the Four Round Feint Kill strategy. Each round, a supporter casts a different Feint. The attacker will hit on round four. Blades are optional but appreciated. Shatter should be held in standby as a treasure card, just in case the boss decides to use a Storm Shield. We will use this same strategy next, and again in the Graveyard.

After defeating Akhtang you will be facing a Draconian mob. Unlike the Gargoyles before, these minions are worth fighting if you are collecting Animus. There is no cheat worth mentioning. They should be quick and easy to kill. However, you can also choose to simply run around them and continue to the next boss if you are in a hurry to get your new Spell.

Spirit of Darkmoor

The Spirit of Darkmoor is a Life/Fire/Myth boss and she resists those 3 schools. If you blade at all she will cast a Mass Scald. This attack can really add up to disaster for at-level defenses with all her pierce. So, I suggest no blades at all, to keep things simple and keep everyone alive. If you trap, she will hit you with an extremely powerful Myth wand attack. The only traps that do not trigger this cheat are mass traps such as Windstorm and Mass Feint.

This boss has lots of other nightmares in store for us if we let her live to cheat on round five. We don’t need to worry too much about that though, because we will use the Four Round Feint Kill strategy. Depending on your specific team, either divide up Feinting duties or try to heal and shield the Wizard with the Feints each round. We won’t talk about what happens on round five. If the worst happens, and you end up making it to round five, just flee and try again. For real. That rarely happens though, by round 4 we should be done and on to the next fight.

Shane Von Shane

Assuming you didn’t fight him instead of solving the puzzle this will be the first time you fight Shane Von Shane. You will face him again in the Graveyard, so remember the strategy and cheats we use here. If you or your pet heals, he will hit you with a very piercy 1k Vampire. That means, healing pets off. A healer can deliberately cast heals while facing Shane by first casting a death shield if the team needs that. This boss must be “spammed.” This means he must be hit every round by one teammate or he will start a series of cheats which end in your sure demise. The good news is, over time spells such as Scald, Deer Knight, Poison, and Elf do count as spam here for as long as the overtime tic is active. Our feint strategy won’t work here because any universal traps will be removed, even with Indemnity. The good news is, we can use other blades, traps, and shields freely with this version of Shane. It should be a pretty quick kill after a few rounds of blade stacking. Shane is the final boss of the Upper Halls, so after he dies if it’s your first time through you will be getting your spell on the other side of the porting lens.

PART THREE, THE GRAVEYARD

Welcome to the final part of Darkmoor, the Graveyard. This is the part of Darkmoor that you are likely to spend the most time in since the must-have Malistaire gear drops here.

YEVGENNY

The first boss inside the Graveyard gates is the zombie gatekeeper Yevgeny. Anytime a blade is cast this boss will stun the caster. On round five, Yevgeny will hit the Wizard with the lowest heath with a powerful Weaver. This often kills the receiving Wizard. The good news is, we can Feint. Again, we will employ the sure-fire Four Round Feint Kill strategy. If for some reason we get to round five, we will need to Shatter ahead of the hit. This boss is usually pretty fast, and the quicker the kill the better the drops. Be sure to check to see if you got one of the Graveyards prized drops, a no auction, school-specific damage athame.

SHANE VON SHANE

Yep, he’s back again, and this time with a mechanical robot body. This version of Shane has all the same rules as before with a few more. He is back this time as a Storm boss, instead of Death. If your attacker is Storm, convert is a must. Again, you will need a spammer and again you will want a Death shield before any deliberate heals. It is important to note, if you choose to blade, Shane gets a free Supercharge. In other words, if you choose to blade when his pips are high you are giving him free huge blades that could kill you. The best plan of attack here is to stack traps on the boss after converting. Then, add some blades when his pips are low, and Shane Von Shane won’t be a problem very long.

MALISTAIRE THE UNDYING

Malistaire is the final boss of the Graveyard and he holds the prized gear drops that everyone is after. The minions that spawn each time you face him are random schools. Malistaire will steal any universal blade or shield that is cast and he will remove any universal traps.

There are some exceptions to this rule that are important to note. If you are Balance and cast Bladestorm, he will only take your blade, not everyone’s blade. If someone on the team is over level 100 and has trained Indemnity, a universal trap such as Feint can be cast on this boss. If you are able to protect your blades with Aegis, they will withstand one cheat. Mass Feint will not be removed by Malistaire, and can stack with other traps.
 
After every fourth round, there will be an Earthquake. My preferred sure-fire strategy for a Wizard with at level gear and stats is as follows. Trap the boss for the first four rounds. Fifth and sixth round stack up some blades, and then hit on round seven or eight. Yes, counting rounds is necessary here.

They call him The Undying because when Malistaire dies the first time, he returns with even more health. It is the ideal strategy to cast Doom and Gloom on the kill round to counter-act this cheat, so be prepared with it in your treasure card deck unless you are the attacker. Ideally, after the boss dies someone lifts the Doom as soon as possible with Sanctuary or even just a school ring such as Darkwind. When Malistaire returns in shadow form, his dragon rebels against him and casts a 100% Feint. This makes killing him the second time that much easier. Use the same strategy as before to send him to the after-life for good this time, and good luck on drops.