Tag Archives: Wizard101

Catching the Kiliman Copperleaf Doodlefish

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Every Monday morning the weekly tournament fish changes. In this article, I will share my experiences with the fantastic hobby of tournament fishing!

Kiliman Copperleaf Doodlefish

Life School | Rank 2 | Common /Regular |1500 XP

Αverage sale price in gold: 700 each

Used in recipe:Pet Bread Crumb

Ingredients:

1 Merle Doodlefish
1 Satyr Doodlefish
1 Zeus Doodlefish
1 Pacal Doodlefish
1 Goliath Doodlefish
1 Kiliman Copperleaf Doodlefish
1 Nalia DuneStrider Doodlefish
1 Flytrap Doodlefish

Vendor:
Jackie Whisperflame/Wizard City – Pet Pavilion – West Ende Girls Snack Shop  (5,000 Gold)

Limits:

Small Fry: <10

Whopper: >40

Fish Location:

Housing Items:
The Sun Palace

How to catch a Whopper:

In the same area, the Sumo Koi fish is available to be caught. It is the same rank, same school but different size in whopper. The Kiliman Copperleaf Doodlefish‘s shadow in the water is 40 in length for a whopper and the Sumo Koi’s shadow is 35 in length. Also, the Doodlefishes always swim faster than other fishes.

How to find this fish:

  1. Common Vitality Lure/ Winnow Rank 3 Fish/ Reveal Large Fish
  2.  If no fish are affected: Summon Fish and repeat
  3.  If a fish is revealed: Charm Fish / Minor Vitality Lure and catch it.

Advice:

The Sun Place has two ponds that link together for the fishing spells. So, it is unnecessary to repeat the spells when you go inside in the second pond.

 

The first 3 winners will get tournament tickets:

First place: 120 tickets
Second place: 50 tickets
Third place: 20 tickets

The Tournament end on the 17/12/18

Good Luck!

The Music of Mooshu

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Intended for Musician and Non-Musician

As the emperor falls ill, the factions of Mooshu wage war against each other and there is no way of knowing how it will all play out. Mooshu’s people are hesitant to trust us wizards because of Malistaire who stole their spiral key  in an attempt to resurrect his beloved Sylvia. Let us delve into the atmosphere and take a closer look at how the music of Mooshu is used to aid the story.

“Main”

From the first moment, the texture is established through a high-pitched gong. The plucked strings set the serene tone and give the land of Mooshu a musical identity. We feel the authenticity in relation to our own world. The flute comes in, sustaining a single tone with an embellishment, queuing the plucked strings to play a phrase in a soli. A soli is the musical action of having a single section play together, similar to a solo, but with more people playing the same phrase.

After that, we dive into the first melody. Syncopated and fluttering with notes, this is our driving theme of action. The finger cymbals add percussive texture. The flute plays it first, before the plucked strings, giving us continuity in the established musical texture, as well as creating a call-and-response pattern between these instruments.

By 00:32 seconds, we have our second melody. This melody contrasts with the first by being calmer, less syncopated, and having fewer notes. After the flute plays, the bowed strings make their first appearance, adding grandeur and excitement to the texture. The flute climaxes in a beautiful solo, with the same melody as before, except the notes are more sustained. This leads to the calming down.

Our call-and-response pattern continues as the plucked strings and percussion lead us back into the hardy bowed strings. The strings play an ostinato as the flute develops the melody sustaining notes whilst adding a flutter, combining the two melodies we have heard previously. The next section calms us down, phasing in and out the different instruments and bringing us back to the beginning.

 

 
 

“Plague”

The Shoshun village is one of the most memorable parts of Mooshu, acting as a major crossroads of four paths. Guarded and maintained by monks, here is where we find the healing waters that will save the plagued waters of Mooshu. The plucked strings take the majority of the piece with a motif before the erhu plays the melody at 00:49 seconds. This is the same melody as the second theme in the piece before, but the piece recontextualizes this theme to the current events of the story. This theme represents Mooshu’s ongoing troubles.

 

Next, at timestamp 1:25, the brass plays. This is a new instrument that hasn’t been in the first theme, and the majority of this piece is over when the brass comes in. The entry of the brass, ascending in pitch, represents the wizard uplifting Mooshu from its troubles. The high strings come in as the harp plays descending lines. This minor tonality represents the struggle of saving Mooshu from the plague.

“War”

Starting with the dark brass, there is new context to this timbre. The factions of Mooshu are waging war against each other and our wizard is the one who must be swift as the coursing river, with all the force of a great typhoon, with all the strength of a raging fire, and mysterious as the dark side of the moon.

Spontaneous and erratic, the deep drums signal the driving emotion of the high stakes in this section. The bowed strings and flute play, queuing in the hardy, pulsing plucked strings and percussion. This music represents how the attack occurred at Hametsu village, pillaging it to ruin.

The war theme contrasts with the plague theme in style and orchestration, but the pulsing melodic ostinato emphasizes the first three out of three-and-a-half pulses in each measure, similar to the melody heard in the plague theme. I say “three-and-a-half pulses” because the entire piece is in an “unusual” time signature to our western ears. The piece is in 7/8, meaning we must divide the number seven into three pulses, making one of them unequal to the others.

The brass enters again, signaling the devastation to the village with their minor tonality and descending tones. Afterward, the pulsing ostinato in the plucked strings continues as new elements are added to the texture. The plucked strings mimic and develop the brass’ line as a motif to tie the end together.

“Haunted”

The Haunted Theme plays in the Yoshihito temple that serves as a crossroads to the final areas of Mooshu. Serving as the grey area between life and death, the tone is melancholy and almost sorrowful.

We begin with the high strings harmonizing in a minor tonality, with the plucked strings and percussion responding to the high string’s cry. The erhu plays the melody, heard from the Plague and Main themes. The major harmonies and wind chimes give the theme new light. This thematically represents peace and the finality of death.

We glissando into the climax at 00:39 seconds. This glissando places the strings to play the highest notes an octave above the erhu. The erhu then walks down the scale in eighth notes, giving us resolution into the next phrase.

The ostinato heard in the Main Theme comes back, then, we jump around notable themes from the other three pieces. This alludes to the haunted theme acting as a recapitulation of the theme we heard before which brings resolution to this chapter of the story.

“Mystical”

This selection from Pirate101 is heard in the Skyways and is one of the most simple in orchestration. We begin with the koto playing a simple line. From the placement of the pitches, it feels syncopated, despite it being completely even eighth notes. This is accompanied by finger cymbals, blocks, and unique drums, fitting into the timbre of the previous pieces.

The erhu comes in, slightly thickening the light texture, adding sustained notes that stabilize the orchestration before the flute comes in. At 00:42 seconds in, we are greeted with a familiar element heard in the previous pieces of descending arpeggios. The flute seems to dim away as the tam-tam crashes, giving drama to the texture.

The plucked strings and flute play the melody in unison, emphasizing its importance. The brass come in, adding counterpoint in the pause of the melody. This calms down into a flute solo with the plucked strings having a wonderful glissando, giving a magical effect. The plucked strings come back in as the flute plays the main melody of the piece before the percussion, strings, and flute changes the texture into a climactic tutti, or the entire orchestra, before we calm down to start again.

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

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.

A Yuletide Carol

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Intended for Musician and Non-Musician Alike

It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas, everywhere in the spiral. We sit by the glowing embers, drinking our hot chocolate, cuddling with our fuzzy kitten, when ho! – there’s Christmas music in the Bazaar! You run by the great tree near The Commons pool, through The Shopping District and take a peek into the yuletide scrolls, and in a wild frenzy, you decide to buy them all. ‘Tis the season, am I right? So now, the music is playing in your home, perfectly seasonal and festive.

Let’s take a look into these heart-warming music scrolls and see how well they rival Mariah Carey and examine the musical craftsmanship the composers at Kingisisle took arranging these holiday favorites.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u92UQSI4NvM

“Jingle Bells” and “Yuletide Jingle”

Like snowflakes twinkling on the new-fallen snow, we begin with a glockenspiel and sleigh bells that set the festive tone. The piano glissandos, adding a new texture, heralding the melody, joyous and free. At 00:16 seconds in, the big band comes in. Heaven and nature sing as the trumpets and trombone begin to swing. The sax and percussion add such vibrant color, it really brings out a new Christmas wonder.

By 00:36 seconds, the first idea we heard with the twinkling and the melody being played on the piano develops, adding a new jazz band texture. It’s also worth noting the vibraphone playing a countermelody against the main jingle bells theme. This line arpeggiates the chord progression while the rest of the band plays.

With a strong, tutti finish, we enter a new section. The piano plays an impressive solo as the brass of the band stabs at some of the syncopated notes, adding emphasis. The saxophones take over the melody as the brass continues while the piano flourishes the piece with arpeggios. We are brought back to the first section we heard before a ritardando to the end.

Overall, our form was AABA, or in other words, we played our first section twice, played a new section, then went back to the original. In our culture, it’s very common to have Christmas songs played in a jazz style, even if we don’t know that it is. White Christmas and All I Want For Christmas is You are good examples with their jazz chords and interpretation.

Above is a simple arrangement of the piece “Jingle Bells.” The capital letters beneath each note match the pitch on your computer keyboard related to the Grand Playable Piano and Playable Toy Piano items found in the crown shop.

Notice the points of the music where it has the number 1 and number 2. In music, we typically call these “first” and “second endings.” The idea behind this is that you will go back to the beginning of the section, indicated by colon called “the repeat sign,” and play the same thing that you have just done before, but now with a variation on the ending. The first ending is called the “antecedent” phrase, because it does not resolve, setting up the theme’s repeat. The second phrase is the “consequent” phrase since it contains the resolution.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8tIwlRqPx60

“Deck The Halls”

In a rather upbeat manner, we start off with a line of eighth notes with some sixteenth note syncopation played by the piano as the harp glissandos along. A wind instrument calmy takes the melody. The flutes play along, strengthening the fa-la-la-la-la-ing of the chorus. This pattern continues until the reeds join in to resolve the phrase.

Next, at 00:39 seconds in, the melody is handed to the bassoon. This personally reminds me of older family members like grandparents that have a deeprooted joy for Christmas. The wood blocks add emphasis to the articulation the bassoon displays, developing the melody. The clarinets rock back and forth between their notes, like little youngsters playing with their elders.

The strings delightfully swoon through, gaining the household’s attention. The bassoon adds ascending arpeggios and it appears like the family is talking to one another. The family seems pleased with each other, all ending in the same melody.

We have a ritardando that leads us into the next section. The Commons theme begins to play, proclaiming that Christmas shall be brought to Wizard City with great fanfare. The Commons theme replaces the Deck The Halls theme seamlessly, because of the melody’s similar contour and rhythm, as some of the original melody still shines through.

 

In this simple arrangement of “Deck The Halls,” we play with the idea of different voices having different parts of the melody. At first, the treble staff rings out the melody as the bass staff holds the primary note of the chord, known as the “tonic” and also the “root of the chord.” We seamlessly switch the melody to the bass, giving emphasis on “fa-la-la-la-la,” but immediately switch back to the treble to complete the resolution.

The words at the end of the music, “D.S. al fine” means to go back to the sign and stop where it says “fine,” meaning “finish.” Unlike “Jingle Bells,” the resolution is built into the music. This is what we call “ternary form,” where we end with the section we started with, having a contrasting section between them.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5zymp2tyEbc

“Carol of The Bells”

Dramatically, the piano and sleigh bells set the tone, as though we see a dim candle lit in midst of a storm. Short and plucky, the bass line comes in, descending down a major tetrachord. Scales are composed of two tetrachords, which are four note patterns. Echoing the line, the strings harmonize going down the next four notes. When notes move towards a descending motion like this, we typically feel calmed. This is also why the resolution of a piece relies on the tonic note when the rest of the scale ascends above it.

A rhythmic motif is added, emphasized by the piano and strings. A motif is a short, recognizable phrase that can be developed throughout a piece by using different notes or adding variation to the rhythm. This introduction is hinted at when we come to a cascading figure built upon a melodic minor scale.

This brings us to a new section at 00:20 seconds that reminds me of children playing beneath the tree on Christmas day. This melodic figure develops by changing the pitches whilst maintaining the rhythm for continuity. This is followed by the same cascading scale we heard before. This repeats, as the strings add-in again, leading to a climax.

Next, at 00:45 seconds, the brass come in. Their dark tone adding to the quality of the minor chords they play. This develops the line the piano has played previously, giving the notable ostinato new context with this texture and reharmonization.

This leads us into 00:53 seconds, where it feels truly magical with the sustained chords in the strings, the arpeggiated solo in the piano, and of course, the wind chimes. The horns come into the texture, introducing the trumpets, playing chords. The progression goes from the minor tonic i, to the relative major III, to the dominant V. In music analysis, we typically label chords with Roman numerals and capitalize the numeral based on major or minor tonality. This progression is the climax of the piece, using the chromatic voices to cause linear dissonance which then leads to the chords that point us to where the tension can be resolved.

We end the piece in a recapitulation of the melodic content that occurred at the beginning of the piece. We end in the very way we started, like that dim lit in the storm, fading away to nothing. This piece contrasts compared to the others. Neither in a jazz style, nor a Major key, we have a dramatic orchestral style set in a minor key, which evokes the sense of Christmas past, similar to other pieces like God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen.

Take note of how the second staff is now also a treble clef. This means we play the second one with our left hand, but now we are playing in a higher register than before. Looking through the piece you will see that when we have the majestic ascending scales, the left hand will cross above the right hand in order to give the needed harmony while working with the restrictions of the in-game instruments.

Thank you, Starlight, for venturing through my Yuletide edition analysis. You have truly made this Yuletide bright. I bid you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

Disclaimer:

Please note: The above sheet are not transcriptions from the music scrolls, as they would be in previous articles. These are simple arrangements I’ve made to accommodate the simple nature of the in-game playable Wizard101 instruments.

Renee Wooften Interview

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Recently, the Ravenwood Academy staff had the pleasure of spending some time with Renee Wooten aka Renee Wooften, one of the Associate Producers at KingsIsle. After spending 3 years answering customer inquiries, in-game issues, billing concerns, and bug reports and then becoming an Associate Producer we decided that she had an interesting perspective we would like to hear more about. We really appreciate her taking the time to answer our questions and can’t wait to see what exciting things she brings to the team in the future. Also, what IS she up to in Olde Towne at that tunnel??? Let’s see if we can find out. 

Q. Empyrea Part 2 added Whirlyburly, can you tell us if there are any plans to build on and expand it to make it more appealing?
A. We always envisioned Whirlyburly to be something that we wanted to expand upon depending on how players received it. I hope we get a chance to expand upon it and would love to continue getting feedback from players on the forums!

Q. Can you tell us if there are any plans for updates to keep the current influx of players interested, or will we be continuing to mainly see the big half-year updates?
A. We always strive to balance out quality of life and content updates. Quality of life is typically revisiting systems that are already in place and how we can make them more enjoyable or accessible to players. 

Q.  Have you heard of any plans to create further side content? (like pvp, whirlyburly, fishing, gardening)
A. We are in constant conversation about creating new side content. 😉

Q. Will we continue to see graphics updates in the worlds past Wizard City?
A. Currently, there are no plans to expand past Wizard City. This does not mean it could not potentially change in the future.

Q.Will we see more of these crowns events? Will we get other different types of events in the future? 
A. We are always trying to brainstorm different events and have always wanted to reward our players that choose to not be members, but also maintain the value of having a membership. We are looking into making adjustments to future events in hopes to make it more rewarding based on feedback from the community. 

Q. Will we ever see a new side world like Grizzleheim and Wysteria?
A. There’s always a possibility. 🙂

Q. Can you give us any hints about what other exciting surprises are coming to the Spiral in 2019?

A. We are currently still working on a solid plan for the year, but it’s going to be exciting and ambitious once again. Hopefully we’ll have more to share in the coming months.

Crafting101 – Dragonspyre | Pt 1

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We’re back with another Crafting101 issue. Lets explore the crafting quests in one of my favorite main worlds, Dragonspyre!

Balthazar Dragonthorn

The next crafting badge you can earn is your Master Artisan badge, but first, you must complete all of the crafting quests Balthazar Dragonthorn gives you. Balthazar is found to your right after you cross the bridge entering the Atheneum.

The first quest he gives you is called Two-Ring Circus. For this quest, you will need to craft 2 Rings of Apotheosis. To craft these rings, you will need an Equipment Crafting Station. It is available for 1,500 gold in the Furniture stores in Krokotopia, Marleybone, Mooshu, and Dragonspyre.

Balthazar’s crafting quests are more difficult than Toshio’s were. He not only asks you to craft the 2 rings of Apotheosis but also 2 robes specifically for your school and 2 pieces of furniture. This quest will require the Housing Crafting Station which is available for 1,500 gold from the Furniture Stores in Wizard City, Krokotopia, Marleybone, Mooshu and Dragonspyre.

The Recipes

The recipes themselves aren’t too difficult to complete. The biggest obstacle is gathering the rare reagents such as Diamond, Nightshade and Blood Moss which can be difficult to find or aquire.

The first recipe, Ring of Apothosis, only has three ingredients. Balthazar starts you off with something simple.

Below is the Recipe for Ring of Apotheosis. With needing to craft 2 rings, you will need to double the reagents.   

Below is a picture of your second crafting quest recipe. The robe you are given in this quest all depends on what school you are. I am a Life Wizard so I was given the Needle and the Vine quest. Other schools will get:

  1. STORM – Needle and Rain: Craft 2 Raintree Uniforms
  2. ICE – Needle and Frost: Craft 2 Thunderchill Cloaks
  3. FIRE – Needle and Flame: Craft 2 Grimblaze Vestments
  4. DEATH – Need and Bone: Craft 2 Duskwind Tunics
  5. MYTH – Needle and Fate: Craft 2 Bright Surcoats of the Paragon
  6. LIFE – Needle and vine: Flamesoul Cloak
  7. BALANCE – Needle and Luck: Craft 2 Cloaks of Weighty Grief 

The only recipe available for purchase from Balthazar is the Flamesoul Cloak. You will need to craft 2 of each robe so again you will need to double your reagents.

The third and final quest from Balthazar is Iron Craft Dragonspyre. You will need the recipe Crimson Book Stand from Toshio in Mooshu. You will need to craft 2 of these to finally receive your Master Artisan Badge. 

Gathering the Reagents

Now, the fun part begins! For me, it took some time to gather all of the reagents needed. For the first recipe, Ring of Apotheosis, you will need:

Ghost Fire

Ghost fire is best bought from a reagents vendor. In fact, Zoltan Nightstone, who is standing nearing Balthazar, sells them for 100 gold a piece. The Bazaar also has them available and can cost anywhere from 50 to 500 gold. If you happen to have any Burning Snap Dragon, they drop Ghost Fire. If you are in a hurry to rank up, I would recommend buying them from a vendor or the Bazaar whichever works best for you. 

Diamond

I found Diamond to be the most difficult reagent to gather. You can find them in Ore as a rare harvest, or transmute Ore to create them. Ore spawns all over the spiral. It’s all about finding the hot spots. The Atheneum usually has 2 that you can harvest and the Cave of Solitude, in Mooshu, has around 3-4. Jumping from realm to realm makes it easier and quicker to gather the reagents you need in an area like these. They are available at the Bazaar, but they are quick to go, so if you see any – buy them as fast as you can! They usually cost anywhere from 100 – 1,000 gold. There are also several plants that could drop Diamond when you harvest them: Burning Snap Dragon, Deadly Helephant Ears, Fickle Pickle, Frozen Fly Trap, King Parsley, and the list goes on.

Black Lotus

Black Lotus can also be a difficult reagent to find. Mostly found in Mooshu, once you find a few, I would switch through different realms to find as many as you can in that spot. If you still can’t get enough, it is available at the Bazaar when you’re lucky usually selling anywhere from 43 to 425 gold, depending on how many are available. 

So in total for this recipe, you will need:

  • Ghost Fire – 18
  • Diamond – 30
  • Black Lotus – 40

Now, the second recipe varies depending on your wizards’ school. As we covered earlier, there are 7 different quest variations. We will cover the other variations next week. Since I am a Life Wizard, I will cover the reagents needed for the quest Needle and the Vine. For this quest you must craft the Flamesoul Cloak.

Nature's Wrath TC

Nature’s Wrath is a popular treasure card available at the Bazaar. These TC’s usually sell for around 300-400 gold each. You can also get it from harvesting Bamboo Shoots, Fickle Pickle, Fortune Cookie Tree, Purple Grapes of Wrath and Queen Crape Myrtle.
If you can’t find it at the Bazaar, Zan’ne in the Krokotopian Library has them available for 400 gold each.

Ruby

Ruby is an easy reagent to find. The vendors in Wizard City, Krokotopia, Marleybone, Wysteria, and Mooshu have it available for 15 gold each.
You can also buy it from the Bazaar from 8 to 75 gold. 
If you have any Ivy League, Snap Dragon or Ultra Dandelion there is a possibility you could get Ruby when you harvest them.

Crystal Vial

Crystal Vial is a pricey reagent when bought from a vendor and the Bazaar. The vendors in Wysteria, Mooshu and Dragonspyre sell them for 330 gold where as buying them from the Bazaar can cost between 165 to 1650 gold each, depending on how many are listed available. Harvesting Pink Dandelion can also get you some of these vials.

Ectoplasm

Ectoplasm is a tricky reagent. Battling different bosses in Mooshu and Dragonspyre can reward you with Ectoplasm but it is not guaranteed every battle. Buying it from the Bazaar is much quicker unless you enjoy farming. It retails for 25 – 250 gold each. Harvesting Baby Carrots, Orange Dandelion, Ultra Snap Dragon and Ultra Trumpet Vine will give you the chance of Ectoplasm at harvest.

Frost Flower

I would say Frost Flower is a fairly popular reagent that spawns all over the spiral in its cold and icy places. It is especially easy to find in Grizzleheim and Wintertusk and there is always a frost flower near the Ice Tree, Kelvin, in Ravenwood! rost flower can be found at the Bazaar, prices ranging anywhere from 33 to 325 gold each. Harvesting Evil Snow Peas, Fickle Pickle, Frozen Fly Trap, Orange Dandelion, Snow Apples, Honey Bee Plant and Boon Tree will increase your chances of harvesting a Frost Flower.

Black Pearl

I found Black Pearl to be a challenging reagent to find. It can be gathered as a rare harvest from black lotus or pearl. It can also be transmuted. You can also purchase Black Pearl from Diego 175 arena tickets. The Bazaar has them available but they are quick to go, so if they are available buy them quickly. They usually sell for anywhere from 188 – 1875 gold each. A few gardening options are Alligator Pear Tree, Deadly Fly Trap, King Parsley, Ultra Tiger Lily, and the list goes on.

Stone Block

Stone block is one of the easiest reagents in the game to find.Two of them spawn right in the Athaneum where you get the quest! The Bazaar has them selling from 18 to 175 gold a piece, you can even buy a bundle of 100 from the Crowns Shop for 499 Crowns. Burning Snap Dragon, Dandelion, Fickle Pickle, Snap Dragon and Tiger Lily all drop this reagent.

So in total for this recipe, you will need:

  • Nature’s Wrath TC – 12 
  • Ruby – 28
  • Crystal Vial – 6
  • Ectoplasm – 24
  • Frost Flower – 30
  • Black Pearl – 16
  • Stone Block – 20

Now for the last recipe. The Quest is called Iron Craft Dragonspyre and you have to craft 2 Crimson Book Stands.

Fire Elf TC

The Fire Elf TC is a very popular TC dropped by low ranked enemies. A popular boss to farm is the Kraken, located in Triton Avenue. It can be bought from the Bazaar from 113 gold each. If you can’t find any available at the Bazaar, Harold Argleston in the Wizard City Library has them for you at 250 gold a piece, Zan’ne the Krokotopian Librarian has them selling at the same price. They can be harvested from Bell Pepper and Helephant Ears.

Shadow Oil

Shadow Oil is best bought from a vendor. Vendors in Krokotopia, Marleybone, Wysteria, Mooshu and Dragonspyre sell Shadow Oil at 20 gold each. It can also be harvested from Orange Dandelion.

Glass Vial

Glass Vial is also best purchased from a vendor. Vendors in Krokotopia, Marleybone, Wysteria, Mooshu and Dragonspyre have them available for 125 gold each where the Bazaar could be anywhere from 63 to 625 gold each. There is a chance of receiving Glass Vial’s from harvesting Burning Snap Dragon too!

Cat Tail

Cat Tail is a very popular and easy reagent to find. They spawn just about anywhere in the Spiral where there is water. If you are having trouble finding them, they sell from 18 to 175 gold at the Bazaar! They can be harvested from Dandelion, Pink Dandelion, Tiger Lily and Honey Bee Plant!

Nightshade

Nightshade is actually a rare harvest from Deep Mushroom! Deep Mushroom is a reagent that can be found all over the spiral, however, Mooshu is the world where Deep Mushrooms likes to spawn most! If you aren’t having much luck finding Deep Mushroom by the road in Mooshu, the Bazaar is the best place to try next. Nightshade sells from 100 to 1000 gold each, but they are very rare. If you find them available be super quick to buy them! If you are still struggling to find Nightshade, harvesting Burning Snap Dragon, Ultra Ninja Fig, Honey Bee Plant and Fickle Pickle will increase the chances of you getting more Nightshade. You can also transmute 15 deep mushrooms into your needed Nightshade. 

Blood Moss

Blood Moss, another rare reagent. Actually a rare harvest from Red Mandrake. Red Mandrake spawns frequently in Wizard City’s Colossus Boulevard, Nightside, Sunken City, Firecat Alley, Haunted Cave and Cyclops Lane. If you have Azteca unlocked, it can be found there too! The Bazaar sells Blood Moss from 150 – 1500 gold each but it is one of those rare reagents that sell like hot cakes! Harvesting from Deadly Fly Trap, Ultra Ninja Fig, Honey Bee Plant, Pink Dandelion and Fickle Pickle will hopefully grant you some Blood Moss, or you can transmute 15 Red Mandrake at the crafting station to make 1 Blood Moss. 

Black Pearl is also needed for this recipe. So in total, you will need:

  • Fire Elf TC – 6
  • Shadow Oil – 6
  • Glass Vial – 2
  • Cat Tail – 72
  • Nightshade – 24
  • Blood Moss – 20
  • Black Pearl – 12

Transmute Recipes

A Transmute Recipes are recipes you can buy from various Recipe Vendors around the spiral! They take a number of common reagents and craft them into a single desired rare reagent! You will need the Card Crafting Station which is available for purchase from the Furniture stores in Krokotopia, Marleybone, Mooshu and Dragonspyre for 1,500 gold. I found these recipes extremely helpful when trying to find Nightshade, Diamond and Blood Moss. I just crafted them and problem solved!

 

 

The Diamond Transmute Recipe is available from Felicia Worthington in Marleybone – Regent’s Square. Selling at 200 gold. You will need 15 Ore. 

 

 

The Black Lotus Transmute Recipe is available from Toshio in Mooshu – Jade Palace. Selling for 300 gold. You will need 10 Cat Tail and 10 Ore. 

 

 

The Ectoplasm Transmute Recipe is available from Balthazar Dragonthorn in Dragonspyre – The Athaneum. Selling for 150 gold. You will need 5 Leather Straps.

 

 

The Frost Flower Transmute Recipe is available from Torald Wayfinder in Grizzleheim – Northguard. Selling for 300 gold. You will need 10 Mist Wood and 10 Stone Block.

 

 

 

The Black Pearl Transmute Recipe is available from Toshio in Mooshu – Jade Palace. Selling for 400 gold. You will need 15 Black Lotus.

 

 

The Nightshade Transmute Recipe is available from Wul’yahm in Krokotopia – The Oasis. Selling for 200 gold. You will need 15 Deep Mushroom. 

 

 

The Blood Moss Transmute Recipe is available from Eudora Tangletree in Wizard City – Olde Town. Selling for 400 gold. You will need 15 Red Mandrake. 

That concludes our walk through of the Dragonspyre Crafting Quests! Next stop, Celestia! Where we will meet with Pierce Stanson, the Grandmaster Artisan! See you in the next article!

The Wysterian Honour Band

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Intended for Musician and Non-Musician Alike

Welcome to the fourth annual Spiral Cup music competition, created to honor the success of our competitors in the Spiral Cup PvP competition. In the heart of Wysteria, Pigswick Academy thrives with the best school band of the Spiral, winning every single competition. Despite being the only competitor, we pride ourselves on our winning streak. Our judge tonight is composer Nelson Everhart. Unfortunately, our competition will be postponed until the magical occurrence that caused a crawling vine to run rampant and completely overrun the town is cleared. Enjoy your evening.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J4oCifMm4b0

“Main Theme“

We begin with a confident, yet soft strike on the drum and cymbal as the horns begin the piece. The flute and the glockenspiel duo in some light counterpoint against the horns. The texture becomes more regal as the choir and harp adds-in. After this intrada, the clarinet begins its happy Major melody 00:25 seconds in, that can remind us of springtime. The eighth notes give us a quick feeling to the tempo as the sixteenth notes add an upbeat bounce.

Next, at 00:42 seconds, the woodwinds play a variation on the melody from before. Using the same notes and different rhythms, this gives the themes continuity between each other. By using such similar structures in the melody, they give Wysteria a musical identity. We associate this music to be happy, youthful, innocent – naïve. This reinforces the storyline that the Wysterian folk aren’t as good at magic as they seem.

This piece jumps from melody to melody, all with similar ideas that connect them together, such as an overture. The piece jumps into a waltz with the reeds having the melody and the brass keeping the time, promoting Wysteria’s elegance. Then, arpeggios float through the horns, passing the melody to the strings in a bold climax. The flute calms the piece down, leading us into the first melody we heard, played on the trombone. This section also mimics the texture we heard in the waltz, combining the various ideas that fasten the piece together.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LB14GLh3jyQ

 “Theme 1“

Echoing the magical climax from the previous piece, the texture begins with arpeggios and harmonizing descending lines from the piccolo and flute. Afterward, the violin and horn engage in counterpoint on top of the sustaining chords and texture added from the glockenspiel, giving a royal texture.

Next, we go into a new major key, contrasting the minor key from before. The brass keeps time, giving us a waltz. Even this develops as the cello plays a counter-melody through this. The horn plays the melody, passing it to the flute as the strings become the timekeeper. The theme passes around the ensemble back to the horns, and then to the oboe.

After this, we enter a new section as the mood changes. The strings and percussion take this section, giving us the resolution to the climax. The horn settles down, playing the melody as a relaxing solo as the piece finishes.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WcTZIK4AWRI

“Theme 2“

As the most cinematic score of Wysteria, we begin in silence as the harp crescendos in, setting the mysterious tone. The bass clarinet plays, interrupting the harp’s line, setting that there’s something beyond our grasp. This tidbit is the same melody that was played in the main theme, but now in a minor key. This is an operatic technique to signify we are now in the villain’s domain.

The high strings break the serenity in high intensity. The horns add-in, dipping back down to a quiet piano dynamic before immediately jumping back up to forte. The bass interrupts, mimicking the bass clarinet adding to the atmosphere. The suspended cymbal rolls into the glissando of the high, shrill strings.

Afterward, we enter a new section. The harp strokes away at the strings as the violins play pizzicato, replicating the texture and giving harmony. The cymbal rolls before the cellos take over, playing an ostinato of a chord progression. The quick notes and low tone add tension. Tanglewood Way has been taken over by the forest and we are at the heart of the world’s trouble.

The flute plays the bass clarinet solo from before, accompanied by the arpeggios of the harp. This develops the idea by placing this melody on a texture we are used to, but now at the same time. The horns add-in, with the glockenspiel adding texture on the resolving chords. This segues into the glockenspiel’s mysterious solo that ends the piece.

Thank you, Starlights, for venturing through my tour of The Wysterian Honour Band. Have a wonderful evening.

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.

Christmas Decoration Contest!

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Christmas is about sharing love and friendship and spending time with the ones you hold dear. This year we would like to do a Christmas Housing Decoration contest together with you, our community. Gather together all your Holly and your Mistletoe. Deck all your Halls and make everything merry and bright because we are coming to town! 

In order to qualify, submit a Winter Holiday themed screenshot of your Wizard in his or her decked out house. Submit your very best screenshot and your Wizards name to [email protected] Only one entry per person will be considered, entries will be verified for originality. Contest ends December 18th 2018. 

Prizes:
1st place: Aero plains Bundle
2nd place: 5,000 Crowns
3rd place: Christmas mount
4th place: 7 packs
5th place: 4 packs

Winners will be Announced on the @RavenwoodAcadmy Twitter December 21st 2018 at 7pm Eastern. Emails will be sent to the winners, Good luck to everyone, we can’t wait to see what you come up with!

Grand Tourney Arena Drops

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The Grand Tourney Arena is a housing dungeon that comes with the Grand Tourney Bundle. The dungeon can be accessed through castle tours using a glitch. The drops mentioned in this guide will be for the highest tier.
 
There are 12 pieces of gear (3 sets; each with a hat, robe, boots, and wand) from the Hoard of the Hydra card pack that drop from this housing dungeon. There is an Energy Set, a Healing Set, and a (terrible) Offensive/Utility Set.

Offensive/Utility Set (World's Fool Set)

As I stated before, this set doesn’t really have much to offer. Aside from the wand (that will be mentioned later), each of the 3 pieces provide a decent amount of health and power pips, as well as universal accuracy, damage, and resist. They also each give a nice utility item card: Cooldown (1 Pip), Enfeeble (2 Pips), and Mana Burn (target loses 4 pips).

Regardless of what school you are or what role you play, I can only see this combination of stats being useful for a spammer or support at best.

Energy Set (Pixie's Encanta Set)

The level 100+ version of the Energy Set gives a total of +59 energy. (Hat, Robe, and Boots give 18/23/18. The wand in this set doesn’t actually give any energy bonus.)

Healing Set (Faerie Court Set)

The level 100+ Healing Set a great option if you don’t want to spend crowns to get healing gear from packs, especially for non-life wizards. The 4 pieces give a total of 56 incoming and 60 outgoing healing bonuses! With a decent ring and athame, that could easily total to 100/100 or more. In addition, it provides item card versions of Rebirth, Healing Current (2 pips), and two Guardian Spirits (Restores 20% hp).
*Note: Although the Mandolin of Evermore visually looks like it matches with the energy set, I listed it with the healing set because it has the best healing stats of all 3 wands.
 

The Wands from the other sets also give decent healing boosts, with similar critical block ratings and a different item card.

This dungeon also drops many snacks (including mega snacks) at a high rate. Here are some of the good snacks:

Rank 7

Rank 8 (Mega Snacks)

The gear’s drop rates are decent, and the dungeon is very easy with a full team. Good luck!

Empyrea P2: Live Realm!

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Introduction

We’ve finally reached our last chapter in this amazing series! The third and final chapter, Live Realm. We will look and see how the community feels about this world!

Let’s tackle this insane world once and for all and see just what we all think about it!

Questing

The story line and questing difficulty are locked. What we have is what we’re getting. Kingsisle noticed that the majority wanted it to be challenging, we’re lucky we don’t have to relive the Mirage release.

What’s great about this is that the story is engaging. If you take away the visuals, fight mechanics and mini-games, it’s a well-written and enjoyable story!

Did you enjoy questing?

Over two-thirds of the players I asked enjoyed questing throughout Empyrea Part Two. That’s an amazing figure, as only 19% didn’t enjoy it! There are many people in the game who don’t play it for the story or questing, so this makes sense and is a lot better than it seems! 

Personally, I believe this is one of, if not the most important factor, to a world’s memory in hindsight. Looking back on Khrysalis, while it’s a beautiful and story-driven world, it’s only remembered for being insanely long!

It wasn’t just the story that stood out for Empyrea. The difficulty was almost perfectly tuned with the quest line and made us feel immersed within the world!

Did you enjoy the bosses and mobs?

The majority enjoyed the fights within the world! It wasn’t just us battling our way brainlessly, we had fun killing things! Again, this will contribute a lot to our long-term perception of this world. We’ll look back and say yeah, I enjoyed it. Things like these keep our hopes up for the game and its story!

Did you enjoy the challenge?

The difficulty was perfect and I’m happy Kingsisle didn’t nerf Part 2! We needed a challenge and we got one! There are also some debatable topics flying around the community. The biggest being the Titan’s Trident fight. 

Do you think the Trident fight needs to be nerfed?

The community was split on this topic. We want a challenge! It’s too hard! There’s cause for both arguments.

The cheats are unfair and gaining shadows while raised in the air and untouchable means the boss is super hard to beat. If you’re coordinated and playing with a knowledgeable team, it doesn’t take too long.

The problem lies within the team requirements. The demand for Balance and Death wizards for blades and Bad Juju is insane! You need both if you don’t want the fight to take over an hour. This debate will keep raging on and there’s nothing we can do to resolve it!

Overall World

I asked for a lot of information from you guys to get the best overall feel for this world and how you felt about it. It’s safe to say, the chart reveals all!

Did you enjoy the World overall?

All the positive results combined take up more than half the data. Another fifth considers it cool, another considers it okay, and a small majority didn’t enjoy it.

This is a good thing. It shows us that Kingsisle isn’t messing around with world releases. We’ve got a lot to look forward to!

Did you enjoy the ‘Nothing’ teaser?

The community is split three ways on this. I think partially due to concern. It’s been a long time since we started a new story arc, let’s hope that Kingsisle will nail it like they did this one.

This had led to some wild speculation about what we will face, let’s hope it meets our expectations!

Was what we got enough?

An overwhelming majority think we got enough new content to keep us going for a while. However, there is a cause for concern we won’t get new content soon enough, and the game will die down.

Recently, I’ve noticed a lot more people in the game, with a few realms appearing full which used to be empty at peak play time. I think the number one priority for Kingsisle should be to keep this hype train going!

To those who said it wasn’t enough, I’d encourage you to keep going. It may just be the initial grind that burns you out. Give WhirlyBurly, the side quests, and farming a chance. Maybe your opinion will change!

Opinions

I did something different with this questionnaire and asked for individual opinions. I also asked about one of my favorite new games, Whirlyburly!

Have your opinions on WhirlyBurly changed?

Sadly, I seem to be in the minority. I think the main reason for the overall view and perception of Whirlyburly is that there isn’t enough to work for, cause, and there aren’t any shorter game modes. 

That’s a different topic and we can be reasonably sure this isn’t all we’ve seen from Whirlyburly.

I then asked for just your thoughts on anything Part Two related. I got a lot of calls for nerfs but not to over-nerf. There were other great ideas and opinions such as:

  • A request for PvP gear and PvE gear to be entirely separate.
  • It’s the best world ever.
  • A Life school AOE spell needs to be created.

Conclusion

We’ve tackled Empyrea Part Two while breaking down each part to see how we all feel and overall, I think this world has been great. A 8.5/10 at least. There’s little room to complain, a lot to enjoy and shows promise for what’s coming! I am happy and eager to see the game’s future.

A final shout out to the entire community for taking part and helping with these articles! You guys have been amazing and I think it’s participation and approaches like this that will keep this game going for years to come! Thank you all!

Catching the Humunukapua

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Every Monday morning, the weekly tournament fish changes. In this article, I’m going to share my experience with the fantastic hobby of tournament fishing!

Humunukapua

School Life | Rank 3 | Common/Regular |1500 XP
No used in any recipes
Αverage sale price in gold: 1300 each

Limits:

Small Fry: <15
Whopper: >45
 

Fish Location In order:

Celestia/Celestia Base Camp/The Floating Land
 
Housing Items:
Fantastic Voyage Expedition
 

How to catch a Whopper:

The best place is the Fantastic Voyage Expedition if you have access to it. The Humunukapua is one of 2 life fish. The other being the Mistletoe Angler, although this is a seasonal fish which only appears during the Yuletide season and is a Rank 1 fish.
 

How to find this fish:

1. Reveal Large Fish / Reveal Fish School
2. If no fish are affected: Summon Fish and repeat
3. If a fish is revealed: Reveal Rank 1 fish
4. If no fish are affected: Common Vitality Lure and catch it
 
The first 3 winners will get tournament tickets:
First place: 120 tickets
Second place: 50 tickets
Third place: 20 tickets
 
The Tournament end on the 10/11/18
 
Good luck!