Treats, Tricks, and Hey! Spare parts!

Hey all!

As you may know the Wizard101 community is going wild right now for one thing: The Nightmare Pack.
This post will NOT be how this suckers people into a downward spiral of gambling cause 1. I don't want to fight people. 2. I am allowed my own opinion and hey this is my blog. and finally 3. As I stated before.... "It's only gambling when you don't have the will to stop. If you can't stop buying a pack then you can't stop playing the game." Meaning games like Wizard101 can cost you more than crowns so maybe you shouldn't be playing. It's all about you as an individual and if you blame KI for your lack of will and responsibility it's on YOU not them.





Update: I think everyone should have a look at this post made by Heather Raven more importantly look in the comments. It's true if you have the addiction to keep buying you need more supervision if your an adult then maybe it's you. Point is again your own Willpower to overcome your problem and not let it overflow. I'm going to steal Icy's comment and change it up a bit. We can't blame the Ninja pigs (KI) that your obese cause you can't stop eating the bacon!

Heather Raven's Blog Post.

This pack is simply amazing because it gives us who like to decorate a plethora of new items which means more intricate Halloween themed houses which is fun! I had a rough day on Petnome cause of the influx of new pets added by this pack which is bad (All that work! It ain't easy ya know?) and great! Who doesn't like new pets right? KI also did a great deed in my book by giving us 1st generation pets that were previously only available as hybrids. What this does is for newer players to the game who missed the promotions or that month on KIFG now have a chance to have the pet. What is better is now they and older players will have pets with "pure" talents.

So far I know of hybrid turned 1st generation pets are:
Grim Scarab (Which I got myself)
Ghost Hound 
Red Ghost

Also in the pot are older pets such as:
Death Scarab
Black Cat
Ianthine Spectre


For completely new pets known so far are:
Death Treant
Gob-O-Lantern
Gold Armored Skeleton

Also available is new gear as with previous packs it gives boosts to a variety of stats as well as cards! Also present are new wands which look pretty neat like a mix of a dark dragon staff with the special effects of the Celestial Trident. I will also say the new cowls available in the pack make me look like a Jawa from STAR WARS! Any SW fans out there will see the resemblance immediately if not I have provided a picture below hehe.

Finally the most highlighted item of the pack well it is amazing! I was lucky enough to get it on my first and ONLY bought pack. That's right yours truly was graced by the Loot Gods and given the insanely awesome "The Nightmare" mount! Woot! Look how cool Alric looks in his Observatory on his ethereal mount. Pretty sweet right?

My advice when it comes to buying these packs. Limit yourself it's all about fun anyway right? The thrill of getting a good item. Besides think of it this way you can mix with your friends for any pets you didn't get! My tia Cassandra Dragonheart limited herself to only 5 packs and she got 3 pets! Point is to limit yourself and look within yourself before you blame others for your mistakes.


Until next time your spookified friend,
Alric Ravensinger

GDC Online Awards! Wizard101 takes the Audience Award!

If you didn't catch the show Wizard101 took home the Audience Award. I admit I was sadden that we lost in the two other categories but it's all good. This year Minecraft took home Best Community Relations and Best Live Game outdoing our beloved Wizard101.

I went to a fellow Twizard who plays Minecraft as well as some Minecraft enthusiasts from other gaming forums I frequent. Here is what they had to say:

"Their entire team utilizes Twitter on a regular basis with as many people as they can. Not to mention Notch's blog, Minecraft Chick's blog, Notch and Jeb_'s respective Google+ pages, leaked pictures of upcoming events, lots of info on Reddit." - John Lifeglen

I admit it would be nice to see some customer support on Twitter or other social mediums. Here is some more that had to be said.

"the community projects that take place within the confines of the game realm as opposed to relying on fansites for a sense of community.

If you take the time to recreate the Empire State Building, the Starship Enterprise, or a Stargate with a large number of people, there's a HUGE sense of interaction." - John Lifeglen

What I gather and what John and others have told me is Minecraft deals in currency of items gotten within the game and the player or a group of players can build their own worlds, structures, and even cave systems. While I and John were at odds on Best Live Game I gotta admit Company to Player interaction and Community in Minecraft seems great! 

Do not fret my fellow Wizards I haven't given up on Wizard101 but I think it's good to shed light on why sometimes the games we love are outdone. The MMO gaming scene is rapidly changing and people are starting to see hey! this is great to interact with others as oppose to handhelds and consoles. Although console gaming especially with the newer systems like Xbox360, Playstation 3, and even the 3DS are breaking those barriers although at a steadfast pace.

Good job to all the winners and hey we still get our mystery pet and the honor of knowing we have a great community here in Wizard101 to the point of being nominated.

Until next time your friend,
Alric Ravensinger

October Newsletter

Needless to say I am happy it is out. If you look closely looks like KI might of did a tiny mishap of posting it a bit early. Of course I am probably wrong though.

Wizard101 Newsletter - October 2011

Enjoy!
(If you notice it says new pets! Oh joy! Hopefully they are farmable) 

Until next time your friend,
Alric Ravensinger

A sudden chill runs down my back I realize.....it's October!

That's right folks! One of my favorite months in one of my favorite seasons is here! October and Autumn! Woot! It's time to leave the normal and bust out with the paranormal! Leaving the Mundane for the Mun....um...strange? I have no clue! Let's celebrate though!

Some of you might be aware but most probably not I am have keen fascination with the Paranormal and the occult. Don't worry I am not a real life Sorcerer and I definitely don't mess with Ouija boards. I am a sort of historical researcher on occult and every once in awhile I'll do some amateur ghost hunting with the family. How is that for some quality family time? eh?

Sink your teeth into this for example. Did you know that Necromancers weren't how we see them today? Back in the olde days Necromancers were sort of like Seers or Oracles they didn't raise the dead like we think they did. I know sorry to disappoint no corpses they would raise the souls of the decease to ask for advice, about future events, or even ask for aid. However don't get me wrong these practices often did include having the bodies of the people they wish to contact sometimes even having only certain body parts. Sometimes the ritual called for a human or animal sacrifice but it was rare and one could invoke the spirits by simply offering an item. (Hence the spell. Good job tying it in KI)  It's not without it's bad though in the Middle Ages Necromancy took on a more familiar role of conjuring up the dead (literally) and summoning demons for malicious intent or to gain knowledge.

Interesting stuff right? I'll be moving on from that though I don't wanna freak anyone out. As with every year the community in Wizard101 has several things to look forward to. The Halloween Tower(s), Farmings for Halloween crown items, and even pertaining to the month of ghosts and gobblers. Oops I mean Goblins. That's not the only excitement though for those who love the scary things in life there are a few channels on Tv I know will be airing spooktacular shows all of October. SyFy and it's 31 days of Halloween, Travel Channel's Ghost Adventures, and Chiller Channel. Trust me if you are looking for a scare you'll find it on one of those channels I am sure I am missing one or two but these I watch the most.

As a final note I'd like to thank all of you who continue to read my blog despite the lack of comics and such. It's bad I know I sort of took away the thing that made me and this blog unique. I don't just want to be confined to a single talent I'd like to show you folks that I am multidimensional as well which is why I do blog about mythos or various lore within the game dissecting it and it's influences. I do have a surprise though I won't shed any light on it but I think it's cool and people will love it.

Until next time your vile undead host,
Alric Ravensinger

Ghost Mania!

Hey everyone,

Seems like with Halloween and Autumn in general drawing nearer everyone is in a frenzy over the newest discovered hybrid to hit the Wizard101 universe that's right I am talking Red Ghost mania. Heck even Father Blogger The Friendly Necromancer posted a video on his blog about the Red Ghost. Secretly I've had my Red Ghost for about 2 weeks or so and secretly I have slowly been breeding in talents to it. My goal is to create an awesome Red Ghost for my Necromancer Morgrim Shadowshade. Check out the Progress below (1st picture is Grandparent, 2nd is Parent, 3rd is Baby)

Now it's been awhile since I talked or even posted about my Necromancer Morgrim "Morty" Shadowshade. He sort of became my secret project. I am happy to announce about a week ago he became a Legendary Necromancer. The only people who really knew were my good friends in KT (KTwizards) that I was working on a Death wiz them and Blaze Stormthief. Now it's time for my family (Cassandra Dragonheart, Lady Blade, and SorceressMiklai) and maybe our extended family KT to farm up Waterworks for my gear.

In a small unrelated note I hope you all have noticed the new changes to the blog for the upcoming Halloween season. Any feedback is appreciated. I made the new header using GIMP 2.6 using a Halloween GIMP Brushes set from DeviantART and a Shawn of the Dead font I got from http://www.dafont.com/ .


Until next time,
Your resident Ghost Hunter Alric Ravensinger

"Why you no post Alric? *Clubs Blog Owner*

As many of you or maybe few of you are aware my Summer of Love has ended. I am back in the Old Pueblo -- that is Arizona. My time in Texas was great and I had so many wonderful moments with beautiful muse Alura Hexcaster whom wrote a lovely post detailing my stay. Link is below (No videos that's my bro KBB's thing :-P)
(Note: The misses has clubbed me in the head for my wording of the introduction Alura wishes to let it be know we weren't just a summer thing. So my bad for bad wording ;-) and sorry honey won't happen again can I get out of my room now?)

Summer of Love Post

It's been almost 2 weeks and I regret even leaving her but our paths are forever intertwine and I am certain our wanderings through the forest will bring us back together on that field of gentle winds, sweet smells, and undying love.

As for why I haven't been posting? Life has just taken over and my time in game I haven't really wanted to write about. Sometimes you just need to enjoy what has been set in front of you. Speaking of I have been thoroughly enjoying Wysteria although yesterday's bugs drove me insane. I have completed Wysteria and ALL it's quests on my Necromancer Morgrim ShadowShade and next is Alric. I know your surprised I was too I didn't quest FIRST on Alric but sometimes it's good to switch things up.

As for Fame at a Price 2 I haven't done it. Real life stuff has eaten my time and I haven't had the focus or time to dive into it. I suspect though it won't be until September I might get it out but who knows? Only me! I have also been working on other projects as well. I'll let you guys in on a secret project of mine. I have been working on a series of stories (Think LOTR) for near 8 years and it's coming along great however it's nowhere near complete. At my rate I reckon it would be 10 years or more (Maybe 15) before I unveil but it's all up to the author. ;-)

I also can announce I got my POTTERMORE E-mail and have awesome beta access! It pays to have gotten my Quill on Day 1 w00t! Has me registered on July 31, 2011. My school is Gryffindor and my wand is 11 inches 3 quarters Rowan with a Unicorn Hair core.

A small note I have changed my Header in honor of my trip to the Japanese Gardens and the release of the Samoorai pet. 

And that is all for now. I'll leave you folks with some pictures of my trip to the Japanese Gardens in Ft. Worth, Texas. (Read the blog post in the link it'll make sense)

(The one with the two lizards was my favorite. They were doing some sort of mating ritual right there on the deck)

 (Bonus image! Same day but at the Water Gardens in downtown Ft. Worth Alura was a scared y cat and didn't wanna go down to the bottom)

Until next time your friend,

Alric Ravensinger A.K.A Lovable Dork.

Vanishing Act

Hello wizards,

 I am sure you are wondering where the Kraken I have been? Remember the "I'm going to Texas" and "Arizona Owns Texas" post down below? Yeah I got to Texas and all outside connections and commitments (Other than my family <3) went out the window. Simply put I apologize for falling off the face of the earth when I said I wouldn't. Let me explain though once I got here my mindset completely changed.

Now for those of you married or in a relationship you might get me in fact I am counting on it. Once I got here to Texas I wanted nothing more than to just spend time with my lady love (@SorceressMiklai on Twitter A.K.A Alura Hexcaster). I know I am a sucker for love. I'm not the overly tough "doesn't cry" guy. I am multidimensional I am tough but I ain't ignorant to my feelings. For those guys reading this going "Blasphemy" I say this; "One day kid, we you get your own girl you'll understand"

  There is a new life that springs forth when you are with that special one. Needless to say I been spending most of my time with her. I also of course am slowly getting to know her family -- I think me and her sister are hitting it off rather well despite our musical differences. (Hip hop lover -.-)
One thing I can absolutely say about Texas itself? It's hot and humid here which isn't a great combination. As my tia Cassandra Dragonheart says I'm a Desert Rat my comfort zone is among desert, cactus, lizards, mountains, and freak monsoon weather. I do NOT like humidity one bit I want the dry clean air of Arizona.

As for in game goes it hasn't happened -- much. Although I am now a self-proclaimed Doodle Dug master. I have gotten every pet and wand available from KIfreegames minus that elusive Storm Beetle and Umbra Blade. I have time though to accomplish these last two feats or else  cheat and order from a Code shop from Wizard101 Central. I also have been updating The Petnome Project as we celebrate our birthday this month with various contests.

As for everything else? well I am not worried at this moment. I am solely focused on enjoying my time here. However for those readers who are anxious to see me back I return home to Arizona on August 8th after staying in TX for 2 months. Once home it's back on the last lane with Fame at a Price 2 and other projects. So until then I say in a melodramatic tone "wait for me my friends, (insert exaggerated sob here) wait for me"

Until next time your friend,
Alric Ravensinger