Daily Blogroll will continue tomorrow. I’ll be up in New Hampshire driving my stepmom around as she gets surgery for her cataracts, so I’ll have Plenty Of Time :)
Fernando_Blanco tweeted: I’ll be at Austin Game Developers Conference; looking to meet with press regarding some BIG Wizard101 announcements!
(That’s today, by the way) – and later:
Wizard101 is celebrating its 1 yr anniversary and 5 MILLION players in the game! Congrats!
So I guess that’s likely one of the announcements. Wizard101 isn’t a Free-to-Play game; you can explore most of the first world, Wizard City, for free, but after that you must subscribe or pay-as-you-go to see more – the same sort of plan Chronicles of Spellborn had. It’s a testament to the game’s popularity and sheer addictive fun that the paid zones seem scarcely less popular than the free ones, and the game now has fifty or so servers.
What else will be announced?
Since this is specifically a Wizard101 announcement, I guess we won’t be hearing about the Big Secret MMO of which we’ve heard nothing.
Was Socia that Big Secret MMO? KingsIsle had that name trademarked, but abandoned it early last year. Still, though that might give a clue as to the nature of the Secret project, that doesn’t sound like anything to do with Wizard101. Since they have no other trademarks on record, I imagine we won’t be reading about the big Socia (or whatever) announcement today.
Big announcements? Okay, here’s my predictions for the Wizard101 big announcements.
Five million players (this is a given).
New world: Celestia, realm of the air, a city built in the clouds.
New schools of magic: Introducing Astral magic! Magic of the Sun, the Moon and the Stars.
Biggest expansion yet!
Ten new levels beyond Grandmaster!
A new villain – the wizards of Ravenwood must face their greatest challenge yet, as ex-villain Malistaire calls upon the players for help.
Appearance slots! (wistful thinking?)
Am I totally off-base here? Maybe, maybe not. KingsIsle have previously said they will add a new world this summer, and summer is technically almost over (and here in New England, it’s gone). Celestia is the final realm mentioned in quests and lore that we have not yet seen. Celestial robes and other items were removed from the game some months ago. Headmaster Ambrose dropped hints about Astral magic last year. Players were told that higher level content was on the way… so most everything I’ve written up there, has already been hinted at by KingsIsle folks.
Celestia would be an awfully nice present to find beneath the Christmas tree this year :)
And, about the picture on top…. I know a lot of people will disagree, but I LOVE Marleybone! It’s my favorite of all the worlds, not just because of the setting and clothing, but because the joy, humor and creativity that went into instances like Katzenstein’s Lab and Big Ben make me want to drag people over to the computer and say see, THIS is what Wizard101 is all about! As well, Marleybone includes the game’s most difficult instance in Kensington Park, and those who complete it wear the Machine Master badge with pride.
*So, obligatory character progress: Marissa is level 31, has just completed her Stun quest (VERY hard solo fight against two Myth-using mega hit point bosses, but managed to win – BARELY), and is ready for the third tier of Grizzleheim. Has completed Hyde Park, Chelsea Court and the Ironworks in Marleybone, next up is Newgate Prison. Allison is on the verge of level 36, and is at the same spot in Marleybone and Grizzleheim.
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