Wizard101

Wizard 101
Wizard 101
Developer(s)	KingsIsle Entertainment
Publisher(s)	KingsIsle Entertainment
Platform(s)	Windows
Release date(s)	September 2, 2008 (US) February 15, 2011 (UK & EU)
Genre(s)	MMORPG
Mode(s)	Multiplayer, Online Free

Wizard101 is a 3D massively multiplayer online role-playing game created by KingsIsle Entertainment. Players take on the role of students of Wizardry to save the Spiral (which is the set of worlds this game takes place in), and battle a variety of creatures by casting spells using a turn-based combat system similar to collectible card . Players advance in the game by accepting quests to learn new spells, gain equipment, and collect gold. The game holds a rating of "Everyone 10+" from the Entertainment Software Ratings Board for crude humor and mild fantasy violence. Although designed for pre-teens, the game appeals to all ages.

At the beginning the player controls a novice wizard, who is named by the player using a set of words at the start of the game. That wizard joins the Ravenwood School of Magical Arts, a school of wizardry located in a fictional town called Wizard City. Instead of the traditional character classes, Wizard101 offers players a choice among seven different "magic schools" (Fire, Ice, Storm, Myth, Life, Death, and Balance) which will influence character development and parts of the magical spells (in form of collectible cards) available to the player in combat.

In Wizard101, the different areas accessible to players are referred to as "worlds". Upon character creation, only a part of Wizard City (The Commons, Ravenwood, Unicorn Way, Olde Town, Shopping District, Triton Avenue, Golem Court, and a short introduction to the world of Grizzleheim) is opened to access. As the player progresses, more worlds become available. Availability depends on subscriptions and/or the purchase of crowns.

Plot

Departing from the relatively open-ended nature of many massively multiplayer online games, Wizard101 follows a relatively linear storyline that revolves around the player's character, a novice wizard joining the Ravenwood School of Magical Arts (it is hinted that the character is from Earth when it is stated by Ambrose that they are "from a world that does not even believe in magic"). Upon arrival, before even beginning with his or her enrollment, the new wizard comes face to face with the main villain in the game, a previous faculty member, Malistaire Drake. Throughout the game, the main storyline involves discovering Malistaire's plans, and trying to foil them.

Story

The plot begins with several problems occurring throughout Wizard City, host to the Ravenwood school. The player must aid other wizards into completing dangerous missions. After defeating Lord Nightshade, a grim reaper-like spirit that is responsible for the undead attacks on Wizard City, the player gains access to the location of Krokotopia, where the Kroks, an ancient race that enslaved Krokotopia centuries ago, have reawakened from a deep sleep and are now attacking the current residents of Krokotopia. Krokotopia is also the world that holds the ancient book called the Krokonomicon, and is needed by the player before Malistaire can get to it. When the Krokonomicon is later transported to another world, Marleybone, the player follows the lead. The mayor of Marleybone doesn't allow you to take the Krokonomicon due to recent crimes, and the Krokonomicon is stolen by the master thief Meowiarty on behalf of Malistaire soon after. The player must find Meowiarty's lair, which is atop Big Ben. When Meowiarty is returned to prison, Malistaire conspires with demons in the land of MooShu to help him steal the key to the next world, Dragonspyre. The player is then led to battle the demons, who have poisoned the emperor. Once healed, the emperor informs the player that Malistaire has already left MooShu, setting the next movement of his evil plot into motion in Dragonspyre, an ancient world destroyed by a giant dragon. He dubs himself the "Necromaster," attempting to resurrect his wife using the Krokonomicon. When he is eventually defeated by the player, Malistaire and his wife finally gain peace.

Pigswick/School Tournament Arc

After reaching Level 25 you are sent a message from Merle to compete in a magical Tournament to win the Spiral Cup. You face Blays FlameRender as soon as you come in. As a Pigswick student tells you before the start of this battle, (and many other battles) the Pigswick students cheat. Blays' cheat is that he has learned the spell Fortify, a level 50+ Star School spell. After a while, you learn that the precious Spiral Cup has been stolen. You do some investigation and eventually, learn that Pigswick's own Chester Droors, the Earth (counterpart of Ravenwood's Life) Professor, stole it under Lord Bramble's, the Sub-Main Boss in the game, control. After the player regains the Spiral Cup, he/she has to defeat Randolf SpellShine. His cheat is that if you attack him without having a shield on, he hits you with a Vampire. Every 3 turns, he casts a Shatter. Stun Shields do not count, as Shatter cannot remove them. After the player defeats him, Belladonna Crisp permits Level 60 wizards to enter the newest Dungeon, The Tower of the Helephant.

Morganthe Arc

After reaching level 48 or higher,the player will be sent a message from Merle Ambrose. He tells you about the long lost world of Celestia. You are then given the Spiral Key for Celestia. When the player arrives in Celestia, they are told that the leader of the expedition to Celesia, Thurston Plunkett, is missing. The player is then sent to the Survey Camp to gather the portal stones for the first major instance in Celestia,the Stellarium. After beating Governor Nereus in The Grotto, the player is then sent to the District of the Stars.When the player defeats Selwyn Skywatcher in the Stellarium, they are then sent to gather more portal stones for the Lunarium in the Floating Land and Stormriven/Stormriven Hall. When the player defeats Selenor in the Lunarium,they are then sent to the Science Center to gather portal pieces for the Solarium.When the player finishes the Science Center,they are then sent to the Crustacean Empire to gather the other portal stone for the Solarium. Before the player finishes the Empire, they find Thurston Plunket.They are then sent to the Solarium.Near the end of the Solarium,the player encounters Morganthe using Big Salgio as a pet! After the player defeats Big Salgio and recovers the Sun of Celesia, they are sent on the journey of a lifetime in the final instance of Celestia,The Trial of the Spheres.Once the player defeats Mithraya in the last part of Trial of the Spheres,they are then sent back to Merle Ambrose,thus completing the Celestia part of the Morgantine story arc.

Next wizards must travel to Zafaria when level 60. Morgathe (the Umbra Queen) returns to Zafaria. She is trying to fufill the prophicy and recover her broken heart. You must defeat Morgathe's henchmen and then, enter her palace. Then they will try and defeat Morgathe. Once done, player finishes Wizard101 - for now.

Schools

Every wizard has a school, and their school depends on the spells they are most likely to learn most (players require "training points" to acuire spells from the other schools). There are 10 branches of magic, though 7 of them have different names in a rival world to Wizard City called 'Wysteria'. The schools are Fire, Storm, Ice, Death, Life, Balance, Myth, Star, Sun, and Moon. The schools from Fire to Balance have different names in Wysteria. Each school has a professor to teach the spells.

Fire

Fire is passion, the bright, burning flame of raw emotion sweeping over everything. Those who follow the School of Fire, known as Pyromancers, are tempestuous, quick to anger, and consumed by whatever drives them at that moment. They tend to walk a fine line, having great passion and enthusiasm for one’s loves in life is good, but watch out! Passion can burn you up and consume you, leaving nothing but a charred husk of your former self. Pyromancers use Incantations to dominate and convince Fire creatures to do their bidding.

The magic of Fire traces its origins back to the fierce Fire Dragons, one of the races of Titans that ruled the land in the Days Before.

The Fire School will train its student wizards to do damage over time. Fire Wizards pile on spells that will continually do damage to the enemy. Initially these spells will not do much damage, but they eventually stack for possible large amounts of damage in short amounts of time. Fire wizards also learn the ability to stun, which disables the enemy from acting for one turn. They can heal themselves enough to get by, but nothing substantial. Fire in Wysteria is known as Ember

Ice

Ice Magic is all about persistence, slow but steady progression and advancement, like the great glaciers forever sliding across the landscape. Those who embrace the power of Ice, known as Thaumaturges, exhibit great patience and strength, but as a result they sometimes become rigid and inflexible. Thaumaturges use Chants to bargain or plead with Ice creatures to serve them.

Ice Magic has its origins in the great Ice Giants, a race of Titans that built massive castles in the sky in the Days Before.

The Ice School will train its student wizards to take high amounts of damage and survive. Ice Wizards have the highest natural health points and defenses which enable them to take large amounts of damage without dying. It is very hard to defeat them, but easy if you have a shatter spell (myth spell). A lot of their functional spells have to do with increasing their defenses and absorbing damage, but Thaumaturges don't have the best offensive spells in terms of damage although their accuracy is moderate. They also have the ability to taunt enemies, which forces the enemy to focus attacks on them. This can come in handy when playing in a group. The Ice school is known as Frost in Wysteria.

Storm

Storm Magic is very effective. It represents that flash of insight, or the spark of inspiration that makes you yell, "Eureka!" It is about the pleasure of catching lightning in a bottle. Wizards that embrace the School of Storm, known as Diviners, are impulsive, creative, educated and independent. Diviners are driven by the thrill of investigation and discovery, the joys of invention and ingenuity, and the power of creating and building. The drawback to such pursuits is the tendency to get lost in the maze of thoughts and being paralyzed to make a decision. Diviners use Verses to charm, enthrall or hypnotize creatures to help them.

Storm Magic has roots in the power of the majestic Storm Lords, also known as Tritons, which are the race of Titans that ruled the seas in the Days Before.

The Storm School will train its student wizards to do a lot of damage. Storm Wizards have the ability to unleash high amounts of damage from an early level, which is good, but because they place too much emphasis on power, Diviners tend to suffer in terms of accuracy. They also have the least amount of base health points out of all of the schools. When enemies cast damage buffs on themselves or damage reducers on a friendly player, Storm wizards can remove those spells. The students at Pigswick Academy know Storm as Tempest.

Life

Life is spirit, the force of awareness and existence. It is about constant growth and movement. Practitioners of Life Magic, known as Theurgists, are positive, cheerful, enthusiastic people who seek to appreciate the simple pleasures in living. At times, however, they can be too flighty or frivolous when circumstances demand otherwise. Theurgists use Songs to breathe life and spirit into a vessel. Unlike other magic, which relies on summoning, coercing or beseeching, Life Magic harnesses the power of the Song of Creation to create something new. Scholars believe that Theurgy channels the tapestry of music from which the Spiral was created, and that in echoing portions of the great symphony, a Wizard can bring forth and create Life where none previously existed.

Life Magic rests between Fire and Storms, for the spark of Life comes from those two forces.

The Life School will train its student wizards to heal themselves and other players. Life Wizards are given the ability to heal themselves the most effectively, as well as the unique ability to heal other players. Combined with this, they do low to moderate damage attack spells with extremely high accuracy rates. They also possess the only group heal spells currently available to wizards. Life is the school of Earth in Wysteria.

Myth

Myth is imagination. The power of the mind, and everything it can create, drives Myth Magic. It is illusion and dreams made real. If the Wizard can conceive it, it can be brought forth and even brought to life. Beware, though, for when imagination becomes too fanciful and whimsical, dreams can escape control and run wild. Wizards of the Myth School, known as Conjurers, use Naming to summon beasts of legend by memorizing and calling out their True Name.

Myth dwells between Fire and Ice, for that is where the shadows lie, and Myths are the shadowy forms of thoughts made real.

The Myth School will train its student wizards to summon minions. Myth Wizards eventually get five different types of minions, each with a little different function. They have their own moderate damage spells with moderate accuracy, but a lot of their more functional spells deal with buffing, healing, and protecting their minions. They also have the ability of taking down defenses on other players, so if someone is stacking a bunch of defensive spells, a Myth wizard can get rid of them by using a small amount of damage first then the monster damage. Pigswick Students know Myth as Chaos.

Death

Death School trains its student wizards to steal, support and survive. Death Wizards belong to an advanced school, simply because most of their spells take multiple step combinations to use effectively.

Death spells aren’t the strongest, but some have the ability to absorb health from the enemy, which serves as a way for them to heal themselves. They have many preparatory spells that allow them to build up high-damage spells. Death wizards are able to get more pips then most other beings around and become more powerful at any time but such power comes at a price as it brings them closer to the death. But with the introduction of star school all classes are able to empower themselves. Death drain spells are the weakest in the game always doing less damage then all other class spells of same ranks are capable of doing. Death drain spells do 5 more damage then ice spells might do of the same rank which can be amplified to a 100 more damage perhaps but ice spells can randomly do way more damage. Death wizards get less health then life, ice and balance wizards.

Death is about ending and closure. All things pass eventually, and time cannot be held back forever. Wizards devoted to Death Magic, known as Necromancers, understand this limitation and strive to face it unafraid. They try to make the most of their time, but after a while, Death wizards can become morbid. Some have been believed to try cheating death through undeath if they wanted to, but this has yet to be proven. Necromancers draw on the power of courage to channel their own fears out of themselves and at their adversaries. In the wizard world, Death stands between Ice and Storm, for the cold energy of undeath draws on those two forces. In Wysteria, Death is known as Spirit.

Balance

Balance is the school that inherits traits from both the Elemental Schools (Fire, Ice, and Storm) and the Spirit schools (Life, Death, and Myth).

The Balance School uses a lot of power up spells (blades or traps) to upgrade their damage spells. One of the main power-up spells for example, Balanceblade, adds 25% damage to any damage spell of any school. Balance also uses spells to weaken their foes and the spells their opponents cast. One example is Weakness, which subtracts 25% of an enemy spell's damage. Balance has a number of spells that are based on other schools. Hydra, for example, does 190 Fire, Ice, and Storm damage. Another example is Chimera, a new spell, that does 340 Myth, Life, and Death damage. Because it consists of all the schools, Balance students can cast spells like Availing Hands to heal and is the only school besides Life that can heal others(except the Death spell Sacrifice).

The Art of Balance in Magic is harmony, finding equality in all things. It draws on elements from each of the four schools, incorporating bits and pieces of those energies to achieve greater power. Imagine building a fire, then fanning the flames to make it hotter, and then using the fire to create steam to drive an engine. This is similar to how a Sorcerer or Sorceress uses their skills to harness other schools. Learning Balance takes longer, but it's power compared to the other schools is immeasurable. Balance is also called Equilibrium in Wysteria.

Star, Moon, and Sun

The Star school is made up of Auras that affect one wizard for four continuous rounds. Auras range from additional damage and blocks all the way to increasing healing and even giving pips.

The Moon school is all about Polymorphs, or Transformations, that affect a wizards appearance, critical rating, spell deck, and health. A Polymorph lasts six rounds and can be used to turn the tides on a hard battle.

The Sun school consists of Mutations and Enchantments. Mutating with the Sun school changes the school of a spell. One example is taking a Kraken card from the Storm school and changing it to a Fire spell. Enchanting a card by using a Sun spell can sometimes increase a spell's accuracy or damage and make it more powerful.

These three schools do not exist in the world of Wysteria.

World access

Players can play for free or obtain a subscription. Free to Play Players can purchase different areas of the Spiral with the In-Game currency called Crowns. When a player approaches a street or area they cannot access as a Free to Play player, they will be asked if they want to enter this Premium Area. The player can purchase the Premium Area with Crowns. Once a player has purchased an area, it's accessible to all the characters on that account who have completed the quests to enter that area.

The areas of Wizard City that are free to play are: Commons, Pet Pavilion, Ravenwood, Shopping District, Fairegrounds, Golem Court, Unicorn Way, Triton Avenue, Haunted Cave, Nightside.Dark Cave is only free with the purchase of Firecat Alley and/or Cyclopes Lane. The rest of Wizard City must be purchased for 750 crowns each. The other worlds have slightly higher prices than the last one. For example: All the areas in Marleybone are 1200 crowns each and the areas in Krokotopia are only 915 crowns each.

If a player decides to begin a subscription they are not only free to roam about the whole during their timed subscription days but are also able to: participate in ranked PvP matches, Ranked Derby races, buying Castles & Lands (or after reaching Level 15), advanced Crafting, Gifting capabilities, True Friends, faster Energy regeneration, larger backpack, larger friends list and faster Crafting timers. Also outside of game player will gain the power to post on the Wizard101 Message Board.

The 9 worlds of the spiral are Wizard City, Krokotopia, Grizzleheim & Wintertusk, Marleybone, Mooshu, Dragonspyre, Celestia, Wysteria, and Zafaria. Each world has a hub, them being:

• Wizard City: The Commons
• Krokotopia: The Oasis
• Marleybone: Regent's Square
• MooShu: Jade Palace
• Dragonspyre: The Basilica
• Grizzleheim & Wintertusk: Northguard
• Wysteria: Pigswick Academy
• Celestia: Celestia Base Camp
• Zafaria: Baobab Crossroads

The spiral is the Universe where all the Worlds are.

Wizard City

Wizard City is at the center of all things. The entire city has sprouted up around Bartleby, the World Tree. Bartleby protects all worlds by eternally maintaining a connection to them along the Spiral. Its hub is the Commons. There are streets each on one school with the exception of Balance. Unicorn Way is based on Life magic, Cyclops Lane is based on Myth magic, Triton Avenue is based on Storm magic, Firecat Alley is based on Fire magic, the Haunted Cave is based on Death magic, and Colossus Boulevard is based on Ice Magic.

Krokotopia

Krokotopia is an ancient land of forgotten treasures. In this place, deserts surround the life-giving oasis in the shadow of towering pyramids. Krokotopia was once home to the Kroks and it is rumored the Kroks have re-awakened and enslaved the Manders. Its hub is the Oasis. Krokotopia is based on Ancient Egyptian Culture and Architecture as well as Balance magic and the three elemental schools of Fire, Ice, and Storm

Marleybone

Marleybone is the home of Dogs, Cats, and proper manners. The city has all the trappings of a modern society built upon scientific foundations. Big Ben, Scotland Yard, and the Royal Museum are some of the most famous sights in Marleybone. Its hub is Regent's Square. Marleybone is based on 19th to 20th century London, England in terms of the locations shown in the game (e.g. Big Ben)

Mooshu

MooShu is a beautiful land with a rich, deep history. Full cherry trees, carefully maintained gardens, and tall mountains can be found everywhere. Although this is a place of knowledge and tradition, there is a great mystery here. Its hub is the Jade Palace. Mooshu is based on Japanese and Chinese culture and architecture, also it is hinted in some creatures such as Samoorai and Ninja Pigs.

Dragonspyre

Dragonspyre is an ancient, haunted world in which renegade professor Malistaire has recently been spotted! Once an advanced militant society, Dragonspyre had an esteemed Academy rivaling that of the Ravenwood School of Magical Arts in Wizard City. The inhabitants once held a special interest in Fire Magic. The world is based on the incident with Pompeii, and Greek and Byzantine architecture and culture, but the humans there all have Russian accents.

• Note wth the arrival of Dragonspyre came new level 48 spells as listed below

Fire: Fire Dragon

Ice: Frost Giant

Storm: Storm Lord

Life: Rebirth

Myth: Orthrus

Death: Scarecrow

Balance: Power Nova

Celestia

Long ago, the Astral Wizards of Celestia created powerful magic using the energy of the Stars, the Moon, and the Sun. The sorceress Morganthe, a Queen of the Shadow Web, wanted the secrets of the Celestian magic at all costs. The world is based on the Greek/Roman legend of Atlantis

• Note: With the arrival of Celestia, came new rank eight spells, which can be learned at level 58 (the max level was increased to level 60), and the new spells for each school go as follows:
  • Myth: Medusa
  • Life: Forest Lord
  • Death: Skeletal Dragon
  • Fire: Efreet
  • Balance: Ra
  • Ice: Snow Angel
  • Storm: Leviathan

Grizzleheim & Wintertusk

Inspired by Norse mythology, Grizzleheim & Wintertusk are airy, outdoor landscapes of snowy mountains, glacial ridges and towering trees that are home to three Wizard101 tribes - Bears, Wolves, and Ravens. The environment is based on the Scandinavian region.Myth wizards can get a spell called talos minion in winter tusk at level 55

Wysteria

Wysteria was once a trade post and pleasant enough small town in the Wizard City cluster, not too far away but of little consequence in the overall scheme of things, until a magical incident occurred that caused a crawling vine to grow and completely overrun the town. Now it is the home to Pigswick Academy.

Zafaria

Zafaria is an African-themed world. The people of Zafaria are good folk. But darkness is rising and war is threatening to sweep over the land. Though lush and full of plant life, Zafaria was once the home of Morganthe. Though the Umbra Queen has left, her agents still sow the seeds of chaos. Now, though, Morganthe has returned to Zafaria to collect the heart of her lost power and fulfill the words of the prophecy. Zafaria is the home to Elephant, Gorilla, Jackal, Lion, Spider, and Zebra tribes. It was said to contain sounds from actual African animals such as Elephants, Lions, Giraffes, Hippopotamuses, Baboons, Ostriches, and Wildebeest.

• Note: With the arrival of Zafaria, came new rank nine spells, which can be learned at level 68 (the max level has been bumped up to level 70), and the new spells for each school go as follows:
  • Myth: Basilisk
  • Storm: Sirens
  • Death: Dr. Von (Katzenstein)'s Monster
  • Balance: Chimera
  • Life: Gnomes
  • Fire: Rain of Fire
  • Ice: Woolly Mammoth.

Creature Classes

The creatures the players will fight come in different classes for different areas:

• Bears - A primarily benevolent race of bears, hailing from Grizzleheim and Wintertusk
• Bloodbats - Bloodbats, also a Rank 1 Myth Spell, inhabit The Floating Lands (Celestia)
• Boars - Boars, referred to often as Barbarians, live in Grizzleheim tribes
• Cats - Cats appear both in Marleybone (as the primary villains) and in Wysteria (As Nalia Dunestrider, a visiting student from Mirage)
• Celestians - Celestians are the original, alien inhabitants of Celestia before its fall and subsequent war with Morgantine forces
• Crab's - The Crab Empire, and its citizens, attack wizards in combat until learning of Moranthe's manipulation
• Draconians - The Draconians are a race of humanoid dragons from Dragonspyre
• Drakes - The Drakes, born in the Drake Hatchery, are trainable dragons which Dragonspyrian students formerly rode
• Elementals - The Elementals consist of pure fire, ice, or storm force
• Elves - Alicane Swiftarrow is a fire elf.
• Fairies - Many dark sprites are the inhabitants of Unicorn way in wizard city
• Fish - The Fish in this game are consisting of Eels, Flying Fish, and humanoid Anglerfish.
• Fish-Bots - Fish-Bots are fish that ride in robotic bodies.
• Giants - In this game, the Giants are used for the classifications for Cyclopes, Minotaurs, and Trolls.
• Goats -
• Gobblers - The Gobbler king is a known Gobbler.
• Goblins -
• Golems - Golems commonly found in the Wizard city & Marleybone.
• Goliaths -
• Gorillas -
• Grendels -
• Horses -
• Imps -
• Jackals -
• Krakens - A Kraken can be found in the Triton Avenue. They can also be found in other places.
• Krokotopians - The Krokotopians are a race of humanoid crocodiles that live in Krokotopia.
• Lions - can be found in zafaria
• Minions -
• Olyphants - The Olyphants, of the Olyphant Nation, occupy Zafaria as both friend (eg Queen Elissa) and foe (eg Councillor Rasik Pridefall)
• Oni - Onis are humanoid elephant, they're the primary dungeon bosses of MooShu, responsible for poisoning the Emperor and his land.
• Other Birds -
• Pigs - Randolf Spellshine and Ninja pigs are the pig class.
• Plants -
• Polymorphs -
• Rats - Rats are foes in the Marleybone.
• Ravens -
• Rhinos -
• Samoorai - The Samoorai are a race of samurai cows 1k health that cheat every couple rounds.
• Shadow Weavers -
• Sharks - Preator Mako is a shark.
• Spiders -
• Triton - Tempest Stormfist of Celestia is a Triton.
• Undeads - In this game, the Undeads are a classifications for Ghosts and Skeletons.
• Water Lurkers - The Water Lurkers are a race of humanoid fish.
• Water Moles - Crazy Water-Mole of Celestia is a humanoid platypus.
• Wizards -
• Wolves -
• Wolverines -
• Yeti - Aurekk the Mighty of Grizzleheim is a Yeti.
• Zebras - Shaka Zebu is an example of a Zebra.

Combat

Combat is a battle between your wizard and Malistaire's or Morganthe's minions. You have to use spells from your deck to defeat them. Combatants are assigned a rank from 1 to 12. After you defeat them you receive experience and any combination of the following: Equipment/Gear (Hats, Robes, , Wands, etc.), Treasure Cards, Pet Snacks, Plant Seeds (for Gardening only), Pets or Reagents (Used for Crafting). These items can be dropped in combat from bosses or even regular 'mob monsters' wandering about the various streets in the 8 worlds.

Characters in Wizard101 who are defeated in combat are sent back to the common area of the world they were currently fighting to regain their vital characteristics (The Wizard City Commons, The Krokotopia Oasis, Regent's Square in Marleybone, Jade Palace in Mooshu, The Basilica in Dragonspyre, Northguard in Grizzleheim and Wintertusk, Celestia Base Camp in Celestia, Pigswick Academy in Wysteria,and Baobob Crossroads in Zafaria). A wizard may also play mini-games to help restore health and mana quickly. The minigames also give a wizard gold and other valuable items to be used throughout the game.

If the player has a 2-D combat opened,there will be a little circle on the display with the school of the monster inside of it.

Player housing

KingsIsle released a player housing feature named "Castles" on May 6, 2009, enabling players to edit and customize their own virtual space. Items such as desks, lamps, carpets, plaques and more can be obtained through enemy drops from battle or purchases at the bazaar. Three tiers of housing are available: dorm, modest castles and luxury castles. Each wizard can equip up to three residences (four with a Special Elixir found only on Epic and Mega Gift Cards) at one time; however, houses cannot be traded between characters on the same account. A player starts with a small dorm room, a student's basic room, which can be found in Ravenwood, Boy on one side girls on the other. Once a player increasing their level to 15, he or she can buy a modest castle or a land. To obtain these houses, a player must go to the house shopkeeper or the crown shop. There have been a few additions like School-themed houses, with one for each school, though players can buy any of these houses, an Underwater Ship, A Wizard Watchtower, and regardless of school allegiances. School houses cost 10,000 Crowns, (which equates to US$20). Most house found in the Crown Shop can also be paid using in-game gold. Players can also Craft a house if they so choose. There are 2 currently found in Grizzlehiem and Celestia.

Pets system

Pets are obtained throughout play. A wizard can receive a pet egg from shops, boss drops, playing mini-games, purchasing a gift card or even the Crown Shop. All pets have a variety of hatch times; which range from 5 minutes to 24 Hours. A wizard can see the remaining hatch time by checking on his/her pet egg in their backpack. Once the pet is hatched they may equip it. KingsIsle released the advanced pets system May 26, 2010, enabling players level 7+ to enter The Pet Pavilion in the Commons. In this area players can train their pets in various pet mini-games. After each mini-game, players are allowed to feed their pet snacks which further increase their skills. These snacks can be bought in the shops around the Spiral, found as drops from various creatures, or crafted from reagents. there are 5 Pet levels are as follows: baby, teen, adult, ancient and epic. After a pet has increased to the next stage of progression, they will become more helpful to the wizard in battle. They can increase the wizards defenses, giving additional cards and also assist with healing. Wizards can have their pets participate in Ranked Pet Derby matches (Pet PvP) and compete with other wizards' pets for Arena Tickets or gold. As a pet's PvP rank increases, the wizard has more options for PvP level specific items.

Another addition to the pets system is the ability to hatch pets within your own backpack and with other players. This is done in the Hatchery which is located in the central area of the Pet Pavilion. A pet must be an adult to hatch pets for new powers and abilities. When it hatches, a new pet will have a combination of the powers and stats of both pets. Each pet can hatch as many times as the player wants. Each hatch costs in-game gold.

The pets that the player can buy include Imps, Bloodbats, Firecats, Piggles, Unicorns, Dragons, Hounds, Fairies, Cyclopses, Banshees, Sunbirds, Ghouls, Giant Spiders, Leprechauns, and many more. Some pets obtained from foes may improve a wizard by giving it access to a spell card or increasing his or her stats. Players can also pick up special pets from the Crown Shop and even Holiday Vendors.

Player interaction

Due to its young core audience, Wizard101 restricts player interaction when compared to other games in the massively multiplayer online genre. There are two different types of chat: Menu Chat and Text Chat. In Menu chat, what a player types can be seen by every other wizard in the area either from a word bubble on top of the speakers head or in the chat box. Text Chat is when a wizard wishes to speak in private to another wizard. This appears on the screen in a transparent box to the left. The age of the player directly correlates to the communication allowable. When typed, words that appear in white are words that everyone is able to view. Yellow words can only be seen by players who have their account set to "Open Chat". Open chat is obtained when you have a credit card and you are 18+. Red words are not allowed and can be seen by no one, not even the player themselves. If an adult chatter types yellow words, young wizards will see dots (...) in place on the word.

Aside from the different levels of chat filters available depending on player age, duels between players are available only in a special player versus player arena designated for the purpose. The PvP arena can be found upon entry to Unicorn Way from the Commons in Wizard City.

Rewards for combat or completing a quest are distributed equally among the party, so players need not fight for spoils. Players may trade a special type of spell card called a treasure card, which offers boosted stats to a regular spell card, but so far they are currently unable to trade items between one another (it is possible, however, to trade items to one's other wizards on the same account, through the use of a shared bank).

Online safety features

Several features have been implemented to protect younger players in the online world. Parents must activate controls for players under 13, including setting levels for interaction with other players in the world. Three different levels of chat are available. At the most restricted level, players select from a menu of pre-defined phrases, and players using this option can only see menu chat from other players. At the next level, players may type what they want, as long as the words are available in the game’s dictionary. If a word is not present in the dictionary, or part of a forbidden phrase, such as asking another player’s age, it will not be visible. If players know each other outside the game, they can use a true friend code to allow looser chat inside the game, however it is subject to some restrictions. Additionally, players choose names for their characters from a list that allows selection of a first name and a one- or two-part surname. You can also choose to not have a surname, and just have a first name. Names for in-game pets can also be selected from a list, though dropped pets start with names you don't get to choose, you must pay gold to change their names. The official game forums are filtered and moderated. Finally, at player request, KingIsle Entertainment added open chat for players aged 18 years and above, an age limit verified through credit cards, which allows everything except profanities.

Other features have been designed with a pre-teens audience in mind, for example opponents in combat disintegrate or vanish, and there is no bloodshed.

History

According to a press release published in May 2008, the development of Wizard101 began in 2005, upon the founding of KingsIsle Entertainment under the creative direction of J. Todd Coleman. The game entered open beta on August 6, 2008, and it launched successfully on September 2, 2008. On August 25, 2010, it was announced that Wizard101 will be released in territories later that year.

Wizard101 launched a beta European version on December 15, 2010 and then released the game on February 15, 2011, in partnership with Gameforge. This included releases of the game in English, French, Italian, Spanish and German.

It was announced on August 17 that KingsIsle and Taomee Holdings Limited announced an agreement to launch Wizard101 in China, Taiwan, Hong Kong. and Macau. This has been the companies biggest move since launching the game in Europe.

Reception

Reception
Aggregate scores
Aggregator	Score
GameRankings	77.5%
Review scores
Publication	Score
GameShark	B
About.com	9/10

According to KingIsle Entertainment's press releases, the game has experienced a steady growth in the number of players: 2 million in April 2009, 5 million in September 2009, ten million players by June 2010, 15 million by January 2011, and 20 million by July 2011. In terms of reception, the game currently scores an average of 8.32 (out of 10) from ratings on IGN.com's GameStats. GameShark reviewer Toni Dimayuga noted the game's overall ambiance and graphic setting as well as the overall fun nature of Wizard101 in the pro column, while the combat (in particular defeats) and the restrictive (at the time of the review) nature of chat were seen as the major minus points.

References

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Fan sites links

• Wizard101 Central

• Beyond the Spiral