Boots, Boots and Boots. What do I choose? (Fire Edition)

Hello everyone, it has really been a while since I've written a post based upon wizard101 or its other games but I am back with a in depth analysis for the 125+ Boots that are obtainable in Part 1 of empyrea.

Cabalist Cleansing Stompers                            Fierce Alphoi Boots

Obtainable from the following Bosses                         Obtainable from Crafting

• Khan                                                       Crafting Recipe Vendor:

                                                                                      Loligo

                                                                                                             

                                                                  Gold Cost: 15000             

                                                                  Recipe:    

                                                                                                                                     

                                                                                                       

Items needed to craft: 1 Interstellar Engineer Trekkers, 20 Perfect Ruby, 75 Leather Straps , 25 aethyr dust, 150 kelp, 125 spider silk 

So now the comparison, where do I start?

Cabalist Cleansing Stompers                                         Fierce Alphoi Boots

+ 9 Fire Critical Rating                                                             + 227 more health

+ 1% shadow pip chance                                                                  

The Cabal Cleansing Stompers are more of a offensive build while the Alphoi is built based upon solely on Health Increase. Both give the same damage output, resist, and accuracy though. Personally I would choose the Cabalist Cleansing Stompers over Fierce simply because of the added baggage of offensive stats such as critical and shadow pip chance. 

Future, Future, Future..

Hello Everyone, it's been a LONG while since I did a blog on TheBurningSpiral but I think it's about time to tell you all whats going on as of right now. I am gonna start becoming more busy as the weeks go by, that along with the fact that my part-time job is in the way too is something thats bothersome for me. However, I will try to make my best efforts to keep you guys informed on the updates within BurningSpiral. This doesn't mean I will quit the game or anything of the sorts, its just more of a placed schedule for the week, which means the Weekend really is my only time I could do something of the sorts like livestreaming with you guys or doing another blog on something I wanted to talk about here. For those of you guys who have been sticking with me since the Beginning I really thank you for doing so. Here's to hoping for a Brighter more flexible Future and I'll see you guys next time with Sunday's Livestream of Part II of the Q&A.

Here's my Twitch Channel if your wondering:

https://www.twitch.tv/connorthecameowizard

Post your Questions here:

https://twitter.com/BrimstoneConnor/status/901481573203099648

The April Update: Pets

 I really wanted to focus more on the raging bull pet simply because it is the school in which I breathe under so if you were expecting a summary of the April Update, well... 

But anywho what really interests me about the Raging Bull is that even before you get the pet, it provides a story dialogue that actually foreshadows possible story/content for arc 3 like if Empyrean Ore is gonna be used in a crafting recipe? Or perhaps its the new Amber and will be the source to create all new craftable spells. 

*Story Summary Begin*

Anyways, when you talk to Ignus, he tells about a student that was planning to create monsters using this Empyrean ore (Foreshadow to expansions for Fire School) and he wants you to prevent him from doing that.

You face him with this new "Monster" which is actually just a mini raging bull and defeat him. Fortunately/Unfortunately he doesn't have any cheats but I am seeing that perhaps I will be wrong in the future. Once you defeat him, you get the pet back and receive the egg.

* Story Summary End *

Now Story aside, its time to look at the actual meat of this bull, the item card/talent pool.

Please note I got the 1st generation bull to epic so it shows all item cards it gets:

As you may have noticed the pet stats themselves excluding selfish talents really stand out for STR and AGI which is a decent pet to give 10% proof and also that the pet also has a Choke instead of the speculated 7 pip Raging Bull spell (Which as of this point I could be wrong since this pet isn't mega yet). In terms of the 1st generation pet, its a decent one to go off with but I think only if you love using support stalls like smoke screen and choke. However I think this does have some usage if its a Hybrid pet.

For Example: The Fire + Balance Pet

- It gives a balanceblade instead of fireblade which makes it ideal for universal support along with a smoke screen

-It also provides Stall cards like Choke (Though I kinda wish KI would give more better cards for fire pets to use)

Fire + Life Pet:

-Basically, this is a bull that gives lifeblade instead of balance

-If you are life and love stalling, then use this pet instead.

Whats the update on Hiatus?

Hello everyone, I know its been a LONG while since my last post but since Spring Break is here for me, I can finally discuss on why i've been ignoring TheBurningSpiral for the past month or so.

*From here on forth I'm calling TheBurningSpiral (TBS) just so I don't prolong this post.

When I typically am on TBS, I think about the ongoings of wizard101's content. I've really thought about possible ways you can expand upon a 9 year old game but with all games, typically they get forgotten and left into obscurity. Like with World of Warcraft, Wizard101 typically is remembered by many as those as a genre that was defined by WoW, at least Wizard101 was appealing to this genre that was considered to be mature. In fact, you can argue that Wizard101 was the result of WoW since the earliest builds of wiz happened around 2005. Anyways, why did I bring these two games as mentions? Its simply because that both games get constant updates and as a result there would be bigger fanbases. As a result, people remember more of the things that were included.

Now why did I mention all this?  Lets just say if you completed everything(Getting gear, training the right pet,etc..), there really isn't anything exciting or amazing unless you stick to the side hobbies which are 3 things (as of this post), PvPing, Fishing, or Housing Games/Deco.  I really admire Housing Games/Deco simply because of the interaction of players but this really isn't satisfying my gameplay time of Wizard101. This as a result really hinders on my posts for TBS since there isn't really new content and/or anything of the importance. I also have to deal with the fact that college is now my norm and I can't always have the dedicated time to go on Wizard101 anymore like I did during my last 2 High School years. I'm not gonna be a sellout and make this blogsite a ad supported site that redirects you to other Fansites such as Swordroll, Legends of the Spiral, etc. because I want this website to be dedicated to my personal goings for Wiz and Real life.

So for the time being, I'm gonna be a bit more constant on the @BurningSpirals account, however I cannot give everyone the chance that I will constant post more and more on TBS. I really hope you guys can understand that and I thank you all for listening to this update on my hiatus.


-Jason Summerwielder
Creator of The Burning Spiral

What does "Lore" spells mean?

Typically, they are spells that are dropped by the hoard packs that have "Lore" in the name. However, within the last few years, there's always been a change in which people can acquire these spells which change the overall definition of Lore Spells.

Speaking of which, ever since the introduction to Loremaster, lots of people farmed her not only for gold and tc but for the very rare chance to get a new spell. At the time of the patch release, it really was something new for the wizard Community and it was very rare heard of (Unless you were farming the mooshu bosses for spells). Have you ever noticed that the loremaster drops from herself and not from any other lore pack? Well, I based this that you get it from the boss itself which is why spells like these are meant to be op. 

                          

 You can actually argue the same thing for fire's spell, Burning Rampage which is dropped by the Stone key boss in avalon called Lambent Fire. As it stated at the start of battle, "I am a wretched spirit, once long ago a noble knight. I quested to find the Horn of Glory. But I fell, and remained trapped here to flicker like the dying of the day!" This indicates his backstory that he was a knight who encountered this monstrous beast of a firezilla but it fell down to the knight and crushed him into a ghost. So now he is trapped for eternity in the caves, hoping for eternal revenge. As for the minions surrounding him.. I guess its just KI filler. 

                                                                                                                                                                In the sense, you can say that lore spells aren't really meant for packs anymore, they are meant for the keeper of spells, Loremaster. But here's the thing, if it drops newer and newer spells such as Athena Battle Sight then why doesn't she have that added as part of her attack arsenal? I know its asking for more difficulty but in reality, she was meant to be designed that way. Anyways, i've gone on this for too long and I will conclude with this: Lore spells in my definition are that are dropped off bosses based off upon what the design of the spell visually and from a story standpoint (if you get what I mean).

So what are your definitions of lore spells? Post it over on @BurningSpirals

                                                                                                                                                                    

Burning's Final Thoughts on Wizard & Pirate Updates 2016

Hey guys, before I start on this I have to tell you in advance that this will be a LONG post. Keep in mind, the order of opinions will happen of when which update is applied first.

April

Into the 1/4th of this year we got a little update known as Daily Assignments, a daily tasks of sorts designed to keep the wizard active even when there's no end game content for them. We also got 3 new skeleton key bosses that drop some unique loot such as mounts, gear, and housing items. The Update also gave life their attack aura from azteca which switches heal outgoing for 25% life damage along with the ability to train level 48 spells at level 100. Lastly, this was the update where the Call of Cthulhu was shortened to satisfy those death wizards.

This update wasn't so massive to me and really had no importance aside from farming the skeleton key bosses for some good loot. It also didn't appeal much cause the system for Daily Assignments is really cheap for Crowns & Arena Tickets, especially crowns. I do love the Day 12 Daily Quest but I think they should add in a exclusive Daily Quest Spell for all schools just to make things much interesting. Overall the Daily Assignments really isn't for me or anyone who can't always be active on wizards.

As I stated before, the importance of farming the skeleton key bosses is whether or not you like cosmetic wear or acquiring free crowns only mounts and at least for me I think they are indeed required to at least farm for the mounts since it'll save you cash and it's more enjoyable getting the mount instead of just buying to get stuff RIGHT? 

Just a side note before I move on to the next month, If May cast "Life of Cycle" is added to the first generation Dryad, then where's the May cast "Devotion" talent? When are you guys gonna add that May Cast talent?

June

This was the month when Pirate101 fansite owners, bloggers, and players rejoiced when Valencia part II was finally released for the game. Not only this update brought new level caps, but new companions, new powers, and new loot for Pirates to discover. It also was the update where Notable story important companions such as Dead Mike got a promotion along with their crowns counterpart.

Sadly, that's all the update brought them aside from general maintenance but I will admit that is an important update for pirate players. I mean since when did pirate101 get their massive update, Aquila & Marleybone? Besides, what this update brought was more then enough to satisfy the game's hungers for now like how it is for wizard101 players and their satisfaction. I'm no big Pirate player, but I have played since beta and let me tell you that this update in my eyes really encourages me to play pirate101 again (despite my failed attempts to do so cause of lacking duo membership).

August

For the first time, Wizard101 was giving out a instant boost to level 50 elixir for $30. It came included a new gear set for Level 50+ including wand, athame, ring, and deck along with the level 48 Pet of the respective school. 

Then came the changes for future tourney, making them gold for members, new cosmetic gear sets, and a "Second Chest" of Tourneys. It also reduced the critical rate from 2 to 1.25 for all attack spells in PvP, however that didn't change for healing spells. 

Then, we finally got to see the Astral teacher for the Arcanum and he offered up more enhanced versions of previous spells minus the Moon Spells plus two new types of sun enchantments. 

Lastly, they decided to give the Friends list a major overhaul in terms of both GUI (How it looks) and the functionality. 

The level 50 potion is something I either hate or love, I really am divided on 2 sides here thinking about it now. I can spend 30$ just so I can get to ALMOST to the Halfway point or I could just speed run it with multiple friends or accounts for assistance. I get that KI wanted to copy that WoW's pay to instant level formula and it no doubt is a fine placement, but I think it could use a little work.

As for the astral teacher, he really teaches some unique spells such as Aegis and Indemnity which are types of enchantments we never used before and that in turn really interests me more in the school of Sun. Besides the upgraded versions of level 50 spells plus the Upgraded level 110 spell of Epic, this is rather a nice thing but with a cost. You see, some people do actually enjoy the moon school spells (Crazy I know to most wiz fans) not in terms of the polymorph but in terms of the shifts and the arcanum school teacher doesn't provide any moon spells. So my only gripe with this guy is the lack of Moon Spells for diverse reasons, but overall he is a nice addition to this update. 

To be honest,  I wasn't quite adapted into this newer GUI friend system but I did somehow learn to enjoy this more then the old friend list GUI. Considering how this one allows you to custom mote the friend wizard as a Pig or a Gem of Fire which are some of the many motes you can use.Its also much easier to know whether or not your friend is online despite that sometimes they can just spam the Hidden to Friends option multiple times and make things uncomfortable.

September

Pirate101 got a side dungeon available to all players which drops unique gear for both ship battles and the dungeon itself. This dungeon is located near the Skull Island Docks and will sometimes spawn in certain realms so look out with your one-eyed patch. It also was the introduction to upgraded epics via pets such as rank 4 and 5 versions of the talents. This also came with a new pack that co-sides with the dungeon, only difference here is that the pack gives companions.

To me, this is really a filler experience considering how I don't play pirate101 as much anymore and plus according to most people, level 50s can also do this dungeon too. It also was nice of them to place back throwback items from wizard101 to pirates such as the Wyrm Bed, the Krok Tablet, and the dragonskull obelisk. 

However the one thing I really kinda don't like about this update is the surplus of wizard101 items, it just makes sure that wizard101 is promoted more and as a result more people will switch from pirate to wizard. But overall, for those non-membership pirates, you have something amazing waiting for you near the Skull Island Docks.

November

KI gave us the journey into a new world called Mirage, the world where both the Scorpion and the Spider were both hiding. Then there was the concept called Faction Vendors where mounts and other items (Mainly cosmetic items) can be sold for gold. 

Of course, with a new level cap they released new rank 4 spells which displays a new way of dealing with enemies, deciding which enemies get the damage whether is dealing the entire damage to one enemy or splitting it off (Up to 4) and deal damage that way. The Spell Quest is available at Level 118 during the later parts of mirage. 

The newest housing update which includes the power of doing anything which is only limited by your imagination. Whether its shrinking stuff or making them invisible to even moving the objects, the housing update includes tutorials on how this works via both a quest (For basics) and a help book that he gives you.

Lastly, they upgraded crafting levels to the arcanum which allows you to craft even more stuff. It also is the main basis for for level 115+ weapons crafted from the arcanum.

Now where to begin? I must say, KI really loves open space because Mirage is Full of them and I appreciate that. Unlike the worlds before, Mirage feels as though your playing an open ended world but then again it is the thing with the world cause its full of sand. 

As for the characters we get to meet in the world, they were quite developed and I even laughed at some of them such as the "Mr.Clean" Genie along with "Snake Plizkin", a parody of Metal Gear Solid 2's character Iroquois pliskin. 

The New Spells I really think are unique in terms of visual style and in my opinion the Fire Spell wins for best animation followed by myth and storm. Although I'm questioned by the use of this in PvP since its a 4 pip spell that deals tons of damage when its applied only to one person and most of the time people 1v1. 

Housing Magic like the Level 50 elixir is something KI didn't get as an original idea, this was used in the game Disney Infinity where you can create and play a whole world as your favorite disney characters. But I will give something positive about this, this really makes housing more interesting and I can imagine the amount of people doing housing work over PvP. Now if only KI can add in a PvP arena as a housing item, that'll be the day. That's all I have to say about for the latest update in wizard101.

So what does Pirate101 & Wizard101 have to improve on?

I'll start with pirate since there could be a potential for better and bigger content in that game. Pirate101 can bring in early content such as the entirety of skull island for free. Now why did I say that? Well, we tried doing this earlier with Wizard101 with wizard city and they completely ignore it which I can see why, the amount of content you can do as a non-member is quite staggering when in comparison to pirate101. 

Pirate101 has less non-member content and I feel as a result people will tend to go away from the game since there isn't a lot of things to do in the game. Sure the game has PvP or it has pet training and fights, but not everyone likes pirate's method of doing PvP fights considering how the arena isn't like wizard where its more organized but rather its the 4v4 sigils where people can intentionally "Slip" into combat. Besides, they do organize for the ranked PvP battles but that's for members only and we are talking about Non-Member stuff. So if Pirate101 can pull more Non-Member content to attract back the audience that they got back in 2012 & provide more improvements, it'll be a great year for Pirate101.

As for Wizard101, I really feel that most of the content is alright. But I feel as though they can improve more if the game listened more to other wiz communities such as #Twizards and WizTubers. It wasn't until August where KI supported out the PvP community by making critical less dangerous in PvP and gave out new spells that foreshadow of what's to come. I don't really have a lot to say about how wiz can improve other then the things mentioned beforehand. 

Thank you guys for reading my long post about the year in general for both Wizard & Pirate and here's to another year for KI and their improvements.

  

.

Some Side Notes & New Years Hatching Giveaway!

Wizard101 Older Textures can indeed be updated and here's how:

Hello everyone, I hope you don't mind but I wanted to talk about the texture of older gear. If you have looked at my post about this, you'll know what i'm talking about but for those who doesn't know about it at all, Wizard101 is supposed to be compatible with every older type of hardware and software which is why they really held back on texture resolutions for gears such as the commander set. But as time goes on, they really improved on texture resolutions by a small margin which isn't a whole lot but it does make a lot of difference.

The Difference in texture (Keep in Mind i'm using the Highest Settings for Texture)

 

Notice how newer gear such as duelist looks more clear then the older sets such as commander? This is why I want Wizard101 Execs to know this so that they can at least revamp some of their older gear so that it doesn't look bad. I get that they are supposed to be running on older machines but with the progression of Software and Hardware, they can find loopholes that allow for higher res textures on older machines. I'm not saying they should do this right away with a major 1 time revamp, I think its much better if you put small bits into updating textures so that it looks great on a wizard even for those on older systems. Anyways, Thank you guys for looking over at this and I hope you have a wonderful Christmas.

Giveaway Time!!

So as you can tell, the year is almost up and well I decided to this as both a first for The Burning Spiral Blog and a first in my blogging experience. Thanks to everyone on twitter that suggested what type of pets we shall giveaway.

How does this giveaway work?

If your a twitter follower of mine, you will know that in the past I typically will make you guys RT out the post for entry which is still gonna be happening but I may or may not announce the winner on a upcoming twitch stream over at (www.twitch.tv/connorthecameowizard) instead of the usual twitter post. Basically, if you don't have a twitter account created yet, then make one so you can enter in the Pet Hatching Contest. 

What are the Pets this time around?