Why Derby Tournaments Need to Happen!

The free tournament member benefit ended not too long ago, and it was absolutely wonderful. But you know what would make it even better? Derby tournaments! A lot of people were surprised when derby tournaments weren’t added with PvP tournaments, but that doesn’t mean that they can’t appear in the future. Here are just a few reasons why derby tournaments would be excellent, and even work better than PvP tournaments. 

1. Diego, who?

Races have a clear winner each and every time (usually). KI would need to figure out something for a possible tie, but that is nothing compared to leaving PvP decisions in Diego’s hands. A solution I could think of right away would be to award any players who tie the same number of points.

2. Races are quick, and so would matches

Races are usually 2-5 minutes long. With the 4 round tournament setup now with PvP tournaments, you could finish an entire tournament in 8-20 minutes. Tournaments would be fast, and people would be able to join more of them in the same amount of time.

3. The possibilities are endless

Basic tournament types could be teen, adult, ancient, epic, and mega, but the possibilities beyond that are close to limitless. Just take a look at some past derby tournaments on Wizard101 Central for a few options. KI could have derby tournaments for specific school pets, certain pedigree ranges, and even pets dropped from certain worlds! Whereas PvP can get a bit repetitive, derby has so many options and ways to change the races to make them interesting and different each and every time.

4. The derby crowd needs a better way to get tickets

A first place in derby awards you a measly 3 tickets. This is assuming that there are 4 people in the race. With 3 people, the winner gets 2 tickets. One PvP tournament can yield around 500 tickets. To get that same amount, a derby racer would need to race 167 times! They would need to race even more if they didn't get first place in every single race. Derby just isn’t an effective way to earn tickets right now. Let’s change that with derby tournaments!

5. It would help bring needed attention to derby

Derby’s following has been decreasing each and every day for multiple reasons. With the addition of derby tournaments, people may become interested in derby again and the community would thrive and be thankful for it! Derby needs your help KI!

There you have it, 5 reasons why derby tournaments should and need to happen! Have any other ideas? Let us know in the comments!

The Greatest Gift - A Guide to Gift Cards

Kingsisle offers many ways to access the game, and gift cards are one of them! Each gift card comes with a unique free pet. The pet that you receive will change month to month, and will depend on when you redeem the card, not when you purchase the card.

A few things to note about gift cards:
-  Gift Cards cannot be used to unlock Open Chat.
- $10 cards can be redeemed for 1 month of membership, or 5,000 crowns.
- $20 cards can be redeemed for 2 months of membership, or 10,000 crowns. 

CURRENT GIFT CARDS

Army and Air Force Exchange Service 

$10
Comes with a variation of this pet:

$20
Comes with a variation of this pet:

Best Buy

$20
Comes with a variation of this pet:

CVS

$20
Comes with a variation of this pet:

Dollar General

$10 * Combo Card! *
*Combo cards come with a pet for both Wizard101 and Pirate101!
Comes with a variation of this pet:

$10
Comes with a variation of this pet:

$20
Comes with a variation of this pet:

Family Dollar

$10
Comes with a variation of this pet:

$20 
Comes with a variation of this pet:

Fred's Super Dollar

$10
Comes with a variation of this pet:

$20
Comes with a variation of this pet:

Gamestop

$10
Comes with a variation of this pet:

$20 
Comes with a variation of this pet:

Hastings

$10 * Combo Card! *
*Combo cards come with a pet for both Wizard101 and Pirate101!
Comes with a variation of this pet:

Meijer

$10 
Comes with a variation of this pet:

$20
Comes with a variation of this pet:

Rite Aid

$20
Comes with a variation of this pet:

Speedway

$20
Comes with a variation of this pet:

Target

$20 * Combo card! *
*Combo cards come with a pet for both Wizard101 and Pirate101!
Comes with a variation of this pet:

ToysRUs

$10
Comes with a variation of this pet:

$20
Comes with a variation of this pet:

Walmart

$10 * Combo card! *
*Combo cards come with a pet for both Wizard101 and Pirate101!
Comes with a variation of this pet:

$20 * Combo card! *
*Combo cards come with a pet for both Wizard101 and Pirate101!
Comes with a variation of this pet:

RETIRED GIFT CARDS

7-Eleven 

$10
Came with a variation of this pet:
???????


Blockbuster

$10
Came with a variation of this pet:
???????

Rite Aid

$10
Comes with a variation of this pet:
???????

Walgreens

$10
Comes with a variation of this pet:
???????

Create a Tapestry Contest! [CLOSED]

Kingsisle has given each official fansite a unique new tapestry to give away! In spirit of this, we are asking you guys to create some tapestries of your own! Putting your imagination to the test might just win you our exclusive tapestry- Tapestry to the Floating Mountains!

How to Enter

To enter, please create a brand new tapestry recipe. The tapestry must not already exist in the game. You may use existing reagents to accomplish this task, or you can create your own! Remember to specify how many of each reagent the recipe calls for.

Rules
1. Only one entry per person.
2. Your entry must be your own, no copying.
3. Please email your entry to admin@adventuresofthespiral.com with the title "Create A Tapestry" and include your community or wizard name.
4. This contest ends on May 23rd.

Prizes
The winners will all receive our exclusive Tapestry to the Floating Mountains


If you have any questions, don’t hesitate to send an email to admin@adventuresofthespiral.com, tweet us at @OfficialAotS, or ask us in the comments below! Good luck!

Winners! Congratulations!

Chris FireHeart

Charles Willowheart

Suri Shadowblood

Mary Darkriver

Robert Sandstrider

Calamity Pixieshade

Embracing Your Inner Noob in The Skyways

When KingsIsle hosted “Look-Alike Day” I needed to start a brand new (noob) baby pirate and I had a blast going through the tutorial again. I hadn’t seen these wonderful scenes since Pirate101 started two and a half years ago.

So many times I hear the word "Noob" used as a great insult not only to someone they deem clueless but anyone a bully does not like or loses to and starts trying to hurt feelings by calling someone a "Noob". I personally wish to change this attitude. Being a noob is not a bad thing. Just like ignorance is not a reflection on someone's intelligence, just what they have or have not yet learned. A noob is just someone who is new to the game, a newbie.

I think some of my best times in games are when I am very new to it. There is nothing like that rush of excitement you feel when you enter a new world for the first time and you begin the process of exploration as you learn the new rules and tricks to succeed there.

A lot of time and effort from some very talented individuals went into the tutorial, which is the first thing a new pirate will see to introduce them to the great and beautiful skyways of the Spiral. I decided to bring you along with me as I shift into noob mode and re-experience, (with a bit of artistic license added just for fun.) the joys of discovering how to be an Armada thumping, noble Pirate with a heart of gold.

What a dramatically delightful way to begin a new journey. This makes the excitement palpable.

My journey begins with hearing Boochbeard and Gandry talking each other as they are searching for a very special pirate. Any wizard that has completed the B.O.X.E.S. event will know that The Professor himself gave them the mission to find this special pirate ”that would someday defeat the Armada”.

I get to go through the fun of selecting what kind of pirate I will be and what my ship’s flag will look like, along with what colors it will fly. This color and pattern will also be the standard others will see on the mainsail of all ships you will be sailing. This color business is important as it will be the colors my crew will wear throughout the game. One important decision is how my parents die as that will determine which companion I will receive at the end of my Presidio quest.

 I am also presented with the first of the game’s many delightful Puppet Shows that explain so many things and give subtle clues to Pirate101 lore that are hidden in them.

  Choosing how I got into trouble with the Armada matters as my pirate will receive a boost that can be very helpful depending on which class I am going to have my pirate learn.

  The first time I went through this I had no clue what meant what and made some silly choices but now I am not so clueless as to the cause and effect of my decisions.  It is why it is a good idea to read up a bit on any game you begin so that you will have enough knowledge to make the right startup choices. I (hopefully) pick all the right options and a new Swashbuckler is born.

  I try to make my gamer characters’ names mean something and connection to literature is one of my favorite ways.  I was going for the Jellicle Cats from T.S. Eliot’s Old Possum’s Book of Practical Cats and this was pretty close. The flag icon seals the deal. :D

 

Now that I am a real pirate it is time for Boochbeard and Gandry to pull off a miracle and “Get Me Outta Here!”  

Before they can figure out how to bust me out, a cannon ball from their ship’s crew does the job for them and the back of my cell is blasted away. Talk about making an entrance er...exit. :D

The newly freed noob pirate has a “but first let’s take a selfie” moment with her rescuers before setting off to check out the ship.  

Exploring was something I didn’t do the other times through this tutorial and there are some neat things down here. I mean, how often will I get the chance to examine the inner workings of an Armada vessel?

After poking around some more I discover another prisoner and am artfully coached by the game how to rescue him and I am rewarded with my very first crewmate. As I am a Swashbuckler my new first First Mate is Subodai a very tough looking Horse Barbarian.

 



Subodai very politely introduced himself and as he spoke his name I realized that I had really been butchering it’s pronunciation for years lol.  He graciously informed me that it is pronounced “Sue-Bo-Dye”. I practiced enunciating it several times and hopefully the phonics lesson will stick.

  More explosions ensue and Boochbeard declares that  we must get going NOW and he rushes from below decks with a command to follow. As they had just rescued us, it DOES seem the logical thing to do. We dash up the stairs and straight into the clutches of the dreaded Armada Elite Deacon!

“Ruffian”?  That’s the best you could come up with?

  Hmmm Deacon called me “his prize”. I wonder if there is some merit to this “Chosen One” thing?  At least Deacon, Boochbeard and Gandry seem to think so. We shall see how things play out.

  
After a volley of pleasantries (Imagine a sarcastic font here), Deacon calls down his Battle Angels to take us back into custody and I get to experience, first hand, what battling pirate style is all about.

Cool looking robot angel or not they will learn that I will not be re-taken so easily

 

One of the best things about Pirate battles is that your companions or crew join in and you have help to take on your enemies. Subodai shows right away that he is a force to be reckoned with.

Me, being a Swashbuckler does what Swashbucklers do best and dodges much of the enemies fire.









Sure enough, we prevail and I get to experience my first celebratory victory leap.

  My joy was short lived though.







Deacon always has a plan B and before we knew it, a squad of Armada Dragoons came rising out of the lower hold.

 




 Knowing the fierce reputation of said Dragoons I thought I was soon to be back in that horrible cage. What I hadn't counted on was that Boochbeard was a crafty old fellow and had a plan C to counter Deacon’s plan B. He dramatically shoots up a flare and BOOM!  A well shot Naptha bomb from Boochbeard’s crew sails into them and the Dragoons were reduced to a fiery ball of gears.

Subodai and I did a thorough check to make sure that no Armada Dragoon nor Battle Angel survived the fiery inferno.

Such a wondrous fire surely calls for some marshmallows……...Right?

  
This did not bode well with Deacon and with clicks and whirs of his gears he took out his rage on Boochbeard with a quicker than a snake bite draw and firing of his pistol as he makes his escape to the near by Armada fleet.

  

  

Poor Boochbeard takes a direct hit and the spark shooter throws him backwards several feet and he really got his clock cleaned (yeah, pun intended).





This unexpected turn of events leaves Boochbeard feeling far too weak to continue leading our escape. Knowing that his ship is now without a Captain Boochbeard instructs Gandry to tell his crew that I am to captain his ship for our getaway.  From death row prisoner to Captain in such a short time can test the mettle of any young pirate.

 

Subodai and I do a quick check of the Armada ship and supervise some well placed Naptha barrels.

 

We gather up all the loot and beat a hasty retreat to Boochbeard’s ship just in time to see the Armada ship blow up in glorious fashion.

  We set sail for the only shelter in site, Skull Island. The only problem is that there is an Armada fleet between us and our sanctuary.   Boochbeard does some fine coaching and I am soon, with energetic assistance from a nearby Storm Lord, blasting my way through the Armada ships in fine piratey style.

  

The Armada may be the scourge of the Skyways but they are no fools and soon give up the chase with shouted vows to enact their revenge on me some other day. This I can deal with and make my own vows about converting clockworks into harmless timepieces.

 

We tack towards Skull Island and the safety of Captain Avery’s legendary, fiercely loyal band of piratical instructors.

And so one adventure ends yet the biggest one begins. This noob pirate has accomplished a lot in a short time and arranging an accord with such an old Captain like Avery will be a piece of cake…………...Right?