Just a tiny Update on Myth Baby

Got to start my Christmas break yesterday afternoon a bit early.  Thank you work for letting us go home early.  So y'all know me, I jumped in game!  Wasn't really sure what I was going to do though.  I was tending my garden when scarznstripez (aka Scarlet DeathBlood, aka Missy) and I started chatting.  She wasn't sure what SHE was going to do either.  She was thinking about doing some PvP on one of her low level wiz but wasn't sure.  I started to ask about the wiz, and what her rank was, etc.  Y'all KNOW I am interested in PvP so of course I asked for info!  Turns out her fire wiz is level 22, the same as my myth so decided to team up and play for a bit.  Well ... that "bit" turned into 6 hours and 16 matches O_o.  We did do just one 3v3 with my friend Keller NightSword on his death wiz, Keller EarthBlood.  That was an nasty match ... one of our opponent was a Legendary Pyromancer Warlord!  But in the end it was a WONDERFUL and VERY productive evening.  The ONLY match we lost was that 3v3!  Missy and I were rocking the Arena! 

SO, I am proud to announce my Myth's new rank ... drum roll please ...

WOOT! WOOT! Commander attained :D

Current ranking of 840 with 54 wins and 8 losses, making her win percentage 87.  Not bad for a level 22 myth huh?

Have fun in YOUR adventures around the Spiral!

M4H Announcement

M4H ANNOUNCEMENT

Please join me in welcoming 4 new members to the Mercenaries for Hire Group:

John Shadow
The Earthweavers
Compguru1
Mr.Owl


After losing Christo, and a couple other Mercs semi-retiring, we felt it was time to add some new blood to the Merc group. As a group, we discussed many candidates, but ultimately chose these 4 people to join our group. These 4 showed a great commitment to the game and to F2M4H. The also exhibit high level gaming skills, a good personality fit for a merc, etc. Each one of them has been "vetted" by the current Merc team, and we are fully confident in their abilities to help the other wizards of Wizard101 Central with their quests throughout the Spiral. 

as posted by Andrew Wildflameon Wizard101 Central


And its a VERY happy day for me as my friend The EarthWeavers is now a fellow Merc!  WOOT WOOT!

Legendary Pyromancer

Over this past weekend I finally got my first wiz, my pyromancer, to Legendary.  WOOT!

I mostly soloed her, though my good friends were kind enough to help with some boss battles and instances.  And I am amazed at the amount of power this wiz has ... after playing on my Balance and Life wiz so much I forgot how much FUN it is to be the big hammer and take down the mobs and bosses.

She is also my Grand Artisan wizard and has crated the Cosmic Kris and Stellar Signet for her and her wiz sisters to share.  The heal boosts on these 2 items is AMAZING!  When my Defender Pig decides to cast a Spritely on me the Initial heal is 99 and each tick is 199!  Now that's some serious healing!

Took her into PvP the other night as she had not done much PvP at all before the CL update.  She was ranked at Sergeant with a record of 22W/22L -- not so good O_o.  She is pretty much kicking Cass and taking names now.  Even a double bladed Gargantuan Snow Angel couldn't kill her!  I just used a sprite after the hit, and my Piggie used one too ... was healing for almost as much as the damage tick was! 

As always I am enjoying my time in PvP ... Win or lose I learn something each time I am out there.

As for Gardening -- Have to admit I really do enjoy the benefits of gardening, but with the newest updates am not caring too much for the massive expenditure of energy.  It's one thing to give us the option, and let us plant, but to update so quickly to make the plants MORE needy after we have planted our gardens is not so cool.  I bought 2 new houses just to garden in!  So with the newest updates to plant neediness it really is hard to care for all of my many plants.  I know once my current crops are harvested I will be dialing back on what I do plant.  HoneySickles and all forms of SnapDragons are high on my list of keeper plants.  I love me some SnapDragons cause I do love dragons in all shapes and sizes!  Why I picked it as my name after all!

Here is a picture of ONE my gardens as it looks now:

See ya 'round the Spiral!

Things to keep in mind when running your fire wiz in Celestia ...

The very first enemies you face are Fire Crabs -- pack your prisms!

ALWAYS pack some heals, those one pip sprites CAN save your life.

When in the Grotto when fighting mobs, only your school trained shields are needed, 80% fire and Glacial Shield (storm/ice dual shield) IF you avoid the Wing Fish!

The Storm Crabs are VERY mean and NEVER want to give up clues, so be prepared for MANY battles.

IDK but I think the Ice Crabs (Waverunners) liked this wiz, only 4 battles to get all my algae.

The Lunarium has MANY fire enemies, starting with the Star Protectors ... DON'T use your minion, he will just waste your prisms on his Fire Elfs and Links.  DON'T try to use a DoT unless you have enough prisms for each evolution of the spell. 

And finally, do not, I repeat, DO NOT use a gargantuan Immolate on the final boss if your health is less than 1000 and you are soloing O_o.  It's a VERY good way to commit Hari Kari and NOT get credit for defeating the boss!

Trash Talkers ....

By now all of you know I enjoy my time in the Arena a great deal.  I love pitting my skills and deck up against others to see who can win a match.  I don't care (TOO much) even if I go second when in 1v1, even though it puts you at a disadvantage from the start.

The thing I do mind, both in the Arena and out of it, is inappropriate language and behavior. 

Have had people swear around the filters at me, not something ANYONE should have to deal with.  I may have open chat and be an adult, but that language is uncalled for in a FAMILY game.  I don't even use it at home O_o 

I will give one warning to watch language, and even break my silence to do so, after that I start reporting.  People need to keep in mind that CHILDREN play this game, and look up to Grand Master and Legendary wizard to set an example.

I remember the aftermath of one of the 4v4 matches I did with Team Perfect Catch.  One of the opponents decided to make a baby wiz and "visit" us in the Arena.  Making lewd and suggestive remarks the whole time to taunt us.  Let me tell you she got reported, and often enough to mute that wiz in a manner of minutes.  Emails were also sent to KI telling the whole tale, someone like that does not NEED to be in this game.  We can only hope her account was banned.

PLEASE people keep in mind children play this game and deserve to be treated with respect.  We all deserve respect.

Update on Myth baby

Have spending my Arena time on my baby wiz, mostly my myth.  I enjoy low level PvP more than I thought I would.  It's a bit more challenging to figure out what someone may do, many use off school spells as white pips are plentiful at this level, and gold are hard to find.

My Myth is currently a Captain with a rank of 732, I have enough tickets for boots once I hit Commander.  I haven't decided yet if the boots will be my first purchase, I guess it will all come down to how many tickets I have once I hit the right rank ;)

I am of high enough rank now I am battling players higher in level than I am, seems like mostly Balance wizards, and many of these wizards are full  pip Judge hitters.  It makes me sad to see so many GOOD balance spells go unused as they think Lady Judgement will always prevail.  I am sorry to say, she does not always win a match for you.  In my last 10 matches I have faced 3 Balance wiz, all at least level 28 as they had Judge as one of their spells, none used Spectral Blast -- I repeat NONE.  Not a one used a mander minion, they all just blade, hex wait and Judge.  Oh, I take that back, one did use Locust Swarm -- on Woody, my zero pip minion O_o -- what a waste of pips.

I have started to keep a spreadsheet of information of how I am doing in the Arena.  I currently have a win percentage of 85, I have won 35 matches and lost only 6.

One of my recent losses was to the very first Commander my Myth has faced, a Storm wizard.  She was a level 23 and very good.  A very defensive player, ended up losing to a pet hit -- Storm Hound.  It packed a wallop.  At low level I just didn't have the amount of health needed to withstand a hit like it delivered.  But such is life in the Arena. That is one loss that I didn't mind, she well deserved to win that match.

I am having fun in PvP and expect to be in the Arena quite a bit this coming winter.

If any of you are interesting in low level PvP I will be happy to post my deck set up to give you an idea of how I am managing to keep my myth at her level and beyond.

The Great Turkey Throwdown

Mercenaries For Hire is holding an event this weekend.  Details can be found at this link.


Hope to see some of your there :)

I don't know what the heck is going on today ...

but it has been a weird one to say the least.

Got to hang out with The EarthWeavers today for a bit, and it was fun.  Have missed my friend and was glad to see them :)

Other things haven't gone as well.

As you know I am a member of Mercenaries for Hire over on Wizard101 Central.  As my kids are with their dad today, and my family is out of town I covered the Merc board for requests.  I tried to help as many possible, but it is frustrating when people ask for help and then don't show up or message to say they are canceling request, OR they miss their requested time and then DEMAND you come running because they are ready NOW.  I am not picking up requests for a bit because of this.

In between waiting for people to show up I did some PvP on both Death and Myth wizards.  Those experiences were interesting too ... Myth ended the day with 20W/4L, rank of 657 making her a Knight.  Poor thing has so few tickets she might hit Commander and not be able to get gear.  Have been managing to win against all schools, including my own :)  That makes me happy.

Death is at 24W/7L -- was an interesting evening doing PvP on her.  Went against my first GrandMaster, was a Pyromancer.  Poor thing didn't know HOW to play her school.  I won the match, and gave her tips after it.  She never used fire school's specialty -- damage over time.  She was VERY predictable, every time she had enough pips would throw a BIG spell at me -- right into a shield or two.  Had a bladed Helephant hit me for 88 damage.  She was a very nice girl, I hope she uses some of my tips.

Last match was against a life wizard.  As you know I am a Warlord on my life, so I know HOW to play life in the Arena.  I don't just 4v4 on her, I solo more than I group play.  This girl used a Polymorph Draconian halfway through the match.  Made me mad enough that I talked to her.  I started with "really?"  Was just a bit ticked off, as if you can't tell.  I already had her down to half her health and had an infect on her.  She threw a firezilla at me, after she had feinted me -- that went critical -- into double shields, did 338 damage.  I used a bladed vampire and killed her.  Told her she needed to learn to use her own school, and soon Polymorphs wouldn't be able to be used by low level wiz in the Arena.  She got just a bit mad that I won.  I don't understand WHY people think a polymorph will help them win in the Arena against a player that KNOWS what they are doing.

Was an interesting day to say the least ... even made me write two blogs today. ;)

Just a little catch up ...

On what I have been doing.

Both my Life and Balance wiz are now Legendary :D  Was a lot of hard, quick work to get them up to speed for Merc duty, but they are there now and ready and willing to help around the Spiral.

Have also been leveling my baby Death -- she is now level 31 and can go through the Spiral door into MooShu.  I have not gone thru yet because I only did main line quests on MarleyBone and need to get caught up on 7 pages of side quests O_o

Baby Death has been rocking the Arena lately also -- I have to admit I like both my Death and Myth in the Arena. Death is currently 22W/6L with a rank of 675 which makes her a Knight. 

I was doing ranked matches the other day on baby Death, and out of the 6 or so matches I did at least 3 of the wizards fled shortly after I summoned my minion ... I guess the minion scared them.  One was even a myth wiz, who was using minions, but I killed it -- TWICE, with bladed vampires.  When you play with minions you have to protect them -- its the name of the game ;)  You want your opponent to use more pips in killing it than you used to summon it. Death has a slight advantage though, we may use pips to kill them, but we can steal their health to sustain ourselves.  So even though I may use 4 pips to kill a minion and not damage its caller, is worth it usually :)

Baby Myth is also doing well in the Arena -- she is 15W/2L with a rank of 649 making her a Veteran, and very close to being a Knight, just one more rank point is needed.

When doing ranked on her last I went up against my my own school, and one of the wiz was level 22 and so had frogs ... and he paid me a compliment during that match, and again when the match was done.  As you know I don't speak during matches and he must of thought I had enemy chat blocked as he was talking to a friend during the match.  He told this friend I was best myth player he had went up against and that I knew what I was doing.  At the end of the match he told me I played my myth well ... he was too impatient to wait for his pips to build to get the strongest minions, whereas I on the other hand would always wait to have pips for my strongest minions.  He even played Time of Legends, which was a silly move as it helped me also. He did lose, as he ran out of cards, hadn't used a point to buy reshuffle which you can get at level 20.  My myth must hoard her cards so I don't run out, apparently he is not used to decent players  ;)  LOL

One of my only losses on my Myth was due to a low level using a Polymorph Bandit.  And let me tell you when the match was over I gave that wizard a piece of MY mind.  Did he REALLY think it was fair to use a Celestia treasure card in low level PvP? The idea of low level PvP is to win, that is what all PvP is about after all, BUT low levels cannot get to Celestia and therefore should NOT being using Celestia treasures, at least in my mind.  Sometimes I guess MY ethics get me into trouble, not trouble as such, but I cannot understand why others would do such things.  Drives me batty!

The other loss on my Myth was due to a low level Storm wizard using a StormZilla pet.  Now my Myth owns a FlameZilla gift card pet, but I don't use the card except on minions, again a matter of ethics methinks ;)  And once again, I had words with the wizard after the match.  Level 48 pets do NOT belong in low level PvP.  If you have a wizard to that school, then THAT wizard should be in PvP with THAT pet, not a low level so you can "own" the Arena using a high level pet.

I will continue to PvP on these baby wiz, and in fact may wait to level my Death any more at this point.  Would like to get them their Arena gear before they fight GrandMaster/Legendary status.  :D

Hope y'all try out the Arena and see JUST how much fun it can be :D

Wonderful, marveleous, beautiful Friendships

As many of you have read I met some pretty nice people at the Tri~Harvest Festival back in April that M4H sponsored.  One of the first was Destiny SkyBlade, known as Lady Blade over on Wizard101 Central.  I can remember us sitting on our cat mounts together on the bridge overlooking Viktor SnowCrusher, talking and laughing and having a grand old time.  I had already received my hat by then and was just hanging around trying to help keep some order O_o, I think she was doing the same thing :)  So many people were there, for the most part every one was being polite and taking turns.  Des and I would whisper each other and giggle over the silliest things, I think we were slap happy by that point. We started to say the same things at the same time, I jinxed her quite often :)  THAT event and THOSE moments were the start of one of those wonderful, marvelous, beautiful friendships.

Lady Blade has been there for me MANY times over the months since then, sharing my joy in a new relationship, and being there for me when it ended in sorrow and tears.   She has been a light during a dark time for me.  I know she will be there, with a corny joke, or just her silent presence when I need it.  These are the things a good friendship are made of, being there for each other, through thick and thin, good and bad.  The Unholy Trio has not been together in quite some time, but the Dynamic Duo (Batman anyone?) have quested Celestia together since it hit Test Realm.  Lady Blade has been the hammer, and I am her nails and healer :)  Guess that makes me Robin?

Lady Blade is an awesome person -- kind, generous, funny -- the list could go on forever and not be done by this time next week!  She surprised me last Friday with an "early" Christmas present.  I was speechless when I opened her communication to me as saw a picture of the Epic games Stop gift card ... that's right Lady Blade gifted me the Massive Fantasy Palace!  To say I was speechless is an UNDERSTATEMENT!  I don't know what I have done to deserve such a great friend like Lady Blade, but I am thankful she is in my life. I am thankful not just for the gift card, but for her presence in my life.

THANK YOU Lady Blade -- for being you, and accepting me as I am, faults and all.

Legendary

My follow Merc, and GOOD friend, Lady Blade and I have been questing in Celestia together since it opened.  We are running her Storm wizard, Destiny and my Life wizard as a team.  Discovered in Celestia that Storm really NEEDS someone to take that first spot and act as "tank", those criticals can REALLY put a world of hurt on a Storm wizard!  Its been rather funny actually, in PvP usually the Life wizard gets all the shields thrown on them, in CL I have been shoveling shields on Destiny, that way I don't have to heal her so much ;)  She is my hammer, I am her nails. :D  I am not a Life wiz who sits back and lets her teammates do all the hitting though, I am using MY hits as best I can to help.  In fact, against Storm I have an advantage, I get the "boost"!  This is a wand strike against the Crustacean ClawCutters in the Pinnacles:

Not too bad for a Life wiz, using a 100 damage sword and having a 35% hit boost :)

We worked HARD for the the first week that CL was on Live Realm, on every night as late as we could, questing our way to Legendary.  We stayed pretty evenly matched while leveling, one might hit a new level a quest or two before the other, but pretty much even all the way until the end run.

It was Saturday night that things changed, Lady Blade logged off while I stayed in game.  Ended up with Kevin BattleBlood, Scarznstripes, Ronan Dawn and Alric RavenSinger doing various things, including the Trial of Spheres, even though I had to port in ;)  We did some boss battles too, along with watching KBB hit the Arena.  All in all it was a LONG day, I couldn't  sleep so I stayed up -- all NIGHT -- was up 23 hours O_o  before I knew it. Was half way through level 59, and still needed to get my Forest Lord spell. BUT I was too tired to continue, so I signed off for the night (morning?).

Was back in game by 9 am.  I have hard a hard time sleeping lately, as if you couldn't tell ROFL.  Went to go get my Forest Lord spell first thing.  13k hit point Life Boss and 1200 hit point Storm minion, not something I was looking forward to.  Started my battle, prisms in deck ;) , knowing it would be a LONG fight against my same school.  Scarnstripes was online and we were whispering each other, told her what I was doing, and she offered to help :)  Gotta love GOOD friends, who will come running to help, asked or unasked!  Together we defeated 'ole Boar Man and off I went to turn in my quest. Here is a pic of Chewie as I first saw him.

I really like the fur ball ;)  About time life got a AoE (Area of effect) attack to use as a minion killer.  It's expensive pip wise, but should damage your opponent also.

Hit Legendary Sunday afternoon, woot woot! Still have a bunch of side quests to do, plus farming for my "Legendary" gear, but am very happy at this time with where I am.  Lady Blade picked up her "Levi" spell and Legendary not long after I did.  Was TOO much fun questing again with a good friend :D

Warlord :D

Thought some might like to actually SEE the badge and rank.

And my Ranking atm :

Will continue to battle it out in the Arena as I do enjoy it SO much.

What an AMAZING day

It certainly has been an amazing day for me :D  And it's all good :)

I leveled my death a bit with my friend Lady  Blade and Joshua WyrmCloud, and hatched with Samuel Stormgem.  He wanted a Lifezilla with spritely.  He got the 'zilla, it still needs to hatch.  Hope he gets the talent.

Then went to PvP with Kevin BattleBlood, Madison Star, and Fallon -- 3 members of Team Perfect Catch.  First match was an all myth team -- loved their stuns and quakes, not that it did them a whole lotta good.  ;)

Second match -- same team :|  They STILL lost.

Third match, life/myth/storm/storm -- this one was just a bit weird.  Their life wiz was a loudmouth O_o.  He put up 2 guiding lights so of course I entangled him.  He said it was predictable.  Well, um, yeah?  Think we are  going to LET him heal his team? I don't think SO!  Then there was division among their ranks about their NEXT match.  Some wanted that life wiz, others wanted a different one.  So he LEFT!  Thats right, he fled the match.  Now THATS a sore loser.

Fourth match, important one for me -- I MIGHT hit Warlord :)  Go Team Perfect Catch!

Guess who we got?  That same team, or close to it -- one storm and myth were the same, but they had 2 Life wiz.  Was getting double teamed on the entangles.  I keep shields and blades in my deck to pull them without losing pips ;)  Gotta play smart, or be defeated by bad mistakes.  Team Perfect Catch did win that match so I very proud to announce my new PvP rank -- WARLORD!  Woo hoo!!

Fallon had to leave so the fun was over in 4v4 -- but not for the day.  Kevin asked if I would like to "spar" him in practice PvP.  So I said sure.  LONGEST match so far -- over 3 hours and 7 reshuffles for me.  Here is a link if you want to sit through it. :D

Was an AWESOME match -- I did lose but was an honest loss.  Someone whispered me and told me to watch the Livestream -- I refused, would be cheating. I DO NOT cheat in any way, shape, or form.

I have to admit I had a TON of fun battling Kevin.  He really is awesome :D We had a HUGE crowd of people there, was a sight to see when I finally got to.

So thank you Mr. Ice Armor for a wonderful match.

*** I need to fix the link on this post, Kevin has moved the match elsewhere 7.10.11

and another match vs Storm ....

Went into Live realm last night for a little PvP.  I was up against a Storm Commander.  In the time I had I put some treasure Storm shields in my side board .  Clock counts down ... time to battle. :D  Ended up being called a shield/treasure noob because of it.  Oh well.  Ended up winning the match, bolts that only do 110 damage aren't any fun for a Storm wiz I guess. :|  Got him down low on health and he says "Ok, here it comes Centaur." He was wrong ;), entangle first.  Perfect timing, his poor defender pig Dryad was wasted -- THEN I used Centaur! Poor Storm wiz, killed by the "weakest" PvP school.

He was whispering me after words, telling me I wouldn't have won if not for the treasure shields.  I used my usual reply, a card is a card, the side board is made to be used.  He said then, well I don't have any life shields.  My reply? Buy some and use them.  He said, but I don't have the gold to do that.  My reply was, well I farm for my gold, ever hear of Oyotomi?  Once again he came back, why should I farm for gold, it just cuts down on my time in the Arena?  My reply, well is it better to farm a bit and have shields or die from lack of them? It's your choice.  He left me alone after that, not surprising after all.

Balance Commander followed this match.  I misread his school and threw ice shields into my side board.  His first spell was a balance blade and I thought to myself "Oh joy Judgement".  And he only knew 2 attacks, Power Nova and Judge.  This was a LONG match.  He used his mander minion and got mad at it.  He full pip Judged me, then his manders spell fizzled.  Used a satyr and healed right up :)  He ended up fleeing the match saying gtg.  I won, but had to kill the poor minion to get the match to end.  LOL

During my matches this evening I had random wizards come up to me and ask if I would like to PvP with them, or on their team.  I don't know if it was due to the fact that I am a life wizard, or my skill set ;)

So just goes to show, ya NEVER know what will happen in the Arena.

Ended up the evening with a rank of 848 -- getting close to that Warlord rank I want :D

How new Mercenaries are Added ...

MERCENARIES ADDED
BY RECRUITMENT ONLY

After much consideration, I have decided that with the atmosphere that has been generated by our current team, that ANY NEW Mercenaries will be recruited from the ranks of the "Friends to M4H". With the collective assistance from all of the current Mercenaries is how we will handle this new process.

What is meant by Friend to M4H (F2M4H) - A person who has posted on this thread and asked for help, and/or has volunteered to assist a mercenary with large requests such as Kensington Park, Brisk Breeze Tower, The Warehouse or events such as the Tri-Harvest festival. We consider almost everyone a friend to M4H. If you want to help and a mercenary has not replied to a post on this thread within 30 minutes of it being posted, you are free to offer your assistance.

This does a couple of things: We add new Mercs from people that we know are here to help and that we have seen in action. Second, this gives those that have taken time from their own gaming schedule to assist when and where needed, first chance at any new openings. Lastly, if you are a F2M4H and are not part of any current recruitment process, please do not take that the wrong way. Please feel free to come to me and I will be happy to let you know what we need from you to be in the next group to be considered

* Guidelines For Potential Mercenaries *

1. You must be an active member of W101 Central. You can not find out that others need assistance if you are not online checking the thread for new requests.
2. You must want to genuinely want to help other wizards of the spiral. As you will see from the posts on our thread, most people are very impatient and do not like to wait. It takes a very special temperament in order to assist.
3. You must have access to all parts of the progressing story line of the game. This would include all parts of Wizard City, Krokotopia, Marleybone, Moo Shu and Dragonspyre. This means that you will need to be able to enter all locations within all of the listed worlds. Grizzleheim would be nice, but is not necessary.

HAPPY NEWS :D

ANNOUNCEMENT

After Christo Deathgiver’s departure from Wizard 101 and Wizard 101 Central, the Mercenaries for Hire had a group meeting to discuss what to do in his absence. This meeting was held Sunday night. During the meeting, it was unanimously decided that the M4H Group and this thread needs to keep going. While Christo may have created this Group, all of us Mercenaries share the same belief that he did – the belief in helping other wizards throughout the spiral. It is that belief that made all of us Mercenaries, and it is what will keep this thread going.

Knowing that the entire Merc team wants to, as Christo put it, keep this train rolling, we then needed to make a decision as to who would be a suitable replacement for Christo as the head of the team. While this team is very much a horizontal group environment, we felt that we do need a facilitator to manage the War Room (our internal group discussion board), update changes in policy on the M4H thread, and be an ultimate decision maker when a group consensus is not reached. With that, it was agreed upon that Andrew Wildflame would be the most suitable person to lead the M4H group.

Andrew and Christo have known each other in game since early 2009. Andrew was here for the inception of Mercenaries for Hire, and was asked by Christo to be a Mercenary from the beginning (even though at the time Andrew declined, as he felt he could not make the commitment due to issues in real life). The group felt that Andrew would best fill the void left in Christo’s absence, and steer the M4H group in a direction that Christo would want.

With that, we hope that you will all embrace the change that has occurred, and welcome Andrew Wildflame as the new head of our group. Some things may change around here, as the dynamic of our group can’t help but be changed by Christo’s departure, but one thing that will never change is this – our commitment to not only helping wizards with their harder quests, but helping them to become better wizards!

Your Mercenary For Hire Team:

Army of Stones
Aura*
Brahm DreamPants
Cassandra DragonHeart
Cody Soulmender
Fiona WildShade
Keira NightHunter
Kevin Shadowstalker
Lady Blade
Madtiger
Pheonix Flyer
SorceressMiklai

Sad News ....

W101Central Community -
First off I would love to thank you all for a great 15 month run that I had with Mercenaries For Hire, truly was a fabulous time and I got the chance to meet and assist MANY Wizards of the Spiral.

But at this time, I have decided to resign my post and position with M4H and take a much needed resignation from this fantasy world that KingsIsle has created. At this point in my life, I have much greater things that I want to focus on, with my Wife, my Boys and my family at home.

I wish you ALL health, happiness and the best of luck in whatever you all decided to do.

Christo

The above is quote directly  from Christo DeathGiver on the Mercenaries for Hire thread on Wizard101Central.  Christo you have touched MANY MANY since you started M4H.  Not just those you have helped along the way, but those you will not have a chance to meet you.  M4H will be your lasting gift to the community of W101.  You will be missed, greatly, by your team and the members of W101.  I wish you all the best as you move forward with your life.  I hope to one day see you back as the heart and soul of M4H.

more PvP ... and Celestia in the Test Realm

My eldest daughter woke me up out of a sound sleep this evening ... not fun.  Couldn't fall back to sleep so decided to hit the Arena solo on my Life wiz.

First up was a Death wiz.  Didn't like the fact that I didn't talk.  Didn't like my pet.  Didn't like that I use treasure cards, called me a treasure noob.  Didn't like the fact that I was better in the Arena than he was.  I was going second and anticipating his every move and countering them. He said he could be there all night, that I wouldn't win.  Even his Doom & Gloom and infections couldn't win it for him.  Pulled his bubble long enough with Sanctuary to heal fully, then went on the offensive.   I think he really ended up the night hating me as I won the match :))  He ported out after leaving a nasty comment behind.  Sore loser >:P

Second match was against a fully geared Ice Warlord.  Changed my treasure cards up in the time I had and faced off.  He used fully pipped out Ice Armor - TWICE, plus his minion.  I slowly chipped away at the armor, and used my Seraph on the minion.  Was a slow match, grinding away at each other.  Was able to keep his heals shut down, all but one fairy that he used a Troll Ear Guiding Light on.  I did end up winning, and am now one rank point away from being a Commander again. :D

Have been missing my PvP as I have spent the last week in Test Realm (TR).  I started there with my Fire Wiz running with TEW on Nathaniel EarthWeaver (Storm).  Switched over to my Life wiz.  Was having a good time.  Then Lady Blade (LB) decided she wanted to try TR also so I switched again, now using my balance.  I may have been done with Celestia if not for the wiz hopping I did :) The three of us are running as a team, just like the Trio of Terror over on live realm.

The new world is very challenging, it reminds me a lot of PvP.  Be prepared when you enter for the first time.  The mobs start with as many pips as we do, and some have more!  Nasty surprise to see Ice Crabs with almost 2K health start with 6 pips.

My Balance wiz is currently level 56, and has her wand that gives 2 power pips.  I have been playing around with the gear that TR offers.  I find I prefer the gear that gives critical stats.  I hit "crit" often enough to make it worthwhile.  As Balance wiz, running with a Storm wiz, I don't hit as frequently as I might on my fire wiz.  But it seems like about half the time that I do hit I hit "crit".  A Spectral Blast in the "crit" range with a balance blade and monstrous applied is a sight to see ;) one mob down ;)

I got a Lobster as a mount, and named him Larry.  Larry moves pretty darn quick!  Seems quicker than my tiger in LR.  LB got one too as she said she couldn't keep up with Larry's scuttling on the Koi fish she started out with!  I do know I will get Larry once TR goes live, I really like that lobster!

Will update more soon, still digesting everything TR has to offer.

Hope your journey around the Spiral have been enjoyable.  Mine have been.

See ya 'round the Spiral!

Wizard Updates ....

Well I don't think I ever said what wizards I have beside my 3 Grandmasters (Fire, Life and Balance).

As you know all my Wizards look alike, have the same name (and at Grand) dress alike.

I have 4 more wiz I am working on currently ... 3 on my account, and one on my eldest daughters.  And it's only fair 'cause I pay for game for her, so I can steal one of her school desks!

Death baby is currently level 13, working on Collosus Blvd and has access to KT, although she has not stepped thru the Spiral door yet.  I was questing her with Blaze NightBreeze's fire baby, but Blaze was one of those people that apparently drifts out of a friendship, so she is running solo now.  I do PvP on her also, she has a record of 7W/3L so far and is at rank 578, which makes her a Sergeant. Two of those three losses were from the hands of the same Death wiz, the one using Animate even tho he was low level :|

Ice baby is level 5, just starting Fire Cat Alley. She is another solo wiz for me.  Not much else to say about her at this time.

Storm baby is next.  She is currently level 12 and working with the "Trio of Terror", The EarthWeavers (TEW) on Myth Nathaniel and Lady Blade (LB) on a new balance wiz Olivia.  We have a lot of fun questing together, laughter and jokes are shared freely, friendship given with no reservations.

Now onto my Myth wiz.  I never planned on having a Myth wiz AT ALL! I didn't care for the spells, thought the school was underpowered, and "unhealthy", didn't care for minions ... what use are they if the battle circle is filled with 4 friends?  ROFL  I don't know why I chose to have the door stop be a Myth wizard, maybe as it was the only school of wiz I didn't have yet?  I am certainly not sure.  The reason lurks in the back of my brain never to be found, and hoping it never will be ;)  TEW and I are running together on this wiz.  TEW  is running a fire wiz named Talon HexBreaker.  We power leveled these 2 wiz in Crimson Fields and the Labyrinth, so are mid teens in level and just doing the 3 Streets ;)  The real reason we power leveled was for PvP, of course ;)  I am currently undefeated, but only 6 matches so far. 

So there you have, all of my wiz.

Update on PvP

I am in the Arena more and more while waiting for Celestia to come out :) And aren't we all waiting?  Oh my!

Having been partnering in the evenings with my friend Keller NightSword, I met him at the Mercenaries for Hire Tri~Harvest Festival way back in April.  We have kept in touch through the months since then.  He had always offered to help me get started in PvP.  I didn't take him up on that offer, but he has been helping me to get gear.

We had 2 matches last night as I was very close to having the 700 tickets needed for my hat.  

First match was a Storm/Death team.  Now I don't really mind Storm wizards, though I do mind when all they do is Wild Bolt :|  This one did use Wild Bolt, but he ended up being the healer also, we kept hammering away at the Death wiz as we KNEW he could heal with sacrifice, and Death wizards are harder to beat with poison and such.  Ended up being a fairly long match.  We won it in the end, and it left me 2 tickets away from my hat :)  So win or lose the next one and I would have my hat.

Next watch was a Life/Fire team.  The Life Wizards name was Alric something or other, and NO not my friend Alric RavenSinger!  They went first, which is a HUGE advantage :(  We weren't doing too badly all in all.  Then Keller had to leave ... so I was solo.  Right before he left I played my minion and shielded her.  I did break my silence to tell the other team he had to leave.  I am not so sure that was a good idea.  This Alric started a rant about how the Spritely talent was unfair and if KI was going to introduce it to the game ALL pets should have it.  It makes his Life Wizard useless in the Arena with his entangles and infections.  I said you just need to learn a new way to play, a way to get around the pet talent.  He didn't want to hear ANY of it.  He is going to sue KI for his loss of money playing their game.  I said I didn't think he would get to far with that as he agreed to the Terms of Service when he downloaded the game.  Alric said pet talents aren't mentioned in the ToS.  I told him no good lawyer would even TAKE his case as it would be a loser.  Well he is a lawyer apparently so he will take his own case.  SO ... have a care Wizards, ya never know what will drive some people crazy.  Oh My!

I did end of losing that match ... 2 on 1 is just not quite fair, though I did my best and last another 15 or so.

Either way I did end up a winner as I got my Cowl of Tribulation out of the deal!

So I have a new look in the Arena, as I stitched it onto another hat ;)

And that goat there is a hatching off of Bailey, and Princess Smokey has the spritely talent too :D  Still trying for a pet that gives me resist and Spritely.  Oyotomi here I come!

OMG I feel loved ...

My friend Lady Blade wrote a poem for The EarthWeavers and myself  (me and the EarthWeavers,  idk the proper grammar).  With some of the things going on in my life just the first stanza brought tears to my eyes.  Good tears for once.  I love ya Lady, and ty for honoring me with a wonderful work of art. 

The Heart of the Dragon

Like wings in a storm taking flight
The heart of the dragon beats strong
Every beat increases her might
Arena walls tremble at her song

Fighting alongside is the Weaver of Earth
The heart of the dragon beats faster
The two as a team are given wide berth
When it comes to battle their masters

They take the stage and applause erupts
The heart of the dragon hungers
Sneers from opposing teams end abrupt
Their hope and courage torn asunder

The battle ensues the opponents take lead
But the heart of the dragon is fierce
Shields disappear as if trapped and now freed
For the Weaver of Earth can cast pierce

The battle is won the crowd starts to fade
The heart of the dragon leaps
Cheering still are Sorceress and Blade
Their friendship is true and steep

The Lady of Blades and Miklai know
Troublemakers should stay in their wagons
For enemies will fall and reap what they sow
When facing the heart of the dragon.

I have met the most wonderful people in this game.  People who have turned in very REAL and dear friends.

Thank you Lady Blade, for your friendship, for your kindness, and most of all, for just being YOU!

Today's battles ...

Did some PvP this evening, things started off strange, to say the least.

First Opponent was a Death  wiz by the name of Fiona DeathBloosom.  She was ranking down, but did not want to wait the 5 minutes that fleeing causes.  So she stood there and let me throw spells at her, and even used feint so I would get the 30% boost.  Very nice lady, to say the least. :D

Second match was also against someone ranking down, Ian DreamHunter, he just told me to pass.

So 2 matches, 2 wins right?  Looks like a great start to the evening.

Then I was matched up against another Death wiz.  Things were going well -- until my cat managed to turn OFF the computer!  Then it wouldn't start up, errors were found, had to do a system restore.  By the time I got back in game, I was back in the PvP lobby, and down to 819 rank.  :(

Should have quit at that point, but oh no, not me :P

Next was balance -- Judge hitter.  Lost.

Then another Balance, lost again.  UGH

Final match was against an Ice Wiz Warlord.  Things were going fine, until he had friends show up who asked why he didn't have Doom & Gloom up yet.  That was end of me :(  Not even my minion could save me.

Ended up the night below Commander :'(  779 rank 61w/45l  

Not good .. time to buckle down and get this right !

Switched to my baby Death wiz.  First match was against a Life wiz with a Collosus, you guessed it, they got me.  Poor baby death wiz.

I was sick of being beat into the ground, so I switched pets to my BurnZilla.  This time I won in the battle of the pets :P  BUT, I really prefer to stay in school when I battle.  Just seems like the way to play, guess its just MY ethics, as many at lower level certainly don't. Power pips are not a consideration at lower levels as 10% is our base when we hit level 10, so using out of school spells don't hurt you.

Had a guy the other day when I was playing baby death, was maybe level 16 using Animate -- the Death school X pip minion spell.  Now it was a school spell, but was MUCH higher than his level.  But to each his own I guess.  In fact, 2 of my 3 losses were against him.  I sometimes wonder if I am really cut out for the Arena ... 

Will continue to try, I am a fighter after all!

See ya 'round the Spiral!

Being away ... and coming back

I wasn't able to get on Wiz101 at all on Friday or Saturday ... my Girl Scout responsibilities interfered with my fun time, oh my!  Was in training to become a Camp Supervisor for our local Girl Scout camps.  Will be nice to get away and veg, as much as a camp full of Girls Scouts will allow me to that is ;)

As soon as I walked in the door, I unpacked, took a LONG HOT shower and played some Wiz101.  As soon as I popped into existence people were saying "Hi", I had 5 different people say it in my first 60 seconds in game.  Was a nice thing to experience, never had that happen before :D  Though I do admit for a while I felt like I was drowning in a sea of text! It's amazing how having friends in game can change your life.  Many have become IRL friends also now, and it's an amazing thing.

I admit, the first one I said anything to was my PvP partner, The EarthWeavers (TEW).  Was missing them, AND PvP.  Going thru Wiz101 withdrawal, PvP withdrawal, AND TEW withdrawal was HECK :P  Those 3 things have been helping to keep me sane lately.  Things IRL can sometimes seem overwhelming, but a dose of TEW good cheer, a little PvP and talking to GOOD friends always helps ;)

TEW and I got to play just one PvP match, as always was fun no matter HOW it turns out ;) but I think we won that one :P

Just a quick update on my standings:

Life Grand Master is 57W/39L Rank of 813 Commander
Balance Grand Master 36W/30L Rank of 657 Knight
Death Initiate 5W/2L Rank of 544 Corporal

Commander! WOOT!

Finally hit Commander last night on my Life wiz! BIG shout out to my PvP partner The EarthWeavers and Ryan Soul for helping me get there :D

TEW (The EarthWeavers) and I have partnered since I started PvP, although I do solo also.  But TEW has also been bugging me to hit Commander whether or not they were there.  So I have been in the Arena, every night, battling it out to get the rank I needed for Commander.  

Well I lucked out in getting matched up against Ryan Soul one time previous.  IDK who won that match, but it was a GOOD one, that I do know.  He is a Balance Commander currently, but has his gear ;)  He offered to help me reach Commander as I was so close. We did some matches together last night.  

First was a double Fire Team, let me tell you, they were HARD to overcome.  As soon as they had pips double Fire Dragon!  That's a LOT of DoT to overcome.  Learned something though -- Bailey HATES DoT with a PASSION.  The more I get hit with it, the more she throws Spritely ;)  What a wonderful little shin kicking Goat she is!  We almost died, time and again, in fact I did die, more than once, but Ryan was there with a heal and a shield.  We eventually won the match.  Was a long, hard fought battle.  And one of the opponents was one of those people who invested their WHOLE soul into PvP.  Was hating on me for us winning.  Followed us to the next match to heckle and jeer, and cheer on the other team.  That was a double Storm match -- sigh, lost that one, quickly, too many Wild Bolts and Lords.

Then we got a Myth/Storm team, 2 lady Commanders.  I really hate getting hit with Orthrus!  Once again Ryan was there with a heal if I needed it.  Bailey hates that puppy also it turns out, she kept going off, and once again I was accused of cheating.  Sigh.  It even made me break my silence to try to explain and to direct them to the Petnome Project.  Then one of them said that Petnome was a cheat and I just made it as a front to cover my cheating!  Oh my.  Wish I was that tech savvy to do it.

Next team was a match to us Balance/Life down to male Balance and female Life.  This match was the one I needed to win, was 4 rank away from Commander!  As always us poor Life types are the target of the aggro in anything over 1v1.  Their Balance Warlord was hoarding pips for Judge, could see it.  Already had feint and hex on me, what he couldn't see in the mess of shields was the double tower hidden under there ;)  Full pip Judge did 212 damage with no gear resist :D  WOOT!  Gotta love a good PvP partner, who knows how to protect teammate.  This battle was a long long one, as neither Balance nor Life are designed for quick kills if the are more than full pip Judge hitters.  Poor Ryan was so fouled with weaknesses he couldn't get anything out for a while.  He pulled the minion card, and that  is what ended up winning us the match.  Gotta love a good minion in PvP, they rock ;)  My personal opinion is they stink in PvE as they break setups.  Most good players know traps don't work so well in the Arena.  Amanda, their Life Wiz ended up fleeing when she was down to about 500 health, and she started with over 3k.  The Balance wiz stuck it out for awhile, but after I hit him with a couple of centaurs he fled also.  Would have preferred a "clean"" victory, but will take the win anyway it comes ;)

So I got my boots - WOOT! Hat next time around.

See ya 'round the Spiral -- or maybe I should say the Arena?  LOL

PvP, and the People in it ...

Was in a solo match last night, against a Balance Captain ...  Just playing as I always do, no talking, laying shields as needed and what not.  This guy starts talking to me, wanting to read my stats  I guess. And y'all KNOW I don't answer him.  He puts up a Hex when he has 5 Power pips, so I tower, he puts up a feint, and not wanting to be dead I Treasure Tower.  Then he says 'Treasures?" Well he's got Balance Blade up, and Blade Storm and goes ahead and hits with full pip Judge -- FAIL.  I use a 2 Power Pip satyr and am back to full health.  I hit with a Seraph, followed closely by a Centaur.  He WAS not happy.  Started begging me to lose the match, cause he needed to hit Commander for his girl, or she was going to dump him.  I keep quiet the whole time.  Not saying a word.  

During all this Kevin BattleBlood (KBB) contacts me asking if I would like to do some Raven Farming.  Now who in their right mind turns down quick gold?  I may be silly, but NOT crazy!  So I told Kevin yes I would as soon as I creamed this punk in 1V1.  Told Kev about what was going on.  All the sudden this kid starts calling me a "Noob", and he was going to "curse me", that he hates life wizards.  Sometime during his rant Kevin shows up, and let me tell you, you dont want to see an upset KBB! I didnt like seeing it and KBB was there to "defend MY honor".  An angry KBB is a sight to see ... the kid didn't know WHAT hit him!

Balance Captain tried 3 more times to Judge me to death, all 3 failed.  He ended up dying by my minions imp spell ;)  Fitting end for that match, dontcha think?  LOL

The kid knew NOTHING of any other balance spell but Judge, no hydra, no Spectral Blast, no NOTHING.  Never even tried to Nova to kill my poor minion. I would be surprised IF he hits Commander.

PvP

Well lately I find myself in the Arena -- ALOT.  Like so much so that some of my friends are saying I am addicted to it. ;)

Would like to be a Warlord, and have started my quest to that goal on my Life wizard.

My friend The EarthWeavers (on wiz Fallon DreamBreaker) PvP as a team -- Myth and Life,  and we aren't too bad ;) even if I do say so myself.

Bolting Storm teams give us trouble, but then again they give EVERYONE trouble, plus they give Storm wizards a BAD name in the Arena.

We both agree to keep comments to ourselves during matches.  Meaning we use the group feature so that our opponents can't "hear" our chatter.  The better to keep them guessing, plus it keeps them from reading what gear we have, and what school we are.

Many in the Arena are trash talkers.  We had a match the other day against a balance/death team.  We just could NOT seem to kill them.  We would get the Balance down and Death would sacrifice and heal the Balance.  And during all this the Death was saying how lousy we were, and since we got to go first we should have won the match sooner.  Just keep ranting at us.  Was NOT a pleasant experience.  The match went on for our an hour.  Both Fallon and I saying if we are so bad, why are WE winning?  LOL'ing and planning tactics via group chat.  We did win the match in the end.  Was a SWEET SWEET victory. :D

One of the reasons I took up PvP is my pet, Bailey the Satyr.  Now if you know me, you should know by now that I HATE shin kicking, hyper active goats with a passion and tried MANY times for a frostcaller.  Well I have a frostcaller named Jasmine and find I don't use her much anymore.  Bailey the shin kicking goat came into my life and pushed poor Jas aside.  The reason why you might ask ... especially since I hate shin kicking goats?  Bailey has an INCREDIBLE talent.  It's called "spritely".  Bailey can choose to use this talent whenever she pleases.  Its a small heal to start, and it continues for 3 rounds, just like a Sprite card.  It's not as strong as the card, but does heal a small amount those 3 rounds.  The incredible thing is Bailey can throw it as many times as SHE wants, using none of my pips.  Spritely pets have been known to use the talent 2 or 3 times in a ROW interrupting the order of battle to do so. 

I know of a 4v4 team -- Team Perfect Catch -- whose pets manifest this talent.  You should all know one of the members of this team, Kevin BattleBlood, the Chillanthropologist.  They have been accused of cheating TOO many times and its not right or fair.  Just today they had a match that I watched for a bit, and was glad I did.  All of the sudden cries of dismay arose from their opponents -- CHEATERS, you skipped me, etc etc etc.  Since TPC doesn't speak during battle I spoke up and tried to explain what the pets were doing.  They could not believe it, but were eventually won over, especially when Kevin began to speak to them.  Minds were finally opened, and some of the other team wanted to know how to get the talent also. 

I was fortunate enough to participate in a few PvP matches with them.  Its an AMAZING experience.  Doing a 4V4 PvP with a team of THAT caliber is intense.  Playing against HUMAN players and not mobs brings a whole new side of Wizard101 to light.  Human players can think ;) and not just blade, trap, attack.  PvP is a whole 'nother thing.

I am currently 41W/31L in the Arena with rank of 747.  I need to gain 53 rank to buy my PvP boots which will give me better resist to all schools. 

Wish me luck please as I strive towards my new goal of PvP Warlord.

Brisk Breeze Bash Follow Up

The BriskBreeze Bash was a HUGE success -- MANY MANY wizards got their rings, some are still hunting ... and we hope they come and ask for runs.  I made a total of 15 runs into the Tower, and I know many of my fellow Mercs made many also.

We know that the following wizards got their rings:

Jasmine -- Life
Keira -- Storm
Luke -- Fire
Haley -- Death
Valkoor -- Ice
Ryan -- Death
Josh -- Storm (Twice)
Heather -- Life
Suri -- Life
Jose -- Fire
Heather -- Fire
John -- Life
Moira -- Ice
Fallon -- Myth
Joseph -- Myth
Brooke -- Life
Sophia -- Storm
Keira -- Fire
Jacob -- balance
Cody -- Ice

Congrats to all of those that were successful.


At least 20 Rings were wrung out of Orrick's crusty old hands!

May he rest in pieces -- until the Wizards of the Spiral assault his tower to make it Ring with our spells once again.

All the best to those who came out and had a go at Orrick.

Brisk Breeze Bash

As some of you may know some of the M4H are sponsoring a Brisk Breeze Bash this weekend.  Yesterday was a great deal of fun.  I know that at least 8 wizards were able to "ring" in the new school year by tearing their Grand Master rings out of Orricks cold scaly hand.

If you stop by, don't be confused even though you might see two of me. 

One is our "door stop", she is always outside to greet those that might stop by ... and occasionally her Grand Master sisters are there with her.  The reactions have been priceless :)

Happy Birthday -- Wizard 101

Well, Wiz hits 2 today. Congrats to KI for a wonderful game.

Free transformation potions for all!

Have some fun being a tree or ninja pig.

Think I will save mine for Halloween :)

"Ring" In The School Year

"Ring" In The School Year With Your Own Grand School Ring!


Saturday September 4th-Monday September 6th

You are invited to wreak havoc on Angrus and Orrick until they give up your school ring. Come Join the M4H team this weekend as we "labor" to help you get yours.

We will be working in time blocks in groups of 4. We will also run you through as many times as we can within the time frames allotted.

Saturday: runs starting each hour from
7-9a PST/8-10a MST/9-11a CST/10a-12p EST, break,
12-3p PST/1-4p MST/2-5p CST/3-6p EST, break
6-7p PST/7-8p MST/8-9p CST/9-10p EST

Sunday and Monday: 12-3p PST/1-4p MST/2-5p CST/3-6p EST

Where: Scarecrow Realm In front of Brisk Breeze Tower

Details: Please list on the linked thread if you will be able to attend, your wizard name, school and at what day/time so we can better group the teams together. Walk-ups are welcome. We ask that you follow the advice of your merc leader to ensure a successful run. Above all else have fun!

Sponsored by M4H

MERC LEADERS-
SorceressMiklai, Cassandra DragonHeart, Lady Blade, Kevin Shadowstalker, Keira Nighthunter, Andrew Wildflame, Aura*, and Jonah (ret)

How to deal BIG damage

My Friend Alric RavenSinger was nice enough to give me a shout out on his blog, The Raven’s Vault.  Thanks Alric, love ya dear heart!  He mentioned Mercenaries for Hire, and the fact that was I honored enough to be asked to become a member.  He also mentioned tips and tricks

and I believe one that he might be referring to is how to set up for one hit kills, which are SO SO much fun for the “hammer”,  and just as much for the “buffer”!  You can always tell when someone is new to a one hit kill.  You usually get a WOW as the first thing they say when it happens.

Most of us know that using our school blade and trap makes for a bigger hit, and if you used any TP (Training Points) at Niles the Balance Tree for tri-blades and traps, and use those also you get an even bigger boost.  And don't forget your "bubble", or global, or Aura or whatever you may want to call it!  For us pyromaniacs it's called Wyldfire.

If you have a Death wiz (or Necromancer) with you they can boost your hits with a couple of cards also, that work for any school's damage spells.  They are traps, so they go on your target.  The first one is called "Curse", it adds 20% more damage to your hit.  The other card that the death school can use is "Feint".  Now when I first heard about this card I thought it was a HORRIBLE card!  It puts a trap that adds 70% damage to the target, BUT it also puts a 30% damage trap on YOU!.  I thought why the heck would I want to damage myself?  BUT if you time the placement of this trap just right you can take no damage, because the enemy has not had to chance to hit it, or very low damage because they use a low damage spell.  So NOW I see the sheer beauty of this spell.  A 70% boost ... lets see if a card hits for 625 points, with no other buffs ... a feint adds 437 points of damage ... to make one hit 1062 points, enough to take out MOST mobs, even in DragonSpyre.

The "classic" buffer in game is a Sorcerer, or Balance wiz.  Those tri blades and traps you used a TP on? They get for free, after all they are balance school spells.  Their "school" blades, Balance blade and Blade Storm, can boost any schools hit.  They have a +30% trap, called "Hex", this is a trap that all schools can use.

So imagine this, you are a fire wiz, getting ready to use Helephant, which has a base damage of 625.  You have the following blades on you -- school blade for 35% boost, tri blade for a 35% boost, balance blade for a 25% boost, bladestorm for a 20% boost -- all of those "stack", meaning they all will fire when you use your spell, provided you don't fizzle ;)  So that means that 625 hit point Helephant now does 1708 damage.  And this calculation does NOT take into effect any gear boost you may have.  For example my Pyro gets a gear boost of 37%, and that would be the first calculation, mathematically speaking, so I would hit for 2306 damage, BEFORE any traps are added.  And none of these are using a bubble to boost the hit. :D  So you can see how just using blades alone can boost a hit.

Now for the traps ... and how they go off all depends on how they were laid down in the first place ... LIFO style (Last In, First Out) ... so we have the following set on the enemy -- in order -- Hex, Feint, Curse, Tri Trap, and school trap.  So our damage gets boosted to 9555 for one hit.  Still no bubble or any treasure cards.

So you can see, that with the right set up MASSIVE amounts of damage can be done.

Like this :

And yes thats 116K of damage. WOOT!

Soon we will talk about small decks and some other tips and tricks I have up my sleeves.

Until then ...

See ya 'round the Spiral