Goodbye

Hey Everyone.

As many of you may have noticed over the weekend, I deactivated my Twitter and Facebook accounts.  I apologize for doing this without giving any notice, but due to real life circumstances, I am no longer able to be a member of the Pirate101/Wizard101 community.  Unfortunately, this also means the end of Secrets of the Spiral.  I won't be taking the site down, but I will no longer be able to update the site or make new posts.

I want you all to know that this community has meant a lot to me over the last few years.  I have met so many amazing people and made so many great memories. None of you will be forgotten.  Thank you to everyone who has supported me and my blog. Even if you only visited one time, your support means a lot! Thank you to Tom, the Pirate101 community manager, for seeing potential in my site.  You're the most amazing community manager ever!   And to "The Enclave"/"The Other Side" if you read this, you guys are the best and I love you all! Thanks for always being there for me.

I feel like this journey was only just beginning, and I am sad that it must end so soon.  It isn't something I want to do, but like I said, it's something that has become necessary.  I truly hope you all understand.  I will miss each and every one of you!  Stay safe, have fun, and happy questing! *HUGS*

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A Character Update

Ahoy!

I have actually had quite a bit of time to level through Pirate101 lately.  It felt so good to get back in game and spend some real time there.  Other than NXP parties, I have been up to all kinds of things.  Here's an update of where all my pirates currently are.

As most of you know, my witchdoctor has been finished with the game for quite some time.  She's done all main and side quests, as well as getting her companions and nautical level maxed out.  There was one last thing I have been wanting to do though, and I am happy to say I finally accomplished it last week! I got a Tawny Sky Turtle pet! This was the only dropped pet I did not have yet.  So I spent a few days switching between Friar Sand and Shan Hong.  After about 50ish battles, Friar Sand was nice enough to drop one. :)

Other than farming, I have been using this character to help my son level through Mooshu.  He has actually suggested that once one of my other characters catches up to him, we quest together again, so you may be seeing a lot more posts featuring him in the future! :)

The last time I posted one of these update posts, I believe I had 3 characters all starting Haunted Skyway.  Well, I am extremely happy to let you know that all three of those characters are now out of Cool Ranch and at various parts of Mooshu!

My Privateer getting ready to get the first quest in Mooshu

My Privateer has made it to Mooshu, but I haven't started any questing on her yet.  I am planning on starting up with my update posts again, so be sure to watch for those!

Edward Hawkins and I have also made it to Mooshu, although we haven't done much there other than talk to some people.  I believe we are getting ready to fight some ships.  The last battle of Cool Ranch (Motherlode Mine) was a lot of fun with him, and not too much trouble either......Probably because we hired a henchman to help us out. :D  Here are a few pictures from that battle.

And last, but not least, my Buccaneer is pretty far into Mooshu.  I just defeated Dr. Noh and am getting ready to face off with General Tso in Khotan.  I decided to take a break from questing yesterday and did a bunch of companion promotions on her.  I had 7 total that needed to be done and it took me several hours.  Now that they have been completed, I am ready to get back to questing on there.  I cannot wait to make it to Marleybone! I think that's my favorite Pirate101 world so far! :)

The only character I haven't been working on much is my swashbuckler.  I will have a post the beginning of next week about that though.  It feels really good to be making so much progress in the game though! And as much as I like Cool Ranch, having 3 characters stuck there at the same time got kinda......redundant. lol  I am not too sad to say goodbye to that world for now.

Before I go, just one more thing.  I have recently updated the "My Pirates" page on this blog.  I am planning to keep that page updated on a weekly basis.  All of my characters are listed there, along with their current levels and up-to-date pictures.  If you see anyone named Autumn Walker in the spiral that doesn't match up with one of those characters, it is NOT me. If you do see one of those characters, feel free to say hi! :) I am usually questing in One Eyed Jack realm.

Anyway, I will see you all soon! Have fun questing!

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LAG-BUSTERS!

Ahoy!

Saturday was part 2 of the Secrets of the Spiral NXP Extravaganza!  It was a lot of fun, although many people there were complaining that they were experiencing lag.  This was because a lot of people showed up.  And many people/ships in one area equals lag.  Actually, at one point I even made up a mini song about it, which went something like this:

If things get slow

In the skyways

Who you gonna call?

LAG-BUSTERS!

*cough*  Okay....um....anyway.....Even though the game was running kinda slow at first, I still had a great time.  I hope everyone else who came did as well.  I definitely know everyone was getting lots of NXP and gold.  I was also happy to see a few people from my list port who are already at max nautical level. They ported just to chat and have a good time socializing.

Just a few of the people waiting in Avery's Court

before the party started!

There were even a few good friends hanging out on my ship collecting NXP and leveling up while I was fighting the ships.  They didn't get as much NXP as they would have if they were on their own ships, but it was still pretty cool! And it helped me out when they were clearing tokens from my deck.  And apparently at one point I became a GHOST!  It must have been the ghost ship I was using. :P

Autumn the Ghost is driving! :)
Picture courtesy of Edward at ATSWEL

If you have never been to one of my NXP parties and would like to see what they are like, you can view the video below.  It was made by Johnny at Pirates of the Spiral and covers the first 25ish minutes of the event.

I am planning on having at least one NXP event per month, maybe 2 if I have time, so be sure to watch for future announcements!  Thanks for reading and happy sailing! :)

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Night Time in Subata

Ahoy!

Yesterday, I was farming for a Tawny Sky Turtle pet in Mooshu.  I started off farming Friar Sand, but didn't have any luck.  So I decided to head over to Subata to farm the guy in Abe Pagoda.   Well, when I got to my ship, I realized that I must have been farming for a lot longer than I had thought, because it was night time!

Okay, not really, but I did have a cool glitch that made the whole sky black, so it looked like it was night.  It was epic looking, with the beautiful Mooshu scenery against the all-black sky.  I had a couple people port to me, but no one else could see it.  Anyway, I did manage to get a bunch of screenshots. So I figured I would share them with all of you.

I logged back on today (still no turtle pet) and it was back to regular old daytime again.  I love getting glitches like this though. It makes for some awesome screenshots!  What types of glitches have you all seen in game? Let me know in the comments!  Thanks for reading and see you next time! :)

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Hoodoo Bundle Raffle

Ahoy!

Yesterday Pirate101 officially announced the arrival of the new Hoodoo bundle!  This bundle is EPIC!  Here's what is comes with:

• Ghostly Galleon
• Mojo Monkey Companion
• Conqueroo's Outfit
• Witchdoctor's Lab Housing Add-On
• Baron Samedi's Battle Standard
• 1 Month Membership or 5,000 Crowns

Every single one of these items is awesome, but my favorites are the companion and the ship.  One Eyed Jack was awesome enough to give the fan sites codes to give away.  I decided to make this easy and give everyone an equal chance by having a raffle.  All you have to do to enter is follow this blog. Then comment on the post telling me which item in the Hoodoo Bundle is your favorite.  Everyone who enters will be entered into a drawing.

The raffle will end February 27, 2014 at 12:00am EST. The winner will be announced later that day, and the code will be emailed to the email address that was used to enter the contest. Good luck! :) 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

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Another Mysterious Hint

Pirate101 released yet another sneak peek today!  This one is awesomely spooky!  It shows a stone room with a big ol' cauldron of bones in the middle.  There is also some fires in the background and a purple light that looks like it may be some type of passage to another room or area.

My first thought was possibly some type of crafting, because of the name "Witchdoctor's Lab".  Some people are speculating a bundle with a Witchdoctor themed house.  Or maybe it's just part of  an epic new quest.  I cannot wait to see what the new Pirate101 update will bring to the game.  I have a feeling there will be lots of new content.  I am so excited to see how this fits in with the bigger picture.

Be sure to check out the link above to view the whole clip. Also, comment below and let me know what you think the Pirate101 team has in store for us! Are you as excited as I am?

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An NXP Extravaganza

Ahoy!

I've been thinking that it's about time for another NXP event this weekend! And since this one is short notice, I will be having another one in 2 weeks as well! These will be similar to previous events, fighting Captain Spartacos and the other ships in that area of Achaean Way in Aquila.  Here are the details for both events:

Dates: Saturday, February 8, 2014 and Saturday, February 22, 2014

Time: 6:00pm Eastern (both events)

Where: Achaean Way, near Captain Spartacos (see map below).  If you need to port to someone, meet Autumn Walker in Avery's Court

Realm:  One Eyed Jack, area 1

Pirates who come to these events sail away with lots of NXP, tons of gold and some really great ship equipment drops too! I hope you all can make it to at least one of these events, if not both of them! Hope to see you there! Or as I like to say, "Come on Sparty, let's go party!" :)

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February 2014 Pirate101 Newsletter

Ahoy!

Yesterday Pirate101 released their monthly newsletter for February 2014.  There was another sneak peek of the upcoming new content at the end of it, but first lets take a look at a few of the other awesome highlights.

• An all new Rogue's Gallery featuring Gracie Conrad
• A new Marleybone wallpaper available for download
• Vadima's Visions with an enticing list of bosses that drop cool stuff
• A run-down of the new Pirate101 mini game, Dueling Diego
• Tips from One Eyed jack about changing realms
• A sad goodbye to Talkin' the Plank, as well as a warm welcome to Adventures of the Spiral :)

And last, but definitely not least......THE SNEAK PEEK!  At the very bottom of the newsletter is another image titled "Completely Barmy."  

As you can see, it's a brand new staircase in Avery's Court.  It looks kind of like it is placed between the Privateer and Buccaneer schools, but I'm not sure.  What do you think it could be?

Be sure to comment and let me know! And definitely check out the newsletter for lots of cool stuff!

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The Year of the Horse Sale

Ahoy again Pirates!

This is the Year of the Horse, and to celebrate the Chinese New Year, Pirate101 is having a huge sale in the Crowns Shop! Now through Sunday, February 2nd, 2014, you can get up to 50% off select horse mounts and companions! Log in and check out the Crowns Shop to see these amazing deals and/or visit the following link for more details: Year of the Horse sale.

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Dueling Diego Codes!

Ahoy Pirates!

Kingsisle announced a few days ago that the KI Free Games mini game, Dueling Diego, now gives out codes for Pirate101!  This is an awesome way to get gold and other prizes in Pirate101!  To play Dueling Diego, you can visit the following link: Dueling Diego Game

One Eyed Jack was also awesome enough to give me some top-tier codes to give away to you guys!  Each one can be redeemed for 5,000 gold and one random Pirate101 item!  I have 10 of these codes to give out.  All you have to do is watch the Secrets of the Spiral Twitter next week, Monday, February 3rd-Friday, February 7th.  I will be posting 2 codes on there each day, one at 8am and one at 8pm (Eastern).  The first person to redeem the code will be the lucky winner!

Good luck to everyone!  And be sure to go check out Dueling Diego at the link above to try to win your own codes too!  See you in the spiral!

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Not A Spoiler Post

Hello everyone!

Today I would like to talk about something that has been going on in the community. Something that concerns both Wizard101 and Pirate101.  The topic I am talking about is......spoilers.

It seems like every time new content is getting close to being released (especially for Wizard101), there is an influx of spoilers floating around.  This seems to cause much debate between community members.  Some like and seek out the spoilers. Others don't like having the new content "spoiled" before they can explore it for themselves.  I can see both sides to that, but I am here to talk about something different that often seems to get overlooked.

Has anyone stopped to wonder where this information is coming from?  Does anyone think it's weird that this spoiler content isn't available anywhere on any of Kingsisle's official pages or websites?  That leads me to believe that the person releasing this information is getting it through means that go against the Terms of Service, which is not okay.  Kingsisle works hard  to bring us new content, and it should be released to the players on Kingsisle's terms, not on someone else's terms.

So how can you tell if information you see online has been released by Kingsisle or not? Well, it's pretty simple. You can check any one of their official sites.  Below are the links to both the Pirate101 and Wizard101 websites, Twitters, and Facebook pages.  I highly recommend following all these sites, if you can, to stay updated with all the official releases, updates, hints and news.

• Pirate101 Official Site
• Pirate101 Facebook
• Pirate101 Twitter
• Wizard101 Official Site
• Wizard101 Facebook
• Wizard101 Twitter

If you're one of the people who doesn't enjoy seeing spoiler information, remember you can always take steps to limit how much you see.  When you're on social network sites, don't open links.  You can also scroll past images without examining them or clicking on them to enlarge them.  If it gets too bad, remember you always have the option of unfollowing or unfriending people who post the spoiler content.  While you may not avoid all spoilers this way, you can certainly avoid many of them by following those simple steps.

And to the people who post information/spoilers they come across online?  Please stop.  This is coming from someone who doesn't mind spoilers. I can honestly say I don't like surprises, but even though I feel that way, I still think the Kingsisle team deserves some respect.  Let them release hints and new content when they're ready.  And if you come across spoilers online, don't repost them where everyone can see. Just because someone else did it first, it doesn't make it okay.

Anyway, on a happier note.........I am thinking there will be new content in both games soon! Yay! I can't wait to see what they have in store for us!  Feel free to post your comments below (either about your opinion on spoilers or about new content) and thanks for reading! :)

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Pirate101 Timeline....And More!

Ahoy!

Today Pirate101 announced that they had released an updated version of their timeline.  Not sure what the timeline is? Well, it's an interactive listing of all the Pirate101 accomplishments and events since the game was announced.  It is actually a really cool feature! You can check it out in the link above.

One of the coolest parts of this timeline update is the very last entry! It's another sneak peek at the upcoming new content!  Here is the picture and caption they provided us with.

Aha! Looks like Ol' Fish Eye isn't so lonely anymore?

Notice the new character has a quest for us! I am wondering if this update will have new class specific quests, maybe for a class weapon or a new companion.  Or are all these sneak peeks for different things that will all be released at one time?  Whatever Kingsisle has planned for us, it is sure to be EPIC! I am so excited!

What do you think the update will contain?  Leave me a comment below with your ideas! Thanks for reading!

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NXP Party Recap

Ahoy!

Thanks to everyone who came to my NXP Event this past Saturday!  A ton of people showed up at the beginning and a bunch more ported throughout the event. It was great to see so many familiar people!

The party was in Achaean Way in Aquila.  We spent the night (3 1/2+ hours!) fighting Spartacos and the surrounding ships.  Some people were able to level up 20 or more levels, so congrats to them! I am already max level (and also at my gold cap) so I didn't get the benefit of either of those things. However, I did get to enjoy receiving some awesome high level drops! We got highest level anchor, wheel, and rudder (I think) as well as some great lower level drops.

People also got to listen to my randomness and Yohoho-ing! If you were there, I hope you enjoyed it.  And if you weren't? Well.....You missed a great time, but don't worry! I am planning another event soon! So be sure to watch for an announcement!

As always, thanks for reading and have fun Spiraling! :)

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A New Year of NXP!

Ahoy!

You have all been asking, so here it is! Secrets of the Spiral's first NXP event of 2014!  Let's start the new year with a bang and sink some ships!  There will be lots of NXP to be had, as well as gold, great ship equipment drops (hopefully) and lots of fun!

Here are the details:

When: Saturday, January 11, 2014

Time: 6:30pm Eastern

Where: Meet in Avery's Court and add Autumn Walker, level 2 witchdoctor. Then we will port to Achaean Way (Aquila) to fight the ships.

Realm: One Eyed Jack, area 1

Everyone is welcome, regardless of level.  Just make sure you have a membership, or crowns to purchase the area!  I hope to see you there! :)

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The First Newsletter of the Year!

Ahoy!

Yesterday Pirate101 released a brand new newsletter, the first one of 2014!  As always, there is lots of cool stuff in the newsletter, But one thing in particular I am totally excited about.  But I'll get to that in a minute.  First, here are a few of the other things you can read about if you click the link above:

• A new Rogue's Gallery featuring Old Scratch
• Loots and lots of links from the fan sites and other fans.
• Tips from One Eyed jack about how the battle boards are set up.
• And more!

So yeah, so pretty cool information in there.  But now for what I am so excited about.......Are you ready!?!?!  There was another "Completely Barmy" sneak peek included as well!  Here it is:

A treasure chest of some sort.  It looks like it is in Skull Island, near Skull Cave.  And what is with the lock/unlock symbol?  I can't wait to find out! The newsletter says that we will find out "soon" and it also says January will kick the new year off "with a bang."  I'm hoping this means we will find out more information about all these sneak peeks this month! Who else is excited?  Be sure to check out the whole newsletter for more information! See you soon!

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