Pay It Forward: Ian Stormstaff and Sheldon

Hello!

There are so many talented and amazing people in the Kingsisle gaming community, and all of them deserve recognition for the awesomeness they bring.  Someone decided to start a "Pay it forward" type of project to help spread some cheer and put a smile on peoples' faces.  I think this is an amazing idea!  I was mentioned in a blog post the other day, which really meant a lot to me.  This blog post is me paying it forward, hopefully to put a smile on someone's face.

And I am going to break the rules.  There are so many awesome people that I honestly couldn't choose just one.  So I am choosing two people that have been good friends and that I think make the community a better place.  I had a list of even more and I would mention all of them, but the rule is to mention only one person.......and I can't break the rules TOO much. :P

First, Ian Stormstaff.  Some of you in the Twitter community might know him as the NinjaBunnyLord.  He has contributed so much to the Wizard101 community and often isn't recognized for the amazing work he does.  Ian owns the (now inactive) site Wizards Unite.  He also used to co-host the podcast Ramblers.  Both were incredible and I am sad they are no longer around.  However, now the bunny owns a new site that is even more awesome, WatchHallow.  You can go here and read Ian's posts about all the games he plays, such as The Sims 4, Minecraft, Wizard101, Pirate101, as well as others he tries out.  His posts are always awesome and definitely worth reading, so be sure to check them out!

But as awesome as Ian's blogging and graphics are, the main reason I am writing this about him is that he is a great friend.  Even though he is busy, he is always there to talk to me whenever I need someone.  So thanks Ian! I consider you to be one of the best friends I have ever had!  And keep up the great work with your blog!  Now it's your turn to pay it forward to one person! :)

Next up is Sheldon from Adventures of the Spiral.  I have known Sheldon for a couple years now. We actually met on Twitter and "bonded" through helping out each other our sites' designs.  He works incredibly hard on his site, always bringing new features to the community like his Companion Database and the Fansite Festival.  Projects like these require a huge amount of work, and I want Sheldon to know how much me, and hopefully all of you, appreciate how much he does.  He is also one of the funniest and most random people I know in the community. :)  So thank you for everything you do Sheldon!  Always remember that you are an amazing member of this community!  And remember to pay it forward to one person of your choice!

And to everyone else reading this, and to all the people that aren't reading this, remember that you are all awesome too!  Each and every one of you helps make the Kingsisle games and community incredible!  Thanks for reading and I will see you in the spiral! :)

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Pirate Regatta

Hello everyone!

Last Friday I had a chance to battle my way through the new Pirate101 nautical gauntlet with Edward from Around the Spiral with Edward Lifegem.  This was my first time through, since I was on vacation during the time test realm was active.

Pirate Regatta is basically an area in Skull Island where you can go to fight a bunch of ships and get awesome drops, gold, Scrip and NXP.  There are 5 waves, each consisting of 5 ships you have to defeat, followed by an unsinkable ship boss.  That's 30 ships total! Lots of fighting, and it is FUN!

Some of the boss battles were pretty tough, and we lost some companions, but overall I don't think the difficulty is too bad for 2 or more people.  I don't think I would be able to solo it though, since the ships tend to gang up on you.

Edward and I went through all 5 waves and I think it took us a little over an hour.  I got so much scrip in there. One boss fight alone, I got 50 scrip!  I also got some furniture items.  But my favorite part was that Edward and I each got 2 new pets, a Sand Shark and a Sea Foam Spectre!

I'm not sure how much NXP these ships give, since my nautical level is maxed out, but the ships are level 65ish, so they probably give a decent amount.  My guess is that it's maybe similar to Aquila, but I really don't know.  If I find out, I will be sure to update this post.

I really had a lot of fun doing this with Edward.  Ship fighting is one of my favorite things in Pirate101.  I can't wait to do it again and see what other cool stuff I might get!  Comment below and let me know your thoughts and if you have gotten anything good from Pirate Regatta!  Thanks for reading! :)

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Welcome Back Event Recap

Hey Everyone!

Today was the day that Edward from Around the Spiral with Edward Lifegem and I had scheduled our event for.  Well......we had it and it was so much fun!  I decided to go on my privateer so I could finish getting her nautical level maxed out.  We met up with everyone in Avery's Court before the event started and then we headed to Achaean Way in Aquila to sink some ships.

Me and Edward before the event waiting for people to show up :)

Once we ported to Aquila, the fun began.  Wow! I really missed having these events.  And even though he wouldn't admit it, I know Captain Taco (aka Spartacos) missed me too.  He's been awfully lonely over in that skyway all by himself! :P

Anyway, we fought ships for about an hour and got lots of scrip, NXP, ship equipment and TONS of gold!  Plus, like I said, it was a blast!  And I did manage to level up from nautical level 63 to nautical level 65! WOOT! :)

After the NXP portion of the event, we headed over to my Witchdoctor's Haunted Grotto and had a scavenger hunt that we had planned out ahead of time.  It consisted of several (10) items that were hidden, which we gave out clues for.  The first two people that came back and had the correct answer won packs of their choice.  The last two questions each had one winner though.  I gifted an Adorabilis pet and Edward gifted a Solar Saber mount!  It was a lot of fun!  Congrats again to all the winners!

After the scavenger hunt, there were still some people hanging out, so we went in for some PVP.  I didn't get a chance to PVP against anyone this time, but I had fun watching! :)

Overall, it was a really fun event.  I cannot wait to have more in the future.  It feels so good to be back!  Thanks again to everyone who came, and thanks to Edward for hosting the event with me! I hope you all had as much fun as I did!  See you in the Spiral!

P.S.  You can read Edward's recap post if you click the link at the top of this page. :)

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Guide to Mysterious Trainers

Ahoy!

When Pirate101 released their newest update this past week, one of the things I was most excited about was the three Mysterious Trainers in Skull Island.  These trainers are not marked on any of the maps, and they also aren't available all the time.  Each trainer is available once every 3 hours, for one hour, on a rotating schedule as follows:

1. Firenzian - Shooty Talents
2. Lost Hoplite - Slashy/Smashy/Stabby Talents
3. Kurotadori - Staffy Talents & Power (PVP Only)

Each new trainer becomes available on the hour (1:00, 2:00, 3:00, etc.), always in the order above.  They offer some pretty awesome talents, which I will post below for those who are interested.  But first you'll need to know where to find them.

Location

The trainers have their own cave in Corsair's Channel in Skull Island.  To access it, first dock your ship at Devilfish Landing in Corsair's Channel.

Once you dock and exit your ship, go into the cave to enter Devilfish Hollow.  This area is tricky to navigate, as there are many enemies looking for a fight.  It is possible to make it through without getting caught in a battle, but you have to watch where you're going and be really careful.  The red "X" on the map below is where you want to end up.

Once you get to the correct area, you will see a trap door labeled "Mysterious Trap Door."  This is the entrance to the Mysterious Trainers' cave, Clandestine Cave.

The Trainers

Now that you have found the trainers' cave, it's time to have some fun! Hopefully when you get there the trainer you want to get powers from is available.  If not, you will have to wait until it is.  

*Note* If you are in the cave and log out, the game will kick you out to the Devilfish Landing life fountain. You also cannot mark your location inside the cave. If you need to wait, I recommend exiting the cave and marking your location near the trap door.  That way you don't have to worry about finding/fighting your way back.

Each talent/power offered from the trainers costs 1 practice point, regardless of your pirate's class. They all require you to be level 20 or higher to train them as well. Here is what each trainer offers:

Firenzian (Shooty)

Burst Fire 1, Overwatch 1, Parting Shot 1

Lost Hoplite (Slashy/Smashy/Stabby)

Relentless 1, Flanking 1, Cheap Shot 1

Kurotadori (Staffy)

Readied Spell 1, Coward's Bane 1, Witch Hunter 1 (Talents)

Forbiddance (PVP Only Power)

So those are the 3 mysterious trainers and what they have to offer.  I have trained the talents that will be useful for each of my pirates. However, I haven't had a chance to try any of them out yet.  I'll make a separate post to let you all know what I think when I have a chance to try them.  I'm especially excited about the Witchdoctor/Staffy talents and about having relentless on my Buccaneer.

Comment below and let me know what you think of the trainers!  See you in the spiral!

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Welcome Back Contest

Hey Everyone!

When I came back to blogging last week, I promised a contest. Well.......Here it is!  To celebrate the reopening of Secrets of the Spiral I have decided to give away some Pirate101 loot as follows:

• One person will receive a Solar Saber mount.
• One person will receive the new Dimetrosaur pet.
• One person will receive their choice of 1 of the new art books.

**Please note that these items will be gifted in game, so if you win, you will need to add my pirate.**

Sound good?  Are you ready to enter?  Just follow these 3 easy steps:

1. Log onto Twitter.

2. Follow @SecretsOTSpiral.  

3. Tweet #WelcomeBackSotS before Friday, August 14, 2015 @12:00pm (noon) EST

**Only one entry per person please! All duplicate entries will be removed from the contest**

That's all you have to do.  I will be entering everyone who enters into a random.org drawing and will announce the three winners shortly after the contest ends on August 14th.  If you win, I will be contacting you via Twitter and will need to add you in game to gift you your prize.

If you have any questions, please ask either in the comments or on Twitter at @SecretsOTSpiral.  Good luck to everyone who enters!  See you in the spiral!

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Pirate101 Gets Ranked PVP and More Cool Stuff!

Ahoy!

Pirate101 Test realm was released a few weeks ago and now those updates have been added to the live realm.  Unfortunately, I was on vacation and very busy, so I didn't get to test out any of the updates.  However, here are just a few of them:

• Ranked PVP - I'm not a huge fan of PVP, but I know many people are excited to see this feature added to the game.  I may try it out once or twice.  Who knows, maybe I'll end up loving it!
• Nautical Gauntlet - This is like a super ship fighting instance that you can enter with up to three other pirates.  This will be one of the first things I check out when I have time to play.
• New Trainers - There are hidden trainers that have been added to the game, each with new powers to train.  This is another addition I am super excited about!
• Changes to Companions
• New Pets

There are some other changes as well.  To see the full details, visit the Update Notes.  As I said, I haven't gotten to try any of this cool stuff out yet, but as soon as I do, I will post about it here!

Until then, have fun exploring all the new content! See you in the Spiral! :)

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Welcome Back Event!

Ahoy Pirates!

I am finally ready to announce Secrets of the Spiral's big welcome back event that I am hosting with Edward from Around the Spiral with Edward Lifegem!  This event is also a belated celebration of Edward's birthday, which was last Tuesday, so be sure to wish him a happy birthday when you see him!

Anyway, we will be going to Aquila to farm the Captain of Tacos, Spartacos, for NXP and Scrip.  Then we will be going back to my Witchdoctor's Haunted Grotto for PVP, a scavenger hunt and some prizes!  You can see more details below.

Date: Saturday, August 8, 2015

Time: 3:00pm Eastern

Where: Achaean Way near Captain Spartacos for the first half, the Autumn's Haunted Grotto for the second half.
*Meet in Avery's Court and add either Autumn Walker or Edward before the event*

Realm:  One Eyed Jack, Area 1

This event should be a great time to hang out in game with friends and get some cool stuff. I know I'm excited!  I hope to see everyone there!

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