Pirate101 Challenge #10: No Side Quests

Good morning Pirates!


Well, I did it! This is the last post in my Pirate101 Challenge series.  Thanks for joining me on this journey, especially since it took me much longer than anticipated.

This last challenge is one that many people might already do naturally while playing Pirate101, but with a twist.  The goal is to complete the main storyline of the game without completing any side quests. Let's take a look at the rules.

Rules
1.  Do not pick up any side quests, including companion promotion quests.
2.  No Prospector Zeke quests. This will give you less practice points to spend.
3.  No class trainer quests, including quests from your own class trainer.
4.  Complete as much of the main story through Valencia part 2 as you can by completing just the main quests.

Tips and Tricks
1.  Every time you have to fight ships, fight a few extra to help raise your nautical level.
2.  Battle extra bosses and mobs to help get more gold and raise your level.
3.  Focus on leveling and promoting companions that can be promoted with gold.

Exceptions
As stated above, you can still promote companions that are promoted with gold instead of a promotion quest.

Variations
1.  Make this harder by trying to complete the game without doing extra nautical and PvE battles.
2.  Make this easier by adding companion promotion quests back in.
3.  Make this harder by not promoting any companions, even those that promote with gold.

So that is the last challenge.  I would love to hear from anyone who has tried any of these.  Comment below and tell me your experiences!  Also, I will be posting a poll next week for a new character I will be making to try out one of these challenges with, so watch for that.

Thanks for reading and see you soon!

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Pirate101 Challenge #9: Badges

Ahoy Mateys!

I am almost done with the 10 Ways to Make Pirate101 More Challenging series!  After this post, there will only be one more, which I am planning on making later this week.

There are so many badges in Pirate101. Badges for completing quests, defeating bosses, discovering new areas, and more!  Another cool this is that some of the badges give you rewards when you complete them. This challenge requires you to complete all the badges in the game.  Read on for more information.

Rules
The only rule for this challenge is to complete every single badge in the game.

Tips and Tricks
1.  Many badges will be unlocked once you defeat a specific boss or type of enemy or visit a world for the first time.
2.  Here is a pretty comprehensive list of Pirate101 badges: Badge Guide.

Exceptions
1. Badges that are not included in this challenge are badges for PvP, Smugglers Arena, Moo and  Manchu Tower.

Variations
1. Make this harder by completing the badges for each world before you move on, including badges for defeating bosses (such as Gortez) 25 times, as well as the "Defeat a certain type of MOB" type badges for that world.
2. Complete the badges listed under the "Exceptions" section in addition to all the other badges.

So that's it.  While this may be one of the easiest challenges, it will probably be one of the most time consuming, especially defeating the amount of MOBs and doing all the side quests to get the badges.  I know all my characters still have several badges that need to be completed.

Comment below and let me know if you have tried any of these challenges yet!  Thanks for reading and see you soon!

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2016 Halloween Contests

Happy October everyone!

This is an exciting month for Pirate101 because not only is it Halloween, but it is also Pirate101's 4th birthday!  To celebrate both of these occasions, the KI community manager has given me some codes to give out to you all!  I have decided to have 3 different ways to win as follows:

1)  Enter this retweet contest on my Twitter account and be entered to win a Hoodoo Bundle.

2) Enter the raffle at the bottom of this page to be entered to win 10k crowns and The Vampire (shades/accessory item shown below) - Starts tonight at midnight EST!

3) Watch my Twitter account from October 21st through October 31st for many chances to win various codes for crowns, facepaint, bundles and more!  I will be posting a complete schedule on this post for the Twitter contests/giveaways in the upcoming days.  Please note the following rules:

• You may enter more than one of my contests.  However, each person will only be eligible to win once.  This will give everyone a more equal chance to win.
• You will need a Twitter account to enter my Twitter contests.
• Please no begging/asking for codes. If you don't win you can always try again or check out the many other fansites giving away prizes as well.
• Have fun!

Twitter Contest Schedule:
All times are Eastern Time
Times may change. If they do, I will mark them as "Updated."

October 22nd - 11:00am *Updated*

October 22nd - 5:00pm

October 23rd - 7:00pm
October 24th - 7:30am
October 25th - 10:00am
October 26th - 10:00pm
October 27th - 7:30am
October 28th - 7:00pm *Updated*
October 29th - 2:00pm
October 30th - 10:00am

The final contest on October 30th @ 10:00am will be a sort of scavenger hunt incorporating all the codes and other giveaways from the previous 9 days.  To participate you will need the following:

• A Twitter account that is not private (so I can see your activity to me) as well as the ability for me to Direct Message (DM) you.
• Access to this blog (www.secretsofthespiral.com)
• Access to Pirate101

On Saturday the 29th, I will make a tweet (or 2) with most of the ciphers I have used throughout the week.  This contest will take some time to complete, my guess would be about 30-45 minutes.  There will be 3 winners as follows:

First Prize - Hoodoo Bundle

Second Prize - 10k crowns and the Vampire

Third Prize - 5k crowns and Vorpal Bunny facepaint

One last note: If you have won one of my other Halloween giveaways in the past 9 days, you are still welcome to try the scavenger hunt. However, you will not be eligible to win a prize.  This is to give more people a chance to win.  I think this contest will be a lot of fun and I hope you guys will think so too!  

Raffle

a Rafflecopter giveaway

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Happy 4th Birthday (and Halloween) Pirate101!

Hey everyone!


Today marks Pirate101's 4th birthday!!!  How exciting is that?  Pirate101 is celebrating with tons of decorations around Skull Island, as well as adding birthday items to the crowns shop.  They are also giving away some awesome gifts to their players!  You can click the this link to see more details and to redeem the code to receive your gifts.

Since it's October, it is also Halloween month in Pirate101.  You can get tons of cool housing items, pets, mounts, face paint and more in the crowns shop.  Some of these items have been brought back from previous years, but there are also some epic new items to be has as well!  Be sure to click this link and then log into the game and check them all out!

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Pirate101 Test Realm Goes Live and a New Pack

Ahoy Pirates!

I am very excited to announce that the Pirate101 updates I announced in test realm a few days ago have now been released to the live realm!  Shortly after its release, Kingsisle quickly responded to players by adjusting the spawn rate for the new turret, making it spawn more often.  This is something I really love about Kingsisle.....Their willingness to respond to players, listen to suggestions and make appropriate changes.

There was also a new pack, the Ashes of the Armada pack, added to the game.  This pack features furniture from several worlds, new weapons (which are awesome) and new companions!  It costs 399 crowns in the crowns shop.

You can read all the information about these new updates by clicking the links above.  Have you tried out any of the new stuff?  Comment below and tell me your thoughts on this update!

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Halloween Run 2016

Happy October everyone!

Fall is officially in full swing! I love October because to me it marks the start of the Holiday season (Halloween, Thanksgiving and Christmas.)  While Halloween isn't my favorite holiday, it is second on the list.  I have so much fun helping my kids make their Halloween costumes and doing their Halloween makeup.  This year they have decided to dress up as Beetlejuice (my son) and a creepy voodoo doll (my daughter).

Speaking of costumes, it's also fun to dress up in game!  Around the Spiral with Edward Lifegem, Frostcaller, Michael Walker and I are teaming up to host the first ever Halloween Run at the end of the month!  Put on a costume or Halloween colors and join us in Nightside for a run through Wizard City!  Keep reading for more details.

When

Saturday, October 29th @ 5:30pm EST - 4:30pm CST

Where

Meet up in Nightside and run through free areas of Wizard City

Realm

Vampire realm

Co-hosts

Edward Lifegem (Host)

Autumn Dreamwalker

Frostcaller

Michael Walker

Port buses
Autumn Dreamwalker - Level 1 Balance
Chase Deathhand - Level 110 Death
Bradley Lionwielder - Level 110 Storm

Halloween Run

During the Halloween Run, we will be starting in Nightside and then run through the following areas in this order: Commons, Ravenwood, Golem Court, Shopping District, Olde Town, Triton Ave, and Haunted Cave, ending by Nightshade's Tower, where we will the port to the afterparty.  You can see a video of the route at the following link: Halloween Run Route.  Be sure to watch this video, since during the run (due to the large volume of people) we may all get separated into different areas.  

After Party

The after party will consist of two parts.  First, the port buses will port everyone to a "haunted house" for a tour.  After the tour, the port buses will port everyone to the party house for housing games, PvP, giveaways and more fun!

Giveaways

• During the after parties, there will be people randomly gifting. 
• Enter one of several social media contests detailed on Around the Spiral's blog post.
• Check Around the Spiral's Twitter for giveaways during the event.
• Check Frostcaller's Twitter during the event for random giveaways.
• Check Michael's Twitter during the event for a giveaway.
• There will be a scavenger hunt during the after party at the haunted house after the run is over.
• During the event or afterparty, tweet me with a screenshot of your wizard at the event with the hashtag #HalloweenRun2016 for a chance to win a Shinobi Bundle.

This event will be amazing! Every time there is a "holiday run," the crowd gets larger and larger, so be sure to try to get there early!  I hope to see you all there!

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