Outside the (Quest) Lines: What’s F2P When You’re Not in the Mood to Quest

You’ve signed up for the Wizard 101 “Unlimited Free Play” offer, and you love the little Ravenwood student you’ve created, but today you’re just not in the mood to banish baddies? Never fear, there’s lots more free players can do!

Pet Pavilion: As mentioned in the previous column, all Ravenwood students receive a non-combat, free pet as a quest reward. Once a player reaches Level Seven, Merle Ambrose issues a summons to his office. Without spoiling the storyline, all that can be said is that completing this quest unlocks an area of the game that offers mind-boggling amounts of fun. In addition to the pet rewarded in the level seven quest, pets may also be obtained for gold or through drops from F2P bosses. Pet names can be changed for 500 gold at the Dye Shop in the Shopping District in Wizard City.

Once the Pet Pavilion is unlocked (via accepting the quest at level seven), players can level all pets. As pets level, they develop skills, attributes and in some cases spells that will help players in combat. For an excellent guide on the skills and attribute pets gain as they level, check out “Petnome Project.” Petnome Project is an official “Top Wizard 101 Blog”.

Pets are leveled by playing minigames and feeding snacks. Snacks can help pets level up faster, which makes them move valuable in combat  It’s possible to level pets quickly through strategic playing of minigames and feeding of snacks. Mapping out and following a pet leveling plan can be a fun project. Or players can just shoot their pets out of cannons and watch them chomp down cake while running from ghosts. It’s all fun.

Feeding snacks isn’t necessary, but pets can only be fed at the end of a minigame. Players can use gold to buy snacks and feed them to their pets after mini games. Snacks can be purchased from vendors or at the Bazaar. Sometimes snacks will drop from a bad guy. Some snacks can also be crafted. A vendor sells snack recipies in the Pet Pavilion.

The pet games include a maze, dancing, cannon shots, and the “Gobbler Drop” which escapes description. Let’s just say you have to see it to appreciate it! Free players can also play the Pet Derby in practice mode (unranked.)  The Pet Derby has a practice mode for free players.

Bazaar: Go to Olde Town to visit the Bazaar, where all transactions are made in gold (the in-game currency.)  At the Bazaar, players can sell equipment they don’t want anymore or can’t use. Players can also buy better equipment for their toons, and because other players are selling their unwanted gear there is a wider selection than at the Shopping District merchants.

It’s easy to spend hours at the Bazaar just looking at the hundreds of items for sale at any one time. Players can see what their toons would look holding a high-powered sparkling wand, or dressed up in a robe from a different world in The Spiral. It’s a great way for free players to get a taste of what’s waiting in Krokotopia, Marleybone, MooShu, DragonSpyre and Celestia if they decide to move beyond the free player mode.

Players can also sell and buy housing items at the Bazaar. Each Wizard City dorm room holds up to 50 items, and there’s oodles of fun to be had decorating with items from throughout The Spiral purchased from The Bazaar. Legend has it that one Ravenwood student has her dorm room papered in “Cat Wanted” posters from MarleyBone!

Treasure cards, pet snacks and reagents are also bought and sold at the Bazaar. Players who don’t use treasure cards may want to sell theirs and use the gold to buy pet snacks instead. Players who aren’t interested in crafting might sell reagents at the Bazaar and use the gold to buy housing items or rename their pets. Avid crafters tend to spend lots of time at the Bazaar waiting to snap up a rare ingredient.

Crafting: Many worthwhile crafting activities are available to F2P players. The first step for any player who wants to craft is to visit Eudora TangleTree in Olde Town. The reward for the first crafting quest is a “Basic Crafting Table.” Don’t be fooled by the modest name! Many items can be crafted with this table, including equipment, furniture, and treasure cards. Recipes for crafting equipment and housing items are purchased from Eudora TangleTree. Some reagents (i.e. ingredients) for crafting recipes may be purchased from the Reagent Vendor (standing right next to Eudora). The rest are only available through drops, collecting, or purchase in the Bazaar. Recipes for treasure cards may be purchased from the School Tree of your primary school. The highest level of crafting available to F2P players is Basic, but Basic Crafters can made a wide range of items to use or sell at the Bazaar. Treasure cards can used in combat, traded with other players or sold at the Bazaar.

The next Ravenwood Roundup will cover even more of what’s available to F2P players, including Practice PvP and promotional codes.  Ravenwood Roundup updates every Friday.