I've been thinking about a challenge run people could do (though of course, I would never do it myself).
I call it: The Wizard101 HARDCORE challenge. You basically play through the game the same way, but here are the rules:
1. No pre-trained pets, no shared gear or items, no crowns items. 2. You are allowed a max of 5 treasure cards in your boss deck (not allowed any for street mobs) 3. You are allowed a maximum of 3 team ups per world. You have to solo everything else. 4. No jewel socketing
Now, here's the biggest part:
5. You are ONLY allowed to use gear, pets, and treasure cards you get from drops and quests. You can't buy anything at all from any vendors. Now, this might not look that bad, but there's an even bigger catch. 6. You are not allowed to farm dungeons, bosses, or mobs. You can go through a dungeon once and only once in hopes of attaining a better piece of gear. If you go through a dungeon and don't get any good drops, too bad.
1. Upon reaching a new world, you are allowed to train a single pet up to Ancient. This means you are allowed a maximum of three talents on a pet. If you don't end up getting usable talents or any talents at all, too bad. You are not allowed to train a pet further after that. You have to try again on a different pet. School quest pets ARE allowed, however. 2. There is one exception to rule 5 and 6. Once per world, you are allowed to craft ONE piece of gear from either a hat, robe or boots, and you are allowed to craft ONE piece of gear from an athame or a ring (I'm counting Grizzleheim and Wintertusk as separate worlds). In this one case, you are allowed to buy reagents from vendors if you need, though only as much as you need to craft the item. You are also allowed to farm mobs and bosses for reagents, though if you already fought them for gear before and obtained a new piece of gear because of these extra tries, you are not allowed to equip it. 3. You are not allowed to infinitely farm Loremaster for a spell. You are allowed a maximum of ten fights against her. You CAN craft a Loremaster spell if you so desire, but it uses up your slot from bonus rule number 2. 4. You are allowed to garden for reagents as much as you want. Again, however, you have to get them from enemy and boss drops. You can also fish if you desire. You can freely buy gardening/fishing spells with no drawbacks. 5. You CAN feed your pet items and you can use whatever comes from it. 6. You are not allowed to use Mastery Amulets. 7. At level 90, you can go back to Aquilla and try once more for the Alpha and Omega Ring and Blade of the Felled Titan. (You are allowed to fight the secret bosses, but again, only once, except in this case.) 8. If you get a crown item from a fight, you are allowed to use it.
This is probably really overkill and way too difficult for anyone to actually complete, but what do you guys think?
Along these lines, I've been tempted lately to try a "ten year anniversary budget run" of Wizard101. Basically, I'll allow myself only to use the monthly membership, but no 'start-up' crowns purchases of any kind. That includes henchmen, crowns packs, seeds and pets.
Gear has to be dropped or crafted, no exceptions. Same goes for jewels.
Multiple dungeon runs would be allowed but not second chance rolls.
Unlimited pet collecting is allowed via drops, but not training/hatching for specific talents. For the most part, I'll limit myself to first generation pets and whatever talents that pet develops. No pet jewels allowed except for what drops or what I can craft.
Crowns plants are allowed, but only if dropped. Not bought. Same with mounts.
Doing this would make the experience similar to my first ever play-through of Wizard101, when most of the things we can buy now weren't even available back then. We didn't have mounts, trainable pets, gardening, jewels, henchmen, etc.
I might try it this summer, on the anniversary of when I first created a wizard. It was early August 2009, just after Grizzleheim and crafting were added to the game.
Thomas Wildstaff, 92
Alia Misthaven