Wow, time flies when you’re having fun in the Spiral! We can’t believe it’s already February 2019. We’d love to hear what your most fun moments were in 2018, and what your characters have been up to in 2019 so far!
February is going to be an exciting month with the upcoming Friendship Festival, so keep watch for updates on Twitter and Facebook! Speaking of festivals, the community put on some great events this past month. See what fun was had in the Community News section at the end of this newsletter.
We also have some exciting plans for content coming later in the year that we can’t wait to share with you in future newsletters. Until then, here are the January events that that got 2019 off to a great start:
Double Pet Experience on Jan. 4
Mastery Amulet Monday on Jan. 7
Double Gardening Rewards on Jan. 9
Level 50 Elixir Sale on Jan. 10
Nimbari Warrior Hoard Pack released on Jan. 17
Super Crowns Sale on Jan. 18
Free Training Point Buyback on Jan. 18
Visit to PAX South on Jan. 19-20
Mega Monday! on Jan. 21
KI Live on Jan. 31
Fantastic Voyage Gauntlet Bundle now available online!
Feedback Fridays return
Nimbari Warrior Crowns Reward Weekend
Community tours at KingsIsle!
As always, keep updated daily on the latest news for next month on Twitter and Facebook!
Our Visit to PAX South on Instagram!
Before heading to PAX South, we announced KingsIsle’s new Instagram account! Associate Producer Renee “Wooften” Wooten and Mathew “Bat Masterson” Anderson attended and posted these great photos:
Follow KingsIsle’s Instagram page for more photos throughout 2019!
We're still pouring over all the notes we took when the community visited the office ahead of their PAX South visit. The community’s insights into what they think should be updated in the games were incredibly valuable to our team. Thank you, community! Look for future producer’s letters that will go into some of the changes and additions we are preparing as we get closer to the Spring Update.
From Ravenwood Academy:“Recently the Wizards of Ravenwood Academy brewed up a batch of exciting questions for our amazing, Senior Community Manager Mathew “Sparck” Anderson. Our goal was to get answers to some questions the community has been asking, and Mathew did not disappoint. So, let’s get to it, we are excited to share this exclusive interview with you!”
What do you like best so far about your position at KingsIsle?
The team and players, all-in-one! Everyone: all Wizards, Pirates, baby animal fans, etc. I haven’t been a part of such a great team and community as what I’ve experienced here at KingsIsle. Everyone on the team participates in some form in developing and promoting our community programs, which makes it faster to get fun things out to you. The best part though is working with the community on their own events and projects, so please do keep creating those!
What can you tell us about your responsibilities at KingsIsle?
Oh my, well, where do I begin? A nice summary is that I ‘take care of the community’. This of course means several things, but first and foremost it starts with listening to your ideas and concerns about our games, then relaying that feedback to the development team. I also help to ensure the community is a safe place to be, working with our development and customer support teams.
Zone of the Month: A Quick Stop at Urville Station
The traditional and ever popular Zone of the Month is back with a discounted offer! This month, we’re featuring Urville Station. This premium area comes bundled with Frigid Maw as well. It usually comes at the cost of 1995 Crowns, but because this is our zone of the month, we’ve discounted this area to 1500 Crowns through February 18, 2019!
Name:
Urville Station
Location:
Urville Station is a critical waypoint amidst the frozen expanse of Polaris.
Description:
Originally founded to protect the Frigid Maw Mine which produces sacred Betrothal Pebbles and other exceedingly precious Gemstones, Urville Station was a cozy village just a short train ride away from the more developed city of Penguinonia… otherwise known as Walruskberg. The most exciting thing to ever happen in the sleepy hamlet was a particularly traumatic circus “mishap”. That is, of course, until Rasputin turned Urville into a gulag, or prison camp, for dissident Pingouins.
Secrets:
Different types of flowers grow outside the gates, while the Ice is much sweeter near the entrance to the Frigid Mine.
Don’t Miss This Side Quest!!
The Side Quest named “Broken Dreamer” and the subsequent quest, “Pointe Break”, given by a conspicuously graceful Gulag Guard named Aleksandr.
Who’s That Boss?
Colonel Ivanenko is a Rank 15 wandering Storm Boss with a pet Storm Tiger. Ivanenko can be found patrolling the streets of Urville Station as a field commander of Rasputin’s vaunted Gulag Guard.
Behind the Dev Process:
The inspiration for the name “Urville Station” comes from the real life French scientific research base called Dumont d’Urville Station, located on an archipelago off the coast of Antarctica. That base was named after French explorer Jules Dumont d’Urville, whose expedition landed in the Dumoulin Islands on January 21, 1840. With Polaris’ obvious French influences, a place that was not only French, but also located in a frozen wilderness like Antarctica was a no-brainer for us to riff off of.
Which area in Wizard101 should we spotlight for March? Let us know by tweeting your suggestion @Wizard101 or by emailing community@Wizard101.com!
Welcome These New Official Fansites
Every so often we receive interest from either new or well-established fansites to join our Official Fansite Program. While we share content from across the community regardless of any official standing, the program exists to provide the community with a recognition of those sites that we deem safe and valuable to players. These sites may also receive additional support from us when they develop an event or other activity that requires item codes or some other giveaway opportunity.
Congrats to the following three new fansites for joining KingsIsle’s Official Fansite Program!
If you have a fansite of any kind that you feel deserves to be a part of our program, please let us know about it! Email an overview of the site to community@kingsisle.com and we’ll be happy to review it!
Fan Screenshot of the Month
Here is Arcanum Lore’s modified screenshots with a lovely scene of a new Bakery shop idea:
We love to see your screenshots every month! Send us your best and high-res screenshots to community@wizard101.com (three max please). We can’t wait to see what you capture!
Fan Art Spotlight
We have some truly amazing talent in the community, wow! For this month’s newsletter, we got so many great art entries, we decided to select two of them. The first is from SparkleFountain depicting their beautifully themed character:
And here is a physical piece from Scarlet Griffinrider, who is thinking about creating a version featuring the game’s professors!
We want to see more art from our fans for next month’s newsletter. Do you have something to share? Send it to us in an email to community@Wizard101.com! We’re always interested in showing off more fan art, gameplay guides, and other content. Thanks, Wizards!
The unaffiliated-with-KingsIsle “Community Newsletter” had a great selection of Wizard101-related links this month from around the web. NOTE: Be sure to visit and follow their Twitter page for more information. To subscribe to their newsletter, send a Direct Message to them over Twitter inquiring to be added or email them at community.newsletter.101@gmail.com. You can unsubscribe at any time by sending them an email with the phrase “UNSUB”.
