The latest Hoard Card Pack from Wizard101 is named the Terror’s Hoard Pack, and I tore into them this week. I’m not usually a big customer of the Hoard packs; due to the vile hate the RNG gods apparently feel for me, I don’t usually spend crowns on them. At first I refused to buy them until they changed the name to the Alliance Card Packs. Then I realized it was “Hoard” as in “stash,” not the orcs of Azeroth, so I gave up that idea.
This Hoard Pack is an exception, because it contains a lot of housing items with the Castle Darkmoor theme in the loot table, and I love the look of those items. It’s a sort of mystic-Victorian mash-up, and everything looks great in the Botanical Garden house. Wallpaper, flooring, wall hangings, spider webs, tables, chairs, candelabras…the list goes on.
The community is really excited about the portrait dropping of really memorable NPCs from the game, including Malistaire Drake and his (dearly departed) wife Sylvia, the lovely Tatyana, and Shane von Shane (His parents didn’t have much of an imagination, I guess).
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As I ripped into the packs, I realized the Hoard Pack loot tables have changed a good bit in the past few months. In addition to the regular reagents you can expect from a pack like this, KingsIsle has also added new items to help players with the new jewel-socketing feature for our gear; not only some jewels themselves, but also some reagents needed to craft jewels. This is a nice touch, as grinding for reagents can be a bore in any MMO.
There’s also some new gear in the packs. When it comes to Hoard Pack gear, I almost never equip it because I already have better, but I still keep it for cosmetic purposes. This gear set is really fun; it also reflects Castle Darkmoor and keeps the mystic theme going in a big way. The wand is especially fun. It has a little eye in the middle that gives a “creepy carnival” vibe. Players in the community are really crazy about the “may cast Blackwater” ability that comes with the spell. This gives a chance to lay a damage spell on your foe, and it’s caused a lot of chatter among the PvP players.
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There are the old standby drops, like treasure cards and mid-level pet snacks. Some people think those are lame, but I never turn my nose up at them. It’s always great to have level 6 or 7 pet snacks on hand...nothing hurts more than having a pet five points away from the next ability level and having to sacrifice a level 9 snack to see what happens.
KI is continually adding treasure cards to crafting recipes too. You never know wat you might need next week. You can trade treasure cards with your friends—especially the ones who PvP. If all else fails, sell them at the Bazaar. I’ve funded many a pet hatch with spare treasure cards.
Of course the Terror Horde Pack has the chance to win some big-ticket items: the Terror Dog mount and the Brainy Assistant Pet. The mounts from the packs are almost always a home run. They are the biggest “win” because unlike the pet, you can’t hatch with a friend if you don’t get one as a drop. This one doesn’t disappoint. The Terror Dog is a gargoyle for your riding pleasure. Luckily it doesn’t slobber!
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The pet in this pack is cute as the dickens...it’s a replica of Renfield Flygob. And by “Flygob” I mean it’s a frog. Thinking about frog loogies is a little gross but I’ll let it slide. Anyway, Renfield is definitely inspired by Igor from Frankenstein. He’s holding a brain in a jar marked Abby N. It’s a little creepy, but I’m going to just be relieved that “Christina I.” was too long to fit. The stats are being adjusted in the Summer Update, so if you get one as a drop, make sure to check out the talent page in your journal when the current test realm goes live.
As always, buy responsibly. And if you get things you don’t like and can’t sell, feed them to your pet! Who knows what you’ll find on your virtual lawn!
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Editor's Note: You can grab your own Terror's Hoard Pack by visiting our MMORPG.com Giveaway page! Get one while they're hot!
