If I've learned one thing over my 5ish years playing Wizard101, it's that the KingsIsle community is extremely dedicated. Whether it's in or out of game, most players are willing to do whatever they can to help other community members and support the game they love. This dedication made an interesting appearance over the weekend when 2 new prepaid cards were discovered and located in Dallas.
The hype all started Thursday evening when Tom Purdue (Community Manager) and Leah Ruben (Senior Producer of MMO Content) announced the new prepaid cards on the company's monthly livestream, KI Live. They teased that unlike all previous prepaid cards, these new ones contained more than just a pet. The catch? The new cards weren't available everywhere. They're currently in a test market (Dallas, Texas) and only available at Kroger stores.
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While this created quite a pickle for the majority of Wizard101 players, some found a way around it. Calamity, a very generous KingsIsle community member who happens to live in Dallas, went out of her way to help the community. She hit over 9 Kroger stores searching and picking up cards for those outside of the Dallas area. In fact, so many people took her up on the offer that all of her nearby Kroger stores are sold out of cards and there is STILL a wait list. That's a lot of time and energy for nothing but the community's appreciation (everybody who got a card paid her back at face value). So, Calamity, you're awesome!
Since I attend college in San Antonio and Dallas is a bit away from me, I got my two cards from Calamity. The $10 and $20 cards look like the other combo cards at Walmart and Target, but they offer much different goodies.
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It's worth noting that prepaid card rewards change depending on the month you REDEEM the card. Seeing as how these new cards have only been out for a week or two, I don't know what May or the following months will offer, but redeeming the cards in April gave you:
- $10: Dire Omen Onyx (Headless Horseman card + Damage) pet jewel + Energy Elixir in Wizard101, and a Snake Charm (increases Pet Power) totem, Energy Potion, Grizzly Beast Pack, and Mega Snack Pack in Pirate101.
- $20: Mortal Toil Onyx (Maycast Mass Feint + Damage) pet jewel + Energy Elixir in Wizard101, and a Snake Charm (increases Pet Power) totem, Energy Potion, Grizzly Beast Pack, and Mega Snack Pack in Pirate101.
The $10 one is okay, but most of the community's attention is revolving around that $20 pet jewel. Prior to this card, Mass Feint was only available on a single piece of gear. The fact that pets can now potentially maycast it is a BIG deal. Feint is one of the strongest buffs in the game and to have an AOE version for quick mob battles and bosses is extraordinary. The only downside is that it's unpredictable and unreliable. In my 30 minutes of testing, I didn't get my pet to cast it once. Hopefully other people are having more luck. I'm eager to see how this new pet jewel will impact the game moving forward.
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For those of you who are interested in these new cards but don't live in Dallas, don't worry ... yet. KingsIsle mentioned on KI Live that if they sell well, they could be more widely distributed in grocery stores. Seeing as how most of the cards are already sold out, I'd say they're off to a good start.
What do you think of that maycast Mass Feint pet jewel and its possible implications? Share your thoughts in the comments below.
