Our guided tour of Wizard101’s exciting new zone
Other magical institutions besides Ravenwood have risen to great heights throughout The Spiral’s history, as most Wizard101 fans are well aware. In fact, direct evidence of this can be found in the ruins of Dragonspyre, where players battle through the shattered remains of that old magic school, torn asunder by the great dragon titan’s army. It may or may not come as a surprise, then, that another school of magic will soon be knocking on Bartleby’s door, if it isn’t already (darn print deadlines). That’s right, Wizards – prepare yourselves to face the magical competitions of Pigswick Academy!
When Pigswicks fly
Ah, yes, Pigswick Academy – the name itself is drawn from its founder, Sir Bainbridge Pigswick, an expelled Ravenwood student with an eccentric flair for the magical arts. Sir Pigswick’s eccentricity led him to the strange and yet simultaneously charming land of Wysteria. It’s here that Pigswick established his own unique school and an equally distinctive magical tournament for all the worlds of The Spiral.
Things are so outlandish at Pigswick Academy, you might find yourself a bit out of sorts. Where a Ravenwood Wizard might say he used Ice magic, a Pigswick Academy student would correct you. “Ahem! It’s Frost magic, dear student . . . and don’t you forget it!” You use Fire magic, you say? “Oh, no no no, how primitive, it’s called Ember magic at Pigswick Academy.” Judging from all this and the cost of admittance to Pigswick, you’d best raise those pinkies high, Wizards, because from the sounds of things, methinks Pigswick puts the fancy in shmancy!
Pigswick Orientation
Here’s an inside look at the Magic of Pigswick Academy.
|
Magic |
Classrooms |
Professors |
Quirks |
|
Frost (Ice) |
The Frost School is the coolest in town with all its snow-drifts and icicles. You might even see it snow outside! |
Quentin Burble (Gobbler) |
You might say Quentin is the brightest bulb his race has to offer. |
|
Ember (Fire) |
The Ember School features braziers of fire, and the outside looks just as hot –watch out for the sparks! |
Ankhu (Mander) |
Ankhu himself is five-alarm red and has a superior spicy sense of style. |
|
Tempest (Storm) |
The professor here likes things damp, with water basins that seem to pour from spouts above and a fog throughout. Outside, water condenses at the base of the door. |
Thaddeus Price (Sea Monster) |
A monster with a monocle isn’t something you see every day. Now that’s a smart accessory! |
|
Equilibrium (Balance) |
The Equilibrium School is full of Marleybonian gadgets and a huge scale inferring a weighty metaphor that balance is something measurable, artificial, and readily constructed. |
Velma Pepper (Marleybonian) |
Velma, like a true Marleybonian, has the spark of invention about her all the time. |
|
Chaos (Myth) |
Scrolls, hanging tapestries, strange books, and various statues of unusual creatures adorn the Chaos School. |
Heironimus Bunch (Yeti) |
Heironimus the Yeti is a proper gentleman, all dressed up with his suit and tie. |
|
Spirit (Death) |
The Spirit School is dark and gloomy, with a skeleton hanging in one corner, several tombstones leaning against the walls, and an otherwise gothic atmosphere. |
Edna Fuligin (Raven) |
Edna is a Grizzleheim raven witch, and she seems most in her element when it feels like Halloween every day. |
|
Earth (Life) |
Earth’s classroom is covered in green vines and nearly overrun with plants. Outside, the door is almost entirely covered with wisteria vines which look like a hanging bead curtain made out of vines. |
Chester Droors (Human) |
Droors may be the most human of the professors, but out of that wild bunch, he’s the one that would rather teach outdoors. |
Shake, rattle, and enroll
For a small investment of Crowns, students of Ravenwood will be able to visit all three zones of Wysteria, a beautiful floating island in the sky. Wizards will receive their summons when their level is somewhere in their 20s, when Merle Ambrose will provide some context about Wysteria and Pigswick Academy and send them to speak with Mister Lincoln. Mister Lincoln will explain more, give you a Ravenwood Class Ring, and instruct you to search out Mrs. Dowager, the registrar at Pigswick Academy.
Wysteria will be a side world to the main storyline of Wizard101 and will run parallel to the worlds of Krokotopia and Marleybone. It’s important to note that Wysteria will not be a way to bypass those worlds, but it will be a fun sidestep into adventure where Wizards will compete for the honor of Ravenwood against the rival school of Pigswick Academy, resolve a strange mystery, and find some new friends along the way. And, if you’re good enough, you may even win the magic tournament that Pigswick Academy hosts between several of the worlds of the Spiral!
What’s all the hub hubbub, bub?
Wysteria is a hub, similar to Wizard City, comprised of a new town center, classrooms, shops, and a most amazing library.
The library is a large, impressive space, with a huge vaulted ceiling and a comfortable arrangement of couches, chairs, and a big roaring fire. Portraits of old professors and classes hang on the wall, and vines and other greenery are resplendent throughout. The librarian, Mr. Hugo Chatterly, is an old cat wearing a pair of spectacles and a dapper suit. The best part of the library, though, is its maze-like archives, where you feel as if you’re wandering through an M.C. Escher-esque portrait filled with bookstacks, shelves, and stairs.
Here’s a quick look at the places where your coin is welcome in Wysteria
|
Shop |
Wares |
Proprietor |
|
Clothing Shop |
Boots, robes and hats |
Oliver Quickneedle is a male rabbit clothier, with the deftest needle in town. |
|
Jewelry Shop |
Magical amulets, rings, and other bric-a-brac |
Emmeline Silvercraft is a female fox jeweler with an eye for the finer things in life. |
|
Pet Shop |
Pets and pet supplies |
Begonia Woodwort is a female rabbit vendor who can help you with all your pet needs. Who needs a new Dill Piggle? |
|
Magic Shop |
Wands, decks, and anthames |
Geoffrey Spellsmith is a male rabbit magical artisan who can arm you for dueling. |
|
The Provisioners |
Supplies, recipes, and housing items |
Ophelia Moonreach is a female rabbit with an eye for fine wares. |
It’s dueling time!
The Tournament has been a regular tradition in Wysteria ever since Sir Bainbridge Pigswick established it all those years ago. Each duel of the tournament will be a fun, challenging exercise that takes place in the Tournament Hall, which is a grand space that features five separate dueling halls, each named for a particular monster type: Gorgon, Hydra, Specter, Harpy, and Basilisk.
Between duels, wizards will complete quests and learn more about Wysteria and the unorthodox approaches to magical instruction at Pigswick Academy. But remember, your ultimate goal will be to place that Spiral Cup Trophy in your housing as proof you won the tournament for Ravenwood!
Bubble, bubble, turmoil and trouble
The quests you complete in between dueling tournaments are sure to lead you to a few unique locations in Wysteria.
Pegasus Place
This street is adjacent to the main school ground in Wysteria and hosts a pegasus aerie and a hatching stable. The streets of Pegasus Place are sky-aspected – but not necessarily associated with the Storm school. Unfortunately, this area has been overrun by a wave of goblins and hobgoblins, which are fierce and horrible creatures who escaped to Wysteria from their world of Weirwood. (Lore-buffs note: That’s the name of an unknown world of The Spiral. Inside sources tell us you will stumble on even more names of new worlds throughout Wysteria!)
Pegasus Place is full of cloud, wing, and horse motifs throughout, including statues of pegasi. The shrubs and landscaping here are similar to that found in Wizard City, although the streets are wider and have that distinctive Wysteria whimsy.
Tanglewood Way
Tanglewood Way is ruled by the forces of nature. The gates are completely entangled with vines and seemingly are impassible, and two guards stand outside it keeping people away. Near the gate entrance is a crack in the wall that looks large enough to sneak through, though…
But what’s in it for me?
High-level wizards will definitely have a reason to visit Wysteria, as well. Besides winning the tournament with ease and earning your Spiral Cup, Pegasus Place will feature a new high-level gauntlet known as The Tower of the Helephant.
This ancient tower is covered with jewels and has a gated fenced area around it – one can only imagine what treasures are inside! Unfortunately, it’s this very allure that seems to be drawing thieves to its gates. Reports of possible burglary have Pigswick’s headmistress, Belladona Crisp, alarmed and in need of help from Legendary wizards!
Your explorations will lead to a lot of puzzles and challenging encounters with minotaurs, boarbarians (that’s a boar barbarian), wildclaws, giant spiders, and a particularly nasty dragonspyrian sorcerer named Lyon Lorestriker.
Will you have the mojo to use the Heart of the HHHelephant and return to Belladona Crisp with your head held high and your honor intact? Good luck!
Wysteria offers an all-new outcropping of adventure for Wizard101 that promises to be as challenging as it charming. Remember to bring your friends, and we’ll see you in the winner’s circle representing Ravenwood Academy in the Pigswick Academy tournament! Happy dueling!
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