July 11, 2019 October 15, 2022
Wizard101 Summer ’19
Test Realm Overview
The Sizzling Summer update has come to the test realm and with it exciting new changes both to gameplay, story, and spells. Besides Crab Alley finally receiving its graphical revamp, Kingsisle has completely overhauled Unicorn Way. This “first zone” is now one of the main highlights of Wizard City. In this article, I’ll provide an overview of the changes in this Summer Update.
Below you can see a thirty minute video showcasing all of the new Unicorn Way and some of the new main quests added. It also shows some minor details not listed below, so check it out in addition to this article!
Unicorn Way Will Never Be The Same!
With this new update comes an unexpected overhaul to Unicorn Way and generally the beginning part of your adventure in Wizard City. A lot of down time in Unicorn way has been cut out, with the story being altered to fit these changes. For starters, all the important characters are all next to each other. Ceren Nightchant also got a new voice actor and new lines, which is exciting. They added a lot more comedy into this area and I absolutely love it.
The area looks a lot different for new players and is extremely aesthetically pleasing. Completing a mob quest triggers new voice lines from the enemies, which also have new sounds and animation changes. They also explain the Krokonomicon very early, which I really enjoy because the story is a little confusing with Malistaire in the beginning.
Before we get into what they’ve changed with spells, let’s talk more about how Unicorn Way was changed and how it will change the presentation of Wizard101 areas forever.
FTUE! (First Time User Experience)
First Time User Experience (or FTUE for short) is a cool and modern addition to Wizard101. Basically, new players will find and experience things that players who have already gone through the area no longer see.
Below I’ll show an example of Unicorn Way for players who just created a Wizard and players who’ve gone through the area already. As you can see, the decorations in Unicorn Way initially reflect Rattlebones’ occupation of the street. Upon his defeat, however, Rattlebones’ regalia vanishes and Unicorn Way returns to its purified look.
Wizard City Has Been Nerfed?
This is definitely a change that no one saw coming. Wizard City has effectively been made easier and quicker. Before this update, when a player created a new wizard, they’d get a school-specific wand with their school’s wand hits. They earned their first healing spell right before they fought Rattlebones. This means if they were low on health before they gained the spell, they’d be boned.
That is no more. You now get a different wand when you create a new wizard. It has all of the one pip hits (with reduced damage) and an extra 5% universal accuracy. It also comes with a brand new healing spell, Heartbeat. This spell heals for 245 health for 1 pip. Obviously this wand is very, very good for a new wizard. You could probably use this wand all the way through Wizard City.
I’m not sure why KI would make a change that makes it all easier. Wizard City already is an easy world, but maybe KI wanted to make it shorter, so new players can get into the meat of the game, which is Krokotopia onward.
What’s to Come and More…
There is a lot of new information with this Sizzling Summer update, and a lot they haven’t even released yet. I’m very excited to see where they go with FTUE in newer worlds. Here are some smaller changes they’ve added:
- Some sound effects for spells have been changed
- Medulla has been nerfed (again)
- There is new dialogue that is unique to each teacher, and can only be heard from your teacher.
- Quick sell has a better layout
- More Deckathalons have been confirmed
- A scroll of fortune has been announced, which sounds a lot like the Fortnite Battle pass, but we’ll see what it is when it is released…
This is a really exciting test realm, I’m hyped to see what they have in store for us later down the line, and if KI will possibly reveal that dungeon in Olde Town.
