Beyond the Spiral: It's More Than Just the Tools

In reply to a (formerly open) thread on Central:


To address multiple points without calling anyone out or directly debunking someone on their quote (since the internet easily allows something to be taken out of context, such as branching tangents), I'd like to share some behind-the-scenes history of TPC. This may seem uninteresting in relation to the post, but I feel that the team's identity has been taken out of context on a "lacking" or "having" basis -- in this case, a "lack" of the factors of using group text chat, or "having" other means of communicating. Looking into the past helps bring some truths to light, along with shattering any presumptions and assumptions. I won't go into heavy detail here, as I have already done so in a video called "The Origin of Perfect Catch;" I'll extract only events and situations that ultimately will build up to the bigger picture and allow me to share my point appropriately. (I highly advise that minds become open for this discussion.)

The five* of us ("Missy", Ronan, Fallon, Cassandra, and I) are friends through random collision and introduction via friends. Missy, Ronan, and I were closely bonded as a "team" solely for farming, questing, and taking on challenges (especially Briskbreeze, without use of a guide or tips...we basically "winged" the entire tower as 3 newbies) wherever they arose. My former YouTube channel, named KevinBattleblood (which is deleted since I closed a Gmail account that was linked) was where "KBB Experiments" was born. We were a team that sought the thrill of "thinking outside the box," and could concoct or hypothesize unexplored situations such as "sacrificing" a minion without killing it, or killing Jade Oni with Life *damage* via a wand. We had never met in person before, yet we were close enough to invest our limited free time into experimenting rather than questing and individually improving our wizards. When we farmed, we farmed until we all received what we wanted. It was a familial group where its members treated one another as human beings, opposed to avatars. "Using people" was nowhere in our dictionary.

Fallon and Cassandra had much less experience in PVP than the three of us -- Fallon had aided some friends of her past as a support role, and Cassandra, as some of you may know, hated or despised PVP, due to its environment. Missy, Ronan, and I had a lot of PVP experience via 1v1, both by taking part in a duel ourselves or by watching one another's duels. In fact, Ronan and I met through a 1v1 match, and while he was my senior in the knowledge of the game's history and mechanics (eventually becoming my Wizard101 mentor), we were equally matched in our fight. He was impressed, but we never expanded our friendship within PVP until much later. So, considering how much the five of us were involved with PVP, it's a surprise that TPC formed at all. Ronan and I never even dreamed of ever having a team like we do today... (It used to be all about 1v1 so we could avoid chain-stunning!)

Our attitude of treating other players as people (rather than as pixelated characters) opened the gates for Fallon to join our trio, and she later noticed our familial nature in our farming or questing runs. Sometimes (surprisingly) we found her sitting and watching our 3v3 Warlord matches, mildly interested in our playstyle. Going back to the fact that Missy, Ronan, and I deeply enjoyed experimenting around the game, our decks consisted of deck setups that were unconventional (no Treasure cards, a mass of utility spells, and low-rank cards like Frost Beetle and Fire Elf). We played to outlast, manipulate, and overcome written strategies; we weren't focused on mainly killing off opponents.

That is one key advantage to why we're so closely bonded and successful: we're playing for fun, not playing to win. Eventually, I encouraged and insisted that Fallon join us "for some fun" and not take PVP too seriously; instead, to treat it as Wizard101's new Briskbreeze where human intelligence provided for newer and variable challenges. The same extension was given to Cassandra Dragonheart, who was slowly finding an interest in the 1v1 scene as a Life player. 

If we lost, no one was to blame -- it is emphasized that the experience is an on-going learning experience. Fallon was the odd one out (not having extensive 1v1 experience like the three of us), but was just as welcome as any other Warlord. In fact, (fast forward a little to the present), we hold PVP parties that welcome players of any levels of any ranks to participate in a family-friendly environment (no trolling, no exploiting, etc.) so that more of the community can develop a positive interest in PVP. Again, please check out the "Origin of Perfect Catch" on YouTube, where I describe how this open attitude led to players, such as Paige Moonshade, who heavily detested ranked and practice PVP, rediscovering a positive element to the Arena. 

Mistakes happened due to the imbalance of experience among us five, but we upheld the attitude of "winning together" and "losing together." No person deserves all of the blame, and this is where Solid Snake's point in his OP surfaces. Communication may be a means of collecting data or responses and analyzing them as a team, but it extends as far as trust, respect, honor, and determination goes, and I believe that's what he's trying to point out. Yes, you can have enhanced communication time via a voice program, but it does not promise or "enhance" the chances of success, or provide a significant advantage. The PVP parties we held during the winter of 2010 included a number of deaf players who ran in our "Random Join" battles in the MFP, yet we still maintained impressive, educational, and interesting tactics with these (then) strangers on our teams. Also, pulling from my past experience in playing in professional gaming leagues (where cash prizes were rewarded), I can vouch that placing the "best" or "all-stars" together on one team and giving them the fastest means of communication in no way gave them any advantage over an opposing team that was composed of amateurs who were cohesive. 

Solid Snake is correct when he explained that TPC is about adaptability. I also believe our team's strength lies within WHY we are successful, rather than HOW. The four elements that I mentioned may seem independent, but they're all links that make up the chain to why we adapt against other teams so well: Trust between us allows for less hesitation and doubt when we're choosing our cards, so our plays run very smoothly; Respect gives us the confidence that no matter what happens, be it that hesitation or doubt (or an unlucky Fallonitis -- the unfortunate event where Fallon frequently fizzles) exists, we're always a team, and will never look down on one another; Honor is the implied and passive sense of mind that we represent one another as a whole, rather than four diverging parts; and Determination is what gives us endurance and to never give up on one another, no matter what personal or game-related issues may arise, both IRL and ITS. Thus, we easily build our decks in a style that "weaves" with one another, rather than having it set up in a specific fashion; our card selections evolve and morph every battle. When we run into a team that uses some specific strategy that's either known or unknown to the community, we aren't stopped dead in our tracks -- instead, that trust, respect, honor, and determination is what allows us to swerve together, and not get caught in the epicenter of the opponents' goal. 

Many of our critics believe that it is the cards that we play that provide our success, overlooking the fact that we have a certain chemistry that is indeed quite rare. Via YouTube comments, emails/PMs, and in-game testimonials, I've learned that the "four elements" don't exist for every team, which is why there is a high frequency of drama and "break-ups" of groups. Some players said they've quit PVP because they were tired of being the scapegoat for a match's outcome...and thus, many of these players have voiced their rediscovered interest in PVP because of our videos, that certainly every strategy has a weakness, and that you don't need to play dirty to overcome those strategies or require specific school-builds; they realized they needed teamwork more than anything.

There is much more I could expand on to further solidify exactly what TPC is and how we work (such as coming to positive terms with some former "enemies", our PVP workshops, etc.), but I believe everything I've written so far is enough to channel the idea that headsets are only 5% of the method. 

My advice for all PVP-interested players: Play with whom you're very comfortable with, not with whom you perceive to be the "best" or "better", because the seed within a strong and committed bond can grow into something miraculous for you. (The initial Warlords of TPC never had a thought about "replacing" Fallon, even when we struggled to adapt to 4v4 in the past). Once you develop a durable connection with your teammates (in the sense that NONE of them are ever expendable, EVEN in hard or difficult times), you will be able to excel with no limits.

(I thank and appreciate everyone who's supported AND opposed us; the many perspectives out there all helped us further fuse and bond as a team, and I could not ask for anything more. Many special thanks to Solid Snake for this surprising and thoughtful post, and many kudos to those who have spoken in our defense in this thread.)

Into the Spiral: Issues At Home and Abroad

Before picking up my Arena deck and heading into the duelists' lobby this weekend, there are some important PVP-related matters that I must address.  The first has been suspended in thought, probed thoroughly during my contemplative moments.  The latter is a separate problem, originally unrelated.  That is, it was, until the connection of these vertices (and all dots in between) became necessary for a solid point that needs to be made and touched on.  This point in question has become misrepresented and taken out of context recently, and while I introduce a personal and global issue, I hope to reconnect the dots to present the bigger, underlying picture.

Through countless observations of public reception, letters, and conversations inside and outside the Spiral, it seems that there are many players who misunderstand Perfect Catch, my PVP team.  Younger players look up to us as this "iron wall."  Our peers have jokingly and seriously viewed us as "unstoppable."  Almost every three or four days, I find a message in my inbox from some individuals, asking to challenge or fight Perfect Catch; most of these usually begin or end with some form of the statement of "I think we can beat you," where some are more or less troll-like.  Over the course of many months since the team's creation, we've had a pretty decent win-to-loss ratio, as evident with our videos on YouTube, but, inevitably, the illusion of us being unbeatable seemed to form somewhere within our audience.  We're perceived to be the "best" or "invincible."  As the leader and creator of the team, let me just say this:  "That's nonsense."

The fact of the matter is: we're just different.  Here's a great, hefty explanation here.  We're simply not the "best" out there (nor should any team be considered the "best," as an important side note), and we're obviously not invincible.  The key word here is "unique."  Teams may mimic or play in similar ways as us, but our strategies and thought processes are simply "outside of the box."  Guides cannot be written with specificity to what cards should be in decks because of our practice of adaptation and evolution; our cards (and ultimately, our decks) change every single game, much like how we play.  As explained in the Perfect Catch's Origin video, we try to be as flexible as possible so that we narrow down and shift around our weak point(s). 

We can't tell anyone how they should build their entire deck, though we can share the basics.  In fact, our cards (the 400~ spells between us) are chosen to specially synchronize Cassandra, Fallon, Ronan, and me in a virtually seamless way; unless you have people who think and react the exact same way we do, our deck builds will not do anyone much good!  Keep in mind: I'm not saying we're better; we're just in a different playground. 

Thus, when players meet us in the arena and outwardly express their fear or anxiety by shouting non-sequitur like "We've lost" or "Oh no, it's TPC," we flinch or grimace; and, when players outwardly express their confidence and arrogance by shouting other non-sequitur like "You're gonna lose" or "These guys are bad," we flinch and grimace, too.  I just want to point out that getting beat by TPC should NOT be expected (everyone has a chance to win against us) and that beating us should NOT be celebrated (again, everyone has that chance -- there's nothing special in it).  Matches -- especially when it's just one -- should NOT be used as a measurement of skill via the end result.  Bad luck in the form of fizzling, lag, and poor probability rates (i.e.  drawing "wrong" cards, going second, etc.) can be major factors for just one match, and thus, one fight should NOT determine who is better than who.  Instead, the focus should be on the long run; ask yourselves, "Can we win against other teams doing what we did just now?" and "Can we win against this team again and again?"  Hence, we don't care too much for teams that believe they've found a way to "defeat" TPC (in fact, TPC enemies should be looking for a way to break our friendships and bonds with one another if they're looking for our expiration date).  To understand our point of view, imagine if some random person ran up to you and yelled, "I know how to beat Malcolm Thunderstrider, Jenny Longstockings, Sebastian Gutentaag, and Tiny."  Big deal!  How about outplaying every other team out there, too?  That’s a feat that certainly deserves some recognition and applause.

But, let's not take this out of context.  There's a titanic difference between outplaying and defeating teams with simple, imbalanced strategies:  the former allows for a "dance" to play out, where players exchange spells against each other, while the latter is like stealing all the Monopoly money and preventing any transactions of actual strategy from being applied for true entertainment value.  Some people have suggested that if players don't like an aspect of the game, then they should not dwell on it or care about it.  Unfortunately, that's the equivalent to saying, "Don't play Monopoly if you don't like people ruining the game."  Monopoly's entertainment value has no correlation to how a few people play.  In this case, situations in PVP should not be treated like an umbrella for all aspects of PVP.

In Wizard101, the imbalanced strategies have transitioned from Chain-Stunning (where victims are not allowed to play anything) to Blade-stacking (where 5-7 stacked blades can do at least 4,000 resisted damage in one turn) to Chain-Stunning again, and is currently set on Tempest-Spamming (very similar to Chain-Stunning, where the victims are destroyed before they can play a card). 

I'll give you a little personal spoiler, in case assumptions arise with this seemingly volatile subject:  TPC is already developing an effective counter for Tempest-Spamming; we started a week ago, the night after the recording of the match I've released exclusively over Twitter.  It's working pretty well on our prototype pig, so the method (the "strategy" of Tempest-Spamming) is NOT what bothers us.  Period.

Instead, it's the social and technical effects that imbalanced strategies have on players and the community – that’s what bothers us.  Naturally, players tend to mistakenly treat a single win or loss as a measurement of skill or dominance.  “I’ve lost, so they’re better than me.”  That’s a dangerous fallacy to hold onto, because it enables cheap-tactic users to believe that they are a legitimately dominant force.  What’s the danger in that?

First, it discourages newer players or Arena participants from appreciating the true nature of PVP.  Just last night, someone on Twitter asked how PVP was appealing at all if there were so many concerns about imbalanced strategies.  The thing is, imbalanced strategies do not affect us or other advanced teams personally, but the internal aspects do tend to harm the naïve who use them.  These infamous playstyles require little thought, preparation, and coordination.  Accepting them as a legitimate norm would be misrepresenting what PVP is truly about: advanced play.  Most people PVP because they enjoy playing against human intelligence, rather than against a monster that exhibits boring patterns and incompetence.  It’s a totally different element when your enemies have the capability to anticipate and plan.  So, when cheap tactics are used (playing as if it’s a farm run rather than playing against humans), the lack of advanced play creates the illusion that PVP is generally about killing rather than outplaying.  Sounds like more grinding, honestly.

Secondly, to an audience of players who enjoy and understand what PVP is all about, imbalanced strategies are like trumpets calling out for verbal attacks, disapproval, and negative association.  Skilled players, with all their knowledge, wisdom, and experience, take appreciation in participating in the “dance” known as a “duel,” where an exchange of tactics fly from circle to circle.  Imbalanced strategies hinder and cut off that dance.  Imagine taking a salsa class, only to end up failing the course because the judges flipped a coin and determined they would grade you based on how it landed; you never got the chance to perform.  I don’t think anyone would just sit back and accept their fate silently, in that case.  Thus, cheap tactics create social pressure and tension.

Third, those who utilize such methods tend to stunt their ability to advance further in Rank once a direct or indirect counter is found.  Think of the Fisherman Metaphor.  “If you give a man a fish, he will last for a week.  If you teach that man how to fish, he will last for a lifetime.”  By letting imbalanced strategies exist as accepted styles of team play, the pool of incompetent players increases, and as a result, their reliance on a single tactic will require them to take advantage of lower ranks (via down-ranking).  Because there is no self-development available for using notorious plays, there is little room for change, innovation, and reform.  Therefore, when a team like TPC comes along and finds a way to counter (for example) Blade-stacking, some teams have dropped out of the Arena due to the inexperience of playing another way.  Once something “stops working” the way it used to, its overall longevity is truncated; in this case, when a cheap tactic “stops working,” the user’s PVP participation dies (or slows), too.

So, why is understanding TPC and understanding the nature of imbalanced strategies significant or important?

Most recently, words and actions of my teammates over Twitter were taken way out of context, to the point where the original issue was no longer addressed.  Well, how do we put things into context?  By exploring three important components: community history, culture, and the full story.   Don’t want to hear it?  Well, consider the argument against California’s Three Strikes’ Law, where opponents of this law took it out of context by pointing out that it was putting away people for 25 years-to-life for petty acts such as stealing a pizza.  Sure, it sounds absurd, but when you take it back into context, realize that stealing the pizza was the third act in a series of law-breaking (including felonies).  By absorbing and opening yourself to more information, the situation becomes clearer and more justified.

TPC’s mission, since birth, is aimed to restore the fun to PVP by showing (1) teams don’t have to play a certain way to reach Warlord, (2) teams don’t have to follow a specific roster of school combinations, and (3) friends can PVP together, regardless of how much experience each of them have.  Ever since Ronan Dawn and I met for the first time, we’ve noticed that PVP had dwindling popularity and players were losing interest.  Left and right, PVP players were being judged in a lump sum, and we were deemed to be arrogant, selfish, obnoxious, or rude, just because we enjoyed that part of the game; no one believed that good sportsmanship existed in this realm.  Imbalanced strategies at the time, which was solely Chain-Stunning, created the illusion of “power.”  Friends of these teams rooted and cheered for their mates, while they spat and put down the unprepared victims.  Pretty similar to kicking someone down and making fun of them for being pinned.  Even 1v1 had its own trolls (and Gobblers, Onis, etc.)

Ronan and I knew we needed to shine the light on the other side of PVP, despite how difficult it was to make a case with all the unsportsmanlike conduct flying around in the Arena.  We just didn’t have a shared execution, nor did we develop one together.  But, we did agree that we needed to increase PVP’s popularity to add to the pool of players.  When the number of competitors grow, the number of inventions and strategies do as well.  It’s all explained here.

After TPC was created for the intent of friends having fun together, we realized that our peers around us didn’t agree or approve that we were moving from PVE to PVP.  Slowly, we took on active movements to reinstate the Arena’s good name through my Arena series, the PVP Party Forum, and PVP commentaries.

Thankfully, the Massive Fantasy Palace came out.  This enabled us to hold PVP Parties, where we encouraged players to renew their interest in the Arena by providing them an in-game site to innovate, test, individually measure their improvement, learn, and enjoy PVP, while discouraging and removing the badly behaved and bad sports.  Through this, the overall acceptance of PVP (from the Ravenwood Radio, Blogger, Twizard, and Diary of a Wizard end) increased tremendously.  Even our dear Paige Moonshade, who used to detest, dislike, and avert away from PVP after witnessing corruption amongst her friends in the past, rediscovered enjoyment in participation – she eventually overcame the dreaded anxiety, pressure, and tension she used to feel.

As you can see from my Arena series, it meant a lot for me if someone saw the light and benefits of PVP.  Paige and I had about two or three discussions last year, and I remember I was begging the question of whether or not she’d give PVP a chance again; she’d reply along the lines of “Never.”  But, as evident from the 2^nd Annual Ravenwood Ball, that "never" wasn’t a promise, and I’m honored and happy that “the spell was broken.”  Paige is having fun again…and if you knew the Paige Moonshade from many months ago, you’d see this as some sort of miracle, too.  Cassandra Dragonheart was also a relatively new PVP prospect around the time – initially, she didn’t see or believe much in PVP (due to the negative environment and bad sportsmanship of other wizards).   It took time, and I’m glad she gave it a chance, because now she’s fighting around the 1300+ ranks and enjoying a new hobby.  Our very own Autumn Duskhunter from Homework in a Graveyard (a non-regular PvPer), after attending one of our parties, developed enough interest to stand around for a number of TPC Ranked matches,  ask for tips and tricks, and apply them.  Many people from Diary of a Wizard and YouTube thanked us for relighting their Arena candle.  

Each member of TPC is a strong advocate for being supportive and constructive for a player’s PVP development.  In other words, we’re critical of other players who accept, condone, or promote the methods that accelerated the Arena into the Dark Ages.  We don’t believe that the use of imbalanced strategies is ever a positive or constructive way to improve one self, or accurately represent what PVP really is about.

A few nights ago, there was a disturbance in our attempt to keep the PVP environment harmonious.  An imbalanced strategy, mainly Tempest-Spamming, was used by one of our regular PVP Party participants.  Don’t get me wrong, now – that wasn’t the main issue.  Instead, the problem was that a few players were teaching a young child that the imbalanced strategy was an acceptable learning tool for their PVP development.  When my teammates questioned their logic, one replied that “they will learn the hard way.”  Keep in mind that this is an adult encouraging a younger player to put himself (or herself) into a volatile situation, considering the three negative aspects of imbalanced teams explored above.  The counter-argument was that the child was going to be subject to insults anyway.  This is what threw some of us off.

Even when teams like TPC play fairly, it’s true that we’re still on the receiving end of insults and profanity.  This is from a default player base that will always exist, called “trolls,” which are players who have nothing but destructive comments, motives, and intentions, where their actions do not benefit or help anyone but themselves.  When players win or lose against trolls, it’s generally expected that there will be something said from the other side that doesn’t help anyone improve or leave dignified.

Thus, it seems cruel, if not negligent, to encourage a younger player to adapt a playstyle that will add another player base to sink the child down further into social and emotional pressure.  This player base is generally of the rest of the PVP community, where players play to have fun or improve their skills in the game.  When Tempest-Spammed, the fun is ruined for these players who want to give the Arena a fair chance and who want to learn and enjoy the game.  

My question is, why not advocate for the child to play in a productive way, so that, instead of the burden of negative recognition, they are known positively?  On top of peer pressure and the innate desire to want to belong, children do not need another reason for other players to talk down to them.  Blade-stacking, chain-stunning, and Tempest-spamming may earn them some easy rank points and tickets, but PVP will lose its fun if the player (1) is constantly bashed and flamed, (2) realizes that a game update will quench their winning streak, (3) sees everyone else rooting for the other side, (4) becomes bored with the repetitive playstyle, (5) loses friends and gains enemies, (6) and/or runs into a counter.  Teach them how to PVP, and they will find windows upon windows of opportunity to improve.  Also, if they are respected, they may find their own self-respect, opposed to degenerating out of spite.

It’s understood that Twitter recently exploded with a lot of misconceptions as the issue was taken so heavily out of context that most Twizards failed to learn of the actual problem.  Instead, it sounded as if small battles were trying to be won through blunt, singular points that did not contribute to solving the actual problem.  The wrong people were being called “trolls.”  Players of skill were being told to discontinue their hobby if others used cheap tactics to win.  Active, trusted, and credible community members did not have their voices heard.  I originally wanted to discuss and defend these issues, but I think most of them will be spoken for in the near future.  Those of you who’ve made it this far into reading and understanding (some friends and I thank you, deeply) will see what I mean...for example, sharing the counter against Tempest-Spammers, debunking the idea that TPC and friends were "complainers."

Before making judgments based off of actions, get to know each person involved and get to know the issue at hand.  Take into account all stories, not just one, lest there comes another monumental misunderstanding within our community.  Self-victimization is not a long-term buoyant.  If involved in a conflict, understand that within due time, when all these multiple stories and puzzle pieces have aligned, the act of gambling a friend's alliance and omitting key information will come back to bite someone in the end.  When you write, voice, work, play, or act with a positive and constructive attitude, and maintain integrity, we all win.

Thank you for your time.

Vlog #14: Summer Battleblood Updates and News (5/23/11)

Topics: Blogging/Vlogging, PVP Videos/Commentary, secret projects, self-improvement, and a future "offer" from TPC.

Vlog #13: Saturday's PVP Workshop

Topics:  How PVP has changed since Wintertusk's arrival, and an analytical review of  the new spells!

Wintertusk Checklist and Analysis

Wintertusk is coming out today!  Too bad for me, I'm stuck with studying for a final for Thursday... -_-  I'll try to manage my time best to maybe even squeeze in some time for Ravenwood Radio 40 tonight, but no promises!  We'll just have to see if I can plow through or avoid some unnecessary chapters...

BUT, nevertheless, I've created a personal checklist while playing the Test Realm to remind me of some in-game obligations and duties for the Live Realm (once I'm free from academic burden).  This list is made public to help some of you PvPers manage your time, decisions, and resources to efficient use:

Concept to Grasp

A new generation of PVP has arrived, with 15 new spells.  Eight are completely new utility spells, and seven are upgraded versions of existing spells.  Various mechanical changes have been implemented, such as Earthquake no longer removing Stun Blocks, but stunning spells providing just one Stun Block of protection, opposed to four.  To balance this, Stun Resist gear has been added to Dueling Diego's supplies.  Also, the gear that's dropped within the Waterworks dungeon is for Legendary Wizards (Lv. 60), and provides Universal Resistance regardless of school.  New Crafted Gear is also available, allowing for an expansion of many new strategies (which I'll extensively be exploring and developing over the next few months).  Level 58 pets will also take us into a new dimension of PVP with new abilities and unique Innate Cards.  An additional Training Point will be provided through a new Zeke's quest.

The following checklist will be completed before my Ice Wizard returns to the Arena:

• New Spells
• Obtain Level 35 spell (Legion Shield)
• Great counter against Area of Effect (AOE)-Damage over Time (DoT) spells, allowing me to protect allies for an addition 30% resistance to next incoming damage.  Also helps me reduce damage for all allies if I can't make up my mind on who to protect.  A must have.
• Learn an additional spell from Zeke's Trogg Finder quest.
  
  
  
• New Items/Gear
• Purchase Stun Resist Amulet from Dueling Diego
• Replacing my Life Mastery Amulet, since Perfect Catch has vigorously trained and adapted to a Pip-building style before the Amulets were released; it shouldn't be unfamiliar territory.  I'll then have a 15% reduced chance of getting stunned.  Because stunning spells will provide just one Stun Block, the number of Chain-Stunners can be expected to increase.  Thus, having an innate chance of resisting a Stun can be advantageous against a team expecting to win by pure immobilization.  I would rather keep my Stellar Signet and Cosmic Kris for massive Incoming/Outgoing boosts to complement Spritely, so I will choose to stay at just 15% max Stun Resist (as opposed to 30%).
• Stitch Wands
• Personally craft one of the new weapons with help from someone who has access (going to port to them; thanks to Aiden for helping with clarification) to the wand recipes, stitch the Hammer of the Stone Sky to my "Banhammer" (a promo wand called the "Galvanic Hammer" from Beckett's).
• This wand allows for a variety of AOE support spells such as Bladestorm (increase team's damage), Brilliant Light (increase team's recovery rate via casted spell/Spritely), Legion Shield (increase team's resistance), Unicorn (increase team's damage recovery), and Guidance (increase team's accuracy).  All these spells have 100% accuracy, so the chance to fizzle will be very low (given that there is a Smokescreen or Black Mantle upon us).
• Will stitch my Lifeforce Sword to another model
• Just for aesthetics
• Repeat Waterworks with Perfect Catch until all members have their complete Legendary Gear before questing in Wintertusk.
• Gear boosts will allow for faster questing (higher critical rating without sacrificing survival via resist)
• Ronan's boots, hat, robe
• Fallon's boots, hat, robe
• Cassandra's boots, hat, robe
• My boots, hat, robe
• Create a new generation Perfect Catch Defender Pig, and research the Weakness talent more.  (Spell Proof, Spritely, Snow Shield/Weakness, Sharp-Shot)

Beyond the Spiral: If KBB's Avatar Lived in the Real World...

...and was a female, this is most likely her outfit (mouse over each item that you see):

http://www.polyvore.com/kevin_battleblood/set?id=30947618

Thanks for the amusement and laughs, Cassandra Hexthorn!  She discovered the site on Wednesday of this week, and started out on one for her Wizard.  Then she went above and beyond, per my challenge, to recreate Perfect Catch, and then some others.  I consider it a new type of art...the Top Model-ism movement.  Check out her profile for more outfit collections based on female-counterpart concepts of us.  (Be sure to click on each picture on there so you can interact with it, to read the pop-ups.)  Ronan Dawn was brought to literal tears when he saw his; I wish I could have heard the laughter, hah!  I'm sure she'll be happy to make you one...if you ask nicely :)

There's even one for Friendly ;)  Who else would like to see her attempt one for Ditto Wizard, and/or Stephen Spiritcaller?  I say those should be her next projects!

Test Realm: Waterworks Run #1 a Success!

About an hour and forty-five minutes after entering, Perfect Catch manages to solve and emerge victorious from the Legendary Tower "Waterworks" on the Test Realm!  While not the first team to complete the tower, we had no help or tips from others who have...coming in there was a fresh, new puzzle to us all.  Here are some screenshots:

First Room:  Fight two groups of Elite mobs to activate a lever...

Second Room:  Fight Luska Charmbeak, a squid that "squirts" you with corrosive and blinding "oil"...  21,000+ HP

Second Room:  Luska Charmbeak is telling you that if you ARE NOT blinded, DO NOT use any spells on him, or he will  punish your entire team with a strong Power Nova.

Second Room:  With Fallon's new Storm Spell (Supercharge), we manage to hit him for 10k+ damage without traps...still not enough...  So then he proceeds to blind everyone from first Wizard up to Fallon.

Second Room:  Second hit...still too short...

Second Room:  Third time's a charm...break...ha...ha...   >_>

Final Stage:  Three bosses, who cannot be stunned, will force you to "dance" with them.  When a bubble is placed up, you are allowed to EITHER trap OR blade...but never at the same time.  In other words, one bubble allows for positive Charms (blades), while the other allows for negative Wards (traps).  Listen to the boss to find out when you can do whichever.  Try to take out the hammerhead and eel ASAP; they love to Critical hard on their spells.  I went in first to take the attention of all three bosses at the beginning of the battle.  Fallon used a combination of Supercharge with Ronan's Donates to ensure we could create 100%+ blades on her, and allow her to strike hard.  Since Sylvester changes the bubble up around every three rounds (before a turn starts), we had to use Cleanse to ensure Fallon's hit does make it through the Smokescreen.

Final Stage:  With only a few blades and turns available to us, we decided to strike all three bosses with a huge Storm Lord...

Final Stage:  Storm boosts on the Eel boss....

Final Stage:  5,700+ Damage wasn't enough to kill the bosses...but it was definitely a huge dent in them!

Final Stage:  Ronan then proceeds to clean the Critical-Hitting bosses up with his Gargantuan Power Nova...

Final Stage:  K.O.'d!!!

Final Stage:  Bye bye, Hammerhead!

Final Stage:  After a few more bombardments of attacks (make sure that there's at least one trap up when the Trap Bubble is up; the same for blades when the Blade Bubble is up), we're finally able to use Lady Judgment to win...

Final Stage:  No need for traps with just 300 HP left on Sylvester...he isn't going to Cheat back, this time!

Final Stage:  See ya, don't wanna be ya!

Aftermath:  And Level 60 Ice Boots drop!  Compare the difference between the new Legendary Gear and the old!

Aftermath:  You may find the quest line bugged, especially for those who did not turn/touch the final valve.  The good news is, everyone who beats the instance will get the badge:  Waterworks Warrior!

Spring Break Plans

Wooooooooooooot!

Kicking off with an early ending to US History because of a test (the essay portion got me this time...bleh...), I'm now off for the rest of tonight, the weekend, all week next week, and another weekend....and then two weeks of school left.  Finals are around the corner...dun, dun dun....

But, all that means is that I can focus my attention on some priorities such as...

• completing the transcript for Ravenwood Radio 37
• completing the transcript for the explanation behind "Perfect Catch"  link
• Petnome Project Contest #2 link
• Petnome Project maintenance
• upload/commentate PvP videos (about 5-7 epic matches from Ranked!)
• work on some ICH posts...heh, heh...
• hang with Perfect Catch in questing, farming, partyin'...
• hang out with some IRL friends
• completing the transcript for Ravenwood Radio 38 (when it comes out)
• study for a Humanities quiz
• job searching

So, be on the lookout for some items heading your way!

Vlog #5: Origin of "Perfect Catch"

Topics: Announcement on the Mount Giveaways and the explanation behind the team name.












Transcription starting at [03:52]
Kevin:  I've got this picture up, and you're probably looking at it, going, "Ooh, what the heck is this?  Perfect Catch?"  If this is your first time watching KBB (Kevin Battleblood), you have no idea what this picture is about. But, you see four players, and you figure, "Well, they're all friends!"...[chuckles]...which is true...but, more specifically, we're actually a PVP team.
When I posted this wallpaper -- in which AutumnalDusk was really kind to say, "...you could make this into a mousepad!" [chuckles]...and the "epicness" of this; we got a lot of comments on this -- Sierra Starsong, my good Petnome Teammate, asked me on Twitter (and wanted to pose this as a question for Ravenwood Radio), "What's the story behind Perfect Catch?" -- regarding our name.  At the time -- and this was around Monday or Tuesday [of the week of recording this] -- because of a test this Thursday, Ravenwood Radio on Wednesday, and [releasing] the transcription for the very last show...before last night's show, I had a lot of priorities to take care of.
So, [to answer now], Perfect Catch.  People have been wondering, "What's up with this name?  You guys aren't named The Intimidating Rainbow, or some other obvious name."
Perfect Catch has a ring to it.  It's a little obscure, a little mysterious.  Definitely, I chose it to ensure that it did have that kind of mystery to it, that you have to ask [either of] us -- if you were really interested in our history or our name -- that there'd be a solid answer for it.
So, Perfect Catch.  Let's break this up into two words.  Now, "Perfect" -- you don't want to take too literally.  [It] falls in line with my philosophy that "everyone's perspective is different."  So, "perfect" for one person is not going to be "perfect" to another.  I really don't think that there's a "perfect standard" that everyone shares -- that there [isn't] a universal definition -- because we all have different backgrounds and religion.  So, when you get into specific situations, you're going to have some grey areas.  You're not going to be able to say, "Well, this is always going to be defined as 'perfect' for me."  We're always changing; we're never the same the very next day.  So, that philosophy behind the word "perfect" itself ties into our team.
We do change up our decks, almost all [of] the time.  Our cards never stay the same -- so we can't really write out a guide for how Perfect Catch functions [chuckles].  We're always taking out cards, and adding new ones in, and testing this, and testing that, trying to see, "Hey, can we do something differently that makes us unique (in a way)?"  We're not just based on one strategy that narrows our weaknesses.
If you have a weakness -- and a great analogy to this is:  the Death Star in Star Wars.  If they've got this little tunnel that is the weak point -- and if any kind of shot gets fired into this (and I'd imagine that some kind of flying space debris happening to enter this) and destroy it.  No matter how large a team can be, it will always have some kind of weakness.  So, we're always changing and evolving, and developing our decks differently each day so that our weak points change and shift around.  If you think about it, [you'll realize] it's kind of like a shape-shifter who can move his heart around.  Yes, this [concept] is stolen from Heroes -- which, unfortunately, was cancelled; but yeah, they were digressing a bit, and the material was failing.  But, this was adapted from the idea of the character Sylar, who can shape-shift.  Eventually, he got to the point where he could move his heart to a different portion of his body.  So, when people were trying to kill him [by aiming] where the heart normally is, it did not kill him, and that was because he could change up his anatomy when he required that skill.
So, that's kind of what Perfect Catch refers to, in terms of functioning as a team.  We're always playing together -- we're always the same, four people -- but the Catch is: we're not using the same decks, all the time; we're not using the same spells.  The Perfect Catch you see in each video: yes, we're the same players, but our decks -- different story there.
Another layer [about] Perfect Catch is: the word "catch" itself, as defined in [the example above], has a lot of significance; a lot of different definitions.  I've told you [the first]: it refers to functionality.  "Perfect Catch" also refers to the pets we have, and I can safely say we were one of the very first teams to develop the Double-Resist Spritely Defender Pigs -- maybe even the Double-Resist Spritely pets -- or, maybe even the first team to bring in four people with Spritely Pets.  Everyone was freaking out; all of our opponents -- for the first 2-3 months -- were shocked when our pets were healing us out of order.  If we would go first, and the pets skips [the other] team to heal one of our members, we were called "cheaters," "hackers," and sometimes [they] even speculated that we were KingsIsle (or related to them), and therefore had special benefits.  
[In regards to KingsIsle]:  we talk to them sometimes, but they don't directly help us in any way.  They treat us the same way that they treat everyone else:  as customers, but also as players.
So, even with all these accusations and criticisms, we stuck in there with each other.  We had this mutual understanding -- and a mutual identity.  As Perfect Catch, we were not four separate players with the same pets and the same goal of wanting to win.  We were a single team.  We have this really strong bond.  So, with our pets, it was about making sure we all had Double-Resist and Spritely on our pigs.  
The reason we chose the Defender Pig is because it allows us to heal any teammate -- in time of need -- for any amount of pips.  For example, let's say that our Life player is down to about 100 HP, and the other side has someone who can cast a Meteor -- and Meteor does go off.  Going second, if any of us tosses our Life player that [pig's card] for any amount of pips -- sure, with seven pips, we could use it on a Storm Lord or Frost Giant or Nova, but that's not going to save our teammate from healing the rest of us [with seven pips] to make sure our team does not fall as quickly.  So, Defender Pigs were chosen for its innate card, the Dryad.
It was just about spreading that model, and I had the only one, at the time, so we had to spread it amongst all of us.  There were a lot of hatching attempts.  Secondly, getting the right Talents on there.  Months and months -- and hours and hours -- of farming Coven (this is all pre-Celestia, so we didn't have the benefit of Calypso or Stormriven) and using the Wayfinder Gear Trick to help us out to boost our income.  Literally over a million gold -- maybe a million and a half (or more than that, since we're still optimizing our pets) -- between the four of us was invested in hatching, feeding, and raising our pets.
So, the very beginning of Perfect Catch was very frustrating.  "Ughh" was exclaimed from someone, "I had three of the four Talents needed."  Or, "I spent my Crowns and Mega Snacks believing that this is the pet (because it had three out of four) -- and then it had a fourth talent that is a fail!"  We had a lot of instances of that.  Trying to get this pet, with the different schedules of ours with different backgrounds, values, and perspectives, I felt like there was a time where this team could not [make it], that this would be more of a 1v1 thing, and we would have to wait months and months before all four of us would have our [intended] pets.  But, we never gave up on each other.  Hence, that's another aspect of this team that I'm really, really proud of.
Missy got her pet first -- in fact, I think she was the first out of us [to get our planned talents], but she didn't get it on the Defender Pig.  She actually got it on the Deadly Ninja Pig.  So, it wasn't even the right model.  Ronan was second, [but first] to get the Double-Resist Spritely on a Defender Pig.  Then came me.  Finally, Fallon got her pig.  It was a very, very difficult process.  
I honestly felt that Michelle (Fallon) wanted to quit at some point, but [she didn't.]  Eventually, we got [her the pig,] and finally, Ronan, Missy (who is also Scarlet Deathblood), Fallon, and I got our pets!  Finally, we had Double Resist on every pet.  It was the most over-joyous moment of our lives...well, our wizard lives, that is! We were so excited -- it took a lot of work, so we made this pact to not spread the genes anywhere.  "Do not let this get out!  Let's work with these pets...let's be this PVP team with Spritelies and Double Resist (the only ones out there."  It was kind of a little niche we had.
Along came Cassandra Dragonheart, and this is the most awesome thing, because there was something about her.  She was starting to enjoy PVP, understand the concepts of it, and taking up 1v1 as a Life player -- which is a really difficult task, considering that (at the time) your matches were at least an hour long -- trying to work up her Arena Gear (which she succeeded in).  I was impressed by that.  She detested PVP at first, but she really got into it [eventually], succeeded, and applied everything.  I figured, "Hey, let's further your interests in PVP [to a higher level].  I'm going to hatch this pet with you, but, please, do not spread it."  She pretty much kept her word!  Eventually, she became our fifth member.  When there was just three of us, we said, "Hey, you know what, we could use a Life wiz!"
Initially, Ronan was playing Balance or Life, interchangeably, and Missy could play Storm or Balance, interchangeably -- so, again, we're a very flexible team.  So, with the addition of Cass, Ronan was able to play his favorite school a lot more:  Balance.  It was the one school that he PVP'd the most on, and the one where he was very familiar with the mechanics, and knew how to anticipate with that class [well].  So, that's how we became a five-player team.  Even Cass got her pig to match ours.  So, all five of us had Double-Resist Spritely.
That fell into the idea of not being able to find a better pet than this, or achieve our main goal to create the optimal pet.  After succeeding, that's the "perfect" essence of it.  These pets: you have to work for them.  It's like fishing for pets.  Thus, "Perfect Catch," referring to our pigs.
Now, [the name] also relates on a deeper level: the support that we have for one another.  You can think that we're just four different players across three different timezones (East, West, and Central) with four different lives (I'm still going to school; the same for Ronan -- medical school, relationship, and work; Cass and Fallon have experienced much more than Ronan and I -- they've got history and families).  So, you'd figure, "Hey, Perfect Catch is just a get-together of four different people," but in a way, we've created somewhat of a distant family between ourselves.
First, we're really supportive and helpful with one another -- again, referring back to the pigs: the extent that we went through to ensure that this team is possible.  The name "Perfect Catch" didn't come out until after four of us had our pigs for PVP.  I just randomly said, "Hey, we're team Perfect Catch."  At the time, it had about two distinctive meanings:  first, it was about the pet; and second, it was my perspective of my friends.  Looking at Ronan, Missy, Fallon, and Cass, I honestly could not ask for any more, nor would I ever want any less.  So, the "Perfect Catch" aspect was based on just those two ideas, but it's actually evolved in itself, which contributes more to the flow of our story.  We were helping each other get our pets.  If we needed some gold or a pet that someone didn't care about, we would help each other through that channel.  It's really tough being able to find people to have the same kind of interests that you do, on the same level.  Fallon -- and this occurred even before we created the PVP team -- was farming endlessly for 2+ weeks for the Ianthine Spectre.  We spent hours and hours there, every day, just to find disappointment each time.  But, we never gave up on each other, and that has never left this team.  That's the supportive and helpful part of it.
We're also really comfortable with each other.  We're able to share anything with each other.  If it's criticism, or a really bad joke, or taboo, we're able to handle that.  We can say anything to each other, basically.  There's nothing more comfortable than just having that kind of peace, in that, "These guys aren't going to look at me differently, no matter what I say or think."  We share that understanding about one another.  We don't judge, and we have a really high tolerance level.  So, as humans, we're not "perfect" -- we slip up, sometimes.  There are flaws -- this ties to people and the realm of PVP.  I know there are some teams -- I've talked to Michelle Shadowcaller; she's explained to me that, in the past, there have been a lot of pointing fingers or stealing credit, as if one person was responsible for a team's success, or one person was responsible for their loss.  Perfect Catch doesn't have any of that.  If someone makes a mistake during a match, we all feel as if we made that mistake.  That one person, whether knowingly or unknowingly, doesn't feel alone in that aspect; they don't feel as if everything's placed upon their shoulders -- whether we've won or lost.  We win as a team. If we're doing 2v2, [our] other two [team members] know they've had a part in the successes or the failures of those [participating in the match].
We represent each other as a single image -- which is kind of ironic, since I've split us up here in four different elements...but that's just for aesthetics.  If I could recreate another picture, we'd be a murky brown, combining all these different elements together.
[laughs]  It's a great feeling.  I've done team sports, team management for other games (Guild Wars, Atlantica Online, Rock Band 2, DotA, Counterstrike).  This team is...  It's really hard to describe the feeling that I have for this team, because I haven't felt it with the [teams of other games], and I've been involved in those a lot longer in those teams.  I didn't have the same comfort with them; I've only had it with [Perfect Catch].
You run into people, and the different types of interactions and interests you have with them...  The possibility of having [our] type of synchronization are one to the millions.  Sure, you can have a shared interest [with each other] in PVP, but do you have a shared interest in getting each other the right gear (not to win more in PVP, or improve in PVP alone), to ensure that this person feels "whole" and "satisfied" as a player?  Does it come up in your mind -- at a random time of the day -- that, "Hey, I need to farm for this person's...whatever...because they really want that, even if it does not contribute to our friendship or our team."  Just being able to have that connection and that understanding...I couldn't ask for any more...or less.  
Once again, "Perfect Catch."  I look at my teammates, and BAM, I just know they're the greatest "catch," and that they're "perfect."  They're the "perfect catch."  
On another level, there is a negative part of this name, and the sad part is that there is a "catch" to our team.  Most recently, Missy had, once again, left the game -- and I think it might be permanent this time.  Those of you who have seen my video for her awhile ago know that, for so long, we've been waiting for her to come back.  We knew she had some priorities to take care of in life...but, we were expecting a return.  This time, we aren't.  That's the hard truth of it: we're now down to four people.  Being represented by that name, Perfect Catch, being able to have five players work so well together but are now reduced to four: hard fact of life.  "Hey, while you're enjoying the game...things happen."  So, that was a "catch."  This event didn't happen to someone else...it happened to Missy.  So, BAM.  There's one "catch" right there.
Another is -- as I mentioned before -- we have different time zones, schedules, and lifestyles.  We struggle together.  There's a "catch" to being part of this team, and it's not like we can always PVP everyday -- we do actually have to wait until the weekends.  I know, most recently, a lot of people have been wanting to return to the PVP Parties to improve and learn from us through playing with us.  For us -- we've been longing for more PVP in Ranked, because that's where it's strange...that's where we don't recognize anyone, and surprises can happen.  It's been through these surprises that we've been able to draw our experiences from, and bring it to the party attendants, and teach them something about PVP and the styles that we've learned.
Being part of this team isn't all cut out as it's supposed to be, but we have a good time.  But, there are some conditions that we have to accept.  Sometimes, three of us will be ready to PVP, and a fourth person may be on, but if we're ever on -- if any four of us are on, we're ready to PVP -- but if it's just three of us, and we know one person has a chance to make it home, but can't...we do have that limitation.  We're not as flexible with our head count, basically.  We're not always ready to have four players ready to be able to do 4v4 anytime we want...let alone, even [the night I'm recording this], Fallon is sleeping early, because it's the night after Ravenwood Radio.  So, it's just up to me and Cass, or me and Ronan...which is fine, but even now, I don't think even some of us are ready to PVP at this point.  Right now, I know I'm Vlogging...  So, we have that little "catch."  We have some background interests that we have to take care of, too.
A positive "catch" is, "Hey, we succeed together."  We've got Hatching and our wins.  We're able to share those moments.  I know there was a 3v3 that Fallon, Cass, and I participated in -- it was Ranked -- against a notorious team, and we ended up winning that one.  When Ronan came on, during the late night, I did a play-by-play for him.  We record our matches, so I was able to relay every detail to him, and he sat there throughout the entire 45 minutes (it was even sped up to about 2x, just to offset the Spritely durations), just listening to me commentate and relay the game to him.  He felt as if he was there, too.  There's that connection, too.  
So, as I said, it's only between the four of us.  We're not necessarily exclusive; we just have this comfort zone with each other.  You can't replace me for another Ice, Fallon for another Storm, Cass for another Life, or Ronan for another Balance...unless you want to put one of us on a different school -- like if I play Balance, instead -- we could do that.  But, with others -- this isn't to exclude anyone, but we don't feel comfortable [with them]...we don't have that connection or that bond...that cohesiveness with one another.  There isn't a background with a substitute.  So, even if we set up Fallon's Storm Deck and gave that to another player, and said, "Hey, we need you to play a Storm for us," (1) no matter how great they are, they're not going to be able to synchronize with us.  [Perfect Catch] has as a flowing connection between [its teammates], metaphorically like souls entwined.  We don't have to say too much over Skype -- the only thing we have to say is what we expect the opponents to do.  We don't necessarily have to say, "Okay, which card should I play?"  We have that aspect down, already, and we have a feel for what we each carry.  We start to read each others' minds.  That plays on the "perfect" portion of it, and a little on the "catch" portion.  
One person can be missing, but our harmony still exists. For example, if I'm missing -- and most of the time, I am leading the team; I'm calling the shots -- I know that even without that leadership, the other three would be able to carry on their own very, very well, as a team.
Last, but not least, I just want to explore how we balance each other out:

• Cass is basically what keeps our team structured; she makes sure we're doing things on time, that we're not overlapping and digressing to something else.  Sometimes she helps me do gear-checks, to make sure everyone has the right pet and gear on.  She helps us keep organized.
  
• My part is more of the logical, reasoning, and numbers.  I analyze a lot, on a numerical basis.
  
• Fallon is the emotional logic.  She would actually take into consideration other people, and think about others, and how we reflect upon them, or vice versa.  She carries that emotional balance -- she is a mother, and so is Cass, so these ladies are keeping Ronan and me in check, and ensure we still have our humanity, in a way.  They make sure we're not so focused on PVP, but that we're focused as a team, and that we're interacting as friends.
  
• Ronan is more about perspective.  He's able to see things that I actually wouldn't, because I'm more involved in what's going on in the battle, whereas Ronan actually takes a step back and looks at our team from the outside.  He explains what he feels, and where he sees the team going, etc.  He's sort of keeping a check on us, but in a specific way -- like how we're doing as a team.  He's able to judge and critique us.

Hopefully this all explained what Perfect Catch is.  It goes beyond just a symbol or label for the four of us.  We take a lot of pride in the name itself because of how well it relates to what we do, how we do it, and what we see.

So, Sierra Starsong, and everyone else that's been waiting for this answer:  I hope that's explained and explored as much as you liked it to.  Feel free to leave a comment on my blog or Youtube Channel, if you have any questions or want to point something out.  It's been an honor and pleasure to have you sit through all of this, and for giving me the time to share what we have.  Thanks for joining; I will see you in the Spiral!