First, a quick update on Petnome Project: Thank you to those who have taken the time and blog space to spread the word about the research study. It makes me proud to know that we're a community of mutuality and support. We have fantastic responses thus far; over 200 submissions ever since PP's debut. While every piece of the puzzle is just as important as another, I can't overlook the fact that many of these components come from just 13 of our community, including myself! So, on average, that's around 15 submissions per person...yet, that isn't the case here. Thus, I want to recognize the following people who have gone to great lengths to spend a grandiose amount of their time to help us reach that number:
Kestrel Shadowthistle - The ShadowThistle School of Wizardry - 32 submissions*
Heather Raven - The Wandering Conjurer - 47 submissions*
Sierra Starsong - Modern Auto Magic - 59 submissions*
*Note: These submissions were made in a single day!
Thank you, everyone! Keep it up!! And now, onto the show:
Given how slow training can be in the Live Realm, especially when the supply of Crowns have shot down to becoming narrow and fragile in our wallets, Wizards all over the Spiral most likely are dreading and wishing to return to the experimental era of free digital currency. Without a bountiful supply of decent snacks ready for our pets after every minigame, the journey to raise them to Ancient or Epic becomes thousands of miles longer. But do not feel despaired, for there is an actual Pot o'Gold at the end of one Rainbow.
Huh? That Rainbow is........get ready......
Big Ben.
GET OUT! No, why don't you come in?
First, let's consider what the Snack Pack, the little "expansion pack" that Wizard101 offers in the Crowns Shop, gives. Seven (7) snacks are randomly chosen, between the ranks of 1 through 5, are given to the buyer for 115 Crowns. The thing is, the snacks are usually around Rank 2-4, a very unfavorable range of food for that amount. Luckily, there is an area that gives a much, much better deal. Check this out:
NUMBERS?!? Hear me out, first. These are the results of 4 different Big Ben runs...that's right, that end-world instance of Marleybone, where you finally fight the cowardly Meowiarty. I'll break that table down for you. What it shows is how many snacks were obtained on each floor, with the total number of snacks obtained, in one run, at the bottom, for each player.
The yellow column represents what "wave" or floor the snacks were obtained on. As you can see, there are a total of 12 battles you must enter in order to clear the entire dungeon, with the boss floors marked by their names instead of numbers. The columns next to that have the players' names at the top, and are color coded to signify different runs. For example, the dark grey column next to the yellow represents what I recorded for myself. To review a wider range of samples, however, I started adding my teammates in each run and recorded their collections of food.
Want to see something unbelievable?
Paul Icebreeze captured 20 snacks in one run. That's nearly the amount of THREE Snack Packs, and not even those will give you all Rank 4 food! However, as shown in the circle below the arrow, there are...um...dry spells...ahem....where you may get just one snack....yeah...
Nah, I'd rather be farming bosses for Pet drops and the chance of food...Big Ben is way too long...
Not so fast, friends! There's a reason why this is efficient for Grandmasters (per the note above). With our Power Pip chances at max and a hefty Power Pip sword to accompany us, we have the opportunity to wipe out one floor in one or two turns, via our Area of Effect (AOE) spells, that is, if you have at least three wizards, in case you choose not to take a preliminary turn to Blade, use Prism, or Trap. If no one fizzles, and you have a variety of schools in your group, monsters who resist one school will be knocked out by full damage by the other two. Sadly, the First Turn Kill method applies to schools with Rank 4 AOE, meaning you require at least three of these schools: Ice, Fire, Storm, Myth, and/or Balance. If you plan to kill on the Second Turn, you can add in Death, with the use of Empower on the first turn (kudos to Thomas Lionblood from the blog site The Friendly Necromancer for revealing this in a Big Ben run last night).
So, would you rather spend 115 Crowns for a chance at 7 Snacks that are, on average, around Rank 3, or would you venture into Big Ben and...
- earn 83 Quest Gold every run; and
- earn gold every battle (around 80-100, and there are 12 fights in the instance); and
- loot equipment, ranging from 80-350 in resale value; and
- score a chance at the White Rat Magician from Spike the Crusher (remember to spill his milk thrice); and
- score a chance at the Myth Ghoul (Crowns Only) from Spike the Crusher; and
- have the opportunity to win some fancy designs from, once again, Spike the Crusher; and
- score a chance at the Krokotillian from Meowiarty; and
- score a chance at some other fancy designs, also from Meowiarty; and
- score a chance to win a brand old car from Meowiarty;
but most importantly, and as the whole point of this post...
- to gain an average of 6 Snacks per run, all at Rank 4?
Yeah, I think I'll go with the second option too. Happy Hunting!!!
