Exclusive Interview With Mason Swiftblade, A Wizard101 UK Player!


In celebration of Wizard101 UK's first birthday, Wizard101 UK player and blogger Mason Swiftblade is teaming up with a number of wizards around the Spiral on the US side of things to make it a special day indeed! Mason Swiftblade himself generously agreed to take part in an interview via email and answer questions about himself, Wizard101 UK, and the many celebrations for the first year of Wizard101 UK! In this experience, I learned a lot and had tons of fun, and I hope that Mason did, too! Here's our interview, and his responses!

Q: Obviously your character's name is Mason Swiftblade. What school is your character. Do you have any other characters, and if so, what schools are they?

A: Mason Swiftblade is an ice wizard. I'm working on two more wizards, a storm one which is called Marcus Ravenbringer, and a fire one but I forgot his name! My six year old brother plays Wizard101 and is a death wizard working towards the end of Marleybone!

Q: How are you progressing in-game? Tell us your favorite part about the most recent additions to Wizard101 UK.

A: At the moment, I'm lagging slightly in game! Having some trouble with Stormriven and it's bugging me! Other than that, doing great! Achieved Grandmaster Gardener recently!

Q: What's one thing we might not know about your and/or your character(s)?

A: My favorite place to stay is the Commons! I've never told anyone that funnily enough!

Q: What are your main in-game interests? Do you craft? Quest? Garden? Have they all even been released yet? Have you decorated any houses that you'd like to share?

A: My favorite thing to do is quest and garden! I'm not a big fan of crafting or PvP. I've started trying pet training and I'm liking it so I'm gonna continue with that! I have a life school house which is quite weirdly decorated!

Q: How was beta testing different than the current version of Wizard101 UK, besides having less content?

A: The difference from testing there is that there were less bugs to crush. But, more bugs regarding things like the crown shop, server and Bazaar and other things like that. Other than that, it was fine!

Q: Tell use about the "Magical Advent Wreath" in Wizard101 UK. What's happened so far, and do you have any idea what'll be happening next?

A: Wizard101 UK's advent calendar involves about 5 events, I think of, Wizard101 advent events that involve things like cheaper crown shop items, free items and I'm sure they're going to have a crowns sale (perfect as I'm planning to buy some!!!)

Q: In Wizard101 UK, Wysteria and Zafaria haven't been released yet. Does seeing all of the news about these new worlds encourage your progress or spoil the fun of wondering what comes next? What would you prefer be changed, if anything?

A: Gosh.. All these tempting worlds!!! It really spoils it for players like me that just want to experience it at first! I try and not expose myself to spoilers but Twitter is just... Gosh, everything goes away. One thing you find out, your on YouTube looking for new Wizard101 worlds! I love that rush of gaming thinking "ooh, what's going to happen next?"
Things like videos and Twitter feeds give it away.. What I would prefer to be changed is that we are informed earlier on updates coming so I can go excite myself with tweets! Kidding, but, sometimes, I would love to know the progress of the world and how it longs to take! I'd prefer if KingsIsle send the server patch in at least 3 months? 

Q: From what you've read about Wizard101 in the US, how is Wizard101 UK different? Does having a smaller number of players make it easier to have in-game friends and connect with the Wizard101 staff?

A: Wizard101 UK is much more different. Lot's of empty space! Theres two realms, and one is just pitch empty. The most amount of players I've seen in that realm at peak times is 20? Ambrose on the other hand... Goodness me, once I had an error saying I couldn't go there because it was full! What I've also noticed is different is the age base. The main age base I assumed US was, is about 11? Here, the youngest I've seen is 9 but theres fairly alot of older players around my age. So, 12, 13, 14 and 15! It certainly spreads as a word of mouth as a teen-game! It's been easier to connect with staff on the forums and the support system is quite quick! We connect well as a community and we always have fun on the boards!

Q: I've heard tell that the Crown Shop in Wizard101 UK is a bit different. Can you tell us how it differs from the US's shop? can you provide screenshots of a few of the tabs, specifically the mounts?

A: Crown shop differences eh.. Well, during the beta and first release period, it was quite empty, but now we have quite a variety of items! We don't have mastery amulets in the crown shop! The search and tab things are from the WT update so we have those.. I've attached a picture of the crown shop.

Q: Have you ever purchased any prepaid cards for Wizard101 UK? What was your experience with those?

A: Prepaid cards we don't have yet.. I've had cash cards, like UKash or PaySafeCard and Wallie but not gift cards. The community manager is actually bringing them to the UK soon and they have plans for next year and I am so hyped on that!!

Q: We know that you love Wizard101, and from the looks of it, you like blogging, too! Tell us a little bit about your blog and how readers can visit it to find out all of the latest updates from Wizard101 UK, plus your adventures!

A: I love Wizard101, as you said, and viewers can find about my site easily! I'm on Twitter @MasonSwiftblade. I'm on YouTube! www.youtube.com/masonswiftblade. I'm also on facebook! www.facebook.com/masonswiftblade. The Community Manager is also asking the developer of the website to make my site the first official Wizard101 UK Fansite! Blogging is fun because I get to write what I feel about the game and it's fun to put all your talent and all your thoughts into those stories I devote!

Q: Most of us know that you're teaming up with Diary of a Wizard to celebrate Wizard101 UK's first birthday! What can you tell us about upcoming events, parties, and giveaways?

A: I haven't just paired up with Diary of a Wizard! I'm also pairing up with IcyWiz (Christina Icedreamer) to bring a special event to StormyWiz's Worldwide Party! Upcoming events on the anniversary can be found on the Facebook event page at http://www.facebook.com/events/272032262844755/. Upcoming events include a contest with Diary of a Wizard, where you can win some magnificent prizes! Also, parties on the US server and UK! The Wizard101 UK Party can be found onwww.board.wizard101.co.uk in the General Discussions section where it is a sticky thread. The Wizard101 UK celebration in the US is going to be held at StormyWiz's worldwide party! All details can be found on the Wizard101 UK Anniversary Bundle page!

Q: What's the best part of being a Wizard101 UK player and blogger, and being able to team up with Diary of a Wizard, one of the US's top fansites?

A: OMG! Pairing up with DOAW was amazing! It's been so much fun working with her and planning this anniversary, and theres more to come! The best part of being a Wizard101 UK player is that our community is tight and original, like the US community! We're starting out just like Wizard101 did in 2008! It's only a matter of time before we expand! Being able to team up with Diary of a Wizard and IcyWiz is a great experience and a great memory for me because I've been playing Wizard101 as part of my childhood! Since I was 9 years old, I was a Wizard101 player and to be working with the most popular people that build up the game's community is an honour!

Q: What are you, specifically, doing to celebrate the first birthday of Wizard101 UK both in-game and out-of-game?

A: I'm only celebrating the game in-game and on Twitter. I can't really do anything out of game as I broke my foot!! Also, my IRL community is hooked on PS3's and not games like these :) I do play with my friends and I created another wizard with him delibrately to teach him about the game and have fun with him! We're having a load of fun!!

Q: Is there anything else you'd like to add about yourself or characters, remind us of, or let us know?

A: Check out my blog at masonswiftblade.wordpress.com! Subscribe to me on YouTube, add me on Facebook, follow me on Twitter and check out the anniversary bundle!! Happy Anniversary!


Thanks so much, Mason! Hope to see you around! Thanks for reading and happy holidays!

2 comments:

  1. :D It was a pleasure to be interviewed! Thanks and Happy Wizarding!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Guys can anyone tell me how can we use PaySafe card for Wizard101 ? Thanks :)

    ReplyDelete

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