Ten Wizard101 Wishes for 2021

Wizard101 had a big year in 2020, and we're hoping to see even more in 2021! There are lots of questions about what's next after the recent MGI acquisition, but it would seem that the updates are still on schedule from what we've heard. Here's a look at ten things I'm hoping to see in Wizard101 this year.

1. The Next World in Arc 4

When Wizard101 starts a new arc, they tend to release it all at once. Between arcs is usually when we get side content or side worlds. While the game originally released multiple worlds a year, they've scaled back to one. In keeping with that schedule, we should expect the next world after Karamelle. Although I've heard some talk that 2021 may be a year of polishing existing features in Wizard101, I'm hoping we see the next world near the end of the year.

2. Polaris Fishing

We got Khrysalis fishing in 2020, and we're ready for more new fish in 2021! While a world only tends to introduce maybe 10 new ones, unlocking fishing in the world is a lot of fun. Polaris is a little short on potential fishing spots, though. Walruskberg Harbor would be a great place for it, and the Borealis Peaks would also work. There are some water sources in Frigid Maw and Kataba Iceblock as well, but otherwise, it's mostly snow. Still, I'd like to see it.

3. Expanded Badge Info

This is something a lot of folks have been discussing lately. There are all kinds of new mystery badges for defeating bosses in so many rounds or soloing bosses, or meeting requirements that many aren't sure of. Other games tend to have badge details that explain what's necessary to earn the award. I'll discuss this more in a separate post, but suffice to say that we need additional details about badges. Fortunately, KingsIsle has noted that they're working on a solution to this issue!

4. New Utility Spells

It's been far too long since we've gotten new, dedicated utility spells for each school. Lately, they've been trying to tack them on to damage spells and even shadow spells. We need new utilities that build upon school identities and which will have practical uses. Maybe my memory is a little foggy, but it seems to me that the last time we got school-specific utilities was back in Avalon. That was about halfway through the current game.

5. Crafting for Celestian Pack Spells

The Celestian Spellemental Pack had some cool spells in it. As a Death wizard, I'd love to have that four-pip AoE. Not only is it a handy, even-cost spell, but it can also be used for its drain effect. However, the pack didn't offer enough spellements to get the spell at all, much less to upgrade it. Hopefully, 2021 comes with not only crafting for this new spell but also alternative means of obtaining the spellements necessary to upgrade it.

6. More Unique Bundle Houses

Bundle houses are some of the coolest environments in the entire game. They often take on aesthetics outside of a particular world's look. Take the Sultan's Palace, for example, which has textures and models which are exclusive to that house. I can't help but feel that some of the more recent bundle houses aren't as exciting. They're smaller, with less interesting layouts. Some simply re-use houses from the world they're based on and then interconnect them underground. Stop the small houses. Build massive interiors again! 

I'm ready to back to the larger, more unique houses with their own textures and elements. Bring back the uniqueness of the Pyramid of the Lost Horizon and its underground maze of caves, or the Acropolis with its labyrinth, or the beauty of houses like the Amber Estate. The Briny Deep Retreat had a stunning exterior but was completely disappointing on the inside.

7. More Seasonal Skeleton Key Bosses

Skeleton Key Bosses were a great addition to the game, and we've been seeing them pop up pretty much every year in the latest worlds. We'll probably get one in Karamelle at some point. But I'd like to see a few more seasonal skeleton key bosses like Krampus. I think rotating some of that content in and out incentivizes people to play it when it's available. I could even see a four-season split like Pirate101 does with their PvP rewards with a different key boss available each season with four total that repeat each year.

8. Less Grindy Crafted Gear

Hear me out - we're really happy to have good crafted gear, but lately, crafting hasn't been about crafting. What's the point of crafted gear if it's just about battling, the same as dropped gear? This is one inherent problem with the Catacombs gear. While I prefer the grindy-ness of Karamelle items more than the Catacombs, it's sort of the same issue. I wouldn't mind as much if the grinding were more about gathering reagents or doing side activities, or gathering a large variety of items to craft. I don't mind items being difficult or time-consuming to craft, but when it's just about fighting, you're kind of losing the identity of crafting as a non-combat alternative to obtaining gear. Less of that, please.

9. More Side Activities in Quests

Karamelle was a great intro to using side activities in the main storyline quest. It utilized the play as your pet feature along with photomancy quite well. I would also like to see gardening and fishing and so forth utilized in storyline quests. These get a bit tricky because there can be a learning curve, but I think including them in some format would be really exciting. I might talk more about this later.

10. More Carefully Curated Microtransactions

This is something I'll be talking a bit more about in the future, but I'd like KingsIsle to be a little more selective with the types of things they put in the Crown Shop and how they utilize microtransactions. I'd like to see more items that feel like they belong in a game about wizards and which fit the already wide variety of themes and locations throughout the game. I'd also like to see crowns rewards events that don't have as high of tiers as some of these past events have had.

What would you like to see in Wizard101 this year?

Thanks for reading and see you in the Spiral!