of Egos, Alter-Egos, and who you REALLY are.

There was recently a thread on central that got my brain spinning - and admittedly, my heart hurting. The thread itself was innocuous enough, about about people's egos and alter-egos, but it got me thinking about a path I've seen countless people on. Notice I don't say countless wizards. I'm not talking about wizards. Wizards are nothing but a bunch of pixels that a person controls, and it's the people behind the screen - the hearts, the minds, the souls of those people - that is on my mind today.

Compared to many of you, I've been in this game a short time - barely over a year. In this relatively short period of time, I have seen a lot of things. I have seen people start this game as shy, quiet, humble players and turn into loudmouth PvP bullies. In the real world, I have known happily married couples that are loving, moral, salt-of-the-earth type people where one person gets sucked into a game, withdraws from their real life, and even starts up a 'second family' including a 'spouse' in game. Even worse, they feel no remorse or see no problem with it. I have seen people on game boards - smart people, adults with marriage and children and very real lives - let their lives be torn apart by games and their egos within it. I've heard someone say (a few phrases combined together here, but this was actually wording taken right from the horse's mouth), "I am the greatest player this game has ever seen. The fact that you would think rules that apply to other people should apply to me is absolutely absurb to me."

At some point, you can invest too much of yourself  into your alter ego within a game. It's important for EVERY gamer, Wizard101 or not, PvPer or not, well known or not,  to have a strong sense of who you REALLY are outside of those pixels. If you don't have that sense of your real world self, you start to lose track of everything that matters.

I am not Katherine Light. Katherine Light is a set of pixels I control sometimes, for fun. I am SO much more than that. Pick any member of this community and the same should be true for them. If that line is blurry for anyone - if you are muddying the space between your real world self and a character on a screen - it's time to take a step back.

I think a lot of problems in the arena and the game in general are caused by that. People lose track of who they really are (or are unhappy with who they really are), and rather than work on those issues they start to think that their value as a person is tied up with how their character does in a game. We as people are worth infinitely more than that, and it's sad to see people give up a part of who they really are in favour of having a character on a screen with a big ego.

You are a person, not a character. You are worthy of being valued. Your pixels are just pixels. Never, ever forget what you, the person behind the screen, truly value and who you really are.

What I learned - hosting a 4v4 tournament.

Well, The More The Moneyer Midlevel Mayhem tournament is completed and The Veneration are the champions! [round of applause!!!!!!!] We had some crazy fun, some tough matches, a lot of laughs and, of course being a competitive tournament, some drama.

The following is NOT intended to be a passive agressive jab at anyone. I know there's been some discussion about doing more 3v3 and 4v4 tournaments in general, and I thought it might be helpful for me share some of the lessons I've learned and the advice I would give to someone who wanted to set up something similar. You may not agree with this advice, and that's fine - it just things I wish I had known ahead of time that would have worked for me and that I wish I had followed myself.

1. You cannot be specific enough. Literally, you can't. How specific you choose to get is up to you, but there will always be something that crops up that you were not able to address. Explain your rules thoroughly, but make clear that any issues that come up outside of those rules are at your discretion to deal with how you see fit.

2. Don't justify or defend your decisions. You are running this show, so make the decisions that seem right to you. Whenever conflicts pop up (and they will pop up), people on one side or another will be annoyed with any decision you made. Explaining it, justifying it, and defending your choice only gives people the idea that they are up for discussion or debate. Let people complain or rage if they feel need to, but don't engage. "I stand by my decision." is all you need to stick with.

3. Be prepared to be the bad guy. No one will be happy with every choice you make when you're organizing a competitive event and are in direct contact with opposing sides, particularly in a game that has a lot of younger players. You need to be okay with people thinking you're the bad guy - and you need to be prepared to see a side of people you did not expect. Don't take it personally (even if it's being made personal).

4. Stress commitment to team leaders. The TMs don't say flaking is a big concern for nothing. Stress right from the beginning that you expect teams to be responsible and prompt as far as arranging matches, showing up for matches, keeping in contact with the team members to arrange matches, etc. Tell them that if they are not willing to commit to doing those things and stick with them, they may want not want to register. Have at least one alternate team for those teams that will flake anyway.

I may edit this post as more things occur to me, but all in all it was great to see people in genereal having fun, and playing a type of match you don't normally get to enjoy in ranked PvP. Thanks to everyone for coming out and supporting their favorite teams, their friends, and the tournament in general! I had a blast.

Also, Happy wizaversary to me! Woot! :)

The More the Moneyer Match Time and Results

I decided to make one post where everyone could go to find out match times, winners, links to any videos that may be out there, etc.

Here are the current tournamanet standings:

That matches are shaping up as follows (all matches will take place in the practice arena):

Round One:
Match One - Magi Monsters vs. The SkullBreakers
Match Time - no information received after multiple attempts at communication with both teams
Result - Both team disqualified. The Spiral's Greatest Protectors advances to Round Two in their place.

Match Two - Luck be a Lady vs. Fresher then Airwick
Match Time - Thursday, September 15, 10pm EST / 9pm CST / 8pm MST / 7pm PST
Result - Fresher Than Airwick Advances

Match Three - The UnNamed vs. SNOWPOCALYPSE!
Match Time - Saturday, September 17, 10am EST / 9am CST / 8 am MST / 7am PST
Result - SNOWPOCALYPSE! Advances, The UnNamed disqualified

Match Four - The Flying Squirrels vs. The Willie Coyotes
Match Time - Friday, September 16, 10:30pm EST / 9:30pm CST / 8:30pm MST / 7:30pm MST
Result - The Willie Coyotes Advance

Quarter Finals:

Match One - The Veneration vs. The Spiral's Greatest Protectors

Match Time - Friday September 23, 8pm EST / 7pm CST / 6pm MST / 5pm PST

Result - The Veneration advances

Match Two - Team Perfect Catch vs. Fresher Than Airwick

Match Time -Saturday, September 64, 9:30 EST / 8:30 EST / 7:30 MST / 6:30 PST

Result -

Match Three - P.B.B. vs. SNOWPOCALYPSE!

Match Time - Thursday, September 22, 8:30pm EST / 7:30pm CST / 6:30pm MST / 5:30pm PST

Result - PBB Advances

Match Four - The TMs vs. The Willie Coyotes

Match Time - Sunday, September 24, 9:30pm EST / 8:30pm CST / 7:30pm MST / 6:30pm PST

Result - The Willie Coyotes advance

Semi Finals

Match One -The Veneration vs Team Perfect Catch

Match Time -

Result -

Match Two - PBB vs The Willie Coyotes

Match Time -

Result -

Finals

Match Time -

Winner! -

The More the Moneyer Tournament Teams

Well, registration time is up and here's the final info!

Team One - The Veneration (Team leader : davidshadowsword)
Contact info: http://www.wizard101central.com/forums/member.php?u=32923

Benjamin BattleWraith - Myth
Mackenzie Green - Life
Lauren Breeze - Balance
Devin heart - Life

Team Two - The Flying Squirrels (Team leader : $eth)
Contact info: http://www.wizard101central.com/forums/member.php?u=5634
Seth- Myth
Austin MythBlade- Myth
Alexis WinterSong - Ice
Paul FireSpear- Fire

Team Three - The TMs (Team leader : zolofarm)
Contact info : http://www.wizard101central.com/forums/member.php?u=84658
(wizard names forthcoming)
Alex JadeRider - Balance
Savannah WindWeaver - Life
Caspeen - Myth
zolofarm - Fire

Team Four - Luck be a Lady (Team Leader: Cassandra StarDreamer)
Contact info : http://www.wizard101central.com/forums/member.php?u=35672
Cassandra FireFlame - Fire
Cassandra DayDreamer - Myth
Julia SparkleLeaf - Life
Julia SummerBreeze - Fire

Team Five - Fresher Than Airwick (Team leader : Iridian Ravenhunter)
Contact info : http://www.wizard101central.com/forums/member.php?u=80113
Iridian Ravenhunter - Fire
Jason Shadowheart - Fire
Duncan - Ice
Morgrim - Life

Team Six -  Team Perfect Catch (Team leader : Kevin BattleBlood)
Contact info : http://www.wizard101central.com/forums/member.php?u=77606
Ronan Dusk - Ice
Victoria Moondust - Balance
Kevin TitanBlood - Myth
Fallon DeathSlinger - Fire

Team Seven - The Willie Coyotes (Team leader : Hidrac)
Contact info : http://www.wizard101central.com/forums/member.php?u=78397
(wizard names and schools forthcoming)
Hidrac
Lord StormRider
Lady StormRider
RavenShadow

Team Eight - P.B.B (Team leader : kylespiritwalker)
Contact info : http://www.wizard101central.com/forums/member.php?u=31422
Sean MythFlame - Myth
Luis Frostrider - Life
ValkoorDeathbringer - Death
Tyler Thundersword - Myth
sub -Alex

Team Nine - SNOWPOCALYPSE (Team leader : StorySmith)
Contact info : http://www.wizard101central.com/forums/member.php?u=27760
Finnegan DragonWielder - Life
Tyler Sunheart - Fire
Padric Lionheart - Fire
Cassandra SpiritHaven - Balance

Team Ten - Magi Monsters (Team leader : calebkk8)
Contact info:  http://www.wizard101central.com/forums/member.php?u=23062
Fred SeaWielder - Balance
Caleb DragonVault - Fire
Seth Lifebane- Death
Maxitola, wizard name forthcoming - Life

Team Eleven - The SkullBreakers (Team leader : Danny b2k)
Contact info: http://www.wizard101central.com/forums/member.php?u=41171
Daniel Night - Fire
Blaze - Life
Kellan HawkStone - Ice
Daniel DarkGlade- Death

Team Twelve - The UnNamed (Team Leader : Death Lord)
Contact info : http://www.wizard101central.com/forums/member.php?u=89887
Myrna MoonRiver- Ice
Charles LotusCloud- Myth
Justin DreamSong - Life
Chase FireThief - Fire
sub : Benjamin Dragon - balance
Alternate Team - The Spiral's Greatest Protectors (Team Leader : The Water-Mole Idol)
Contact info : http://www.wizard101central.com/forums/member.php?u=1137
Eric DuskBreaker - Death
Ryan FireCloud - Ice
Christina Jade - Fire
Wolf Myth - Ice
Sub: Talon - Ice

Because there are twelve teams, every tournament advisor in the world seems to be telling me to do this:

While I don't like giving so many teams a bye, it seems to be the only option for a 12 team tournament. To stay fair and objective in granting the byes, I inputted all of the team names into random.org and said that the first 4 teams would be given a bye, Teams 5&6, 7&8, 9&10, and 11&12 would be paired for the first round.

Random.org generated the follow list for me:

1. The Veneration
2. Team Perfect Catch
3. P.B.B
4. The TMs
5. Magi Monsters
6. The SkullBreakers
7. Luck be a Lady
8. Fresher than Airwick
9. The UnNamed
10. SNOWPOCALYPSE
11. The Flying Squirrels
12. The Willie Coyotes

So, The Veneration, Team Perfect Catch, P.B.B, and The TMs have been granted a bye into the second round. The remaining teams will face off as follows:
Magi Monsters vs. The SkullBreakers
Luck be a Lady vs. Fresher then Airwick
The UnNamed vs. Snowpocalypse
The Flying Squirrels vs. The Willie Coyotes.

The team leaders will be given each others information. Please get in touch with your opponents by the end of Tuesday at the latest and have your match completed by the end of Wednesday so the next round can begin. If you do not contact your opponents by Tuesday night, an alternate team will take take your place in the tournament.

Matches are to take place in the practice arena so that anyone can watch, and so that player cannot the order of their team. As soon as your match time is set up, please get in touch with me so that I can either be there myself or have someone go in my place to ensure the rules are followed (and to keep an eye out for possible winner of those Ravenwood Radio prizes).

12 teams = total Crowns giveaway of 62,000. You're all trying to backrupt me, aren't you? ;)

Good luck to all the teams!

of The More The Moneyer Mid-level Mayhem!

My first wizaversary is coming up and I've decided to celebrate by hosting a tourney!

While leveling with friends we debated hitting mid level team PvP, only to quickly realize that mid level team PvP consists of very little else but legend/newb teams trying to gain some easy rank. I would love to see some REAL mid-level team PvP with complete, fair teams of like-leveled players. Since team mid-level 4v4 play is so rare, in an effort to encourage more people to give this a try, I'm dishing out the prizes on a sliding scale - the more teams that join the tournament, the greater the pirze to be won!

Rules:
-You must be a minimum of level 22, maximum of level 39.
-No pet spells or treasure cards of spells trained past level 38 (including vengeance). Exception: Damage and accuracy enchantments are permissable.
-No critical rating (I'm looking at you, greenwarden's boots). Block rating, including conviction, is fine.
-no more than two players of the same school on each team of four.
Edited to add: You must behave in a sportsmanlike manner. Cussing around the filter, or even something as simple but annoying as shouting out "CHEATING SPAMMER NOOBS HACKERS!!!11!!!1!" ;) will be an automatic loss for your whole team, even if you've won your match. Make sure your entire team is aware of this, since one person's bad behaviour could cost your whole team.

Prizes:
First Place:
For every team that enters, each member of the winning team may select 1,000 crowns worth of items from the crowns shop. Eg, If only 2 teams enter, each member of the winning team will receive 2,000 crowns worth of items. If 10 teams enter, each member of the winning team will receive 10,000 crowns worth of items.
Second Place:
For every team that enters, each member of the 2nd place team may select 250 crowns worth of items from the crowns shop.
Third Place:
Each team member will receive their choice of a Wyvern's Hoard or Dragon's Hoard Pack.
Additional Prizes:
The cast & crew of Ravenwood Radio are donating several prize codes. How these are distributed will depend on the number of teams that sign up.

Sign-ups:
- Please comment on my blog or email me at kath_light@hotmail.ca to sign up. I will need to get the contact info for the leader/co-ordinator of your team so that I can put you in touch with the leader of your opponent's teams to set up match times.
- the deadline for sign-ups is Friday September 9th. Matches will begin as early as September 10th, and the finals will take place on September 24th.

The final match will be broadcast on livestream by Kevin BattleBlood with commentary by himself and Cassandra DragonHeart (and possibly myself if I'm feeling brave). ** Amendment - The finals will be livestreamed IF Kevin & Cassandra's team is not competing in that match. Should their team make it to the finals they obviously don't want to give their strategy away live, so it will be recorded and posted to youtube after they record commentary. **

Feel free to post with any questions or comments as well. Good luck, and Happy PvPing!

Update: by popular request the level limit has been increased to 39. 

Of Wysteria and.... Oooo... Sparkly.

By now most of you, like me, have probably run through Wysteria on any number of wizards. Since most of my wizards are legendary (or close to it - fire is 59 and barely into DS Academy, but that's a whole other story), I really didn't get much of an idea of how much XP Wysteria gave.

Aside from a Kensington Park run or two, my balance baby has been collecting dust for a while. I mean, really... I'm in the middle of Marleybone. Heading back to leveling there is not a prospect I much relish. But Wysteria? Now THAT I can handle! So I decided to take some quick screen caps, just to see how much experience Wysteria really gives. Turns out that, given the size of the world, this is more of a Wintertusk than a Grizzleheim.

This is where my level and XP were sitting when I first started Wysteria.

Level 32, almost to 33.

Here is where I set AFTER Wysteria (and only Wysteria).

Just a hair past 35. I wouldn't say the XP is overkill, but this in combination with the XP of Wintertusk at level 40 is, imho, a bit too much XP for the game to handle. This world is so gorgeous and so fun, I doubt anyone would have stayed away from lack of XP.

And now, on to more important matters. With this most recent level, there has been a VERY important change. Please observe.

Katherine LightGiver, Pre-Wysteria, level 32.

And now, Katherine LightGiver, Post-Wysteria, level 35.

Oooooo..... sparkly. What can I say, I like pretty clothes. This character is much more bearable to play on now.

Also, I'm a Wyvern's Hoard addict.I think I need to join a support group.

It was worth it. I am not ashamed. Okay, maybe I'm a little ashamed, but not ashamed enough that I regret it. And again I feel the need to say.... Oooooo, sparkly. I'm riding a dragon. That shoots sparkles. Check your reason at the door and just enjoy this. Say it with me. "Oooooo.... Sparkly."

Speaking of pretty things, check this out!

GAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!
[covers eyes]
Is it gone?

Oh that note, whether you be sparkly, just plain creepy, or somewhere in between, I hope you're enjoying Wysteria. Happy Wizarding!

Of new content (AKA there goes my weekend)

Today Wysteria goes live! You all know what that means!

Yes, it means more people will be begging for crowns in the commons so they can buy the new areas, but that's not what I was getting at.

It means I will online far too much for my own good, enjoying every second of this! :) It also means... NEW CHEAT TOWER!

This fight can be BRUTAL. However, if you can cut off the bosses' cheats at the pass you should be just fine. Here's the (of course, lol) guide I wrote to help get you through the boss fights in this tower.

DiSpellbound: A Strategy Guide for the Tower of the Helephant

Using these ideas we actually ENJOYED this fight, and got in a bunch of hits like this one. :)

So have fun, and enjoy yourselves! I'm sure I'll be seeing a WHOLE lot of you in Wysteria VERY soon.