The Mega Bundle Debate, Diary of a Wizard's Second Annual Ravenwood Ball and Birthday Bash, Enter to Win, and Designer's Digest

Whew! Just the title scares you away from this blog post, doesn't it? There's a lot on the agenda today!

First up, the Sultan's Palace. Now available at GameStop, the latest "Mega Bundle" and the "thing to have," includes the following:

-Sultan's Palace
-Flying Carpet Mount
-Mystical Genie in a Lamp
-Magical Flute
-Random Minigame
-Snake in a Basket
-1 month subscription or 5000 crowns

So my big question is, "Is it worth it?" I'm honestly asking myself that very question, trying to determine whether or not to purchase one. After all, by the time most of us get around to redeeming our card and decorating our house, the next "Super Bundle" will be released with an even more impressive house and items, just like real life. You buy a phone, and the new version is out two days later. (Best Buy has an interesting "Buy Back" program, in which they buy back your version once the new one comes out... I sure do a lot of advertising here) Let's take a deeper look into the ups and down of the "Mega Bundle."

The House and the Genie
The Sultan's Palace is a stunning house, full of unique style and features. The house itself lures decorators and collectors in without any additional items at all. After all, the house...

-Is one of three with a dueling arena
-Has a secret passage
-Introduces Mirages
-Has a treasure room (who doesn't love treasure?)
-Offers more space than most Castles
-Has a special Genie that can give rare reagents and even Mega Snacks to all of your characters once per day

So in theory, if you have the house long enough, the Genie Gifts pay for the card all on their own, but the house definitely had some downsides. It...

-Contains a lot of exterior sand and "cracked ground" where items cannot be placed
-Has few individual rooms inside for bedrooms, etc.
-Has a few glitches
-Has a lovely outdoor walkway surrounding the palace, but nothing can be placed in most of this area

Such a limited placement area for items and housing objects nearly outweighs all of the benefits, but the house still stands as a large positive impact on the card that will sell this card to so many.

The Pet
They did a nice job with the pet here, it has some of the talents that previously only balance characters could start out with like Vengeance, Gargantuan, and Weakness. Unfortunately, the Snake in a Basket can be obtained through hatching and will likely be the new Fierce Hound. It isn't a motivator to buying the cards.

The Mount
To be honest, we all dropped our jaws at the flying carpet on the Wintertusk Commercial, but in all reality, it's just a mount. You can use gold to get something that serves the exact same purpose. It isn't convincing me to buy the card.

The Flute and the Gear
I was impressed with the flute and the gear. The Flute is a great wand for a level 60, but is available all the way back at level 50 (ages ago, was it not?), and the gear introduces early universal stats and critical/block rating. It is a bit of a plus, but the wand (if not all of the gear) is auction-able. I already have a good four or five wands. I've started a collection.

The Minigame and the Crowns/Subscription
Before the Minigames became "No Auction," I managed to get at least one set, and many others beyond that. It's really not a plus. The Crowns and Subscription account for $10 of the Gift card; 25% coverage. So are the remaining items enough to cover the remaining 75%? Personally, I say no. Yes, I may have to find a friend to teleport to for my daily rewards or not get them at all, but the card just doesn't seem worth it to me. I may change my mind, but that's my decision for now.

Now to tell you about Diary of a Wizard's (Link to the right) Second Annual Ravenwood Ball and Birthday Bash! Marking Diary of a Wizard's second year of blogging, the Ravenwood Ball gathers fellow wizards together in Ravenwood to party together. At one point or another, most all wizards have been to a party of some sort, whether it was in a school tower, or a house party, but the Ravenwood Ball is going to be a little different. This year, streamer won't just fly over Bartleby, they'll fill everyone's houses as well in "mini-parties" in various users' houses. Want to host your own mini-party?


How can I participate or host a mini-party for the Ravenwood Ball?
  1. You must write or blog about Wizard101.
  2. You must own a Castle. Any home from around the spiral will work. Although, the larger castles are preferred since they have more space for people to spread out.
  3. You must be available on June 25th, 2011 from 6PM Central until 8PM Central (or later).
  4. You must be willing to dress up & decorate for this festive event. What a perfect time to show off your perfect outfit & castle!
  5. You must be willing to promote this event on your blog or website.


Maybe you just want to party? Easy enough.


 don’t want to be a Host. I just want to PARTAAY!
  1. RSVP to the event!
  2. Pick out the perfect outfit for the biggest social event of the year! This is your chance to show off your unique style in Wizard101.
  3. Arrive at Ravenwood Academy of Magical Arts on June 25th, 2011 at 6PM Central – Vampire Realm/Area 1.
  4. Be aware that as soon as Area 1 begins to fill up, we will start the mini-parties!
  5. Bring a SMILE.


Don't forget that last one! The full instructions and outlines for the party can be found HERE.

Enter to win! No, no, I'm not holding a contest (if only), but if you're interested in entering to win a $20 Walgreen's Gift card, visit the following location and post only once: http://diaryofawizard.com/main/2011/05/29/the-2nd-annual-ravenwood-ball-birthday-bash/



Don't disregard the rules, outlined below:


1. Reply only once to the thread no matter what.


2. Do not post on this thread when the contest is over. When it is, you can VM me for any questions. The reason for this is, I might be offline and if you post twice, it will mess up the random drawing.


3. If you do post twice, sadly, you will be disqualified  and I do not like disqualifying people so please do not post twice.


3. Winners will be announced on a different thread.


4. Do not get upset if you don't win. Afterall, it is just luck 


5. Please be kind to the winner. Don't send them hate messages.


6. Have fun with the contest! 



Hmm, no hate messages for the winner? :) This card can be redeemed in June for a Wildclaw giving a Plague card! Enter while you can!

And finally (I know, you're ready for this blog post to be over, aren't you?), a bit of Designer's Digest for you. How's the design of the website? Does the header look too... "pixely?" I'd love some opinions (comments section please) and/or ideas!

For being in a very anti-writing mood, I think that turned out all right.

No comments

Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.