Wizard101
Ravenwood News

Extended Downtime
Wizard101 will undergo an extended maintenance window on 01 July 2009 from 3am to approximately 5am Central US time. This downtime may extend beyond two hours and we will message accordingly.

Wizard101 is going offline to add Grizzleheim, Crafting, Bazaar and Enhanced Chat features to the game. For more information on what is being added to Wizard101 at this time, please click on the Wizard Society -> Update Notes banner on the left of this page.

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Interview with Rhea Shelley
Brendon Lindsey, Chief Editor, MMO Life Network caught up with Rhea Shelley, Wizard101's Lead Systems Designer, to ask some questions about the addition to crafting to Wizard101.

Read the Interview Here

**Important Note to our Player vs Player Community**
With the release of Grizzleheim, Crafting, the Bazaar and updates to our Player vs Player, we will be starting a new Player vs Player Preview Season. This means that all Player vs Player ranks will be reset. Your Arena Tickets will not be affected, nor will any items that you purchased with your Arena Tickets. This only resets your Player vs Player Rank.

At that time, all players will be reset to the default PvP rank of 500. Please watch our Ravenwood News Page for updates regarding the date and time that this new Preview Season begins!

Wizard101 Maintenance
Wizard101 has a regularly scheduled maintenance window between 3am and 4am Central US Time. On June 23rd we will be performing technical maintenance on the game, and players will not be able to log in. Players who are logged in at that time will be prompted to log out.

No gameplay additions or changes are being made to the game at this time. Wizard101.com the website may also experience interruptions in service during this time and we thank you for your patience as we continue to improve performance in the game and on the website for all our players.

Test Realm Opens to Reveal Grizzleheim and many other Features.
Grizzleheim and many other Features are now available to preview on the Test Realm.

To find out what features are being added to the Test Realm, please consult our Update Notes Page.

To participate in the Test Realm, please visit our Sneak Peek Page.

Wizard101 Extended Downtime
Wizard101 the game will be offline for maintenance for an extended period of time. From 3am to 7am Central US time, on June 17 2009, Wizard101 the game will be offline.

Players will not be able to log in. Players who are logged in at that time will be prompted to log out.

Please note, this downtime is only for technical maintenance, nothing is being added to or changed in the game during this period.

Thank you for your understanding, while we continue to improve the game for everyone.

Grizzleheim Update
IGN has an article up on the new races that players of Wizard101 will encounter in the upcoming world of Grizzleheim.

Bear Vikings, Ravens, and Wolves, oh my!

   John Davison, Founder of WhatTheyPlay.com, Shares Top Picks From E3 Expo
Straight off the heels of the E3 Expo, the premier trade show for computer and video games, John Davison, founder of WhatTheyPlay.com, shares the season's hottest titles: Wizard101 from Kingsisle Entertainment

Yay! Have a look at the video for more news from E3.

Are you a Fan of Wizard101?
Did you know that Wizard101 is on Facebook? If you are a Wizard101 Fan on Facebook, or become one before Friday 12 June 2009 at 5pm Central US time, you will be sent a promotional code for a special gift! Visit our Facebook Page to become a Fan!

New Chat Enhancements Announced
We are releasing new community enhancements very soon!

One of the enhancements is 18+ Chat*. 18+ Chat will allow players a more open communication environment with other 18+ players. Starting tonight, we are adding web-based account controls for 18+ chat. Please be aware that although the control will be added to your account, 18+ Chat will NOT be launched tonight.

This chat feature is in response to our community's requests. To ensure the highest level of safety, we have chosen to launch this for our active Member community only. Please note that this option is off by default, and you must actively select this option under Account Management.

Our terms for in-game communication with other players will remain the same. Violent and abusive behavior, as well as the exchange of personal information is still not acceptable.

Once we launch this feature, the following updates to chat will apply:

1. Menu Chat (default setting for under13)
1. players will continue to see only Menu Chat.
2. 13 to 18+ Text Chat (default setting for 13+)
1. players will continue to see only our Dictionary Text Chat.
2. players will NOT see the 18+ chat.
3. New 18+ Chat
1. will be filtered for profanity.

*Accounts must be 18+ and must be an active Member with a valid credit card on file.

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What They Play is Seeking Fathers in the Military
If you’re a father in the military who plays Wizard101 with your children back home or you play Wizard101 online with your father back home, we'd love to hear from you. Stripes GAMER.com – in partnership with What They Play, the family guide to video games – is developing a special Fathers Day feature story that you could be a part of.

Sign Up Here  

Interview with an Artisan
Our friends over at the Friendly Necromancer have sat down with Aeden Blueflame, creator of the 3d polymer clay models you may have seen on our Wizard101 fan art gallery.

Q: Do you have any suggestions for aspiring artists who might see your work and want to create something similar?

A: Do your research. The Internet is an amazing tool to learn so much. Every little bit can help. Also if you have the desire to learn something don't give up. We all make our mistakes on the way, but learn at the same time. One thing I learned about myself is you have to accept your limits. Not everyone is a Picasso or Rembrandt. You have to see the beauty in your own work and need to like it for yourself since, the harsh reality is not everyone is going to appreciate your work.

Have a read for yourself, over at the Friendly Necromancer.

Valerian's School for Wayward Wizards: First Virtual Play Ever Recorded?
Our friends over at Valerian's School for Wayward Wizards have posted an entire play about Malistaire, acted upon the stage provided in our Castles & Lands feature. We hoped that our creative players would take advantage of this stage setting, and I hope to see more! Click here to see what is possibly the first virtual play recorded in Wizard101.

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Wizard101 Maintenance
Wizard101 has a regularly scheduled maintenance of 3am to 4:30am Central US time. On June 05 2009, we will be performing maintenance during this time, and players will not be able to log in. Thank you for your patience while we continue to improve the game for all our players.

Fire Drill Update!
Looks like our Fire Drill went well, and was over in record time.

Thank you everyone! Falmea is very proud of all of you for your understanding of Fire Safety!

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Fire Drill!
Young Wizards, we apologize for interrupting your play time but we had a fire drill at Ravenwood and we had to make sure all our students were safely out of the game.

We apologize for the inconvenience and you should be able to log in to Wizard101 within the next 30 minutes.

  Welcome to June
Wizards of all ages, welcome to June!

We start this month off with the June Newsletter brought to you by Alhazred. To read the June Newsletter, you can either select Wizard Society -> Newsletter from the left menu, or click on Alhazred here, I'm sure he won't mind.