Welcome to the Spiral!

As you guys (hopefully) know, Summer is in progress, meaning lots of excited wizards are joining the Spiral in hopes of conquering quests, learning spells, and making new friends in the exciting game that beholds them. Like starting anything new, it is usually scary going into a game without any friends in a giant community like ours. Today, I decided to write a blog post that can inspire you to help newcomers, and keep their motivation high as they encounter the dangers of the Spiral. One of our natural instincts is to stay with people we know and feel comfortable around, but it is fun to explore our capacities even in a game by meeting new people. If one encounters a low leveled while questing, don’t be afraid to introduce them to the game. Chances are they haven’t experienced the game before (which is something you may want to ask before you start babbling) and may want to hear somethings from an experienced member.Enjoy!

1) Be open-minded to questions.

We’ve all been there, when one feels like we’re being truly annoying when asking questions. Questions are a beauty when it comes to anything really, and when you were a beginner, Wizard101 wasn't all that self-explanatory either. Take your time to elaborately answer questions to newcomers either when directly asked, or when asked on one of our Wizard101 fansites (Central or otherwise). Just giving someone an answer can give them a broad attitude on the helpfulness of some wizards, or just clear up their mind on some difficulties they had in game. So keep those answers coming!

2) One man’s trash is another man’s treasure.

This old saying goes a long way. One has to acknowledge the fact that when starting the game, we virtually start off with barely enough gold to buy an Imp treasure card.. So, why not give treasure cards just sitting in your inventory to someone who can put real use to them? When starting off, we have no real knowledge of what’s useful or not, so just the mere fact of someone giving you something can give a smile to any new player. Giving someone a few cards can encourage giving as a whole, which is a great attitude to have.

3) Briefly tell them your experience with the game

One of the best ways to get someone pumped about something is telling them first-hand experience on the subject. Without any spoilers, let them know what awaits them in the Spiral. The great battles, the strong spells they will learn, the friends they will make, and anything else you can throw in there. Explain what your favorite part of the game is, and you can tell them why. With so many aspects available in Wizard101 gameplay (housing, questing, pet training, gardening, fishing) there has to be something to catch their immediate interest. Show them that there is a virtual world waiting for them like no other.

4)Ask them how they got into the game

Perhaps they played another MMORPG before encountering Wizard101? Asking them how they became interested in Wizard101 can spark conversations in their interests or some stuff you can both relate too. The community is full of people of all types of personalities, so it will be fun to get to learn from other's and maybe expand your knowledge at the same time.Try to refrain from touching upon uncomfortable subjects like their personal life or age.

5)”Lean on me, when you’re not strong..”

As the old song song goes, don’t be hesitant to give them help. This does not mean to drop what you’re doing to report to their needs, but put yourself in their shoes for once in a while and give them a hand. Not necessarily when asked questions, but when they are needing help in battle, or perhaps pet breeding. There are countless activities in Wizard101 that need another person’s help to be completed, so why not be that guide to someone else?

Those are just a few thing's to make newcomers to our game feel welcome. No matter what you do, it's good to acknowledge the people that join everyday in hopes to enjoy themselves in the great game that this is.These thing's don't necessarily need to be for a new member, but any member at all. These are great exercises to encourage talking and in-game collaboration.

Question of the Week: In what ways have you helped a beginner?