Wizard101, The Free Online Wizard Game

Wizard101 is a MMORPG (massively multiplayer online role playing game) that has quickly exploded onto the free online gaming scene. The game puts players in the role of a student who are set with the task of rescuing the world of Spiral (which actually spans over several worlds).

The game is published by KingIsle Entertainment and holds a rating of E10+ due to its mild fantasy theme. The game's main demographic has been teenagers but has more recently attracted a large number of young adults and parents which have recovered the introduction of more advanced features and game mechanics. 

Players begin their journey at the Ravenwood School of Magical Arts where the player must select one of several magical schools to specialise in (more on that later). Specialisation allows the player to learn the more advanced spells relating to that school, but does not mean that spells outside of that school are off limits.

Combat in Wizard101 is very simple (helping it attract and appeal to a younger audience). Battles are played out in a turn based system that allows players plenty of time (30 seconds) to make various battle decisions. This makes Wizard101 a fair game platform regardless of age and gaming ability (which has played a large role in its success).

As previously mentioned players must choose between 1 of 7 schools when they first create their Wizard101 account. The schools available are Fire, Ice, Storm, Life, Myth, Death and Balance. There are three other schools called Star, Moon and Sun which can be unlocked at a later stage in the game but cannot be selected as a starting school.

Each school has various characteristics, strengths and weaknesses. Players may either manually select their Wizard101 school or have the game automatically assign a school based on a series of questions (that define a person's preferred playstyle). The schools are as follows:

Fire

The school of fire uses the element in battle and represents raw power or emotion. Wizard's in the school of fire are known as Pyromancers are often very hot tempered. Fire allows Wizard's to slowly burn their enemies over time, which eventually adds up to a significant amount of damage.

Ice

The Ice school in Wizard101 is about slow progression and steady advancement, Ice is all about patience. Ice Wizards have powerful defences and health stats which make them very durable in battle. A majority of an Ice Wizards damage comes from their ability to taunt enemies into attacking their ice hard defences.

Storm

The Storm school in Wizard101 attracts only the most creative, educated and impulse driven characters. Wizard's in the school of Storm love to explore and discover things. The Storm school has the potential to unleash massive amounts of damage but at the cost of accuracy. Storm Wizards have very minimal defences but do have the ability to remove buffs from enemies.

Life

Life is all about growth and understanding your surroundings. Life Wizards are cheerful and outgoing characters who seek the pleasures of life. Life magic is capable of healing players and also using deadly accurate (but low damage) spells.

Myth

Myth is all about the mind and imagination. If you can think it then you can create it. Myth focuses on the summoning of creatures to perform the Wizard's demands (eventually they gain the ability to summon up to 5 different beasts). Myth Wizards also have the ability to remove enemy defences and use medium damage and accuracy spells.

Death

Death trains Wizards to survive whatever means necessary. The school of Death is not for the faint hearted and is one of the most advanced and tricky schools in Wizard101. Death wizards are capable of necromancer and spells that wither an opponent over time.

Balance

Balance is the final starting school available in Wizard101 and takes aspects of all the 6 other schools (making it great if you can't decide). Wizards of the Balance school mostly rely on power up spells to increase the damage of themselves and their party. Mastering the school of Balance is only for the most powerful wizards but its power cannot be compared to the other schools.

At the end of the day Wizard101 is still a company and while Wizard101 is free to play many of the game features are only available to players holding a membership (paid monthly) or have purchased Crowns from the Wizard101 website for real money.

A Wizard101 membership unlocks all the playable worlds and content to players (which is probably the biggest restriction if you don't have membership). Membership also allows players to participate in PvP battles, get access to an increased friends list, increased backpack size and much more.

Crowns are very similar to a Wizard101 membership but do not involve a monthly or recurring payment. Instead Wizard101 Crowns are either purchased directly from the Wizard101 website or redeemed through codes on prepaid game cards which are available at many leading retailers. Crowns can be either used to unlock individual worlds or used in the Crown Shop for powerful and unique items.

Overall to truly get the most out of Wizard101 you require either a membership or a substantial amount of Wizard101 Crowns. The free version of the game is more of a trial than anything.