Wizard101's Big Spring Update Adds New Bosses And Events, Increases System Requirements

Wizard101 is still going strong, letting young wizards and witches fill out their Harry Potter-esque fantasies with turn-based card battles. Developer KingsIsle Entertainment was acquired by Media and Games Invest -- owners of gamigo -- for $126 million back in January, and it's putting some of that money to good use with a major update that goes live today.

There are new Skeleton Key bosses in Grizzleheim and Karamelle, the second of which hosts the cleverly named Stay-Puffed Marshfellow. There are also three new Beastmoon Monster Mayhem events and Beastmoon Hunt events coming in each of the next three months, with special rewards for each month. The Beastmoon Hunt events, in particular, offer access to "Shiny New Gear," because no MMO is complete without shiny things to wear.

Hailed as the "biggest change in this update from a combat perspective" are the new Damage and Resist stat limits. KingsIsle is mixing up the math on how they're computed, going from a linear method to a curve after a certain limit has been reached.

In the quality-of-life department, many AOE spells have had their animations shortened, so as to make for speedier battles, while you can mouse over the Shadow Gauge to see your exact percentage. It's also easier to find friends with updated social features.

Finally, Wizard101 has always prided itself on accessibility; one thing its developers told me a decade ago was that it was designed for low-spec machines, the kinds that kids might get as hand-me-downs from other family members. Still, time marches on, and the game will no longer support Windows XP, as the minimum system requirements have been raised to Windows 7 and macOS Big Sur or later. Additionally, Windows 10 64-bit is recommended, as 32-bit installations will no longer run the game.

You can check out the updated system requirements for Wizard101 here and see all the patch notes for today's update here.