Free Realms - How To Level Kart Racer Fast !!

There is a nifty little video going around here on how to level up your Kart Racing Profession to level 20 quickly.

Basically, what you do is go to a Race Track and enter the Kart Race Lobby, Create a 5 player Race, turn off Enable AI, set laps to 5, and then start the Race before anyone else joins it. You will always come in 1st place and it will level up the Race Kart job for you.

I admit, this sounds boring as you'd probably have to 50 of these races to max it, but hey, it beats some of the impossibly hard quest lines for Racing that they have.

Now we just need a shorty level for Demo Derby :)

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Free Realms Thunder Speedway !!

Well, Well, Well...
Seems my prediction of the Free Realms Demo Derby and Race Kart update going in next week were a little off the mark. I figured since they had delayed it twice so far, that they would delay it again and it would go early next week. But they have suprised me and did the update last night. So, they big delay was to smash some bugs in the update before release, but I still think they have a ways to go yet...

For starters, the quests to beat the NPC in a race a pretty tough. I mean you have to be johnny-on-the-spot with the brakes and gas and know the race track inside and out to actually win this quest. Unless you buy some S.C. with some real life $$ to get the faster cart. Hehe, leave it to SoE to make a quest super hard to beat, but then offer an easy win with the purchase of a new cart from the S.C. store.
Maybe this job is really an update for Paying Customers only. Membership no longer has its privileges...

I think if they want to make these quests that hard, they need to overhall the controls of the whole rqace car games. Make the controls mroe responsive then they currently are. I've played racing games alot, but this FR Race Kart is really too non responsive in its controlling. Not to mention the lag on the tracks that can drop you a few places back.


Final thoughts:

The update is nice to finally have something new to do in the game, but once again in typical fashion, they frustrate their players with something. In this case it happens to be the shear difficulty of the quests and seemingly being forced to purchase for real life $$ the upgrade in race kart to win and progress the job.

Anyways, here are the patch notes:

FEATURES:
Over 40 New Quests each for the Kart Driver and Derby Driver Jobs!

Two New Race Tracks:
Thunder Falls Speedway
Sandstone Speedway

Two Never Before Seen Car Models:
Slicer
Trio

18 New Karts available in the Station Cash Marketplace
CLASSIC custom karts starting at 400 SC
PRIME high performance karts starting at 550 SC
SUPREME upgraded karts starting at 700 SC

New Car Upgrades
Steering, engine, turbo, and tires are just some of the newest modifications available for your racing machine.
Mix and match until your car is revved up and ready to roll!

Your very own garage Store and tune up your rides as much as you'd like.
View multiple angles of your car with a new garage camera controller.
Access your garage by talking to certain mechanics near the speedways.

Hot New Racing Apparel

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Free Realms Thunder Speedway

Free Realms Thunder Speedway delay...again. Pex just confirmed that the update for the race cart and demo derby did not go in as scheduled for this Mon. or Tues.
When can we expect it?
Well, today is Wednesday, so if not tonight then I suspect it will go in tomorrow or next week. Pex confirmed that they will not do a big patch like this over the weekend due to minimal support int he office on the weekends, so I'm guessing at this point it will go in next week on Mon. or Tuesday. But, fingers crossed, it may go in tonight.
I'm guessing as soon as it goes in we will see a lv. 20 demo derby and lv. 20 race cart by the weekend. Two days tops for someone to max out these jobs. Since I work, I know it will not be me :)

In other FR news, we received confirmation that in August/Sept we will see another huge update, like the Summer Sizzler update, centered around the soccer/football profession. This should be fun, and I hope they have some type of team tournament ala FIFA Cup (World Cup)for guilds and clubs to compete for.

And, the Free Realms Comic was released today in stores. In the comic on page 28 is a unique code to use for the Spider Bite lv. 20 Ninja Sword.

Now a few things here...

One: Sony obviously made this sword a ninja sword to entice folks to sign up for the membership so they can use this sword. I wish it were just a regular sword so ALL could use it, but hey that's marketing for ya.

Two: I was under the impression that the comics would have a code to redeem for a Live Collection quest. In other words, 1 code per comic all added up if redeemed to claim an uber in game item. Anyways, that's how I perceived it to be.

Three: These comics should come in a plastic bag because anyone can go in, open the comic, turn to page 28 and write down the code and redeem it with out having to buy the comic. Thus your comic code will be already used. The comic with code is an excellent idea, but poor design. I suspect future comics will be released in a bag to protect the codes.

I have not got my copy of the comic yet, but plan to go get a few tomorrow at my comic shop That's Entertainment.

I'll pick up extra copies and if anyone wants one I'll send one to them for cost + S/H. Just click on the PayPal Donate button. It will ask for $6.00 (3.99 for comic + S&H 2.01).
Comic will come bagged and boarded and be in Mint condition.
If I get enough orders I'll do this every month for the new comic releases in the series...

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Free Realms Game Update Delay

For those of us who play Free Realms by SOE are 'in-the-know', we've been expecting a big game update this week for the Demo Derby and Race Kart professions. Well, this is going be delayed until next week according to Pex on the Forums due to some bugs they have recently discovered. Better late then never I guess...


As many of you know, we were planning to launch the racing update this week. We hoped to have it done for a Wednesday or Thursday evening release.

As can sometimes happen, there were some bugs that we couldn't work out in time, so we've had to delay things. We don't want to push such a big update on Friday as there won't be a full staff to handle any issues that arise on a Saturday or Sunday, so we are now planning on a Monday or Tuesday evening release. It all depends on when its ready to go.

I know it's hard to wait. We're also REALLY looking forward to this update. We just want to make sure everything is as good as possible before we launch it live.

We apologize for the delay and thank you for your understanding.

So, there we have it, officially delayed until next week :(

In other news, Smed has confirmed at ComicCon in San Diego that Free Realms has about reached the 5 million mark. I suppose we will be getting another party pack to commemorate this milestone. Yay!!

Also, Senior Artist, FloydBishop, has confirmed that in the Green Lantern comic book that is being handed out at the ComicCon has a Free Realms Ad with a free item code on the inside cover...

If you're at Comic Con in person, be sure to check inside the front cover of the Green Lantern comic book they've been handing out. There's a Free Realms ad there with a special code.

If anyone is there and has the comic witht he code, please reply here and post it.


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Free Realms ~ What's New

There is some interesting Free Realms development news from Sony Online Entertainment’s annual Fan Faire in Las Vegas. In his State of the Game address, SOE President John Smedley revealed some tidbits on what our players can anticipate seeing in the future.

There will be new content for the Kart Racer and Demolition Derby Driver jobs, with 40 new quests. These new quests will open up the advancement track for both jobs allowing players to get to level 20 and acquire some cool new gear and abilities.
Also announced is a new job coming later this year: Soccer Star. This new job will be part of the soccer fields which have been visible in the game, but not yet accessible. A Soccer Star will be able to take to the field alone or with guild members (in matching uniforms) in this brand new action-packed mini-game that promises to bring a whole new level of competition to Free Realms.
Also revealed was concept art for a new desert themed area.
This new area will be the homeland of the Dwarves and include a new job: Druid.

For TCG fans, a special service will be rolled out which allows you to put your character’s portrait on a physical trading card that can be mailed to your home. Give cards to friends so they can use the special code to get a digital version of your unique card!


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Free Realms Item Code !!

With the release this week of the Thunder Speedway update, a new code has been found for another Race Car Helmet. This one looks like a strawberry !!

STRAWBERRIES - Strawberry Surge Helmet



Thanks to FreeRealmsInsider for the code.


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Free Realms ~ Thunder Speedway !!

Free Realms MEGA HUGE update...Thunder Speedway!!

Expect a big update this week to Free Realms in the form of 2 new jobs, 80 new quests, new playable content, new vendor items, new lore quests, and new expert levels for existing minigames.

The 2 new jobs being implemented are the Race Kart and Demo Derby professions which can be levelled all the way to 20 with new lore quests . Also, there will be 2 new race tracks in Seaside and Thunder Falls with new vendors and a Garage NPC you talk to so you can access your garage and update your Kart with new parts you get from either completing quests lines, buying with Gold, or SC.




In addition to this huge game update, I also heard some whispers of some possible future games we may be soon seeing implemented. There are reports of some new fish signs in the game and other hints pointing to a Fishing Game. I have also heard some very faint rumors of a possible Mahjong/Herbalist game or minigame. I could see Mahjong being a minigame like chess is and possibly tying it into an Herbalist profession. Again...very Faint **Whispers...

A while ago I reported to you all about the Free Realms Comic Book series being released in late July. Well guess what time it is?? You got it!! Comic book time :) Expect the first issue to be release on July 29th by WildStorm. It will be a 12 issue mini series and word has it that each comic will have a code for a collection peice that once complete will grant the player a nice sword to use in game.





To preview the comic on ComicBookResource click HERE.

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Free Realms - Item Codes & Cheat Codes :)

Lots of good news today for Free Realms !! I've been away for 3 days and it seems alot has happenned in that time, so this will be a nice big update for y'all.

First, Pex has hinted in the forums that next week the Racing and Demo Derby jobs will become available. He also dropped a hint of "Speedway Thunder". Whatever that means? Who knows... A new speedway? A new job? Probably YES to both... Also, reports are coming in from the field of new cars, drivers, and tool buckets at or around the speedways. So defiantely be on the lookout for this new job coming next week !!

Also, a new code has been found for a cool new shirt.

F7KPG5A - Chatdy Shirt





And also a new Cheat code to type into your chat window in the game will make your head blow up like a bobble doll.

/ABSNBD - Bobble head. (must be capital letters)





I love this code!! To get rid of the BIG Head retype in the code to the chat window and it will shrink back down to normal size.
This is the first of a cheat code that I have seen which makes me think of what other cheat codes there must be still yet to be found. If you know any, please email them over to me, or reply with them :)

Also, I wanted to give a big shout out to Zhouz for making some really cool Panoramics of the towns in-game and posting them in a thread over on the boards. Here is a link to some of them...They look really awesome !!

Merry Vale
Sanctuary
Thistle Row


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Free Realms - Item Codes !!

Over the weekend there has been some new cool free item codes found to be redeemed in our beloved game Free Realms. After I post this I am going to log in and grab these freebies. Keep em coming guys for sure...Thanks to FreeRealmsInsider for these.

GMBZZ24B - Free Card Game Booster pack
SKELETAL - Skeletal Speed Helmet


To receive the TCG Booster pack in game, you must log into the Card Game Interface to receive the free cards.
And the Skeletal Helmet is claimed in the usual way, through the SC store on your action bar in game. With this freebie it seems like they are getting closer to fixing the race cart and demo derby professions. W00T !!

Also, the code for the Purple Sparkler Rod is supposed to be invalid after 7/12. However, I just redeemed the code ay my log in screen and it told me that 0 items have been redeemed, but when I logged into the game to claim my helmet, there was the Purple Sparkler. So if you still have not redeemed that code, you still can ...

SUMMERSPARKLER - Purple Sparkler Rod









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Free Realms ~ Meet Mr. Therin !!

Folks of Free Realms, Meet Mr. Therin !! The hard-nosed strict mining foreman in Singing Crystal Mines above Snowhill...

Therin is the foreman of the Singing Crystal Mines in the hills above Snowhill. He is a no-nonsense taskmaster who is always shouting out orders to the other miners. “No sleepin’ on the job!” “Get a move on. These crystals won’t mine themselves.”

Therin is a great miner, but he doesn’t like to get dirty. If it isn’t a gem or a rock, he wants nothing to do with it. That is why he will get other people to do the dirty work for him...like taking care of the bat problem.
Despite his dislike for bats, Therin is the Dwarf to talk to if you want to take up mining as a job. You’ll have to prove yourself to him before he’ll officially call you a miner, but once you show your stuff he’ll give you some beginning gear.










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Free Realms Pixie History

Free Realms posted some really interesting history about the playable race The Pixies. Are you curious where they came from and learning about the history of the race?

If you want to learn more about the history behind the world of Free Realms -- and in particular the history of the Pixies -- you should visit the Memorial Caverns in Sanctuary...

The Memorial Caverns are located directly north of the World Tree. Inside you will find a museum detailing the long and troubled history of Sanctuary and the Pixies. Tour the murals to learn more about the Age of Harmony, the Gloam Council, the Gleam Council, Ayani the Druidess Queen, World Tree and the Heartseed. Members can talk to Tori to find out about becoming a volunteer guide. In addition to the museum, there are some battles to be fought underground. Darvon’s Descent and Forgotten Caves are two exciting combat quests you can explore in addition to other quests. You can also get some collection updates inside Memorial Caverns, and if you look closely as you explore, you might even find some Sanctuary Rare Exploration coins!

I'll know where I'll be going tonight. I want to check this place out and I'll bring back some more picts and a reports on the caves...

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Free Realms Item Codes !!

Some new Free Realms Item codes to redeem have been found. It has been a while since we reported a free item code, but non-the-less we report them as we get them, and the latest one is pretty cool. It is a red sparkler item to make your character stand out. And also we have a code for a spiffy new stripped shirt. The Red Sparkler can only be redeemed until July 12th midnight. So make sure you click the SC button in your UI redeem this code before it's too late...

FBREDSPARKLER - Red Sparkler
3G9MKT2 - Stripped Shirt







Also Pex came out with an announcement last week about the holiday festivities...

Lot's of great stuff today! The Seaside Summer Splash begins, there are some new Marketplace items and more!

Quests, Collections & New Content:
Sizzlebottom has drawn quite a crowd near the inn at Seaside. To celebrate his booming business, this Robgoblin has decided to kick-off a special holiday called Seaside Summer Splash!

Join in the fun and find these celebrants and take on their challenges:
* Tarisa Teaspoon is trying to host a cooking competition...
* Heddy Heathcliff needs help making more fireworks...
* Shelly Sandishoes lost her stuff to a bunch of kids playing "Treasure Hunter"...
* Grekel is open to a friendly game of cards...
* ...and Sizzlebottom is trading pinwheel fireworks. Check it out!

General
* Several Guild fixes
* A new camera controller has been added. You can turn it on and off from your game options menu.

Marketplace
There are new items added for the Seaside Summer Splash Holiday celebration!
* Uncle Sam Outfit
* Sand Castle
* Hula Outfit
* Ducky Floaty
* Palm Tree Island Shirt

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The Economy of Coin from Pex.

In response to all the recent outrage about the 6/22 coin nerf, Pex found it necessary to make a post about the reasoning behind the nerf to fan down the flames a little bit.
So with out further ado, here is the post over at the Free Realms message boards...


Hey there, everyone.
My apologies for the delay in getting back to you on this topic. We know that the sell-back prices and coin drop rates in battles is on a lot of people's minds.
The very basic answer to 'why' we made these changes is that the coin drops coupled with high sell-back prices were generating far more coin in the game than ever anticipated. On our side of the spreadsheet there was just a huge amount of coin in the world. A lot of it wasn't getting spent, just piling up and reducing the value. Free Realms doesn't have a lot of coin 'sinks' to remove this cash from the game. Pet upkeep and health potions are probably the most popular, but in the long run, those are fairly minor compared to the amount of in-game cash that can be earned.
The cuts made recently were drastic, but something we felt was needed to stem the flow of coin into the game and reduce the effect it would have on the economy. Changes are often needed when it comes to in-game economies and we will increase or reduce sell and drop rates as needed.
Someone (I think it was Stefferweffer) asked about how new players will be able to afford post-20 armor and weapons for each character. Excellent question. We will keep an eye on the numbers and see if we need to correct them in the opposite direction. We will also keep going through items and upkeep costs and tweak those as needed. Reducing the flow of coin into the game was just one step. We will take everything into account and find a good balance.
The biggest issue with these changes was lack of communication. We didn't accurately (or at all) detail out the changes that were being added to the game. We won't always explain why we do things, but something like this should at least be announced either in the update notes or on the forums. For those of you coming from some of our other titles, you're used to very, very long update notes. We don't intend to list every change (positive or negative) in our update notes, but big-ticket items like this should definately be included and that was our mistake for not doing so.

As always, we welcome your feedback, but remember to keep it constructive, polite and on-topic.


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Free Realms Hits 4 Million !!

Sony has announced that its smash hit family MMORPG has reached the mile stone of 4 million registered players.

To celebrate this milestone Sony has announced that it will be giving out double Treasure Tickets in game starting today July 2nd until July 8th. So, thats 6 days of getting double tickets to go purchase items from the Vaults located under the bridge over the water in Sanctuary. In the Vaults you can get Stun Orbs and Replenishing vials among other things.

Here is the official announcement from Pex the community manager...

To celebrate the 4 million registered players in Free Realms, we’re hosting an in-game bonus reward event for all our players.
From July 2nd to July 8th 2009, receive double the Treasure Tickets! You can use these Treasure Tickets at the Royal Vault in Sanctuary to get cool rewards.
Don't wait or you will miss the chance to experience this limited time event and don’t forget there are sweet Members Only rewards as well. Log in now to play!
See you in Sanctuary! You Rule!

How can you get tickets you ask?
Doing the various ticket quests in game. A good one is Robgoblin Trove which nets 15 tickets and takes 1.5 - 2 min. to run. He is located Northwest of Lakeshore which is Northeast of Sanctuary.

Over at the Robgoblin camp by Lakeshore talk to Boss Biggins, in camp and accept the quest Cruisin' for a bruisin'. Has a pay out of 15 Tickets.

UPDATE: So I am running the Wizard Hildegard 2 dot Dungeon and it is taking me about 4 to 5 min per run for the double bonus of 30 tickets. The exp is nice as I gained a few levels from 9 to 12 and the loots are nice as I upgraded a few peices grinding here. Also, the stars and coins are very nice. here is the break down of what to expect...

Room 1: 5 Brawlers. Each can drop 3 coins. I usually get 9 coins in this room.
Room 2: 8 Wizards. Each can drop 3 coins. I usually get 15 coins here.
Room 3: Boss Mob Wizard Hildegrade and 3 healers. Each healer can drop 2 coins and the Boss drops 23 coins.
Completing the Bonus of finding the spell book will give you 13 stars and 65 coins.
Completing the Dungeon gives you 22 stars and 65 coins.
Speaking to Boss Biggins gives you 30 tickets and 28 coins.

So, my last run I got 30 tickets, 35 stars, and 209 coins.
On top of that I also picked up a Twisting Cobra GI, Rowdy Rumbler Pants, and a Street Scapper Shirt.

Review: This is a great quick 2 dot dungeon to grind during this double ticket weekend. You will gain lots of coinage and items to sell plus 30 tix per run is nice.

And out of 104 pulls from treasure chests 1-4 in the Royal Vault, these are the percentages of different items you can expect to receive...

104 pulls from 1-4 Chest
8.65% Freestyle Clothing
13.46% Restoration Vials
11.54% Matching Shards and Rings (Postman, Blacksmith, Miner)
10.58% Crafting Shards and Rings (Chef)
7.69% Combat Shards and Rings
14.42% Combat Armor and Weapons
6.73% Other Jobs, (2 Miner, 1 Kart Racer, 2 Chef, 2 Demo Derby Driver)
25.96% Orbs

Thanks to Kerian for the percentages.

Good Luck in all of your ticket gathering !!
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