Winter Wrap-up: That'll do Ferret. That'll do.

This would be a good idea for what the user base probably wants to do to Pottermore. We'll be going over all the good, bad, and the meh of Pottermore's recent release. Check here after the break!

The good:

• POTIONS: we got two new potions, Shrinking and doxycide. While both are pretty much use for different things and are a bit more complex in the steps. These potions are a bit more difficult to pull off, much like the new spells from the last release. It's a good step in the right direction. 
• Galleons: we always need more. The 300 in addition was a good touch. 
• Art: this is usually good, but this one had particularly brilliant artwork in Dumbledore's death and the Inferi in the cave were particularly good
• LOTS of JKR content. This is actually the most content I think we've ever had in a release, and while most of it was stuff that could be considered for the most part filler, the Draco section had to have been one of the better ones, as well as Inferi
• Riddles to get in. These COULD have been harder, as most were easy if one read the books, but it reminded me of the quill. However, I would have had it so that answering the riddle (at a higher difficulty) would have given a house point as well as unlocking the moment, to make up for the lack of things to collect this time around. 

The bad (this may run long): 

• Potions: Why only the 2(4) potions? Why are potions still undervalued? Some people do only brew but this isn't exactly what they wanted. And while Shrinking draught does create opportunities where something is better than nothing assuredly, giving 7 points in a time sleeping draught would have expired, it is a sad notion that it is the longest for points brew that there currently is. Though technically that is incorrect as the bulk of it's time comes from part 1, which allows 3 hours maximum and only gives the points after an additional 2 minute potion. It is a complex brew like Pollyjuice but it gets points unlike Pollyjuice
• Why is Pollyjuice still pointless by the way? 
• Oh and what happened to love potion and draught of living death. Way to tease us, put it in the site's images, and then have us collect an ingredient that specifically mentions it in the last moment of the book and then do nothing else. 
• Doxycide and Shrinking are broken because of galleon limits. People will need to use ingredient mules and the like to continue indefinitely based on the appearance. 
• Galleons: Not enough, we needed a thousand this round at least. 
• JKR content: some of it was duh, like coketown, or sadly enough Fortescue's ghost plot. Oh that reminds me
• why did you keep the ice cream parlor closed? I know he's dead at this point in the books but for goodness sake, you had an opportunity there, it's blown now, just like Patronuses.
• No collecting advanced potion making. We couldn't collect it, nor could we buy it. Please, this wouldn't have been too much, is just a few more potions you have partially coded too much for you all?
• Riddles: Up the difficulty, too easy.
• This image here: You see, the whole press thing isn't their fault, I understand, but for goodness' sake. I think they should have put that as a message on our owls or emailed it on signup. This was a constant problem, and set expectations WAY too high for Pottermore. I can't blame them on it, but this error really messed up a bit of the release in my own opinion. 
• Worst of all, Pottermore made a stupid play. It played it's hand WAY too strong early on, with constant releases of JKR content and then followed them up with less than stellar moments.  While a few of them may have been partially redeemed by art alone, the challenges, the ideas of challenges and games seems to have died out with chamber of secrets. Furthermore, the approach taken gives more of the impression that Pottermore is "dumping" itself out, with individuals wondering if this is the last house cup, if this is the last chance Pottermore has and if this is the end. Though I'd wager Pottermore will continue, it does need to change. This is a first step but it's such a horrifyingly gruesome one and so late in the game that I'm a bit disappointed, and wondering if the change really will come. 

The meh

• The total release with a day in between roll out. This was a sort of meh for me. I did like the riddles, but when the day's moment gave nothing, it felt like a cop-out. Such things should have at least had an out-zoom with collectables and wouldn't have been that complicated to do. I understand that the past is limited to what you can do with it, but it is an understandable annoyance to some. 
• The event and announcement. This could have gone better, but Pottermore was never known for it's organizational talents. 
• No changes to dueling: I would have liked this but understand why it didn't happen. 
• The book of potions split: I'll say that maybe these potions should have been released earlier. Playstation home is over with, and the sony deal is kaput. I can understand using an already existing thing, but... splitting the book seems kinda stupid in hindsight. 
• Shrinking Solution and Doxycide: Yes I was happy to get new and challenging potions, however let's take a quick look. 
• Shrinking solution is a polyjuice-ish potion that has two parts. The first part awards no points but takes a good deal of time while the second is rather short but does give points. I would say that for something like this, there should be an exception made and the potion should be given partial points for finishing part 1. 
• Doxycide: Short short short. This is so short I wouldn't have minded them just making the potion worth three to seven points. Nine is generous and appreciated, but given the advantage dueling still enjoys, it seems moderately petty, especially given the "prestige" that potions allegedly have among wizards and witches. If Rowling's writing that, then yes, a potion should be worth more than a duel, but it should probably also be worth about as much as the duels in that time would be worth. Understandably this wouldn't be feasible unless duels could not be entered while brewing. 
• both: Two-part potions... I'm not a fan of either of these, and the part 1s giving no points is an issue of contention I have on that end.

In conclusion, it was a decent showing. Pottermore listened in part with a  faster and a longer potion, though ultimately it sort of fell short. Art wasn't enough to save it, and while I commend them for releasing all this content by Rowling, it comes across as a dump of info that they didn't know what to do with, what to add or say. Much of what Pottermore is doing now would have been better earlier on. It would have set precedent for short books and big releases. Now? It seems out of the ordinary. Almost lazy. It's sub-par quality when one looks at the other films, books and movies. Debatably one can say that Pottermore is only covering things in the movie. That was a question, a bit of interest in the films, but the issue with that is that Pottermore is not a companion to those films. It is a companion to the books. It need not be complete. There cannot be moments for everything, but there are iconic moments, Slughorn as the chair. Gwarp getting Dolores. The Centaurs getting Dolores. Slughorn's memories. Aragog's funeral. Snape running away shouting "I am the Half Blood Prince!" Pottermore skipped all of these. As such, I'd half recommend sprucing up those two books, releasing them in part but it almost seems stupid to do so. Pottermore has shown with this release that it is a site with no plan, doing the best it can, muddling about and hoping no one calls it out. It has grown. It shows that constantly. The problem is, I don't think the site knows what it's there for anymore, and I half wonder what funding is like and if that is an issue at all. But, this wasn't a bad release by any measure. So to Pottermore I will say this. That'll do ferrets. That'll do. Gather yourselves back up, figure out your goal and tell us before we start bouncing you like Moody would when he's bored. 

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