Kingdom news:

And Berris, fabled tracker of Independance on the Freedom Isles has done it - he has at last reached 100.0 tracking skill. Berris came to wurm in October 2008.

"I came to Jenn Kellon Home when I first arrived and visited Wild once to see the sights and PvPed for a few days on an alt. When the servers split I moved to Wild and then later to Independence. I live just south of Darkenstone on a little coastal spot. Ruffle, who taught me the the game, came over with me and she found this most perfect spot, so we set up as neighbours - Berrisville and Rufflehome - what egotists!"

When you go through the lists of the top skilled players, mining and digging tend to feature, probably as both are so important to life on Wurm, apart from eating, of course. Tracking, on the other hand, is useful, but not a usual skill to grind.

"On my first night on Wurm Ruffle made me a meal. While it was cooking she suggested I try some actions like forage, botanise and track. So tracking was what I did while I was waiting for stuff. After that it became a sort of joke and I kept at it."

Obviously, Berris, like most players is pretty well rounded and his skills do not start and end at tracking.

"I am close to 90 mining, and I would love 70 fighting, but its just a pain to find creatures. I don't do much smithing. When ore used to take hours to melt I found it boring and it seemed like everyone did it so I didn't bother. I do have 70+ masonary which the mining is useful for. I just do what ever I feel like each day - that is what is great about Wurm. But there is only so many hours of Wurm in a day and so many things your can do!"

So, what does this amazing 100 skill in tracking give Berris?

"A very short timer, some nifty titles, and lots of very odd looks.  Really the mechanical benefits are very few, it's not the route to ultimate power sadly. In the early stages some Mind Logic and a little bit of Soul Depth.  At very high levels though the gain is tiny even if you grind 5 hrs you might not see any gain."

Training any skill to a very high level is often more than just repeating an action. Finding the right combination of events can help too. Berris used "climbing" to help him.

I used climbing to manage my stamina to increase the timer - so I gained some Strength and Control off that! At first I just did tracking every time I was waiting - so waiting for ore to melt or food to cook.  Later I walked along roads so I had a clear path and used climbing to keep my stamina below 100%. I didn't do that until about 75 or so. I don't think it gave faster gains but it gave less clicks, which before keybinds was important. I did 90 on the mouse; I'd never have done the last 10 without keybinds."

So, congratulation from the team to Berris for what has been an epic voyage of tracking. And at least we can be certain that if anyone can find their way home, Berris can!

Editor Intro: Scattered around the pages of the kingdoms, tucked neatly into the magazines like well crafted nests, Emoo, longtime inhabitant of the lands of Wurm, will be taking time to track down citizens and delicately pick their brains. He starts his little foray interviewing the rather indelicately named Spasticsquirrel.

Well after a seemingly endless literary dormancy I decided to return with vengeance! My choice of weapon this time is the interview. So, with this firmly in my mental grasp I donned the reporter’s hat and even the interviewer’s pants and with our editors notes still clanging in my ears dipped my toes into the murky pool that is the world of Wurm. A slightly confused looking Spasticsquirrel gazed in mock horror at me as I appeared notepad in hand and attempted to chew on his leg. After a while it was clear my efforts were proving to be fruitless and I set about conducting my very first interview instead.

“Err well that was possibly an unsettling way to introduce myself but err…I was wondering if you had a spare 30mins or so to be harassed with a few questions. I am making a series of Wurmian profiles, about the people of Wurm, and it would seem you're my chosen first victim!” Spasticsquirrel looked slightly confused and then a bit embarrassed “I'm not nearly interesting enough for a sentence let alone an article” he chuckled. “Oh pish posh,” I replied taken aback at his modesty. “I promise I'll make you look good. Besides I'm sure that it is not true and if it is, well I’ll just have to make things up. Which I might add, is a dangerous road to go down.”

Not disheartened by the loss of their champion crocodiles during the flesh-eating plague that swept the land during the Starfall of Dancers of the year 1000, Oreo's animal breeders are back in action, with a veritable production line of baby bears being produced by their pair of champion brown bears, Bear and Bertha.

Bertha recently produced her fifth(!) baby of 1001, pictured here with his parents, and rumours abound that a sixth is on the way and could be born before the end of the year.

Renowned Beast Speaker Rosie, head of Oreo's breeding initiative, had this to say: "We're very pleased with how our bear breeding programme is coming along. Bertha was not in the best of condition when she arrived, but she's put on a lot of weight since then, and both she and Bear are in excellent health now. Naturally, we're a little disappointed that they haven't managed to produce a champion baby yet, but it's no secret that Bertha is pregnant again and we're hopeful that this time, the baby will have all the traits of its parents. Now if you'll excuse me, I must be going, as it's nearly their feeding time."