Design Notes

May 31, 2012

Sepulchure!!!!

Tomorrow... we make our last stand.

Our once beautiful world has been devastated by Sepulchure's zombie apocolypse. We united and fought the zombie horde side by side. But one by one, each town has fallen. Well known friends including Rolith, Alina, Warlic, Valencia, Galanoth and Cysero haven fallen to the green zombifying mists... all hope seems lost. Now, the town of BattleOn is all that remains... three heroes brace themselves as the DoomKnight Sepulchure descends to lead the final assuault... personally. Tomorrow night is the absolute and ultimate finale of DoomWood II & ZOMBIES... remember, this is AQWorlds, anything can happen!
 

Tomorrow is... THE EPIC BOSS FINALE OF ZOMBIES & DOOMWOOD 2!

4 weeks ago, the DoomWood II: Whispers of the Dark Lord saga began in AdventureQuest Worlds. The original DoomWood told the secret story of Artix and is regarded as one of the game's best storylines. This brand new adventure continues after the "final ending" but is focused on legendary DoomKnight Sepulchure -- and his fiery red-headed daughter, Gravelyn. In my opinion, Gravelyn is one of the most unique and interesting characters we have ever created. A beautiful girl, raised by the undead in a giant flying dragon skeleton castle. She is the daughter of the world's greatest darkness villain and inherhited his throne when he was destroyed at the beginning of the game. Yet... we have never seen her cast a darkness spell or fight. Many villains have claimed she was weak and unfit, and attempted to overthrow her. We might have gone all the way through the game without finding out why... but the unthinkable happened. The cutscene at the end of week 2 re-started the game in the most dangerous "WHAT IF" of all time. It started AdventureQuest Worlds: ZOMBIES! Now, it is all about to come to its unbelivable conclusion.

Zombie Samba Dance! (See the original video on YouTube)

Daimyo's Birthday!

As written in your AQWorlds Calendars, Friday is everyone's favorite  "fearless undead slaying" battle puppy's birthday. Only during his birthday tomorrow can you obtain an in-game pet version of him via a special Daimyo Birthday shop in town. Oh! There are quests in DoomWood Part 2 to put armor on Daimyo if you get him as a pet. These quests will not be available while his shop is open... but will return once the shop closes.

Suggest a caption!
Visit the real Daimyo's FaceBook page and give him a LIKE!

About working on this saga!

I am literally on the edge of my seat waiting to hear your reactions from the BOSS battles and cutscenes tomorrow.   I would like to thank the team for their super hard work... J6 for all of the amazing background art (the elevator and doomcrawler were perfect!), Yorumi for adding the new "monster intro animations," and for helping redesign the war system that has been getting rave reviews, and especially Samba who has been animating all of the killer cutscenes for this release. I would also like to thank all of the players who have been playing through the releases and giving me honest and encouraging feedback. I doubt anyone knows how much your comments influenced what is about to happen. This week's final showdown was hard to write.... it is Gravelyn's story. Something that many of you have seen coming for a long time now, and for everyone else it is going to be jaw-droppingly shocking. She will never be the same "weak little" girl again. I hope you enjoy it. BATTLE ON!

P.S. Help us name the upcoming 3D game and read my other posts at www.Artix.com

May 30, 2012

DeathKnight Class Breakdown

(Pre-translated From Zombie For Your Convenience)
Death Is Upon You

Friday we are introducing the DeathKnight Class for Members only from the Doomwood Reputation Shops for Rank 10 or from Itzachi in Battleon for 2000 ACs.

DeathKnight Class Art, Work-In-Progress from Aranx

DEATHKNIGHT CLASS SKILL SET

The origins of Deathknights are shrouded in mystery. Some say that these undead warriors were pulled from the cold earth by wicked necromancy to answer the threat of the paladins. Some say that a fallen paladin threw off the chill of the grave and pulled himself back to life to lead an eternal perversion of the noble Paladin Order.

Whatever their origins, they are walking death. Not allied to Darkness or even Evil like the DoomKnights... these creatures are simply walking death and opposed to all of the warmth and joy that Life provides.

This is a melee warrior type class so you will want Fighter Enhancements. Only the last skill is magical, so you MAY want to try Hybrid or a Luck build for PvP but mostly you just want strength. The class is built around a LOT of Damage Over Time (DoT) skills. Yorumi wrote an all new mana regen model just for this class which returns mana to you every time you hit an enemy AND every time a DoT ticks off damage on your foe. Some of the skills can be a little costly but if you keep the DoT damage flowing off your target than you will be able to handle it with ease.

It takes a little finesse to use the class to its maximum potential but we have a pretty high opinion of out Members so we're not worried.

AUTO ATTACK

2 second cooldown

A basic attack, taught to all adventurers.

CHILLING STRIKE

5 mana, 5 second cooldown

The chill of death seeps into your foe. Death's Chill causes more damage over time for each stack of this skill. Stacks up to 5 times.

You will notice that this skill doesn't do any damage on it's own. It's not actually an attack, it just applies Death's Chill up to 5 times and each time you stack it, the DoT from the skill gets a little stronger. Considering that this skill affects every other usable skill, do not underestimate its importance. Plus, the DoT gives you Mana...

FROSTFANG

15 mana, 8 second cooldown

This moderate strike causes Frostbite, a damage over time effect that also slows your foe's attack speed. Enemy haste reduced more with more stacks of Death's Chill.

This skill IS an attack PLUS it has a DoT AND it slows your foe down. Your target's haste will get debuffed more with more stacks of Death's Chill but it will consume all the stacks of Death's Chill so you will want to reapply them quickly. Plus, the DoT gives you Mana...

DEATHGRIP

25 mana, 18 second cooldown

A powerful strike that causes Deathgrip. Your foe feels the life slowly crushed out of them causing damage over time and reducing their damage. Enemy damage reduced more with more stacks of Death's Chill. Has a small chance to cause a 6 second stun.

This skill is also an attack, a strong one, PLUS it applies yet another DoT AND it applies a fairly strong damage debuff to your foe which gets stronger with more stacks of Death's Chill AND ALSO it has a small chance to stun your opponent for 6 seconds which is just the cherry on top of this skill. It's expensive and the cooldown is pretty long but it's worth it. Plus, the DoT gives you Mana...

DEATH'S MIGHT & RUTHLESS

Rank 4 passives

Increase STR STAT by 12%

Increase CRIT CHANCE by 12%

More damage and more chance to crit. Since it's a Member Class you get a full 12% of both.

DEATH SHROUD

30 mana, 20 second cooldown

You tap into the power of Death to pull your form back together. Causes you to heal over time, and significantly increases your damage resistance, but also slows your attack speed and reduces your damage output and crit chance while you are regenerating. Amount healed increases with stacks of Death's Chill.

Here is your "turtle heal". You cast a Heal Over Time (HoT) on yourself, and cut all damage you take by a very large amount, but everything has a price. You will also nerf your outgoing damage and lower your own crit % while the heal is in effect. Basiclly, you take yourself out of the fight for a few seconds to regenerate.

The heal also gets stronger with stacks of Death's Chill but like the other skills this one also eats the entire stack so you really have to decide where and when to use your stacks. The skill is very expensive and has a very slow cooldown but it's very useful. At level 45 with full level Fighter Enh I was healing for about 150 a tick, and with a full stack of Death's Chill I was seeing upwards of 400 a tick!

FINAL WORD

Rank 10 passive

Rarely, a frozen wave explodes out of you smiting your foe with all of the finality of death itself.

At rank 10, you suddenly gain a power that goes off randomly, costs no mana and does MASSIVE damage to a single target. You've seen this skill before but with a totally single target class like this it's really the best place for it.

And there it is... DeathKnight Class. Aranx said that after the armor he will probably have time for some matching set pieces (Helm, weapon and/or cape) which will also go into DoomWood Rep at Rank 10 and also be for you Members Only.

Don't Forget...

There's lots to remember this week

• Zhimaira’s "Artix vs Sepulchure" / "Zombies!" Art Contest ends this Thursday, May 31st! Make sure to post your entries here.
• The Zombie Caesar armor limited time shop leaves tonight!
• ShadowScythe Mousepads go on same Friday on HeroMart.Com
• Plenty of Artix & Sepulchure Toys left at HeroMart but we mail out more and more every day and sooner or later these real life limited quantity rares will be gone for good. 
• Quibble gets an item buff this Friday with the Rare Zombie Quibble Bank Pet and more!

204 days until Just Another Day

May 30, 2012

Undying Love

Raaaaaarh? Arooooo!

Zombie Rolith: Hurrrrgl glaww, daaaaw uuuuungh!
Zombie Alina: Shhrrhha blargh aahaargh hgrrrrra? Mmmmm.

True Love Undying

Translation:

Zombie Rolith: I love you with my whole heart, and give it to you freely!
Zombie Alina: Does that come with a side of your brains, too? Mmmm.

*Dark Firebrand snaps on his patented "Zombie Intended Thought" translator collar to aid in the Design Notes-writing.* Translator Collar Slogan: The only ZIT you'll never want to pop!

Lesson: Undying love is, surprisingly, not so romantic. Hearts belong inside bodies. For those of you who've been asking, the Rolith/Alina wedding event this October will NOT feature zombies. (Sorry Artix!) It WILL feature an Eternal Flame, though, so that's pretty close to undying, right?

Forum Poll: Gold or Teal Eternal Flame? You decide!

STATUS: Not ACCEPTING NEW APPLICATIONS 

You guys are AMAZING! Reens and Stratos have received over 1,000 applications to join the in-game moderator team! That is a LOT of emails to read through. We really appreciate how many of you want to help make AQWorlds a safe and friendly game for your fellow players.

After the end of the day, Reens and Stratos will not be accepting any more applications. This will not be the last time we hunt for new mods, though, so if you aren't old enough to apply, or your application was not accepted, please keep an eye on the Design Notes for the next time we start searching!

Time for Chaos!

The next Chaoz zone begins later this Summer. Many of you have already met the new Chaos Lord, but be warned... he may be slightly different from how he first appeared. What he definitely is, though, is a Chaorrupted Chronomancer, and he feels that it is way past time you knew what you were doing here, and how you came to be.

Some of you might remember that long ago Design Notes* where we revealed how AQWorlds was formed. Galanoth did slay the Dragon of Time, and in this next Chaos zone, we're going to show just HOW that happened!

AdventureQuest, DragonFable, and MechQuest all had a hand in creating who YOU are in AQWorlds, but those Heroes are not you. YOU have a destiny of your own, and you will grow closer to finding out what that really is.

* Scroll down to January 13th/

The Finale of Doomwood Draws Closer!

J6 is busy creating the monsters you'll battle, as Samba slips into an animation trance (it adds +15 to her speed-tweening skill). Artix's script is BEASTLY, and that's not from all of the zombies he's crowded into it. /Cheer Samba on, /equip your sharpest blade, and prepare for... the end of DoomWood!

PS: Daimyo's birthday is this Friday! The Daimyo pet is one of the requirements for the Dark Armored Daimyo and Golden Armored Daimyo pets available in the Necropolis merge shops. Daimyo is only available on his birthday every year, so make sure you get yours on Friday!

PPS: The Limited Time Zombie Caesar shop leaves tonight!

May 29, 2012

Final Week of Doomwood!

Lrawwwwwrh!

Grrrrr arrrr argh nnnnng *gurgle* grrl nnnnd rrrrrAH! Nurrrrr hurrr grrr.

Hurrrr grrrr harooo grrrrl groooooowl gmmmml nnnngl arrrgl glrrrrrr haaaar hur shhhha argh aaaargh hrrrrra haaaar hur shhhha argh aaaargh hrrrrra.

Hur hur hllllah rawf shhhha argh aaaargh hrrrrra nnnngl arrrgl glrrrrrr haaaar hur shhhha haaaar hur shhhha.

Grrrrl groooooowl gmmmml argh aaaargh hrrrrra nnnngl arrrgl Grrrrr arrrr argh hur shhhha argh nnnnng *gurgle* grrl nnnnd rrrrrAH! Nurrrrr hurrr grrr.

Nnnngl arrrgl glrrrrrr haaaar hur shhhha argh aaaargh Hurrrr grrrr harooo grrrrl groooooowl gmmmml hrrrrra haaaar hur shhhha argh aaaargh hrrrrra Hurrrr grrrr harooo grrrrl groooooowl gmmmml

Argh aaaargh hrrrrra nnnngl arrrgl glrrrrrr llleh hur hllllah rawf shhhha haaaar hur shhhha haaaar hur shhhha murrrrrr.

Nnnnnnnnng!

Hurrrr haww graw rawl!

Ffroooo areh haaaar hur shhhha argh aaaargh hrrrrra glrrrrrr haaaar hur.

Shhhha argh aaaargh hrrrrra gmmmml gnnnnn froooo areh RAWR gurgle feh

Grrrrral hurgl hurrrr grrrr harooo grrrrl groooooowl haaaar hur shhhha argh aaaargh hrrrrra gmmmml nnnngl arrrgl glrrrrrr haaaar hur shhhha argh aaaargh hrrrrra.

Grrrrl groooooowl haaaar hur hurgl hurrrr grrrr harooo grrrrl

Grrrrral hurgl hurrrr grrrr harooo grrrrl groooooowl haaaar hur shhhha argh aaaargh hrrrrra gmmmml nnnngl arrrgl glrrrrrr haaaar hur shhhha argh aaaargh hrrrrra.

*Gurgle*!

• Grr Argh Muuuurh.
• Grrrgl grph huuuuh.
• Grmmnnnn hrrrrng

Grrr arg hurrrrr

(The Above Translate from Zombie)
The Road Is Almost At An End 

This week will be the final Doomwood release so if you are not up to date yet, you still have a few days to catch up.

For those of you who ARE caught up you know who the Champions of Darkness and Light are, you know who Gravelyn's mother is and you know that Sepulchure is coming for you. Everyone else on the entire planet except for you, Artix and Gravelyn (including myself) have been transformed into the walking dead and this week is the final fight to save the last of Lore.

Zombie Quibble will also be getting a buff of new items including the guaranteed rare Zombie Quibble Bank Pet, and thanks to Alina's super-secret-don't-tell-Artix poll, Derp and Pink zombie armors as well.

Once Quibble leaves, the investment trinkets take a few days to gather interest before their sell-back rates suddenly skyrocket and you will be able to sell them back for MORE than you originally bought them. Remember that you will only get the benefit of the investment trinkets if you buy them and hang onto them until their prices change. If you buy them and sell them back before their prices change then you're just cheating yourself.

This Friday Members with rank 10 Doomwood Reputation will get access to the Member only DeathKnight Class with all new class art by recent addition to the art team Aranx. For those Members who would rather take the shortcut instead of reaching rank 10 Doomwood rep... Itzachi will also be selling a 2000 AC shortcut version as usual.

Finally, The Zombie Caesar shop will be leaving this Wednesday for those of you who are really big fan of undead versions of ancient roman leaders and we know there are a lot of you. Like, a ton.

Coming Friday to HeroMart!

The Shadowscythe Mousepads are heading to the lab and will be live for sale on HeroMart.com on Friday.

These are semi-gloss hardtop (as opposed to cloth-top) gaming quality mouse pads and each one comes with the Shadow Steel Character Page Achievement as well as access to the Shadow Steel Armor set.

This armor set is the Shadowscythe version of the Imperial Steel set that may be released in the future if we also do an Artix Entertainment Mousepad.

The Action Figures are doing better than we ever could have hoped and we are happy to see that people are having a lot of fun setting them up in various poses and scenes and sending us the pics and movies!

They are virtually flying off the shelves and Faith and the HeroMart crew have been putting their noses to the proverbial grindstone to keep up with the orders.

Reports say that Toys R Us stores from around the U.S.A. are selling out faster than anyone expected (especially us). We Still have plenty at HeroMart but it looks like we won't be sitting on a huge stack of them for years like we expected so orders yours while you still can.

Important Reminders!

• Reens and Stratos are still looking for a few good players to be MODS.
• Zhimaira’s "Artix vs Sepulchure" / "Zombies!" Art Contest ends this Thursday, May 31st! Make sure to post your entries here.
• The Zombie Caesar armor limited time shop leaves tomorrow!

205 days until Just Another Day

May 25, 2012

AQWorlds: Zombies Continues

Zombie attacks spread across Lore!

Are you caught up in AQWorlds: ZOMBIES?! If you haven't played through Doomwood Parts 1, 2, and last week's Zombie War, you'll want to catch up before you /join doomwar THIS week!

Sepulchure's toxic fog is spreading across Lore, zombifying everyone it touches! Already, one of your friends has fallen; this week, you will need to race across Lore, battling in different locations to help save those you hold dear before they turn undead!

/Join doomwar NOW to find Artix, who is holding down the war camp. His missions will guide you through the war as you race to save your friends and the world from the Zombie threat!

• You can go straight to the /doomwar map once you defeat the war boss again!
• War shops unlock at 50% and 100%!
• War rewards and merge shop resources drop from all monsters!
• New quests for the BLoD and Sepulchure's Armor chains in Necropolis!
• Member-only exp/gold farming map AND quests at /yulgarzombie!
• Find out which of your friends falls to the zombie fog?!

Who is the Champion of Light?!

At long last, the answer will be revealed, but you'll have to defeat the war first! So many of you have been guessing for so long, I think every character in the game has been mentioned at least once! (Except Dage the Evil. No one guessed him for some reason...) Battle on to find out, and battle FAST, because we cannot wait to see your reaction to this cutscene!

Quibble Coinbiter Returns to Battleon!

Scroll down a bit to see all of the epically awesome gear that Zombie Quibble has brought to Battleon this weekend! Members: make sure you pick up your 1 AC (one AC) Heroic ZombieSlayer Armor! Non-members can get this armor for 3,000 ACs.

New to Quibble! This time around we're trying something new: an investment trinket. Members and non-members can each buy a version of the Investment Trinket for 1,000 ACs. After the Quibble shop leaves, the trinket's sell-back price will change. The member trinket will sell back for more than the non-member trinket, but both will give you MORE ACs than you bought it for! Do NOT sell the trinket before we announce it's time or you will not get the new sell-back price.

Don't Forget!

• Limited Time Zombie Caear Shop leaves next Wednesday!
• Artix and Sepulchure Action Figures are now in all Toys "R" Us stores and at Heromart.com!
• Zhimaira's "Artix vs Sepulchure" and "Zombies" art contest is underway! Submit today!

May 24, 2012

Quibble's Zombie Shop

Zombie Quibble Comes to Battleon Tomorrow!

We thought moglins could not be zombified by Sepulchure's fog! Could it be Quibble's unusual nature which makes him susceptible to the toxic gas? We may never know... but we DO see that his shop is fully stocked and ready to open with tomorrow night's release!

Show your allegiance to the living by donning either the gleamingly gilded ZombieSlayer Armor set or manipulate the Darkness to take down hordes of undead in the member-only Shadow ZombieSlayer Armor set! Either way, you've got a wide selection of epic equips to choose from!

Investment Trinkets!

We're also trying something new with this Quibble shop! Investment Trinkets! An investment trinket is an AC item that has no other use than to be sold back for MORE Adventure Coins than you paid for it. There will be both a member-only and a non-member trinket. Each will cost 1,000 ACs. The member-only trinket will sell for more than the non-member trinket, but both will sell-back for over 1,000 ACs. You may only have one of these.

Member-only ZombieSlayer AC discount!

The ZombieSlayer Armor costs 3,000 ACs and is available for all players, but MEMBERS can purchase the member-only version of the ZombieSlayer Armor for only 1 AC!

• ZombieSlayer Armor - 3,000 AC
• Golden ZombieSlayer Sword - 200 AC
• Radiant ZombieSlayer Helm - 85 AC
• Radiant ZombieSlayer Cape - 75 AC

• Heroic ZombieSlayer Armor - 1 AC member-only
• Royal ZombieSlayer Helm - 75 AC
• Blinding ZombieSlayer Spear - 200 AC
• Golden ZombieSlayer Spear - 175 AC
• Lethal ZombieSlayer Cape - 85 AC
• Ascendant ZombieSlayer Helm - 85 AC

• Shining ZombieSlayer Helm - 85 AC
• Runic Blade of Cleaving - 175 AC
• Dark Runic Claymore - 25,000 gold non-member

• Lightwielder's Plate - 2,000 ACs
• Lightwielder's Shield and Spear - 200 ACs
• Lightwielder's Helm - 75 ACs

• Shadow ZombieSlayer Armor - 45,000 gold member-only
• Shadow ZombieSlayer Helm - 17,500 gold member-only
• Shadow ZombieSlayer Wrap - 15,555 gold member-only
• Shadow ZombieSlayer Blade - 27,500 gold member-only

Important Reminders!

• Artix and Sepulchure Action Figures are now on sale in U.S. Toys "R" Us stores all over the country and at HeroMart.
• Zhimaira’s "Artix vs Sepulchure" / "Zombies!" Art Contest ends next Thursday, May 31st! Make sure to post your entries here.
• The Zombie Caesar armor limited time shop leaves next Wednesday!
• The Nulgath Loyalty shop leaves TOMORROW with the new release!

And, most importantly, the ZOMBIES continue to flood out of Swordhaven! It will take the blades and brains of all of Lore's heroes to succeed. If they overrun the world, Sepulchure's army of undead will be unstoppable... and only the Champion of Light will be left to face him!

See you all tomorrow for release!

May 24, 2012

Undead Rage!

Zombies swarm in Swordhaven

Black smoke rolls through the streets of Swordhaven; blasts of energy shatter walls and rip up the street. To the left, an arm smacks into the gutter, raising a wave of... some dark liquid? Ahead, Robina quickstabs a zom- oh Goodness, that used to be Sir Ripp. He was so sweet... Was. *shudder*

Battles to the left, the walking dead to the right. Kneel next to an older man, new to town. He mutters incoherently - "Let the bodies hit the floor. Never dying, nevermore." He closes his eyes. Run on, gripping the bag of potion bottles, irreplaceable vials stuffed tightly inside.

Scenes flickerflash. Bombs crash. Blades clash.
Teeth, claws, blood, jaws.

run

RUN

Cross the bridge. Sir Render slices the zombie reaching, reaching. Hurl a vial of dark orange liquid. The ghoul sits on the bridge, chewing on a leg. FLASH The smell of char rides the breeze. The zombie chews no more; the leg lays, sizzling.

Rolith, where is Rolith? Where is ANYONE? Strangers fall, friends lie still. Knights bent on slaughter. Zombies hunting dinner. All around, the children cry. Women scream. Men die. Rolith stands just ahead, blade shining in the last light of day. Noxious fog rolls across the bridge.

Race the fog. Fires burn, blaze, roar - illuminate the end of all we've known. Rolith screams, points, turns away. Fire glistens on a gash across his cheek. He stabs the zombies in front, to the left, to the right -

SO MANY

run

RUN

Don't look back can't look back. An undead Knight looms over Farmer Westin's youngest girl. Her teddy bear is in pieces. She screams. Rip the blade from its sheath. Poison glistens on the edge. Swing. Thrust. Slice up. Silence.

Smoke blends with fog. The cloud creeps forward, rolling steadily closer.

Grab the girl and run. Pull the stragglers along, they'll follow behind.  

We've got to try to reach Battleon. Safety's there. It HAS to be.

We MUST fight!
 

May 23, 2012

Zombies, Mayhem, Mods

All they want to do is eat your brains!

And the brains of every single person on Lore! Sepulchure started this war, but you are going to have to be the one to end it, Hero! The war meter is at 62% right now, so you've got 8% to go before you unlock the boss fight! Which of your friends will be the first to fall to the raging horde of Zombies?

Zombie Ninja Armor releases this Friday! (PvP last week's Zombie Pirates!)

The war continues this week as the toxic fog creeps across the land, turning innocent townsfolk into terrifying undead! Dark truths will be brought to Light this week, but not before you and your fellow Heroes take down the millions of undead swarming out of Swordhaven!

Gaaaaaaames, I want to make you gaaaaaaames.

Et Tu, Zombeh?

Tomorrow is the 2,055th anniversary of Julius Caesar Germanicus's birthday. A famous general, ruler, and directly responsible for both Nero and Caligula (the first fiddled while Rome burned, the second made his horse a politician), tomorrow he rises again to lend his military might and strategic knowledge to the army of undead plaguing Lore!

We'll have the Zombie Caesar Armor and more in a Limited Time Shop available until next Wednesday!

STATUS: Not ACCEPTING NEW APPLICATIONS 

And now a word (actually, many words) from Reens, AQW's Lead In-Game Moderator:

Hi guys! Stratos and I are looking for new mods for AQWorlds (and HeroSmash), and now is your chance to apply!  One thing I have to stress - you MUST be over 18.  If you are under 18, if you don't include your age, or if you start with "I'm not 18 yet, but..." the application will not be considered.

What we need included in your email is:
1. Your real name, age, country of residence.
2. AQW Game account name and email
3. Artix Entertainment Master Account name and email (AE Portal Site)
4. Forum account name and email (not required to have one)
5. Languages you speak
6. A cover letter describing yourself, and what you think being a mod will mean.

Please send your COMPLETE application to [email protected] .  If the application is not complete, we won't consider it.  And please, one application per person. Stratos and I will read all the applications.  If you are chosen to go through a further interview, we will contact you. Unfortunately, we cannot reply to everyone.

Battle on!

May 21, 2012

Status Update

Stuff Happening Right Now!

This is just a quick post telling you some of what's going on right now and some of what to expect.

The Artix and Sepulchure Action Figures are on sale at U.S. Toys R Us locations all over the United States and also on HeroMart.com

People have been mailing us, tweeting us and letting the community know through the AQW forums as soon as they get their own collector's Artix or Sepulchure figures and sometimes they get BOTH! We've even gotten a few YouTube videos of people receiving their boxes from stores or in the mail and letting us watch them open them up!

It's a little early to say but things are looking good for a SECOND SET of collector's figures but that's a LONG way off. Let's not get ahead of ourselves.

We also have a brand new poster for sale at HeroMart.com which is the Good Heroes of Lore poster, drawn, inked and colored by our own Diozz (who you may remember from his Live Draw event!)

Diozz is pretty excited about his first poster!

There are no pictures of this yet on the site but the poster also comes with the Soul of a Hero armor set, including the Great Spirit of Heroism and Valkyrie of Heroism animated cloaks, also drawn by Diozz!

The team only signed 50 of there and half of those are already gone but there are a few hundred of the unsigned ones if you don't want your pretty poster all cruddded up by a bunch of game developer signatures.

We've also got an Art Contest going on right now!

The Themes Are:
1) Artix vs. Sepulchure
2) Zombies
3) Any Combo of the above options

The Contest Info page can be found here! Please read the rules carefully and PLEASE don't waste our time with stuff you rip off from the internet. You'll get caught and we'll spend a lot of time here at the lab making fun of how stupid you are. Don't be that guy.

STUFF COMING SOON!

Now let's hop into my time traveling phonebooth and dial the number for the near future.

This weekend, AQW Zombies continues as the world of lore falls further and further into the clutches of Sepulchure and more and more of your friends succumb to the zombification effects of the vile green mist.

In this alternate timeline, the traveling sales moglin Quibble Coinbiter is still traveling from town to town selling his never-before-seen, slightly-used rares and items and this Friday he returns to Battleon with a load of Zombie and Zombie Slaying themed AC RARES and ITEMS!

We'll also be trying a couple of new things in Quibble this time...

1) INVESTMENT TRINKETS: This is a new idea that I think most of you will like. Quibble will be selling small AC trinkets for about 1000 ACs each/ What do they do? NOTHING! They just sit in your bag and take up space.

BUT... a few days after Quibble has left Battleon, these investments will appreciate in value! You will be able to sell them back for MORE than you bought them for!

That's right! Buy it for 1000... sell it back for more.

There will be two versions of this trinket. A Member and a Non-Member. They will BOTH appreciate in value after Quibble leaves but the Member one will appreciate for MORE than the non-member trinket AND Members can, of course, buy both.

2) DAGE ARMOR SPECIAL: Most of the items in Quibble's shop will stick to the normal pricing that we've been with for a while but Dage the Evil is working on a special Zombie Killer armor that will be 3000 ACS! We expect the higher price to make this one of the rarest AC armors in the game.

Oh yeah, as a Member Bonus, there will be a Member Only version of the Zombie Killer, exactly like the other one... except it only costs 1 AC.

SOON: Looking For New Mods!

Reens and Stratos will soon be in search of new Mods for AQW!

I cannot stress enough how much we appreciate how much the mods do for the game but there is a lot of game to patrol and most of the mods are volunteer staff so Reens has said that she will be looking for a few extra hands.

AS soon as the search has begun we will post all the information that you need to know to apply. Please do not spam our e-mail and Twitters asking to be made a mod. Being able to read carefully and understand what you're reading is a big part of being a mod so read this part carefully. Begging for us to make you a mod now will revel that you did not read this paragraph. That's a pretty good sign that you aren't mod material.

Until we ask for applications, please review the HOW TO BECOME A MOD page.

SOON: DeathKnight Member Only Class

It won't be this released this week and probably not next week but I'm currently building a Member Only Death Knight Class (It will have different art than the DK Armor that came with the Doom Starter Package). It will take Rank 10 Doomwood Rep BUT there will be an AC Shortcut. Both versions will be Member Only.

214 days until Just Another Day

May 18, 2012

AQWorlds: ZOMBIES!

The ultimate "WHAT IF" begins...

If you have not played through the storyline of DoomWood Parts 1 & 2, stop reading, log in and do them now! Especially Part 2, because, as other players would tell you, the story is deep, insane, full of twists which have resulted in tonight's very mysterious release... AdventureQuest Worlds: ZOMBIES.

(Spoiler Alert: If you have not finished DoomWood 1 & 2 stop reading now. Go play it quick!)

Gravelyn is one of the most interesting characters in the game. She was raised by the undead, and her Father is the DoomKnight, Sepulchure. When Sepulchure was defeated by the Chaos Lord Drakath, Gravelyn inherited her Father's throne. She became the leader of the forces of Evil.

Zombie Light Warrior Armor in the 50% shop!

It has not been easy for her. There have been numerous attempts to overthrow and thwart her. Even Noxus, who's defeated talking skull is attached to her staff refuses to respect her. We believe that Gravelyn has power and inner strength, but she has not shown us what she is capable of... yet.

So in the last cutscene, we saw her in a moment of defeat, make a wish under her breath that her Father, Sepulchure was still here. The wish, in the most unexpected way, was granted. (By the way: I do quietly read a lot of the things you post to each other and must say how impressed am I that so many of you figured out the significance of that Tomb.)

Floating Horror Cape in the 100% Shop!

But not even a wish can bring Sepulchure back... so instead, in a true act of chaos, the Champion of Chaos, Drakath disrupted time, space and reality -- causing the entire game to COMPLETELY RESTART from the beginning.

Zombie Hunter Hunter Armor and Globular FaceMorph in the UnRare AC Shop!

You remember, right? The beginning of game? When you got struck by lightning, fell down a cliff, went to the Castle of Swordhaven when the final showdown beween Good and Evil was starting? You fought your way through Sepulchure's army of the undead to get to King Alteon's throne room... then Drakath showed up and pretty much destroyed everyone and everything? BUT... what would have happened if Drakath has never showed up?

Tonight... we find out.* BATTLE ON!**

* Note: You no longer have to manually turn your war medals in! The war meter raises after every 5 zombies you slay!

**Zombies lag due to dead limbs and poor dexterity, but you might experience lag of your own due to large numbers of heroes battling while using the new war functionality.

Use Your Brain to Get Zombie-riffic Rewards!

Tonight's release brings you 4 shops stocked with epically undead rewards! Talk to Rolith in the War Camp to access the Unrare Undead AC Shop (this shop will not go rare!), and the Zombie Merge Shop (collect Zombie Skulls, Noses, and Toes!), a 50% and 100% War Shops (get the meter high enough to unlock them)! /Equip this undead gear and you'll be unstoppable!

Zombie Pirate in the UnRare AC shop, Cutlass of the Dead in the Zombie Merge Shop!

NOW AVAILABLE! Collector Action Figures

The Sepulchure and Artix collector figures are now on sale at www.HeroMart.com and in most U.S. based Toys"R"Us stores. They went up at noon today... and OMG!!!!!!!! Thank you all so very much for supporting us during our 1st ever collector figure release! We have been packing boxes and shipping them non-stop since Noon.

The problem with the "Secret Underground Lab" not being on floor #1 is we have to get all of the boxes to street level... so we have been bringing your boxes up via the elevator. This was the 1st load... you should see the HeroMart Chamber O_O. As expected, the Rare Black Armor Variant figures are going fast. (Note: We limited it to only 2 per order so people could not hoard them -- keeping it fair!)

Remember that some Toys"R"Us stores have them too... we do not know which, but if you spot one, please take a picture and tweet it to me! Oh, and Miko just made a cool looking web page showing off the figures!
Check out the new Collector Figure Webpage

May 17, 2012

Collector Figures!

AVAILABLE NOW at HeroMart and Toys"R"Us!

The Artix an Sepulchure Collector Action Figures will be available tomorrow at noon at www.HeroMart.com, and in the card game section of almost all Toys"R"Us stores in the USA (They will be in ALL of them by next Wednesday). Both locations have some of the rare "Black Armor Variant" versions. Thank you to everyone who will be supporting us by getting a figure tomorrow, and a special thank you to all of you who are always there for us with your encouraging words and passion for or games. These figures are a 1st in our gaming community... we have been working on this project for over a year. Making figures is pretty crazy for an indie game studio!

See full size photo... or a gallery of photos on FaceBook.
Available at www.HeroMart.com

May 15, 2012

Socking it to ya on Friday

So Long, Socks!

Tomorrow I will also be leaving Battleon and taking my sock items with me. You guys also seemed to enjoy this shop so we will probably be bringing this one back near year too but THESE items will NOT be back.

Help fight the battle against missing and forgotten left socks by grabbing one of these rares before they vanish.

FRIDAY: ACTION FIGURES & AQW ZOMBIES!

Friday will be one of the single most exciting days in AE History! Our very first Action Figures go on sale at HeroMart!

Some players are already letting us know that they have already got the action figures from their local Toys R Us locations and we're hearing nothing but good things about the two classes that come with the toys.

For a skills breakdown of DoomKnight Overlord and Paladin High Lord, click here.

I'm also hearing that people are having a LOT of fun with the new Trap Door function that we built into the special Castles that comes with the Action figures. Just target someone in your house and click the big reed button. They find themselves in your dungeon and there is NOT ESCAPE (unless you /join somewhere else).

A couple of people have even said that the 5 Special Cards that exapand your Battleon Battle Card Games have made the card game even MORE fun, if that is possible.

Friday, everyone gets a crack at these limited edition action figures from HeroMart! We have quite a few but there IS a fixed number and we don't plan on making more of these figures and there are even fewer Limited Edition Black figures.

Friday also marks the end of DoomWood II and the beginning of AQW Zombies.

Not sayin' any more about that.

220 days until Just ANother Day

May 14, 2012

Artix & Sepulchure Action Figures

AVAILABLE FRIDAY!

This Friday, at noon, the wait is over. The collectors action figures will finally become available for purchase at www.HeroMart.com and MOST Toys"R"Us store locations in the USA will have them on shelves (in the card game isle). Players have been reporting that some stores already have them in stock! There has been some confusion about the dates -- so this post is going to tell you EVERYTHING you ever wanted to know about the action figures (and a little more.) For example, both Toys"R"Us and HeroMart will have some of the rare black variants for sale.

Dates (Fully Explained)

Last Week: Some Toys"R"Us stores started getting the figures and made them for sale
This Week: Most Toys"R"Us stores will get the figures and make them for sale
This Friday at Noon EST: HeroMart.com will put the figures up for sale.
May 23rd: 100% of Toys"R"Us will have the figures available for sale

The regular figures will be $20 at HeroMart and $24.95 at Toys"R"Us (Which is about the same if you include shipping.) The rare black variants will be $50 on HeroMart (reasonable, considering the original Deady's were $60 and sold out in the first weekend.)  TRU may sell the variants for less... but the trick is finding a store that has them.

An Indie Company making their first toys!

This is, obviously, the biggest thing to happen us as an indie game company. Indie meaning... noone owns us. We do not have a parent company. No investor ever gave us a giant lump of cash. We are 100% funded by you, the players. So, most people are really shocked to find out that we designed the packaging, took our own photos, created the codes and in-game items, paid for the production of the figures out of our own pockets, and do most everything except for the actual molding and assembly (we would if we knew how, lol) here at the lab. We hope you choose to support us by getting the figures at US based Toys"R"Us stores or online at www.HeroMart.com (shipping anywhere in the world). If this is a success we will go on to create other figures... Drakath, Cysero, Galanoth, Warlic, etc.

"I do not always go to the beach...
but when I do, people point and laugh
at me for taking pictures of action figures."

Toys"R"Us - Why our figures are not in their computers (again.)

I am probably not legally allowed to tell you what you are about to read -- but this has been a source of a lot of confusion, so I am going to tell you. Please use this information to help tell others who run into this problem. Ok? I have already been getting messages from player's who contacted their local Toys"R"Us in the United States and were told something like, "Not sure what you are talking about, we are not getting these toys in." or "These are not in our system." This also happened with the Card Game, Booster Packs and the 2012 Calendar which are for sale at Toys"R"Us now. Why does this happen?

The answer: We go through the company named Beckett to put our toys in the store. they are a great company to work with. We really like them. You may know Beckett as the company who creates the Baseball cards, Yugioh Cards, Magic the Gathering and more. In every Toys"R"Us there is an area filled with all of these type card games (including ours.)  Beckett completely controls that card section of the store. They have their own people who manage the shelves... and their inventory is, in as simple of a way I can put this, tracked seperately. So, our card game, calendar and figures are located in that isle, but very likely will never show up in Toys"R"Us's computer system.  It is weird. an I apologize for the confusion -- chalk this up to us being a growing indie company. One day I hope to have our game items in EVERY Toys"R"Us in EVERY country. But for now, I asked Beckett to send an email to each store letting them know about the figures -- and where you can find them. I hope it happens and helps. But at least you know, the figures will be located in the card game area with our other items... even if their computer says otherwise. Note: Not all store locations will have the Black Variant figures. As there are so few of them... it will take some hunting!

4 days left until they go on sale...

I hope you are all looking forward to Friday - both for the release and for the figures!  

"The Lady of the Lake raised the sword... erm... axe... high above the water and threw it to the hero. But it was really heavy. And not very aerodynamic. This is probably why King Arthur used a sword."

May 14, 2012

Coming this FRIDAY

DoomWood is turning into... OMG REALLY!?

Thank you to everyone who showered my Twitter wall with compliments, kudos and #$%#^!?'s for the crazy DoomWood II storyline which has been taking place the past two weeks. So many old players have been coming back to play it -- great seeing so many old friends again. There has been only ONE time in the history of our game making that we have recieved THAT much love. If what happens next goes well, it may actually top it. If you completed both parts, then you know what crazy thing is starting to happen in-game on Friday. It was not a joke. I am being "DEAD" serious, it is actually happening. It will be the ultimate "WHAT IF?" -- What if Drakath had never appeared and inturrupted that battle between King Alteon and Sepulchure? Until then... if you are not caught up yet, play the two parts of DoomWood II before Friday! /join Necropolis

Twitter/Forums/FaceBook Question: What NPCs would you like to see featured in what is coming?

May 11, 2012

All "DOOMWOOD" breaks loose!

Anything goes. 

The Necropolis is a subterranean lair filled with the undead, necromancers, liches and unfathomable shadow creatures. Last week you ventured deep into its dark heart, battled the 5-headed dracolich, and discovered untold secrets. It appears Sally is re-building Vordred... "bigger, stronger, more skulls." This week, you have only one simple goal... go up one level and stop her from completing that abomination. Just go up one floor. It should be trivial for a seasoned adventurer like yourself. Stop the Necromantress Sally from completing Vordred and you will 100% complete DoomWood... 3 weeks early. But WHATEVER YOU DO... do not... for the love of all that is good... DO NOT go down. Who knows what horrific things lay deeper under the Necropolis.

Just released in DoomWood II - Week #2

• New storyline map... feautring a few things we have never done before.
• 5 new cutscenes... including "THE END OF DOOMWOOD"
• 2 more steps to the Blinding Light of Destiny Quest Chain
• NOTE: New Seplchure Armor quests coming next Tuesday.
• Nulgath Loyalty Shop opens!
• Mother's Day Shop opens!
• Do you have the undead battling pomeranian pet, Daimyo? Members can find a way to give him Light or Dark armor (Wait.. why is there Dark Armor?) Note: This can only be done once and is permanent. Daimyo is only released once a year on his birthday.
• New monsters and items!
• Bonus: TWO Challenge battles for Members!

All-new Doomwood Gear!

All of AQW's artists have been pushing hard this week to release new items to fill your inventories to bursting, and MAN did they do a great job! Check out this gear! (All found in the /necropolis and /necrocavern maps!)

Armor of Skulls, Collarbone Cape, and Dark-Armored Daimyo!

All of Doomwood's gear this week is either member or free-player gold and can be found in the Doomwood II Rep shop, the Paladin and Necromancer shops, and both the Artix and Vayle merge shops, plus all of the sweet accessories that drop off the monsters!

Luminous Armor/Helm/Wings and Ristoluto polearm

Nulgath Loyalty Shop!

Alright, you Nulgath fans, tonight's the night! Ready to take on and take down all those Legion followers? Here's your chance to get the gear that proves your loyalty to your favorite artist! Check this post from last night's Design Notes for item and price previews and find Nulgath in Battleon! Summer is Coming... and so is WAR!

"Sepulchure", by Dage the Evil

As many of you are very familiar, Sepulchure, the DoomKnight, was the main villian of DragonFable and everyone believed he was going to be the main villain of AdventureQuest Worlds until the shocking twist when Drakath ripped his very essence from his chest and crushed it at the beginning of the game.  From that moment on, Sepulchure's daughter Gravelyn became the leader of the Shadowscythe.

Many villains protested that "a little girl wearing her daddy's scary armor" was unfit to rule the forces of Evil. Thus far there have been three seperate attempts from villains to overthrow her. It has been difficult for her, filling the shoes of the most powerful DoomKnight who ever un-lived. But there is something special about Gravelyn... and a special bond between her and the heroes of the world (both Evil and Good.)

As you are about to discover tonight, the focus of our continuing story in DoomWood is not about Artix... it is Gravelyn's story. It will be dark. Alas, to understand her, you really need to understand... the DoomKnight Sepulchure.

"Sepulchure" painting by Dage the Evil

We uploaded the high res 1920x1200 Wallpaper of it for you to get into the spirit of DOOM with!

Collector Action Figures coming May 18th

While I am on the topic of Sepulchure... check out this picture from our photoshoot in the HeroMart chamber yesterday. Both the Artix and Sepulchure figures will be available starting May 18th at U.S. based Toys"R"Us stores and www.HeroMart.com. The figures will be $20 and include 5 exclusive cards for the card game, and a treasure chest of in-game items including a special class, armor, weapon, helm and castle (castle has a working trap door feature.) These are our first ever action figures... so we really went overboard. There are also special "black armor variants" for which will be $50.

May 10, 2012

Nulgath Loyalty Shop

Who has YOUR loyalty?

Blood, blades, and terror all combine into one form - Nulgath. And if YOU are a fan of Artix Entertainment's infernally-inspired artist, Nulgath, then you'll want to choose his side in this Summer's Dage vs Nulgath WAR!

To get his followers' blood boiling, Nulgath is stocking a Loyalty Shop in Battleon with ton of temptingly terrifying rare items! They'll only be available for 2 weeks (the same length as the Dage Loyalty Shop), so make sure to grab your gear while you can! For Nulgath!

• Blood Fiend of Nulgath Armor - 2,000 ACs
• Overfiend BackBlades of Nulgath Cape - 100,000 gold (member only)

• Fiery Halo of Nulgath Cape - 200 ACs
• Blood Fangs of Nulgath Cape - 200 ACs
• Guise of Nulgath Helm - 200 ACs
• Blood Fiend Face of Nulgath - 200 ACs

• Dreadlord of Nulgath Helm - 200 ACs
• Terror Wings of Nulgath - 200 ACs

• Blood Leeches of Nulgath Cape - 200 ACs
• Shadow Fiend of Nulgath Helm - 100,000 gold (member only)

Color Customized Items!

The eyes and blades on the Blood Fiend of Nulgath armor are all color customizable, as are the eyes on the helms, the inner section of the Terror Wings, the Fiery Halo Cape, and the eyes on the Nulgath Backblade.

Doom is all around!

Deeper, darker, deadlier! Descend even further into the depths of the Necropolis the Friday as Sally continues her plans to re-build Vordred and rule the Necropolis! The history-shattering revelations are nothing compared to what we’ll reveal TOMORROW! Arm yourselves, heroes, because underneath the Necropolis lies… your DOOM!

Prepare for:

• Member-only Doom Overlord Evolution boss battle (He's got MAD skillz!)
• Member-only Mystery Challenge boss battle (You won't know what hit you!)
• Armored Daimyo and Dark Armored Daimyo merge shops
• New member-only versions of Paladin and Necromancer armors
• New quests in the Blinding Light of Destiny chain
• New quests in Sepulchure’s Armor chain
• And more!

Remember, everyone can play through the storyline of Doomwood Part II: Whispers of the Dark Lord, but we've packed this zone with extra-special content geared towards members!

We've got a fair bit of work left to do before tomorrow's release, so I'm going to finish up the quest text, outline the NPC text, and get to bed. We'll see you all bright and early tomorrow morning as we gear up for this weekend!

PS - This is the last weekend the Doom Starter Package will be available (comes with DeathKnight set), so if you're thinking of upgrading, now's the time to take advantage of a great deal!

May 09, 2012

Missing Left Sock Day

It Is A Tragedy That Touches All Of Our Lives

So many have gone missing and never heard from again. We search everywhere but the longer they stay missing the more people give up hope. Eventually, the victims just move on with their lives and learn to deal with their loss in their own way.

That's right. I'm talking about Left Socks.

May 9th is Missing Left Sock Day. A day set aside from our normal work-a-day lives to bow our heads and remember not just the left socks that we have lost but those that everyone has lost. It affords us the opportunity to come together as a community and say, in one voice, "You will be remembered".

To increase awareness of this all-too-common tragedy that touches everyone in one way or another we have assembled a small treasure trove of sock themed items.

Take whatever you like, because every time someone sees a sock-bladed sword or an adorable Missing Left Sock Dragon they will be forced to confront this issue. It's time to stop running from our feelings and our dryer-portals. It's time to face the facts.

Those socks may be gone forever but you have NOT been abandoned. All you have to do is reach out to a fellow player and we can all begin healing. Start a conversation about socks. Let someone know that you understand how it feels to have one cold foot because maybe the warmth of your understanding smile is all that they really need.

This just got real. Sock it to them and Battle On!

Friday: DoomWood and Nulgath!

THIS Friday we will be continuing Artix's increasingly insane DoomWood II storyline and we will also say goodbye to Dage's Dark Caster Shop as he returns to Shadowfall to prepare for war.

But what about Nulgath? The creature that was once semi-human before his monstrous form erupted from that shell and revealed his true evil self to us. Is he still the real master of evil or has be been secluded in the shadows of his cave for too long?

Friday, Nulgath arrives in Battleon with his OWN host of wares.

A special armor set will be sold tying in to his new project, Oversoul! There will also be a number of helms and capes which you can purchase to show your loyalty to and support for him.

It's starting to look like war in unavoidable but what will happen to Lore if these two amazingly powerful, evil creatures clash? One thing is certain... one of them will rise and the other will fall.

This war will change the face of Lore. If you are Evil, who will you side with? If you are Good, who will you fight to defeat? If you are unaligned then why are you even reading this? Get back in the game and pick a side.

226 days until Just Another Day

May 08, 2012

Action Figure Class Breakdowns

The Artix and Sepulchure Action Figures Are Almost HERE!

In fact, we've started to receive word that the action figures have already started to arrive in some U.S. Toys R Us Stores but they should be in HeroMart by around the end of this month!

The Action Figures will be available in EVERY Toys R Us location in the continental United States in the collectible card section, with our other stuff like the Card Game, Booster Packs and 2012 Calendars. Sadly, only U.S. Toys R Us stores will get the toys (Want to know why? READ THIS!) but as soon as they arrive on HeroMart, they will start being delivered everywhere that HeroMart delivers (69 countries and more added all the time)!

So today seems like a good time to do the skill breakdown for the DoomKnight Overlord and Paladin High Lord classes that come with the toys (in addition to 5 exclusive battle cards, a legendary helm, weapon and armor that matches the class art exactly and an exclusive in-game castle or fortress!).

Good guys won the coin toss so they go first...

PALADIN HIGH LORD CLASS SKILL SET

Everyone knows that the Paladin Order exists to battle the forces of darkness and the unnatural and unholy threat of the undead but there are more than one kind of paladin. There are Paladin Loremasters, Weaponmasters, Recruiters, Healers and of course the Paladin High Lords who are the elite branch. They are a relatively new branch of the order tasked with taking on threats that the outmatch normal paladins. They are put through special leadership and combat training that test their will, faith and might. Those who pass the tests are the very best of the best that the Paladin Order has to offer the world of Lore.

The Paladin High Lord is a warrior type class and some of their power is drawn from the Strength stat  but others draw their magical damage from Int. I suggest Hybrid for decent damage but higher heals. That depends on how you like to play.

AUTO ATTACK

2 second cooldown

A basic attack, taught to all adventurers.

PURIFYING FLAME

20 mana, 6 second cooldown

Shoots a ball of holy fire at your foe causing damage over time and a decrease in Crit for as long as your foe burns. Damage increase with each additional party member.

This is a pretty basic, magic based blast with a burn effect attached to it. Good for pulling from across the room. You will notice that we added some new functionality to each of these new classes in places... the skills are pretty good on their own but some skills like THIS one will get stronger and stronger with each additional player you add to your party!

This function will affect the base damage of the initial fire blast but won't change the DoT value.

WORD OF LIGHT

30 mana, 10 second cooldown

Heals you and your allies. The Heal grows strong with each person added to your party!

A very good AoE (Area of effect) heal that starts out good and only gets stronger and stronger with each player that accepts your party invite. It's a little costly but WELL worth the mana. This makes you VERY useful in party situations but contains more than enough healing juice to keep you patched up in a solo fight.

UNDERMINE

10 mana, 5 second cooldown

Stacks up to 5 times. Strike that does low damage but slows your enemy with each stack. Has a chance to stun Undead foes for 4 seconds.

Here is the pesky skill that you need to maintain. It's fast, light damage and costs next to nothing from your mana pool but the stacking haste debuff makes it one you should not underestimate. If you plan on skipping this skill just because you don't like keeping the stacks up that is your call but if I were you I would use it every time.

The pretty good chance that you'll stun an undead enemy is just gravy.

PURE BLOOD & SOUL GLOW

Rank 4 passives

Increase CRIT CHANCE by 12%

Increase DAMAGE by 10%

People tend to underestimate how much damage you get from these. A 10% damage increase takes a critical of 1000 all the way to 1100 and who doesn't like to crit 12% more?

LIGHT WAVE

30 mana, 10 second cooldown

You send out a wave of light that damages all enemies in range and reduces their damage for a short time. Effects grow stronger with more people in your party.

Here is your AoE Damage skill for taking out multiple enemies in a single room, It's a decent AoE with pretty high damage on its own BUT when you have a full party, with the right enhancements, you can take out entire rooms at once! It's also a good skill to use against bosses as well.

DIVINE HAND

Rank 10 passive

Your target suffers a massive blow from an unseen divine helper.

You've seen this before and you'll see it again. At rank 10, you suddenly gain a power that goes off randomly, costs no mana and does MASSIVE damage to a single target.

Now let's see the darker side of the coin...

DOOMKNIGHT OVERLORD CLASS SKILL SET

Empress Gravelyn is not pleased. Vordred, an undead soldier capable of resisting the light based paladin powers, was beyond her control. The necropolis, source of her undead armies, has fallen into the hands of an upstart little girl. Dage and Nulgath are fighting over the title of Lord of Evil which was a title that was hard won by her father, Sepulchure and hers by birthright. The time has come when Gravelyn has had enough. She has taken her elite DoomKnight soldiers, some of the strongest undead creates in her arsenal shaped in her father's image, and has superchaged them. The ritual was long, blindingly painful and mind meltingly complex. Most of the DoomKnights who entered the royal chamber on Shadowfall left as piles of ashes and bones but a few.. the darkest and strongest were reshaped into DoomKnight Overlords!

The DoomKnight Overlord is also a warrior type class and like it's lightside mirror image, draws power from STR and INT, so Hybrid is probably a good way to go. But you could try all Wizard or all Fighter enh and see what happens.

AUTO ATTACK

2 second cooldown

A basic attack, taught to all adventurers.

TORTURE

10 mana, 3 second cooldown

Magically torment your foe's mind, causing slight damage but also reducing their damage and crit. Damage increase with each additional party member.

This is a very nice lead-off power. The damage potential is EXCELLENT considering the tiny cooldown, strong damage and low mana cost of this ability. Tack the Damage AND Crit debuff onto this skill and it gets even better. Get a part full of friends and it becomes something staggeringly powerful.

SCREAMING DARKNESS

25 mana, 12 second cooldown

Causes all foes within range to burst into flames, dealing moderate damage and causing them to burn for Damage over time. Effects increase with each additional party member.

You get an AoE early in this class progression. Makes it easy to pull an entire room but dangerous if you don't have your third skill yet, but DOES significantly increase your damage output. The damage is balanced out with a pretty hefty mana cost and a long-ish cooldown. Remember that this power also gets stronger with additional party members and while the damage goes up the mana and cooldown never change so... go make some friends.

DARK CHALLENGE

25 mana, 10 second cooldown

Has a 50/50 chance of either stunning your foe a few seconds or giving you back some health. Healing effects increase with each additional party member.

Here is where you test your luck (not the stat). Either you are going to stun your foe (except for some bosses) OR you're going to cast a pretty beefy HoT (Heal over Time) on yourself. It's WIN/WIN! The advantage that this has over Pali High Lord is that your stun will work on a LOT more than just undead. The disadvantage is that it shares the skill with your heal so you can never count on what you're going to get.

As with any challenge you issue, you know what reaction you might get. You might need a heal VERY badly and only get a stun. If it enough to give you the upper hand? You might want a stun but get a heal when your lifebar is already full...

The HoT is decent on its own but gets REALLY strong with a full party, unfortunately a party does not affect your stun duration.

BLACK BLOOD & RAW HATE

Rank 4 passives

Increase CRIT CHANCE by 12%

Increase DAMAGE by 10%

The Pali High Lord has the exact same Rank 4 passives. More damage, more crits.

MIASMA

50 mana, 8 second cooldown

Deals massive damage and significantly lowers your target's ability to hit anything for a short while.

This is a HUGE damage power and it's strength is consistent even if you are on your own. The mana cost is VERY high and since you're on a warrior mana regen model the Hit debuff on your target is not your friend so be smart when you use this nuke. It's a great opener and a great closer and if you manage your mana well enough you can use it during battle too. Since the cooldown is only 8 seconds you should be able to use it as frequently as your mana allows.

DEATH KNELL

Rank 10 passive

Your foe is attacked by it' own shadow, dealing massive damage as it resists being pulled to the underworld.

It's a cool description but it comes down to the same thing as Pali High Lord's rank 10 passive. People who fully rank up this class will occasionally and suddenly deal a MASSIVE hit to a single target with no effect on the Doomknight Overlord's mana or cooldown.

The Big Picture

Looks like both classes are very good multi-purpose classes a lot like Dragonlord. Paladin High Lord has a more dependable heal but what it gains in survivability and party-usefulness it looses out in the raw damage potential which Doomknight Overlord enjoys. In PvP, if you party up, you will be a force to be reckoned with in BOTH of these classes.

Remember that we don't have unlimited funds so we've only made a fixed number of these toys and if we make more we want to make new characters so they are already Limited Quantity Rares.

Oh yeah, if you get both toys you can become the abomination I'm calling the DOOMPALADIN HIGH OVERLORD!

Ew.

227 days until Just Another Day

May 07, 2012

Prepare for MORE Doom!

... And a CRAZY amount of information!

Blast into the past with last week's revelation of Sepulchure's backstory... then prepare yourself for a journey deeper than any faced before. Beneath the Necropolis lies terror, fury, and — well, you'll just have to log in Friday, because the twist Artix is talking about is going to melt your mind and sprain your brain!

Two of Friday's rewards from Solrac!

Expect new rewards (like the Paladin/Necromancer armor versions), new cutscenes, story quests, side quests for the Blinding Light of Destiny and Sepulchure's Armor, and the Armored Daimyo and Dark Daimyo merge shops, member-only challenge fights and more!*

* The "more" covers all of the things that make it onto the list Artix writes AFTER Monday's meeting. Stay tuned to the Design Notes to see what those things are!

Artix,Sepulchure Action Figures in stores May 14th!

Coming to Toys R Us May 14th and HeroMart on May 18th: the Artix and Sepulchure action figures will be in stores and on shelves! If you don't see them displayed, check with your store representatives; they may be holding them until Wednesday, May 16th.

The action figures will go live at HeroMart next Friday, May 18th. They will cost $20 USD + shipping for the regular versions and $50 USD for the limited edition black versions! Toys R Us will be selling the regular versions for $25 USD. They will be getting a SMALL number of the black variants, as well!

Artix (Paladin) figure includes:

• 5 exclusive cards for the AQworlds Card Game
• Paladin's Castle - with working trap door.
• Paladin HighLord Class
• Paladin Highlord's Armor
• Artix's Helm (not that he ever wears it... you should though!)
• Highlord's Battleaxe of Destiny (Similiar to the Blinding Light)

Sepulchure (DoomKnight) figure includes:

• 5 exclusive cards for the AQworlds Card Game
• DoomKnight's Castle - with working trap door.
• DoomKnight Overlord Class
• DoomKnight Overlord's Armor
• Sepulchure's Helm (ULTRA RARE)
• Overlord's DoomBlade

Xan and DragonFable Posters at HeroMart!

Titan-sized epicness in stock at HeroMart! If you haven't checked out the Xan or DragonFable NPCs posters at HeroMart, what are you waiting for? These 24x36 in posters will fill your wall with awesomeness and, if you get the Xan poster, it will fill your inventory with the Fire Claw Scythe! See more information in Friday's Design Notes!

Nulgath War Allegiance Shop this Friday!

Alright, you Legion fans, Dage's Allegiance Shop in Battleon leaves Friday... and Nulgath's Allegiance Shop will take its place! Ready to take on and take down all those Legion followers? Here's your chance to get the gear that proves your loyalty to your favorite artist! Previews coming in the next few days!

Wednesday: Memorial for Lost Socks!

Socks? Pl0x! This sounds like a shop for Cysero! The Lost Sock Memorial Day (that we didn't know existed until Galanoth told us, but which is an actual, real thing) celebrates your drawer full of unmatched socks. The shop will be full of mostly member-only gold gear and will celebrate all of those socks that have no mates, but which you couldn't bear to throw away.

RIP(ped) socks, RIP.

Doomwood fixes coming tomorrow!

There were a few errors in last week's release, namely that where it said "two centuries" in the Book of Doom, we MEANT "two DECADES"! BIG difference! Also, Artix should not be holding the Blinding Light of Destiny. We'll get those taken care of in the morning!

Expect a skill writeup on the action figure classes from Cysero tomorrow! More previews, news, and goodies throughout the week! I am the last one left in the Secret Underground Lab, so it's time to head home. Have a great night!

May 04, 2012

Doomwood Part 2 BEGINS!

"Making the world... a darker place..."

The original DoomWood is one of the most popular and memorable storylines in the history of the game. Following up a hit (not unlike making a sequel to a hit movie) is a pretty big challenge. You need to take the story deeper... innovate... do something daring (and in our case, blatantely against the rules). This new DoomWood 2 Saga is a 5 parter which will start tonight. The story will start as so many of you were hoping, taking you deep within the Necropolis. But each week... it will spiral faster and faster into madness. If you want to make a hit sequel... you will have to break ALL the rules. I REALLY hope you enjoy it friend... BATTLE ON!

Artix & Vayle outside the Necropolis... good memories.

In tonight's release

• DoomWood Part 2 Storyline begins!!!
• New items throughout the release including shop items, monster drops, quest rewards designed by Dage, Solrac, Veneeria, Aegis, Jemini, end even Cysero!
• 2 new epic maps by J6
• 2 new storyline cutscenes by Samba
• 4 new monsters including the 5-headed Dracolich (which technically makes it 9 monsters since each head is animated as a seperate monster.)
• New Necropolis music by Reeki (Warlic's apprentice)
• Insane Challenge fight for Members
• Blinding Light of Destiny Quest chain begins (2 quests released this week. Note: It will be the hardest and longest quest chain in the game... ever. Probably taking 6 months or more to fully complete. In a more reasonable amount of time you will be able to create OTHER weapons of Blinding Light will be used in later parts of DoomWood. As promised years ago, this quest chain is for both Free players and Members players.)
• Sepulchure's Armor Quest chain begins (To reforge Sepulchure's DoomKnight armor back to it's former power.... there will be an opportunity for you to steal it.)
• ATTENTION DragonFable players... I met with Geopetal and... in tonight's release we are dropping some MAJOR backstory plot bombs! 

DoomKnight OverLord CHALLENGE FIGHT!

As a special bonus this week... we put in, what we believe, is an impossible battle against two DoomKnight OverLords. You have proven us wrong in the past. We are looking forward to your screenshots. 

Xan Poster Heats Up Heromart!

Get fired up with our newest DragonFable-themed poster, NOW at HeroMart! Featuring Xan, DragonFable's premiere pyromancer, the poster comes with red-hot rewards in both DragonFable and AdventureQuest Worlds!

Both the signed and unsigned versions of the Xan Poster come with the Fire Claw Scythe, which has a special animation triggered by using the auto-attack skill! (You will need the spitfire enhancement equipped for the special to work.) Be the first in your party to show off this all-new, blazing battle technique!

The poster is 24" x 36" (61 cm x 91cm) and costs $25 USD for a version signed by all of the staff at the Lab, or $9.95 USD for an unsigned version!

May 02, 2012

Dage The Evils Live Draw!

Just A Quick Reminder!

Today, in about one hour (at 4:00 PM Server Time) the Stream Map will open and Dage The Evil will begin the last of our string of AE Artist Live Draws!

If you have never been to a Live Draw, all you do is /join the Stream map and click the START SHOW button. It will open up a video window right inside the game where you can watch as Dage does a drawing from scratch just for you! You get to watch it take shape right before your eyes AND we will take what he draws and make an in-game item out of it.

I will be taking questions for Dage from my Twitter and from the Forum Thread that pops up fpor this DNs post.

See you there!

May 01, 2012

News-day Tuesday

Dia do Trabalhador!

It's the first of May, and that means it's time to celebrate in countries around the world! In Brasil, it's also the Dia do Trabalhador, and to get into the espírito de celebração we're adding a new armor and helm to the Paymentez shop tonight! Brightly colored and ready for battle, /equip this new gear and you'll be good to go - whether fighting on the field or partying in the streets!

Players in Brasil are able to purchase memberships and AdventureCoins via Paymentez; this unlocks a special shop full of awesome gear!

Cinco de Mayo 2012!

Grab your maracas and string up your sweetest pinata, because Cinco de Mayo is almost here! This Friday night, the Cinco de Mayo 2012 shop will return!

The shop's packed fuller than the pinata pet with equips for the whole /party!

• Maracas and Dos Maracas weapons!
• Mariachi Armor!
• Sombrero and Big Sombrero helms!
• Pinata Pet! (It leaves a trail of candy when it runs!

And our second favorite part of the Cinco de Mayo holiday: it's Randor the Red's birthday! He will be featuring his birthday shop in HeroSmash this year! So fly on over and grab the gear to smash your opponents while /cheering for Randor!

MechQuest MayPril Fools' Mech

It's the first of May, and if you're familiar with MechQuest, our mecha-robots-in-space game, you'll know that means the Maypril Fools' mech is here! This year, Korin, Maegwyn, and the MQ team have launched the Loki Mecha into orbit... and the holiday shop! (And don't miss the one-day quest!) For more information about the Mecha, head here!

What is MechQuest, you ask?

Good question! MechQuest is the 3rd game released by Artix Entertainment back in 2008. Once you login, you'll begin a journey that catapults you from life as a student at G.E.A.R.S. University (campus location: central Soluna City, Planet Loreon) into one of the key fighters in the war against the evil and powerful Shadowscythe!

Make off-world alliances, right wrongs, and blast through battles across the universe! Armed with an energy blade for on-foot skirmishes and a hangar full of GIANT fighting machines (aka "mecha"), lasers, cannons, explosives - really, anything that goes BOOM - you'll be ready to rock the galaxy and save the universe from total destruction!

What's new in MQ?

Planet Romero is the newest, undead-liest zone in MechQuest's storyline.  Warlic, the Dean of G.E.A.R.S. University, needs your assistance: board your ship and travel to Planet Romero, currently being exploited by the giant conglomerate EbilCorp for pharmaceutical testing.

Investigate reports of creatures described as "walking dead" and meet up with a certain Paladin (we're pretty sure you'll recognize him!) Adventure onward to learn about EbilCorp's latest wonderdrug, Poozom. (Hint: Expect to battle Zombies.  Lots and lots of Zombies!)*

*Thanks to DrDOT and Plasma Charge for the Romero screenshots!

Friday the 13th rares leave tonight!

Have you battled the Sleezter Bunny yet? If not, /join sleezter and take on an army of bunny clones bound to destroy Lore! While you're there, pick up your Friday the 13th rares, because they're leaving tonight!

Shadowscythe Mousepad coming to HeroMart!

We've made ourselves some mousepads! (No ShadowScythe mice, sadly.) We're going to put a small test-batch in HeroMart soon to see how well they sell. If you want to show your allegiance to the ShadowScythe while battling the baddest baddies in Lore, keep any eye on Twitter and the Design Notes for news of when they arrive!

Coming with the mousepad is the epic Shadow Steel armor! The shadows will never be as silent as when you're sneaking through them in this gear! (Made of specially-muffled metal!)

Dage the Evil livedraw tomorrow at 4pm!

If you're online tomorrow at 4PM, make sure to login to AQWorlds and /join stream to see Dage the Evil's first in-game livedraw event and the last of our 5-week Livedraw series! What will he make? That's up to you! But knowing Dage, it'll be EPIC!

See you guys tomorrow as we continue working our fingers to the bone (skeleton reference!) to create the first release in Doomwood Part 2: Whispers of the Darkness Lord!