Design Notes

June 29, 2012

Pyromancer Class is Live!

Your enemies are going down in FLAMES!

Fire and Ice combine this week to make your weekend extreme! AQWorlds heats up as we release the much-requested Pyromancer Class! After sending your enemies up in flames, cool off as you head back into the chilly darkness for a member-only release in Battleunder! In The Span, Bulbug's House shop and the Cysero's Orb Pet shop both gain new versions of your favorite gear from AQ, DF, and MQ!

Can YOU handle the heat of the Pyromancer Class?

You'll never need to sulfur at the thought of missing a hit again! In the heat of battle, you'll be the one firing off shots and smoking your opponents because the Pyromancer Class is live! Send your opponents up in flames with a number of hot new skills and animations.

How Will I Get It?

There will be two ways to get the class.

1. If you want it immediately you will be able to take the shortcut and buy the class from Itzachi the Class Dealer in Battleon for her standard fee of 2000 ACs.
2. If you want to earn the class, you will need to first complete the Xan storyline which starts in the Volcano map. Once you have completed the story, you can speak to Warlic in the Shurpu Library. He will have a Merge shop and two Daily Quests.

The Pyromancer Class will cost 84 Shurpu Blaze Tokens. If you are a non-member you can only get 14 per week, but Members can get 21 per week. This means thart it will take non-members six full weeks of doing the simple daily quest to earn the class while Members will earn it in only four!

NOTE: You will NOT need to have completed or even begun the Xan quest line to purchase the AC version of the class.

NOTE: You will only be able to do one of the dailies per day. If you are a Member make SURE you are doing the clearly marked MEMBER Daily quest!

After you've finished the storyline in /xancave, talk to Warlic in the Shurpu Library to earn:

• Pyromancer Class
• Pyromancer's Mask
• Xan's Flaming Skull
• Emblazoned Pyromancer Armor
• Emblazoned Mask
• Xan's Robes

Members can cool down in BattleunderD!

Under the town of Battleon lie many levels of undead-filled dungeons, each with a new twist on the classic dungeon crawl. This week we'll be delving below the crystalline caves of battleunderc to /battleunderd, where you'll find your enemies are as cold as ice! (And not just because they're corpses.)

Work with Paladin Yara to battle the frigid skeletons, evade the icy banshees, and face the Glacial Horror to free a trapped water spirit who possesses one of the keys to returning light to the Battleunder dungeons!

The Icy Cache Merge Shop contains:

• Ice Wizard Armor
• Frosted Fighter Hair
• Fiercely Frosted 'Do
• Ice Calibreaker
• Infinitum
• A Blade too Cold to Hold
• Blade of Hail
• Speak of Hail
• Staff of Hail
• Frozen Thunder
• Frost Vortex Staff

Summer releases will only get hotter!

As June ends, we are rolling up our sleeves and preparing to raise the bar even higher! War is on the horizon, Chaos churns and boils, preparing to make every Hero's life much, much more interesting, and Yorumi is making great progress on Guilds.

Have a great weekend, everyone! We're going to go enjoy the hot Summer sun as it slowly sinks beneath the cold ocean.

June 28, 2012

Let's Talk About Code

Programmers Need Love Too

One of the new mods and I were discussing the AQW engine and I realized that even the MODS don't really know a whole lot the AE programmers. I feel that I should correct this and quickly.

First, I want to introduce them.

• Zhoom - Fearless coder who can come up with a clean solution faster than just about anyone else. Also a genius. Also a pilot. For real. He has his pilot's liscence.
• Yorumi - AQW's current lead coder. Programs all the class skills, special monster code, special map code, makes engine changes, ads new functions just about every week, data-base structuring, spear-heads the guilds project. Motto "ANYTHING can be coded. It's just a matter of how long it would take."
• Dumoose - More of a game designer than programmer but still has considerable skill. Currently working on AQW Trade skills and Guild Layout. Also Lead Coder for HeroSmash.
• Titan - One of the co-leads of EpicDuel. Powerful coder with a good head for flow and design as well as functionality. Also one of the few people i've ever met who is taller than I am.
• Rabblefroth - Code SNIPER for ED. Clever, fast, flexible programmer. Thanks to his efforts Titan has been freed up to do some more managerial work that is required of any game lead.
• Rolith - DF's Lead Coder, MQ's relief coder, Pony vs Pony ONLY coder. Also handles a LOT of back end projects dealing with server issues and terrifying database stuff. Flexible, grumpy, a lot of fun. Also DM's our current D&D game. 
• Kraken - Our newest hire. He is the guy behind all that makes Heromart function and is currently writing a brand new Content Management System for AE from scratch. From what I've seen he's creative and his wife is a pro desert baker. 
• Warlic - You guys all know this guy. An amazing musician with a formal education in music but a lot of gaming experience and able to pick up new programming concepts at the drop of a hat. Currently the lead coder on OverSoul.
• Llussion - Former AQW coder, Former HeroSmash Coder currently lending a hand to the AQ3D team doing concept art, modeling, creating textures and a small amount of programming. Heck of an artist, puerto rican born and raised and one of the nicest guys I've ever met.
• Captain Rhubarb - AE's oldest professional programmer. Captain Rhubarb started on AQ classic and his talent and flexibility have him currently helping everywhere. HeroMart, the games, Ad Department, Sales department. A pirate at heart but the good kind. 
• Korin - Primarily an artist who is currently working on a split between MQ and AQ3D but as quick witted as he is insane. Able to code himself out of most jams he encounters.

We also have off-site programmers that code for us as well including Kalanyr & Zephyros on AQ Classic and Vivi who is the week-to-week coder for MQ and of course Artix who started this all. I have picked up a few tricks over the years, enough to get by but not enough to call myself any kind of programmer and I'm sure there are others like me in that respect.

Part of being a Game Lead means that we get to talk to you guys, listen to your feedback and represent the team. For the most part the programmers are too busy to do this so they can often get overlooked, which is INSANE considering that they are a HUGE part of the team without whom NONE of this would be possible.

Each of these amazing people does the work of two or more normal coders, and almost all of them are called off projects multiple times a day to fix bugs behind the scenes that you guys never even hear about. They have spent years at their craft and can logic their way through entirely new programming languages in a matter of days when we need them to.

You guys think the ART is impressive, you should see Yorumi add traces to the engine when a brand new class skill is freezing the player animations or tossing a heal on the monster instead of damaging it or causing some other insane bug that is caused when two TOTALLY UNRELATED snippets of code within TENS OF THOUSANDS of lines of code are interacting and doing weird and unexpected things. It's like magic. Unless you've had some actual experience programming then you really have NO idea how much work goes into this stuff and it's a LOT more than you think.

AE programmers, I hope to speak for myself, my team, my company, my game community and my culture as a whole when I say THANK YOU for making things just.... work.

175 days until Just Another Day

June 27, 2012

Pyromancer Skills Breakdown

Pyromancer Arrives Friday

Ready to burn it all down? Pyromancers are powerful magi who specialize in the elemental magic of fire like Warlic's arch-nemesis, Xan!

During the last chapter of the Xan Storyline (you can start that queschain in /join volcano) You, Warlic and Andesi discovered the lost library of Shurpu and with it some lone forgotten secrets to the mastery of fire magic.

Once you complete the Xan story you will be able to begin earning your non-member Pyromancer Class and a lot of the other stuff from Warlic's Pyromancer Shop.

Here's everything that you will find in the Pyromancer Shop.

• Pyromancer Class (Earned version, 84 Shurpu Blaze Tokens)
• Pyromancer Class (AC version, 2000 ACs)
• Pyromancer Mask (Member Only, 21 Shurpu Blaze Tokens)

For those who want some options on how your pyromancer (or any other class) appears there are some armor set options too.

• Emblazoned Pyromancer Armor (500 ACs)
• Emblazoned  Mask (150 ACs)

And for those of you who are fans of Xan, the Insane Pyromancer himself, we have added something for you!

• Xan's Robess (600 ACs)
• Xan's Flaming Skull (Member Only, 42 Shurpu Blaze Tokens)

What is a Shurpu Blaze Token and How Will I Get Them?

Once you complete the Xan Storyline, speak to Warlic in the Shurpu Library. He will have some daily quests that will reward you with Shurpu Blaze Tokens when you complete them. Non-members can earn up to 14 a week but there is a special Member version of the quest that will reward Members with up to 21 Tokens per week.

MEMBERS: You will only be able to do ONE of the quests per day. MAKE SURE YOU DO THE MEMBER VERSION!

As always there will be an AC version of the class in both the Shurpu Library Shop and in Itzachi the class dealer in Battleon for those who don't have the time to invest in earning the class for free.

Now, let's see what the class can do.

PYROMANCER CLASS SKILL SET

Most mages learn ways to use their arcane arts to control all of the elements to some degree or another but some magi decide to focus their studies in a certain area of the magical arts. For some like Alina and Reens it is in the crafting of potions and magical mixtures, for some like me it's the forging and creation of magical weapons, armor and constructs. But for some it is mastery of a particular element.

Pyromancers (as the name would imply) delve into the deep mysteries behind fire. They study the way that fire both gives warmth, light and life as well as the way it consumes and destroys... but some lose their will to the flame and the magical fires consume their mind and sanity.

As this is a caster based class I suggest Wizard Enhancements but you might try your luck with LUCK since the damage potential in this class is pretty high and your crits will be extra nasty. It's built on the Mage mana regen model which gets mana on hitting a target and criting as well.

This class is a single target / farming class with only one defense trick but it's a good one.

AUTO ATTACK

2 second cooldown

A basic attack, taught to all adventurers.

SEAR

10 mana, 6 second cooldown

Scorches your foe for light damage. Also applies Scorch for Damage over Time.

Light, fast damage with low mana cost and a quick cooldown. The really important thing to pay attention to here is the 6 second DoT, Scorch because every other attack DOUBLES ITS DAMAGE when Scorch is applied to your target. It means if you are farming you will need to juggle putting scorch on multiple enemies since its duration is so short.

Something else I should mention here: every non-passive ability in this class has its own, brand new battle effect on screen. FLAMES EVERYWHERE!

WITHERING BLAST

20 mana, 12 second cooldown

A blast of flame leaps from your hands burning multiple enemies around you, also causes a burn effect for damage over time and reduces enemy damage for a short time. Damage increased on enemies with Scorch applied.

This is your only AoE skill, but the cooldown isn't too long, it's not terribly costly considering the cooldown length AND it hits all foes with a damage debuff so they all attack back for less. Even in a single target situation this is a really nice skill as long as you have Scorch doubling the damage to your target.

BURNING WARD

35 mana, 20 second cooldown

Surround yourself in a magic shield of fire. Reduces incoming damage, heals for a small amount and any enemy who strikes you takes damage. Damage increased on enemies with Scorch applied.

This is my new favorite skill. Yorumi really put a lot into making this thing just exactly the way we thought it should be during the concept stages. As soon as you cast, you get a decent chunk of HP back. For 6 seconds, you significantly reduce all incoming damage and for that 6 seconds any monster who hits you will have their damage reflected back at them for roughly the same amount as they would have done to you with a soft cap of 1000 damage (meaning the monster can crit on themselves and Scorch can double that value).

This one will be extra fun in PvP as it will remain in effect even if you are stunned or petrified *wink nudge* and the damage will pretty much cut through any kind of defense.

"Oh, what's that Mister Vindicator of They? You just took 90% of your OWN live away while I just stood there? Gee, sorry about that."

Since this is specialized damage, the damage numbers will appear as DoT orange numbers rather than white attack numbers. Here's my favorite part... Yorumi found a way to alter the way that skills function JUST to make this AWESOME skill animation continue to loop as long as your Burning Ward is active.

HEAT OF THE KNIGHT & MELT FACES

Rank 4 passives

Increase Damage reduced by 10%

Increase Damage output by 10%

Increased survivability and damage, but as it is a non-member class you only get 10% of either.

FLAME ORB

30 mana, 40 second cooldown

A massive fireball flies at your target exploding for HIGH damage, also also causing a burn effect for damage over time. Damage increased on enemies with Scorch applied

BIG BADABOOM! This is like a souped up version of the mage's basic fireball skill but MUCH LARGER in every respect. This is your nuke, literally. and the damage is still DOUBLED if you have your old pal scorch applied.

Oh, that little 833 you see in the image. That's not a crit, its WITHOUT scorch applied and it's BEFORE we raised the damage on the skill in balancing.

BURN AT BOTH ENDS

Rank 10 passive

Occasionally, your Haste and Mana Regen will GREATLY increase for a short time.

With so much damage potential it seemed a little silly to make the rank 10 passive another nuke, so instead it will nearly quadruple your haste and mana regen for a short while letting you blast your enemies to cinders with a super-fast barrage of flame skills!

There you have it. Pyromancer does not take a genius to play but as with many of our skills you will get a lot more out of it if you put a little thought into how to use your skills to your advantage rather than just button mashing. Now that that's been said... let's LIGHT EM' UP!

Don't Forget...

There's more going on this week!

• The new Member-Only expansion to BattleUnder is coming Friday!
• The new EBILCORP shirt (comes with Char Page Badge and EBILCORP Executive armor) is now live at HeroMart.com
• The Golden Plate One-Year Membership Promo is still going on. For a limited time you can still get an extra 1000 ACs and the stunning Golden Plate Set with your one year membership to AQW. 
• New House Items (inclusing SUPER-SIZED versions of the plushies) coming to the house shop in The Span!

176 days until Just Another Day

June 25, 2012

Pyromancer Class

Friday the Non-member Pyromancer Class Arrives!

For a long time we have been getting requests for the Pyromancer Class. So... here it is!

This Friday you will get your chance at mastering the elemental magic of Fire!

How Will I Get It?

There will be two ways to get the class.

1. If you want it immediately you will be able to take the shortcut and buy the class from Itzachi the Class Dealer in Battleon for her standard fee of 2000 ACs.
2. If you want to earn the class, you will need to first complete the Xan storyline which starts in the Volcano map. Once you have completed the story, you can speak to Warlic in the Shurpu Library. He will have a Merge shop and two Daily Quests.

The Pyromancer Class will cost 84 Shurpu Blaze Tokens. If you are a non-member you can only get 14 per week, but Members can get 21 per week. This means thart it will take non-members six full weeks of doing the simple daily quest to earn the class while Members will earn it in only four!

NOTE: You will NOT need to have completed or even begun the Xan quest line to purchase the AC version of the class.

NOTE: You will only be able to do one of the dailies per day. If you are a Member make SURE you are doing the clearly marked MEMBER Daily quest!

What Else Can I Get?

The Class art is shown above but the Pyromancer's Mask displayed above is Member Only and will be sold for more Shurpu Blaze Tokens.

You will also be able to purchase this Emblazoned Pyromancer Armor Set for Adventurecoins...

...And if you are a fan of the classic Xan armor, you will also but able to purchase THAT for AdventureCoins but the Xan Head Helm will be for Members Only for Shurpu Blaze Tokens.

If you are curious, the flames on Xan's Head and the hands of the armor are animated. The flames on the Pyromancer Masks are NOT animated.

Will The Class Have New Animations?

Yup!

When Do We Get To See The Skill Breakdown?

We are in testing now. If the skills work as intended we will have the class balanced for power and mana usage by Thursday. If I don't get interrupted very much then maybe Wednesday.

What Else Is Coming Friday?

Friday we will also be releasing the next level of BattleUnder, the undead filled dungeon beneath the town of BattleOn, but this floor is restricted to Members Only. If you don't have a Membership, you will have to stay topside while the Members continue delving to unknown depths.

Why Am I Not A Member?!

I can't answer that one for you. But if you feel like supporting AQW by upgrading to Member or extending your current Membership, now is a GREAT time. For a limited time, our ONE YEAR MEMBERSHIP package comes with 1000 bonus AdventureCoins, the VIP Armor and Badge AND the Golden Plate Set!

178 days until Just Another Day

June 24, 2012

Late Night Design Notes

3 AM? We can sleep when we're undead!

Hi all, just wanted to answer a few quick questions about recent events... and the middle of the night is the best time to do that (for all our players who are normally awake at this time)!

Art Contest Winners Announced!

If you haven't seen all of the undead-ly art contest winners yet, head to the Contest Winners Page and check out their epic entries! Make no bones about it, the judges faced a grave situation trying to pic their favorites!

Picture by jultane_x

Warlic vs Warlic Golem in The Span!

The Warlic-Golem you see when you /join thespan is NOT the same Warlic as the one in the Battleon magic shop. But YOUR Warlic does know what the Warlic-Golem is up to - who made him, and why he's here.

The quest to go talk to Warlic in Battleon is currently broken, but Yorumi will have that fixed as soon as possible so you can learn with your Warlic wants to tell you about the next Chaos Lord.

The Future of The Span's Golems?

One of our forum users, blackshock, brough up a very interesting question about the NPC Golems in The Span. Based on Tek-Golem's speech, it appears these recreations of well-known NPCs from AdventureQuest, DragonFable, and MechQuest can... feel? And remember?

He asks: Does [it mean] that these golems are capable of emotions? If their existence is tied to the span, then does that mean that when the chaos lord gets defeated, the golems fade out of existence?

What do you think should/will happen to them if this Chaos Lord is defeated?

No Story Quests in The Span?

For those of you who began playing after the last chaos zone ended, this is your first Chaos hub town! When a new Chaos Lord zone begins, we start with the hub town to introduce the area and some of the storyline elements. Meet the NPCs who will watch you go on the journey, gain hints about the Chaos Lord themself, and begin repping up the quests which will unlock some crazycool gear!

Dage vs Nulgath War!

War is coming, and it will NOT be easy on any of the Heroes of Lore. No matter who you follow, remember - as the shadows fall, the undead rise! Pick a side, because the war between Dage's Legion and Nulgath's followers begins in early July! Are you READY to get UNDEADY?!

Pyromancer Class Comes This Friday!

The long-awaited, MUCH requested Pyromancer Class will be released this Friday! Dage was on fire when he created the look for the Pyromancer Class, and we're getting some great feedback on it.

An early look at the male's Class appearance.

If the look isn't for you, though, then never fear! You can always equip an armor OVER your class to customize your appearance to be whatever you want!

Have a good night, all, it's time for sleep. But before I go, remember: You guys are what make AQWorlds and Artix Entertainment amazing! Thank you for supporting us as we continue to improve AQWorlds; together we'll make it the best game it can be.

June 22, 2012

Time For Release!

Golden Plate Promo!

The Golden Rule: Those who have the gold... make the rules. Our special limited time GOLDEN PLATE PROMO is now live!

This has temporarily replaced the standard 1 Year Membership package for the same discounted price, and will only last for a limited time. Once the Promotion ends... this set will go RARE and the 1 Year Membership package will go back to normal.

The Golden Plate Promo comes with:

• 1 Year of AQW Membership
• 7000 AdventureCoins (1000 more than normal)
• The Golden Plate Armor
• The Golden Cape
• The Golden helm
• The Golden Axe
• VIP Armor
• VIP Helm
• VIP Character Page Badge

Like the DOOM Starter Package, this upgrade is NOT retroactive BUT Memberships stack, so if you have 8 months left and decide to support AQW by purchasing this promo, you will have 1 year and 8 months of Membership plus all the extras!

Once you purchase the 1 year upgrade (either on AQW or by using Artix Points through your AE Master Account) here's how you access your new Golden Plate Set:

1. Log in to the AdventureQuest Worlds account that you upgraded.
2. Open your Book of Lore with your Book of Lore button!
   
   
   
   
3. Click the AE Bookmark tab on the left-hand side of the book.
   
   
   
   
4. Scroll all the way down to the bottom of the badge list and click on the Sold Gold Badge.
   
   
   
   
5. Click the Get Item button on the opposite page to access your new items!
   
   

If you are new to the 1 Year Membership, you can access your VIP Armor the same way, except you will find that badge in the Badges Bookmark Tab near the top of that badge list. While the Golden Plate Promo does not come with a Character page Badge, you WILL get a VIP badge on your character sheet for purchasing this or even the standard year upgrade.

This amazing set is a re-imagining of the classic Golden Plate armor from AQ classic by our own Dage The Evil. Remember, like the promo package before it, the Golden Plate Package is only available for a LIMITED TIME! This will be your only chance to get these items so don't miss it!

Chaos Returns to Wreak Havoc!

Destiny calls to you, Hero! It is time you learned what your true purpose on Lore is, and what you will need to do in order to fulfill it! A mysterious city has appeared to the west of Chiral Valley, and the townspeople of Swordhaven whisper that strange people and monsters walk its streets. Vital knowledge lies there, but only if you are willing to venture to the ends of space and time to grasp it!

Wastelands do not have cities appear atop them overnight… not unless magic is involved! And you can bet that Chaos is in play, too, especially since strange new creatures crawl, stalk, and float through its streets! Reports tell of a well-known mage haunting this unknown town, though that may be a traveler’s overactive imagination. Rumors fly about this new land; locals call it “The Span,” though they say it has a much more ancient, noble name. Hurry to The Span; it is vital you experience all that awaits in this new zone!

EBILCORP T-Shirts Now On Sale!

EBILCORP is looking for ambitious young people to join its new Young Executives Program. You are now able to show your support for the worlds most EBIL corporation and your disdain for the little guy with HeroMart's new EBILCORP T-shirt!

This shirt also comes with the EBILCORP Executive Armor (exactly like that worn by your illustrious leader, Chairman Platinum) in AQW as well as the EBILCORP Badge for your character page.

C'mon... Everybody likes being the bad guy!

Suggestion Shop Updated!

Today we have also released a very large expansion to the Player Suggestion Shop with a bunch of new armors, weapon and pets all suggested by players just like you!

Like the Armored Royal Prince (& Princess) armor suggested by player Royal Knight, the Shadow Manipulator armor suggested by player DarkonDrago and many more! Check them all out in the Suggestion Shop in Yulgar's Inn!

New Pet 'O the Month!

Head to Aria's Pet Shop to check out the member-only June Pet of the Month! Samba cobbled together a conga line of colorful Hermit Crabs!

June 21, 2012

Sock Puppet Show!?!?!?

Behind the Scenes Story

Over at www.Artix.com we have been working on a browser based 3D MMO under the codename "AdventureQuest 3D" A few months ago, in a caffine induced moment of lunacy, I said something like "How cool would it be if we announced the real name during a live puppet show!?" So when we got close to naming the game... one of my many friends on Twitter (JOIN US...) reminded me that I said that. Cysero said, "I was just thinking that we don't do nearly enough puppetry around here!" So... despite being one of the weirdest, most chaotic, potentially embarrasing and regrettable things we have ever done... this is happening. Tonight. at 6pm EST streaming video from the lab live inside AQWorlds.

Cysero created all of the sock puppets using his spare left socks (maybe yours?) and a hot glue gun. We do not know who is going to play the girl sock puppet yet. We do not have a script. We do not have a plan... other than, at some point... we should probably announce the name of AdventureQuest 3D. On a side note... AQWorlds is our biggest and most popular game with the largest team of any of our games. AQWorlds will continue to grow and get better each week. The new 3D game is being created so we can stay on the cutting edge (3D in your browser!?) and is going to be an older, darker, more serious (sorta) game aimed at players who have been craving a game like that. Naturally, announcing this via a sock puppet show makes NO SENSE AT ALL... which seems exactly like something we would do. You are probably the only person who "gets us." 

June 20, 2012

Lowell Cats

Gets Yer LOLz On!

This mid-week release takes place in NOOBSHIRE where Captain Rolith has been trying to fight off the Horc Noobs and Kittarian Farmers for as long as anyone can remember, but what would send a group of peaceful farmers up against the battle-tested Horcs training for war?

Enter, Lowell...

This nervous looking fellow is (or at least, was) keeper of the Kittarian Holy Relics until they were recently siezed by the Horcs. It's time to climb aboard the Monorail Cat and head to all points Horc to recover the two pilfered relics!

This Member Only Mid-Week Mini Release pulls HEAVILY from LOL cats. If you don't know what a LOL CAT is then just look above. They are silly pictures of cats with silly captions and the internet fell in love with a few years ago.

If you're a fan of LOL cats or cats in general then this mini-story is purrrrrfect for you!

That was lame. I'm sorry.

But seriously, there is some great Cat Themed Member Only rewards at the end of this story pretty much all crafted by our newest addition to the art side of the development team... ARANX!

This includes 2 armors, 2 helms, a cape, a weapon and a 2 MILLIOON GOLD PET, the NaN (Not A Number) Cat.

Enjoy!

183 days until Just Another Day

June 19, 2012

LIVE Puppet Show!

In-game... Thursday at 6pm EST

As you may already know, we are building a 3D, massively multiplayer game that will play in your browser. You can follow the team's progress at our new website www.Artix.com . We are about to announce the name of the game project (which most people call "AdventureQuest 3D") and as promised... we will be announcing it LIVE, in-game, within AQWorlds via a Sock Puppet show! The video will be streaming straight from Secret Underground lab. There will be no script. Cysero is making the sock puppets from his own left socks.

The 1st multiplayer Alpha tests for the new game are starting SOON. Want to be an alpha tester of the new 3D game? Become an upgraded Member of AQWorlds. Members of AQWorlds will be able to participate in the alpha tests and earn "alpha points" for each test they help in.

This Week's Schedule

• Wednesday - Midweek AQW release and Reddit AWA
• Thursday - AQ3D name announced in live sock puppet show 6pm
• Friday - The 10th Chaos Lord emerges in AQWorlds!!!!
• Sunday - Chairman Platinum and Roam may appear on TV's American Ninja Warrior!?

June 18, 2012

Time for Chaos

The clock is counting down to Chaos!

There lies to the West an unexplored land... but not for much longer! Journey this Friday to The Span, the hub town for the next Chaos zone. Where a vast wasteland once lay, there now stand the ruins of a town ravaged by a long-ago war. How it got there, no one knows. The people walking its streets APPEAR normal. The monsters roaming the alleys do not; their like has never been seen before in your world.

Night Hunter Armor, sold by a small, strange vendor

The taint of Chaorruption is not strong here... yet. The townspeople in Swordhaven whisper the name "Tibattleonia." It means nothing to you now, but that will change VERY soon. Hurry to The Span, Hero; it is vital that you experience all that awaits you there!

This Friday: 1 Year Golden Membership Package!

This weekend, for a limited time we will be offering a NEW membership package with an incredibly shiny bonus! (And we're not talking about the ACs.) Starting THIS FRIDAY, purchasing a 1 year membership will get you:

• 1 year of AQWorlds membership (and the growing list of perks that comes with it!)
• The Golden Plate set (armor, helm, cape, weapon)
• 7,000 Adventure Coins (that's an extra 1,000 ACs!)

Dage crafted a blindingly bright, super-shiny version of the original AdventureQuest's Golden Plate! Once this offer is gone, the Golden Plate set will NEVER return!

There's only one word to describe this set: AU-some!

Even if you're already an AQW Member, getting 1,000 extra ACs and a RARE armor set for the same price as the regular 1 year membership1 is a pretty good deal!

Suggestion Shop Update!

This is hardly a petty Suggestion Shop update... because we're offering FOUR new pets by Samba! She's created the Unicornasaurus Rex, Draglin, Flame Butterfly, and Chibi Fox envisioned by your fellow players!

Butterfly in the sky, your flame's gonna make me fry!

And to make things even COOLER, Aranx has made some hot gear based on the suggestions posted on the forum. Make sure to /join Yulgar this Friday to pick up a pet or armor of your own!

Srs Mid-week Member-only Update is srs!

HAY GUIZ! Srsly, lolcats? Ya rly, lolcats! If you've only just signed on to the internet, you have missed a crazy cat-based caption sensation! This week's member-only update is based on the lols and lore one only finds when you combine cat-like creatures, horribly-contagious grammar, and the mind of a mad Weaponsmith! Log in Wednesday to experience this rly kewl release!

Design Notes done!  I'm going to go see how much damage Artix did to Rolith's boss in tonight's D&D battle! (Who would have expected him to roll a natural 20?) Have a great night, guys!

June 15, 2012

Summer Is Here!

Kick Off Summer With An Insanely Bizarre J6 Release!

In today's continuation of the increasingly odd J6 storyline, he comes to Planet Banzai which is based on Japanese gameshows, to fulfill the secondary mission of his current ally while also questing to achieve his mysterious primary objective.

On Banzai, he learns from Rokand, a gameshow announcer, that the L.O.S.E.R.s (the League of Super Evil Rangers) is about to blow up the planet with their Doomsday Rocket!

This release is filled with hand crafted mini-games, puzzles and if you are a Member you get access to a challenge fight against the L.O.S.E.Rs and might grant access to the Member Only L.O.S.E.Rs armors and helms!

There's a Banzai Souvenir shop in Battleon which will give you a place to start if you haven't begun the J6 story yet and les you access a lot of the brand new items from this week's release!

The Summer Shop Has Arrived!

If you haven't been on AQWorlds all week then you didn't know that we released the seasonal Summer Shop on Monday and have been adding items to it all week long! We've added some amazing new RARE items to the shop this year in addition to the classics you love. Check out Dage's Priest of the Ignited Ones...

... Jemini's Fire Dancer set...

...and introducing this year's Limited Edition 2012 AE Surfboards! Last year's 2011 Designs are gone for good but this year's really rival them in epicness! We have Dage and Nulgath Tribal designs, The bounty hunter J6, Everyone's favorite dancing troll, Samba in her beach attire and, by popular demand, Daimyo!

Like summer, the Summer Shop won't be around forever and once these rares are gone they won't be returning so take advantage of them while you can!

Father's Day is Sunday!

Father's Day is the time of year when we dust off our golf bags, sharpen our grilling spatulas and let our dads, grandfathers and other father figures know how much they mean to us! 

MetroCon Is Happening NOW!

MetroCon is Florida largest anime convention and is started today! Tomorrow Artix and I will be running a panel on Game Design and many of the other AE team members will be there too.

• WHEN: Saturday, the 16th at 10:00 AM
• WHERE: Tampa Convention Center, Rooms 24-25

Last year this was my FAVORITE panel of the year because people actually asked us questions about game development, but of course, it's always great to see players and meet you in person! After the panel we will be happy to sign stuff, answer questions, take pictures, trade jokes, eat your lunch... whatever.

We also have a BOOTH at the convention and it's going to be there, manned by a few AE staff members, ALL THREE DAYS! Stop by to say hi, grab some swag and spin the WHEEL OF AWESOME!

See you guys there!

188 days until Just Another Day

June 14, 2012

CVS Gamecard Item

Write a Prescription for DESTRUCTION!

We've been getting a lot of questions about how to get your Prescription for Destruction after you purchase an Artix Entertainment CVS gamecard, so we'd like to clear up the confusion.

Once you've purchased the Artix Entertainment gamecard from CVS, follow these steps to receive your axe:

• Redeem your card here: Get your Artix Points and CVS Axe
• Check your Artix master account email for easy instructions on how to get your Rx for Destruction axe in any AE game.
• You will need to use the code on the card to get your Artix Points before the end of June, then you'll need to use it AGAIN to get the axe in AQWorlds.

Not sure what we're talking about?

Head to your local CVS Pharmacy because Artix Entertainment Game Cards are now in-stock at CVS locations across the United States! Purchasing an AE-branded CVS game card unlocks the Prescription for Destruction axe AND gets you Artix Points that can be used for any of our games.

Ridin' the Waves Like a J6!

You saw the Nulgath surfboard on last night's Design Notes. Today we've got the art for J6, Dage, and Daimyo's surfboards! The last one we need is the Samba surfboard, and Diozz is hard at work on it now. ALL of the surfboards will release in the Summer Shop TOMORROW, and they all cost 350 ACs. Get ready to /hang ten!

Preparing for Planet Banzai!

The next installment of the J6 Saga releases tomorrow! You'll be heading to Planet Banzai to face the L.O.S.E.R.S: the League of Super Evil Rangers, and they are preparing for DESTRUCTION! (That seems to be a theme this week.)

Have a great day, and as you fall asleep tonight, dream a dream of thwarting DOOM!

June 13, 2012

The Summer Shop's On Fire

Dance in the flames with the Fire Dancer Set!

You'll be looking HOT HOT HOT! That is, if you /equip the Fire Dancer set that we just added to the Summer Shop! Along with the armor we have the Fire Dancer's Fan and the Dual Flaming Torches of Fury!

Coming to the Summer Shop on Friday: Dage, Nulgath, Daimyo, Samba, and J6 surfboards! Check out Diozz's AWESOME art for the Nulgath surfboard!

Investment Trinkets have Increased Sell-backs!

If you purchased a member-only or free player Investment Trinket from Zombie Quibble's shop, then you should SELL them now and you receive MORE than you spent when you bought it! The member trinket sells back for 1500 ACs. The non-member one sells back for 1250 ACs. The price WILL NOT go up any further.

Those of you who sold the trinkets back while the price was bugged can KEEP the extra ACs! Since it was our mistake, we won't punish you by taking them away. If you sold the trinkets AFTER Noon today and got a sell-back of 250 ACs, then we gave you the ACs to make up for it.

Voltaire Sale Going on Now!

Your favorite gypsy goth pirate musician is having a sale at his online store right NOW! Head to Voltaire's online shop to take advantage of a great deal: Sleezter Deady, Urkor Malravenus, Deady "Not Bootleg" toy, AND the "Deady Sings" CD are bundled into one package for $65 USD!

Songs on the "Deady Sings" CD include:

1)The Vampire Club

2)Brains!

3)Graveyard Picnic

4)Dead Girls

5)The Headless Waltz

6)Ex Lover's Lover

7)When You're Evil

8)Goodnight Demonslayer

Supplies of the CD are very limited, so if you want to own your own set of Deady-themed swag, head to Voltaire's site now! And if you just can't get enough of Voltaire, you won't have to wait long for more. He, Deady, and all-new characters will star in July's Friday the 13th event! Are you ready to get down with Deady?

June 12, 2012

Guilds: What Are They?

So You Want To Know What A Guild Is...

We are serious gamers.

If you're going to MAKE video games, then you have to PLAY a lot of games to know what is out there. Many of us follow the news from our favorite developers, we go to gaming conventions (not as speakers, but as humble fanboys and girls) or have subscriptions to the official magazines of our favorite consoles. We play RPGs, FPSers, Racing games, fighting games, puzzle games, RTSs, mobile games, table-top games, console games, PC games and everything in between.

We were all noobs once. We weren't born knowing that RTS stands for Real Time Strategy or that MMORPG stands for Massively Multiplayer Online Role Playing Game. We sometimes forget that not everyone has the same gaming experience as we do. Sometimes we use gaming terms that hardcore gamers consider common knowledge but are unknown to those people who are slightly less wrapped up in the gaming world.

Take the term "Guild" for example. By the time I came to work for AE, I had already been a guild leader in at least two MMOs, and with "The Guild" being such a popular online series, we were completely taken by surprise when we started getting a flood of tweets from people asking what guilds are.

Guild /gild/ noun : An association of people for mutual aid or the pursuit of a common goal.

I asked Chainsword (a player who is visiting the lab today) to help me explain and he has this to say...

It's not something you can easily explain to someone who hasn't ever heard the term.

Now, it could be said that guild is like a community inside whole game community. An adequate explanation could be comparing guilds in game to your friends in school. As student in school, you're part of whole school's community that consists of teachers, students, janitors, security guards and chefs and that guy that drives the school bus.

Now, think about your friends in school. During breaks, and after school, you gather around to do all sorts of fun stuff like playing football, hanging around in mall, telling jokes, talking about all sorts of stuff, and overall just having fun and playing with your own rules, respecting each other.
That's kind of what guilds are for. Think of it as group of friends you know and like, hanging around and planning your own adventures and plans inside the game.

Thanks, Chainsword!

Maybe your guild's goal is to help each other become the best PvPers in AQW. Maybe you all want to help each other get every new character page badge that comes out. Maybe you are all followers of Evil. Your goal is up to you. The point is that you have come together with like-minded people in AdventureQuest Worlds to work together as a community WITHIN the community.  

Once your guild leader has formed the official guild in-game he can invite you, promote you to help share the burden of responsibilities and maybe even allow you to invite others. You will all wear your Guild Name with pride beneath your character name.

Maybe we will be able to add a function for you to design your own guild crest which you can proudly post on your character page. There will certainly be a Guild Hall or Castle or Keep or Town that you all work toward together to build up, improve, and customize to your liking where you can all meet and nobody except the members of the guild will be allowed to enter.  

Guilds are a LOT of fun. They add a lot to the entire gaming experience. Some of my best memories of some of the MMOs that i have played are things that I've done with my Guild and I've even made very strong  and long-lasting friendships in the real world with people that I've met in my guilds.

Now you know. You can see that this is a pretty HUGE project to do correctly and hopefully those of you who have been waiting for a very long time won't be disappointed by our efforts.

Recalculating...

191 days until Just Another Day

June 11, 2012

J6 Saga, Summer Shop, and More News

Summer's crazy releases continue with J6!

Journey with J6 on an all-new adventure in space! In "Bountyhunter Banzai," you'll land on a planet destined for super-stardom... if it doesn't go supernova first! The LOSERs (that's League of Super Evil Rangers to you) have a Doomsday Rocket and they're ready to use it! You'll need to decide what path to take in order to stop them. Choose poorly and BOOM!

With space-tastic new gear, a MASSIVE new monster to battle (if you can unlock the fight), 3 new minigames, and new clues to lead you towards HAL's ultimate objective, this is one mission you won't want to fail!

Summer Shop Updates All Week Long!

Log in now to access the Summer Shop! It will only be around for a couple of weeks BUT will be updated today, Wednesday, AND Friday with new gear! All your favorite gear from previous Summers are back, including the Battle Swimwear and the Evil Professor Dolpho pet!

The Ignited One set!*

NEW this year are the items in the Ignited One set, the Fire Dancer set, and the NPC surfboards! The Fire Dancer Set releases in the Summer Shop on Wednesday along with 3 of the NPC surfboards. The others will release this Friday! NPCs being surfed this year are: Dage, Nulgath, J6, Samba, and Daimyo!**

* Note: the member-only Fists of Fire drop off last week's Xan boss.
** Last year's NPC surfboards are RARE and will not return.

The Fire Dancer Set by Jemini also features the Triple Torches of Fiery Death!

Don't Sell Your Investment Trinket Yet!!!!

DO NOT sell your Investment trinket yet! Both the non-member and the member-only AC Investment Trinkets will increase in price on Wednesday, so you'll get more ACs back than you paid for them. We will announce when the sell-back price increases here and on Twitter. The member-only trinket will sell-back for MORE than the non-member trinket!

Again, to repeat, do NOT sell back your investment trinkets yet! Wait until we announce the increased sell-back price!

Tier 2 of the Destiny/Necrotic Weapons Coming Soon!

Dage is hard at work on the art for the Tier 2 Destiny and Necrotic weapon sets. You'll see pictures popping up on Twitter throughout the week, and if Beleen has time, the quests to get them will release on Friday!

Issues with Last Week's Release Resolved!

Last week, the Alchemy Tradeskill released. There were some issues on Friday night, which included the merge shop not accepting potions for Academic Merits as well as the Enhancement system breaking. The Rep quests on Lim were also added.

One of the hardest things about programming is that if you fix one thing (like adding new code to the merge shop function), a seemingly unrelated thing (like the Enhancement system) breaks HORRIBLY! Thankfully Yorumi and Dumoose were right at hand to get fixes up and live.

CVS GameCards Now Available!

Have you got a Prescription for Destruction? No? Then head to your local CVS Pharmacy! CVS locations all across the United States now carry Artix Entertainment gamecards and until the end of June, the Rx for Destruction Axe unlocks when you redeem your Artix Points!

The CVS AE gamecards can be used for ANY of our games! When you redeem your card (follow the instructions on the back!), you'll get your Artix Points and automatically unlock the prize code with the same PIN number from the scratch-off card.

Artix Entertainment on the News!

Artix and the crew at the Secret Underground Lab were featured on local news station Channel 8! See what the Lab REALLY looks like when we're not all lurching down the hall pretending to be zombies. Check out Artix chair-surfing, Beleen's bouncy-ball chair, Cysero's feet, and my hair as we show some AQWorlds gameplay from Etherstorm!

Click the pic to watch the video! (May not play in all areas)

PS - Luckily the mountain of action figures did NOT come crashing down on Artix as he held Daimyo.

1 Year Membership Golden Package Next Week!

The Golden Plate from the original AdventureQuest has long been a player-favorite! Starting next week, when you purchase the 1 Year Golden Membership Package, you'll get the shiniest armor around in addition to some sweet extras (just like the Doom Starter package from a few months ago)!

Remember: AQWorlds membership gets you access to exclusive storylines, quests, gear, and gameplay perks!

Contest Winners Announced Later This Week!

Zhimaira and Beleen are hard at work this week judging the Artix vs Sepulchure/ZOMBIES!!! art contest! We anticipate announcing winners at some point this week. We'll keep you posted!

Mod Hunt Emails Going Out Soon!

This morning Reens said she was veeeeeeeeery close to sending out replies to moderator application emails! If you've already received yours, congratulations! She may still be sending out more in the coming days. We'll announce when all the prospective moderators have been emailed.

June 08, 2012

Xan Saga Finale

This Summer's heating up and it'll only get hotter!

We hope you're fired up for the finale of Xan's Saga! The heat is on as Lore's most insane Pyromancer turns your plan to foil his plot to ashes! Fighting fire with fire is a good way to get burned if you don’t know what you’re doing.

Mage of the Ignited Ones Armor

But you've clashed with Xan before! Now that you have Warlic to take some of the heat off you, Xan doesn't stand a chance! He IS insane and tricky, but with a bit of luck, some surprising trickery, and a bit of help from a unexpected source, Xan's going to go down in flames!

Non-Member Flame Warrior Armor!

ALL of this week's Xan rewards drop from monsters, so if you REALLY want those pyroclastic pay-offs, you'll need to fight for them! Don't look at these rewards too long, or you'll burn your retinas!

Lava Warrior Armor drops from the Lava Mages. Fists of Flame drops from the boss.

Alchemy Tradeskill Releases Tonight! 

Magic and Science are both deadly weapons when wielded by the right hands. But mix them together
and you get Alchemy! /Join alchemyacademy this weekend to learn the science AND magic behind mixing up some of Alina’s most excellent elixirs and dangerous draughts… if Lim, Lore’s maddest scientist, doesn’t blow you up first!

Double-check Lim's notes before using the ChemicoTron!*

Alchemy is NOT a study for the weak of wits. You'll want to pay attention to instructions and keep practicing, but once you get the hang of the Chemicotron's controls, you'll be able to make some VERY handy potions!

PLEASE try not to burn down the Alchemy Lab!

Notes to remember:

• All of the Alchemy Reagents you'll need to make potions are drops from monsters.
• If you don't feel like hunting for a specific drop, you can ALSO purchase all but 2 ingredients using either Dragon Runestones (15 ACs each) or Academic Merits (awarded for Academic prowess).
• Lim has TWO repeatable rep-boosting quests - one for members, one for non-members. (The member quests gives DOUBLE rep)
• Warlic and Cysero give quests which reward rep for Spellcrafting and Blacksmithing, future Tradeskills!
• Lim's Extra Credit quests require reagents you will create in Blacksmithing. Guess you'll have to come back to the Academy after that releases!
• Every time you use a Dragon Runestone, you have a chance to unlock an insanely dangerous,wierd, or random animation!

More Potion Teasers:

• Basic Bright Tonic - Use to increase your intelligence by 8% for 5 minutes.
• Unstable Courage Tonic - Use to increase your endurance by 12% for 7 minutes.
• Potent Malevolence Elixir - Use to increase your spell power by 25% for 15 minutes.

Work together to make comprehensive guides for what ingredients are required and what potions can be created!

* The Alchemicia Pharmacopoeia uses Dumoose's REAL notes taken while designing Alchemy. Dumoose miiiiiiight need a vacation after this.

Artix vs Sepulchure/ZOMBIES!!! Art Contest Update!

Because we had SO MANY incredible (and incredibly undead) art entries, we're going to need a bit more time to judge. Look for winners to be announced next week!

Dage was not allowed to enter the contest, but can't wait to see what you create!

In-Game Mod Hunt Update!

Reens and Stratos are still combing through the in-game mod applications, searching for candidates to join the team. Once they have compiled a list of prospective mods, they will contact those players with more instructions. Emails have not been sent out yet!

Reens and Stratos cannot reply to everyone who applied, sorry, but we ALL appreciate how many of you want to help make AQWorlds a safe and fun place for your fellow players!

More Artix/Vayle Quests!

Beleen is releasing the next quests for the Blinding Light and Necrotic weapons series! These will let you create the Advanced or DoomSoldier Weapon Kits! Remember: At the end of these quests, you'll be able to obtain the Blinding Light of Destiny axe and Sepulchure's Armor!

Coming Next Week!

• Next week: Limited Time Summer Shop! Look for NEW versions of the NPC surfboard featuring some of your favorite characters, Dage's Pyromancer Apprentice set, and the incredible Professor Dolpho pet!
• Next week: J6's Saga updates with "Bountyhunter Banzai!"

Coming Soon!

• The 10th Chaos Lord Saga hub town releases!
• Dage vs Nulgath War begins!
• And... GUILDS Part 1!

Have a great weekend, everyone! It is CRAZY rainy here at the Lab right now. It's the perfect weather for battling an insane Pyromancer!

June 07, 2012

Coming Tomorrow

Xan Part III

For those of you who have been following along with the sporadic Xan releases, this will be pretty easy. For the rest of you, you have a long way to go and you will want to catch up.

This release will mark the end of the current Xan storyline. It features three brand new monsters designed by Dage and animated by Hizu and myself, three brand new story cutscenes all animated by Samba and LOTS of epic gear both for Members and Non-Members from Dage, Solrac, Jemini, Veneeria and Aranx.

It has been a lot of fun writing Xan, as insane as he is, and this chapter has was the most fun yet. I hope you enjoy facing Xan as much as I've enjoyed writing him.

ALCHEMY Trade Skill

Tomorrow will also mark the release of the Alchemy trade skill!

This contraption looks pretty complicated but once you get the hang of it you'll be crafting ALL KINDS of new Potions (which have an instant or short lasting effect effect), Tonics (which have a long lasting effect) and Elixirs (which have a long lasting effect AND a secondary effect).

As you successfully create more and more potions, tonics and elixirs, you will gain skill points in alchemy and be able to create more and more powerful potions alchemical products.

Alchemy also creates interesting by-products that you will find as you experiment. Some by-products send you on quests to the various magi around Lore, others help grant you access to special Alchemy rewards items in Merit Shops.

The key to alchemy is PATIENCE. You must be vigilant so that your Alchemy Rune does not over-heat, and you have to keep the mixtures boiling at JUST the right temperature but remember that you only have a limited number of Fire blasts and Ice blasts to use!

One drawback about Alchemy is that you will need some free Inventory Space to gather alchemical reagents and ingredients to make your mixtures. Some of these items have already begun to drop from monsters around Lore which some of you have probably noticed. You will also find others in specialized shops like Faith's Fishing Shop.

The lower level mixtures may seem a little underpowered but the HIGH level mixtures will blow your mind!

Your academic journey begins at the Alchemy Academy built within the walls of Swordhaven.

Remember, knowledge is power.

Quibble Leaves Monday!

Quibble. He leaves next Monday.

197 days until Just Another Day.

June 04, 2012

Summer of EPICness

Wall of AWESOME text ahead!

We fit A LOT into the first five months of the year... but we're not done yet! We've got some major, game-changing releases coming in AQWorlds this Summer. /Equip your Reading Glasses of Belief +5 and get ready for an eye-opening list of awesomeness!

This week I: Xan's Apprentice revealed!

Are you ready to get fired up? Xan is Lore's most powerful - and insane - Pyromancer... and he's ready to take on an apprentice. The only question is... which townsperson will it be?! Are YOU the unlucky one? If you aren't up to date on this story, /join volcano because this Friday's release looks like it will be Far(enheit) and away the most explosive Xan Saga release yet!

This week II: Alchemy Tradeskill!

Dumoose (with the help of Yorumi, J6, Samba, and Solrac) have been pushing to get the Alchemy tradeskill ready for release, and that time has come! This Friday you'll be able to train your Alchemy skill, which will let you create consumable potions by gathering and combining reagents!

Different reagents will be required to make different potions, and as you train your skill, you'll be able to unlock new ones. (Unless, of course, your attempt fizzles. You'll just have to see what happens then!) The reagents - like Chaoroot, Rhison Blood, and Dragon Scale) started dropping last week from monsters through out the game.

Potions that can be created include:

• Unstable Courage Tonic: Increase endurance by 16%, but reduce luck by 10% for 7 minutes 
• Honor Potion: Increase all damage by 50% but increase all mana costs by 15% for 25 seconds
  
• Pure Chaos Potion: This viscous fluid hardly seems safe to consume. Your eyes water fiercely just from the fumes escaping this bottle. Drink at your own risk.

Next week: Releasin' like a J6!

A Bounty-Hunter's got to hunt... and J6's search for... something... is far from over! One thing's for sure: prepare for an EPIC journey through space, farther than you've ever been and WAY more dangerous than you dream.

Next week II: BLoD/Sepulchure chains update!

Beleen crafted CRAZY-hard quest chains for the Blinding Light of Destiny and Sepulchure's Armor... but they're not done yet! We know there was a lot of confusion over the weekend about these quest chains, so we'd like to clear the misconceptions up.

Blinding Light of Destiny/Artix's quests

Go on the quests from Artix to create the Blinding [X] of Destiny weapon series. These weapons are the FIRST tier of weapons in this chain. They will be required if you want to merge up to the second and third tiers of weapons. The art for each tier will evolve into a more awesome form...  and the quest chain's ULTIMATE reward will be: the Blinding Light of Destiny axe that Artix wields!

Sepulchure's Armor/Vayle's quests

Battle through Vayle's quests to create darker versions of the Destiny weapon series. Just like with the Destiny weapons, they are the FIRST tier of weapons in a chain, and will also be required if you want to merge up to the second and third tiers. The quest chain's ULTIMATE reward will be: a new version of Sepulchure's Armor! 

There was some confusion late last week about whether this was still true, but we clarified with Beleen and Artix today and it WILL be release at the end of the chain. It will be similar to the DoomKnight armor, but will be a slightly different color (based on the more intimidating shade we used in the Sepulchure action figure).

New art for the Blade of Destiny/Blade of Shade

The current art for the Blade of Shade and Blade of Destiny is NOT permanent. Dage is creating new, more awesome art tomorrow that will be used instead of the current placeholder art. (Made by my very handy Emergency Build-a-Blade file.) We will showcase the re-designed art in tomorrow's Design Notes!

We were NOT planning on releasing that, but it slipped in accidentally. We push hard every week to produce the most epic releases possible, but sometimes mistakes do make it in-game. For those of you who saw the art for they had on Friday, you got a sneak peek of the Necrotic Light of Destiny!

Coming this Summer I: Dage vs Nulgath War!

Evil vs Evil, a world-shaking clash of titanic villains! Later this Summer, Dage the Evil's Undead Legion will take on Nulgath the Archfiend's mass of followers in an all-out, no-holds-barred battle for control of the Underworld! Expect EPIC gear, never-before-explored areas of the Underworld, and an all-new cinematic cutscene animated by Nulgath!

Coming this Summer II: The next Chaos Lord!

Many of you might have met a Chaorrupted Chronomancer in your travels... but you should never trust a stranger. Especially when THEY are trying to get a feel for who YOU are. This Summer you'll be (re)introduced to the next Chaos Lord, and he has MANY plans for you!

A Hero is a Hero, no matter what time or dimension they are battling in, and the same holds true for you. Learn how AQWorlds came to be created when Galanoth slew the Dragon of Time, and how the merging of AdventureQuest, DragonFable, and MechQuest created who you are NOW... and what it means for your future!

Coming this Summer III: Guilds!

Guilds ARE coming this Summer and we are PLANNING to do a lot with them*! The initial launch will happen at the end of June while Phase II will take place in late July on a member-only PTR server. (Public Test Realm server, where members can test... and BREAK... the new gameplay features we want to release!)

June:

Phase I will let you create and join guilds. We have yet to work out a LOT of the details (we are meeting later this week to finalize numbers/sizes/etc), but here is what Yorumi has working so far:

• Joining a guild
• Viewing a list of fellow guild members
• Guild-only chat
• Guild name displayed under your name

July:

Phase II, Yorumi says, SHOULD let your guild create a customizable guild town in which you can position the buildings you purchase. This involves re-working the way AQW's housing system works, but Yorumi has been making good progress.

He also wants to set up some system of GvG and GvE wars: Guild vs Guild and Guild vs Environment wars. Those may have to come later on, but it is something he REALLY wants to make happen. No promises, though.*

Again, there are still a LOT of details to work out, like member perks, the rules for guild leaders/members, etc. We will do a bigger Design Notes post once we have decided on these things,but those details might not come for a while.

We are REALLY excited about getting Guilds in-game finally! We hope you all are looking forward to them, as well. Yorumi would like to hear what YOU would like to see happen with guilds, so if someone could create a separate brainstorming thread on the forum, he says "thanks!"

* A plan is NOT a promise. Sometimes we talk about things to see what you think of them. Until we say "this is finished and is releasing," plans are subject to change. We are always excited about everything we plan on releasing, and sometimes we are just as disappointed- if not more - thank you guys are when things don't work out. 

Mod Search still underway!

Reens and Stratos have received SO MANY email applications to become an in-game moderator for AQWorlds! It will take them time to go through all the applications, but they WILL email the people they are interested in; unfortunately, they cannot reply to everyone. We will announce when those emails go out, so please hang tight.

Thank you to everyone who wants to help make this game as safe and awesome as possible, we really appreciate your desire to help!

Man, that was a LONG Design Notes with a LOT of information! We've got SO MUCH to do this Summer! We hope you guys are excited, because we are SO READY to heat this Summer up with epic releases!

June 01, 2012

Us vs. Sepulchure!

The final showdown that no one will ever forget

Sepulchure. He is the most powerful and legendary DoomKnight. He unified all of the villains in our world. He slew the good King Alteon. He even slew DEATH itself! He started the zombie apolcoypse and wiped out every living person in he world... EXCEPT FOR US! ready  your weapons and spell books friends. Now begins the final battle. We are all that stands between Sepulchure and the Champion of Light. No matter what happens tonight... our world will NEVER be the same again. BATTLE ON!

"Sepulchure" painting by Dage the Evil

DeathKnight Class & Zombie Quibble

You know... I did not think Moglins like Twilly, Zorbak and Quibble could be zombified. Guess we were wrong. I was wrong about a lot of things. For example, last night on Twitter a player tweeted me: "Hey Artix! Would you do if you came across a pink derp zombie?" To which I replied, "OMG!?!?!?!? WHAT!?!?! WHY! WHY!" (It may not have gone exactly like that... but the tweets already scrolled off my tweetdeck so this is how I remember it.) The rest of the team, seeing this, thought to themselves... "Wow! What a great way to thank Artix for giving us 5 cutscenes to do in only days!" and actually started making these nightmare inducing, therapy requiring, why... why.... oh why would you do this to me, pink derp zombie armors. I love the team, and will not begrduge them the joy of watching me cower under my desk, tweeting on my phone in fear of these pink abominations. But if you start sending me screenshots of pink derp zombie player hordes... I... I.... I am actually to horrified to think about this any more O_O

• Ultimate Horror Armor (pink derp zombies!!!)
• Pink Zombie Villager
• Pepto Zombie Armor
• Derp Zombie Armor
• Zombie Quibble Bank Pet
  
  

The DeathKnight armor will be released tonight too! Check out two posts down for the full skill breakdown. Cyero's goal was to create a class which was damage-over-time over kill! It should be interesting, fun and very different from our existing classes to play.

Happy Birthday Daimyo!

Thank you to everyone who posted a caption on Daimyo's Facebook (Which now has over 2,000 likes!) Did you hit like yet? He loved ALL of your funny caption suggestions.  Great job everyone! to celebrate his birthday, you can get the Daimyo pet for only on da.... *what is that boy?* ... ARF! *Really? ... ARF! *OK, you are the birthday puppy.* .... you can get Daimyo this weekend. He will dissapear from shops for another year and the merge shops to armor him will return on Monday.

"MORE BONES?"
Caption inspired by Osman Oso Kaleziq.

Become a Member and Support the Game

If you have been enjoying AQWorlds and our weekly releases, please support the team by becoming a member.  Not only will you be paying for the servers and keeping our coffee machines powered, you will also get an ever increasing number of in-game features and perks as a  thanks for making it possible for the team to grow the game and make it better each week!

P.S. - In preparation for the release of Alchemy in 2 weeks, alchemy reagents have started dropping from boss monsters. Stock up on them!

UPDATE: Responses from the Grand Finale!

We give it our all every week. Not Friday gets a reaction like this... but one glance at the comments below shows why it is all worth it. Thank you!!!!!

@WonderpBread says, "AE Never fails to satisfy! Well worth the wait! :D BATTLEON!"
@Gjappy says, "you guys did an exellent job with this release!!! *summons you a BIG cake*"
@cyromansor says, "The cutscenes were amazing! *tear of joy runs down cheek* I loved the release to pieces!"
@J1KTheGamer says, "im not one of those crazy fanboys that like everything but THIS RELEASE WAS AMAZING!"
@Cryoskylos says, "1 word after finishing the release....mind blown o.o"
@rinreos says, "same here i luv it :) its so awesome i finished it too, i so liked it :)"
@JasonShadoesky says, "Best...twists....ever...FREAKING AWESOOOME"
@_Neeko says, "clever Aerosmith reference in The Ultimate Horror's description xD"
@AngryAwesomeGuy says, "Release was epic."
@KingJulian says, "ARTIX THIS IS INSANE! THE RELEASE ITS INSANE INSANE I TELL YOU!"
@Brisingr says, "That was a short release, but the cutscenes @Samba_AE rocked them out hardcore! Loved it, definitely looking forward to more!"
@AlphaConduits says, "This release is soooo mother flipping awesome."
@Suskelani_AQW says, "That. Was. UN-MAZING!!! Un-mazing? Get it? *no response* Err, i'll stop now.. That was amazing! Good work to all!"
@DeitylinkAQW says, "THE MOST EPIC RELEASE OF MY LIFE! I can't wait til you can top it!"
@ZeMageAE says, "MOST EPIC RELEASE EVER!"
@Fried_Ryce says, "Those cutscenes, one word, 4 letters, EPIC."
@Excavator_2 says, "OMG!!! Awsome!!! You have done it again, outnumbering your previously cutscenes! I don't think I will ever stop playing."
@QuantumInsannity says, "OMG!! Sooo many great cutscenes and bosses and everything. But... still don't know what champion the "hero" is! Love it!!!"
ShadowRavena says, "Okay then, thanks. And btw... best release in AQW history!"
@Slimjim1516 says, "OH MY GOSH!!!!! That release WITHOUT A DOUBT is one of the BEST releases EVER!!!!! Seriously, it was AMAZING."

Note: We updated the map so it is easier to get the to the boss fight and replay the cutscenes. Once you have completed everything... there is now a simple menu that will let you replay all of the cutscenes and re-battle Dark Sepulchure. Battle On!