Design Notes

August 28, 2015

Journey to the Surface of the Sun

You Might as Well Be Battling on the Sun!

When a mysterious force begins to steal light from Lore’s sun, Warlic and Cysero know there is only one Hero to call upon - you! This Friday, gear up and get ready to go out of this world (and out of your body!) to keep our world from being plunged into eternal darkness!

This week's release was written by one of our newest team members, Ergotth... and was also a winning entry in the Release Design contest! After I saw his entry and read his posts on the forum about where the next storyliens should go, I knew this was someone we had to bring on board to help us with future sagas!

The humor and exchanges between Cysero and Warlic really take me back to the days of classic DragonFable humor; it's been too long since we've seen those two characters really get you into trouble... but that all changes tonight!

After you save the world (and the sun!) farm tokens to get some of this week's hottest gear from the merge shop! The Solar Elemental battle and regular pets both drop off the monster, and if you don't have time to farm, you can grab the Solar Entity using AdventureCoins.

Which leads me to remind you all about the new...

GreyWolf Commander AdventureCoin Package is live!

Unlock our newest, most rugged gear yet - the Greywolf Commander - when you buy either a 2000, 5000, or 12000 AdventureCoin package! 

This exclusive set was handcrafted by by one of AQWorlds' newest artists, Lily, and includes:

• 1 Armor
• 4 Helms
• 2 Weapons
• 1 Cape
• a Character Page Badge

More August Birthday Items!

Wish Neveya (from the Player Support team) and Cemaros (head of the AQWorlds Bug Hunters) happy birthdays! They're also celebrating this month, and wanted all of YOU to get to celebrate with them! These items and Gjappy's birthday gear will be available in the August birthday shop until next Friday, September 4th!*

* At that time, the Twig Battle Pet will move into Aria's Pet Shop

August 26, 2015

Friday: Become a Greywolf Commander

Buy a 2000, 5000, or 12000 AdventureCoin package to unlock the gear!

Starting this Friday at 6 PM server, unlock our newest, most rugged set yet - the Greywolf Commander - when you buy either a 2000, 5000, or 12000 AdventureCoin package! This exclusive set was handcrafted by by one of AQWorlds' newest artists, Lily, and includes an armor, 4 helms, a cape, 2 weapons, plus a character page badge!

Back to School Bonus

Get 25% more free AdventureCoins when you buy a 12000 AdventureCoin package during our Back to School Bonus AdventureCoin offer! (That is 3000 more free ACs!)With our Mirror Realm release, all the new reward gear coming this Friday*, and the new main storyline saga in Brightoak Grove starting next week, this is the perfect time to stock up!

Buy now and get up to 25% more free AdventureCoins when you buy any AC package PLUS unlock the exclusive GreyWolf Commander when you get the 2000, 5000, or 12000 AC packages!

Buy the following AdventureCoin packages to get:

• 12000 AC package:  3000 bonus AdventureCoins (best deal!)
• 5000 AC package: 1000 bonus AdventureCoins 
• 2000 AC package: 300 bonus AdventureCoins 
• 900 AC package: 100 bonus AdventureCoins

Last Chance to get the Ancient GroveBreaker Blade 

The Ancient Grovebreaker AC Bonus Weapon leaves this Friday, August 28th! But until then, if you buy any AdventureCoin package, the weapons will be added straight into your inventory!

August 26, 2015

Guide to AE Team Members

Know The Difference

For a long time, everyone with a gold name has been called a Mod (short for Moderator) but there are actually 6 kinds of people walking around - Mods, Game Testers, Help Team, and Devs (short for Developer), White Hats, and members of the AE team who are not part of any of those other groups (like our forum moderators).

To make it easier to know who's who, we are giving each of these groups a distinct name color - that way, you'll know who can take action against a botter you've found (mods) or who might ask you to help them confirm a bug in-game (testers).

Colored Names: What They Mean

If you see someone with a colored name inside AQWorlds, that means they are a member of the AE team or work directly on the game in some capacity: devs, mods, testers, white hats, Player Support. Although we all have colored names, we have very different responsibilities, and the criteria we use to finds Mods is very different from what we look for in potential Devs or Testers.

Developers have purple names. They're the ones who make AQWorlds - creating art, coding, writing stories, designing classes, etc.

Testers have green names. There are three types of game-related testers - release, bugs, classes - all of them have green names inside AQW. Game testers test releases, while Bug testers focus on post-release issues. Class Testers focus strictly on new classes. Some staff Members that run the Wiki also have this color.

Moderators have gold names. They are your cheerful, helpful team members and read your reports and make sure AQW is a safe, fun, friendly game to play!

Player Support team members also have gold names - they are the ones who read your emails and are the only ones who can access your account information - they use that to help you fix problems!

AE Team Members have teal names. They are staff members who do not help in any of the other groups (forum mods, website testers, etc) but do so many things for our other games or community sites! They are official members of the AE team, so if you see them in-game, /wave hi!

White Hats have dark red names. These team members are one of our newest staff groups, and are former hackers who have proven we can trust them and vowed to use their very specific set of skills and knowledge of programming and/or web development to help keep AQWorlds safe.

For several years before they joined the team, each of the white-hats proved they were trustworthy by sending us details of in-game exploits and how they could be fixed. To become a white hat, you need to be invited, and the team is not currently looking for more members. If you see the White Hats in-game, do not worry if they don't respond or decline offers to /party - they are focused on the task at hand - keeping the game and your accounts safe!*

* They cannot access any information or take action against your accounts. They let us know when problems arise -- they are our guardians, and have vowed to use their programming super-powers for Good and Justice!

See a list of the AE Team Members here

How to become a Mod/Tester/Dev

As we need help moderating, making, and testing AQW, we bring on more people to help. Moderators and Testers are usually loyal fans and supports of the game who are helpful and patient with new players, fun, friendly yet responsible with the other experienced players. Many Developers are also loyal fans who have the art or writing skill we need to make AQWorlds.

For the most part being a Mod or Tester or Dev is a contributor position, although they do enjoy other rewards like free memberships, free ACs and access to pretty much any item they would like. Some contributor dev positions may turn into full-time gigs on the AQW team. The Help Team does not use contributor help because account information is sensitive, and we do EVERYTHING we can to protect your info.

August 25, 2015

This Weekend: Third Spell from the Sun

You Might as Well Be Battling on the Sun!

When a mysterious force begins to steal light from Lore’s sun, Warlic and Cysero know there is only one Hero to call upon - you! This Friday, gear up and get ready to go out of this world (and out of your body!) to keep our world from being plunged into eternal darkness!

Last week, we said this week's release would be the introduction to the Brightoak Grove Saga, and up until about six hours ago, that was true. But when J6 sent a message saying he wanted to do a really amazing job on the hub town's map, of course I said -- we can swap this week's release with next week's... because we have more of the Round 1 Stars from the Release Design Contest!

You can tell Cysero's just chillin' with the sun because he's giving a thumbs up.

So this week we will be releasing Ergotth's "Third Spell from the Sun" story - and man, is the ending hysterical! It's not something we've ever done before... and probably will never do again! 

Introducing New AQWorlds Team Members

Ergotth, Plank, and Venthos are three of the newest members of the AQWorlds team! They are bringing fresh eyes, voices, and ideas to the AQW dev team. Starting this week, Plank and Venthos will begin their journey towards mastering the art (and madness) of quest design, while Ergotth is going to join the writing team as an all-around awesome-idea-and-continuity guy!

We are really excited to have them with us, but that is not all! Boxer502 is ALSO joining the team as a release tester. I am going back over the applications from our last tester hunt and contacting more people, so if you applied, keep an eye on your inbox - all email invitations will be sent by next Monday!

Shops Leaving this Friday

This is your last chance to get the Anseri Destroyer gear from the Cysero's Secret release Rares shop!

And don't miss the Eternal Groveborn and Grovebreaker armor sets and items. They leave Friday, too. You can find both shops in your game menu!

August 21, 2015

Invade the Mirror Realm This Weekend

Dage the Evil Invades the Mirror Realm!

Return to the Mirror Realm this weekend as the Queen of Monsters uses the battle between Good and Evil to bring chaos to a whole new world! Which side will YOU fight for: Dage Good or Dage the Evil? 

/join Brightfortress to begin the adventure... and save the Mirror Realm and OUR world, too!

SO MUCH GOOD and EVIL GEAR!

Seriously, a lot of you have been asking for more Good-themed gear, so now's your chance to get it! You can find gear in several places. The rares shop in your game menu has the ArchAngel Nulgath armor sets (AC and member versions) plus the Dark Sorcerer armor set (for all players).

But the REAL treasures are going to be found in the release map merge shop. You'll find:

• Cryomancer Drakonnan armor set
• Reavers of Good armor
• Brightscythe Shinobi armor
• Golden Brightscythe Warrior armor
• Revontheus the Good armor
• Granola Twig pet
• The Blade of Revontheus pet*
• And much more!

* The Floating Revontheus the Good pet flew away; once we track it down, we'll add that to the merge shop, too.

On monsters, you'll find even MORE gear - Alteon the Imbalanced drops his full set, and the mini-bosses each drop house items! Plus MEMBERS have a bonus fight all to themselves - the Paragon of Light - that drops the Blinding Caladbolg Sword and Dual Blinding Caladbolg Swords!

Time to get Farming!

Mirror Realm Limited Quantity Packages

Don't miss the Limited Quantity Packages, on sale now at http://lqs.aq.com/

Limited Quantity Package Restock Schedule

Package quantities restock throughout the weekend to give everyone a chance to get the gear they want, no matter what timezone or country they live in. Restock times for the Dragon LQP are:

1. 3:00 PM Friday, 8/21 (initial stock)
2. 1:00 AM Saturday, 8/22
3. 11:00 AM Saturday, 8/22
4. 9:00 PM Saturday, 8/22
5. 7:00 AM Sunday, 8/23
6. 5:00 PM Sunday, 8/23

August 21, 2015

Limited Quantity Packages are LIVE

Mirror Realm LQS Packages Are On Sale NOW!

Head to our Limited Quantity Package page to grab one of these blindingly-brilliant, limited-edition sets!

Only a few heroes in AQWorlds will ever be able to equip them, so if you like rare gear - or like Good-themed items, then these are the limited quantity items for you! Each package also comes with a unique badge in your Book of Lore! 

Paragon of Light Armor Set

Price: 2000 ACs 
Total Quantity: 4000 (Initial stock: 2000, 400 per restock)
Package includes armor, helm, two capes, and two weapons.

Bright Fortress House (AC version)

Price: 1000 AdventureCoins 
Total Quantity: 4000 (Initial stock: 2000, 400 per restock)
Package includes in-game house.

Bright Fortress House (Member version)

Price: 150000 gold
Total Quantity: 8000 (Initial stock: 4000, 800 per restock)
Package includes in-game house.

Note: AC and member-only versions of the Bright Fortress house packages have the same art.

Data Elemental Pet and Weapon (Available for all players)

Price: 50000 gold
Total Quantity: 100000 (Initial stock: 25000, 15000 per restock)
Package includes a 0 AC pet and axe for all players, plus a member-only battle pet 

What are Limited Quantity Packages?

A Limited Quantity Package is a group of items sold together which has a set quantity. Once the gear has sold out, that's it. The total number of packages is the same for everyone, everwhere, so if you see 300 packages left on the web page counter, that's what we've got left in stock. These items are non-refundable, so once you click the "confirm purchase" button, that set is yours to keep!

How Do They Work?

Excellent question! Starting this Friday, August 21st, at 3:00 PM server time, the intial stock of our Limited Quantity Packages will be released. Once they are, you'll need to:

1. Head to the Limited Quantity Package page* 
2. Select the package you want to buy
3. Confirm your purchase
4. Log into your AQWorlds account
5. Open your Book of Lore and go to the Other Achievements tab
6. Find the Package Badge and open the shop to get your gear!

Limited Quantity Package Restock Schedule

Package quantities restock throughout the weekend to give everyone a chance to get the gear they want, no matter what timezone or country they live in. Restock times for the Dragon LQP are:

1. 3:00 PM Friday, 8/21 (initial stock)
2. 1:00 AM Saturday, 8/22
3. 11:00 AM Saturday, 8/22
4. 9:00 PM Saturday, 8/22
5. 7:00 AM Sunday, 8/23
6. 5:00 PM Sunday, 8/23

If you've got more questions about Limited Quantity Packages, check out our Frequently Asked Questions Page.

* Link to webpage coming once the release date gets closer.

August 20, 2015

Happy Birthday, Gjappy!

Wish Gjappy a Happy Birthday /Cheer!

Gjappy, lead AQ3D tester/AQW Class balance tester/so-many-more-things-because-he-is-awesome, leveled up in real life today! Tweet him happy birthday wishes here, then find his shop in your game menu tomorrow! He's hand-crafted some really nifty items as his way of saying "thanks!" for playing AQWorlds.

August 20, 2015

Chat System Change: Confirmation Prompt

Confirm Your Email To Keep Your Account Safe and Remove Reminder

It's really important to confirm your email in AQWorlds for a couple of key reasons, and keeping your account safe is the most important one. If you ever lose access to your account for any reason, having a confirmed email means Player Support can help you recover it so you don't miss any of the releases, events, or shops in-game!

That's why, starting today, if you don't have a confirmed email and start chatting in-game, you'll see a message that looks like this if you are not an upgraded member: 

And this if you are an upgraded member:

To remove that message, all you need to do is confirm your email address! 

That's really all there is to it. We get so many messages from players who have issues with an account, but who cannot prove that they own it. We want to make sure we're helping the right person, so confirming your email will help prove your identity, too.

If you already confirmed your email, then congratulations! You are wise, and you don't need to worry about any of this, because you already took steps to protect your account.

Update your AQW Account with an active email address

1. Head to http://account.aqworlds.com/
2. Enter your Username and Password or click on the Facebook Connect button, then Login
3. Click on the Resend Confirmation button
   
    
4. Log in to the email address you have linked to your AQWorlds account and watch for an email in your from: AdventureQuest Worlds MMORPG with a subject line of: =AQW= AdventureQuest Worlds Confirmation
5. Click the link inside that email address and your email will be confirmed!
6. Once you re-log into the game, the chat reminder message will disappear!

If you don't have access to your email address anymore, Player Support can help!

Head to the How do I update my signup email? Help Page.

August 18, 2015

Get up to 25% More Free ACs

Our Back to School AdventureCoin Bonus Starts NOW!

Get 25% more free AdventureCoins when you buy a 12000 AdventureCoin package during our Back to School Bonus AdventureCoin offer! (That is 3000 more free ACs!) With our Mirror Realm release, all the new reward gear coming this Friday*, and the new main storyline saga in Brightoak Grove starting next week, this is the perfect time to stock up!

Buy the following AdventureCoin packages to get:

• 12000 AC package:  3000 bonus AdventureCoins (best deal!)
• 5000 AC package: 1000 bonus AdventureCoins 
• 2000 AC package: 300 bonus AdventureCoins 
• 900 AC package: 100 bonus AdventureCoins

* Dage's Paragon of Light blindingly-brilliant, and is a sneak-preview of what's to come in this Friday's Limited Quantity Set sale! More details coming tomorrow!

August 17, 2015

Dage Invades the Mirror Realm

August 21st: Battle Between Good vs Evil in the Mirror Realm!

The Queen of Monsters has been plotting for centuries - even before she was released into our world, her whispers found their way into the ears of those who would listen. Alteon the Imbalanced was ready to listen. Dage the Evil was ready to listen. And now, those two dark commanders have allied and are massing to take out the forces of Good in the Mirror Realm!

This Friday, travel to the Overworld but know this - whether you battle for Good or Evil, your goal remains the same - you must return Dage the Evil to our world and Alteon the Imbalanced's portal key must be... dealt with... or the psychic reverberations will resonate throughout the galaxy, causing greater and greater rifts. Everywhere!

Featuring the character cast of:

• Dage the Evil
• Alteon the Imbalanced 
• Evil Ice Drakonnan
• Dark ArchMage Brentan  
• InnDestroyer Yulgar 
• Beleen, She Who Strikes from the Shadows
• Dage the Good
• Nulgath the Archangel 
• Aranx the Good
• Memet, Dream Moglin
• Twig who loves Broccoli and Hummus

You are not going to want to miss these releases - I saw ACW0's scripts, and there is a VERY interesting secret you'll find out... about yourself... that you have NEVER known before!

August 16, 2015

Last week for Ancient Grovebreaker Blade

Ancient Grovebreaker Blade Leaves Next Friday!

Until next Friday, August 28th, unlock the Ancient Grovebreaker Spellblade with ANY AdventureCoin package! The weapon will be added directly into your inventory, so you can /equip it and begin battling right away!

Then find the rest of the Ancient Spellblade gear (including an armor, helms, a floating sword pet, and more) in the Living Dungeon AC Rares shop inside your Game Menu! That gear will also leave next Friday, so if you like the set you see below, now's the time to grab it!

In this week's rares shop, you'll find:

• Eternal Groveborn Armor
• Grovebreaker Armor
• Cernunos’ Avatar Helm
• Novice’s Shag Hair
• Bright Elven Locks 
• Shadowed Elven Locks
• Nefarious Elven Locks
• Horned Elven Locks
• Rune of the Grove
• Mystic Wrap of the Ancients
• Cloak of the Groveborn
• Grove Defender’s Reserve Gear
• Eternal Groveborn’s Blade
• Enchanted Grovebreaker’s Blade
• Shadowfir Athame
• Brightwind Athame
• Groveborn Defender’s Companion
• Groveborn Defender’s Battle Pet *

*Upgrade your account with a membership to unlock!

Note: an earlier version of this design notes post said the Grovebreaker Blade and gear would leave August 21st. The correct date is August 28th.

The Brightoak Avenger Blade is Here!

Buy any membership package and unlock the Brightoak Avenger Blade! The weapon will be added directly into your inventory, so you can /equip it and begin battling your way through all of our August releases!

Then check out the rest of your membership perks:

• Equip the most powerful & Rare items - Weapons, Helms, Back Items
• Enter legend-only areas 
• Increase your Weapons Damage - Use special Enchancement Shops
• Obtain Legend-Only Classes
• Get shortcuts to obtain the most sought-after gear in-game
• Access the Legend-Only Servers
• Create Guilds and invite your friends to join
• Battlepet companions
• Bonus! A generous amount of AdventureCoins comes with each package allowing you to buy permanent rare items which never expire.

August 14, 2015

Tonight: Trapped in Time

Race through Space and Time to Stop the Queen of Monsters!

Take the battle against the Queen of Monsters into new dimensions! Travel into the past to help an assassin with a dark secret steal the Star Core before the Queen of Monsters can get it… or our future will cease to exist!

Release Design Contest Winners: Final, Cassiun, and Clairis

This is the first of our player-designed releases, and was created by the winning trio of Final, Cassiun, and Clairis! The background art featured in the release was based on a design by AQW players Cruse and Nici; Cruse also created the design for the Prime monster, as well!

They are taking you on an adventure through space and time, and when you're finished, you'll unlock farming quests for some of the best gear in the entire release... like the Prime's Star Striker Blade!  Though all of the other gear in the Starsinc merge shop will be permanently available, you'll only be able to get the Prime's Star Striker blade until November 13, 2015!

Quest for the Necrotic Sword of Doom!

The long-awaited blade of darkness is finally here! In order to get this iconic blade - first seen by DragonFable players many years ago - you'll need to farm WORK for it!* This is an end-game challenge for players who need another goal. Beware - this is not for the faint of heart!

You'll need to have rank 10 Evil Rep to begin the first quest, and to start the final quest, you'll need rank 10 Necromancer.

If you are an AQWorlds member, you get an awesome shortcut! You only need 201 drops needed for the first quest -  regular players need 350.

If you have Sepulchure's DoomKnight Armor, you ALSO get a VERY nice shortcut since you had to work so hard to get it: only 53 drops needed for the first quest while regular players need 350.

Panjat Pinang is HERE!

In celebration of Indonesia's Independence Day, we've brought back the Panjat Pinang map! Panjat Pinang is an Indonesian tradition in which celebrants try to climb a very tall, very slippery pole to try to reach the goodies stuck to the top. Since the pole is so slippery, this is usually a group effort! 

Don't fall! You're almost there!

So get some friends and take down our Panjat Pinang pole or a chance at some of its awesome loot! Beating this thing down can get you an Indonesian blade in 3 different designs, both single- and dual-wield!

August 13, 2015

The Fiending Gear Leaves...

And the Necrotic Sword of Doom Quests Arrive!

On July 24th, we released Nulgath's Fantastic Lore Limited Time shop featuring his take on "The Thing" - The Fiending! Tonight's your last chance to get the armor, helms, or weapon before they leave with tomorrow night's release.

It's almost time to head back to school, and that means the Summer Shop is about to leave! Until next Friday. you can find all the summeriest gear in your game menu!

August 13, 2015

Get a Free Clawg Pet in AQW

When this Post Gets 1000 Shares on Facebook!

Head to Facebook and hit the "Share" button on this post to spread the word about the AQ3D Alpha test at www.AQ3D.com! If the post gets 1000 shares by September 18th, we'll give everyone in AQWorlds a FREE Clawg pet!

The Clawg pet - created by Memet - is one of the monsters you can go and slay in the AQ3D Alpha test (happening RIGHT NOW at www.AQ3D.com). The Alpha Test is open to all AQWorlds members, so if you want to get wicked-awesome bragging rights and help us build this new game from the ground up, head on over and join in the fun!

August 11, 2015

Server Rewrite Update: 75% Complete

AQWorlds is Evolving Before Your Eyes!

We've made a lot of changes to AQWorlds over the last year or two, and gained MANY new players! That's great, because it means there are tons of new heroes for you to quest with, battle with, and talk to... but also puts our servers under a great deal of strain. 

To make AQW the BEST game it can be, we need to take the time to FIX the current issues. So... how do we DO that? WE REBUILD AQW'S SERVERS!

Phase 1: Rebuilding the Current Game (75% Complete)

Back in February, we estimated 3-4 months for the core server rewrite (which addressed the lag, failed quest turnins, and disconnects), then several additional months as to build the foundation for additional changes to the game. We are still on track to finish Phase 1 in late Fall.

Phase 1 progress so far:

• Maps 
• PvP 
• Monster AI 
• Combat 
• Inventory 
• Enhancements 
• Stats 
• Chat (partially done, need to finish chat filter) 
• Quests are very close (finishing up reward drops)

Phase 1 still to finish:

• Shops 
• Guilds 
• Houses 
• Parties 
• Crafting

What Comes Next? Phase 2!

If Phase 1 of the server rewrite is porting the game over to the new servers, Phase 2 is where we're planning to make the changes you have all been asking for. We cannot start adding in Phase 2 functionality until after Phase 1 is complete, but once it is, we can start working on things like:

• friends list syncing 
• bank item previews 
• the buyback shop
• better PVP and guilds functionality 
• adding rank 10 passives to new classes 
• cross-server/world chat 
• better anti-bot and reporting functionality and more. 

Remember, we will still be releasing EVERY Friday! AQWorlds isn't going ANYWHERE... but to keep the game running as smoothly as it should, we need to make these changes. In the long run, this will make AQW even MORE fun to play! 

Server Rewrite Progress Chart

So that we all have a clear idea of where the server rewrite progress is at, we'll use server rewrite version numbering (SRV) and phases.

Phase 1: Porting the existing game over to proprietary server software (that we built ourselves. This is what Oversoul currently runs on).

Phase 2: Updating core game functionality on AQW 2.0. 

• SRV 0 - research begins
• SRV 0.01 - server architecture meeting with Zhoom
• SRV 0.02 - staff-only test of new combat system
• SRV 0.5 - member-only PTR test of different systems -- we are here
• SRV 0.6 - member-only test of full working Alpha stage on PTR test server
• SRV 0.8 - all-player live-test on PTR 
• SRV 1.0 - full launch of Server Rewrite, Phase 1

With the current calculations, we expect SRV 0.8 (the player live-test PTR) to begin later this Fall.

Why We Need the Server Rewrite

We have a good deal of control over the game, but currently we are using server software whose base we did not build ourselves (though we created all of our server-based game functionality)... and that means there are some things we cannot change.

This is one of the main causes of the random bugs some of you are reporting. It's also one of the reasons some bugs (like desynced friends/guild lists) have not been fixed and why some features (like the better botting detection, all-new class skills, and finished Guild cities) have not been released.

If you want to get a sneak preview of what's coming in the server rewrite or help us test on the PTR server, you can help support AQW's continuing development by upgrading your account. We make our games for and with you, which is why you should also tell us what you'd like to see next in our Suggestions board!

Keep an eye on the Design Notes for future progress updates, then give us your feedback on the Artix.com Design Notes post!

August 11, 2015

Coming This Friday: Trapped in Time!

Race through Space and Time to Stop the Queen of Monsters!

Take the battle against the Queen of Monsters into new dimensions! Travel into the past to help an assassin with a dark secret steal the Star Core before the Queen of Monsters can get it… or our future will cease to exist!

Release Design Contest Winners: Final, Cassiun, and Clairis

This is the first of our player-designed releases, and was created by the winning trio of Final, Cassiun, and Clairis! The background art featured in the release was based on a design by AQW players Cruse and Nici; Cruse also created the design for the Prime monster, as well!

Final told us: "I learned of AQW through an ad on the Adventure Quest original game site. My account was created mere days after the Beta had ended, sadly. Since the day I began playing, AQW has stuck to me. The weekly releases always keep me coming back, and I never fail to love every one. Another reason I have played so long is the great community I dedicated this releases to "Stars." It is a collection of multiple guilds all together, hosted on Starsinc.co" 

Clairis writes: "I was first introduced to AQW in 2008, by my brother, Narej. I excitedly made my first account and have played nearly everyday since then. The constant new releases, and my awesome guild, Solar Flare, keep me very interested in the game."

He guards the Star Core... and will not give it up easily!

They are taking you on an adventure through space and time, and when you're finished, you'll unlock farming quests for some of the best gear in the entire release!

Also coming this week:

• The quest for the Necrotic Sword of Doom - yes, it will finally be here!
• Panjat Pinang Returns!

August 09, 2015

New Album from Guest Artist: Synderes

Paradise City EP Now Available on Amazon and iTunes!

It's finally here! Earlier this year, Synderes - a rock band that formed not far from the Secret Underground Lab back in 2012 - appeared with Artix on in an episode of AdventureCouch* and we immediately fell in love with their songs and their passion for music. They announced then that they were working on their EP... and it's finally available!

You can find the Paradise City EP now at:

• Amazon
• Soundcloud
• GooglePlay
• iTunes Store

Synder and the rest of the group are incredibly dedicated to their music and have no plans to stop - they're already preparing for a 2015/2016 World Tour! If you enjoyed their songs, you won't want to miss the details of their upcoming adventures and performances, so make sure you stay up to date:

Get all the latest news and announcements from Synderes:

• Bookmark the website
• Follow Synderes on Twitter
• Like Synderes on Facebook
• Subscribe to their Youtube Channel

Synderes in AdventureQuest Worlds

After their appearance on AdventureCouch, we also invited them to appear in-game on-stage at Yulgar's Inn, and /rock out**; if you enjoyed the music in their event, then you're really going to enjoy Paradise City! If you haven't seen Synders and Artix on AdventureCouch #5, watch it here! To play the in-game event, /join enemyforest.

* Our online Design Notes video blog
** They have had a really busy year, and it's only going to get more exciting!

August 07, 2015

Unlock the Brightoak Avenger Blade

Unlock the exclusive weapon with any membership package!

Starting tomorrow, August 7th,  at 6 PM, unlock the Brightoak Avenger Blade with ANY membership package! The weapon will be added directly into your inventory, so you can /equip it and begin battling your way through all the new releases we have coming in August!

If you have never purchased our 12-month membership, this weekend is the best time!  You'll receive a combination of the Brightfall Commander Set,  the BrightOak Avenger Blade, and Centaur Morph Armor Set.

Then find the rest of the member-only Brightoak Avenger and the Celestial Avenger gear (for AdventureCoins) inside Brightoak Rares shop in your Game Menu!

The shop contains:

• Brightoak and Celestial Avenger armors
• 8 capes
• 6 helms
• 6 weapons

Centaur Morph Armor and Gear Leaving Monday, August 10th

Back in March, we released the Centaur Lord armor - when you upgrade with ANY Legend membership package, you unlock an assortment of Centaur Armors, Helms, Capes, Weapons, and/or Pets. ALL of the gear listed below will leave forever at 11:59 PM Monday, August 10th. 

This is your last chance to get these one-of-a-kind items, and the more months of membership you buy, the more gear you get!

• 12 month membership: 13 items (3 items exclusive to 12 month package)
• 6 month membership: 10 items
• 3 month membership: 7 items
• 1 month upgrade: 4 items

August 07, 2015

Design A Release: Round 1 Stars

Design A Release Contest Update

Last month, we began the "Design a Release" Contest in AQWorlds. With the recent success of Artix and Cysero's "Return of the Living Dev" releases, we want to give YOu a chance to show off your creativity and shine just as brightly! This is your chance to create an entire AQWorlds release of your very own - choose the monsters, plan out the quests, write the cutscenes, and suggest rewards!

This is really more of a "release design submission" form, but since those designers whose entries are pulled get some sweet AdventureCoins for being amazing, we've called it a "contest."

Listed below are the Round 1 Stars - they will all receive 1,000 AdventureCoins for wowing the AQW team. The four entries listed below are scheduled to be released this year, while the others may be created in the future.

• Trapped in Time by Final, Clairis, and Valle 
• Third Spell from the Sun by Ergotth
• Vikings vs DreadSpace by 4567warrior
• West Wind, Golden Bird by Beshin Adin
• The Nega Gauntlet by Astroth
• Wrath of the Dreambreaker by Draco Greydusk
• Drakonus Peak by Harrison 
• Relics of Mystshire by Zhaoer
• The Trees Have Eyes by Kimmycat
• Dreadfang Shadow Caves by Shadow Kyoya
• Ancient Eyedol by Kaan_Prenz
• Moglin Swarm by Stryche Slagar
• A Dragon's Call by Jiano
• Elves of Mystery byMikomaru

August 06, 2015

Hunt for the Treasure Dragon's Egg!

Pirates have stolen the Most Valuable Treasure of all!

The Treasure Dragons have long been revered by the people of (and off the coast of!) Terra Lacuna.  Tragedy has struck the area, with the theft of the Lord of the Treasure Dragons' heir!  Chrysos, Lord of the Treasure Dragons, will NOT be pleased that pirates have stolen Xergon's Egg. His heir isn't even hatched yet and he's already getting into trouble!  DragonMaster AuScythe was supposed to be looking after Xergon, but the Pirates managed to steal away the egg from underneath his nose!

Phione - one of the mermaids living off the coast of Terra Lacuna - spotted the pirates who stole the artifact from Chrysos, Lord of the Treasure Dragons. 

YOU are going to need to get his treasure back... before it's too late for the entire Treasure Dragon race! But beware - the protective curse-magics surrounding this artifact are strong - you can see how they've begun affecting Phione, slowly turning her and anyone nearby to gold. 

While you're battling to take down the thieves and recover the artifact without being gilded yourself, keep an eye out for the deadly creatures of the deep!  You never know what you'll find in the depths!

August 06, 2015

Summer AC Bonus Offer Ends Tomorrow

Last Chance to get Free Bonus AdventureCoins!

Get up to 25% more free adventurecoins when you buy select packages until this Friday, August 7th! With all the awesome events this summer, you'll want to stock up so you don't miss any of the epic reward gear - like the new Collector Class and the Ancient Grovebreaker Blade!

Bonus Weapon with Any AdventureCoin Package

Unlock the Ancient Grovebreaker Spellblade with ANY AdventureCoin package! The weapon will be added directly into your inventory, so you can /equip it and begin battling your way through all our awesome Summer 2015 "Return of the Living Dev" events right away!

Then find the rest of the Ancient Spellblade gear (including an armor, helms, a floating sword pet, and more) in the Living Dungeon AC Rares shop inside your Game Menu!

August 05, 2015

The Treasure Dragon Summons You

Pirates have stolen the Most Valuable Treasure of all!

This weekend, talk to Phiome, one of the mermaids living off the coast of Terra Lacuna. She spotted the pirates who stole the artifact from of Chrysos, Lord of the Treasure Dragons. 

YOU are going to need to get his treasure back... before it's too late for the entire Treasure Dragon race! But beware - the protective curse-magics surrounding this artifact are strong - you can see how they've begun affecting Phiome, slowly turning her and anyone nearby to gold. 

While you're battling to take down the thieves and recover the artifact without being gilded yourself, keep an eye out for the deadly creatures of the deep! 

Above is a sneak preview of the (uncursed) concept art for this week's boss monster from Memet!

Rare Gear Leaving This Friday!

This Friday, the rare items in the Special Events shop in your game menu will be removed - the Beach Bumdead armor and helms. The Nulgathinator 9000 set (in Nulgath's Diamond shop) and the Archfiend Genisys armor set (also found in your game menu) are leaving, too, so if you want to pick up these items, this is your last chance!

All other items from the Special Events release will remain in-game. The Special Events shop currently located in hte game menu will be moved to the /terrarium map.

Adobe Flash Ad Exploit Update

Earlier this week, malware was discovered in Flash-based ads on several Yahoo websites. Yahoo has already begun taking action on this. If you are seeing any strange pop-ups or unusual activity on your computer, it's a good idea to do a virus scan immediately.

You cannot get viruses or malware from playing Artix Entertainment games, but if you download third-party programs (like bots or trainers), you may be putting your system at risk. This has not affected AE sites or our games, but due to the exploit, it's a good idea to check your computer anyways! 

August 04, 2015

LIVE at Yulgar's Inn: Bride&Groom

This Friday, Yulgar's Inn is proud to bring you a new guest band!

Back in April, Artix talked about expanding Yulgar's Inn - adding in a live house band, quests, and fun new events. This week, our second guest band is ready to get your /party started! Yulgar's Inn is excited to bring you... Bride&Groom!

Introducing: Bride&Groom

Bride & Groom, also known as Jesse Daniel Smith and Kaitlyn Raitz, are an independent folk music duo based out of Montreal, Quebec. Traveling across North America, they’ve played venues and festivals in Canada and the United States, grown a worldwide fanbase, recorded an EP, Christmas album, and most recently a full-length album entitled “On the Run” (now available from their website)… and we’re excited to welcome them to Yulgar’s Inn this week!

Who are Bride&Groom?

We first learned about Bride&Groom after J6 and Cinazul visited the lab earlier this summer. They are real-life super-fans! (Which is why Cinazul is the quest-giver in the release map /grin). I can see why - once I started playing their tracks, I got into the groove (and the zone).

Jessy and Kaitlyn very clearly love what they do - that passion and sincerity comes out in their music, images, and videos. 

I hope you enjoy Friday's event as much as we've enjoyed working with them to build it! You should follow them on all the the internet places, because they are going to go far, I am sure!

• Website: http://www.brideandgroommusic.com/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/brideandgroommusic
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/_BrideandGroom
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/brideandgroommusic
• Instagram: https://instagram.com/bandgmusic

Serenity's Rockin' Quests

Starting this Friday, head to Yulgar's Inn and talk to Serenity to watch their music video, then /join ontherun to begin the race to their performance! Along the way you'll need to battle the industry enemies out to keep your new friends from reaching the top!

Once you've saved the day, you can complete Cinazul's farming quests to earn merge shop tokens to take home pretty sweet Bride&Groom concert souvenirs, too!

But they are not here quite yet! While Bride&Groom are on the last leg of their trip to the Inn, why not accept the quests Serenity - Yulgar's live music promoter - rigged up for you to battle through? 

• Quest for the VIP Pass
• The Stick of Destiny
• Platinum Album Shards

Each quest will reward you with an item or a merge shop resource. Collect enough of those and you can pick up gear from the NPC's merch shop!

August 03, 2015

The AQ3D Alpha Test is LIVE

The Tech Demo is OVER!

The Tech Demo was a success! We called it a Tech Demo to (unsuccessfully) avoid confusion with the previous incarnation of AdventureQuest 3D. We are changing our status now because the game's base features including Combat, Quests, Monsters, Item Drops, Maps, and the most important feature, the new Account System, have been completed.

Thank you again to all of you who participated in the testing! We are rewarding tech demo testers with a special AdventureQuest Worlds “AQ3D Tech Demo” Badge and the soon to be ultra rare “Tech Demo Star Sword!"

• Want to join in the fun? Upgrade in AQW and create an Alpha Test account! 
• Read more about the Alpha Test in the AQ3D Design Notes here!

August 03, 2015

AQ3D Alpha is (almost) here!

We are SO close... but we're not there yet. 

AQ3D is leaving behind the fun Tech Demo phase today and entering a new, exciting stage of development... Alpha!

 But right at this VERY SECOND, the servers are offline while we perform some merging of tables and databases and make sure the server hamsters have state of the art wee tiny running shoes. 

Once we enter Alpha Phase, a lot more people are going to be able to play. Not just active AQW members, but former members, AC purchasers, DragonLords, StarCaptains, Guardians, those who have bought Varium, Soul Gems and even Smash Coins. 

Tech Demo testers can expect their Tech Demo badges and Star Swords to arrive by the end of today, and remember that all Tech Demo testers, our new Alpha Testers and even those who tested Legends of Lore will (toward the end of Alpha) recieve the Alpha Knight armor and access to the rest of the Alpha Knight Set. 

Get your Firefox and IE ready (because AQ3D doesn't work on Chrome. They dropped support for Unity)... before the sun suts here in sunny Florida, you will be able to create your shiny new AQ3D account, and get a very early shot at grabbing the coolest character name you can think of. 

Hold on to your hats.