Design Notes

September 29, 2015

2015 Achievement Tracker Updates

The more you play, the more rewards you'll unlock!

Every time you log into AQWorlds, you've got some goal - whether it's to meet up and battle alongside your friends, rank up your class, or finish that last Chaos Lord Saga and start the Queen of Monsters storyline - and the sense of satisfaction when you accomplish that goal is one of the best things about playing AQW! But if you think you've done everything inside AQW and gotten all the best gear... guess again! The Achievement Tracker is HERE!

NEW Achievement Tracker Rewards for 2015

• 7 years played: Light Mage armor set
• 6 years membership: Fiend and Void Pets, and Orb Pets with quests
• 300,000 ACs: Swordhaven Mansion House

These rewards will launch next Friday, on October 9th!

What IS the Achievement Tracker?

If you're just hearing about the Achievement Tracker, it is one of the ways we reward you for staying, playing, and supporting AdventureQuest Worlds!

• 3 different achievement categories: Sagas completed, Time Played, Loyalty
• 48 badges and 170+ items
• 3 of the badges are NEW this year: 7 years played, 6 years upgraded, and 300,000 ACs
• 170+ permanent reward items for you to unlock, including the NEW gear below! 

The Achievment Tracker will let you more easily display those accomplishments to your friends and show you new goals to strive for.  Some of these rewards may take a while to unlock, but don't worry... they will never leave, so you can keep battling towards your goal!

Time Played Badges track how old your account is (1 week, 1 year, 5 years, etc)

Sagas Completed Badges track which of the main storyline sagas you've finished

Loyalty Badges tracks the support our Legends and AC buyers have contributed

And the best news: ALL of the progress you've ever made count towards the Achievement Tracker! So on Friday, be sure to check your Book of Lore to get all of the gear you've already automatically unlocked!

How to unlock your rewards:

1. Once you see an achievement unlocked on your Tracker, head in-game
2. Open up your Book of Lore and go into the Achievements tab
3. Scroll through your badges until you find your new badge and its shop
4. Open the shop and get all the gear (0 ACs for free storage!)

Now... on to this year's NEW rewards! 

7 Years Played Reward: Light Mage Armor Set!

Unlock all 10 items in the Light Mage set - the Light Mage armor and accessories, plus bonuses and animations - when you play AQWorlds for 7 years!

6 Years Membership Reward: Nulgath Evolution Armors!

Unlock Primal Orb 2.0 and Void Orb Pets PLUS the Evolved Fiend of Nulgath PET and the Evolved Void of Nulgath PET when you when you purchase 6 years of membership! Then head in-game and begin the quests to unlock the armors that match the pets!

These armors are based on two of Nulgath the ArchFiend's most popular armors from WAY back in the early days of AQWorlds. Legendary artist Zee has paid homage to those originals while bringing them into 2015. you can see how here: Fiend Evolution and Void Evolution!

But beware, we are going with the same quest requirements (exceot for rare items) that the original armors required, so you will get instant rewards in with the four pets, but to unlock the armors, you'll need to get in there and BATTLE ON!

We want to give the members who have shown so much support a real over-the-top reward, and these are some of the most amazing and popular armors we've put out recently. To me, these are truly a way to honor those players, and since so many of you long-time supports are real, hard-core Nulgath fans, this will be a real blast to the past!

300,000 ACs Reward: Swordhaven Mansion!

Unlock the Swordhaven Mansion House with its four interior rooms (plus armor customizer room!) when you purchase 300,000 AdventureCoins!

September 28, 2015

Mogloween Returns This Friday!

October Begins with a Return to MystCroft!

Candy, costumes, & craziness are in season this Mogloween! Replay everyone's favorite spooky holiday from years ago & get 2015 Seasonal Rare items. Then, SQUASH the Gatekeeper’s quests and take down the Necronaut in the new Mystcroft challenge area!

It is a dark and stormy night, fog creeps through the trees and into the houses of Battleon. When you step outside, a beacon pulses in the darkness. As you walk towards it, ghostly moans grow louder. When you enter a clearing you KNOW wasn't there before, you see a portal that takes you to... MystCroft, realm of spookily-delicious Mogloween adventures!

The Cauldron Sisters are SO GLAD to see you!

Meet the Cauldron sisters, Bubble, Toil, and Trouble, and help them play their tricks to save Mogloween... and all the delicious treats that come with it!

So, after SIX years worth of Mogloween events, we released... we've done a LOT! (Zoom in to see HOW much!) That's why llast year we created the Mogloween Event Guide in the Lorepedia!

October Begins with a Return to MystCroft!

This year, in addition to all our previous seasonal events returning, a strange visitor from another world has arrived - the Necronaut! Talk to its servant, The GateKeeper, to discover what exactly this creature wants... and what we need to do to make sure it does not attack US!

Take on the Necronaut and the UltraNecronaut this week, plus find regular and Doom versions of its armor in the Limited Time Shop! The bosses will drop seasonal house items like the Sad Pumpkins, Tryx the Evil Cauldron, and more!

Mark your calendars: October of OMG-AWESOME!

This is not the only new holiday event happening this month! Not by a LONG shot!

• Thursday, October 1: 7th Upholder begins 
• Friday, October 2: Mogloween Hub Town returns, Mirror Realm Rares leave
• Friday, October 9: BattleCon returns for the 7th AQWorlds birthday event!
• Friday, October 16: Artix Entertainment 13th anniversary event in AQWorlds
• Friday, October 23: New Brightoak Grove release - Battle for Rivensylth
• Friday, October 30: NEW holiday event begins!

September 25, 2015

Pirate Class Revamp IS HERE!

Pirate Revamp about to Set Sail!

Hey everyone, it’s Zereldo here and today I’ve got complete revamp of the pirate class for you to look over. If you are asking why now, well, that’s easy. Talk Like a Pirate Day season (yes with all the anticipation you guys have for it, it really is a season here in AQW) seemed like the perfect time to finally give pirate its own moves.

Log in and talk to Zereldo in the /blazebeard or /manacannon maps to quest for your class!

A HUGE Thank You!

Before I get into the class heavy stuff you know me for, I want to thank you all so much for playing through and enjoying last week's talk like a pirate day release. The huge amount of positive feedback and congratulatory tweets you sent at me has kept me absolutely beaming for the past week. Writing a release has always been a dream of mine and the fact that so many people likes it so much made it all the more special. Thank you all for being so awesome!

Pirate Revamp.

Ever since this has been announced we’ve been seeing a lot of confusion about it on twitter. Up until now the pirate class has been exactly the same as rogue but with a different name and different art.  In every other Artix Entertainment game Pirates have always had a distinct set of moves from Rogues. This is something I have always wanted to see fixed and I’m glad we have had the chance to do it! After tonight’s release pirate now gets its own NEW moves and is no longer just a rogue who has gotten lost at sea.

Details!

Here are some details about the class you might want to know.

• You can find it at the Zereldo NPC in /blazebeard starting tomorrow

• The existing Pirate is being renamed to “Classic Pirate.” The classic versions retain the rogue skill set while the new version will have the brand new pirate moves. Alpha Pirate will also get the new skill, but without a new name.

• At the Zereldo NPC you'll be able to begin a quest to get the Pirate Class Token or the Alpha Pirate Class Token. Once you have that, turn it in at the merge shop to get your shiny new class! (when the Blazebeard map goes rare this will be moved elsewhere in game) - details on how will come tomorrow

Pirate Breakdown!

ManaRegen: Pirates regenerate mana in the same way rogues do. Whenever you dodge or crit you will regain some of your mana. Dodging also gives you some of your HP back.

For Stats and Enhancements: Pirates are designed to use luck and will benefit most from luck enhancements.

Auto Attack

2 second cooldown.

A basic attack, taught to all adventurers.

Rank 1: Cutlass Combo:

7 Mana, 3 Second Cooldown.

A cutlass is the primary weapon of a pirate and is their weapon of choice. Every time you hit your opponent gain a stack of Cutlass combo on yourself. Each stack increases your chance to crit by 3% and your crit damage by 7% up to 5 stacks for 8 seconds.

This first move is something you want to keep stacked. It will dramatically increase your chance to crit and how much damage you do when you crit as well as increasing your MP regeneration.

Rank 2: Plunder

30 Mana, 12 second cooldown.

You use your pirate sense to steal treasure to aid you in battle. Who knows exactly what you’ll get.

Personally I really like this move. It has an equal chance to activate one of three effects which all last for 8 seconds. Plunder health applies a generous HoT. Plunder dodge applies a 30% dodge buff. Finally plunder haste applies a 30% haste increase. These all sounds incredibly powerful and if they were a permanent fixture of a class I would agree, however they are random. You don’t have exact control of what you are going to get, but it will help you.

Rank 3: Hand Cannon:

20 Mana, 12 second cooldown.

You always carry a pistol around saving it for the opportune moment. Deals heavy damage. Gives either canon burn dealing 400% damage over 8 seconds or cannon fodder which increases all damage taken by the target by 20% for 8 seconds.

This is self explanatory. It is damage which either has the added bonus of more damage through a DoT or more damage through increasing the amount of damage your opponent takes on hit. Just like before this is random and you can't predict exactly what you’ll get, you just know that it will be helpful. Remember it is your opponent that is taking more damage, so any friends attacking the same opponent as you will also deal extra damage.

Rank 4: Sea Legs & Buried Treasure

Increases dodge by 12% and Crit Chance by 10%

The dodge increases your mana regen, survivability and potential for small healds and your crit chance which helps with your mana regen as well as allowing you to critical hit more often.

Rank 5: Cannon Fire:

25 Mana, 15 second cooldown.

Let of a blast of cannon fire from your conveniently nearby but hidden ship. Deals massive damage. Applies cannon rage and canon wound, increasing your opponent haste by 25% but reducing their damage by 35%

Finally you have your nuke. As well as doing heavy damage this one has a bit of a twist. You BUFF your opponent by  boosting their haste by 25% making them attack 25% more often. Don’t worry, it’s counteracted by a 35% damage reduction. Overall they will do slightly less damage than usual so you don’t have to worry about disadvantaging your team mates. Although the change to their overall damage is minimal the haste buff in invaluable. If they attack you more often you can regen more MP, and because of the slightly reduced damage your heals from dodging will mean that much more.

September 25, 2015

Starsword: The Legend BeginZ TONIGHT!

AQWorlds 1st - 6th Upholders Can Learn the Origin of the StarSwords!

Only once every thousand years are the legendary DragonStar Crystals active; and the person who gathers them all...will have their greatest wish come true! Join Artix on a quest to scour the very ends of the globe in search of them; and discover the source of ALL Starswords along the way! But be wary - for you aren’t the only ones who want their wish granted...

We could not build our games without the support of our long-time, loyal heroes, so we want to show them where one of their most-loved weapons comes from. If that is YOU, then /bows - thank you for helping us keep AQWorlds alive, and we hope you enjoy what we've created! The story is written and designed by two of our newest, most SUPER-SLAYIN' team members, Aeon and Venthos, and together their skill is OVER 9000!

Rewards include the Starsword Commander helm and armor PLUS new starsword-themed weapons that will match your existing starsword! So if you are only of the lucky owners of the Golden Starsword, for example, you'll be able to get the Golden StarStaff, Daggers, Scythe, and Cape! 

IF you can defeat the boss in next week's release, you'll ALSO have a chance to get the much-sought after Orange Starsword! Upholder collectors have been waiting for YEARS to pick up this blade!

Additional rewards will include the Lava Starsword, the rare Nimbus Cloudrider Armor, the Rainbow Double-Bladed Polearm, and more!

If you are NOT an Upholder, then GOOD NEWS! You can upgrade now with a 3, 6, or 12 month membership and instantly become a 7th Upholder. Then, on October 1st, you'll be able to battle down DragonRoad, too!

* Fusion Dance not required for assembly

Also releasing this week:

• Pirate Class skills get an update tomorrow - check out the skills writeup here!
• The Blazebeard boss now drops the Jolly Roger pet! Find him in the /blazebeard map and get battling!
• EVERYONE can /join battlecon and take on the Rogue Frogzard for a chance to get the Grand Theft Frogzard pet!

Get up to 25% More Free AdventureCoins Until Next Wednesday!

School will be in session for months, but the Back to School AdventureCoin Bonus ends September 30th! Don't miss your last change to get up to 25% more free AdventureCoins with any AC package, then check out Quibble's soon-to-be rare pirate gear!

NEW this week in Quibble's Shop: Pirate Adventure House!

Talk to Quibble in Battleon to find the Pirate Adventure House for 2000 AdventureCoins and make sure you have a place for your entire crew to /rest between battles! The house has 8 rooms, including 2 jungle-themed hangout areas, plus 3 on-deck frames and 2 ship interiors to decorate!

This house will ONLY be available until Quibble's shop leaves, and he won't be around much longer. With 8 rooms, this is one of the biggest houses in the entire game! So rally yer mates, and get t' adventurin'!

September 24, 2015

AdventureCoin Bonus Ends September 30th

Get up to 25% More Free AdventureCoins Until Next Wednesday!

School will be in session for months, but the Back to School AdventureCoin Bonus ends September 30th! Don't miss your last change to get up to 25% more free AdventureCoins with any AC package, then check out Quibble's soon-to-be rare pirate gear!

Guardian Shadow Cape Issue

Earlier today, we added a shop to the PTR Tester badge in the Book of Lore. This was for heroes who helped us test WAY back in 2010, and the goal was to let them recover an item they may have lost or sold. When we checked the dates to determine that the badge we were placing the shop on matched with the item we wanted to give access to, the dates appeared to match up... but we were incorrect.

Because players who did not originally unlock the Guardian Shadow Cape were getting it, we have removed the shop from the PTR Tester badge, and in the morning will do a sweep to remove it from accounts which should not have it.

I apologize for any frustration this has caused, and hope you enjoy this weekend's coming release!

September 23, 2015

History of the AQWorlds Upholders

Seven Years of AQWorlds Most Legendary Members Revisited!

Seven years ago, AdventureQuest Worlds went live and players jumped at the chance to become the first Members of AQW. These lucky, early supporters of the game became the game's Founders. Every October after that, we hold the Upholder promotion - anyone upgrading their account during that period (or whose membership ends after November 1st of that year) becomes an Upholder... making them one of our most Legendary supporters. 

AdventureQuest Worlds would not be what it is today without their support. This is their story!

2009: 1st Upholders

Starsword: Golden Starsword
Highlights: The FIRST-ever Upholders, were able to buy Upholder with membership or AdventureCoins
Stats: 40,906 Heroes still have a Golden Starsword

2010: 2nd Upholders

Starsword: Onyx Starsword
Highlights: Survived the Mystery of the Disappearing Upholder Badges... but survived unscathed, and everyone had their badges awarded over the weekend!
Stats: 48,109 Heroes still have an Onyx Starsword

2011: 3rd Upholders

Starsword: Platinum Starsword
Highlights: Had an agonizing month-long wait for their starswords BUT got to unlock the mega-awesome rep quests from the They Might be Giants birthday event while they waited!
Stats: 48,663 Heroes still have a Platinum Starsword

2012: 4th Upholders

Starsword: Chaos and Chaorrupted Starswords
Highlights: The first year to get TWO Starswords... because we love to give you MORE than what you expect!
Stats: 44,615 Heroes still have one of the Chaos Starswords

2013: 5th Upholders

Starsword: Galactic, Chrono, and Legion Starswords
Highlights: Lucky 5th Upholders got THREE starswords -- there were so many good ideas from the community, we picked multiple starswords! Plus, we added "Upholder shops" into the Book of Lore so Upholders could regain their starswords if they'd sold or lost them in the past. 
Stats: 55,794 Heroes still have a Galactic, Chrono, or Legion Starsword 
(With 3 starswords adding to their total, the 5th Upholder starswords win the "Most Widely Used Starswords" award!)

2014: 6th Upholders

Starsword: Doom and Brilliant Starswords
Highlights: This year we introduced the Sentinel CLASS exclusively for Upholder and Founders - because they are always on guard against Choaos, the Queen of Monsters, and any other threat!
Stats: 37,033 Heroes still have a Doom or Brilliant Starsword

2015: 7th Upholders

Starsword: Paragon and Mechanical
Highlights: Upholders and Founders get an entire zone in Dragonroad dedicated JUST to them in this week's "Starsword: The Legend Beginz" release! 
Stats: 0 Heroes still have a Paragon or Mechanical Starsword... YET!  But many of you are already 7th Upholders and will automatically unlock these when you lock in on October 1st!

You may not know this but AQW (like all AE games) is ENTIRELY supported by the players. We have no financial backers and nobody owns stock in the company. When we say we make our games for and with you guys, and that your support goes directly back into developing the game - we mean it!

That's why we continue to reward the AQWorlds' Founders, who supported us in the very beginning. It's why we strive to continually add value to memberships for AQWorlds Legends and Upholders - to make sure our members know how much we appreciate them!

Upholder Starswords 2009 - 2015

We are the story-tellers, and the adventure makers. We create the realities we want to live in, and play through. That is the history of the Upholders SO FAR... will you join us in writing the NEXT chapter of the AdventureQuest Worlds upholders? 

September 22, 2015

Update Your Flash Player

Don't miss this weekend's new release!

Adobe released a super-important update to Flash Player this weekend - it is now on version 19.0.0.185. Make sure you update yours to the latest version from the official Adobe website.

We've had reports of older versions of Flash player triggering errors in certain browsers depending on the browser, Flash Player version, antivirus program (like AVG), and browser plugins.

If you see blackscreens or warning messages when you go to log in at the aq.com/play-now page, update your Flash Player version!

What is the Adobe Flash Player?

The Flash Player is a plug-in that is required to play all of our games, and is automatically ‘plugged in’ to your browser (Internet Explorer, Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, Opera, Safari, etc.). Adobe Flash Player makes our games run, displays the flashy animations, makes your shiny Blade of Awe glow bright, and plays all the epic cutscenes!

Which version of Flash Player do I have?

First of all, you might need to know which version of Flash Player you have on your browser. To find that out, follow these easy steps:

1. Open your browser.
2. Go to www.aq.com/play-now
3. Right click somewhere near the ‘Login’ button.
4. In the menu that then opens, you need to READ the last line, which says something like “information about Flash Player 19.0.0.185…”
5. IF it DOES NOT say “Information about Flash Player 19.0.0.…” and gives another number, then youneed to upgrade your Flash Player to the latest version.

How to upgrade Flash Player to the latest Version?

If you do not have the latest version of Flash Player, you‘re in trouble….  O__O ….. because older versions of the Flash Player will cause your game will lag, disconnect, have sluggish animations, etc. So it is ALWAYS better to upgrade. Here is how to upgrade your Flash Player if you do not have the latest version:

1. Open your browser
2. Go to http://get.adobe.com/flashplayer/
   • If you have an older version of Flash Player, the page will automatically tell you to upgrade it.
3. Click the link “Download the Adobe® Flash® Player system plug-in”
4. Click “Install now” to download the newest version and install it.
5. Follow the instructions given by the program.
6. Restart your browser and it should be working fine now!

This method should work for any browser you use. Some browsers, like Google Chrome and Mozilla Firefox, automatically update Flash Player when a new version is out. Other browsers do not and then you will have to update Flash manually.

I want Flash to automatically update!

When you update your Flash Player, there is an option in the installation process where you can check the box to make Flash Player update automatically, like in the picture.

However, you may not know if you enabled that for your computer. Or that you are sure your computer has not enabled automatically updating Flash Player. In that case you can still enable it in this way:

1. Go to www.aq.com/play-now
2. Right click near the “login” button.
3. Click “General Settings” in the dropdown that opens.
4. Go to the tab “Advanced Options” in the Settings Manager that opens.
5. Click on the button “Change Update Settings”, this might require administrator rights.
6. Check the bullet/box of “Allow Adobe to install updates”
7. Additionally you can click “Check now” to see if there are any updates for Flash Player.
8. Close the window and you should be fine.

I am using Google Chrome and it does not work like that!

Oh yes, Google Chrome acts a bit weird in that case. Chrome usually updates Flash automatically, unless something (or someone!) disabled it. Here’s how it works for Google Chrome:

1. Go to www.aq.com/play-now
2. Right click near the “log in” button.
3. Click “General Settings” in the dropdown that opens.
4. The browser will bolt you to a help page of Adobe in a new tab.
5. Scroll down till you see a link called “Panel General Notification Options” and click it.
6. Set “Check on updates” in the screen that follows on 14 or 7 days, and check the box “Warn me about new updates”
7. Close the tab and it should be set now.

What if it still does not work right?

Curse technology!! It could be that your computer just refuses to update the Flash Player, or that it keeps messing up because of conflicting versions.

In that case, it is better to entirely remove Flash Player and re-install it. To remove Flash Player, it’s best to do that via your computer’s configuration panel. (Note: this might differ per Operating System)

1. So go to “Start”
2. Open the configuration panel.
3. Go to “Programs and Software”
4. Search for “Adobe Flash Player” (there might show multiple of them)
5. Right click them, and select “uninstall/delete”
6. If you had more “Adobe Flash Players” showing in the list, uninstall these too.
7. Then open your browser and go to http://get.adobe.com/flashplayer/
8. Click the link “Download the Adobe® Flash® Player system plug-in”
9. Click “Install now” to download the newest version and install it.
10. Follow the instructions given by the program.
11. Restart your browser and it should be working fine now!

Still having troubles after? Then you might want to check if your Firewall or Security programs are not blocking it. Programs like AVG could still be blocking it. Quick options to change that would be:

1. Open the AVG panel
2. Go to Firewall
3. Go to Options
4. Go to the tab Applications
5. Make sure “Adobe Flash Player” is on the list of allowed applications.
6. If it’s not, add it manually.

This is all we can teach you about Flash Player—a tricky but very good plugin that all our games run and live on. If you have additional questions, feel free to comment below and we will try our best to help you out! Please only write our Player Support team if there is a serious and/or complicated problem.

Thank you, Gjappy!!

When you see Gjappy in game, be sure to give him lots of /cheers for helping US help YOU! We could not have done this without his help, and we cannot thank him enough. So if you want to share your love, be sure to thank him on Gjappy’s Facebook and on Gjappy’s Twitter!

September 21, 2015

Friday: Hunt for the DragonCrystalZ

AQWorlds 1st - 6th Upholders Can Learn the Origin of the StarSwords!

Only once every thousand years are the legendary DragonStar Crystals active; and the person who gathers them all...will have their greatest wish come true! Join Artix on a quest to scour the very ends of the globe in search of them; and discover the source of ALL Starswords along the way! But be wary - for you aren’t the only ones who want their wish granted...

Starting this Friday, ANY Hero in AQWorlds who upgraded during one of our 1st through 6th Upholder promotions will be able to battle down DragonRoad and learn the mysterious and EPIC OMG AWESOME origins of the mega-legendary Starswords!* 

We could not build our games without the support of our long-time, loyal heroes, so we want to show them where one of their most-loved weapons comes from. If that is YOU, then /bows - thank you for helping us keep AQWorlds alive, and we hope you enjoy what we've created! The story is written and designed by two of our newest, most SUPER-SLAYIN' team members, Aeon and Venthos, and together their skill is OVER 9000!

Rewards include the Starsword Commander helm and armor PLUS new starsword-themed weapons that will match your existing starsword! So if you are only of the lucky owners of the Golden Starsword, for example, you'll be able to get the Golden StarStaff, Daggers, Scythe, and Cape! 

IF you can defeat the boss in next week's release, you'll ALSO have a chance to get the much-sought after Orange Starsword! Upholder collectors have been waiting for YEARS to pick up this blade!

Additional rewards will include the Lava Starsword, the rare Nimbus Cloudrider Armor, the Rainbow Double-Bladed Polearm, and more!

If you are NOT an Upholder, then GOOD NEWS! You can upgrade now with a 3, 6, or 12 month membership and instantly become a 7th Upholder. Then, on October 1st, you'll be able to battle down DragonRoad, too!

* Fusion Dance not required for assembly

September 20, 2015

Blazebeard's Locked Treasure Chest Opens!

The Treasure is Revealed - a Stolen Explorer Pistol?!?!?!!

Blazebeard, scourge of the Embersea Isles, is the boss in this week's adventure, and last night, his locked treasure chest reward drop opened to reveal a stolen Explorer Pistol! (The fate of the hapless Explorer remains unknown... O_O!!!) 

Starting today, battle Blazebeard in the /manacannon map to get your own Explorer Pistol, then continue fighting him to get Blaze Gems to evolve the pistol into increasingly brighter or bigger versions!

These guns will return each year along with the /blazebeard and /manacannon maps!

September 18, 2015

Quibble Arrives for Talk Like a Pirate Day

Pirate Booty ‘n Treasures: Spoils o’ the Scallywag

Pirates be lovin’ some booty! Har har har! And ye too can plunder yer loot from Quibble’s Treasure Chest makin’ landfall in Battleon this weekend. Some o’ thee best booty in all the seven seas includes the gear he brings in fer this fan-favorite holiday!

This year's Quibble Shop will feature:

• Paragon Naval Commander set
• Arcane Pirate Captain set
• Mechanical Naval Commander set (designed by Osu, winner of the 2014 "Design a Naval Commander" Contest)

Naval Commander armor sets

• Explorer Commander Class (ye can read more ‘bout it ‘ere), armor, and accessories
• Horc Pirate and Paragon Pirate Pets
• Blazin' Quibble Bank Pet
• And SO MUCH more!

Arcane Pirate Captain, Explorer Class, and pets

Both the Paragon and Mechanized Naval Commanders, an' th' Arcane Pirate Captain above be so amazin'ly beautiful that people be BOUND t' demand their return in years t' come but rares be rares. Get them now or miss out. We also have t' Explorer Commader Class and t' all-new piratical pets, too!

PS: the Legion helms and weapon and the Mechanical Naval Commander helms will be added in game tomorrow, ON Talk Like a Pirate Day. This Captain has a crew full of sailors who are ready to head for port, and need to stop and fuel up first! Same with Quibble's quests. 

September 18, 2015

Talk Like a Pirate 2015 is HERE

Battle to Take Down the Dread Pirate Mage Blazebeard!

After years of peace, the dread Captain Blazebeard, a notorious pirate captain, has re-emerged... with a ship armed with a mana cannon powerful enough to lay siege to any city in Drakonus! Ever the opportunist, Blazebeard is taking advantage of the chaos caused by the Queen of Monsters to loot and pillage up and down the Embersea coast. It's up to you and his old foe - and your new ally - the Pirate Mage Zereldo to stop him! 

This weekend, /join blazebeard and team up with Zereldo to build the first ever elemental mana cannon, steal a pirate ship, and STOP Blazebeard’s plans. IF you are successful, you'll unlock a merge shop FILLED with some of the most bootyful pirate gear this side of Embersea!

Fight to unlock Blazebeard's best Legendary booty!

Blazebeard also has a bounty on his head..., and a boatload of rewards for you to farm for after you've finished Zereldo's quests!

Talk Like a Pirate Day MIDNIGHT UPDATE: Battle Blazebeard in the Manacannon map for a chance to get the Locked Treasure Chest item! Tomorrow night it will open to reveal a surprise!

Coming Next Week: Updates to the Pirate Class

Zereldo and the other class designers have ONE MORE SURPRISE in store for you! This week, they and the testers ran their peg-legs to the bone testing updates to the pirate class! We're going to spend the rest of this weekend double-checking the balance, then next week, we'll release the updated class!

If you want to KEEP the Pirate class you have, never fear! We wouldn't take your hard-earned loot from you! The extisting class will be renamed to Classic Pirate class next week. You can keep that OR trade it in to Zereldo for the new Pirate Class - but take note, you'll need to rank it up again if you do!

PS: the Legion helms and weapon and the Mechanical Naval Commander helms will be added in game tomorrow, ON Talk Like a Pirate Day. This Captain has a crew full of sailors who are ready to head for port, and need to stop and fuel up first! Same with Quibble's quests. 

PPS: the extra Clawg pet for meeting Cysero's AQ3D is coming next week. GREAT JOB, guys! You blew that challenge WAY out of the water. Next time... it'll be harder, and with even better rewards!

September 18, 2015

Talk Like a Pirate Day Treasure Hunt

Yarrrr... The Pirate Treasure Hunt Begins!

The Talk Like a Pirate Day 2015 Treasure Hunt BEGINS! Battle for clues to uncover which monster has your loot!

PS - the creatures in Lolosia hear a LOT of rumors, and may have some other interesting tales to share with you... IF you can pry the news out of them!

September 17, 2015

Artix's DragonCon 2015 Report

Greetings and salutations! I am writing to tell you a tale. A tale of the bubble universe known as DragonCon and the impossible scenarios which magically took place there.

But this story is told a week later... mostly because of the dread plague known as "CON ROT" -- now that I am free of infection, you can read more on Artix.com and there is 0% of getting Con Rot... from ME!

PS: the DragonCon 2015 pet is COMING SOON...and is based off of Yergen's super-awesome helm from AQ3D (... I was probably not supposed to say that... SHHHH!!!)

September 16, 2015

This Friday: Talk Like a Pirate Day

Battle to Take Down the Dread Pirate Mage Blazebeard!

Avast! As Talk Like a Pirate Day nears, Quibble Coinbiter's ship is approaching Battleon Bay, me hearties! This Friday, check out his chests full o' th' newest nautical gear ... then head out t' sea to stop th' Dread Pirate Mage Blazebeard... an' get ALL his loot! Slam the lorepedos and BLAST the Mana Cannons this Friday!

This year's Quibble Shop will feature:

• Paragon Naval Commander set
• Arcane Pirate Captain set
• Mechanical Naval Commander set
• Explorer Naval Commander Class and Armor (returns each year)
• Horc Pirate and Paragon Pirate Pets
• Blazin' Quibble Bank Pet
• And more!

PLUS... Th' Lorepedia crew have crafted a Talk Like a Pirate Day guide fer ye... read on to see a preview of what they've hauled in!

Arrrr Matey's here be ye Guide Preview for TLAPD.

Quibble's has plundered some loot if ye be finishin' his quests.  This map and quests are only avaliable during the Talk Like A Pirate event.

Begin in Lolosia

Where to go: join /pirates
Who to talk to: Quibble Coinbitter
What to do: Complete all of Quibble's quests for the "Avast" character page badge. (Must be an active Legend to get the badge).

Captain Rhubarb has a pirate quiz for you.  If ye answer incorrectly ye be sent to Davy Jones' locker to fight a sea beast.

Click HERE to read the full guide!

September 12, 2015

Save the Celestial Realm

Save the Celestial Realm before it's too late!

The three Celestial Avatars of Time, Death, and Life are missing. A portal to the Infernal Realm has been opened by Chamat, the Queen of Monsters’ talented Lieutenant. Infernal creatures are flooding into the Celestial Realm, and Aranx needs YOUR help to drive the dark beasts out and discover where the Avatars have gone -- if his world falls… Lore will be next!

This week brings:

• 3 new maps (plus a new war!)
• 5 new cutscenes (that unlock as you progress through the war)
• 6 new monsters 
• Over 50 (FIFTY!!!) new items all hand-crafted by Aranx!

Join the War in the Celestial Realm

Starting tonight, /join celestialrealm and talk to Aranx to begin his quests to save the Celestial Realm! Once you've battled the first flood of infernal beasts and rescued the Avatars of Death, Life, and Spirit, the REAL war will begin!

There are no certainties in war. There is a precipice on either side of you, Hero — a precipice of caution and a precipice of over-daring... but failure is not an option for Aranx, and if you fight to help him, he'll make it worth your while... 

With the opportunity to purchase gear from the Celestial War Rares Shop, battle for boss drops, or to earn gear from his Celestial Realm merge shop! But that's not ALL Aranx has been up to! 

September Holiday Shop

This Sunday, Aranx-the-Artist levels up, and that means an in-game birthday shop! He's crafted some amazing gear for his once-a-year shop (including the galactically-gorgeous set you see in the image below!) If you love space-themed gear like I do, you are not going to want to miss the items in this shop!

We've also added gear to celebrate Brasil's Independence Day! /cheer! Find the 2015 series of bright blue, green, and yellow gear in the game menu all month long!

September 12, 2015

AdventureCoin Bonus Leaving Soon

Get New Gear and More Free AdventureCoins This Weekend!

Get up to 25% more free Adventure Coins when you buy any AC package for a limited time during our Back to School bonus offer! (That is 3000 more free ACs!) Then head in-game and use your free bonus ACs to snag the Galactic Mage armor set from the September Holiday Shop in your Game Menu or a host of other gear from the Celestial War Rares Shop! 

Talk Like a Pirate Day is coming soon, and if you've been with us for that before, you know there is going to be rare gear you are NOT going to want to miss out on! 

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

Celestial Realm War Rares and September Holiday Gear

Find the Celestial Realm War Rares Shop and the September Holiday Shop featuring Aranx's birthday items in your Game Menu this weekend! 

The Greywolf Commander gear and character page badge will also unlock when you buy a 2000, 5000, or 12000 AdventureCoin package! This exclusive set includes an armor, 4 helms, a cape, 2 weapons, plus a character page badge!

* And don't forget to wish Aranx a happy birthday this Sunday on his Twitter account! He created ALL of the rewards in this week's release just for you guys to help celebrate his birthday in a celestially-AWESOME event!

September 10, 2015

Talk Like a Pirate Day Begins Next Friday!

New Naval Commanders and Pirate Captain Gear Coming Soon!

Talk Like a Pirate Day 2015 begins Friday, September 18th as Quibble Coinbiter arrives in Battleon with all new piratical loot! Check out the image below for a first look at next week's piratical gear!

Pictured above:

• Paragon Naval Commander
• Mana Pirate Captain
• Explorer Naval Commander Class (and armor) - returns every year in Quibble's TLaPD shop!

Not pictured: Mechanical Naval Commander or the many accessories and pets that will also arrive in Quibble Coinbiter's TLaPD shop!

Blazebeard's Revenge!

We've also got a new story release planned for next week, written by Zereldo, the Pirate Mage! Hunt for Blazebeard, the rogue pirate as he attempts to create one of the most destructive weapons known to the Embersea islanders -- the Mana Cannon! Then check out some of the reward gear on Memet's Twitter account!

September 08, 2015

Answer Aranx's Call This Friday

Save the Celestial Realm before it's too late!

The three Celestial Avatars of Time, Death, and Life are missing. A portal to the Infernal Realm (two realms to the left of the Underworld) has been opened by Chamat, the Queen of Monsters’ talented Lieutenant. Infernal creatures are flooding into the Celestial Realm, and Aranx needs YOUR help to drive the dark beasts out and discover where the Avatars have gone -- if his world falls… Lore will be next!

War in the Celestial Realm

There are no certainties in war. There is a precipice on either side of you, Hero — a precipice of caution and a precipice of over-daring... but failure is not an option for Aranx, and he will make it worth your while! 

If you battle for him, he'll give you the opportunity to earn gear from his Celestial Realm merge shop and purchasegear from the Rares shop. 

Aranx levels up in Real Life - Birthday Shop!

This Sunday, Aranx-the-Artist levels up, and that means an in-game birthday shop! He's crafted some amazing gear for his once-a-year shop (including the galactically-gorgeous set you see in the image above!) If you love space-themed gear like I do, you are not going to want to miss the items in this shop!

Changes and Updates

Art Update: The art for the baby seal pet from the August Birthday Shop has been updated to avoid any potential copyright infringement claims. 

In this case, the team member had quickly created the seal pet art a long time ago to use while practicing animation, and didn't remember how much reference art had been left in. It is always better to do 100% original art. Make sure when using reference art that it's for inspiration only! 

If you purchased the AdventureCoin version of the Baby Seal pet and do not like the new version, you can contact Player Support to get a full refund.

Reward Update: If you see that you've been unexpectedly awarded the Ancient Grovebreaker Blade, give Captain Rhubarb a hearty Thanks! He's tweaked the AQW prize reward package system to award those for Paygarden purchases from August forward.

Bug Fix Update: The bugged Bard Class skill is still being investigated. Thanks to those who reported is last week! We'll get that fixed as soon as possible!

September 05, 2015

Labor Day Server Boost

Log on and Battle to get More Rewards!

Log in now for our Labor Day weekend server boost and get 25% more reputation to help you rank up in the new Brightoak Grove rep faction and hub town! MEMBERS get 50% MORE reputation!

September 04, 2015

Greywolf Commander AdventureCoin Bonus

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

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!

Get up to 25% more free AdventureCoins!

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!) Talk Like a Pirate Day is coming soon, and if you've been with us for that before, you know there is going to be rare gear you are NOT going to want to miss out on!

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

Undead Assault Limited Time Shop Now Available!

Undead Assault, one of our new mobile games, is coming soon, but the Limited Time Shop to celebrate its impending arrival is here now! If you haven't heard the  latest news about Undead Assault, head to http://aq3d.com/newgames! But first, log in and get your gauntlets on the gear we've released in AQWorlds to help everyone get excited!

The shop is in your game menu as contains:

• Undead Assault Infantry armor
• 8 different weapons
• 2 pets
• 3 capes
• 1 helm

You can find more information at the Undead Assault website, or follow the Undead Assault Facebook page for more updates!

September 04, 2015

Battle to save Brightoak this Weekend

The New Queen of Monsters Saga Begins this Weekend!

The World Tree sits at the center of Brightoak Grove, but after Nevana, newly-sworn Genera, introduces corruption into the forest, threatening the World Tree itself - the shields guarding it have begun to falter. Answer the call of the Ravinos, Druid Elders before the Queen of Monsters’ corruption spreads to its heart!

Brightoak Grove Hub Town

If you're just joining us, you may never have battled through one of our hub towns. We release these at the start of a new storyline. These towns are the center points of new sagas. They have NPCs (non-playable characters) you can talk to and do quests for, learn details from, and get a feel for what's about to happen!

This week, /join Brightoak and talk to Ravinos! He and his fellow Grove residents need you to help them recover the Celestial Horn of Balance. Later this month, we'll continue the Brightoak Saga storyline with more updates from ACW0, one of our volunteer writers, with the "Hunt for RivenSylth" - but this week, you should complete quests for:

• Ravinos Brightglade
• Aven Greywhorl
• Lapis Willowmist (she's the middle fairy)
• Flix Spiderwhisp
• Zephyr Wildwood

to increase your Brightoak reputation!

Slay the beasts of Brightoak Grove to complete quests and earn gold to get gear from the shops in the area. You'll find the following:

• Reputation Shop: Talk to Ravinos and complete rep quests. Earn the trust of the NPCs in the area to increase your reputation and purchase more and better gear! This shop will be updated throughout the storyline.
• House Shop: Talk to Zephyr to get some naturally-awesome decor for your in-game house!
• Pet Shop: If you want a battle companion that knows its way around the woods, find Flix Spiderwhisp!
• Gear Shop: Lapis Willowmist make LOOK like a lightweight, but she's got fairy magic, and that lets her create and store more gear than you'd ever think to find in a fairy's backpack!

Special Bonus Boss Drop Release

PS: As a special surprise BONUS release, we've added the Skull Pauldrons of Vordred cape drop to the boss monster when you /join epicvordred! It's a 1% drop, so good luck! (If you bought the DoomWood Card Game expansion pack, we also added it to your badge shop. EXTRA BONUS!!!!)

September 03, 2015

Shiver Me Throwback

A look at the TLaPDs of Yesteryears

September 19th 2009, the day landlubbers of Lore become Heroes of the Seven Seas! Enter the 1st Talk Like a Pirate Day. With a grand Pirate vs. Ninja War and an unforgettable Quibble loot chest, this tradition of pirate talking and swashbuckling was cemented in AQW!

AQW's first TLaPD!

TLaPD Origins

International Talk Like a Pirate Day (ITLAPD, September 19) is a parodic holiday created in 1995 by John Baur (Ol' Chumbucket) and Mark Summers (Cap'n Slappy), of Albany, Oregon, U.S., who proclaimed September 19 each year as the day when everyone in the world should talk like a pirate. Somehow around 2002, thanks to Dave Barry (a syndicated columnist) their made up holiday became a national phenomenon. Personally I blame AQW for its international success, but that’s just me.

Novel of Naval Commanders

AQW has a history of releasing incredible Naval Commanders to commentate TLaPD since '09. For months leading up to September 19th our forums are abuzz with guesses and suggestions of what this year's design may be. There’s an extensive set of Commanders below, but still a million possibilities for the future!

Blazing Naval Commander
Brilliant Naval Commander
Bubblegum Scallywag
Chaos Naval Commander
ChronoLord Naval Commander
Doom Naval Commander
Doom Rotting Naval Commander
DoomKnight Naval Commander
Galactic Naval Commander
Icy Naval Commander
Legion Naval Commander
Naval Commander (Armor)
Naval Commander (Class) (Legend)
Paragon Naval Commander
Platinum Naval Commander
Rotting Naval Commander
Undead Legion Naval Commander
Void Naval Commander

Thanks be to the AQW Wiki for making this list possible!

So many Commanders, yet no crew!

Ye Old Pirate Prep

If yar just can't wait till the 19th to embrace a parrot on your shoulder, look no further than last year's Deep Terror TLaPD event in /join Piratewar! Naval Commanders clash in a seabattle against the Pirates... and they aren’t content to keep the battle above water! Defeat the Dread Fleet, or face death from an Aquamancer below.The rare shop may be gone, but beat the boss or any Naval Commander monster for doubloon worthy drops!

While cutlass slashing may boil ye landlubber blood, check out AQW's Pirate Rules 101 to complete the seafaring transformation: http://www.aq.com/events/pirate/

Everything Okay there Quibble?

Scourge of the Fiery Seas

I know it be called Throwback Thursday, but there be a major storm a brewin’ on Lore’s horizon! I hear whispers on the wind of a new threat to AQW’s TLaPD festivities. Seems an old harebringer has escaped Davy Jones locker, ready to wreak havoc with a weapon that feeds on the destructive forces of mana itself! Heros get ready to hunt the mysterious, the nefarious...BLAZEBEARD!

Wherever Blazebeard strikes, Heroes will be Ready!

Welcome Back Throwbacks

Always fantastic to get another Throwback Thursday up! I've been so swamped with designing Brightoak Grove that AQW’s rich history took an undeserved backseat. Tomorrow I’m off to Dragon*Con in Atlanta so instead of recommending another throwback, tweet me @ACWOAE with anything you'd like to see from D*Con!

Artix Panel and a Brutalcorn sighting on the same day? Only at Dragon*Con!

September 03, 2015

Corruption in BrightOak Grove!

New Queen of Monsters Saga Starts This Friday!

The World Tree sits at the center of Brightoak Grove, but the shields guarding it have begun to falter. Answer the call of the Druid Elders before the Queen of Monsters’ corruption spreads to its heart! new main storyline saga begins soon in Brightoak Grove!

• Speak with Ravinos Brightglade on Friday, September 4th in /brightoak to begin questing!
• If the Druid's sacred artifact is not recovered, the shields guarding the roots that feed the World Tree will fall... 
• If the shields guarding the World Tree fall, the ElvenSong will be silenced... the heart of the forest must not wither and die.
• Corruption MUST not spread in Brightoak Grove!

The image you see above is the first look at the new Brightoak Grove map, with the Ravinos NPC from Memet!

September 01, 2015

Meet the Artix Entertainment Team

Don't be fooled by Imposters!

Your friendly Artix Entertainment team is made of up people from all over the world with a mission is to make the best Web RPGs on the Internet! We will always work with you to make sure you have the best, most fun, and safest gaming experience... but beware imposters on FaceBook, Twitter, and other social networking sites claiming to be members of our team.

AE team members will never ask for your password. We also never threaten to take action against any of your game, email, or social media accounts. Any one who does is not trying to help you, and you should use the /report system - they are trying to steal your account information.

Click here to read more and to meet the rest of the Artix Entertainment Game Masters and the rest of the AE team members!