Design Notes

March 17, 2016

What's New in AQW?

Coming Soon to AdventureQuest Worlds!

Hey, guys! We've got a LOT of projects in the works right now, so let's run through what the team is working on behind the scenes, alongside the weekly releases that come out every Friday!

New Saga Coming Soon from Artix Next Month

If you've seen Artix's tweets recently, you know he's been working on writing the next big saga, scheduled to start next month. For those of you who've played through the Doomwood Saga (Parts 1, 2, and 3), the set-up will be familiar to you - this is a saga that takes place inside the world and main storyline, but is not directly related TO it.

This storyline takes place in the post-Chaos Lord world, where the Queen of Monsters' minions are wreaking havoc. In a war-torn, chaos-riddled world like this, there are a lot of opportunities for NEW villains to rise. Your character is still a hero even when you (the person on the other side of the screen) are not playing the weekly releases; they're kept busy taking on all the other threats Lore has to offer.*

ALL the Holiday Releases!

This month, the art team began working on assets for Artix's storyline (and the Quibble shop preceding it), in addition to the spring holiday releases we've got lined up. Once those are done, we are going to ROCK THE DARK!

Artix is away at GDC right now (check out Cysero's post on his adventures here), but we just can't wait to start teasing you with the news and art! More design notes with teasers and previews will release over the next couple of weeks!

Changes to the Queen of Monsters Saga

We say that we make our games for and WITH you, and we mean it. Feedback on the Queen of Monsters: Ancient Evils Saga thus far has been mixed, so we're listening to what you have to say, and taking the story in a new, less predictable** direction.

Artix's Throne of Darkness Saga is a starting point for that, as we begin to explore the wider world and see how the Queen of Monsters' presence affects the lands and people you know and love. ***

Shop Smart, Shop HeroMart (in AQW)

Stryche, the head of HeroMart, is preparing for the Grand Opening of HeroMart INSIDE AdventureQuest Worlds! That means you'll be able to check out HeroMart's merch, get even MORE in-game rewards when you get new merch, and easily access all your existing gear! 

More details on Stryche and HeroMart's Grand (in-game) Opening coming soon!

AQWorlds Server Rewrite: 97% Complete!

We are in the very LAST phases of the final testing before launching the new server to EVERYONE! Yorumi and M are knocking down bugs left and right as you guys log into the testing servers and find new ones. (If you haven't done that yet, what are you waiting for?! Get your exclusive PTR Tester badge now!)

The testers have been a HUGE help, and Yorumi's incredibly grateful for everyone logging in to help test. Right now, he needs EVERYONE to log on to the testing servers and try out all the different parts of the game to make sure we thoroughly test all the systems. (Think of things like banking items, mini-games like Alchemy, joining/leaving guilds, enhancing gear, etc)

The entire team is eager to finish Phase 1 of the server rewrite so we can begin adding in the new functionality we know you guys have been waiting for! 

* What did you THINK they did when you weren't logged in? Tweet me your ideas about what your character does when you're not logged in, and I'll retweet the funniest.

** After all, the Queen of Monsters embodies Chaos... she should not stick to such an easily-foreseen plan as "raise 8 titans, have the hero face 8 generals"

*** Yes, that means we're going BACK to the main continent!

February 22, 2016

BioBeasts: Delta V Prison Break

Journey to a NEW World to save the BioBeasts Next Friday!

One mad scientist. Waves of mutated monsters from Lore. And a prison full of creatures doomed to be experimented on… Next week: gear up for a dungeon crawl based on our newest mobile game, BioBeasts!

This week's release is based on our newest mobile game... (you guessed it!): BioBeasts!

BioBeasts: Now Available for Android and iOS Devices

BioBeasts - from the creators of EpicDuel - is now available for  Android and iOS mobile devices!

Control a mutating beast, fight to escape from a robot-controlled laboratory, and compete with your friends to see who can get the highest score in this action-packed, single-player arcade-survival game!

August 08, 2012

Quibble Coming Soon!

Quibble returns NEXT Friday with new gear

Past, present, and future gear collide in Quibble Coinbiter's backpack! AQWorlds' very own time-traveling sales moglin arrives in Battleon next Friday, August 17th, but he won't be there long, so you'll want to dig through his chest of never-before-seen-slightly-used items and rares while you can!

Dravir Armor, helm, and wings with Technomancer Armor! - Dragonfable

Most of his items will cost AdventureCoins, but as the past few shops have, we will include gear for both members and non-members, as well! All of the equips are modeled on art from our current Chaos zone, The Span. Each of Quibble's newest items were inspired by gear from the original AdventureQuest, DragonFable, and MechQuest!

Kathool Adept and Chickencow Lord Armors! - DragonFable

Not exactly sure who Quibble Coinbiter is, or how he gets all that gear? Neither are we! But here's what he said last time I asked:

How do I get never-before-seen used items? Well, that's a trade secret. But just between us, I have a deal with a time travel fairy who brings me these things… even though they have not been built yet! They might show up later in the game or might be Rares that are never seen again!

Ubear Armor and Loco Costume - AdventureQuest

Inaddition to all of the armors pictured here, you can ALSO expect Quibble's shop to hold next Friday:

• Twig and Fwish Pet
• Gween Pet
• Chief Duncan's Space Cat Pet
• Sil Katar Daggers
• Ice Katana
• Color Custom Galacta Gun
• Guilt and Innocence Scythes
• And more!

Color-Custom Galactimech and Loki Mech Armors! - MechQuest

What happened the to The Sword of the Legion's shop?

The Sword of the Legion should have unlocked The Stranger's shop. Due to a miscommunication, that shop in the /evilwardage map is open to all players. To fix that error, Dage will create a special shop in Shadowfall just for those loyal Legion soldiers who kept their blades close by!

Chaos gets Beastly in SkyGuard!

That Master... something about him just ain't right. His growing paranoia - and a bit of help from a friend in the last release - make it easy for you to infiltrate his hidden bunker. Once inside, you'll need to find out just WHAT he's planning, but beware!

He hasn't given up his goal to embrace Chaos! Keep an eye on him, give him a hand, and maybe you'll find out just what his plans are! /Hone your blade and your wits, because the Master is a puzzle wrapped in an enigma locked inside a steampunk-prison!

Dage vs Nulgath War Update!

The Nation continues to crush the Legion, but Dage's undead soldiers are just DYING to even up the war meter! The Worshiper Visage of Revontheus and the Key of Revontheus will be added for Nulgath's followers. Dage's warriors will see a new armor and helm coming! Expect those later this week.

We will announce which Legion/Nation items will go rare as soon as Dage is back in the Lab. ALL of the AC items will go rare, but we need to determine which Legion Token/Diamond items will also go rare.*

Battle On, brave heroes! Victory is yours to take!

* Dage has been out of the Lab, sick for most of the week. Once he's battled that bug and back in the Lab, we'll add that new gear!

Dage vs Nulgath Print at HeroMart!

Head to HeroMart.com NOW to get your limited edition, hand-signed Dage vs Nulgath print! This illustration of Dage’s all-out invasion to control the Underworld pulls you straight into the battlefield… and our 11x17 limited-quantity print makes the BEST war-loot!

Both Dage the Evil and Nulgath will sign 500 prints, and once they are sold out, they’ll be real-life rares! Frame your print and then log into AQWorlds to help your favorite Evil Commander send his rival down in flames!

Each print comes with the following in-game items:

Dage The Evil's Rewards:

• Proto-Paragon Armor
• Proto-Paragon Helm
• Soul Kris Blade

Nulgath's Rewards:

• Dreadfiend of Nulgath Armor
• Dreadfiend Face of Nulgath Helm
• Dreadfiend Blade of Nulgath

NOTE: We are still waiting to receive the signed prints back from Nulgath, so there will be a small delay on shipping ONLY signed orders.

Coming the August in AQWorlds!

• Return to The Span to see WHY Galanoth had to slay the Dragon of Time!
• Journey to Shadowfall to aid Empress Gravelyn! The time for inaction is past!
• Uncover the TRUE nature of Lore's Clerics! What IS the secret of the Sisterhood of Dishpan Hands?

April 23, 2012

Save the World or Blow it Up!

Return to DoomWood!

Previously In DoomWood: The tale of DoomWood Part 1 is packed with puns, reveres vicious villains, and is overrun with undead, all while revealing the secrets of Artix's past... and future! This Friday, watch a "Previously in DoomWood" cutscene to revisit those memories of your journey with Artix to the deepest reaches of DoomWood!

If you haven't finished the zone (or started it) yet, then you should /join lightguard RIGHT NOW! You won't be required to have finished Part 1 to play, but when Part 2 REALLY starts next week, having that background knowledge is going to make the zone feel a lot fuller.

DoomWood Part 2: Whispers of the Shadow Lord will be available for ALL players and continues the story of Artix, Vordred, Sally, and Gravelyn, taking it to darker, more undead-ly places than ANY of us could have imagined!

DoomWood Member-only Mid-week!

PALADIN PUNCH! (Not the fruit drink.) In this week's member-only mid-week release, Cysero sets up your return (or introduction) to DoomWood but, as in any quest, your companions are the key to success! To unlock all the rewards this week has to offer, you'll want to make fast friends with Michtem, the Paladin Loremaster you'll meet on arrival.

When a misunderstanding pits you against one of DoomWood's Guardian Spirits, though, if fate is not kind, you won't have a ghost of a chance to survive! Rewards will include the Paladin Loremaster armor as well as a wide assortment of helms and capes, since we heard you guys wanted more of them!

SkyGuard: Things that Make You Go BOOMMM!

In the latest installment of the SkyGuard storyline, SkyPirates invade the High Command's mountaintop base, seeking to sabatoge communications and searching for access to their secret weapon. And that secret weapon just happens to be the all-new, high-powered battle-tech war mech, Project M3cha-d34th!

But when Stratos goes rogue, disobeying the High Command's orders, you'll need to deal with the SkyPirates on your own! Something's rotten in the High Command, and it will take all you've got to save the base and all of Lore without blowing it all sky high!

Dark Caster X, Knave1 Rares Shops leave May 7th!

Join Dage's Legion... or try to infiltrate it! Speak to Dage in Battleon to access the Dark Caster X shop. Talk to Knave1 in Swordhaven to browse his show of slayer-ful gear! Both shops leave May 7th, so all of you asking for extensions to the shop can rest easy, you've got time left... but not a lot!

Cerberoz Livedraw this Wednesday at 4pm!

Join us this Wednesday at 4PM server time for Cerberoz's in-game live-draw event! We'll be taking your suggestions over Twitter about what he should draw so that you can see your input shape the item as it appears on the screen!

If you haven't joined us for an in-game LiveDraw event yet, here's what's going on:

You'll want to /join stream once the event starts and you'll be able to watch as one of AE's epic artists draws an item based on your real-time suggestions! That item will go into the Black Market shop in the /stream map and, once the art is polished up, the item will turn into the weapon you've just seen created.

AQW Action Figure Video Premiere after Livedraw!

And make sure to stay in /stream after Cerberoz's drawing event ends to watch the world premiere of the AQWorlds Action Figure video! Created using stop-motion animation, you'll watch the Artix and Sepulchure action figures comes to life before your eyes! Look for more details about the premiere as the event draws closer!

News about the action figures?

The action figures are on their way to the Lab as we speak! We'll have prices and release dates to you guys as soon as they are finalized!

One of the Good guys!

We've got a sneak peek of one of HeroMart's newest items! Drawn by Cerberoz, this poster features all-new, dynamically-posted character art of some of AQWorlds' most well-known Good characters!

We'll have more information on this poster and all of the other new HeroMart items as the decisions are made. Keep an eye on HeroMart's Coming Soon page for more news!

AE heads to Relay for Life!

The world is made up of everyday heroes, and this weekend Artix Entertainment is joining a whole group of them as we race to find a cure to save lives in Relay for Life! We'll be walking, running, /stepdancing, and even /sambaing our way up, down, and around the track for 18 hours from Friday  to Saturday.

If you're in the area, /party up with us at the Charles S Rushe Middle School from 6PM Friday night to 12PM Saturday! We'd love to see all our local players there!

Ludum Dare Update: Kitty.coli

This weekend, Cysero, Samba, Rolith, Thyton, Warlic, Epic Duel's RabbleFroth, and I participated in the Ludum Dare, a timed game-making competition. Scroll down to see more details about our infection-themed top-down shooter called Kitty.coli (takes place inside a cat's gut)!

Although we didn't finish on time for the contest - thanks to some unforeseen bugs (how appropriate!) - we have the beginnings of an awesome minigame with absolutely SICK art (literally)!

Thanks to all of you who supported us over this weekend with questions and encouragement! Making games is something we love to do so much that sometimes it's hard to stop when Friday's releases are over.

Coming SOON in AQW!

If you were in-game earlier this month, you might have seen Artix share some secrets about what's coming in AQWorlds over the next few months. But now we're going to tell EVERYONE! So here's what you have to look forward to:

• DoomWood Part 2 - Whispers of the Shadow Lord starts NEXT WEEK!
• Alchemy Tradeskill - IN TESTING NOW!
• Dage vs Nulgath War THIS SUMMER!
• The next Chaos Lord - a Chaorrupted Chronomancer explores your destiny... and the timelines which combined to form AQWorlds!
• We are working every day to get Guilds ready for release, BUT we really want to do this right, so testing and time are of utmost importance before it can release. /Cheer Yorumi on as he commands the code to make it happen!

January 20, 2012

Betrayal is in the Air

Be on your guard in the Air Realm!

Lightning flashes when Air and Earth clash! Winds of fire scour the sandy land. Noxious fog settles in the valleys, choking the breath from the dragons that remain. All this, As'iiur sees. And he despairs. That is why he need YOU, and with you, Galanoth, to help him create the dragon-strength air-binding potion to subdue Desoloth.

Wind be ever all around you, Hero!

Only then will his realm - and his precious draconic children - be safe! Galanoth's knowledge of how potent to make the air potion will come in handy while you are off battling to gather the components. But beware, for all is not as it seems! Can you trust those around you? 

404 Lore Error: DragonSlayer Not Found

Also be sure to check out the additions of two of our newest contributors! Hizu, formerly a HeroSmash animator, is going to begin helping Samba animate monsters, freeing her up to pump more epicosity into the cutscenes! And welcome Reeky to the AE team! He is Warlic's sound assistant and composed the gorgeous music you're hearing tonight! Welcome to you both, the AQW team is lucky to have you!

Chinese New Year returns! 

Panlong, the legendary lake dragon, has risen to welcome in the new year as the old one flows out with the tide! He has many quests for you to go on, Hero, and even MORE rewards for you to claim once you're done!

Year of the Dragons on parade!

New Year's rewards will feature:

• FOUR colors of the Dragon Armor!
• Water Dragon Spirit Pet! (member only)
• Parade Dragon Pet! (AC non-member)
• And so much more!

The Chinese New Year's event will be available until Monday, February 6th!

Members: Return to Akiba!

If you didn't log in on Wednesday, Members, you've got a WHOLE member-expansion storyline to do! If you like shadows, assassins, or saving princesses, then this is the update for you!  Take a tour of a new addition to the Akiba map and get some EPICLY shaded shadowninja rewards!

We cut the Cheese release!

That's right. It was us. We'll take the blame. No new Cheese Day items. Try not to be bleu. It stinks, I know, but we just didn't have time while producing all this other AWESOME content! So no new Cheese items, and all those great, gooey rewards from last year are still rare. 

Don't worry, though, the rest of the release is full of muensters to battle and some really gouda-looking rewards to gain! Sorry, that last line was probably too cheesy.

Coming Soon!

Next week as we journey through Etherstorm's Water Realm, we'll find out just where Galanoth went, and more importantly... WHY. After that, we'll start rockin' with Etherstorm Waste's Earth Realm. Beyond that comes... Valentine's Day! But beware, because ARTIX is writing this holiday event, and he WON'T let me even look at the script. Mermaids, love, and... Artix writing it all?!

Have a GREAT weekend, everyone! We'll return on Monday for another week of stories, gaming, and unpredictably Chaotic insanity! And speaking of unpredictable insanity... have you seen Artix's new AQ3D project Design Notes?