Design Notes

September 07, 2012

Return to Mobius

The Solaris and Lunaris Clans Await!

Shoot for the stars! Light and Darkness dominate the skies in an eternal clash for supremacy... and immensely-powerful artifacts!

Solaris and Lunaris Call to You!

This weekend, return to the /Mobius map in Chiral Valley and speak to either Saa'thel or Traveon. Ally with either the Lunaris or Solaris clans and, with your help, one side may finally gain the ability to control the stars... and Lore itself!

All-new Suggestion Shop Gear is Here!

Speak with Yulgar to view our all-new Suggestion items! We take your designs and put them in-game for ALL your friends to /equip! Because we've put so many of your ideas into AQW, the Suggestion Shop is overloaded!

Reminiscence Armor and Rune Falcon blade

So we're moving all the current gear into the Legendary Suggestions Shop. You can still buy those OR take a look at all the epic gear in the NEW Suggestions Shop!

Talk to Twilly for Power Gem Solution!

We've got a POWERFUL fix to the power gem problem! Talk to Twilly in Battleon (you'll find him on top of the gem-stack) once a week to get 1 Power Gem added straight into your inventory. You MUST have a confirmed email to get a Power Gem.

Twilly's got Your Gem!

The Power Gem link will ALSO be included in the newsletter emails, but if you do not receive an email for any reason, you can talk to Twilly in-game to get your Gem. You cannot get more than 1 Gem a week, so if you get it through your newsletter, you cannot get a 2nd from Twilly.

To confirm your email and begin receiving 1 FREE Power Gem each week, go here: Account Manager!
If you see two stacks of Power Gem in your inventory, we will fix that next week.

Brasilian Independence Day!

Thanks for your continued support of AQWorlds, and congratulations on the anniversary of your Brasilian Independence Day! And to share the excitement that comes with a holiday like that, we've made the Brasilian Independence Day items available to everyone!

Aproveitem os raros épicos! There are some awesome new Brasil-themed items as well as all of the items from last year!

/Join Battleon to browse the 2012 Obrigado Shop!

• FIVE colorful Arara pets!
• A NEW armor set!*
• All the returning seasonal rares!

* One of our Brasilian mods, Colosso (formerly Daimyo), requested we put his personal set into the shop this year. Obrigado, Colosso!

DOUBLE Ballyhoo Rewards for US Players!

Now through September 16th, if you live in the United States, when you visit Ballyhoo and watch our How To Train Your Dragon ad, receive DOUBLE the usual rewards! As long as you see the HTTYD video and background skin, you'll receive 1,000 gold OR a chance to gain 7 Adventure Coins! Just /join battleontown to view Ballyhoo ads up to 10 times a day!

All good Heroes should know the basics of How to Train Your Dragon... and her new ad shows you a great resource to do that! View her ad, then open the Magic Treasure Chest for a chance to gain either 7 free AdventureCoins OR 1,000 gold!

* If you live outside the US, you can still watch Ballyhoo's regular ads for a chance to get either 500 gold or a few Adventure Coins!

Coming Soon!

• J6 the Bountyhunter is turning Builder! He wants to expand your housing selection, so what new houses would YOU like to live in?
• Samba loves animals... and making sure you're protected! This month she'll introduce the member-only "My First Battle-Pet" shop. What starter battle-pets do you want?
• We will announce the rewards of the Matomy Contest as soon as we get in touch with the winners!
• The next Span release! (Are you ready to meet the zone's first Chaos Beast?)
• Guilds Phase I are BACK on Yorumi's active To-Do List!

Have a good night, everyone, and enjoy the release!

43 days...

August 27, 2012

News You Want To Know

We've got so much to share, one DN post isn't enough!

You think we would take it EASY when we only have 3 days to build the release, but here at the Lab we look at every challenge as a new opportunity to go beyond our limits! So here's the scoop what we've got coming this Friday during our chaotic Dragon*Con release!*

• Talk to Quibble to see his latest gear, Dragon-style in honor of Con!
•  Learn the secret mission of the Sisterhood of Dishpan Hands, Lore's foremost Order of Clerics!
• Epic Water-themed rewards will be yours if you help the Clerics! 
• Get the war meter to 100% by Friday, August 31st to win Dage's Paragon Set!

* Of COURSE we're going to roll live from Dragon*Con! What better place to release than from 47 stories up, looking down at a crowd of 60,000 people?!

Quibble's not Draggin' His Heels - NEW Dragon Gear!

Dragons don't much like Quibble - they say he smells disagreeable, and they don't want him near their hoards. But he DID manage to retrieve some never-before-seen-slightly used dragon-themed items from a side-future just in time for Dragon*Con!

Talk to him this Friday to grab your own pieces of the Unleashed Dragon Set!

• Unleashed Dragon Armor
• Unleashed Dragon Mask
• Unleashed Dragon Helmet
• Rage Unleashed Polearm
• Dual Dragonfang Daggers
• Dragon Scale Cape

Don't miss Solrac's set, and keep an eye out for previews of Dage's Draconic Barbarian set, too!

Secrets of the Sisterhood: Get ready to Fight Dirty!

Watching, waiting, seeking information... The Clerics of the Sisterhood of Dishpan Hands are quiet, helpful, and inconspicuous.

If you asked, they would extoll the virtues of purity and Order, cleanliness and the life-giving power of Water. But their inconspicuous presence masks a more important mission than anyone on Lore suspects - until now!

This weekend, travel to /clerictemple and speak with Cleric Dawn. The Sisters need YOUR help to push forward on a quest vital to the safety and security of every creature on Lore! She won't tell you ALL their secrets right away, but once you've gained her trust, you'll also learn the truth!

A Tidal Wave of Epic Water Rewards!

Be prepared to travel all across Lore gathering the data and surveying the potential trouble sites the Sisters direct you tot. Help them gain the knowledge they need and you'll be rewarded with a deluge of Water-themed rewards!

• HydraCaster Armor
• Tidal Breaker Armor
• Translucent Rose Cape
• Cleric's Aura Cape
• Seaworthy Scythes and Staves
• And more!

New Ballyhoo Promotion Begins Today!

If you haven't ment Ballyhoo yet, head to /battleontown and talk to the elf with the offers! Ballyhoo is the master of Promotions and Hoopla, and she's got a new offer for you.

All good Heroes should know the basics of How to Train Your Dragon... and now Ballyhoo has a new ad viewable through September 16th which will help you learn how to do that!

View her ad, then open the Magic Treasure Chest for a chance to gain either free AdventureCoins or gold! Players in the United States can view this ad up to 10 times a day!

Get Dage's War Meter to 100% by Friday for Paragon Set!

Fans of Dage the Evil and members of his Undead Legion have waited long and worked hard to earn his Paragon armor, helm, and cape! You are so close to owning a set of unparalleled, Evil armor... you just need to raise Dage's war meter to 100% by this Friday, August 31st!

The Paragon Set prices:

• Paragon Armor - 2,000 ACs
• Paragon Helm - 125 ACs
• Paragon Cape - 85 ACs

TRUE members of the Undead Legion can purchase the Paragon Set for Legion Tokens! Dage has not decided on the prices for the Legion Token version of the armor yet, but we'll announce them as soon as he has.

The 1000 AC price for Paragon Armor mentioned in previous Design Notes was only if Dage the Evil won the war. He did not win, but was convinced to release it if the meter hits 100% by Friday. The price is now 2,000 ACs. Sorry guys, that's the way the Evil cookie crumbles!

War Rewards: What Goes Rare and When!

We've mentioned this in previous Design Notes, but we get thousands of new players each month, and new news is better than old news, even if it's the same news. The war content going rare will be removed on September 4th, after the team returns from Dragon*Con.

The war rewards - Dage's Paragon and the Legacy of Nulgath sets - will be available until September 21st! You all battled so hard to earn them, we want to give you all extra time to squeeze in that last bit of farming before they're gone.

The following war content will STAY after the war ends:

• The Underworld map
• Underworld monsters
• Monster drops
• Underworld story-related cutscenes and cinematics
• The War Merge shops
• All of the items from the Token/Diamond shops will go rare except the Evolved Blademaster and Abyssal Priest of Nulgath armors!

The following war content will GO RARE after the war ends:

• The Dage and Nulgath Rares shops
• The Legion Token/Diamond farming quests
• The quests to get Dage and Nulgath's rare weapons
• All of the items from the Token/Diamond shops will go rare except the Evolved Blademaster and Abyssal Priest of Nulgath armors! 

Target and Matomy Promotion Reminders!

Don't forget: you need to redeem the Artix Entertainment gamecard from Target stores before August 31, 2012 to unlock the Bullseye Spear! The 2,000 AC version of the spear Valencia is selling will also be removed on August 31st.

You have until September 2, 2012 to complete at least one offer through our Matomy AExtras promotion. The grand prize is a combo pack of the black Artix and Sepulchure action figures! You can also win either 3,000 or 4,500 ACs!

Click here to begin participating in AExtras offers! (Make sure you have a separate email just for doing this.)

Retcons: changing the past to aid the future

Sometimes we have ideas in mind when writing the releases that make sense to us, but don't come across clearly to you guys. That happened with last week's Gravelyn release.

We'll be going back to it and changing some of the key details to indicate that it takes place AFTER the Doomwood II zone. This should clear up some confusion (and let us keep the easter egg in Drakath's opening scene).

Power Gems Issues? Read Here!

Some of you are still having issues receiving your newsletter. Please remember the steps to check, and there is now a Help Page FAQ dedicated to these kinds of email-related errors.

Here is how to get Power Gems:

• Make sure your AQWorlds Game Account has a Confirmed Email.
• Every week, check your AQWorlds Newsletter delivered to your email inbox.
• Click the special link that you will find in the Newsletters.
• If you're having issues with your email or receiving newsletters, please see this Email Help Page for more assistance!

August 20, 2012

Gravelyn Grows Impatient

Shadows are stirring inside the Empress' Fortress!

With Chaos on the move and the Alliance not advancing in their crusade to overcome it, Empress Gravelyn is growing impatient. She needs to move, and soon! This Friday, you will be summoned to her throne room in /Shadowfall.

She'll send you on quests into the heart of her Fortess AND through the rest of Lore to prove your allegiance! (... or to see why Good is ineffective! Will you remain true to your King?)

Rob strangers to finance your Empress, save strangers to prove to the Empress that a Good alignment is the right choice... and watch as Gravelyn begins the journey to reclaim her throne in the eyes of ALL Lore!

This week's rewards will come in three styles: Evil, Good, (and for those of you who just HAVE to be different) Chaos!

Quibble Update on Friday!

Time keeps on ticking into the future... and so do your rewards! Quibble's shop will be updated just in the nick of time this Friday with: Time Travel-themed gear! Look for more art previews later this week.

Power Gem Newsletter Info!

It sounds like a lot of you are looking forward to getting all of that shiny Power Gem gear that Twilly has in Battleon!

New features often come with bugs, and not all of them can be caught without a wide pool of testers. (That's you!) Here are some things to be aware of:

If you have a confirmed email but aren't receiving the newsletter:

The issue is most likely that your email provider blocked the individual message. (It might have been flagged as spam accidentally.) You can sign-up with new email and you'll start getting the newsletter again!

To make sure you DO get the newsletters, Captain Rhubarb is going to set up a "Send me a sample newsletter" link to make sure that you receive it. The next week, you'll get an actual newsletter with a Power Gem link!

If you get a message that the Game Database Server is unreachable:

You may be clicking an old link, or your email might not be confirmed. That just means the data you used was invalid. Make sure your email is confirmed and try again when the next newsletter reaches you.

If you get a newsletter which has code instead of a link:

Please post a screenshot on the forum showing that error. In the meantime, Megalops is going to look into what could be causing that.

Current Promotion Reminders!

Artix Gamecards are still in stock at US Target locations! Redeem your card before August 31st, 2012, to unlock the Bullseye Spear bonus item AND Artix Points! They can be used to purchase AQWorlds membership or Adventure Coins! 

Our AExtras offer with Matomy is still running! You have until September 2nd to complete at least one offer. The grand prize is a combo pack of the black Artix and Sepulchure action figures! You can also win either 3,000 or 4,500 ACs!

Click here to begin participating in AExtras offers! (Make sure you have a separate email just for doing this.)

Can you get to 100% for the Paragon Set?

Dage the Evil has been persuaded! If you can get his war meter to 100% before the release time on August 31st (while we're at Dragon*Con!), he will offer his Paragon Set for Adventure Coins once the goal is reached! How fast can you battle?!

He sees how hard his followers have battled through this war, and he wants to reward your valiant efforts! But don't think that because he's giving you a gift, that he is any less Evil...

Sword of the Legion Shop News!

The Sword of the Legion, a reward from The Stranger's quest in /evilwardage, will unlock a shop on Dage's NPC in the future! He's not sure what to put in there yet, so let him know on Twitter what you'd like to see!

Artix's Dragon*Con Update!

DragonCon takes place every year in Atlanta, Georgia. It is a weekend long convention (Recommended ages 15+) with 30,000+ attendees... most in amazing costumes. I guess it is really like a weekend long costume party with celebrity guests (walk of fame), panels featuring the casts of your favorite sci-fi/fantasy/etc TV shows, video games, art galleries, table top games, concerts, shopping and... well, check out the schedule on the DragonCon website. As mentioned in our previous post, the Artix Entertainment team will be attending in force again this year. We will be running a panel and a fan table!

Our artist Jemini (pictured above) has like 3 different costumes this year!

Come see us at DragonCon

• Artix Entertainment ALL GAMES Panel:  Saturday @ 5:30pm at the Hilton in Grand Salon E! 
• Fan Table: We are taking turns running it all weekend. Located... um... wherever all the cool fan tables are.

3rd Birthday Event almost over!

If you haven't played our 3rd birthday extravaganza with guest stars They Might Be Giants yet, then /join collection today! You will only be able to access this event until October 12th, 2012, when we launch our 4th birthday/wedding event!

Play through The Collector event to unlock:

• TWO Character page and Book of Lore achievements!
• Token merge shops!
• Vindicator of They set!
  
• Super-Fan Swag Merge Shop!
• It Might Be A House Item Shop!
• And TWO ALL-NEW TMBG song written JUST for AQWorlds!

August 17, 2012

Learn how AQW began

By Journeying to the Time Void in The Span!

Return to Chaos this week as Iadoa takes you on a journey across Time itself! If you wondered how AQWorlds was created from 3 divergent timelines, then this is the release for you! But can you trust Iadoa? A Chronomancer who has fallen - even in part - to Chaos? How do you know he is leading you onto your path of destiny?

Time Travel Fairies are dangerous! Don't blink or you'll miss their attack!

Your quest to seek out the Eternal Dragon of Time leads you to the Time Void, but knowledge comes at a cost. Prove yourself to Vaxt Ahas, the Unending, to gain access to the information you seek.

Do not taunt the Eternal Dragon of Time!

And don't miss the new rewards in The Span's rep shop! The Soul Banisher Armor, the Baconing Mace, Glaive of the Orb Staff, Beams of Celeritas Wings... there is new gear for both members and non-members!

And if you take on the Unending Avatar boss and win, there are even MORE rewards to earn!

VIDEO BONUS SPOILER*: Click here to see Samba narrate the final cutscene! Hysterical!

*Do NOT watch under after completing the release!

Quibble Coinbiter Returns to Battleon!

Quibble Coinbiter is BACK with never-before-seen-slightly-used items items** from your past, present, and future! 

Loco Costume with the Glaive of the Orb staff (in The Span Rep Shop)

• Technomancer Armor
• ChickenCow Suit set
• Performing Ubear Suit set
• Kathool Adept
• Loki Mecha
• Dravir Armor set
• Prismatic Galactimech set

• Twig's Fwish Pet
• Gween Pet
• SpaceCat Pet
• Dragonhand Mace
• Mega Dragonblade
• Dew Dancer Wings
• And more!

**Unless you've played AdventureQuest, DragonFable, and Mech

Dark Caster Class is live!

If you're one of the 4,000 people who held onto their Dark Caster armor from Dage's birthday shop a few years ago, then you'll want to /join Shadowfall to begin Dage's Dark Caster Class quest! Brave a terrifying dragon to acquire the priceless artifact Dage MUST have! Bring it to him and the Dark Caster Class will be yours!

You must have the original Dark Caster armor to go on the quest. Dark Caster X armor does not unlock the quest.

Convince Dage to give you a reward!

Dage the Evil has said his Paragon will not be released since his side lost the war. Get the Legion War Meter up to 100% and MAYBE he will change his mind! It couldn't hurt, right?

New Matomy Ad Offer on AExtras!

From August 17th until September 2nd, Matomy is running a special AExtras offer! ONE lucky player who completes an offer will win the grand prize: a combo pack of the black Artix and Sepulchure action figures! You can also win either 3,000 or 4,500 ACs!

Click here to begin participating in AExtras offers! (Make sure you have a separate email just for doing this.)