Design Notes

January 22, 2015

Jack of All Trades

Tradeskills Throwback Thursday

Sure, a single wasted second may mean the destruction of Lore, but that doesn’t mean your hobbies need to be put on hold! Maybe you have started ranking these tradeskills or have never heard of them, either way, read on for all the information you need to know to improve your character’s skillset.

Want to know all the different Tradeskills?  Click here for ACWO's explanation of them!!

October 04, 2014

This is Mogloween

Four Nostalgia Packed Posts!

Holidays are big in Artix Entertainment, but few are more hyped than the October spooktacular Mogloween. Whether you’ve play each release or are new to the AQW family, check back every Thursday this month for a new nostalgia-filled Mogloween themed Throwback. The more knowledge a hero has, the more they can get out of all the previous Mogloween maps!

Pumpkin King Canarage

Back in October of 2008, when AQW was barely on the road to the MMO it is today, the bridge between Lore and Mystcroft become clear. In a town where it is always Mogloween, ghouls and bumps in the night are the norm. However a vicious vegetable, The Great Pumpkin King, proved to more trouble than the town’s inhabitants could endure. Luckily, Artix didn’t want any Mogloween sweets, he needed a monster to stick his (chainsaw) teeth into. This Pumpkin beast can’t be defeated, only contained after its arrival every Mogloween.
Following years of Artix vs Pumpkin clashes, he needs a hero to take up the fight. With the drops available, it’s time to grab a sickle and start slaying. Just listen to these satisfied plant killers:
Alina: I got a Great Pumpkin Sword!
Twilly: I got the Pumpkin Lord Class!!!
Artix: I got a Mini-Pumpkin Pet!!!!!
Cysero: I got a rock.

Jack-o’-Lord

In 2009 AQW players finally learned about something better than beating the King of the pumpkins.What could be possibly be more enjoyable? Why, being a lord of those orange wannabe gourds of course. Be warned, obtaining the coveted Pumpkin Lord class is no easy task. Finding a ripe enough verision to pluck from the dying leaves of the StalkWalker or Great Pumpkin King is quite rare. Expect a successful search 1 out of every 100 times. If one can claim the Pumpkin Lord for their own, be ready to carve through enemies in Mystcroft and beyond!

Double Bubble Toil and Trouble

Between the 3 cauldron sisters and a seemingly sympathetic Vampire Queen, Mystcroft has enough quests and items to obtain that a skeleton can be worked to the bone. Before any candy shoppe or corny farm adventures, it’s time to help out Safiria and the sisters Bubble, Toil, and Trouble in Mystcroft's resident haunted mansion. If a true hero can help all the residents out in a pinch, Safiria may have some thrilling Vampire Queen requests in store. Before offering assistance know that these sisters are all candy, all the time. With their talking candy cauldron Myx they plan to make enough sweets for everyone. As frequent stars of AQW’s Mogloween adventures, you never know trouble they get themselves into. Whether driving Lore’s Moglins into sugar related insanity or investigating some children’s obsession with corn, they know how to keep October interesting.

More Tricks and Treats to come

This is only the first few licks of the lollipop that is Mogloween! The cauldron sisters and all of Mystcroft’s residents have plenty more stories to tell. Log on tomorrow to relive 6 years of amazing releases! Between Anniversaries, Upholder opportunities and Mogloween, October is shaping up to be a busy month. No tricks here, be sure to check the DNs often to not miss any info or Mogloween Throwbacks! Please tweet me @ACWO or comment on the forms with any suggestions for Mogloween NCPs or releases you’d like me to showcase next.

September 25, 2014

Saving the Citadel!

A Mana Mashing Throwback Thursday

Some can’t live without magic, others can’t live with it. The Inquisitors hiding in the hollow halls of /join Citadel have made it their goal to persecute every mana user possible. Under the watchful eye of the Great Wizard Murry, you must make haste in setting these misguided Muggles straight!

Managing Murry’s Laws

Old Man Murry has had his fair share of encounters with the Inquisitors. From torturous fish slapping to Horc sweat suspension, he’s seen it all. Anyone in their right mind would want to get back at the Inquisitors for their injustice. Fortunately, while Murry seems to have lost his mind years ago, he has a plan to give the Inquistors a taste of their own medicine and needs your help. He needs you to start with Inquisitor Grunts and Guards. Then he encourages you to slowly slice your way up the chain of command to Captains, until finally coming face to face with the Grand Inquisitor himself.

Guardians of the Caster Cosmos

After spending ages as a Citadel prisoner, Murry is fairly certain there is more to the Inquisitor’s plan than the eradication of all magic. After borrowing some items to investigate, the Inquisitors seem to use a vacuum device to drain the mana of those they’ve imprisoned. What’s interesting, however, is where the magic goes upon capture. Could these machines actually be powering orbs for the Inquisitors’ own use?

Questioning Grand Inquisitors

Murry has seen enough. It’s time to cut off this beast at the neck. March into the chamber of the Grand Inquisitor, dismembering any who stand in your way. Beating the leader in his own stronghold should be enough to embarrass the anti-magic sediment out of the Inquisitor forces. Time is of the essence in this encounter, as the Grand Inquisitor is too far a coward not to summon backup. If you fail to win the battle in time, his beast, Belrot the Red Fiend, may just be waiting for your carcass.

Glorious Gold!

Sitting all day at the base of a mountain looking for heros to help teach Inquisitors a lesson or two on mana management isn’t the best way for Murry to make a living. Lucky for him, those that help tend to have gold galore, so selling his spectacular collection of wares for sky-high prices isn’t too much of an issue. Get your wallets ready heros as though this might be one of the older releases in AQW, the gear in Murry’s shop is still some of the best to date!

The Portal is a Lie.

Journeying through the mountains surrounding the colossal Citadel, one would come across paths to nowhere, an overly aggressive grizzly bear, and a bloodshot portal to a world beyond. While orange or blue portals with a companion hexahedron are the only portals deemed safe to explore by Loremasters, the pull of the possibilities in this portal are hard to pass up. However, not every hero can enter the portal’s chamber for a bag of 50 Bone Dusts is needed to gain passage inside. I heard that Big Jack Sprat and several of the Skeletal Warriors’ techniques are getting a little rusty. Maybe a quick skirmish with the clumsy skullheads could dust off any bad habits.

IRL Inquisition

With the school season in full swing, I’m sure many of Lore’s heros are stuck behind a desk for hours each week. However, the extra stress of reality doesn’t need to push virtual reality onto the backburner. Finding time to play a game or two takes stress off and keeps everyone sane. Thank you to Lazer_AE for his unbearably awesome screenshot. 

September 04, 2014

A Look Back at Lair

Sora here,

Hey look Throwback DNs are back!  With the chaos of Drakath now behind us and before we start the next saga (have you SEEN that thing above Mount DoomSkull???) it's time to bring back ACW0's write ups on past areas.  Enjoy!

A Fiery Blast from the Past

/Join Lair may be one of AQW’s oldest maps, but that doesn’t mean it hasn’t evolved over the years. From Cysero’s mid-week lair mini release to Galanoth losing his arm, Vasalkar Lair is still worth the occasional check up. Be wary, not all in Lair is a piece of cake, this map’s newest additions sure pack a punch.

Back Case of Helmet Hair

Galanoth is no typical DragonSlayer, his entire life revolves around the act. Whether the dragon is good, bad, or a legendary Time Keeper, if you can call it a dragon, it’s going down. Don’t judge Galanoth though, he has a right to be angry. After losing both his parents to a rogue dragon attack as a mere child, he spent his life avenging his parents. Hopefully with a little help from a hero, he can make the best choices when defending Lore.

Next-Gen Slayer

Only those that prove their mastery of dragon massacring, are worthy of holding the title of DragonSlayer. If you can finish Galanoth’s requests and defeat what lair has to throw at you, then mastering this class will be of little challenge. As a heavy melee class, becoming a DragonSlayer is all about about beating up dragonborn. Equip this class and you will be slicing and dicing the Red Dragon in no time.

FUS RO NAH

Is slaying the fabled Red Dragon once and for all truly merited? Lair’s mid-week release update puts your moral compass to the test. After defeating their mother, a nest of dragon eggs has been left unguarded. Are you a Dragonhunter like Duncan, and strive to vanquish this bloodline eggshell by eggshell? Or do you see the errors in egg eradication like Ferzana, and save baby dragons for the next generation. Either way, once chosen, your decision and possible quest rewards are final. Can these baby dragons walk the narrow path of good or is it necessary to destroy this evil in the womb?

You’re Fired

Even when Galanoth is away, Vasalkar Lair needs a protector to keep the dragons at bay. Back during the Golden Onslaught, Galanoth’s mysterious disappearance left the mighty DragonLord Bob defending Lair in his place. While Bob’s true past is unknown, it is believed he was one of the first DragonSlayers in existence. Staying under the radar, Bob rarely helps in the same capacity for long. Seemingly never aging, Bob has seen the beginning of Dragon slaying and will most likely live to the end of it. Who is he? Will he ever return? Just how did he get his name? Bob leaves more questions asked than can be answered.

Putting Rewards to Scale

Some heros think they need fancy quests or giant Mana Golems to farm gold, but since AQW’s early days Vasalkar Lair has allowed players of any level to earn a quick buck. Draconian wings and swords yield a hearty price in markets beyond, and every monster in Lair has some form of loot for you to claim. However, all other prizes fall flat when compared to the Red Dragon’s loot horde. Farming this dragon is worth the perils, as many a ruler or fiend would give an arm and a leg for its gear.

Sora here again, fun fact about me, the Dragon Wings dropped by Vasalkar started my wing collecting obsession, I was lucky enough to get them as a drop when I was a free player and I still have them.

A Writer on the Run

With the final battle against Drakath finally over, there had been little time to look back at the past for throwbacks, especially since all of Lore's future was at stake! The past must be examined, so not to commit the same mistakes. As always, please comment on the forums or tweet me @ACWOAE with any feedback or future throwback suggestions!

May 29, 2014

Gear Up for Adventure

Get Ready for a Crash Landing

Back in the outskirts of Greenguard Forest at /join dwakel, an age old battle of alien invaders vs natural resources is taking place. After crash landing their experimental ship, a dwakel colony made its mission to rebuild their craft, using any and ALL resources necessary. Unless you want the wrath of Captain Lore’s army of tree-huggers upon you, it’s time to make sure these invaders leave the land with its resources intact.

Inspector or Collector

With the forest on the verge of environmental collapse, it’s time for a radioactive, machinery filled scavenger hunt. Taravya has a grocery list full of items that might turn this overcooked situation sunny side up:

• 8 Chunks Quadrolithium
• 4 Dam Balloons
• 6 Bumper Bolts
• 1 Alien Butt-Kicking Attitude

Mix all these ingredients together and this forest may be safe from toxic cesspool-dom yet.

What’s All This For?

• Quadrolithium like Crystallized Dragon’s Breath is an essential, nearly inexhaustible component for powering spacecraft. While inexhaustible, it’s far from clean energy. One shard of radioactive Quadroithium is enough to poison a horc if handled improperly.
• Dwakels often replenish their mana from pure water. Environmentalists be wary, however, as every mana point replenished is another water drop lost. To keep the streams from running dry, dam balloons are a must to block dwakels from their favorite water sources.
• After the environment is saved, it’s time for some sabotage. By taking the bumper bolts from Dwakel suits, their armor will collapse in on themselves, effectively turning a killing machine into a toy tricycle.

Fully Charged Situation

Now that the scavenger hunt has come to a close, it’s time to get a good look at the crashed craft. After obstructing their resources, this dwakel colony should be all but surrendering. However, the mighty Mithril Man is still standing. As their ship’s last line of defense, this monster keeps going and going, having the strength of a hardcore-hare on steroids. Better drum up all your courage hero, this battle will be a shocking experience for all involved. If you can power down this monster in a two round brawl, then the Piston-Driven Polearm and spacecraft secrets are yours.

Silicon DIE-Oxide

Seems like these dwakels still have one more trick up their mechanical sleeves. Hidden behind a set of broilers, this monster would be a Stark naked wimp, if not for its iron plated suit that’s dying to make you feel like a puny god.This is the last threat to face before the dwakels can be beaten to the peace table. If you can take this machine down, then a multitude of mechanical riches await.

A Class Act

Beyond steampunk-era alien tech, defeating the ProtoSarium will earn you the Legend’s only ProtoSarium Class. Taravya will also trade you the Rustbucket Class, for a few spare ProtoSarium parts if you aren’t yet Legend level. As a jack of all trades, a Rustbucket or ProtoSarium needs a bit of every stat to get going in a fight. Will you equip these classes and be a lightning level force on the battlefield or just left in the junkyard?

Flying to Freedom

Before you go saying Deja Moo, thinking you’ve heard this bull before, it may be in the forest’s best interest to fix the dwakel colony’s ship. If you can get these invaders out of Greenguard environmentaly unschathed, maybe the enivornmentals will leaf all this alone. Good luck fixing that technology though, as who knows what some of it does?

Old Ain’t Always Bad

While this release is one of AQW’s oldest, doesn’t mean it isn’t worth checking out. Get to it heros and keep Greenguard Forest safe from dwakel destruction! As always post any comments on the forums and tweet me @ACWOAE with future throwback suggestions. Now that schools out, hopefully I’ll be able to focus on AQW and the terrors of Drakath, rather than the terrors of homework!

Huge thank you to Lafbael, Akeem, Rock Lea, and Odin Fatalis for sending in rocking screenshots for this throwback! Who knows, maybe you’ll be featured in the next one? Watch twitter to see when it’s time for the next set of photos!

April 17, 2014

A Big Step Back

This is One Tall Tale!

Sorry to have missed the last few throwbacks everyone, between New York City for choir and bronchitis, I’ve had my hands pretty full.

Sidenote: When going to NYC to sing with your favorite composer, always stalk his twitter for his favorite hot sauce. ALWAYS.

Speaking of Stalking

It’s story time! Besides monster slaying and quest looting, finding time to entertain BattleOn’s youth with daring stories of past adventures is still a priority. If you haven’t already, check in with Yulgar over at his Inn and click Giant’s Tale to begin your biggest retelling yet!

Jack and the Bean-NOT

Living as a bean farmer on the outskirts of town, Jack never had the easy life, especially with this year’s bean crop producing only a few handfuls. A stranger sensing Jack’s troubles, decided to take pity on him and trade his lowly crop for not just a regular Chickencow, but a MAGICAL CHICKENCOW!

Just when things seemed almost normal. BOOM CYSERO

Has Cy been sitting there the whole time? Who knows, but either way he’s here now to interrupt your wicked storytelling whenever possible. After attempting to calm Cysero, you tell the children how Jack decided to well... um… plant the Chickencow in his field? Never said Jack was a normal child. Following fairytale fable, isn’t this the point where the magic beanstalk should appear. NOPE! I hope a spotted ladder rising from the grounds rungs a bell, because that’s definitely what happened.

Don’t Look Down

This ladder didn’t just steal the show, it stole the whole town! Turns out the giant really likes his own personal entourage, especially when that group is no bigger than his fist. Make your way through a lawn bigger than a forest in order to rescue the stolen citizens and right Jack’s wrongs. Watch out though, after you claw your up to the townsfolk holding cell, your cage guard encounter will be far from purr-fect.

Feeling Blue

Beating up the giant’s cat is looking in the wrong neck of the woods for the key to the cage. Turns out that the true location is where else, but resting around the giant’s neck!

DUH DUH DUNNNNNNN

How does one take on the gigantic task of key stealing? Why by a visit to smuurvilest village around of course! It’s funny though, turns out the Smuurvilans don’t like it when you slap them black and blue for their potion ingredients, so be careful when gathering regents, as these villagers pack a punch!

Roach Racers

After only a mild brawl with the citizens of Smuurvil, it looks like you have all the ingredients necessary for mixing. Finally an easy task, all you have to do is scuttle your way to the giant’s soup across the dinner table. Sorry hero, but swat that idea out of easy out of your head! There’s another gang that rules this dinner table, and the Roach Racers mean business. Don’t bug the Racing Roaches Gang for safe the passage though, the only way across this table is though a crazy-crafted kart race!

Soup Sadness

If you can beat the bugs at their own game, it’s time for a stealthy soup drop off. If all goes correctly, a giant sized soup faceplant and key are in your sights. SPLASH! That sounded like a soup bowl to the face, but wait, WHERE’S THE KEY?

FE FI FO FUM WHY IN THE WORLD DID YOU KNOCK OUT MY SON

The real master of the house has revealed himself, get ready for the fight to save the town and yourself! Don’t stop now hero, the key is within your sights! Who know’s what will happen when the dust clears, but I guarantee it won’t be something you’d suspect!

Who Needs a Golden Harp?

What’s any giant house raid without equally giant rewards? Beyond monster drops that make a golden goose go green with envy, you have an entire roach rubbish pile to raid. Happy reward rummaging!

Only a Small Summary

The hardest part of these posts is condensing such an amazing storyline into only a few paragraphs. Reading a release may be fun, but is nothing like playing it, so get out there heros and good luck conquering or reconquering the Giant’s Domain! As always post on the forums or tweet me @ACWOAE with comments or ideas for the next Throwback!