Design Notes

June 08, 2012

Xan Saga Finale

This Summer's heating up and it'll only get hotter!

We hope you're fired up for the finale of Xan's Saga! The heat is on as Lore's most insane Pyromancer turns your plan to foil his plot to ashes! Fighting fire with fire is a good way to get burned if you don’t know what you’re doing.

Mage of the Ignited Ones Armor

But you've clashed with Xan before! Now that you have Warlic to take some of the heat off you, Xan doesn't stand a chance! He IS insane and tricky, but with a bit of luck, some surprising trickery, and a bit of help from a unexpected source, Xan's going to go down in flames!

Non-Member Flame Warrior Armor!

ALL of this week's Xan rewards drop from monsters, so if you REALLY want those pyroclastic pay-offs, you'll need to fight for them! Don't look at these rewards too long, or you'll burn your retinas!

Lava Warrior Armor drops from the Lava Mages. Fists of Flame drops from the boss.

Alchemy Tradeskill Releases Tonight! 

Magic and Science are both deadly weapons when wielded by the right hands. But mix them together
and you get Alchemy! /Join alchemyacademy this weekend to learn the science AND magic behind mixing up some of Alina’s most excellent elixirs and dangerous draughts… if Lim, Lore’s maddest scientist, doesn’t blow you up first!

Double-check Lim's notes before using the ChemicoTron!*

Alchemy is NOT a study for the weak of wits. You'll want to pay attention to instructions and keep practicing, but once you get the hang of the Chemicotron's controls, you'll be able to make some VERY handy potions!

PLEASE try not to burn down the Alchemy Lab!

Notes to remember:

• All of the Alchemy Reagents you'll need to make potions are drops from monsters.
• If you don't feel like hunting for a specific drop, you can ALSO purchase all but 2 ingredients using either Dragon Runestones (15 ACs each) or Academic Merits (awarded for Academic prowess).
• Lim has TWO repeatable rep-boosting quests - one for members, one for non-members. (The member quests gives DOUBLE rep)
• Warlic and Cysero give quests which reward rep for Spellcrafting and Blacksmithing, future Tradeskills!
• Lim's Extra Credit quests require reagents you will create in Blacksmithing. Guess you'll have to come back to the Academy after that releases!
• Every time you use a Dragon Runestone, you have a chance to unlock an insanely dangerous,wierd, or random animation!

More Potion Teasers:

• Basic Bright Tonic - Use to increase your intelligence by 8% for 5 minutes.
• Unstable Courage Tonic - Use to increase your endurance by 12% for 7 minutes.
• Potent Malevolence Elixir - Use to increase your spell power by 25% for 15 minutes.

Work together to make comprehensive guides for what ingredients are required and what potions can be created!

* The Alchemicia Pharmacopoeia uses Dumoose's REAL notes taken while designing Alchemy. Dumoose miiiiiiight need a vacation after this.

Artix vs Sepulchure/ZOMBIES!!! Art Contest Update!

Because we had SO MANY incredible (and incredibly undead) art entries, we're going to need a bit more time to judge. Look for winners to be announced next week!

Dage was not allowed to enter the contest, but can't wait to see what you create!

In-Game Mod Hunt Update!

Reens and Stratos are still combing through the in-game mod applications, searching for candidates to join the team. Once they have compiled a list of prospective mods, they will contact those players with more instructions. Emails have not been sent out yet!

Reens and Stratos cannot reply to everyone who applied, sorry, but we ALL appreciate how many of you want to help make AQWorlds a safe and fun place for your fellow players!

More Artix/Vayle Quests!

Beleen is releasing the next quests for the Blinding Light and Necrotic weapons series! These will let you create the Advanced or DoomSoldier Weapon Kits! Remember: At the end of these quests, you'll be able to obtain the Blinding Light of Destiny axe and Sepulchure's Armor!

Coming Next Week!

• Next week: Limited Time Summer Shop! Look for NEW versions of the NPC surfboard featuring some of your favorite characters, Dage's Pyromancer Apprentice set, and the incredible Professor Dolpho pet!
• Next week: J6's Saga updates with "Bountyhunter Banzai!"

Coming Soon!

• The 10th Chaos Lord Saga hub town releases!
• Dage vs Nulgath War begins!
• And... GUILDS Part 1!

Have a great weekend, everyone! It is CRAZY rainy here at the Lab right now. It's the perfect weather for battling an insane Pyromancer!

June 07, 2012

Coming Tomorrow

Xan Part III

For those of you who have been following along with the sporadic Xan releases, this will be pretty easy. For the rest of you, you have a long way to go and you will want to catch up.

This release will mark the end of the current Xan storyline. It features three brand new monsters designed by Dage and animated by Hizu and myself, three brand new story cutscenes all animated by Samba and LOTS of epic gear both for Members and Non-Members from Dage, Solrac, Jemini, Veneeria and Aranx.

It has been a lot of fun writing Xan, as insane as he is, and this chapter has was the most fun yet. I hope you enjoy facing Xan as much as I've enjoyed writing him.

ALCHEMY Trade Skill

Tomorrow will also mark the release of the Alchemy trade skill!

This contraption looks pretty complicated but once you get the hang of it you'll be crafting ALL KINDS of new Potions (which have an instant or short lasting effect effect), Tonics (which have a long lasting effect) and Elixirs (which have a long lasting effect AND a secondary effect).

As you successfully create more and more potions, tonics and elixirs, you will gain skill points in alchemy and be able to create more and more powerful potions alchemical products.

Alchemy also creates interesting by-products that you will find as you experiment. Some by-products send you on quests to the various magi around Lore, others help grant you access to special Alchemy rewards items in Merit Shops.

The key to alchemy is PATIENCE. You must be vigilant so that your Alchemy Rune does not over-heat, and you have to keep the mixtures boiling at JUST the right temperature but remember that you only have a limited number of Fire blasts and Ice blasts to use!

One drawback about Alchemy is that you will need some free Inventory Space to gather alchemical reagents and ingredients to make your mixtures. Some of these items have already begun to drop from monsters around Lore which some of you have probably noticed. You will also find others in specialized shops like Faith's Fishing Shop.

The lower level mixtures may seem a little underpowered but the HIGH level mixtures will blow your mind!

Your academic journey begins at the Alchemy Academy built within the walls of Swordhaven.

Remember, knowledge is power.

Quibble Leaves Monday!

Quibble. He leaves next Monday.

197 days until Just Another Day.

June 04, 2012

Summer of EPICness

Wall of AWESOME text ahead!

We fit A LOT into the first five months of the year... but we're not done yet! We've got some major, game-changing releases coming in AQWorlds this Summer. /Equip your Reading Glasses of Belief +5 and get ready for an eye-opening list of awesomeness!

This week I: Xan's Apprentice revealed!

Are you ready to get fired up? Xan is Lore's most powerful - and insane - Pyromancer... and he's ready to take on an apprentice. The only question is... which townsperson will it be?! Are YOU the unlucky one? If you aren't up to date on this story, /join volcano because this Friday's release looks like it will be Far(enheit) and away the most explosive Xan Saga release yet!

This week II: Alchemy Tradeskill!

Dumoose (with the help of Yorumi, J6, Samba, and Solrac) have been pushing to get the Alchemy tradeskill ready for release, and that time has come! This Friday you'll be able to train your Alchemy skill, which will let you create consumable potions by gathering and combining reagents!

Different reagents will be required to make different potions, and as you train your skill, you'll be able to unlock new ones. (Unless, of course, your attempt fizzles. You'll just have to see what happens then!) The reagents - like Chaoroot, Rhison Blood, and Dragon Scale) started dropping last week from monsters through out the game.

Potions that can be created include:

• Unstable Courage Tonic: Increase endurance by 16%, but reduce luck by 10% for 7 minutes 
• Honor Potion: Increase all damage by 50% but increase all mana costs by 15% for 25 seconds
  
• Pure Chaos Potion: This viscous fluid hardly seems safe to consume. Your eyes water fiercely just from the fumes escaping this bottle. Drink at your own risk.

Next week: Releasin' like a J6!

A Bounty-Hunter's got to hunt... and J6's search for... something... is far from over! One thing's for sure: prepare for an EPIC journey through space, farther than you've ever been and WAY more dangerous than you dream.

Next week II: BLoD/Sepulchure chains update!

Beleen crafted CRAZY-hard quest chains for the Blinding Light of Destiny and Sepulchure's Armor... but they're not done yet! We know there was a lot of confusion over the weekend about these quest chains, so we'd like to clear the misconceptions up.

Blinding Light of Destiny/Artix's quests

Go on the quests from Artix to create the Blinding [X] of Destiny weapon series. These weapons are the FIRST tier of weapons in this chain. They will be required if you want to merge up to the second and third tiers of weapons. The art for each tier will evolve into a more awesome form...  and the quest chain's ULTIMATE reward will be: the Blinding Light of Destiny axe that Artix wields!

Sepulchure's Armor/Vayle's quests

Battle through Vayle's quests to create darker versions of the Destiny weapon series. Just like with the Destiny weapons, they are the FIRST tier of weapons in a chain, and will also be required if you want to merge up to the second and third tiers. The quest chain's ULTIMATE reward will be: a new version of Sepulchure's Armor! 

There was some confusion late last week about whether this was still true, but we clarified with Beleen and Artix today and it WILL be release at the end of the chain. It will be similar to the DoomKnight armor, but will be a slightly different color (based on the more intimidating shade we used in the Sepulchure action figure).

New art for the Blade of Destiny/Blade of Shade

The current art for the Blade of Shade and Blade of Destiny is NOT permanent. Dage is creating new, more awesome art tomorrow that will be used instead of the current placeholder art. (Made by my very handy Emergency Build-a-Blade file.) We will showcase the re-designed art in tomorrow's Design Notes!

We were NOT planning on releasing that, but it slipped in accidentally. We push hard every week to produce the most epic releases possible, but sometimes mistakes do make it in-game. For those of you who saw the art for they had on Friday, you got a sneak peek of the Necrotic Light of Destiny!

Coming this Summer I: Dage vs Nulgath War!

Evil vs Evil, a world-shaking clash of titanic villains! Later this Summer, Dage the Evil's Undead Legion will take on Nulgath the Archfiend's mass of followers in an all-out, no-holds-barred battle for control of the Underworld! Expect EPIC gear, never-before-explored areas of the Underworld, and an all-new cinematic cutscene animated by Nulgath!

Coming this Summer II: The next Chaos Lord!

Many of you might have met a Chaorrupted Chronomancer in your travels... but you should never trust a stranger. Especially when THEY are trying to get a feel for who YOU are. This Summer you'll be (re)introduced to the next Chaos Lord, and he has MANY plans for you!

A Hero is a Hero, no matter what time or dimension they are battling in, and the same holds true for you. Learn how AQWorlds came to be created when Galanoth slew the Dragon of Time, and how the merging of AdventureQuest, DragonFable, and MechQuest created who you are NOW... and what it means for your future!

Coming this Summer III: Guilds!

Guilds ARE coming this Summer and we are PLANNING to do a lot with them*! The initial launch will happen at the end of June while Phase II will take place in late July on a member-only PTR server. (Public Test Realm server, where members can test... and BREAK... the new gameplay features we want to release!)

June:

Phase I will let you create and join guilds. We have yet to work out a LOT of the details (we are meeting later this week to finalize numbers/sizes/etc), but here is what Yorumi has working so far:

• Joining a guild
• Viewing a list of fellow guild members
• Guild-only chat
• Guild name displayed under your name

July:

Phase II, Yorumi says, SHOULD let your guild create a customizable guild town in which you can position the buildings you purchase. This involves re-working the way AQW's housing system works, but Yorumi has been making good progress.

He also wants to set up some system of GvG and GvE wars: Guild vs Guild and Guild vs Environment wars. Those may have to come later on, but it is something he REALLY wants to make happen. No promises, though.*

Again, there are still a LOT of details to work out, like member perks, the rules for guild leaders/members, etc. We will do a bigger Design Notes post once we have decided on these things,but those details might not come for a while.

We are REALLY excited about getting Guilds in-game finally! We hope you all are looking forward to them, as well. Yorumi would like to hear what YOU would like to see happen with guilds, so if someone could create a separate brainstorming thread on the forum, he says "thanks!"

* A plan is NOT a promise. Sometimes we talk about things to see what you think of them. Until we say "this is finished and is releasing," plans are subject to change. We are always excited about everything we plan on releasing, and sometimes we are just as disappointed- if not more - thank you guys are when things don't work out. 

Mod Search still underway!

Reens and Stratos have received SO MANY email applications to become an in-game moderator for AQWorlds! It will take them time to go through all the applications, but they WILL email the people they are interested in; unfortunately, they cannot reply to everyone. We will announce when those emails go out, so please hang tight.

Thank you to everyone who wants to help make this game as safe and awesome as possible, we really appreciate your desire to help!

Man, that was a LONG Design Notes with a LOT of information! We've got SO MUCH to do this Summer! We hope you guys are excited, because we are SO READY to heat this Summer up with epic releases!

March 09, 2012

Questions and Xanswers

The Insane Pyromancer Returns to AQW!

One of the AE Community's favorite villains returns to AQW this week. XAN is back!

If you have never played Dragonfable then you might not know who this guy is. I suggest you talk to Warlic at the top of the volcano map. He can fill you in on some backstory.

If you missed out on the first Xan release then you will need to make your way to the top of the volcano before continuing into the town of Basani which Xan has attacked.

The parents of Basani have been separated from their children and now their burning town swarming with fire monsters and the insane pyromancer himself separate them from each other.

You will need to take a little extra care in Basani as the monsters will attack you on sight! Be prepared to rest between spawns before you get to face Xan himself.

Fighting fire with fire using the new Elemental Dracomancer class!

You will be able to get the same monster drops from the Volcano or farm Xan for a bunch of brand new Member and non-member gear, such as the Molten Dragon Set!

It's been a while since we've seen Xan but hopefully we won't wait so long next time before we continue his story.

Spring Has (Nearly) Sprung!

Daylight Savings Time is coming up on Sunday. That is when we (well, some of us) turn our clocks ahead one hour (and lose an hour of sleep). To celebrate we will be having a Limited Time Shop (Button in Battleon) where you will be able to get some really nice spring themed rares all crafted by Solrac! SPRING into action before the clock counts down to 0!

New Treasure Chest Items!

It's been so long since we have added new treasure chest items so we've added a few this week and we will try to find the time to add more in coming weeks! This week you can expect to find these new items:

• Diviner of Power Armor
• Blood Spirit Staff
• Golden Spirit Rod
• Dual Blood Spirit Staves
• Dual Golden Spirit Rods

Remember, you can get more Treasure Chest Keys from Twilly in Battleon, or just sell the unopened chests for a little extra gold if you don't want to see what is inside!

Dage's Legion Shop Update!

Following close on the heels of Dage's Birthday Shop, Dage has decided to update his Legion Shop in Shadowfall with new items!

• Legion Titan (armor) which will cost you 1 Undead Legend Armor and 1 Essence of the Undead Legend.
   
  
• Legion Titan Crown which will cost you 200 Legion Tokens and 1 Undead Legend Crown.
  
   
• Legion Titan Cloak which will only cost you 150 Legion Token.

And speaking of Dage's Birthday Shop we have a LOT of Legionaries who are saying that they would like to see Dage stay in Battleon and celebrate his deathday for a little while longer so we've extended the shop just for you. It will be here until next Friday unless there is another round of demands to extend it. That is one long birthday party!

I CAN HAS MOD -  Final Round!

The semi-disastrous I CAN HAS MOD contest has now begun its last round. You can pick up the Last Cheezburger Deluxe from Cleric Joy in Battleon to get 1 CHANCE to win but remember that you get 1 EXTRA CHANCE to win for every month of Membership you have left on your account at the time of the drawing and 1 EXTRA CHANCE for every AExtra that you complete.

The drawing will be held on March 30th. We will then try to contact the winner and get their wish. Make sure that your AQW e-mail is an ACTIVE one that you check often. Or at least on the 31st.

Our last winner did unlock a new WISH RULE (by wishing for another class) so I'll list the updated rules...

Wish List Rules

#1: Unknown

#2: In the event that a wish will break fundamental game play, upset a player or group of players, or in any way result in problems or complications for the staff or game... a Genie Lawyer will be summoned from the forbidden plane of litigious wishes. If the wish was made with good intentions, the Genie will begin to negotiate a wish that will benefit the wish maker. If the wish was made out of spite, hate, greed or bad intentions, the Genie is allowed to use their powers of “wish legalese” to re-interpret the wish. If the genie is “unclear” on a certain part of the wish… even if it makes perfect sense to everyone else, the Genie is allowed to ask random players online questions and replace parts of the original wish with their answer.

#3: Any wish for an item will turn ALL Golden Cheezburgers in the game into the item that was wished for. 

#4: Unknown

#5: If a wish is made for something that does not exist, it will be created as long as it is original. If it is a selfless wish, it will be created with love and care. If it is a greedy or hurtful wish, another randomly selected player will be chosen to make a counter wish, which may produce unexpected and unfortunately results upon the original wisher. 

#6: Unknown

#7: Unknown

#8: Unknown

#9: Any wish that requires a lot of coding and might break the AQW programming team or make said team cry (i.e. Class, Entire Zone, All New Functionality) can only be wished for once per calendar year. Once that item has been wished for another items in this category cannot be wished for again until one year from the granting of the previous wish as elapsed.

#10: Unknown, and oh man, this one is 100% insane. Please never unlock it.

Remember that each of these rules can only be unlocked by people using wishes that attempt to break that unseen rule.

Once again, the reason that we're closing the contest down is that the last wish met with an insane amount of complaints even before the wish came out about receiving several completely free gifts. It's building unrealistic expectations, seems to bring out the worst in the community and takes up a lot of our time and resources. It's simply not worth running it again after this.

The contest may arise again in some other form with new limitations and restrictions, but then again it may not.

To those of you who have kept a positive attitude, thank you. We have been REALLY lucky so far and gotten several kind, selfless and very thoughtful winners and I can only hope that this last one is just as great as the others have been.

287 days until Just Another Day