Design Notes

February 29, 2012

AdventureQuest 3D!

Pre-registration is tomorrow (Thursday)

Greetings and salutations friends! I hope you have been following our progress on the new 3D game project at www.Artix.com . If not, be sure to add it to your "list of pages to check" as I have been posting daily. Tomorrow at 5pm EST, players are goign to get their first glimpse at the 3D game's in-browser graphics, and even more importantly AQWorlds Members (and anyone who has supported our games in the past with an upgrade or membership) will be able to pre-register and reserve their character's name.

Remember, this new game like ALL new games uses the Artix Entertainment "ONE LOGIN to Rule Them all!" One day soon, all of our games will use this single account to access all of our games. Make sure you have your AQWorlds account linked to yours at  Portal.BattleOn.com

February 28, 2012

Etherstorm Three-Way War

Will you fight for Good, Evil, or... Desoloth?

Kill Desoloth... or kill dragons FOR Desoloth! Drunk with power and the anarchy he has caused, Desoloth the Final is finished waiting. The time has come to make his move on Etherstorm, but the battlefield is far from where you've been fighting!

This portal transports you between Lore and the DragonPlane.

Fire, Water, Air and Earth all join together in the DragonPlane, and at their center - the Cor Draconis. The heart of the Plane and the heart of elemental dragons, it is imbued with eons of draconic power. And it's the only place secure enough to hold Desoloth now that he is this powerful!

Do not be distracted by the beauty; death is present in every stone.

But his downfall and imprisonment in the Cor Draconis is far from a sure thing. Those who choose Evil may feel that his attacks merit more punishment than just imprisonment. And for those who choose to fight on Desoloth's side... his freedom and rise to power is the only goal.

Paths to the boss battle frame and the Cor Draconis will only unlock at 100%!

But how easy accomplishing that goal will be when Drakath has turned his attention to Etherstorm's anarchy remains to be seen!

The choice is yours. War comes to Etherstorm THIS Friday!

• 3 sides to choose from! Fight for Good, Evil, or Desoloth!
• Battle Chaorrupted Elemental Thunderbirds OR Elemental dragons!
• Winning side determines the outcome of the war!*
• Winning side will affect the final battle against Chaos!
• Unlock a cutscene starring Galanoth at 50% on the war meter!
• Epic War Rares shop! (leaves at the end of the war)
• War Merge shop! (permanent content)
• Members will receive double resource drops from the member-only merge quests!

* All 3 endings are written, but YOU will pick which one we animate and which becomes storyline canon based on the war's victor!

Dracomancer Class coming THIS FRIDAY!

Cysero and Yorumi are hard at work designing and coding the Dracomancer class. Dage just came in with a concept sketch and it is pretty awesome! Cysero's Dracomancer skills writeup will come later this week!

Midweek member releases delayed

Sadly, Cysero's been swamped pitching in on this week's release (are you ready for the Aussie Day Wish gifts? I know I am! Aussie Aussie Aussie! OI OI OI! /cheer) so there will not be a member-only midweek release this week. And next week he will be writing the next installment of the Xan storyline. Members, look for a return of the midweek releases on March 14th!

Where have all the Pancakes Gone?

Where is the Lunchlady?
How to feed my pet dragon?
Where is the sweetest ending?
Where have all the pancakes gooooooone?*

Thousands of pancakes have been consumed, and even more heroes were injured by falling flapjacks. Pancake Day is gone for another year! Tuck into any plates you've hidden around Yulgar's Inn and dream of the next syrup-laden day to come.

* It's Late-90s Music Day! Ah, memories.

Leap Day comes tomorrow!

Jump for joy, because tomorrow is Leap Day! It only comes every four years, so to spring into action, we're offering four boosts to bump up your battling! Look for four FREE boosts in Battleon sometime tomorow - EXP, gold, rep, and class rank boosts!

Solrac's Birthday today!

Celebrate, celebrate, /dance to the music!Wish Solrac a happy birthday on Twitter or the forum as he furiously Flashes awesome art for this Friday's war rewards! /Cheer him on as he levels up in real life!

The Return of Xan NEXT Friday!

Things are about to get HOT! Next Friday will see the return of Xan, drawing to him flames and fury as he seeks out the target of his newest goal. Nearby locals have something he needs, something he MUST have! Without it, could his fire be forever extinguished? Find out next Friday!

February 27, 2012

Another Busy Week

It Never Ends!

We've got a LOT planned for this week but before I get into what's coming this week let's go over some old business...

Fishing Badge

The King Fisher Character Page Badge is now up on your character pages.

Of course, you must be a King Fisher with maxed out Fishing Rep to obtain this permanent pendant professing your piscatorial prowess.

Grenadier Buff

The Members who have Rank 10 Skyguard Reputation (and a few who weren't rank 10, actually) got to preview the Member Only Grenadier Class this weekend. The overall impressions were that it's a lot of fun and an interesting class build but they had problems with mana regen and felt that it was a touch under-powered, especially considering that it was the first Member Only class is a long time.

So this week we will be BUFFING Skyguard Grenadier. Here's what we are doing...

• Increasing DPS overall.
• Decreasing the mana cost for Flashbang, Sleeping Gas and Reactive Grenade by 5 mana each.
• Flashbang's base debuff will be changed to CRIT reduction instead of HIT reduction.
• Rank 4 Passive Adrenaline Rush will be changed to 8% Damage Reduction instead of 10% Dodge.

In testing Stratos was able to solo Ledgemayne and I was able to solo both Ledgermayne and Wolfwing with the fully ranked class so this class is no slouch already if you know how to use it and how to manage your mana, but this should make it REALLY nice.

By the time you read this the changes will already be in effect.

Don't forget that Itzachi, the class dealer in Battleon, will be selling this Member Only class for 2000 ACs starting this Friday if you would rather take the shortcut rather than ranking all the way to 10.

Leap Day Is Coming!

Every 4 years the calendar racks up a full day of time that was left over from all the other days. The solution to this problem is adding a day every 4th year. This is why we have a February 29th this Wednesday and Feb is normally a 28 day month.

We've decided that we want to help you leap forward too.

Starting some time on Wednesday, Feb 29th, we will be adding a Leap Day NPC to Battleon who will give you 4 simple quests. Each quest will reward you with a one-time free hour long BOOST for your XP, GOLD, REPUTATION or CLASS RANK.

You will have 24 hours from the time that we release this to get the Leap Day Boosts and then they will be gone. Plan ahead and remember that this only happens once every 4 years!

I CAN HAS AUSTRALIA DAY?!

This weekend I got to hang out with the winner of this round of the I CAN HAS MOD contest, HERZER HERRING!

She is from Australia and her wish is that we add an Australia Day NPC to the game who would sell Australian Themed Items!

As per her wish, Mick "Crocodile" Dundoo will be coming to Battleon this Friday selling a number of AUS themed items and house items which were almost entirely suggest by Herzer Herring.

As for the Golden Cheezburger, this one will work a little differently. She wished that it be changed into an rare Australian Themed HOUSE, based on the iconic Sydney Opera House! In order to get your house you will need to talk to Mick Dundoo and trade the Cheezburer in for the house.

You MUST have a Golden Cheezburger Deluxe to get this rare house and once Mick Dundoo leaves, you will never be able to get the house again!

There will also be other items like dual Bowie Knives (that's not two knives, mate... THIS is two knives!), a Rugby Uniform Armor in AUS Olympic colors of Green and Gold, A green and gold "Boomer"ang weapon, A Cricket Bat with the AUS flag on it,  Kangaroo and Barry the Platypus pets and some cool house items like an AUS flag for your wall and A Croc skin rug!

ALL OF THE ITEMS IN THE SHOPS WILL BE FOR EVERYONE! NON-MEMBERS and MEMBERS!

I mentioned the rare house over Twitter this weekend and it was met with an amazing amount of complaining. I was really surprised and a little hurt to see so many people griping about getting a completely free house based on the wish of a fellow player who did not want any recognition for herself (she didn't even want to be the NPC when I offered) but only a little recognition for the country she loves and calls her home. Thanks to everyone who saw this gift for what it is and accepted it with an excited smile.

After brainstorming item ideas for the shop we farmed Skyguard for a while and I showed her some of the cool mod powers she could use while she was a mod, like going to secret mod only maps and even going back in time to closed events (While we were time traveling I let her pick up Alpha Pirate for herself as well as some other rares from past areas).

She is a heck of a player, a loyal AQW Member & Supporter and a lot of fun to hang out with. Herzer Herring, it was a true pleasure getting to hang out with you. Thanks!

We will probably only do ONE MORE ROUND of I CAN HAS MOD and we will let you know as soon as that starts!

Etherstorm Goes Out With A Bang!

The Eterstorm Saga is closing starting with this weekend's war. The outcome of the entire area will be decided by the outcome of the war. You will be able to fight on the side of Good, Evil or even Desoloth.

This weekend we will ALSO be releasing the Elemental Dracomaner Class for Etherstorm Rank 10. There will be an AC version in Itzachi as well but after this class we will probably start doing what we did with Grenadier and letting the Rank 10 people have it a week before anyone else so they can get a head start on mastering the class.

We will be posting a skill breakdown and some images of the class later on this week.

Dage The Evil's Deathday Party!

Dage's birthday is March 2nd! There was a typo (not mine) in the 2012 AE calendar that said March 22'nd but it's actually this Friday!

He has decided to craft some custom items for his birthday!

Here is a full list of the birthday items. They are ALL ACs, and he priced them a little higher than average but hey, he's evil, whatcha gonna do?

1. Paragon Mini Pet: 2000 acs
2. Legion Vampire Armor: 1000 acs
3. Legion Vampire Helm: 100 acs
4. Vampire Bat Cape: 200 acs
5. Legion Vampire Scythe: 500 acs
6. Dark Caster Hair: 100 acs
7. Dage’s DeathKnight: 800 acs

The pet is NON-MEMBER and it is also NOT a Battle Pet but does grant the person who owns the pet access to special quests and special additional Dage Rewards.

February 24, 2012

Betrayal and Bomb Blasts

The SkyGuard Saga continues!

BOOM! *blast* The Hoverbase is under attack! And when you learn that one of your closest companions has betrayed you, you’ll have to take matters into your own hands to keep the both the SkyGuard AND Lore safe from harm!

What the Pirate says changes EVERYTHING!

Get ready to go deep into the heart of the SkyPirate headquarters, where you’ll face bloodthirty pirates, the DreamWeaver’s most precious victims and a villain who will take everything you thought you knew about this saga and turn it upside down!

Don't mess with the SkyGuard!

But before you can learn about any of the shocking secrets and long-standing feuds, you'll have to go through the Chaorrupted SkyPirate General! 

You'll want to do more than just SWAT at the boss. Take him DOWN!

SkyGuard Grenadier Comes Tonight!

The long-awaited Member-only SkyGuard Grenadier Class is LIVE! This class will ONLY be available to members. This week you can obtain it if you have rank 10 Skyguard rep, but if you want a shortcut AND you're a member, then NEXT week you can purchase it at Itzachi for 2,000 ACs! Check Cysero's Design Notes post for an in-depth look at the Grenadier Class skills!

Coming Soon!

• 3-way Etherstorm War! Fight for Good, Evil, or Desoloth! His fate depends on your fighting!
• The Return of Xan – are you ready for things to get HOT?!
• Lucky Week minigame fun fair! Do YOU feel LUK-y?
• The Potionmaker takes up a sword and becomes the Battle-ready PoisonMistress!

Have a good week, everyone! We hope members enjoy this Member-only Explosion week! All member-content, all week long! And get ready next week for the 3-way Etherstorm War and Dage the Evil's Even-Eviller Birthday Shop!

February 24, 2012

Skyguard Grenadier

Courage And Explosives!

Later today we will be releasing the Member Only Skyguard Grenadier Class along with the new addition to the Skyguard storyline.

Before we get to the skills breakdown let me remind you of a few things.

1. The Member Only Skyguard Grenadier Class is, you guessed it, for Members only.
2. TODAY people who have already worked to get their Skyguard Rep up to Rank 10 will get a full week to preview of the class and master its skills.
3. NEXT FRIDAY we will be releasing an AC version of the class (Also Member Only)
4. The only way to get the rest of the set (Helm and Gun) are through the Skyguard Rep Shop (Rank 10 like the class)

Now that that's out of the way, let's get crackin'.

SKYGUARD GRENADIER CLASS SKILL SET

Many people don't know what a Grenadier is. Long ago, just after the development of the first hand-thrown explosives, they were bravest and physically strongest soldiers. They'd have to be brave to walk around lobbing explosives that could blow you to bits and they had to be strong so thew could toss them as far as possible.

This combo of traits meant that every Grenadier was half fearless and half insane. As the technology of warfare developed, grenade launchers were invented so you no longer needed to be the strongest but you still had to have that special mixture of courage and madness that makes the grenadier so unique.

The Skyguard Flightpack is not part of the set.

They are often chosen to lead special assault teams and used as shock troops. Each Grenadier is worth a whole squadron of less specialized soldiers.

WARRIOR is the enhancement that you want to use for this class. It's also built on the Warrior mana regen model so you get mana from both hitting and getting hit.

The interesting thing about this is that each skill is a different grenade and each applies its own state to your foe, but the last skill applies a secondary effect based on which state you have applies to the enemy.

AUTO ATTACK

2 second cooldown

A basic attack, taught to all adventurers.

Here is your basic attack. Nothing flashy but it gets the job done.

HAMSTRING

10 mana, 4 second cooldown

Light damage, lowers enemy damage output for 4 seconds plus applies Weakened State. Weakened State replaces any other state.

This is the first skill that you get. It's the cheapest and has the fastest cooldown but also the weakest. The debuff is nice but once the last skill applies the secondary effect this skill gets nicer. I know that it;s hard to hamstring someone with a grenade but somehow you manage to do it. You're that good.

FLASHBANG

20 mana, 8 second cooldown

Moderate damage, reduces enemy chance to hit plus applies Blinded State to enemy. Blinded State replaces any other state.

Twice as costly as the first grenade and with twice the cooldown time. Again, another nice debuff but again it's the secondary skill that makes Flashbang a sweet skill.

FIRE IN THE HOLE!

SLEEPING GAS

20 mana, 10 second cooldown

Moderate damage up to two enemies, reduces enemy haste and has a chance to stun for 4 seconds, plus applies Gassed State to enemy. Gassed State replaces any other state.

Again, this grenade has a longer cooldown than the two before it but has multiple effects even before you use the last skill. It's a multi-hit attack with moderate damage, reduces enemy haste on both targets and COULD stun both targets.

ADRENALINE RUSH & BATTLE HORN

Rank 4 passives

Increase Dodge by 10%

Increase Damage by 10%

Decent Rank 4 passives. Increase survivability a LOT and do more damage. What's not to love?

REACTIVE GRENADE

30 mana, 9 second cooldown

High Damage, plus has secondary effect based on whichever State was last applied to your foe. Weakened State secondary effect – Bleed causing Damage Over Time to enemy. Blinded State secondary effect – Rally causing Heal Over Time to to you.  Gassed State secondary effect – Elude causing increased Damage Resistance to you. Secondary Effects all last 6 seconds.

Ok, there is a lot going on here so let's take it one step at a time.

Each of the 3 earlier grenade skills apply a State. Weakened, Blinded and Gassed. In addition to doing High Damage, this will add a secondary effect based on which state you have applied.

• If your enemy has the Weakened State applied, then this skill will do High Damage and cause BLEED which is a fairly strong Damage Over Time (DoT) to the target.
  
  
• If your enemy has the Blinded State applied, then this skill will do High Damage and apply RALLY to you, which is a VERY strong Heal Over Time (HoT). This is a great heal, and one of the strongest HoTs in the game.
  
  
• If your enemy has the Gassed State applied, then this skill will do High Damage and apply ELUDE to you, which is a decent Damage Reduction buff.
  

TACTICIAN

Rank 10 passive

Rarely, you see your chance to turn the battle in your favor. You give this attack everything you've got causing VERY HIGH damage to up to 2 targets!

You've seen this type of passive before, but this one causes HIGH DAMAGE to up to 2 targets. If you're fighting a boss then it will just be a nice chunk of extra damage, but if you're farming then BOOM, you just cleared the field.

More To Follow

Keep your eyes here on the Design Notes for more notes on today's release!

301 days until Just Another Day

February 23, 2012

SpiritHunter in BludRut

The New Member Only Mini-Storyline In Bludrut Keep Is Here!

Sorry for the one day (and 1.5 hour) Delay but the Mid-Week is here as promised.

Head to Bludrut and speak to Veddrian the SpiritHunter. Help her solve the mystery of her forgotten past and why she keeps dreaming of herself as a child and you will unlock the SpiritHunter Shop where you can earn your OWN SpiritHunter Gear.

This has to be my favorite Mid-Week release so far in terms of story. It was fun to tell but took 4 Cutscenes which is rather a lot for a mini-release but I wanted to do the story justice.

Oh yeah, you'll want to turn your speakers up for this one.

Thanks for being patient with us, have fun and come back tomorrow for the Skyguard Release and the first appearance of the Skyguard Class, Grenadier (skills write up in tomorrow's DNs)!

302 days until Just Another Day

February 22, 2012

Not Quite Mid-Week

Mid-Week Release Coming One Day Late

Sorry guys, I've been a little busier than usual this week with both Ae stuff and real-life stuff so I'm sorry to admit that the Mid-Week Blutrut Mini-storyline will be coming tomorrow instead of today.

I'd rather give you a well put together and tested mid-week than try and push through and give you something slapped together four hours late anyway. It's already 2:15 and I still have too much work to do to reasonably get done by the end of today, there is still a lot of database work to get done, special functionality for the quests, Cutscenes to animate and I have to replace all the ancient pop-ups in Bludrut with our standard ones plus a bunch of other stuff that you really probably don't want to hear about.

To give you a heads up, this week's mid week will introduce Veddrian, the SpiritHunter. She has trained her whole life to either destroy hateful spirits who wish to harm the living or help them move on to the next world. Recently, though, she has been having bad dreams of herself as a little girl in the halls of Bludrut near where her adopted family found her.

Solrac has made a number of great Spirit Hunter items...

... which will, as always, be unlocked when you finish the mini-story and are, as always, Member only.

Try to look at it this way: You're not getting the Mid-Week late, you're getting an expanded, extra long, weekend release one day early :)

See you guys tomorrow!

303 days until Just Another Day

February 22, 2012

Prisoners of the Pirates

If you can't trust your family, who CAN you trust?

Drip... drip... drip... Rusty brown water drips from holes in the corrugated metal ceiling of the crumbling bunker in the SkyPirate Base where the children are kept. The thin, unceasing sound drills into her ears and would eat away at her resistance if she didn't keep singing loud enough to drive it away, Nhia thinks to herself.

And besides, it helps Jarren stay strong, too. And she would do anything to protect her little brother. Especially after the last blow from the Pirate as he brought in their breakfast. She can still see the bruise staining Jarren's cheek, spreading and growing darker as the morning passes. He didn't cry when the cuff came, and he didn't fight back.

It's too fine a line, she thinks, between not showing fear and not showing defiance. She doesn't know how long they can keep treading it.

"Nhia? Nhia? Nhia Nhia Nhia!" Jarren rapidly tugs at her ragged hem from where he crouches by the bin.

"What, Jarren? What do you WANT?" Nhia snaps, immediately regretting the harsh tone as tears well up in his eyes. What the Pirates couldn't do to him, she has, and she promises silently - again - to do better by him. To get them both out of this place.

"When ith Gramma goin' to tell the Pirates to let uth go? I dreamed of her latht night again. She wath holdin' me and thingin' to me like a Gramma thould do." Jarren's lisp only comes out when he's confused or scared, she knows.

Nhia pulls him to her and hugs him tight. If their own mother is too afraid to protect them from the DreamWeaver - she refuses to call her Grandmother - then she'll have to do it herself. But maybe... last night's Dream comes back to her in a rush.

"The DreamWeaver never held you like that, Jarren. She only makes you think she has. You've got to stop believing in her! We are nothing to her but tools to use, garbage to give to those filthy Pirates to make them think she'll keep her word." Her voice is harsh again, and she fights to soften her tone.

Jarren looks up at her, his eyes searching her own for an answer she can't give, a promise she can't make. She gives him the only comfort she can:

"We won't be here forever. I can feel it, and I Dreamed it. Something is going to change, someone is going to come, and it's going to be soon. We can hold on, Jarren. We have to." Nhia draws a deep breath and finishes.

"Dream of tomorrow's tomorrow. Hold the picture in your mind like Momma showed us. We can make help come. This nightmare has to end sometime!"

February 20, 2012

Monday Update

Apparently, No, You Can't Has Mod

Our first winner was given a full week to respond to the e-mail that we sent them and I'm sorry to say that they have missed out. I think a week is a very reasonable amount of time to give someone to respond but a lot of you want to get this show on the road and so do we.

We have sent a NEW e-mail to the NEW winner, so be sure to check the e-mail that you have attached to your account. If you, for some reason, can no longer access that e-mail then contact your e-mail provider and try to get access again.

Again, contact your E-MAIL provider. Player Support can't help you get your e-mail back. Nythera and her crew have many wonderful powers but all of them are related to AE's games and go no further into the real world.

We will be giving this new winner 3 full days to respond. Winner, if you have not responded by Thursday at NOON (server time) then we will pick again. Good luck, and hurry up! Everyone is waiting on you!

New Legion Quest Changes

Over the weekend we saw a lot of chatter about the new legion quests. TO ME it seemed pretty even, half of you were complaining that the quests were too easy and half were complaining that they were too hard. That usually indicates that we did well but Dage was unhappy with how easy these new quests seemed to be and they are his quests so he can make them as hard as he likes.

Today there will be some changes to the new quests. First, the Legion Soul Collector will be raised in price to 150 Legion Tokens. Second, each of the subsequent quests will require 50 souls instead of 25. To those of you who got it before the changes went through, well done. It takes a keen eye to appreciate a bargain when you see it.

Coming This Week!

Big MEMBER week this week. Wednesday will have another Mid-Week release for members which will add a little more story to the Bludrut map plus some nice new member rewards. Friday will see the next installment of the SKYGUARD storyline as well as the premier of the Member-Only Grenadier class!

MANY of you Members have already reached rank 10 in Skyguard and have been waiting for this class for a long time. You will all get a head start on this awesome new class as you will only be able to get it with reputation starting this Friday (Feb 24th).

Next Friday (Mar 3rd) an AC version of the class (Which will also require Membership) will show up Itzachi but by then the hard-grinding Rep hunters will already have mastered the class all the way to rank 10. I know that some of you will take issue with the class not being rep only but we are doing this because a LOT of people like taking the AC shortcut and it doesn't seem right offering the time-saving shortcut to non-members but not for Member classes. Any ways to save time and/or labor should always be available to Members.

Those of you who wish to earn it without spending a single AC will, of course, always be able to take the path of hard work. Any additional items to the set (helms, weapons etc) will also be in the Skyguard Rep shop for Rank 10 and you will ONLY be able to get them through hard work.

I will be doing a class skills breakdown a little later this week.

HeroMart Items!

In case you didn't notice, we have a new shirt in HeroMart for fans of Classic AQ!

The "I'M ON A BOAT" shirt features AQ Classic's Death on his gondola welcoming you to the underworld. It also comes with the VERY LARGE Death's Reaver scythe for your AQ Classic character!

We are running out of stock of MOD packs for the Battleon Battle Card game and we still have some  2012 Calendars but none of these items will last forever and once they are gone, we don't plan on reprinting them.

You may or may not be a calendar person but I can't tell you how much I love having my mods packs as a part of my card game.

Leaving Today!

Quibble and the Event Rare Shop for Love's Curse will be leaving a little later today! Just throwing that out there.

Forum Question...

This year is a Leap year which means that this month gets a 29th day this year (as it does every 4th year). It's a little late to do an entire event for Leap Day but what would you like to see happen on Leap Day? We might take one of your ideas and run with it.

305 days until Just Another Day

February 17, 2012

POWER week: Tradeskills+

Something's Fishy in this Release!

Grab your tacklebox and /equip your wading boots, because Fishing has come to AQWorlds! With 30 ranks to cast, catch and explode through, you'll find yourself rising from Fishmonger to Squid Kid all the way to the level 30 King Fisher in no time!

You'll have to fight to reel in the best catch!

With rewards ranging from the Mystic Fishstick Staff to the Runed Master Angler armor, if you have the skills to wrangle your fishing rod well, you'll be swimming in fantastically finned gear! (And you can bet none of the rewards will be carp-y! Ok... all except the Fish Armor.) AND you'll get 80 free ACs worth of Fishing Dynamite, so you can make your OWN Fish Rain!

Cannibalism?! You (Loch Ness) MONSTER!

Once you reach Rank 30 in your new trade and earn the title of King Fisher, you'll find a shiny badge in your Book of Lore! (Character page badge coming NEXT week, and that's no fish story!) And if you can catch a mysteriously DUM-fish, you'll unlock the Derp Moosefish Achievement! (But we're not telling you HOW to get THAT one.)

Fishy Rewards to Collect in Your Cooler:

• Rune Master Angler Armor
• Mystic Fishstick
• Mysterious Fish and Flopping Fish Pet (member-only)
• Fish Suit, Fishin' Rod
• Shrimp Axe, Boot Mace (to the FACE!)
• And much more!

And happenin' house items to show of your skills:

• Magical Aquarium (Will display your "rank up" fish!)
• Fishing Pole Collection
• Fishing Dynamite!
• Even more to store!

We're hoping to reel you in hook, line and sinker with this first tradeskill, because it's the first of a series we want to introduce throughout 2012!

Dance to the Carnaval Music!

Carnaval is here, so get your rear in gear and /dance the night away! Samba's in Battleon with a bounty of beautifully, birhgtly-plumed armors, helms, capes, a pet and weapons to equip!

And for those of you who feel like getting into the "bloco das piranhas" spirit, get your role-reversal armor by joining the /love map!

/Dance your way to great-looking gear:

• Vai-Vai Carnaval Armor and Headdress!
• Plumage of Pain 12!
• Capoiera Capybara Member-only BATTLE PET!
• Jungle, Ivory and Carnaval Headdresses 12!
• Alegre Carnaval Armor 12!
• Carnaval of Love Armor 12!
• Pink Carnaval Feather Cape 12!
• With so much more!

2 new emotes added for Members!

HEY MEMBERS! We've got a small but emote-ional bonus for you today: the /useweapon brings back the classic /use emote that we removed so long ago, and /danceweapon will let you /dance your way through the battlefield!

AQ3D Pre-Registration Delayed!

As we noted here at Artix.com (the AQ3D Design Notes page), the name pre-registration for ANYONE who has ever supported Artix Entertainment's games.* Pre-Reg moved to NEXT week! Keep up to date and find out all the latest news on our first foray into the third dimension in gaming at Artix's AQ3D Design Notes!

*HeroMart items do not count, sorry! We can only track game/secondary currency upgrades in relation to your game account.

Member Bonuses for AC Packages!

Hey AC-buying MEMBERS! If you've bought either the 2,000; 5,000; or 12,000 AC packages since January 1st, you have unlocked the following member-only BONUS items:

• 2k AC package: the Battle Wyvern BATTLE PET!
• 5k AC package: color custom Dreadnought Armor!
• 12k AC package: Mindbreaker Class!

Dreadnought Color Custom Armor (5k AC package)
and Mindbreaker Class (12k AC package)!

For any more questions on this SUPER-awesome new package deal, check out Cysero's Design Notes post! And remember:

HOW DO I GET THIS GEAR?
You can get all of this EPIC gear from the badge shops in the AE section of your Book of Lore!

Mia J. Park Music for You!

And Artix wants you to remember to be sure to support Mia J Park, up-and-coming indie vocalist, the guest star of this Valentine's Day's "Love's Eternal Curse" event! (Hint: She was the voice of the mer'angel and sang the songs!)

She was getting a lot of requests from you guys for her song "One Way Ticket" that she wrote specially for our event, so she put a free link to it on her website! Why not wander your way through the interweb to check it out? While you're there, why not listen to all the rest of her awesome music!

Coming Soon!

• SkyGuard Saga - Invade the SkyPirate Base!
• Desoloth Confrontation - War in Etherstorm!
• Return of the Xan Saga and the rise of the Battle PoisonMistress!
• Lucky Week!

February 16, 2012

Power Week Continues!

We Got Yer Updates, RIGHT HERE!

Power Week is continuing here at AE's Secret Underground Lab at lightspeed! I wanted to keep you guys in-the-know so here are some updates about the pile of stuff that is coming at you!

AQ3D Name Camping TONIGHT SOON!

UPDATE: There are SIGNIFICANT bugs that were just discovered in last minute testing (of course) which means that we will need to POSTPONE AQ3D Name Pre-registration until they have been sorted out. Sorry for the falst start.

AE's 3D game project will be opening its servers soon to past and present AQW Members (as well as Dragonlords, Star Captains, Guardians, HeroSmash Members, etc) as well as anyone who has ever supported AE with ACs, SmashCoins, Varium etc. Basicly ANYONE who has every purchased ANYTHING and helped keep us going can get their name!

Once things get rolling you will need to go to ARTIX.COM to pre-register your character name. This will give you the chance to get your name before anyone else. Don't bother trying to take our names (Artix, Cysero, Alina, etc) We've already taken them.

Things To Remember:

1. This is NOT Alpha Testing, this is JUST CHARACTER NAME RESERVATION! There might be some new stuff to see but there will be no game to play just yet.
   
   
2. You won't be able to reserve your name unless you have a MASTER ACCOUNT set up on the AE PORTAL SITE!
   
   
3. You won't be able to reserve your name unless you have your ACCOUNT LINKED TO YOUR MASTER ACCOUNT!

I imagine it's going to be CRAZY then the servers do eventually open with everyone trying to cram into the servers all at once so good luck! Keep your eyes on ARTIX.COM and our Twitter feeds to know when the floodgates open!

When the time comes you will register your name at

http://www.ARTIX.com

but only if you meet the criteria listed above.

Get On The Line!

FISHING is coming tomorrow. We are busy adding lots of amazing gear and at least 2 achievements to this trade skill. It really is a lot of fun!

FAITH has changed her hair color but she is still waiting to sell you bait, fishing poles and TNT as well as give you lots of advice about becoming a better angler!

As my grandmother always said... "There is nothing quite as satisfying as tossing a lit barrel of explosives into a cool, calm pond and wathcing it rain fish!"

Remember that this is only the first of AQW's trade skills and will have many uses in the future but this week it will just be a very fun and very deep fishing system.

Member Bonuses for AC Packages

Tomorrow we will be releasing the Member Bonus additions to the three standard AC packages. People still seem a little confused about them so I'll address a few questions here.

• Are the Member Bonus Items Member Only? Yes. I would think that one could have gone without saying but it turns out that it's still one of my top 10 questions about the items.
  
  
• Do the AC Packages Stack, IE. If I buy six 2000 AC packages do I get the 12,000 AC Class? No, the packages are seperate and do not stack. Each package unlocks it's own item or items. If you get the 12,000 AC package then you only unlock the 12,000 AC Badge, Shop and Class Set.
  
  
• Can I Use Artix Points to buy the AC Packages through the Portal Site? Yes you can. It calls the same function in the payment flow so no matter how you buy your 2000, 5000 and/or 12,000 AC Package, it will unlock the Member Bonus Items for you.
  
  
• Is there anything for the 1000 AC package on the Portal Site? Sorry, but no. These were added to the packages that are availible through AQW's payment page. Since there is no 1000 package there, there is no Member Bonus for that package.
  
  
• When I got my Membership I also got the 5000 extra ACs for 5$, Do I get the 5000 AC CC Armor? No, the Member Bonus Items are only being added to the three stand-alone AC packages. Getting 20$ worth of ACs for 5$ is pretty great on its own!
  
  
• Do I have to buy them after Friday? No, we are also reaching back to Jan 1st 2012. If you have purchased an AC Package in 2012, then you have already unlocked that bonus shop! We were only going back 6 weeks but decided to take it all the way back to the start of this year.
  
  
• Are these going rare? Nope, they are staying as Member Bonuses in-game for the life of the game.
  
  
• How do I get my Member Bonus Items? After you purchase the 2000, 5000 or 12,000 AC package, the next time you log in you will see a new badge in the AE Tab of you Book of Lore! Click the badge, open the shop that appears on the page and get your Bonus Items!
  
  
• What comes with each package? Glad you asked...

The 2000 AC Package comes with the Member Only Battle Wyvern Battle Pet. This pet works for anyone but if you have a Pet Class equipped it will attack for you!

The 5000 AC Package comes with the totally Color Custom Member Only Dreadnought Armor Set! Every piece of this unstoppable from the plate to the trim to the glow on the ram horns on the helm is color custom.

the 12,000 AC Package comes with the Member Only Mindbreaker Class Set. You have spent years training your body to be a fighting machine but you have ALSO honed your psychic abilities to work in unision with your weapons to create the ultimate psionic warrior!

Many of you have been asking about the class's powers so I've done a skills breakdown for you.

MINDBREAKER CLASS SKILL SET

This is a very good, very strong, multi-purpose class with a few single target atttacks and debuffs, a few multi-attack AoEs for farming and a decent heal to keep you going. It's not bad in PvP either. This class seems to come down to mana management.

Althought it is a magic based psychic warrior (which means WIZARD ENH fit it best), it's built on the Warrior mana-regen model which means you get mana for every hit you deliver or every hit you take.

PSYCHIC ASSAULT

2 second cooldown

Using your mind, you reach out and cause pain to your foe. This is the Mindbreaker's basic attack.

This is Mindbreaker's Auto Attack but we this is the first time that we have added a seperate animation to the auto attack.

You appear to focus for a moment and send a blast of mental energy at your target. This is roughly the same amount of animation as swinging your weapon for an auto attack so should not cause any frame rate drop (lag) and might even be better depending on your weapon.

MINDFIRE

15 mana, 4 second cooldown

A psychic fire engulfs your foe dealing light damage and applies Brain Fog reducing Haste and Hit by 3%, stacking up to 5 times and lasting 10 seconds.

This is a decent single target attack and reducing both your target's Haste and Hit up to 15% will keep them nice and slow and keep them missing a lot more than they should. I imagine Brain Fog is like giving your enemy a mirgane that gets worse with each stack and if you have ever tried to do ANYTHING with that kind of headache then you know it can really slow you down and keep you off target.

PSYCHIC WAVE

15 mana, 4 second cooldown

You send out waves of psychic energy dealing moderate damage to one or two enemies near you.

This is a very basic AoE. It will only attack up to two targets at once so you shouldn't get overwhealned by tons of monsters as you fight. Its power remains constant and has no draw drawbacks. Just a good solid AoE.

This is another of the new skill animations that we added just for Mindbreaker. Waves of psychic energy flow out of you hitting everything near you. This new effect is also applied during MB's last activatable skill, Esper's Might. Makes me want to yell "KANEDAAAAA!" when I use it.

If you don't get that, shame on you.

CEREBRAL SIPHON

20 mana, 6 second cooldown

You lash out with a mental spear, striking your foe for damage based on stacks of Brain Fog also healing yourself for half the difference between your max HP and your current HP.

A very useful attack and pretty cheap heal. The attack gets stronger the more stacks of Brain Fog you have on your target and it always heals for you half of what you're missing.

If you're at 50% HP, it heals you up to 75%. If you are at 90% HP, it takes you up to 95%, if you are at 1% it takes you up to 50.5%. It's a little deceptive because it will never FULLY heal you but if you're smart and manage your mana well then you will also never die.

DEEP INSIGHT & MENTAL FOCUS

Rank 4 passives

Increase Crit by 8%

Incerase Damage by 15%

Pretty basic Rank 4 passives. You crit more often and get a generous damage buff out of these skills.

ESPER'S MIGHT

20 mana, 10 second cooldown

A powerful psychic burst AoE which will hit one or two foes. Damage increases based on stacks of Brain Fog as well as greatly reducing your enemies damage output for a short time.

A stronger AoE than Psychic Wave, and can become fairly devestating with 5 stacks of Brain Fog up. Note that none of the skills consume those stacks so the only way you get weaker is if you let the Brain Fog expire. This is a very useful skill that can be used at its base level when farming (since most monsters won't last long enough to get 5 stacks of Brain Fog) or can be used in its powered up state against boss monsters or other players in PvP. The debuff is really the key. With the Haste and Hit debuff from Mindfire and the Damage debuff from this skill your enemy is reduced to little more than an angry kitten or slightly stale english muffin.

MIND OVER MATTER

Rank 10 passive

When you are at risk of being defeated your amazing mind will occasionally construct an invisible psychic shield around you blocking all incoming damage for 5 seconds.

A new twist on the rank 10 passive to increase survivability. It is basicly a random "OH $#!%, I'M GONNA DIE!" power. Due to its very specific set of circumstances, it goes off a lot more often than the average rank 10 passive but you probably won't notice that because by the time you're that low you'll be spamming your heal power. BUT when you're low on mana and waiting to get enough for a heal... you'll be glad it's there.

Tiny Member Perks

While I was in the engine adding the new psychic animations I also added one for the upcoming Member Only Grenadier Class (Skyguard, Rank 10) and added two highly requested emotes for Members. /useweapon and /danceweapon.

Long and long and long ago when you called the /use or /dance emotes you would have your weapon in your hand. A lot of players hated this and requested that we remove the weapon. We did as they asked but suddenly a whole different crop of players were demaning that we add it back. Having just removed it and quieted the first group, we didn't want to add it back.

So finally you will be able to decide to either /use or /useweapon, and /dance or /danceweapon but the weapon versions are only for Members. it's not a HUGE perk but more specialized Member emotes is always good.

CARNAVAL TIME

I have been learning more and more about Carnaval in Brazil since we announced our Carnaval Shop coming Friday... like a tradition called "bloco das piranhas" where dudes put on skirts and wigs and pretend to be beautiful ladies. The results are often nightmarish but pretty hilarious.

In OUR Shop we will have colorful armors, bongos, flamedancer torches, crazy masks and the world's largest and most dangerous martial arts rodent, the Capoeira Capybara Member Only Battle Pet.

Rumors About Nulgath

Lastly, I'd like to address some rumors that have been floating around about Nulgath. Sadly, some of the rumors are true. He HAS put aside his work on AQW to go build his own game under the EBILCORP corperate umbrella. He will NOT (cannot) delete his area and remove all of his stuff from the game. AE owns the rights to that game content and we are keeping it in the game. Finally, YES... his game looks pretty rad.

More Mia J Park Music For You!

From Artix - "Mia was getting a lot of requests from players for her song "One Way Ticket" that she wrote just for the AQWorlds event. So she put a link to it, for free, on the *coughs* You know, I never feel bad about plugging her music... we should just rename the the company to Mia Entertainment and make all game upgrades just buying her CD... of course... more than 30 of you would have to buy her CD for this to work!"

Here's the link to the free One Way Ticket download - http://www.miajpark.net/aqw.html

309 days until Just Another Day

February 15, 2012

Etherstorm War in Two Weeks

In the heart of the Fire Realm, Ssikari - newly-raised Prime Fire Dragon - arches her head and roars. She and the rest of the Primes sense war on the wind.

Flames climb into the sky and viscious winds whip them into a frenzy. Acidic rain pounds upon a battered, scorched Earth littered with shards of their vital, secret-containing crystal.

The High Priests of Etherstorm gather deep belowground, safe - mostly - from the ravages of the Fire, Water, and Earth raging aboveground.

Even here, in the heart of the Temple, Air bites their skin and lashes at their clothing. Nowhere... not a single realm, temple, or cave - in Etherstorm is safe from Desoloth's fury.

Hs'Sakar, High Priest of the Prime Fire Dragon, stands tall, strong, and unafraid, but still must shout to be heard over the airstorm:

I hear in the hissing of the flames that our time grows short. We have but a few weeks to prepare.

They tell me that Desoloth plans to ravage Etherstorm, but we knew that. He will char us, scorch us into ashes. Drown the ashes until our corpses are mud, then bake the mud into hardened clay.

And once we have returned to the Earth he controls, he'll pulverize it, scattering the grains of our future, ourselves, and our world on the wind.

Summon the Hero! We must rally for war! The testing time has come - for the Hero, for our Primes, for us all!

An earth-shaking roar splits the ground, assaulting the air in all four Etherstorm realms. The dragons tremble and the elements are whipped into an even more frenetic frenzy. Desoloth calls, and the elements answer.

They turn on the dragons nearest them and attack, trying to consume the heartsblood of loyal dragons that Desoloth craves. If they do not stand with him, they will not LIVE and their blood will BURN!

Time is short, so short. Be ready, Hero, because the fates of the dragons, of Etherstorm and of Lore are in your hands and heart!

On Friday, March 2nd, WAR comes to Etherstorm! Will YOU be ready?!

February 13, 2012

Power Week!

Loads Of Stuff Coming This Week!

This is going to be a pretty HUGE week for us so I've started calling it POWER WEEK! (in my head)

Here's a quick table of contents of this Design Notes post so you can skip to the bits that interest you.

• Fishing Trade Skill!
• Old Heroes' Heart Day Returns!
• AQW's First Carnaval Shop!
• New Dage Quests In Shadowfall!
• I CAN HAS MOD Winner Selection today!
• MEMBER PERK: Bonus Member Items for AC packages!
• MEMBER PERK: Reserve your AQ3D Character Name!
• Stuff is Leaving!

So let's get down to it!

Have A Little More Faith!

Fishing, AQW's first trade skill is coming this Friday! It will be the first of several trade skills, including but not limited to fishing, alchemy and blacksmithing and eventually you will use your trade skills to help build up your Guild Town! Fishing might also have other uses if we continue to add trade skills like Cooking!

But let's not get ahead of ourselves. Let's go FISHING with FAITH!

You may know Faith as the head of HeroMart but what you may not know is that she is a fishing FIEND in real life! She was the perfect NPC to help you when your line gets tangled.

You will be able to unlock TONS of different fishing Ranks, special items and even get an aquarium for your house where you can display your latest catches!

You will be able to use a regular fishing pole, special member only SUPER POLE that will let you catch up to 3 fish at a time or barrels of HIGH EXPLOSIVES which will make it RAIN fish down around you (the TNT is basicly the AC shortcut since it can't miss but each barrel only costs 8 ACs each)!

As I mentioned, Fishing will become a very handy skill in the future but this Friday it will just be a nice relaxing diversion (like fishing is in real life). It will give you a chance to build up your skill ranks, unlock some of the new items that you can only get from the fishing trade skill and enjoy the music and scenery.

Have A Heart!

Now that you have played through the Love's Eternal Curse Special Event (The event is staying in the game except for the Event Rares Shop which is leaving next Monday), you may be asking yourself where Big Daddy, the Godfather of Love and his LOVE map are this year.

Never fear, Baby! The LOVE map with the Heroes' Heart Day Adventures along with the return of some of your favorite pink (and blue... and other colors) seasonal rares will be reintroduced to AQW this Friday!

Don't Be Sad, It's CARNAVAL!

Many of you already know what Carnaval (not to be confused with a carnival) is but for those of you who don't it's a HUGE celebration. It's celebrated in several countries but in Brazil it's something truly spectacular. Most of the country grinds to a halt just to have this party-to-end-all-parties that continues both day and night for an ENTIRE WEEK! There are parades, dancing, food and CRAZY costumes in every corner of the country as every city and town try and out-party each other. 

It's kind of like Dragoncon if it went on for a week and had 5 million people attending.

This Friday AQW will be joining in the festivities with our first CARNAVAL shop which will contain special items and costumes just for just for Carnaval!

New Dage The Evil Quests Coming Friday!

Now that the portal to the Underworld has been opened (in last week's event) Dage The Evil will be adding several new repeatable quests to his NPC sending you there. The quests won't be any easier but they will give you more options to collect Legion Tokens to buy items from his insane merge shop!

I CAN HAS DELUXE WINNER!?

Today is the day. A e-mail has been sent to the new I CAN HAS MOD WINNER! Winner, you have one week to check your e-mail and get back to us or we will continue down the list! Make sure that you check the e-mail that you have provided for your AQw account to see if you have won!

Of course, we won't announce the winner until we've had contact with them, but as son as we hear back from them (unless they don't want to be known) then we will let you guys know the name of the winner!

There were 233,892 people who entered the contest this time which is more than DOUBLE the number of people who entered last time. REMEMBER: HOLD ON TO YOUR CHEEZBURGER (Inventory or bank, it matters not)!

Last time the Cheezburger was wished into the Darkside Class. Who knows what it will become this time, if anything!

Good luck! There is only 1 winner and 233,891 non-winners (you guys aren't losers) so if you're a non-winner THIS time, then there is always next time!

MEMBER PERK: Bonus Member Items for AC Packages!

In our continuing effort to give the Members more in 2012, we have decided to add Member Bonus Items to the existing AC Packages starting Friday. 

The AC packages will be exactly the same as they always have been. They will cost the same and you will still get exactly the same amount of ACs with each of the three largest packages but NOW they will also unlock achievements in your Book of Lore that will open shops which will give you different Member Only Bonus Items depending on which AC Package you got.

2,000 AC Package: This package will now unlock the badge and shop that will give you the Battle Wyvern. This is a MEMBER ONLY Battle Pet!

5,000 AC Package: This package will now unlock the badge and shop that will give you the Member Only Color Custom Dreadnought Armor Set! (NOTE: this only applies to the package itself, not the bonus AC offer when you Upgrade.)

12,000 AC Package: This package will now unlock the badge and shop that will give you the MindBreaker Member Only Class! This bonus class is a balanced warrior of the mind. Special animations have been added to this psychic warrior class.

You will be able to unlock these badges and items contained within when you purchase these AC packages through our site or by using Artix points on the Portal Site. These bonuses will be permanent additions to the game and EVERYONE will unlock these badges, so if you don't can't become a member right now, these items will be waiting for you when you decide to upgrade or re-up.

Each of these items will cost 0AC for free storage.

These are NOT collective and do NOT stack. EACH Package unlocks it's own shop, but to get all of the items you will need to have bought all three of them packages.

This offer is ALSO retroactive for 6 weeks from this Friday! If you have purchased one or more of these packages in the last 6 weeks (from Friday) then you will already have these badges and items unlocked for you.

MEMBER PERK: Reserve Your AQ3D Character Name!

Our game project with the working title AQ3D is progressing and we have decided that it's time to allow Members (both present and past) to reserve their character names for this game!

If you are currently supporting or have EVER supported AQW (or any of our other games) with a Membership, you will be able to reserve your name for AQ3D!

IMPORTANT! In order to do this you need your AQW account connected to your Master Account! Like EpicDuel, HeroSmash and Pony Vs. Pony, you will log into this NEW game with your Master Account info. If your AQW account isn't connected to your Master Account then YOU WILL NOT BE ABLE TO RESERVE YOUR NAME!

If you have not yet created a Master Account, Do so by CLICKING HERE!

It's also important to note that this is NOT Alpha Testing. We are still miles and miles away from having something playable for you guys to test. This is ONLY to camp your name before someone else can get it!

We are aiming for Thursday Night but you never know what could go wrong between here and there. You will go to ARTIX.COM and we will have opened the Character Name Reservation Page!

If there is a change in schedule we will announce it here.

Read more about the AQ3D Project
On ARTIX.COM!

One Last Note...

The Punt map and Halftime Shop have left fot another year. Tomorrow Lady Azjurai will be leaving Battleon and taking all of her special wedding gear with her (presumably on her honeymoon. Gratz again Lady Az!). Lastly Quibble and Loves Curse Event Rares shop will both be leaving together next Monday!

February 10, 2012

Love's Eternal Curse

This new... and unusual Valentines event is LIVE!

There is a story behind tonight's special release. When I announced that I was going to write a love story, Alina started chuckling. She did not seem to think love fit into my normal writing style of ghouls, vampires, undead and monsters. After a few months, and a dozen scrapped stories... I thought she might have been correct. But I was sitting with Galanoth and Aresion one night when a concept that HAD TO BE DONE appeared. I took it seriously. I wanted to change the ending of something that always weighed heavily upon me. I know that it will meet mixed reaction... so it will be up to you do decide if this was crazy or clever. Regardless, I really do hope you enjoy it -- it is not your normal "pink with hearts and filly lace"-type Valentines event!

Bug fix: If you are having a problem completing the quests, try going to /join lovescurse and watching the last cutscene again.

Featuring the music of Mia J. Park

As posted far below... I found Mia's music on YouTube completely by chance. Her voice was so beautiful that I was shocked when I noticed it only had 100 views!  She is a new, indie artist from Australia with only a few fans and immense passion for her music. So I asked you and the other awesome players to give her a hand with that. Thank you, because that same video now has over 31,600 views! When I asked her if she would like to become part of this year's Valentines release, she graciously accepted. She even wrote a special song, "One way ticket" for it. Like many of you, this is not the type of music I normally listen to. But there is something about her deep, beautiful songs that touches my heart. So I actually bought her debut CD "Metamorphosis" and have become a serious fan. I hope that listening to the music in the event causes you to do the same.

Get Metamorphosis
(Mia's special link for AQW players)

I remember what it is like starting to follow your dreams. So, I am throwing my full support behind Mia,  and hope you will support her also by buying one of her CDs. Mia surprised me by sending me a link to a special page for AQWorlds players. She made her album available to you guys for 20% off until the end of the month as a thank you for having her in the event. This was unexpected, generous, and a very classy thing to do.

Let me know what you think!

This was one of the craziest release days in the history of AE. I would love to know what you thought of the event, and the other announcements. I will be watching Twitter all weekend via my phone... please let me know if you liked it. Battle on!

P.S. I would like to make a special thank you to Alina, who gave me a warm smile and thumbs up on my script (and fixed A LOT of typos O_O) then lead the AQW team to actually create this event. She is the best.

February 10, 2012

Hero's Heart Day 2012 Tonight

Love is in the Air... and In-Game!

Today we'll be releasing Artix's love story - "Love's Eternal Curse"! It's filled with comi-tragedy, epic battling, new faces and old... and an ending which will take a long-standing tradition and give it a new lease on life.... and love!

Event Rares You'll Love!

Are you ready for a HEART-y helping of event rares? There'll be an event rare shop featuring both Player Suggestions and art by the AQW team's artists! It will be stocked with AC items, member-only items, and we think you'll LOVE what you see! (And they won't break your heart... or your bank!) Free-player gold items will drop from the monsters and repeatable quests!

And if you're missing your favorite Hero's Heart Day releases from previous years, never fear! We'll be releasing all of those on Tuesday, February 14th!

Other Notes!

Quibble Coinbiter's shop in Battleon will get some fresh, rockin' new gear today, as well, so be sure to check his shop! And don't forget to grab your Golden Cheezburger from Cleric Joy, the 3rd I Can Has Mod contest is almost over... who will get their wish granted THIS time?!

Love's Eternal Curse... affects the AQW team!

The curse affecting the characters in this release did not stay in-game! We're all feeling it's effects as it tries to keep us from releasing! Between people being sick, files not working as they should, and Flashing continually crashing (TEN times in under an hour!)*, the curse that's keeping true lovers apart... is also keeping us from release!

We'll battle on towards an unbroken release (and unbroken hearts!), and we'll see you all tonight!

* Now 12 Flash crashes!

THIS JUST IN!

New video posted... and MAJOR announcement! Watch and follow the link at http://AQ3D.Artix.com/

February 09, 2012

Getting into Character...?

Mia is making a splash! (literally)

Before voice acting, we do our best to warm up by getting into the spirit of our characters. Apparently Mia does too... BUT in honor of the AQW Valentine's event, she actually had a makeup artist do her makeup as a mermaid, put on a pretty dress and went into the water! Now THAT is how you do authentic voice acting! Fortunately a mer-photographer took these goergous pictures... because... "Screenshot or it did not happen!"

This is so exciting -- we are all anxious to hear her in the game's release tomorrow. Technology Tell did a nice article on Mia and the AQWorlds Valentines Event -- and released some secret info I managed not to leak. Working with Mia has a been fun but also tricky - she lives in Australia, which is both home to many of our awesome players, and pretty much on the exact opposite side of the world from us. But thanks to the power of the interwebs and our gamer-inspired sleep schedules, that did not present a real problem, LOL.

The Eternal Curse of Love (AQWorld's 2012 Valentines Release)

Meanwhile, here at the lab, the entire AQWorlds team is in super crunch time. With less than 24 hours left till the release, we still have a ton of cutscenes, coding, art and animations to complete. This was a REALLY big Valentines day release to attempt to crete in only a week... but look at the bright side, at least this is not going to be a pink/heart/lovey/overly-cutified release like other Valentines Day releases. Nope... I wrote this story for you guys.... and as a teaser, above is tomorrow's BOSS MONSTER (Drawn by Dage) I really hope you enjoy tomorrow's Valentine's release.

P.S. For those of you following the AQ3D / EbilCorp Events, which has been attracting major attention from our fans, something BIG is going down late tonight. Get caught up and find out the results... however this turns out... tomorrow!

February 07, 2012

Love is in the Ether

Artix's Love Story.... this FRIDAY!

Most of the things I write about are ghouls, gasts, and creatures of unspeakable darkness. So, the special love story I wrote for your Valentines Day release this Friday has me a little nervous. This is a unusual departure from the way we normally do things, and I suspect the ending will be controversial. There is something that I did not like in the real world... and I intend to change it in ours! Alina & Rolith read the script and occasionally burst out laughing. (But NOT at my boss monster.) I am VERY anxious to see what you think this Friday.

Mia J Park will be voicing her lines

I posted a poll on Facebook asking if you wanted this love story to be voice acted. 900 of you said Yes. 29 said No.... and 97 voted for "Chuck Norris." (If Chuck Norris had won, would we have had to have gotten him?) Thank you -- we promise to do our best best! Mia, who's music will be featured in our Valentines day event lives in Austrailia. She will be recording her lines there. I found this video of her performing "Ever After" for a children's charity telethon. I love this song.... (A secret just between us: I played this song on repeat non-stop for three days while writing the script for this Friday's release.)

EBILCORP - A Name you can (NOT) trust.

OMG! Have you been following this story!? As previously posted, AE has been building a 3D video game (AQWorlds/HeroSmash members are to be invited to the first phase of the Alpha and Beta.) Last Friday, EbilCorp drones broke into AE's Secret Underground Lab and stole all of the 3D files and the classified game-server super computer couch (USB powered). In an act of arrogance, Chairman Platinum, the head of EbilCorp, blatantly posted the entire AdventureQuest 3D website right on the EbilCorp.com homepage, and claimed it was theirs. They did not even bother to change the website url's on the graphics -- they just crossed Artix's name off of the posts. Today, Chairman Platinum made a shocking video post. See for yourself!

The AE team is not taking this lying down. Based on news in the newest video, Artix and all of his friends on Twitter are planning a course of action. Please do join in!

February 06, 2012

Time Marches Ever Onward

Last Chances!

Today is February 6th. That means that the Friday the 13th House and Event Rare Shops will be going rare and that the Akiba New Year event will be leaving as well and taking with it all the great seasonal items and rares (like the non-member AC pet) with it. 

so long, PanLong!

New Beginnings!

Lady Azjurai is getting married tomorrow! If you weren't aware, Lady Az is a Mod on AQW but started out years ago as a player just like you, she was asked to help out on the forums then eventually moved to full AQW Mod and we count ourselves lucky for all the help and pre-release testing that she has been able to provide.

Finding love is a rare and wonderful thing and very often you want to share you feelings and celebrate with those who mean the most to you. In this case, she had decided that she wants to share her happy day with all of us in the AQW community.

Later tonight (or tomorrow at the very latest), you will be able to find Lady Azjurai in Battleon and she will be offering to share some items with you.

The Ruby Eternal Flame, Romantic Raccoon Helm (She has a thing for raccoons) and the Evil Toaster of Love.

I'm told that this was the first appliance that the two love-birds purchased as a couple and has given them nothing but grief since they plugged it in. It seems to actually have an evil face on it and it will burn the toast no matter what setting you put it on. Lady A and her bethrothed have many fond memories of running around their place, fanning toast smoke out of the window and laughing together.

Lady Az, we could not be more happy for you. Thanks for sharing your happy day with us and we all wish you guys the very best that life has to offer. Gratz!

I CAN HAS MOD Round 3!

It's been a while since we've mentioned it so this is just a wee reminder that the next I CAN HAS MOD winner will be selected on February 13th. To enter the drawing all you have to do is get the Golden Cheezburger Deluxe from Cleric Joy in Battleon. That gives you one chance to win.

Every months of AQW Membership left on your account on the date of the drawing and every AEXTRA that you complete will also increase your chances by one more entry.

Here is the FULL CONTEST PAGE if you have more questions.

REAL LIFE Limited Quantity Shop!

2012 is already in full swing, and pretty much everyone who wanted the ChronoCorruptor Class that comes with the 2012 AQW Calendar now has it, but I keep getting asked if this class is going rare.

Going RARE, one calendar at a time!

The short answer is that YES, it is going rare. We only have a few hundred 2012 Calendars left in HeroMart, and there are still a few floating around the US Toys R Us stores, but that's it.

We can't possibly print an infinite amount of calendars so, no matter what, there will only ever be a limited number of these classes in AQW.

Heroes Heart Day Is Coming Friday!

AQW's Valentine's Day Event, Heroes Heart Day, is coming so expect to be burried under a wave of pink hearts, thorny roses and chocolate with confusing cream centers.

This Heroes Heart Day we are going all out with special Musical Guest Mia J. Park so sadly there will be no time for a Mid-Week Release this week but you can expect this event to blow our previous Heroes Heart Day adventures out of the water. 

Special reporter Artix Von Krieger has more on the event. Back to you in the studio, Artix...

Artix?

Sorry folks, we seem to be experiencing some techincal difficulties. We'll check back in with Artix in tomorrow's Design Notes for that Special Report. See you then!

319 days until Just Another Day

February 05, 2012

Halftime Shop OPENS!

The Superbowl Halftime Shop is BACK!

It's the biggest American Football game of the year. The New York Giants are facing off against the New England patriots and it's time for the halftime show. When you've had your fill of watching madonna do her thing on stage... head to Battleon and look for the button labled PUNT!

Come join the PUNT map to celebrate this day and these two super-teams with the Mammoth and Loyalist armors and the return of other seasonal favorites like the Spiked Pigskin and the Moglin Ref pet!

Don't forget that this is the ONLY time of year that you will be able to get the Moglin Punter Character Page Achievement Badge and all you have to do kis kick Twilly the full 100 yards!

Good luck and no matter who wins we hope you enjoy the Superbowl!

320 days until Just Another Day

February 03, 2012

Etherstorm's Earth Realm!

The Last Element is NOT the Last Chapter!

Finally, even though it has cost Galanoth dearly, the Proto-Prime Elemental Dragons are growing in power and you are returning balance to the elements. Or so you think...

Desoloth, the Final, finds this amusing.You've even brought a new toy for him to play with... The Proto-Prime of Earth, Arradia!

This week you journey into the twisted Earth Realm where you will learn much more than you bargined for about the power of Elemental Earth Magic as well as the resonating frequencies of some crystals. Have you ever heard crystals sing? (If you've played through Mythsong valley then the answer is YES)

This week you will not just hear them sing, you will need to focus, and burn their song into your mind and replay it! There is also a brand new Etherstorm Earth Rep Shop with new reputation items for you to enjoy!

Etherstorm is drawing to a close, but it might not be the ending you would like.

Quibble Is Back!

This time he's returned with some elemental, natural and markedly UN-natural goodies for you including Solrac's Woodland set...

And the highly anticipated transforming armor from Dage... the Exosuit Binoku which transforms (for you, not those around you) when you click on it. There are SEVERAL parts to the set and each one has more than one transformation depending on where and how many times you click it. Will you be the first to find every transformation?!

This is all the same armor and helm. Seperate weapons.

PUNT RETURNS!

Ready for the SUPERBOWL?! This Sunday is the biggest American Football game of the year... the showdown between the New York Giants and the New England patriots. To celebrate, during the Superbowl's Half-Time Show we will be opening up the PUNT map so you can see how far YOU can kick Twilly. Reach the full 100 Yards and get an ACHIEVEMENT BADGE! We are also opening the Half-Time shop during the Superbowl's Half-Time where you can show support for YOUR favorite team, the Mammoths or the Loyalists!

See you at Half-time!

February 02, 2012

Mia J. Park

Mia agreed to be in my Valentines Day love story!

As previous posted on the soon to dissapear secret AQ3D site, I was surfing YouTube after the ArcAttack event in Doomwood and stumbled on this amazing girl's music. When I heard her beautiful voice it shocked me that her video had less than 100 views.  I thought... maybe you guys could help her out with that problem?

I liked her music so much that I bought one of her CDs from her website and contacted her about doing the music for love story that I am writing for AQWorlds... which she agreed too... and I just finished the script for 5 minutes ago... and is coming to AQWorlds NEXT week! Anyone else remember when I stated that I was writing a love story and Alina was chuckling because I confidently boasted my story would turn her eyes into waterfalls and "not have zombies"? Well... there will not be any zombies. Nope! *coughs* Ghosts. *coughs* But no zombies! Because I found a far terrifying monster for my love story than any zombie. But you will have to see that with your own eyes! I think the ending is going to be a bit controversial... you will be the final judge if it is beautiful, clever, or a heart felt trainwreck.

A message from One-Eyed Doll

I got a really cool out-of-the-blue message from Kimberly of One-Eyed Doll that gave us kudos and cheers for spotlighting a very fresh, new, indie artist like Mia.  When I found out that Kimberly had even posted on Mia's facebook fan page I felt this.. I do not know what to call it... a "warm feeling of community and belonging." It is so cool that whether you are a player, artist, programmer or a special guest... we all stick around and want to help each other. There is something special in what we have here.

February 01, 2012

The Heir to Cornelis

Hodan Cornelis Is The Last Of The Cornelis Line!

He has wandered the face of Lore for years and has returned to reclaim his family's ancestral home from roving gargoyles and twisted Chaos magic!

He needs you help to find his family vault hidden in the maze-like ruins of the once great city of Cornelis. Until he has the Cornelis Title which proves he is the last true heir to Cornelis, he can do nothing to restore his home.

That's where you come in!

Defeat the invaing Gargoyles, defend the city, uncover the vault's secret location (with a little help from yours truly) and solve the RuneSweeper puzzle to unlock the treasures of the Cornelis Family Vault!

This Mid-week release also comes with a Member Only Character Page Badge for unlocking the treasure chest within the Cornelis Vault! Thanks to everyone on the forums for your fresh ideas about the Mid-Week Reward Systems!

PS: MEMBERS - your two FREE Treausure Chest keys are available once you do your monthly quest to get them!

Quibble Comes Friday!

We will, we will ROCK YOU with this earth-shakingly awesome armor by Dage! The Exosuit Binsoku will transform at your command; all you need to do is click the part of the armor you wish to change!

Exosuit Binsoku: For hard-headed heroes and hard-hearted villains!

We'll have many more items in Quibble stock, too! Make sure you don't miss Quibble Coinbiter's bevy of elementally excellent items in this Etherstorm edition of his time-traveling shop!

Enjoy!