Design Notes

October 27, 2023

Mogloween Behind the Scenes

Last Friday, we had an adventure in a haunted castle filled with ghosts and curses. How about we delve further behind the scenes to spotlight the team members who helped put this spooky release together?

As usual, Crulon made the map art by putting together an old castle that was half dolled up for a Mogloween Gala, and half a nightmare of bones and ghosts.

Ghost has been going nonstop for three weeks from Shadows of Doom's dramatic cutscenes to giving us the resolution of a Mogloween Mystery.

The Cauldron Sisters were given fresh art courtesy of Aranx. 

New to our usual week to week set up is Despera, who designed the Unborn Brood. 

This was my first time working with Despera onboard and they're amazing! I gave them a brief summary of the story, and a few options for what the bosses could be: A nobleman's ghost twisted into the form of a gargoyle, the castle's ghosts fused into one giant spirit, or the ghosts of the lost dragonlings fused into one vengeful spirit.

With just a few references, Despera came up with three super cool concepts! I loved the dragonlings design so much that I decided to put more focus on them in-story, and adjusted the outline to fit.

It's too bad we could only pick one, I hope we can circle back to that rad gargoyle design! 

Darkon worked on the bosses animations. In the process, he taught tus what to do to make brand new monster art easieir to animate.

As for the Mogloween story, I had the outline saved from last year. It was on a list of pitches that will eventually become full releases. The concept was inspired by two stories, "The Picture in the House" and "The Rats in the Walls" by H.P. Lovecraft, but obviously it diverted a lot in the final draft.

The original story of "The Picture in the House" was about a traveler that discovers how an old man became immortal through cruel and unspeakable acts. "The Rats in the Walls" dealt similar cruel and unspeakable acts, which made me think of what it would be like if the ghosts that arose from said actions were dragons instead of humans.

The Lord of the castle recieved a name, a motive, and a connection to the history of Greenguard. The emotional lodestone of the story came to be as the story developed. The timing of the release going live now instead of last year as originally planned worked out well too. The descendant of Lord Andrew Taylor has a role to play when we resume our Main Story come 2024, and you lore hunters were quick to spot it!  

Mogloween is always fun to think up stories for and there's much more to come in the holiday seasons! I hope you enjoyed this year's spooks and this peek behind the scenes! 

October 27, 2023

Spooky & Sweet New Sets

Mogloween is almost here, but new sets are available NOW!

From the wicked-cute Zilla Witch to the Cursed Sea Scourge ghost... It's no trick, we've got a bounty of new rare and seasonal killer costumes to equip this holiday weekend! After you check out our new Mogloween 2023 event in the /cursedcastle, head back to Battleon to check out all our new items.

Check out the...

• Featured Gear Shop for the new rare + seasonal Mogloween sets

Featured Rare Sets

• Spectral Sea Scourge armors + accessories
• Debris Designated Bear armors + accessories
• Crimson Bat cape + ground runes
• Zilla Witch armor + accessories

The armor sets and pet will be available until December 1st in the Featured Gear Shop in your game menu. 

Featured Seasonal Sets

• Arachnid Curse Broker armor + accessories 
• Lovely Zilla Witch armor + accessories 

Plus, the Midnight Zilla Witch armor set arrives this Sunday as your daily login gift drop!

Monthly Membership Perk Arrives November 1st

Members, log in and talk to Twilly this Sunday to claim your two FREE treasure chest keys! Collect treasure chests as you battle through Lore, then use the keys to open them for new free items. 

Want to get in on this?

Upgrade your AdventureQuest Worlds character with any membership package to unlock two free Treasure Chest Keys for each month the membership is active.

* We will begin updating the treasure chest rewards again on a regular basis, so if you've already collected all the gear... get ready to unlock more in the near future!

October 27, 2023

Uncover the Secrets of the Cursed Castle

Our Ghoulish New Game Update is (Un)Live!

Log in now to get your Mogloween /party on! Join the Cauldron Sisters in Castle Alnswick, where a HUGE Gala is waiting for you to begin. Bubble's Gala Guide: 1) Do not accept candied dragon eggs from anyone. 2) Everyone loves baby dragons. 3) Peaceful ghosts are happy ghosts. *gulp* Uncover the secret of what holds these violent ghosts to the castle, and help them all to rest in peace. 

New game release

• Mogloween 2023 holiday event
• Wicked rare sets in the Featured Gear Shop
• New gear in the seasonal Event Hub Shop
• New reward sets for Friday the 13th 
• Character Page Badge Showcase Feature (Account manager)
• Radiant Goddess of War + ArchFiend Doomlord character page badges

Weekend Daily Gifts & Boosts

• Server Boost: Double EXP, Class Points, Rep, and Gold
• Resource Boost: Dark Spirit Orbs
• Saturday: Witchy Pets from the DoomKitten in /doomkitten
• Sunday: Midnight Zilla Witch set from the Nobleghost in /cursedcastle

If you haven't joined us for this event before, Mogloween is the Fall holiday event where you trick or BEAT your way through the spookiest, creepiest releases we've put out over the last fifteen years! 

This Weekend's New Gear

This weekend, we've got a sweet-but-spooky trove of seasonal reward gear for you. Complete this week's new event in the /cursedcastle map, inspired by HP Lovecraft's "The Rats in the Walls" to begin collecting all our new rewards.

Cursed Castle Merge Shop

Collect Candy Dragon Eggs to create:

• Vampiric Gentlefolk Armor + accessories
• Soul-Starved Jiangshi Armor + accessories

Noble Ghost Drops

• Jiangshi Armor + accessories
• Midnight Zilla Witch Armor + accessories (available starting this Sunday!)

Bone Dragonling Drops

• Bone Dragonling pet (member-only)

Noble Gargoyle

• select Jiangshi weapons
• Dark Vampiric Cloak
• Malevolent Paifang Ground rune (1% drop rate)

Miniboss

• Spectral ??? Spear
• Aristo Hat (male + female)

Boss

• Dreaded Dzeza Magus Armor + accessories
  
• Ravenous Monstrosity weapons

15th Birthday Founder Pets

Our Founders were the original supporters of AdventureQuest Worlds. Every year, we give them another exclusive pet to thank them for that early vote of confidence. The 2023 Founder Platinum Dracolich + Armored Dracolich pets arrive this Friday

Your Luck is in! MORE Friday the 13th Gear

Earlier this month, we Aurelio Voltaire arrived in Yulgar's Inn to herald another Friday the 13th event. Shortly We had reached out to him to get permission to release even more of his classic NPC armors to celebrate this milestone event; although he is incredibly busy with his projects, we got the greenlight shortly before the event (and still grateful for his continued attendance after fifteen years of guest hosting!). 

During the two-week event that followed, our reward gear was themed after Doom + our birthday. But with his permission obtained, Alvaro (one of our contract artists), was able to get to work porting the gear over for you... and here it is!

• Battle the Storage Box in /fivesaloon to collect the Dark Cabaret Musician + 10 helms
• Battle Shub-hathrys in /crownsreachfxiii to collect the Dark Dapper Musician + 2 helms

Each armor is available in a map where his NPC wore the outfit. These items are permanently available for members, and available for ALL heroes to collect when the maps are open during Friday the 13th events.

Immortal Joe's Fiendish Patch Notes

What started as "adding an ArchFiend DoomLord Badge Quest to Oblivion" evolved into a reworking of certain /tercessuinotlim NPCs of importance. To sum up the changes, Nulgath and Oblivion's menus have been condensed and should be a lot easier to navigate now, but a few of the more notable changes have been listed below.

Nulgath NPC Update

• Resource farming quests and equipment quests have been separated into their own sections.
• The "Supplies to Spin the Wheel of Chance" and "Nulgath (Larvae)" quests can now be accessed from Nulgath directly.

Oblivion NPC Update

• Added a quest for an ArchFiend DoomLord Character Page Badge
• Moved Oblivion deeper into the map (the intent of this change is to reduce confusion for players who enter /tercessuinotlim for the first time as Oblivion may be viewed as the primary NPC, but as we continue to explore options for /tercessuinotlim in the future, this change may be reverted).

Miscellaneous

• Adjusted the positioning of certain mobs.
• Replaced the offscreen Dark Makai in Nulgath's room with a second Shadow of Nulgath.

*The Enchanted Nulgath Nation House's Nulgath NPC will be updated at a later date.

October 23, 2023

Shadows of Doom Lore

Shadows of Doom - A Peek at Defeat

Hello all, it's Cylisse the writer again! On October 15th around 7:00AM EST, you crushed the Invasion of Shadows that threatened Battleon. Thanks to your incredible efforts, Empress Gravelyn is going to...oop! No spoilers for the future of this saga, but what about a peek at what would have happened if Gravelyn's HP bar ran out before you defeated all the monsters?

Be aware, big spoilers for Part 1 and 2 of Shadows of Doom!

The results of the invasion wouldn't have changed the last cutscene of Part 1, where you came face to face with the Mysterious Stranger who whispers into your ear.

The differences would begin in Camlan, after you and Gravelyn scared the Metamorphosis Maw back into hiding.

Rather than being awake, Gravelyn would've been completely unconscious with no way of waking up. Her wound is about to destroy her body and the Hero rushes her to Termina Temple, the closest safe haven nearby.

Instead of Gravelyn being conscious in this scene, she is laying on one of the beds, unresponsive. Song ruefully reports that there is nothing anyone in the Temple can do. Exerting that much power after pushing herself to the brink in Battleon was too much.

Shakaz is present to ask what happened to Sigrid and Camlan in Gravelyn's place. After recieving an explanation, Shakaz feels that there is no other choice. They have to consult the Lightguard and the Emissary of Light Astero, who has been trying to contact them inccessently, having been completely rebuffed until now. Both the Hero and Shakaz feel unease but are helpless. No one at the Temple or the Empire knows how to save the Champion of Light. They can do nothing for Gravelyn but surrender to the whims of the Lightguard.

Essentally, the Lightguard and Astero would gain custody of Gravelyn with little to no interference from the Shadowscythe. The consequnces of this event would have bled into the next installment of Shadows of Doom as well as the Rumbling of Cold Thunder set to go live next year.

This future, however, will not come to pass. Your victory ensured that Gravelyn would be safe. She definitely noticed how hard you fought for her (I even went back to the win-end script to update her lines when I saw how much people cared about her).

October 22, 2023

DragonPay Available Again

Statue Update: DragonPay Available Again!

For our heroes in the Philippines: we are aware of the issue with the DragonPay payment provider, where people see a message that it can't be reached. Captain Rhubarb suspects the cause and we are looking into it. More updates to follow as I have news for you.

October 20, 2023

HeroMart Poster Design Contest!

Start. Your. Scribbles! In order to celebrate so many game birthdays this month AND Artix Entertainment’s 21st Anniversary, we are inviting you to design a poster for HeroMart!

Greetings, salutations, and welcome to the HeroMart Poster Design Contest! We invite aspiring artists and seasoned illustrators from around the world to showcase their creativity by designing a poster for HeroMart.com. Since we are celebrating many game birthdays this month, and ntm the 21st anniversary of Artix Entertainment, this poster can feature your favorite Artix game… or an Artix Entertainment-themed poster in general! This is your chance to leave your mark on HeroMart and across the Artix gaming realms while also winning exciting prizes.

For this contest, we are looking for the best 🌟 Finished Poster Design 🌟 like something you’d see on HeroMart. Although this contest is open to everyone, it is best suited for artists who have professional tools, art software, and know what 150+ DPI is. 

Once our judges have selected the winner(s), our Artix artists will work with the winner(s) to bring the posters to life on HeroMart! 

But an important note to address before we get into the contest deets:

Is AI art allowed?

No. While it’s true AI can make some of the raddest looking things with 6 fingers and wonky legs, we want this contest to be fair for everyone. Plus, we want to showcase the true art our community can make with passion, love, and a whole lotta erasers. 

For each entry, we will require a work-in-progress (WIP) screenshot / picture to be provided, such as a sketch or lineart to prove this was done by a human – or a vampire, cat girl, dog boy, dragonkin, moglin, or whatever else you identify as :) 

All in all: AI art is NOT allowed, and if we find out AI was used, it will disqualify that player from the contest.

Now that’s out of the way… on to the good stuff!

HeroMart Poster Contest Details 

⏰ Timeline:

• Contest Start Date: Friday, October 20, 2023
• Submission Deadline: Sunday, November 5, 2023, at 11:59pm ET
• Winner Announcement: Depending on the number of entries received, we will announce the winners on the Design Notes and on social media within 3 weeks after the deadline. Hopefully sooner—but with so many talented heroes in our community, we *know* there’s going to be A LOT of entries to review! 
  
  

🏆 Prizes:

Our panel of judges will choose one Grand Prize Winner, and award one or more Runner-Ups based on the scores given by the judges. 

1. The Grand Prize Winner will receive:

• their poster produced and sold on HeroMart.com*
• 10,000 Artix Points (which can be used in any game)
• a stack of free posters mailed to them anywhere in the world
• a “Contest Winner” Character Badge in AQW
• and of course, infinite bragging rights!
  * Whenever we release artwork through HeroMart, we pay artists for the right to use their work and always give appropriate credit. Remember: good heroes give credit where credit is due!

2. Runner Up(s): 5,000 Artix Points and a chance that their poster could be printed by HeroMart at a future date.

3. Honorable Mention(s): 1,000 Artix Points and lots of love <3

✍️️ Rights and Permissions:

By entering the contest, participants grant Artix Entertainment and HeroMart exclusive rights to use, reproduce, and/or modify the submitted artwork for all purposes. The artist will be credited whenever the artwork is used, and a contract will be sent to the winner(s) if their poster will be featured on HeroMart.

📏 Size Requirements:

Dimensions: 24" x 36"
which is 3600 x 5400 pixels at 150 DPI

Please keep in mind that the final product will be converted into CYMK mode since that’s required for printing physical posters. 

📝 Submission Rules:

• 1 entry per player.
• Sorry, no collaborations or group submissions will be accepted.
• Participants must create an original poster design based on their favorite Artix game(s), or Artix Entertainment in general. 
  • Example: you can design a poster depicting an epic battle from AdventureQuest Worlds, or you can make a collage of your favorite Artix NPCs, monsters, or villains from your favorite games! 
• Artwork can be in your own style, or it can closely match in-game art. Keep the Artix style as inspiration, but let your own art style shine bright!
• You may use any design software or medium of your choice. But no AI generated art allowed.
• You MUST include a sketch, line art, concept art, etc of your work so that we know you actually created it yourself. (Protip: snap a photo of your work *before* you begin coloring!)
• All artwork must be submitted as a .PNG (preferred) or a .JPEG. High resolution always looks good.
• If working in Photoshop, Illustrator, or other program, be sure to save & keep your work as a .PSD, .AI, or .SVG. You are not required to submit your working file, but make sure to keep it in a safe place in case you’re a winner!  
• This goes without saying, but entries must not contain any offensive material, and plagiarism will result in disqualification.
  
  

✅ How to Enter:

1. Sketch your poster design (and take a pic!)
2. Finish your poster design
3. Fill out the contest entry form on Google Form here
4. Upload your sketch on the Google Form
5. Upload your completed artwork on the Google Form
6. Submit your artwork on the Google Form by no later than Sunday, November 5, 2023, at 11:59pm ET
   
   

🦋 Social media your thing?

Feel free to also submit your entry on Twitter so the world can see your amazing artwork!

1. Upload sketch and finished poster to @AE_Contests 
2. Include your AQW in-game name in your tweet
3. Use #HeroMart hashtag so we don’t accidentally miss your entry
4. Send tweet and share with your friends :)
   
   

❓Questions?

If you have any questions or need further information, please contact @AE_Contests on Twitter so I can easily answer your inquiries! 

Ready to enter the HeroMart Poster Design Contest?
Enter here!

On behalf of everyone at Artix Entertainment and HeroMart, we look forward to seeing your imagination shine and your creative designs! We all wish you the best of luck in the HeroMart Poster Design Contest! 

Scribble on!
Beleen, the panel of judges, and everyone at Artix Entertainment and HeroMart

October 20, 2023

15th Birthday Collection Update

Unlock 145+ items in our 20th Anniversary Collection

It's AQWorlds 15th birthday AND Friday the 13th! We're celebrating with an all-new, holiday event rare collection chest! Find the event shop full of 15th Birthday rare items in Battleon. And if you're a collector or rare hunter, pick up the Doom & Glory Collection Chest to get ALL of the event rares and a character page badge for 10,000 AdventureCoins (over 40,000 ACs worth of gear)! 

The 15th Birthday Collection Chest unlocks over 140 items total. Quibble's Shop and Chest will contain:

Check out Quibble's Birthday Rares Shop to find:

• Exclusive 15th Birthday Collection Chest pet to unlock the full collection shop
• Loyal Guardian Wyvern Cape (with quest for exclusive character page badge)*
• Spiritual Chiromancer armor, helms, capes 
• Spiritual Chiromancer Cat Ears and Tail
• Spirit Gourd Prison cape
• Blood Red Fire Flies
• Grounds of Mayhem
• Spiritual Cleaver, Staff, and Axe weapons
• Herald of the Eclipse Bow + Staff
• Serene Moon Bow + Staff
• Harbinger of Destruction Spear, Blade, and Sword (single + dual-wield)
• Rapier and Daggers of Maddened Will
• Red Nocturne Staff
• Gold Coronation Dragonlord armor, helms, capes
• Ceremonial Dragon Blade, Bow, and Hallowed Dragon Gauntlet
• General Neesha armor, helms, wings, and tails
• General Neesha's Molten Whip, Claws, and Enchanted Claws
• Teeny Neesha Pet 
• Angellic Neesha armor, helms, wings, and tails
• Angelic Neesha's Blessed Wings
• Teeny Angel Neesha Pet**
• Angelic Neesha's Dagger, Whip, Spear, Claws, and Enchanted Claws
• Doomed Vessel Sword Pet and Bank Pet
• Quindecennial Knight armor, helms, and cape
• Sol Dominus Seeker armor, helms, and capes
• Great Sun Serpent capes
• Solstice Pulse Blade, Sword, Staff, Pistols
• Lunam Domini Seeker armor, helms, capes
• Great Moon Serpent capes
• Moon Phaser Sword + Silver Crescent Staff
• and more

New this week!

• Celestial Safiria the Vampire Queen set
• Celestial Rolith the Knight Captain set
• Helion Zard Rider + Knight set
• Corrupted DoomBlade Pet + BattlePet
• Party On! Chibi Cysero (click on the pet to see everyone in your room /dance)

* A version of the Loyal Guardian Wyvern Cape is available in Quibble's shop, but without the quest for the collection chest badge.

** This pet is using old animations. It will change to match the movement of the Teeny Neesha pet.

Just want a couple of the items listed above? Apart from the exclusive pets, all of the gear contained inside the 15th Birthday Collection Chest shop will also be available to buy individually in Quibble's Event shop.

October 20, 2023

Shadows Rising: Champion of DOOM

Our 15th Birthday x Main Story Update Continues

DOOM is all around! It's in the air, comes out of the ground! But you've always had all the answers. Destroy the undead, and kill the necromancers.

• Shadows of Doom Saga, Part 2
• Quibble's 15th Birthday Shop + Collection Chest (update)

Events + Gear Leaving

• Nothing leaves this weekend!

Weekend Daily Gifts & Boosts

• Server Boost: Double Reputation
• Resource Boost: Celestial Dungeon + Void Auras
• Saturday: ZombieSlayer Helms
• Sunday: Sword of Misfortune (single + dual-wield)

2023 Achievement Tracker Update

Every time you log into AQWorlds, you've got some goal: meeting up with friends, ranking your newest class, or farming for the Blinding Light of Destiny. The sense of satisfaction when you accomplish that goal is one of the best things about playing AQW! But we want to give you even MORE rewards for playing... and that's where the Achievement Tracker comes in. 

Every achievement pack is a full item set; when you log in with this gear equipped, you'll have an immediate WOW factor. For now, read on to get a small teaser.

Achievement Tracker Rewards for 2023

• 1,250,000 AdventureCoins: exclusive armor set + ???
• 15 Years Played: exclusive armor set + ???
• 14 Years Membership: exclusive armor set + ???

This is the FINAL TIER of the Achievement Tracker; once you've reached any (or all) of these tiers, you've done it. You've WON the tracker!

In addition to badges that will be displayed on your character page, each achievement will come with an exclusive armor set. And because these are the ultimate achievement tracker the rewards for each of the achievements will be incredibly shiny (literally and figuratively). Many of you will have been waiting for quite a while for what's coming up.

So whether you've been with us for years, or this is the first time you're seeing the Achievement Tracker update, you're in for a treat... NEXT MONTH! The new achievement rewards for 2023 will arrive next month. 

And to continue the Good News Train...

Your 15th Birthday Free AC Gift is HERE!

Happy birthday, AdventureQuest Worlds heroes! Log in now and talk to Cysero in the /eventhub map. Complete his quest to get 500 free AdventureCoins! 

Read on to make sure you meet all the requirements, then log in to grab your gift! If you're eligible, you'll see the free ACs added right to your account.

How to get your free ACs

Your account must...

• Be level 20 or higher
• Have a confirmed email address* (Need help with this? See the guide here.)

The quest will be available until January 1st, 2024.

* Having a confirmed email address helps if you ever need to contact Player Support. It confirms you're the account creator, which lets them assist you more quickly. 

15th Birthday Founder Pets

Our Founders were the original supporters of AdventureQuest Worlds. Every year, we give them another exclusive pet to thank them for that early vote of confidence. The 2023 Founder Platinum Dracolich + Armored Dracolich pets arrive this Friday

Design Notes Posts in Progress

Tonight's release has been another late one! I really appreciate your patience as we get into our new groove. We've got a number of team members splitting time between AQWorlds: Flash and Infinity, and Yoshino and I are getting accustomed to the new Friday release flow. Add in MORE computer issues from various team members, illness, and general "extended Friday the 13th shenanigans" and, well... the team and I really do thank you for battling through the extended wait period as we push to get tonight' release out.

We don't intend for these late releases to become a habit... our goal is to be live before 8 PM EST whenever possible, and that's what we'll continue to shoot for. Barring chaos, calamity, and computer explosions.

While you dive into tonight's new update, I will keep working on the following Design Notes posts:

• Champion of Doom story + rewards
• Quibble's 15th Birthday Rares + Collection 
• Free + Farmable Class armors
• Achievement Tracker Teaser
• 500 Free AdventureCoins Birthday Gift

Patch Notes

Quest and Item Changes

• We are returning to all Battlepets in collection chests being 0 AC, non-member. Any battlepets in previous collection chests have been changed.
• ShadowBattleon Reward updates
• /DarkWar Quest updates

Congratulations! Thanks to your tireless effort and steadfast determination, last week's event was finished much faster than anticipated! Historically, in-game war events are designed to be a great place to farm and level up, so the rewards are intentionally higher than normal events while it is active. As the event has ended, the reward amounts have been changed to their new values.

The drop rate of "A Whisper" has been halved on all mobs.

Shadow Hunt Medal

• EXP: 6,000 > 4,000
• Gold: 2,000 > 1,000

Mega Shadow Hunt Medal

• EXP: 12,000 > 8,000
• Gold: 3,000 > 1,500

Early Autopsy

• EXP: 4,500 > 3,000
• Gold: 3,000 > 1,000

Given Life and Purpose

• EXP: 4,500 > 3,000
• Gold: 3,000 > 1,000

Adult Hatchling

• EXP: 4,500 > 3,000
• Gold: 3,000 > 1,000

Solidified Light

• EXP: 9,000 > 6,000
• Gold: 4,500 > 1,500

/Darkwar Quest Reward Updates

The amount of Gold and EXP awarded from the /darkwar quests was found to be higher than the amounts awarded from maps of greater difficulty. Therefore, we have made changes to the /darkwar quest reward amounts so they are better aligned with the difficulty of the monsters in the map.

Skews Quests

• Legion Badges Gold: 2,000 > 1,000
• Mega Legion Badges Gold: 3,000 > 1,500
• Doomed Legion Warrior EXP: 4,000 > 2,000Gold: 3,000 > 1,000
• Undead Legion Dread EXP: 4,000 > 2,000Gold: 3,000 > 1,000

Commander Rand's Quests:

• Nation Badges Gold: 2,000 > 1,000
• Mega Nation Badges Gold: 3,000 > 1,500
• A Nation Defeated EXP: 4,000 > 2,000Gold: 3,000 > 1,000

Log in now at AQ.com.

October 14, 2023

Friday, October 13th Play by Play

Yoshino writes another design notes?!

Haii everyone, Yoshino here! With the recent Friday the 13th release shenanigans that happened on the backend, I was given approval to reveal some of the inner works of it.

10/13/2023 - Yoshino's Friday Play by Play

11:00 AM Ghost loses electricity*, Yoshino is asleep, Reens checks in and offers to help with the cutscene for Ghost in case his power doesn't come back.

11:30 AM Yoshino still asleep, Alina (who is usually in meetings on Fridays before doing the marketing) begins making artsy things to help out, since Reens usually does a lot of the little art things on Fridays like doing the war meter and making it all pretty and thematical to the release. 

12:30 PM Ghost's electricity is restored, Darkon shares some progress to help Ghost along the cutscene, Yoshino is now online.

2:30 PM Teka suddenly vanishes. She's one of our lovely graphic designers. (I hope y'all wished her a happy birthday last month! <_<)

2:50 PM Alina's artsy things are finished for the war. 

3:00 PM Alina & Cylisse go over the items, making sure I didn't miss anything.

3:30 PM Teka's is now online. She also lost power for a bit but is now able to keep on working on our graphic designs for the release.

4:00 PM I start to look at all the classes that I'll have to change.

5:00 PM The War Meter breaks. That percentage isn't showing its correct value. I begin to call in Reens for help.

5:20 PM Ghost calls it potentially 1 hour until he's done.

5:30 PM Reens fixes the war meter for me. Day is saved, and release is looking to come out fairly soon** without any TM this time**

6:00 PM Finished making all classes to be AC Tagged. They wouldn't actually stay with their updated ac tag until the release is live.

7:30 PM I summon Immortal Joe to my castle to gimme all the details on things and we update the war meter with a small icon to signify Gravelyn's fate is in your hands! (She didn't have a small head icon during testing)

8:00 PM Ghost finishes his cutscene, We get it up and visible to the testers.

8:10 PM Cylisse notices Sigrid doesn't have any backhair in the cutscenes so she looks a lot older in them without it. This goes for all of the cutscenes made for the week so adjustments to them have to be made.

8:30 PM I begin to look at the GameMenu and change things in and out. 

8:50 PM All of the GameMenu images from Teka is done!

9:00 PM GameMenu is 90% done! Time to make sure the war is working as intended.

9:10 PM The War suddenly isn't increasing on turn ins. All turn ins are going into the void and not counting for war progress. Internal panic begins.

9:15 PM Alina pops in to my castle to speed things along and offer some assistance on things.

9:20 PM Rhubarb pops in and tells me 'you have this here and it should be like that.' and fixes the War Meter turn ins. The release is saved!***

9:30 PM We now head back to testing the war and realize that the buttons for reaching a certain percent aren't working anymore. It probably stopped working much earlier in the day when we fixed the war percentage.

10:00 PM Finalizing the release with the release testers, Alina took over doing Battleon for me. (send her much love)

10:30 PM Sudden shift in the air as I have to do a small rebuild of the map to get it working.****

11:00 PM We're 99% done! All I needed were images for the GameMenu. During all of this, there were a lot of gold moderator messages going on in the game from the Ghost of Alina.

11:09 PM Server shutdown timer initiated.

11:17 PM Players are in the map and the release is live! :D

* is forshadowing how the day will go. Just keep on reading, you'll see..
** It was an early release.. right? :D
*** Surely nothing can go wrong right past this point, right?
**** SURELY THIS IS THE LAST THING RIGHT?

Anyways, I'm going to go fly away now! Thanks for reading!

Alina's Post-Script

This was the first full-sized holiday event with Yoshino as the primary release builder and test lead*****. What that means is, starting on Tuesday, Yoshino began working with all of the pieces of each part of release (from Cylisse's script + quest text to the monster, map, and NPC art created by Crulon, Darkon, Snowvers, and Aciel... all the way to Reens, Ghost, and Darkon's cutscene files). Like a Master Clockmaker, they got all of the parts to fit together... and then move in time.

Once the release was assembled, in the middle of the week, Yoshino ran through it to catch the most obvious errors, then passed it off to testers to begin their run-through. At the same time, Yoshino worked with Immortal Joe (the game + balance designer) to make sure all of the merge shop reward****** recipes were accurate and the combat felt balanced. 

This is hands down the most complex, difficult role on the team. You need a thorough knowledge of how every part of the game fits together, a working knowledge of map coding and file assembly, and then trouble-shooting the files you've put together. You need a basic understanding of animation and how the sound engine works.

For the last year and a half, Yoshino has been steadily leveling up, "stealing" more opportunities to build releases, host live events, and cause all the good trouble. We knew this day would arrive, and as luck would have it (pun intended)... their first major release just happened to be on Friday the 13th.

... >_> ...

On a Friday the 13th where almost everything that COULD go wrong, did. And yet, through it all, Yoshino kept cracking jokes, solving problems, and getting things done. There's a reason we tapped Yoshino to step up into this role; aside from skill and dedication, they've got the heart to be a good lead. The post he wrote above shines a light on each of his team members, and none on himself.... Which is why this post-script was added.

It takes a team to make a game, and with luck, you come across the right people to help take that game to the next level. For over 1.5 years, Yoshino has been working on AdventureQuest Worlds, alongside Spider, Eht, Immortal Joe, Captain Rhubarb, Reens, and all our creators. I can't think of a better dev to step into Reens' role.

Both he and I, and the entire AQWorlds team, appreciate your patience as we battled the Doom Triad's clear efforts to prevent this release from launching. We all hope you enjoyed it, and please... for the love of Lore... finish this fight before Gravelyn's health meter reaches 0. 

***** Before this, Reens (who has worked on AQWorlds for 15 years in one role or another) is now focusing primarily on AQW:Infinity. She is still here to help out if Yoshino needs an extra hand, and is always available to answer questions.

****** Prior to assembling the release, Yoshino also worked on testing all of the collection and reward sets.

October 13, 2023

15th Birthday Collection

Unlock 145+ items in our 20th Anniversary Collection

It's AQWorlds 15th birthday AND Friday the 13th! We're celebrating with an all-new, holiday event rare collection chest! Find the event shop full of 15th Birthday rare items in Battleon. And if you're a collector or rare hunter, pick up the Doom & Glory Collection Chest to get ALL of the event rares and a character page badge for 10,000 AdventureCoins (over 40,000 ACs worth of gear)! 

The 15th Birthday Collection Chest unlocks over 140 items total. Quibble's Shop and Chest will contain:

This week, over 100 items arrive:

• Exclusive 15th Birthday Collection Chest pet to unlock the full collection shop
• Loyal Guardian Wyvern Cape (with quest for exclusive character page badge)*
• Spiritual Chiromancer armor, helms, capes 
• Spiritual Chiromancer Cat Ears and Tail
• Spirit Gourd Prison cape
• Blood Red Fire Flies
• Grounds of Mayhem
• Spiritual Cleaver, Staff, and Axe weapons
• Herald of the Eclipse Bow + Staff
• Serene Moon Bow + Staff
• Harbinger of Destruction Spear, Blade, and Sword (single + dual-wield)
• Rapier and Daggers of Maddened Will
• Red Nocturne Staff
• Gold Coronation Dragonlord armor, helms, capes
• Ceremonial Dragon Blade, Bow, and Hallowed Dragon Gauntlet
• General Neesha armor, helms, wings, and tails
• General Neesha's Molten Whip, Claws, and Enchanted Claws
• Teeny Neesha Pet 
• Angellic Neesha armor, helms, wings, and tails
• Angelic Neesha's Blessed Wings
• Teeny Angel Neesha Pet**
• Angelic Neesha's Dagger, Whip, Spear, Claws, and Enchanted Claws
• Doomed Vessel Sword Pet and Bank Pet
• Quindecennial Knight armor, helms, and cape
• Sol Dominus Seeker armor, helms, and capes
• Great Sun Serpent capes
• Solstice Pulse Blade, Sword, Staff, Pistols
• Lunam Domini Seeker armor, helms, capes
• Great Moon Serpent capes
• Moon Phaser Sword + Silver Crescent Staff
• and more

* A version of the Loyal Guardian Wyvern Cape is available in Quibble's shop, but without the quest for the collection chest badge.

** This pet is using old animations. It will change to match the movement of the Teeny Neesha pet.

Friday, October 20th:

• Celestial Safiria the Vampire Queen set
• Celestial Rolith the Knight Captain set
• Helion Zard Rider + Knight set
• Party On! Chibi Cysero Pet (click on the pet to see everyone in your room /dance)

Just want a couple of the items listed above? Apart from the exclusive pets, all of the gear contained inside the 15th Birthday Collection Chest shop will also be available to buy individually in Quibble's Event shop.

October 13, 2023

Birthday of DOOM

Friday the 13th x 15th Birthday Double Event

Login now as we begin our two-week Birthday of DOOM double holiday event! Darkness minions are flooding out of the Solar Eclipse portal (?!) and attacking Battleon by the order of the Doom Triad. Battleon needs you... and so does Empress Gravelyn. She is still injured and in extreme danger. Defeat the army of Darkness before her Health Bar reaches zero or there will be irrevocable consequences.

In this update...

• Shadows of Doom Saga, Part 1
• Quibble's 15th Birthday Shop + Collection Chest
• ALL classes are now 0 AC!*

Weekend Daily Gifts & Boosts

• Server Boost: Double Class Points
• Resource Boost: Unidentified 34 + 35 // Dark Spirit Orbs**
• Saturday: Solar Portent Staff
• Sunday: AE Synthwave Cape

Defend Battleon (And Gravelyn) from DOOM

Doom-possessed monsters are swarming towards the waterfall of Shadows oozing out of the Eclipse, and Battleon's in the way. Gravelyn's determined to suppress them with her Light, and she needs you to destroy them. 

/join ShadowBattleon and defeat monsters to raise Gravelyn's health meter. If it reaches 0%... there will be DIRE consequences that will have a permanent impact on the future stor.y

Event Note: During the War event only, all monsters "A Whisper" (merge shop misc) drop rates are doubled, and all non boss quests have had their gold and XP rewards temporarily increased.

* Armor versions will come soon. Friday the 13th made things just a bit more... interesting... and in the ensuing chaos, we needed to delay the armors.

** There was a typo in Friday's Design Notes. The Celestial Dungeon boost + Void Aura boost begin this Thursday, October 19th.

 Doom Invasion Rewards

Battle the Triad's minions in /shadowbattleon to create the the Fabled DoomKnight set along with two color-custom weapon sets: the Forbidden Doom + Condemned Shadow series.

Monster Drops:

• Unlucky 13th Chainsaw (single + dual-wield)
• Mikey's Hatchet (single + dual-wield)
• A very special set of daggers (from the event boss)

Event Boss Drops:

• Doomed Vessel Display (with quest to unlock sword + dagger)
• A very special set of daggers O_O*

Merge Shop

• Fabled Doomknight
• 2 Fabled Doomknight Helms
• Fabled Doom Blade
• Blade of Forbidden Doom
• Condemned Shadow Sword
• Staff of Uprising Doom
• Doomed Fate Reaper
• Lance of Doom Reborn
• Spear of Doom Reborn
• Plus color-customizable versions of the Condemned Shadow and Forbidden Doom blades

* You miiiiight just want to check out that item description.

Friday the 13th: The Eternally Dark Holiday

What is undead can never die… Not when there is always another Friday the 13th. ALL heroes can now /join Voltairetown to battle through all our previous Friday the 13th seasonal events.

Aurelio Voltaire Teases our an all-new Friday the 13th Event!

Friday the 13th has returned once again… but we don't have any horror movie villains or armies of the undead for you to tackle tonight. Earlier in the week, you may have seen Aurelio Voltaire in Yulgar's Inn, spreading news of the growing shadow problem. He's back once more for another Friday the 13th, and if you didn't catch our Black Labyrinth story event in January... you're about to be a-MAZED. /join Blazemazehub and battle through his a very special tale, one near and dear to his heart, inspired by his new album: "The Black Labyrinth!"

Aurelio Voltaire Returns for Friday the 13th!

Friday the 13th and Aurelio Voltaire go together like Evil Armies of Undead and Horror Movies. He is legitimately one of the most creative people we know. He is the maker of music, films, books, comics, toys and... mayhem. He first appeared in AdventureQuest Worlds back in 2009, during our first-ever in-game Friday the 13th UNLIVE event! Since then, he's appeared in all of our Friday the 13th events, and this year he made his first appearance in AdventureQuest 3D's "Return to Skullpunch Island."

This weekend, all heroes can return to any of our Friday the 13th maps. Make sure to check out the tracks from his Black Labyrinth album! The event in /blackmazehub features: "Song for a Goblin King," "Oubliette," "The King of Villains," and "Kill the Beast."

Stay up to date with all his music, art, and news updates here and once you've finished the event, make sure you check out his Youtube series, "Gothic Homemaking with Aurelio Voltaire." While you battle, you can also stream all the tracks from the album here! 

On behalf of the entire AdventureQuest Worlds team, we want to thank Aurelio Voltaire for being a part of this special event! 

Get 50% more AdventureCoins During our Holiday AC Bonus

Talk about a double birthday surprise! Normally, our Holiday AdventureCoin bonus doesn't begin until November, but we've been flooded with requests to start early.* Get your /party on and get 50% more bonus AdventureCoins with any AC or membership package as we continue our dual 15th birthday x Friday the 13th celebration!

Class Update note

Classes Note: The Legend version of Daimon Class now requires rank 10 Baconcat rep in order to purchase.

We've been meaning to make this change for a while as the class is pretty strong and only had a membership and gold cost requirement on it, but now that it won't have the gold cost on it due to the 0 AC switch, it would be obtainable immediately upon membership acquisition which is a pretty significant progression skip. 

October 10, 2023

Birthday GIF Contest!

GIFs are the best gifts ever! Unwrap your creativity with a GIF as we celebrate AQW’s 15th birthday together.

Greetings, heroes! Another year of epic adventures, quests, and battles is here, and we are excited to celebrate AQW’s 15th birthday in style! But what's a birthday celebration without our incredible community of heroes like YOU? That's why we're totally thrilled to announce our "Create a Birthday GIF Contest," giving our beloved community the chance to showcase their creativity while sharing their love for our wonderful world!

Contest Details

🌟 Theme

For this GIF contest, we're diving deep into the heart of our fantasy world… and memes. With 15 years of content to use, we know you’ll have no problem coming up with awesome, amazing, and/or hilarious AQW GIFs. Whether it's a thrilling boss battle, a nostalgic moment, a hilarious meme, or anything in-between, we want your creativity to capture the essence of AQWorlds! 

📝 Rules

• Up to 5 GIFs allowed per player

• GIFs must be in standard .GIF format

• Duration cannot exceed 15 seconds (although Giphy recommends 6 seconds max)

• GIFs must be AQW-themed. GIFs can use in-game art, or art that you created yourself

• Parodying memes is totally fine, so long as it uses AQW in-game art or art that you created

• Content must adhere to our game's community guidelines (no offensive or inappropriate material; if you wouldn’t show it to your religious grandmother, don’t show it to us either, lol)

• Our contest is open to all players from all over the world, regardless of your in-game level or experience!

• This goes without saying, but anyone caught cheating / stealing someone else’s work will be disqualified. 

🏆 Prizes

What's a contest without fantastic prizes? We know it’s AQWorlds’ birthday and all – but we want to give YOU amazing gifts, too! Of course it’s going to be difficult narrowing down our favorites, so that’s why an extensive panel of judges will help us pick the winners!

1. First Place: 5,000 AdventureCoins + Birthday Collection Chest

2. Second Place: 2,500 ACs + Birthday Collection Chest

3. Third Place: 1,000 ACs + Birthday Collection Chest

4. Runner Ups: Birthday Collection Chest

In the event a winner has already purchased the Birthday Collection Chest, they can instead gift it to a friend, another AQW account, or receive 10,000 ACs.  

But of course the best gift of all is getting to share your amazing GIFs with everyone in the world <3

📥 Submission Process

1. Make a GIF (or up to 5 GIFs!) that are AQW-themed
2. Upload your GIF(s) to one – or more – of the following:

• Tenor *
• Giphy *
• AE Contest twitter @AE_Contests 
• In the Comments on the Artix Design Notes 
• Want to keep your entry a secret until we announce the winners? Submit it on Google Forms here! 

* If posting on Tenor and/or Giphy, be sure to use the tag AQW, but we also recommend using other tags such as AdventureQuest Worlds, Adventure Quest, and AQ, in addition to any other descriptive tags that fit your GIF :) Here’s an example.

3. Include your AQW game name with your submission! So if you post on Tenor and/or Giphy, please type your AQW game name AND link us your entry / entries on the AE Contest Twitter, the Artix Design Notes comments, or the Google Form!

🌟 Don’t forget to type your AQW game name, otherwise we won’t be able to award you if you win! 🌟

⏰ Timeframe

Begins: Tuesday, October 10, 2023
Ends: Tuesday, October 31, at 11:59pm ET

Spread the word, invite your fellow friends, and let's make AQW’s 15th birthday unforgettable!

🤩 Other exciting surprises

Our community has always been the lifeforce of our games, and we have some exciting events planned for the month of October. We’ve got Friday the 13th, a Solar Eclipse on the 14th, and AQW’s 15th anniversary, not to mention everyone’s favorite holiday: Mogloween! 

You can now become a 15th Upholder and the proud owner of 15 spectacular Star Swords, all new for 2023 – click here for all the details. Thank you all SO MUCH for supporting AQWorlds; we could have never gotten this far without all your help and support!

As we prepare for another amazing birthday, we can't help but feel grateful for each and every one of you who has been part of our incredible journey. Your passion, dedication, and enthusiasm have made AQWorlds truly come alive these past 15 years and beyond!

And of course we can't wait to see the GIFs you come up with. Let your creativity run wild, and together we'll make this birthday celebration an epic chapter in the history of our fantasy world – and the real world, too!

May your quests be legendary, and may your GIFs even more epic, heroes!

Battle on!
Beleen and the amazing AQW team

October 06, 2023

15th Birthday Gifts, Week 1

Don't miss any of our 15th Birthday of DOOM & Glory Gifts

This is a really special birthday. FIFTEEN YEARS! After so many victories, we know you've collected enough gear to fill several dragon hoards. So to celebrate this milestone, we want to show our appreciation by giving you the ability to play and store EVEN MORE! 

When you log in this weekend, you'll see ALL heroes now have 15 more free inventory and bank spaces. New accounts get 15 more of each by default. And Guild leaders? We want to help you grow, too, so you've got 15 more free Guild Slots! /cheer

Log in to get your free gift now, and check out what new gifts and functionality are coming next:

• October 6, 2023: free bank, inventory, guild, and friends list spaces slots
• October 13, 2023: Classes will all become 0 AC + 0 AC armor variants will be added
• October 20, 2023: 500 free AdventureCoins* 
• As soon as possible: Featured Character Page badges + more character page badges based on community suggestions

All Classes will be 0 AC?!

That's right! We're changing class prices so if you're short on inventory space, you won't have to choose to sell a class to free up room.

• Free player classes that currently have a gold cost will become 0 AC
• Member-only classes that cost gold will become 0 AC, member-only. 
• End-game farming classes will still need to be earned, like normal. 

Note: Any classes sold while they had a gold cost will not be available in the Buy Back Shop.

Featured Character Page Badges?

You've got badges you're extra proud of, and we want to help you display your achievements to the world. Captain Rhubarb is working on a way that will let you flag several of your badges as "featured" in the Account Manager. They'll be displayed at the top of your character page.

* Complete our Part II of our Doom Rising birthday event to unlock them!

October 06, 2023

Happy Birthday, Hero!

Log in for gifts, your /birthday party, and more!

This weekend, log in and get this /party started as we celebrate 15 years of legends, lore, and VICTORY! Find all our new holiday and birthday maps in the Event Hub, plus new monsters and rewards. In honor of the birthday and Friday the 13th, this month's events and rewards are theme is: DOOM and golden glory... and that's just what awaits.

• Verus DoomKnight Birthday Class + quests in /TerminaTemple
• seasonal Mogloween events return
• First birthday gift of the month
• Event Hub: birthday NPCs, new monsters + rewards
• Celestial Dark Knight armor + helms from the Fallen Warlord in the Infernal Arena
• New upgrade bonus: Dracolich Lord

Weekend Daily Gifts & Boosts

• Server Boost: Double EXP + Double Class Points
• Resource Boost: Spirit Orbs & Metals + Celestial Dungeon Rewards
• Saturday: Blacksteel Dragon Bow & Polearm
• Sunday: Top Hats of DOOM

Log in now at AQ.com.

Mogloween Returns with Tricks & Treatsfor Halloween!

A sliver of moon rises in the darkening sky.... Shadows creep and fog rolls over the land. It can only mean one this... the haunted town of Mystcroft has reopened. Log in this weekend as all our seasonal Halloween zones, bosses, and rewards return. /join mystcroft to talk to the Cauldron Sisters to learn the lay of the land, then /join crescentmoon and talk to Constantine to take on the Spectral Lycan Boss battle! 

Our seasonal Mogloween events are back RIGHT NOW, but later this month, we'll bring you an all-new adventure. Like last year, you'll be able to enjoy trick-or-treating (and monster-beating) at other players' houses. (Time to clean and decorate your /house!)

Spooky Spectral Reward Gear

Even the soul of an underhanded coward can take on the form of a relentless beast if steeped in enough curses and anguish. Death becomes a new beginning. Battle Royce in /crescentmoon and collect his drops, then create color custom versions of the gear in Constantine's merge shop!

Boss Drops:

• Spectral Lycan armor
• Spectral Lycan accessories: 2 helms, 2 capes, 2 weapons
• Spectral Ground Flames (1% drop)
• WitchBlade armor (imported from OverSoul)
• Webbed Blade

Merge Shop: 8 color-customizable versions of the Spectral Lycan gear!

Getting a Head(less) Start on Halloween!

If you haven't joined us for this event before, Mogloween is the fall seasonal event where you Trick or BEAT your way through the spookiest, creepiest releases we've put out over the last fifteen years! 

Returning Mogloween zones this year:

• /mogloween
• /mogloweengrave
• /candyshop
• /voltabolt
• /candycorn
• /pie
• /asylum
• /franken
• /ultrafranken
• /poehub
• /crusher
• /cask
• /wyvern
• /necronaut
• /mystcroftforest
• /bloodmoon
• /chromafection
• /twigsarcade
• /zorbot
• /masquerade
• /that

Check out our Mogloween Event Guide to see all the maps, bosses, and quests waiting for you: Mogloween Guide. 

Candied Costume Merge Shop

Bubble (the cat) went on a candy binge and ate ALL of the ingredients Toil and Trouble saved for the Cauldron Sister's super-delicious Candy Batch Deluxe. If they find out, Bubble’s going to be turned into an animatronic, and I’ll have to help. Robots are the CREEPIEST things out there. Even worse than that Necromancer wannabe, Sally.

For helping Bubble (the Girl), you'll be able to pick up a cauldron full of new Mogloween costumes! Just keep completing quests to earn Bubble (the Cat)'s favorite candy, and she’ll let you choose your prizes.

Complete quests to earn the pieces of our seasonal sets:

• Super Scion Ninja
• Force Guardian
• Flesh Ripper
• Fairy Tale Wanderer
• Taco Day Costume gear
• Lady Vayle (new for 2022!)

October 06, 2023

October Upgrade Bonus: Dracolich Lord

Upgrade to unlock the exclusive armor sets

When the bond with your dragon companion is so strong that not even death can shatter it, a Dracolich Lord is created... Arise, take flight, and dominate the skies! Get the Dracolich Lord bonus pack when you buy any AdventureCoin or Membership pack of $10 USD or more and unlock 28 new color-customizable set items and a character page badge.

After you purchase an account upgrade, select a bonus set of your choice from a list of options in your Account Manager.

Pack Details

Choose the Dracolich Lord bonus set to unlock all the gear from the set's badge shop in your Book of Lore. The set includes:

• Exclusive armor
• New helms, capes, and weapons
• Other accessories
• and a character page badge

Once you've chosen the Dracolich Lord pack on the Account Manager page, log in and open your Book of Lore. You'll find the badge shop in the Other Achievements tab.

12000 AC or 12 month membership package rewards:

• ALL the new upgrade bonus pack gear
• 7 Rep/XP/Gold/Class Points boosts
• 10 Wheel of Doom Tickets (worth 2,000 ACs!)
• and a character page badge

Boosts and Doom Tickets will be added directly to your inventory.

2k and 5k AC or 1, 3, or 6 month membership package rewards:

• ALL the new upgrade bonus pack gear
• 5 Rep/XP/Gold/Class Points boosts
• and a character page badge

15th Birthday AdventureCoin Bonus

Talk about a birthday surprise! Normally, our Holiday AdventureCoin bonus doesn't begin until November, but we've been flooded with requests to start early.* Get your /party on and get 50% more bonus AdventureCoins with any AC or membership package.

Late Release + Character Page Badge Delay

Collectively, the team has experienced an unusual amount of disruption this week. We didn't just start a milestone birthday month, we did it in Challenge Mode. 

Between vacations, illnesses,  real-life emergencies requiring out of the country travel, and several time-sensitive problems all combined to make tonight's release much later than we had planned. But when things get rough, or someone isn't able to make a deadline because of an emergency, we pull together and get it done. It's one of the things I admire most about all of the members of the AQWorlds team.

I sincerely apologize for the delay, and we'll get all the missing planned content out to you as soon as possible. Even with all of the intrusions, surprises, and set-backs, the team's energy has stayed so high. We're all excited to see what you think of the rest of the month's events!

October 04, 2023

15th Birthday AdventureCoin Bonus

Get 50% more AdventureCoins as Our Holiday AC Bonus Begins

Talk about a birthday surprise! Normally, our Holiday AdventureCoin bonus doesn't begin until November, but we've been flooded with requests to start early.* Get your /party on and get 50% more bonus AdventureCoins with any AC or membership package. 

* If you bought a membership or AC pack between September 29th, 2023 and today, Captain Rhubarb has already awarded your bonus ACs, too!

Get 60,000 ACs while our Holiday Bonus is on!

During our 2023 Holiday AdventureCoin bonus, get 60,000 ACs for $99.95 (that's 20,000 ACs more than normal!) and unlock your choice of upgrade bonus pack, 15x Rep, Gold, Class Points, and XP server boosts, and the Mythic Item of Digital Awesomeness (IoDA). 

Mythic Item of Digital Awesomeness?!

The Mythic Item of Digital Awesomeness (or MIoDA for short) is a miscellaneous item you will get by purchasing the 40k AdventureCoin pakage. Like the other IoDA items, it allows you to choose any item in the game when you redeem it through your Account Manager.

How to Claim your MIoDA Prize

Make sure you have a confirmed email address attached to your game account, and then follow these steps:

1. Decide on the item you want
2. Log into your Account Manager
3. Click on the "Awesome Prizes" link on the sidebar
4. You'll see a list of the IoDA tokens you have available
5. Choose from a list of ALL the eligible item rewards  
6. You'll be taken to a verification page to confirm your choice

Wait...AdventureCoin Bonus?!

That's right! Several times each year, we have bonus AdventureCoin offers, where we'll increase the amount of ACs you get with each pack. (example: Summer, Back to School, and during the holidays). Bonus amounts and dates may change from year to year, so keep an eye on the Design Notes and social media for more news of future bonuses.

Support AQWorlds and Become a Legend!

Starting now, upgrade your account with any membership to become a 15th Upholder. You'll instantly unlock a bounty of exclusive items and perks. We always say that we make AdventureQuest Worlds for and with you. It would not be what it is today without the trust and confidence of the original Founders and early Upholders... and we would not be able to build what comes next without your support now. 

History of Founders and Upholders

15 years ago, in 2008, AdventureQuest Worlds went live. A legion of passionate AdventureQuest Guardians and DragonFable DragonLords joined us on a new game-making journey. The early support of those Founders kept AQWorlds free for everyone to play. In recognition of their trust and confidence, every October we host a new Upholder promotion to reward other heroes who support the game's development. 

How to become a 15th Upholder

Starting Friday, September 29th, at 12:01 AM EST, we are once again offering the chance to become an AQW Upholder. 

• Have an active membership that expires on or after 11:59 PM November 1st or
• Upgrade your AQW account with ANY membership* starting this Friday or ANY TIME during the month of October

On Friday, badges will be added have been added to all heroes who are already 15th Upholders.* The first batch of 2023 exclusive Star Swords will arrive with Friday night's game update. 

15th Upholder Rewards

As a 15th Upholder, you'll receive:

• Guaranteed access to the AQW: Infinity Tech Demo test / preview as soon as it is available
• 10 exclusive 15th Upholder Star Swords (new for 2023!)
• 5 new AE Star Swords, available for all heroes (new for 2023!)
• Upholder Sentinel Class and armor set
• Star Sword: Origins zone access
• 13 Chaos Lord Star Swords
• 12 Lord of Order Star Swords
• 15th Upholder Character Page Badge
• Infinite bragging rights

15th Upholder Star Swords

The 15th Upholder Star Swords are based on fan-favorite NPCs from AdventureQuest Worlds.

1. Artix's StarSword of Destiny **
2. Zhoom's Sandsea Ranger Star Sword
3. Dage's Underworld Star Sword
4. Warlic's Blue Mage Star Sword
5. Beleen's Pink Hearts Star Sword
6. Cysero's Green Mage Star Sword *** 
7. Gravelyn's Star Sword of DOOM
8. Galanoth's DragonSlayer Star Sword
9. J6's BountyHunter Star Sword
10. Grimskull's DungeonMaster Star Sword

A while back, I polled my followers on Twitter to see which NPCs were among the most popular. We based a number of our Talk Like a Pirate Day armor sets as well as this year's Star Swords on those results. Thank you for your suggestions and feedback!

* Only memberships count towards 15th Upholder.
** The original sword from DragonFable (shown below) will be available separately in the future. It was included as part of Artix's Star Sword as a special bonus for 15th Upholders.
*** Item description says what?! O_O

DragonRoad Star Swords & Class For ALL Upholders

We wouldn't be here without your support, and we want to make sure you know it! The Sentinel Class will be available for ALL previous Upholders and Founders as our way of saying thanks for supporting us in the past! And for the last several years, we've added new Star Swords available to every Upholder... and that continues this year. You'll find them in the Star Sword Merge shop in /dragonroad. 

New for 2023:

• Epic Duel Star Sword (Click to change the blade between red and blue!)
• BioBeasts Star Sword
• Twilly's Star Sword
• Zorbak's Star Sword
• Twig's Star Sword

Want to know if you're already an Upholder?

That's easy! Just click the Manage Account link on the left under the ACCOUNT section. As soon as you sign in you'll see when your membership expires. 

October 03, 2023

Taco Tuesday Returns

The Deliciousness is REAL

Today is National Taco Day. This holiday celebrates everything taco and all of it's many varried forms. Find all of these crunchy costume equips in your Featured Gear Shop in the game menu until October 31st*. This is the only time you'll be able to get the absolutely delicious tacomancer armor (and the rest of the taco seasonal rares) until next year!

The Taco Day gear includes:

• Tacomancer Armor
• Taco Adimiral Hat and Locks
• Destructo-Tacos
• Soft-Shelled Cape
• Taco on a Stick
• Tacobender Helm

BITE-le On!

* Last year, these items were available in the Mogloween Costume Merge Shop. Since the holiday event map is not open yet, they have returned to the featured gear shop for this year.

October 02, 2023

Verus DoomKnight Class

This Friday... Unleash the DOOM

Doom is in the air. A Mysterious Stranger has reemerged on the outskirts of Termina Temple in search of a new champion. Could it be... you? Our month-long 15th Birthday celebration starts this weekend: seasonal birthday and Mogloween maps return with all new reward drops for all heroes to collect! Heroes level 40+ can begin the quest to unlock the Verus DoomKnight class... if you dare. O_O

As a reimagining of DoomKnight, the very first birthday class we ever released back in 2009, Verus DoomKnight is a late game single target class that focuses on applying heavy defense debuffs to its target, while also being able to build up its damage after gathering enough Doom!

How to Unlock the Class

Seek out the Mysterious Stranger on the outskirts of /terminatemple and complete their series of quests to unlock the class.

• Level 40 required to begin the quest chain
• Quest requirements will increase as you progress through them. 
• The final quests will require level 80.

The quests will involve you attuning with Doom by gathering Doom related items, defeating foes with connections to doom (both easy and hard), exploring the path that a former Emperor of Doom took, and finally, building an undead army.

Some of the quest requirements will include:

• Rank 10 Evil
• Sepulchure's Original Helm
• Arch DoomKnight Helm
• ShadowReaper of Doom
• Dragonlord of Evil armor
• Defeating certain monsters in /thevoid

Important Notes

• The class and its True DoomKnight armor set can only be obtained by completing the Mysterious Stranger's quests.
• Insignias are NOT required for this class, but there may be some more challenging foes that you will not be able to defeat on your own.

Read on to get the full Class Skill breakdown!