Design Notes

December 16, 2011

Song of the Frozen Heart

MERRY FROSTVAL to all!

Ice venom freezing the blood in your veins, turning your heart bitter and your soul selfish? Shards of ice erupting from your body, turning you into a chilling golem? That does NOT make for a very Merry Frostval! You'll need to find the Flame of Frostval if you're going to serve Dead Morice - an Elemental Ice Mage - the ULTIMATE burn while making sure you're friends aren't cold as corpses... forever!

But where could such a Flame be burning if all of Lore is in the icy grasp of a coldhearted Mage? In the past, of course, as yet unkindled in the heart of a powerful child! Journey with Blizzy into a time when ShadowFall still flew, Sepulchure still plotted, and Gravelyn was the EVILLEST Undead Princess of the ShadowScythe EVER! When SHE discovers what Frostval is, YOU will find the Flame you're looking for!

But growing up Undead (what?!), Gravelyn does not know much about warmth or joy, and she doesn't know ANYTHING about Frostval! What she DOES know is that she wants to help her Daddy, and YOU are going to assist her! Battle through an icy alpine forest aiding this imperiously Evil Princess until the time comes to introduce her to the magic of Frostval!

Quibble Coinbiter - Awesomely Icy Edition!

You'll get shivers down your spine when you see the excellent equips Quibble's stocking this time around! And this is just week one of his visit! Next week, there will be even MORE rockin' Frostval rares!

• Holiday Enforcer
• Iced Jester
• PermaFrost Legionaire and Sapiens
• Hyperborean Bite Gun
• Frozen Blizzard Blade
• And MUCH more! If you don't see what you're looking for THIS week, check Quibble's backpack NEXT Friday!

200 Free ACs on Friday, 20+ more bag spaces to buy!

That's right, EVERY account in AQWorlds just received 200 FREE ACs for their first Frostval gift! They're great to use if you need to buy more inventory space, or just get some sweet new equips. So if you're running out of room for your rares and gear, head on over to Valencia and level up your inventory space!

EPIC Frystland DUEL!

If you're looking for an awesome (and EPIC) duel this Frostval, why not head over to Epic Duel's Frysteland War! They've been slowly introducing players to Delta V’s Frozen Northlands- Frysteland- and its inhabitants, the Krampus. Now, you’ll recall that the Krampus have a long tradition of Beast Riding, making them uniquely able to harness the power of the corrupted Yetis threatening Legion and Exile targets alike. If only you could get them on your side!

I Can Has Mod - Cysero's Turn!

The new I CAN HAS MOD contest is now running and we will be picking a winner first thing next year on January 3rd! If you don't already have it, better go get your Cysero's Golden Cheezburger from Cleric Joy in Battleon! Don't forget that every month left on your Membership and every AEXtra that you complete gives you one more chance in the drawing! Good luck!

Bloodtusk Chaos Battle for Free Players!

Now open to ALL players, watch as Bloodtusk's Chaos Lord faces Drakath head on and tries to take him down! But Chaos IS Chaotic, so things do not go quite as planned. That's where YOU come in... you can't let a rogue Chaos Lord roam free, can you?

Have a great weekend and we hope you enjoy part 1 of this year's Frostval release! We're all going to go home and wrap presents, cook up delicious food for the Lab's Frostval party, and enjoy time with friends and family. See you Monday!

PS: The /samba emote should be visible to ALL players when you use it now. Get your Dance On! 

December 09, 2011

Chaos Versus Chaos!

Chaos Lord takes on the Chaos Champion

Lore has no fury like a Prophetess Chaorrupted! Members can watch as Bloodtusk's Chaos Lord faces Drakath head on and tries to take him down!* But Chaos IS Chaotic, so things do not go quite as planned. That's where YOU come in... you can't let a rogue Chaos Lord roam free, can you? A Chaos confrontation awaits you in the /dreamnexus!

Epically Chaotic rewards await you!

• Bloodtusk Chaos Lord Armor!
• Chaos Lord Human Armor!
• Chaos Eruption Blade!
• Solar Phoenix Pet!
• And more!

All rewards drop either from monsters in the map or from the Chaos Lord!

It has been a long road through the Ravine; you've watched the Trolls and Horcs ripped apart by distrust, torn apart by war, occupied by an Alliance army and forced to face the fact that one of their own was behind ALL of it! In a story full of twists, turns, death and betrayal, Chaos still keeps you guessing in this last installment of the Bloodtusk Ravine Saga!

TIP: Do NOT underestimate how angry Khasaanda is.

* Chaos Lord battle unlocks for Free Players NEXT Friday!

/Samba Dance Disco Game!

Are you ready to dance the night away? If YOU want to be able to /samba in-game, then you'd better head over to Samba's disco in Bloodtusk Ravine and get ready to get your fingers movin' to the groove. It's the ONLY way to unlock the member-only /samba emote! You can read Samba's Design Notes about the minigame here!

It's a Frostval Miracle!

We told you guys we didn't think Frostval would make it in this week but.... SURPRISE! We knew all along it'd go in. Frostval Fools! (You're a mean one, Mr. Cysero! You're a devious, prankful soul! /sing)

It's amazing how many of you displayed incredible Frostval Spirit cheering us on or saying you'd understand if we couldn't get the Frostval release out. For all of YOU, we bring the release of Frostvals Past. We'd give everyone else coal, but we're too full of cheer at getting the release out! So, Frostval release present for EVERYONE!

And speaking of PRESENTS: New member-only presents have been stored in the sack behind Cleric Joy in Battleon! Get your gifts now, but remember, they won't open until January 1st!

We've got a TON of super-snowy fun waiting for you when you /join frostvale! So if you haven't joined us for Frostval before, get ready to save the Spirit of Frostval, defeat the frigid twin perils of Ice and Snow Golems, and help your friends celebrate!

NEW Frostval content will be released NEXT Friday! You're going to be up against a chillingly cold-hearted villain this year, vile and dripping with icy venom, so bring your warmest ear-flap hat (Wikipedia tells me it's called an "ushanka"), bundle up and get ready to battle on!

I Can Has Mod: Cysero!

You cannot win Cysero himself, but you CAN win 2 hours with him in-game AND a super-awesome wish! If you haven't heard about this crazy contest before, then you'll want to make sure to read Cysero's deliciously golden, cheezburger-laden Design Notes post!

December 06, 2011

Chaos Lord Battle Friday

The Chaos Lord's fate is in your hands!

Revenge, loss, and defiance. All have a long history in Bloodtusk Ravine, and this Friday is no different! The NEW Chaos Lord is demanding a meeting with Drakath, and they're NOT planning to discuss which shade of purple is most flattering.

Members will be able to battle the Chaos Lord THIS Friday! The Chaos Lord battle will be open to ALL players NEXT Friday!

Click to see a larger picture

Journey to a place between Here and Everywhere, found inside your mind but outside Time - where nightmares walk, dreams go to die, and that Bloodtusk Ravine's Chaos Lord knows they can control! A realm fading in and out of existence, where Chaos will confront Chaos head on... and the outcome is up to you!

Members: Meet Molgulp the Mudluk!

This Wednesday (oh, hey, that's TOMORROW!), Members will get an all new mini-storyline! You'll want to speak to Molgulp to learn the ancient secrets of Mudluk weapons-crafting! In the process, you'll gain access to a whole shop's worth of swanky swamp swag to equip and enhance!

When You Wish Upon A MOD!

FallenPaladin, Winner #2 of the I Can Has MOD! Contest, wished that a blue version of Dage's Undead Legend armor would be available for ALL players for FREE! Tomorrow, that shop and FallenPaladin's NPC will appear in ShadowFall next to Dage the Evil! (Where else would you expect a new Ambassador of Evil to be?)

Do Undead Legends sing the Blues?

Frostval Begins Friday!

This Friday we'll re-release all of the past years of Frostval events! Re-visit the FrostMoglins in Frostvale, spread cheer and fight your fear of King Coal's cold as you battle ice monsters, save the Spirit of Frostval, and generally join in the joyous Frostval fun!

NEXT week we will begin the NEW Frostval releases! When all of Frostval is under seige by an Ice Elemental who revels in selfishness and aggresssion, you'll need to save all of Lore from becoming as cold-hearted (literally, hearts are turning to ICE) as he is! What I'm sayin' is... he's not a very n-ICE guy! Heh.*  The dark side of the Alliance isn't that nice either, but you're going to need the help of the most Evil person you know if you're going to save Frostval... and Lore!

* Rolith just hurled an orange at me as pun-ishment. He needs to put points in Pun Tolerance.

Have a great night, everyone! See you for the release tomorrow!

December 02, 2011

The Chaos Beast Rises

Can YOU face down the Gruaige Baas?

Stare into the eyes of a Medusa-beast straight out of legend and larger than any creature Bloodtusk has seen before!

f you don't take it on - and WIN - then the Alliance's generals will become the first sacrifices in a world ruled by Krellenos and Chaos! Another rune on Drakath's Portal has been unlocked

Save the Alliance Generals, take on the Chaos Beast and prepare yourself for the ending NO ONE expected!* With a Chaos Lord this furious, ask yourself: What will this mean for Bloodtusk, for Lore... and for Drakath?

To do the new release: /join orecavern

And until you get the answer**, enjoy these epically Chaorrupted rewards:

• Madness of Chaos Armor
• Chaos Executioner Armor
• Gruaige Baas Chaos Beast Pet
• Chaotic Halberd
• Chaotic Axeperity
• And more!

* Really! We've been reading your predictions since the first Bloodtusk release to see who'd guess.
** Chaos Lord battle coming next week!

TWO new Bloodtusk Classes! 

Horcs and Trolls have very defined battle techniques,and as a show of gratitude for ALL the help you've given them against the threat of Chaos, they are teaching you their war lore! From the Trolls, learn the mystical battleskills of a SpellSmith! And from the Horcs, capitalize on the aid of a battle pet and epic evasion skills!

Horc Evader Class:

Use this evasion and dodge heavy rogue-type class with your BATTLE PET to show your foes that Horc Warriors aren't just brutes - they're quick on their feet and can kill you before you blink! Smell their fear, smell their blood, and use your pet to take down ANY opponent!

• Whistle
• Shadow Strike
• Smell Fear
• Night Hunter and Shadow Wise
• Hunter's Call
• Smell Blood

Troll SpellSmith Class:

As a SpellSmith, you'll have a wide range of options open to you in battle! Feel like attacking with an AOE and take down multiple enemies at once? DO IT! Want to do a decent amount of damage to single enemies? You can do THAT too! Solo bosses AND self-heal AND buff your friends! So MANY CHOICES!

• Energy Arc
• Frost Flame
• Focus Energy
• Empower and Shift Fate
• Weakness Sigil
• Troll Control

See Cysero's Bloodtusk Class Skills writeup for many more details! You can get your very own Evader and SpellSmith classes by gaining Rank 10 in Horc or Troll Rep respectively OR talking to Itzachi in Battleon and buying them for 2,000 ACs!

Changes in the Bloodtusk Ravine Map!

We've made some changes in the Bloodtusk Ravine hub town map! As you play through the storyfrom here on out, the NPCs in the town will change according to what is happening to them in the releases! (So when the Chaos Lord is discovered, they will disappear from their spot in the town, etc.) This gives the area a more dynamic feel, making the zone seem more fully a part of the action!

Khasaanda has also gotten some new quests that you will be able to do in this week's map OR from the very start of the storyline. They'll give some background information on important things like the Arashtite Ore.

Update to the Treasure Chests!

When things get heated in battle, make sure you have the Heavy Blader armor equipped to keep your HP high! This is the newest addition to the Treasure Chest loot pool! With Treasure Chest rewards dropping from every monster in the game, you're sure to get enough oppotunities to with this armor or any of your other favorites!

And remember, members get TWO FREE Keys at the start of each month! If you've run out of Keys, you can always buy more by talking to Twilly in BattleOn! The Chests will always contain some of our most epic gear, so make sure you treasure those Chest drops when you get 'em!

HeroMart: Get your Gift On!

The shop is still stocked with crazycool real life rares for the holidays at HeroMart! If you haven't gotten a 2012 AQWorlds Calendar, the Doomwood or Chaos Mod Packs, the Artix Logo shirt, or our other awesome swag yet, now's the perfect time! And all our swag makes GREAT gifts for friends and family!

Coming Next Week!

CHAOS is on the move! If you haven't played the release yet (and if you're reading this, we're assuming you haven't), then you have NO idea what's in store for next week's Chaos Lord battle! And if you HAVE played the release... then you STILL have no idea what's coming next! Make sure to log in next week for:

• Chaos Lord Battle!
• Release of past Frostval content!
• Mudluk Update!
• Quibble Coinbiter leaves Monday!

Have a great weekend guys, and enjoy the release!

December 01, 2011

Horc Evader & Troll SpellSmith!

Double Class Weekend!

As promised, we are giving you TWO classes for the Bloodtusk Ravine area and BOTH of them are coming out tomorrow.

As promised both classes will require a reputation rank of 10 for each of the respective ranks to purchase, but after the recent fashion we will be offering a 2000 AC version of each of the classes for those who feel like they'd rather save the time and effort.

As promised each of the classes have human versions of the art for the class and a Horc or Troll version of the art as armor which is also Rank 10 Rep.

Since we have a lot to go through, let's get down to business. Here are the skill breakdowns for each of these classes.

HORC EVADER SKILL SET

There are two interesting things about this class at first glance. First is that this is our SECOND PET CLASS, meaning that you need a Battle Pet in order to use any of it's skills.

You'll be happy to know that the class comes with a Battle Boar which you can summon using the Whistle Skill as long as you don't have any other pets equipped. Just make sure that pets are visible in your options screen.

The second thing that you might notice is that, even though most people think that the Horcs are all about brute force, this is a class with light armor which focuses heavily on stacking a lot of Dodge. That is because the Evader is a master of a different school of Horc thought which thinks that being able to take a hit is necessary but to develop the skill to easily side-step your opponents clumsy attacks while developing the ability to command a pet to attack them with bestial fury at the same time is a show of ultimate focus and skill.

This class benefits from DEX more than anything else so I suggest Thief Enh for this class.

AUTO ATTACK

2 second cooldown.

A basic attack taught to all adventurers.

WHISTLE

45 mana, 16 second cooldown.

Calls a pet to your side or sends it into a rage causing more damage but making you take more damage too.

If you don't have a Battle Pet equipped, this will summon the Battle Boar to your side and once its there this skill will increase your damage output but will also leave you vulnerable to attacks, making you take more... if they can hit you. Once you have a good Dodge stack you shouldn't be afraid of using this skill but keep an eye on your life bar.

SHADOW STRIKE

10 mana, 3 second cooldown.

Your pet attack your target causing Damage Over Time while also increasing your Dodge for a short time. Effect stacks up to 3 times.

This is your go-to skill. it should be the first thing you do after summoning your pet. Once you have three stacks of Shadow Strike applied, you will have a weak-ish DoT eating away at your foe's life AND you will receive the benefit of having a very hefty Dodge stacked up.

Remember that you need to keep three stacks of this skill up at all time but that DoT won't kill your enemy so you need to balance it with the other damage dealing skills. Since it's built on the Warrior mana-regen model you will be getting mana every time you hit, or get hit but you won't be getting hit a lot so keep an eye on your mana.

SMELL FEAR

15 mana, 5 second cooldown.

Your pet sniffs out your foe's weak spot greatly increasing you Dodge and Crit but slowing your attack speed for a short time. 

I'll leave it to you to decide when you use this skill. The Dodge and Crit are VERY nice to have, especially on top of the Dodge buff from Shadow Strike but slowing your attack speed means even LESS mana coming in. It's a question of what you need at the time.

NIGHT HUNTER & SHADOW WISE

Rank 4 Passive

Increase Critical Chance by 10%

Increase Dodge by 10%

Ranking up the class unlocks the ability to get critical hits more often, plus EVEN MORE DODGE... They don't call it the Evader Class for nothing.

HUNTER'S CALL

20 mana, 6 second cooldown.

You decide to put an end to this fight quickly. You call out to your pet increasing you AND your foe's Haste for a short amount of time.  

There are various uses for this skill. If you just activate it without using any other skills you should get a lot of mana rather quickly for a short amount of time.

Or you CAN use it counter the slowing effect of smell fear but the price is nearly doubling your foe's attack speed for a while. It app depends on how much Dodge you have stacked up.

SMELL BLOOD

Rank 10 Passive

You sense that your foe is near defeat which causes a burst of incredible speed for a few moments.

From time to time you will see yourself suddenly start attacking at Fast Forward speed, increasing your damage output AND your mana regen for a while.

You will notice that THIS class is the first class in a while that has no healing skill. The idea is to use your skill as a player to keep your Dodge so high that you don't NEED to heal yourself, but you can always use your potion slot for that if you want.

TROLL SPELLSMITH SKILL SET

This is a warrior/caster who is very multi-talented. You have an AOE that can attack many foes at once, a decent amount of single target damage and chance of stun which is great for solo-ing or taking on bosses and a self-heal which is ALSO a HUGE buff to ALL of your skills.

This class is all about representing the Trolls academic interests as well as their mastery of the magical arts. It's an elegant class more like a razor than a broadsword. You need to know which skills to use and when and there is a low of room for creativity with how you use them. 

This class benefits from INT more than anything else so I suggest Wizard Enh for this class.

AUTO ATTACK

2 second cooldown.

A basic attack taught to all adventurers.

ENERGY ARC

35 mana, 10 second cooldown.

Calls on the power of electricity to arc from one foe to the next, slowing all of their attack speeds.

This is a really nice first skill for a few reasons. First off, unlike Shaman, this lighting attack doesn't weaken as it arcs from one to the next. Each enemy receives the same damage. Similarly they are all slowed the same amount. Of course, if you're not careful you will have an entire room of monsters on you and then it won't matter HOW slow they attack.

FROSTFLAME

25 mana, 5 second cooldown.

A freezing fire that will cause moderate ice damage and slow your enemies with a chance to stun them.

This is a GREAT skill. The damage is moderate but at a 5 second cooldown you end up causing a LOT of damage. The stun is always a nice treat but the slow stacks with the slow from the first power causing your foes to attack you at a crawl.

FOCUS ENERGY

16 second cooldown.

Convert your own energy into mana but slows your attack and lowers your damage for a while.

Like the Necromancers of DoomWood, trolls have learned to consume their own life-force and convert it into much needed mana, which is dangerous enough, but the speed and damage debuff will make you think twice before using this skill. It can be a life-saver but only if you have the skill to see when its needed.

EMPOWER & SHIFT FATE

Rank 4 Passive

Increase Damage Output by 10%

Increase Critical Chance by 10%

Ranking up the class unlocks the ability to get critical hits more often, while also doing more damage overall. In short, this is a massive buff to the entire class.

WEAKNESS SIGIL

20 mana, 5 second cooldown.

Stacks up to 5 times. Heals you for a little bit, increases the effectiveness of all other skills and increases your chance to crit on your foe with each stack.

This skill is flat out AMAZING. It speaks for itself but in case you missed it... it is a SELF-HEAL with a 5 second cool-down that makes ALL of you other skills stronger with each stack AND raises your chance to crit on a single target. it keeps you alive and seals your foe's fate at the same time. It's the best reason to rank up that I've ever seen.

TROLL CONTROL

Rank 10 Passive

Random chance to double your attack speed for 10 seconds.

Like the Evader, this rank 10 passive will also have you breaking into frenzied spell-casting giving you the chance to burn your fow down before they know what happened and since you can make your own mana, feel free to go nuts!

So there you have it. People have been asking me which is better against the other one in PvP. Dumoose and I spent some serious 1v1 arena time trying to figure out the answer to that question and we STILL DON'T KNOW! It was really about 50/50 with neither being clearly superior to the other one so if you were hoping to run into the arena against the faction you're against and wipe the floor you might want some practice first just to give you that edge.

Each class will be in the Rep Shop for its own faction in Bloodtusk and you will be able to find the AC versions there as well as Itzachi's Class Shop in Battleon. If you're in a hurry to Rank your new class up, don't forget that Itzachi also sells the CLASS POINT BOOST in her shop as well.

REMINDER

The Black Friday Shop and the Harvest event will be closing tomorrow and Quibble will be leaving on next Monday but don't worry, he always returns near Frostval with a bunch of great Frostval Items! if your family is the gist giving kind, you might want to be prepared and ask for an Artix Points card for the holidays.

November 29, 2011

Chaos Beast Rises Friday!

Krellenos sets Chaos in motion!

Good. Evil. And CHAOS! All forces are in play this week as Krellenos reveals his plans for your Hero, the Alliance Leaders, and all of Lore! Oh, and did we mention he just happens to have a 20-foot tall Serpentress at his command? That lowly snake creature has morphed into a Chaorrupted Bloodtusk legend: the Gruaige Baas!

This Friday, journey under the heart of Bloodtusk Ravine through a mystical cavern system to find the Alliance Leaders, Krellenos, and the Chaos Beast itself! If you fail, not only the Alliance but all of Lore will be torn apart by fear and the certainty that their loved ones will betray them... just as Krellenos deceived his!

Your future rests on what these caves contain.

Draw upon your skills as a Hero to DEFY the destiny Krellenos Sees for you!

Horc Evader and Troll Spellsmith Classes!

Whether you prefer Melee or Magic battling, you'll find a class that will stun you! (So you better make sure to put your points in Dodge!) Tomorrow Cysero will post the skill writeups for the Horc Evader and Troll Spellsmith classes! Yesterday Artix posted a tantazling concept sketch Dage the Evil drew up for them. Below you'll find the fully-Flashed art, fully coded and ready for testing!

Both classes are available by repping up to Rank 10 (in Horc for Evader, in Troll for Spellsmith), but we're also offering AC versions of each class! Cysero and Dumoose went head to head today testing the classes' balance in PvP.

With that, I'm signing off to go email Nulgath and Samba the cutscenes they need to animate, then finish off the last of the cranberry sauce I made yesterday. (Who says it's only for Thanksgiving?!) Enjoy the previews and see you in... a few hours!

PS: Make sure you check out Cysero's post on AE's donation to Child's Play! It's all thanks to YOU guys that we were able to become Platinum sponsors! Gamers helping kids... who could grow up to be gamers. It is a beautiful cycle!

PPS: If you're up to date on the Bloodtusk storyline, why not head to Bloodtusk and check out Khasaanda? Looks like Krellenos has vanished and his sister is revealing some all-new information that should tantalize and tease with hints of events to come!

November 18, 2011

The Face of Chaos

Chaos Lord Revealed!

For K'Thurr! For Arashtii! For BLOOD! Innocent Trolls and Horcs have been Chaorrupted, and the tribes are starting to fall apart from the inside. But when the Chaos Lord reveals their identity, Sokrakiis, Kagg, and all the residents of Bloodtusk see they need to join forces to protect their past... or their future will be consumed by Chaos!

Join /ancienttemple to head straight to this week's release! You'll need to be caught up in the storyline if you want to find out who the Chaos Lord is!

Quibble Coinbiter Returns!

Your favorite time-traveling salesman is back in BattleOn with a backpack FULL of Bloodtusk-themed gear! From the Horc DeathMonger and Trollish High Mage armors to the Horc Jom Dat and Mana Rune Aura, Quibble is bringing you the wickedest Ravine rares, so get them while you still can!

• Horc DeathMonger and Human DeathMonger
• Trollish High Mage and Human High Mage 
• Mystical Warrior set (member-only)
• Horc Jom Dat (free player gold)
• And so much more!

Undead Legion Update!

The UnderWorld rises! Dage the Evil's Undead Legion surges forth once more! Prepare yourselves for TWO new epically evil armors in the Undead Legion merge shop!

• Undead Assassin Armor - 200,000 gold and 100 Legion Tokens
• Legiom Judge Armor - 300,000 and 200 Legion Tokens

HeroMart - Swag for Heroes AND Villains!

Real-life swag from HeroMart will tell the world that you're a Legend of Lore! Head over to HeroMart to get epic equips to wear, the BattleOn BattleCard Game Mod Packs (additions to our chao-razy card game) to play with your friends, the 2012 AQWorlds Calendar, and much more!*

• BattleOn Battle Card DoomWood and Chaos Mod Packs! (Buy both for PaladinSlayer Class)
• 2012 AQWorlds Calendar! (Comes with the ChronoCorruptor Class)
• Artix Entertainment Logo T-Shirt (Comes with a character page achievement)
• And more swag than you can swing a sword at!

* We apologize, but Paladin Toilet Paper is still sold out.

Pet o' the Month: Harvest Dragon!

Burning leaves, chilly nights, Harvest feasts... and the Harvest Dragon pet! November is the month of the dragon and a time to be thankful, and WE are thankful that all of you keep playing and supporting AQWorlds! So head on over to Aria's Pet Shop to purchase the Harvest Dragon pet!

MystCroft leaves on Monday!

The mists around Mystcroft grow thicker, and this Monday they will consume the town entirely! For a thrilling, chilling, delicous tale of evil and demonic desserts, head to MystCroft now to get your Mogloween 2011 rares!

I Can Has Mod Contest!

Have you heard that YOU can be a (temp) mod AND hang out with one for two hours? Artix is the first mod to volunteer for the "I Can Has Mod" contest, so if you want to talk to Lore's preeminent Paladin, get a sweet custom weapon, and BATTLE ON, check out this page for contest details!

November 14, 2011

Chaos Lord Revealed Friday

It's not who you think!

The uneasy peace in Bloodtusk Ravine has been shattered... but it is beyond repair? Journey into ancient ruins, where Trolls and Horcs once lived peacefully, but which has been long abandoned.

The Chaos Lord is here to twist that lingering spirit of harmony, chaorrupting the spirits of fallen Horc and Troll Guardians! But they aren't the only ones who have been defiled - tragedy will strike both Horc and Troll camps this week and YOU will need to help them see past the Chaorruption in themselves if they are going to have ANY future at all!

You'll also need to battle your own sense of betrayal and injustice; the Chaos Lord's identity will have you questioning everything you know about the Trolls, Horcs, and loyalty!

Quibble Returns Friday!

Quibble Coinbiter, beloved purveyor of gear from the past, present, and future, is returning to BattleOn this Friday! What will he have in stock for his Bloodtusk appearance? Who knows! But his backpack is sure to be full of gorgeous gear for mages and wicked warrior-type equips!

Previews to come throughout the week, so be sure to keep an eye on the Design Notes and our Twitter accounts!

Legion Lovers - Rejoice!

Dage's Undead Legion merge shop will be getting an update this Friday! We're excited to see your reactions to all of the new gear going there, but be prepared - you're going to have to battle your armor plating off to get it!

You Can Has Mod!

Check out Artix's Design Notes on the "I Can Has Mod" Contest for details on winning two hours of game time with your favorite mod! Artix is up first and he'll hang out, answer questions, and help you battle any enemy you want! There's some other sweet perks, like getting a wish granted, so why not check out the details!

For every Golden Cheeseburger you own (purchased from Cleric Joy), AExtras offer you complete, or month of membership left on your account, you'll get another chance to win!

Centrovante Shop for Brazilians!

Obrigado for supporting AQWorlds through Paymentez! When you use the Paymentez method of purchasing upgrades, ACs, or Artix Points on or after 11-11-11, you'll see a button in the lower right-hand corner of BattleOn. It will open up a shop containing the Centrovante Armor! This is just our way of saying thank you for your continued support!

November 03, 2011

Trolls and Spitfire and WHOOOPS!

Whoops! 3rd Upholder coming... and, LOL sorry Leon25

Thank you and congratulations to everyone who is getting the 3rd Upholder badge and starsword today! Actually, you should have already received it, except Zhoom accidently wrote his database update query backwards. So instead of giving 100,000 players 1 Starsword, he accidentaly gave.... 1 player (Leon25) 100,000 Starswords. Now that is one heavy and full backpack! All 3rd upholders should have their perks after tonight's release!

Tonight's Bloodtusk Ravine release!

The main storyline continues... and things are about to get crazy. While Cysero and Alina have strictly forbid me from giving away what is about to happen next, I am allowed to tell you there will be hint at the worlds new Chaos Lord tonight. Also, the Treasure Chest is getting an update with new items by Dage.

Level 45 SpitFire Enhancement!

The Spitfire Enhancement goes into your weapon and gives a chance for every attack to hurl a fireball at your enemy. We are adding a level 45 version of it tonight to both of the Collector fights the Enhancement shop in Battleon! Thank you for your understanding as took a lot longer than expected to get it in. For lower level players we are adding a Level 1 Fire Sword (member) tonight that has spitfire built into it. It will be located in the weapons shop where you load in BattleOn and in the newbie zone. Yurami (coder) would like to add more enhancements with special effects... if you have ideas, please let us know! (Freeze? Wind - blow your opponent to the other side of the screen? % chance immunity to stun?)

MOD PACKS & Paladin Slayer Class & Artix T-shirt

Thank you so much for the great reviews and comments on the new cards! Faith has shipping lots of boxes to players all over the world (literally) from HeroMart (now located in a HUGE room here at Secrret Underground Lab #4) A lot of you told us that your local Toys"R"Us did not have them in stock yet... even though they were supposed to as of last Friday. If you U.S. based Toys"R"Us store does not have them out yet, please ask a manager to check to see if they got them but have not put them on the floor yet (this is what we keep finding.) Also if you see the packs or the full card game box hidden in the back of a rack *whispers* it would be super awesome of you to move them to the front. (I always do that at book stores for "Z is for Zombies" which is done by Johnny Atomic, the same guy that helped us make the MechQuest Artbook"
Get the ModPacks and AE shirt at HeroMart

Pumpkin Carving Contest

Everyone did an incredible job this year. The Pumpkin Carving Contest has been judged! Read Samba's post below to see this years' winning pumpkins.

Turning 13

As you know AQworlds is a game for players of all ages. Happy Birthday to AQWorlds player who turned 13 today... and sent me a Tweet on Twitter saying that even though he was 13 he still could not use chat. (Age 13 is our cut-off for chat date) Turns out we were checking the data with a ">" greater than instead of a ">=" greater than or equal to. Zhoom just fixed it... so for all of the players celebrating their 13th birthday today or soon, CHAT ON!

Mogloween & TMBG Items

This weekend is your LAST chance to get the rare and seasonal rare items from the special event shops. By player request we are extending the TMBG item shop until Monday. Be sure to get the ones you once because once they are gone... there is NO WAY to get them again!
TMBG event page

Myterious 11-11-11 Portal

We have no idea what the ominious giant portal is... or what will happen on 11-11-11. Will it open? Will we go into it? Will something... come out of it? There are no legends about this. In fact, nothing like this has ever been seen before in the history of our world. It is a complete mystery. All that we do know, is that 11-11-11 is NEXT FRIDAY!

Lots of things going on... what are you the most excited about? Let us know on the Forums, FaceBook or Twitter!

September 22, 2011

Interference

The Alliance Is Coming.

The Trolls and Horcs have had problems with each other for hundreds of years, but have always managed to deal with them on their own terms. Now that the rumors of the Twins appearing in Bloodtusk have reached King Alteon and Empress Gravelyn, they feel that it is their duty to step in and help the Trolls and Horcs settle their differences before a new Chaos Lord is born from the mutual hate and distrust.

General Tibias of the Shadowscythe Army and the former Pactogonal Knight, Knight Commander Cynari will arrive in Bloodtusk this Friday with a Alliance army behind them.

There is an ancient temple in Bloodtusk which hold great meaning for both the Trolls and Horcs and plays a large part in their shared history. Now, the Trolls and Horcs battle has managed to spread deep into Blookdusk Ravine and threatens to topple the Ar’Huus Temple, leaving it a pile of rubble.

We all know that Alteon and Gravelyn are dedicated to making the Alliance between Good and Evil work, (at least until the Chaorruption of Lore has been dealt with) but it just seems like trying to FORCE two ancient races to stop fighting is just adding more people to the conflict. I wonder if this is exactly the kind of chaos that the twins were sent to spread?

This release features a new expansion to Bloodtusk as well as a Member Only section of this map with high level monsters with special member only items, but there are plenty of other items in the new area and in the Horc and Troll reputation shops!

It all starts Friday!

TLPD SHOP EXTENDED!

Due to a flood of requests to keep Quibble in town for another week, he has decided to stay but he WILL be leave Friday of NEXT WEEK. If you don't have your TLPD rare booty by then, then you're out of luck.

Our art team had their hands full this week so there will be NO additional items added to the shop. Sorry.

3rd Upholder Is Coming!

You might have already read my 3RD UPHOLDER POST, but if you missed out... here are the finer points:

Upholders are people who help support the game buy buying Memberships during October, which is AQW's Birthmonth. First, there were Founders, next came the 1st Upholders, then last year came the 2nd Upholders and now is YOUR chance to become a 3rd Upholder!

If you buy any Membership in the month of October OR if you already have a Membership that expires ON or AFTER NOVEMBER 4th, 2011... you will be a 3rd Upholder!

3rd Upholders get the Platinum Star Sword rare weapon and a shiny 3rd Upholder Badge on their character pages to show off that you supported AQW during our 3rd Birthday.

You can use any method you like to get your Membership, even Artix Points, but it HAS TO BE A MEMBERSHIP. ACs DO NOT get you 3rd Upholder. 

You get the Character Page padge as soon as your upgrade takes effect but you don't get the Platinum Star Sword until November 4th.

Since I've been getting a ton of questions from Brazilian players, here it is again... em Português:

Nós temos tido mais questões do que o normal vindas de jogadores brasileiros a respeito do status de 3rd Upholder, então pensei que isso pudesse ajudar.

Para se tornar um 3rd Upholder, conseguir a 3rd Upholder Badge na sua Character Page, e a Platinum Star Sword em 4 de Novembro, você PRECISA ter uma membership (ser membro no jogo) que expire EM ou APÓS 4 de Novembro de 2011 , ou você pode simplesmente comprar uma membership (se tornar membro) a qualquer momento durante o mês de Outubro.

Você pode comprar uma membership utilizando qualquer método no site do AQW ou utilizando Artix Points, mas PRECISA ser algum tipo de membership DO AQW.AdventureCoins NÃO CONTAM. Espero que isso ajude a esclarecer um pouco da confusão, e obrigado por tudo!

Thanks For The Support!

I see a some of you are already sporting your 3rd Upholder badges on your character pages. We know that there is a lot to do in AQW for free, and every Membership and AC is optional, which makes it mean so much to us that you have chosen to support AQW.

Thanks for helping to support AQW with your membership. We really appreciate every Membership and AC, which helps keep the game moving forward every week but we always want to make sure that Members get the most out of the game.

There's no denying that some of the AC items you see are great, and it can be a fantastic short cut to unlockeing some of the best classes in the game but members get tons of pets and battle pets, daily quests to make rep farm easier, some of the finest armors and items the game has to offer, special areas and member only game content, challenge fights and areas, 2 free Treasure Chest keys per month... the list keeps growing.

Members really do get the best that AQW has to offer and we work hard to make sure that you get more than your money's worth. AdventureQuest Worlds would not be possible with out you.

See you tomorrow for the weekly release!

September 16, 2011

Talk Like a Pirate Day is Early!

Avast ye, Heroes!

It's Booty-or-Belly-up Time! Quibble has returned to BattleOn with a backpack FULL of accessories that will serve you well on the Seven Seas! If you're ready to leave your landlubber past behind, equip your sea-legs and /swagger into BattleOn! Featured this Talk Like a Pirate Day is the epically-shiny Platinum Naval Commander!

Shown here with the PC Mask, PC Sabre, PC Undead Parrot and PC Cursed Monkey Pet!

Not familiar with Quibble? He's the time-traveling moglin with a... business arrangement with a Time-Travel Fairy. She keeps him supplied with rares from the future - even though they haven't been made YET! And it looks like one of her latest acquisitions comes from the Underworld! Introduccing the Legion Jolly Roger:

And a multitude of terror-inducing Legion pirate helms!

THose skulls look really jolly!

Other Pirrrrratical-themed armors and sets include the Jester of Tortue-You-Ga set, the ShadowPirate set, and the Inverted Pirate Captain set!

We positively LOVE this negative armor!

Quibble is selling 41 pieces of epic booty for AdventureCoins and Gold doubloons, including some member-only gear!

War in the Ravine rages on!

Both the Horcs and Trolls are surrounded by Chaorrupted Jungle Beasts! Battle On, Heroes, to save your friends from certain annihilation! (If only you knew WHO the Chaos Lord was...)

Once the war meter hits 100%, you will unlock the War Boss and, while you might THINK you know what to expect, you will never guess the Boss' identity. To learn THAT, you'll have to watch the cutscenes!

There are separate cutscenes for both the Trolls and the Horcs, each showing the reactions of one of the races to what they've just experienced, and giving YOU and idea of what lies ahead in Bloodtusk Ravine!

The Golden Horc Armor and helms will be added to the Horc Merge shop tonight!

New war rewards are going into the War Merge shops tonight, so be sure to check both the Horc and Troll shops for new rockin' equips! Battle On, Heroes, because the war is almost at an end! As Artix says: "Don't give up now, you're just about to WIN!"

We'll see you all on Monday as we start building the next installment of Bloodtusk Ravine! Until then, raise your mugs of grog high and get your Pirate booty movin' as you /dance a jig to celebrate this year's Talk Like a Pirate Day event!

August 26, 2011

Crossroads & Treasure Chests

The Chaos Twins Are Back!

Xing and Xang, the Chaos Twins: They have been a constant point of curiosity and source of debate among hardcore players.

"When a great King, Queen, or Hero reaches a moral crossroad, legends says the Twins appear." but for a while they have not been the force for balance that they once were. Something happend to the Twins to alter them and today you find out what that was.

Journey to the Crossroads and speak to the half-Troll Druuz and the half-Horc Rawg and perform the ritual to summon the Twins to answer 5 of your questions! 

You will find new, intresting sub-species of well known monsters like Lemurphants or the deadly Chinchillizards. You will only be able to summon the Twins if you can pass the test of She Who Answers (Maybe they should call her She Who Quizzes) as she challenges your knolwedge of both Horc and Troll culture.

In this release you will also find new items added to both the Horc and Troll Reputation Shop as well as drops from the monsters in the new area!

Have You Found A Treasure Chest Yet?

Mysterious Treasure Chests have been showing up all around Lore lately. Have you found one yet?

This is a new, fun, and completly random addition to the game. These chests have a less than 1% chance of dropping from ANY monster in the entire game. Each one contains one of over 20 (and the number will keep growing) Epic Items that you can't get anywhere else, including 5 all new Armors!

All of the items are 0 AC so you can store them for free, all of the items are non-member so you can use them forever!

There's just one problem. You can't open the Treasure Chests without a Magic Key. The good news is that Twilly (the little red Moglin in Battleon) has a few extras and will happily sell you one for 200 ACs and open your chest for you.

If you don't have a lot of spare ACs, you can always do some AEXtras to get some quick AdventureCoins, and if you don't feel like doing that, just sell the Treasure Chest! Each one is worth 500 GOLD!

MEMBER PERK: Once again, AQW membership gives you even more of the best of AQW. Today, everyone who was already a member at the time of the release got 2 FREE MAGIC TREASURE CHEST KEYS added to their backpack!

And it just keeps getting better. Soon, we will be adding a way for every Member to get 2 Free Magic Keys EVERY MONTH from Twilly. We will annouce that as soon as we have it working. Since the keys are worth 200 ACs, that means that it will be possible for members to sell them and get ACs from the game for the first time ever!

NEXT WEEK: DRAGONCON 2011!

Once again it's time for the LONG CON! Every year a lot of the AE staff head to Atlanta, GA for the  DragonCon! "The largest multi-media, popular culture convention focusing on science fiction and fantasy, gaming, comics, literature, art, music, and film in the universe!".

As usual, we have an AE Panel where players who attend the convention can come to hang out with us, punt some moglins, get things signed, sign things for us, ask questions, get answers and see sneak peeks of our top secret projects that we always have in the works.

As usual, each person who attends the panel will get a special DragonCon Pet made just those brave few who travel from all corners of the Earth (we can actually say that now!) to hang with us.

This year we've got some new stuff going on. Artix is having a full-size wooden replica of Galanoth's the DragonBlade crafted and one of the lucky panel attendees will be going home with it!

We will also have a Fan Booth set up in the one of the main convention halls. Each day we will be handing out REAL LIFE ACHIEVEMENT BADGES to attach to your convention badge. There's a different badge for each day of the con!

As usual we will be driving up to Atlanta and every time we stop somewhere I will scout out a public pay phone and Tweet the number. If you catch the tweet, you will be able to call us and say HI! It was big fun last year and should be again!

I will also be accepting Battleon Battle Card challenges anywhere at anytime during the convention.

There's also a Pizza Party in Artix's room on Thursday night.

I'm not making ANY of this up.

Here's the Info page.

Have a great weekend! or Else.