Design Notes
July 08, 2011
Chaos Shaper Class / Noxus War!
Chaos Shaper Class & Battle Tested Axe Master Armor!
At long last we are releasing the 3 month and 15 month AQW membership bonus item rewards!
We've been talking about it for a long time and there was a hold up in production as we realized that we simply couldn't do justice to the DF class we were considering adding as the 15 month membership bonus, but then most of you said that you wanted a class original to AQW anyway so that worked out just fine.
Beginning TONIGHT! Anyone who has EVER purchased 3 months (or more) worth of AQW memberships (even if those 3 months weren't all at once, and even if they have expired) will get the AXE MASTER ACHIEVEMENT BADGE on their character page and in their Book of Lore!
Click on your badge in the Book of Lore and you can open a shop that will grant you access to these non-member items:
- Battle Tested Axe Master Armor
- Battle Tested Helm
- Zhilo's Hairstyle
Each of these items are non-member so you can use them even if your membership has expired and they each cost 0 ACs so you can store them for free!
15 Month Membership Bonus Item Sets!
Anyone who has EVER purchased a total of 15 months (or more) worth of AQW memberships (even if those 15 months weren't all at once, and even if they have expired) will get the CHAOS SHAPER BADGE on their character page and in their Book of Lore!
Click on your badge in the Book of Lore and you can open a shop that will grant you access to these non-member items:
- ChaosWarrior Armor
- ChaosWarrior Helm
- ChaosWarrior Wings
- ChaosWarrior Omegus Sword
- Chaos Shaper Class
- Chaos Shaper Cape
- Chaos Shaper Helm
- Chaos Shaper Destroyer Sword
Each of these items are non-member so you can use them even if your membership has expired and they each cost 0 ACs so you can store them for free!
Chaos Shaper Skill Set
Now it's time to do a little skill breakdown for those of you who are lucky(insane) enough to attempt to control Chaos for your own purposes.
Remember that the very nature of Chaos is to be unpredictable. Chaos is insanity. Chaos is random. Chaos is POWER. You have decided to take on forces that nobody, even Drakath, can truly control. But with hard work and a quick mind you can learn to flow with the insanity rather than fighting against it. Can you sharpen and free your mind or will your sanity get bashed against the rocks of Chaos?
Most of the Chaos Shaper's abilities have 2 possible outcomes. That means that you can't really plan out your next move. You NEED to think fast and respond to each outcome. It completely changes how you play, each time you use a skill.
Even though this class require a lot of Luck to help your Crits, it's a very strong Warrior based class that is best at mowing down your enemy fast by overpowering them. I suggest STR based enhancements for fast damage.
AUTO ATTACK
2 Second Cooldown.
A basic attack taught to all adventurers.
TWIST TIME
30 Mana, 16 Second Cooldown.
The powers of Chaos alter time increasing your attack speed OR reducing the speed of your enemy
There is a 50/50 chance that your haste will increase for 6 seconds or your enemy's haste will decrease. That means that either your foe is dealing less damage to you, giving you time to make your next decision OR your speed increases which is a great way for this class to bank a bunch of mana when you need it as it recieves mana on successfully hitting an enemy.
CHAOS FOG
30 Mana, 10 Second Cooldown.
A Chaotic stuns your target OR weakens the target reducing the damage it does.
As with most possible stun powers this is a good lead off ability but again, either way you win. Either your foe loses HALF of its damage dealing ability for a few seconds OR it gets stunned, giving you a chance to Twist Time and get some mana back fast or let the next skill do its job.
CHAOTIC TOUCH
20 Mana, 7 Second Cooldown.
A Chaotic touch that harms your target or heals yourself.
This Ability can be a lifesaver but I have found that it's never that outcome that I want when I want it. Either your target gets a fairly powerful DoT (Damage over Time) placed on it that ticks away its life which you go to town on it, or... and you need this one... it hits you with a fairly powerful HoT (Heal over Time). I've found that this is a good skill to use if you pull off a stun. You will come to depend on that HoT but remember that you can never count on anything when you're playing with Chaos!
CHAOTIC STRENGTH & CHAOTIC FOCUS
Passive.
Increase STR by 10%
Increase CRIT by 10%
Once again, as you rank the class up you will unlock these new powers which will increae the entire class's effectiveness in combat.
DEATH GRIP
30 Mana, 10 Second Cooldown.
The power of Chaos causes high damage to your target BUT might backfire and cause harm to yourself instead!
This skill is the live saver and the heart breaker. You have a 60% chance to deal a MASSIVE blow to your target and it's just about as expensive in terms of mana as any of the other skills allowing you to do a LOT of damage over and over and over. But that leaves a 40% chance that your Chaotic power will backlash against you dealing a massive hit to yourself. YOU CAN KILL YOURSELF, so beware!
There you have it. One of the most powerful and least predictable classes in AQW and our first CHAOS based class. It's a LOT of fun to play but it can drive you to the very edge of insanity with its unpredictable nature.
There has been a recent surge in AC items which has been a response to player demand. There are just a LOT more people who are willing to buy ACs rather than memberships and we always listen to our players to the best of our ability. We go where you lead us, but that does NOT mean that we are going to abandon our members without whom none of this would be possible. For all of you who have helped keep AQW going with your member support, we cannot show you enough how much we appreciate you and we hope that you enjoy both of these member bonus shops and everything you find inside them, the member only areas, member only classes, weapons, pets, houses and just remember that as ACs are great for grabbing some rares or taking the shortcut to classes like Necromancer but Member content will just keep growing with AQW.
Seriously, thank you.
THE NOXUS WAR!
This week the DoomWood Saga continues as Noxus sets his plans in motion and uses his commaned of the undead armies at his disposal to attack SHADOWFALL!
Gravelyn is no fool, and knows what is coming for her. King Alteon would send his knights but his forces are already spread too thin fighting the undead attacking LightGuard Keep. Noxus has no respect for Gravelyn or the truce between Good and Evil against Chaos and sees Shadowfall as the key to the rest of Lore!
This means WAR! The Good & Evil Alliance has to pull together and rush to Shadowfall's defense! Will you answer the call to war?! We have some really great Star Warsian surprises in store for you in this week's cutscene animated entirely by Samba!
You will also find a War Merge Shop and a few drops which will go RARE when the war is over.
Very Small Suggestion Shop Update
This week I challenged Mennace to take some of the less well developed art from the suggestion forum and create some truly EPIC items out of them. Unfortunately he got really ill during the week and could only finish a few pieces but the ones he did were really nice.
- The Fire Flail designed by L3r421L
- Dual Frost Breath by paultaker
Hopefully next week we will have some time to add some more items!
Reminder!
AEXtras is still a great way to get FREE ADVENTURECOINS and even FREE BATTLEON POINTS, and with new Inventory, Bank slots and Preimere Event rares to buy there's never been a better time!
Just CLICK HERE to get started!
Or, You can jump onto your Master Account and start earning free BattleOn Games Points using AExtras and use those Points to get stuff in ANY of our games!
Have a great weekend guys!
July 05, 2011
Epic War in DoomWood!
...but attacking SHADOWFALL?
Darkness! Doom! The bones of MILLIONS OF UNDEAD!!! All of this and more are almost in Noxus and Vordred's grasp... IF they succeed in conquering Shadowfall! It is an epic battle for both Light AND Dark this week; only YOU will be able to save Gravelyn's home and undead army - and you'd better, if you want to have any hope of saving Lore.
Noxus and Vordred are on their way to Gravelyn's throne room and you've got a ways to travel from DoomWood to Shadowfall. So grab your most terrifying weapons, equip your highest enhancements, and prepare to /unsheath on a moment's notice because THIS FRIDAY the war for ShadowFall BEGINS!
War rares galore AND a Player Suggestion shop update will have you stuffing your backpack with new loot until it's so heavy you'll need to train your STR in order to carry it!
Paladin/DoomKnight Revamp 2.0 Begins!
Last week we launched the introduction of the re-vamped DoomKnight and Paladin classes. Many of you were really happy with the changes, but enough of you wanted to see MORE! So we're going back to the coding board and seeing how we can fine-tune, rework, and SUPERCHARGE those improvements!
Revamp 2.0 begins this week; we'll keep you posted on details as we work out and change up the numbers!
Chaos Shaper - Shaping up Nicely!
Chaos will recreate you into a completely new form, but not if YOU master it first! This LUCK-based class will have you causing pure havok on the battlefield; your enemies won't know what hit them, only that they're down for the count and seeing stars! (Or skulls, if they're undead.)
Male Chaos Shaper class
Because this is a preview, and because we love teasing you with information, here are the NAMES of the skills:
- Twist Time
- Chaos Fog
- Chaotic Touch
- Death Grip
- Two un-named passives which will deal crit and damage
Yorumi is in a coding frenzy getting the code right. Cysero's given him a list of twisted skills to confound, confuse, and concuss your enemies until they won't be able to STAND against you, let alone attack you!
We're making good progress on the class and hope to have it done soon. We'll keep you posted!
Things we are working on RIGHT NOW!
We had a meeting this morning to go over plans for AQWorlds. They were divided into 3 parts: Immediate, Current, and Future plans.
Projects we are working on for this week:
Shadowfall war: this week's release, with rare items galore and a nifty Suggest Shop update.
Color palette fix: this will NOT get fixed this week, but Yorumi is working with Zhoom on it.
Doomwood being added to the map: on Friday you'll be able to walk to Doomwood!
Projects we are making progress on:
New Tutorial coming:
To make the new player experience the BEST it can be, we're introducing a tutorial! Written by Cysero, this walkthrough of gameplay basics should make getting in-game, gearing up, and getting your BATTLE ON much faster and more fun!
Battle On Battle Cards EXPANSION PACKS!!!
If you enjoyed the card game, you'll LOVE these two expansion packs featuring ALL NEW cards!
PaladinSlayer Pack:
This will feature a doom-filled deck of darkness and destruction! The featured card-game class will be... PaladinSlayer! (NOT the same as UndeadSlayer, which is an in-game class which will come in Doomwood!) You'll get cards like "...On a Bonemuncher!" and "Vordred's Sword"!*
Chaos Pack:
Chaos consumes ALL! And with this chaotic card-deck you'll be able to completely chaorrupt your friends! The featured card-game class will be... Chaos Lord! (NOT the same as an in-game Chaos Lord class. That doesn't exist.) You'll get cards like "Yokai Dexterity" and "Chaorrupted"!**
We do not know what the in-game items attached to these will be. But we will think of some! We're working hard on the expansions, but do not yet have a confirmed release date. We will keep you updated on when that will be!
* Card names are subject to change. These are just examples.
** These are examples too, and will change if we can come up with something more AWESOME!
Forum question: What cards would YOU like to see in the Paladinslayer and Chaos card decks? Let us know and your favorite weapons, pets, armors, counters and traps might end up in the expansion pack!
June 27, 2011
The Temple of DoomWood Awaits!
In these Ruins, You're DOOMed!
Crumbling ruins. Whispers of children laughing. Shadows twisting through the columns. The Temple of DoomWood is not a comforting place, though in its past it was a lively and well-loved center of Paladin activity. That is all gone now, and only the blasted holes leading into dark recesses remain.
You know what that means: DUNGEON CRAWL!
A lone guardian waits, but he is not human. A paladin turned to stone by a skeletal geomancer is the only watcher in this wasted area. He will share with you secrets and send you on a quest to the bottom of the temple, hunting information about Vordred, Artix, and the epic battle between the elements of Light and Dark!
Soooo Many Colors, Man!
Last Friday we changed the color palette to include new colors in a much more aesthetically-pleasing layout. (Thanks, HeroSmash!) Many of you noticed the bug that rolled live with this feature modification in which all the OLD colors disappeared.
An update to the update: bug-fixing the new palette!
This week we're fixing that! We're going to make sure that all the OLD colors come back and that the NEW colors stay there, and they will all look as nicely ordered as they do now. This is a high priority fix because from reds to blues and #FFFFFF to #000000, the color palette in AQWorlds lets YOU look like the Hero you've always known you are!
Members are Classy!
Chaos Shaper class!
We've gone back and forth- and asked you guys what YOU think- about what reward we should give for the 15 month membership bonus. You guys weighed in on Twitter and the forums, and here's what we've decided:
The 15 month bonus class will be... the Chaos Shaper class!
This will be a class unique to AQW, and it will be completely, chaotically awesome! The skills will do some major damage but- user beware- some of the effects will be a little... unpredictable. That's to be expected when you're handing raw Chaos, after all!
No SoulWeaver class
We know MANY of you wanted the SoulWeaver class, and we really wanted to add that in, too, but a few key problems prevented us from going forward with that plan:
- MANY of you wanted a class which was unique to AdventureQuest Worlds
- It would have to be a pet class due to the Soul-Ally which always accompanies SoulWeavers.
- There were limitations which meant that we couldn't have the flashy animations DF's version does.
- We couldn't do the story justice without making a full saga for it.
(In DragonFable, the class has a long, detailed history behind it.)
There is a POSSIBILITY that at some point in the future we can tell a whole NEW story involving the SoulWeaver class (man, do I have ideas! Ideas that take the DragonFable story and go beyond it), but that is not a promise. It IS something we'd like to do, though, so don't give up hope!
Battle-Tested Axemaster armor and helm!
And don't forget the 3-month membership bonus armor! If you have been a member for 3 months at any time, whether it was by one 3-month upgrade or three 1-month upgrades, you will get the incredibly bad-axe Battle-Tested Axemaster armor!
We're raring to see you guys relive the good ol' battles you powered through when it was first released back in the days of the original AdventureQuest!
You like AQW, you really, really like it!
This weekend the AQWorlds Facebook page passed 100,000 Likes! Thank you to everyone who took the time to click that very Like-able button on the homepage or on Facebook! We Like you, too!
Have a great week, and look for more Design Notes in the next day or two with sneak peeks of art and storyline work that will release this week!