Design Notes

January 21, 2025

Game News: January 20 - 26

Read on for the latest news and information

Stay up to date with details on the new releases, server boosts, daily login gifts, art previews, balance updates, and more in this week's game digest post.

Monday: Double EXP Boost

Get double EXP from battles and quests until Wednesday!

Tuesday: Fiendish Trophy Gifts

Nulgath the ArchFiend has heard rumors of traitors in the Nation's ranks. That is unacceptable. They are an embarrassment and he needs YOU to get rid of them. Serve him well and he'll let reward you with trophies taken from those you defeat. And remember... the ArchFiend does not tolerate failure.

Talk to Nulgath in the /Eventhub now to begin his "Vanquish the Betrayers" quest. Take down Nation Outriders in /VoidRefuge, Scarvitas in /FiendPast, and the Shadowblade in /DarkAlliance as you investigate the rumors.

Complete the quest to choose from among the following 0 AC, seasonal rewards:

• Fiend's Draconic Trophy Axe
• Fiend's Draconic Trophy Axes (member-only)
• Fiend's Trophy Backblade
• Fiend's Trophy Backblades (member-only)
• Fiend's Trophy Wrap

The quest and items will be available until March 7th, 2025.

Wednesday: Double Gold Boost

Get double Gold from battles and quests until Friday!

Thursday: Unidentified 34 & 35 Boost

Get double rewards as you quest to collect resources to create the ArchFiend DoomLord set all week long.

Read the full post for more details.

Friday Update Details

Read on for news about this weekend's new updates.

Story: Nulgath's Birthday Event, Part 2
Rewards: Contract Enforcer of Nulgath gear, color-customizable Nation base classes, and new boss drops
Collection Chest: the first shipment of Nubble's new Nulgath birthday rare items
Server Boost: Get double Reputation until Monday!

Weekend Daily Gifts & Boosts

Saturday: 0 AC rare Wise King Zedek and Pleione General Visage Witcher-inspired helm drops
Sunday: 0 AC rare Oblivion Fang sword + daggers

Stay up to date with new release plans and boosts on the Artix Calendar and see what the latest Bug Fixes and Balance Changes are in their patch notes.

January 20, 2025

Frostval 2024 Gifting Rewards Arrive

Rewards for your Generosity are here

Our Frostval AC Gifting event ended last Tuesday night (January 14th). A horde of generous, and very patient, heroes have been waiting since then to unlock our rewards for their in-game generosity... and that time has come! Log in now and check your Book of Lore badge shops to get all your Frostval 2024 Gifting Event rewards.

Tier 7: 100,000 ACs Donated

• color-customizable Atlas Lion armor sets (Heroic & Tribal)*
• Festive Safiria & Constantin Companions Pet (Hero-sized, includes Hair + Armor customizers)
• Festive Safiria Companion pet (Hero-sized)
• Festive Constantin Companion pet (Hero-sized)
• All item rewards from Tiers 1 - 6 
• All new Generosity Coin Merge gear
• Tier 7 Frostval 2024 Gifting character page + Book of Lore badge

*The female helms from the Atlas Lion set are still en route. As soon as we get them in, set-up, and tested, they'll be added to your badge shop.

Tier 6: 75,000 ACs Donated

• High Octane Agility Racer (checkered mount armor, color-custom)
• High Octane Race Fan (checkered regular armor, color-custom)
• Raceway Outfit Armor (unchecked regular armor, color-custom)
• High Octane Agility Racer set accesories + house items
• All item rewards from Tiers 1 - 5 + Generosity Coin Merge gear
• Tier 6 Frostval 2024  Gifting character page + Book of Lore badge

Tier 5: 50,000 ACs Donated

• Polar & Frigid Permanence armor sets + house items
• All item rewards from Tiers 1 - 4 + Generosity Coin Merge gear
• Tier 5 Frostval 2024  Gifting character page + Book of Lore badge

Tier 4: 25,000 ACs Donated

• Apocalyptic Desert Warrior set + house items
• All item rewards from Tiers 1 - 3 + Generosity Coin Merge gear
• Tier 4 Frostval 2024  Gifting character page + Book of Lore badge

Tier 3: 10,000 ACs Donated

• Winter Night House (winter version of existing in-game map)
• Bank functionality*
• Armor & Hair Customizer*
• All item rewards from Tiers 1 - 2 + Generosity Coin Merge gear
• Tier 3 Frostval 2024  Gifting character page + Book of Lore badge

* These are not locked to owner-only

Tier 2: 5,000 ACs Donated

• Frostval Ballyhoo Hero-Sized Companion Pet
• Frostval Ballyhoo armor set
• Companion Pet has a quest to unlock the House Item**
• All item rewards from Tier 1 + Generosity Coin Merge gear
• Tier 2 Frostval 2024  Gifting character page + Book of Lore badge

** The quest is not locked to owner-only, so you can /party up with all your friends to get the reward... even if they don't have the pet.

Tier 1: 1,000 ACs Donated

• Frostval Sepulchure & Baby Gravelyn Bank Pet (Hero-Sized Sepulchure carrying Baby Gravelyn)
• Tier 1 Frostval 2024  Gifting character page + Book of Lore badge

All donators: 250 ACs Donated

• Frostval 2024 Gifting character page

In addition to their exclusive prize packs, any hero that donates at least 5,000 ACs will automatically unlock all of the 2024 merge shop items in their Book of Lore badge shop at the end of the gifting event.

January 18, 2025

New Year's Holiday Gift

Get Your 500 Free AdventureCoins Now

Every year, we award free AdventureCoins to all of our heroes who have been battling alongside us through the winter events... and this holiday season is no exception! Log in and get 500 free AdventureCoins* as our way of celebrating the end of 2024 and the start of an epic new year! 

To unlock the free ACs, you'll need to:

1. Have a confirmed email address + a level 20 account
2. Log into the game through the Artix Games Launcher 
3. Talk to Cysero in Yulgar's Inn and complete his Sweet 2024 AC Gift quest
4. Enjoy your free 500 ACs!

* The quest for the free AC gift will be available until Friday February 14, 2025.

Enjoy! From Artix, Alina, Yoshino and the entire AQWorlds Team!

January 17, 2025

Nulgath's 2025 Birthday Rares

Unlock 100+ rare items in the Winter Void Collection

Nulgath’s birthday celebration begins this weekend, and we want everyone to get in on the /party! For all you real-life rare hunters, talk to Nubble the Dark Makai in Battleon to find Nulgath's new birthday rares shop. Get the Winter Void Collection Chest to unlock ALL of the event rares and a character page badge for 10,000 AdventureCoins! 

There are two ways to get Nulgath's 2025 birthday rares: 

• Get the full collection for 10,000 ACs (worth over 25,000 ACs) or
• Buy individual items from Nubble's Rares shop in Battleon 

Over new 50 new event rares are available this week with even more to come next Friday.

Available now

• Winter Void Collection Chest pet (unlocks the full collection)
• Winter Void armor set
• Eternal Contract Enforcer of Nulgath armor set (color-customizable)
• Void Oni Samurai armor set (color-customizable)
• Fiendish Abomination armor set
• VoidSeeker armor set

Eternal Contract Enforcer of Nulgath

Malakai is known for being the relentless enforcer of the Archfiend's contracts. His service is so valued that it isn't wasted on mere traitorous filth. He waits in Nulgath's shadow for a chance to be unleashed.

• Eternal Contract Enforcer of Nulgath armor
• Contract Enforcer Morph & Horns helms
• Contract Enforcer Wings
• Contract Enforcer's Domain ground rune
• Renunciation weapons: 2 swords, 2 daggers
• Katana of Renunciation pet & battlePet 
• Thorn of Renunciation pet & pattle pet

Notes:

• All set items were crafted by Nulgath, and are color-customizable + rare
• Pets and Battle pets include 25% EXP + Class Points boosts
• Member-only Battle Pets are available for gold in Nubble's shop and for 0 AC / non-member in the collection chest. 
• The Contract Enforcer of Nulgath armor and select accesories release next week. Set items are 0 AC, rare, non color-custom. Quest requirements will include a time-locked quest + various resources. Quests to unlock the items will be available until until January 2026. 

Blue set on the left is color-customizable. Non-CC set on the right will be available for farming next Friday.

Winter Void Set Details

Cut and carved from the living Fiend Tundra known as the Deleuze, the blades share a mind with the Winter Void. They take pleasure in freezing and shattering foes. 

• Winter Void armor
• Winter Void Horns helm
• Winter Void & Auxiliary Deleuze Ice capes
• Deleuze Ice Blade pet & Battle Pet
• Deleuze Ice Spear pet
• Deleuze Ice weapons: sword, daggers, spear, axes 

This set was crafted by Nulgath the ArchFiend for this year's birthday rares shop.

Available Friday, January 24

• Fiendish Hunger set (preview)
• Dark Angel of the Void set (preview)
• color-custom Nightmare Fiend set (preview)
• Evolved Legacy set (preview)

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

Winter Void Collection Notes

Read on for important notes about this year's collection.

• All of this year's event rare items are available individually from Nubble's Birthday Rares Shop until February 7th
• Additional items will arrive later this month as we continue the birthday celebration!

January 17, 2025

Nulgath's Birthday Returns

New Birthday Rares, Farming Rewards, and Story!

Log in this weekend as we celebrate Nulgath the ArchFiend's birthday with an all-new story expansion in "Nulgath's Nation: Blood Betrayal, Stolen Secret"! Battle to unlock wicked rewards, level up your Betrayal Blades, and check out the evil and epic new rare items in his birthday collection. Then return next Friday for Part 2!

New game release

• New Story: "Hunt for Oblivion" Pt 1
• ???: Information redacted. No details or hints available at this time. >:::D
• New Rewards: complete the event for wicked new rewards
• Collection Chest: the first shipment of Nubble's new Nulgath birthday rare items

Weekend Daily Gifts & Boosts

• Server Boost: double Class Points boost
• Resource Boost: Void Aura + Starfield boosts
• Saturday: rare Void's Bile Sword/s from ??? in /DeleuzeTundra
• Sunday: rare Fiendish Abomination Morph & Void's Arsenal Armblades from the boss in /DeleuzeTundra

Login in this weekend and /join DeleuzeTundra to begin your adventure!

Wicked New Reward Gear

Battle the event boss in /DeleuzeTundra for his new helm and weapon drops and collect resources to craft even more dark and deadly gear. 

If you're fiending for that deadly dracomancer-themed set shown in the image below, well... no one said Nulgath was kind, or that unlocking his rewards was easy. If you complete the story event AND you're lucky enough to encounter what you need... you'll be able to unlock all the 0 AC Fiendish Dracomancer set item drops. 

Evolved Nulgath Nation Gear Crafting

If you've been fortunate (and determined) enough to craft the Betrayal Blades of Nulgath, now you'll be able to evolve them! 

To craft the Evolved Betrayal Blades, you'll need:

• the original weapon
• Dark Crystal Shards
• Diamonds of Nulgath
• Gems of Nulgath
• Blood Gems of Nulgath
• Tainted Gems

Nulgath's Birthday Events 

We've been celebrating Nulgath's birthday for many years now, and over time, you've battled through countless lands and defeated hordes of enemies... unless you're just joining us. And in that case, prepare for a host of dark adventures as you battle to earn the respect of Nulgath the ArchFiend... and the dark rewards he gives to those who serve him well!

Nulgath the ArchFiend, lord of the OverSoul, has gathered around him many followers, creatures, and allies over the centuries. This weekend, as we celebrate Nulgath’s birthday once more, log in and battle to uncover more information about one of his mysteriously silently minions, the sentient Rock Beast known only as… Crag.

• Fiend Champion of Adimonde
• Evolved Worshipper of Nulgath
• Arcane Warfiend of Nulgath

Talk to Bamboozle in /cragglerock to begin your quest. Collect special gems for his best boulder bud to earn the special gear that only a powered-up Crag can create.

Complete Bamboozle's quests to reawaken (or at least... partially /heal) Crag to collect stones for his merge shop and to rank up the new CraggleRock faction.

Not sure who Nulgath is? Read on!

Nulgath the ArchFiend is the in-game persona for Nulgath-the-team-member, one of AQWorlds' original artists. He's currently hard at work animating AdventureQuest Worlds: Infinity, but he took time out of his schedule to craft two new sets of gear for everyone this week! 

His art style helped define AdventureQuest Worlds, and the character itself remains hugely popular with many of our long-time heroes. To recognize their dedication and the love they feel for his Nation, we hold an event in-game each year to celebrate

January 17, 2025

Frostval Gifting Event Ends Tuesday

This is your Last Chance to Get & Give AdventureCoins

Our Frostval AC Gifting event ends Tuesday night (January 14th). We've seen a horde of generous heroes spread cheer and AdventureCoins over the course of the holiday... and soon they'll reap the rewards of their goodwill and kindness. 

Talk to Chilly in Battleon and complete his Event Participation quest and to get your two free Generosity Coins. It will be your last chance to give AdventureCoins before the event ends. 

Post-Event Presents Moved to Early Next Week

Originally, we announced that the Frostval Gifting Tier rewards would arrive tonight. Their release date has been moved to next week. I apologize for the delay and lack of notice. 

So what happened? In the end, it comes down to two things:

1. Life threw a few of our team members some serious curve balls both inside and outside of work. 
2. Designers put in extra time and effort to over-deliver in response to early player feedback.

I was confident we would be able to release everything we had planned without issue... until 6 PM today, when I took stock of how much was left to do compared to other weeks, and tand how long it would realistcally take to go live.

"Everything" wasn't going to be possible, but "almost everything" was. The crew assembled, tasks were re-divided up, and we kept pushing until we were able to get out the Nulgath story, birthday rares shop, and free Holiday AC gift live tonight for everyone.

As a team, our collective goal every week is to keep all our players happy, the updates rewarding, the schedule sane, and the team both healthy and happy. Over-delivering to make sure the event rewards were on point was the right call. Making sure team members were able to prioritize health, happiness was also the right call.

But making those decisions meant that the Frostval Gifting rewards needed to be delayed. I sincerely apologize to everyone who logged in and was disappointed at the lack of rewards. We'll have your rewards and badges out to you ASAP next week as possible. 

How to donate AdventureCoins to other heroes

Log in and talk to Chilly in Battleon. Choose to donate AdventureCoins, check out a list of all the generous Heroes who've donated, or see the items in the Generosity Coin Merge Shop. 

• Choose from a list of donation amounts. 
• Confirm your choice. 
• Click the confirmation button and the game will choose a random hero to receive your gift! 

Donate to a single Hero: Choose from 250, 500, 1000, 1500, 2000,  5000, or 10000 AdventureCoins

Donate to multiple individuals at the same time:

• 20,000 AC Multi-Gift: 10 heroes get 2,000 ACs each
• 8,000 AC Multi-Gift: 8 heroes get 1,000 ACs each

NOTE: we cannot refund your donation. You'll see a pop-up asking if you're sure you want to donate the amount you choose. Check and double-check before hitting the "confirm" button.

Generosity Coins & Merge Shop

Get one Generosity Coin the first time you donate each day. Any amount qualifies, and every donation you make counts toward unlocking additional rewards once the event ends.

Donation Rewards

• Spend your Generosity coins or save them up to get gear from the seasonal merge shop.
• All donators will unlock additional rewards just for donating. The more you donate, the more rewards you'll unlock!
• You can see a list of the top 1,000 donators in your account manager here. 

Donation Reward Tiers

The more AdventureCoins you donate to other players, the more rewards you'll unlock! Everyone that meets the reward tier goal will get the prize.

Notes about this year's rewards and tiers:

Frostval Gifting Rewards

Chilly always likes rewarding generosity. That's why he has exclusive rewards for heroes who donate to others. There are two types of rewards: Generosity Coin Merge Shop items + Donation Reward Packs.

Generosity Coins + Merge Shop

The first time you donate each day, you'll automatically get a Generosity Coin. Spend the Coins in the Merge Shop to get exclusive gear.

Generosity Coin Prices

• Classes: 10 GC
• Armors: 2-3 GC
• Helms: 1 GC
• Capes: 1-2 GC
• Weapons: 1-2 GC
• Pets: 2 GC
• Fancy/Special: 2-3 GC

The shop gear is seasonal, so if you can't get everything you want this year, you'll have another chance next year! This year's Generosity Coin merge shop also has a wider selection + variety of items, based on your feedback after last year's event.

Every time you donate ACs to a random Hero, it will contribute to your donation total. The more you donate, the more rewards you'll unlock!

Donation Reward Packs

Every time you donate ACs to a random Hero, it will contribute to your donation total. The more you donate, the more rewards you'll unlock!

Tier 7: 100,000 ACs Donated

• color-customizable Atlas Lion armor sets (Heroic & Tribal)
• Festive Safiria & Constantin Companions Pet (Hero-sized, includes Hair + Armor customizers)
• Festive Safiria Companion pet (Hero-sized)
• Festive Constantin Companion pet (Hero-sized)
• All item rewards from Tiers 1 - 6 
• All new Generosity Coin Merge gear
• Tier 7 Frostval 2024 Gifting character page + Book of Lore badge

See sneak peeks here: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5

Tier 6: 75,000 ACs Donated

• High Octane Agility Racer (checkered mount armor, color-custom)
• High Octane Race Fan (checkered regular armor, color-custom)
• Raceway Outfit Armor (unchecked regular armor, color-custom)
• High Octane Agility Racer set accesories + house items
• All item rewards from Tiers 1 - 5 + Generosity Coin Merge gear
• Tier 6 Frostval 2024  Gifting character page + Book of Lore badge

Preview the set here

Tier 5: 50,000 ACs Donated

• Polar & Frigid Permanence armor sets + house items
• All item rewards from Tiers 1 - 4 + Generosity Coin Merge gear
• Tier 5 Frostval 2024  Gifting character page + Book of Lore badge

Preview the sets here and here

Tier 4: 25,000 ACs Donated

• Apocalyptic Desert Warrior set + house items
• All item rewards from Tiers 1 - 3 + Generosity Coin Merge gear
• Tier 4 Frostval 2024  Gifting character page + Book of Lore badge

Preview the set here

Tier 3: 10,000 ACs Donated

• Winter Night House (winter version of existing in-game map)
• Bank functionality*
• Armor & Hair Customizer*
• All item rewards from Tiers 1 - 2 + Generosity Coin Merge gear
• Tier 3 Frostval 2024  Gifting character page + Book of Lore badge

Last month, we held a poll for the community to choose the Class Hall map as the basis for the Winter Night Hall house. Based on your votes, the Class Hall map was chosen and J6 took created a cool new home for you and your friends to hang out in! 

Preview the art here

* These are not locked to owner-only

Tier 2: 5,000 ACs Donated

• Frostval Ballyhoo Hero-Sized Companion Pet
• Frostval Ballyhoo armor set
• Companion Pet has a quest to unlock the House Item**
• All item rewards from Tier 1 + Generosity Coin Merge gear
• Tier 2 Frostval 2024  Gifting character page + Book of Lore badge

Preview the art here

** The quest is not locked to owner-only, so you can /party up with all your friends to get the reward... even if they don't have the pet.

Tier 1: 1,000 ACs Donated

• Frostval Sepulchure & Baby Gravelyn Bank Pet (Hero-Sized Sepulchure carrying Baby Gravelyn)
• Tier 1 Frostval 2024  Gifting character page + Book of Lore badge

Preview the art here

All donators: 250 ACs Donated

• Frostval 2024 Gifting character page

In addition to their exclusive prize packs, any hero that donates at least 5,000 ACs will automatically unlock all of the 2024 merge shop items in their Book of Lore badge shop at the end of the gifting event.

List of Top Donators

To recognize their generosity, we've got a list of the Top 1,000 Heroes who've donated during this event on our Frostval 2024 AC Gifting Event page. You can see that inside your account manager here. 

Want to donate anonymously? Hide yourself from the leaderboard! 
Last year, we added the option to hide yourself from the top donators list. That way, those who prioritize their privacy can still be generous without calling attention to themselves.

Frostval Gifting FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions)

What are the requirements to donate a gift?

• Complete opt-in quest (requires level 30+ and a confirmed email address)

What are the requirements to receive a gift?

• Account at least 2 weeks old
• Online in last 24 hours
• Complete opt-in quest

How much can I donate per day? 
There is no limit to how many times you can donate each day. (There is a limit on how many upgrade packs an account can buy each day.)

How much can I win each day? 
There is no limit to how many times in a day you can receive a random AC gift.

Can I choose who gets my donation? 

Nope! In the spirit of the season, your gift will go to a random eligible hero. Make someone's day bright... even if you don't know who they are!

Can staff accounts get on the top donators list or give to players? 
Nope! Team members' staff accounts can only give to other staff accounts. They will not appear on the public list. Team members' normal (regular player/non-staff) accounts can give to other players and may appear on the top donators list.

How will I be notified if I get a gift? 
You'll see a message when you login if you've received a gift since your last login note

What are the reward tiers? Will they go rare?
Find more details on the reward tiers next week! Tier rewards will go rare, generosity shop gear is seasonal.

How long will this be available? 
Through January 9th, prizes to be awarded later on that week.

Does the amount of AC donated affect your merge coins received per donation? 
You can get a max of 1 Generosity Coin per day, awarded the first time you donate for the day. Every donation you make will contribute to your reward milestones total.

So, is this REALLY totally random? 
It really is! The game will look for any eligible account on any server and will randomly choose who to give your prize to. You cannot specify which character will get your ACs.

What if I'm offline? 
The game will look for any account that was logged in within the last 24 hours. If you aren't online when you get a gift, it will still be added to your account the next time you log in.

When do I get notified? 
There are currently a few ways of being notified you received a gift: when doing battles or switching maps in-game, or when you log in. 

What if I make a mistake and donate the wrong amount? 
The game will ask you each time if you’re sure you want to donate that amount. We cannot give refunds for incorrect donations, so please check and double-check before you hit the donate button and before you confirm the donation amount.

What if I pick the wrong item in the Generosity Shop? Can I get my Generosity Coin back? 
We cannot give refunds for Generosity Coin shop purchases, so please check and double-check before you spend a GC on an item in the merge shop. 

Can I see how much I've donated, or how much I've received? 
Yes! Log in to your account manager to see your gifts and what you've given.