Design Notes

December 31, 2018

Class Update Poll: January 2019

Tell us what YOU would like to see updated next!

Pisces is hosting a class update poll on Twitter. Choices are...

• Upgraded Starter Classes
• Verification Classes
• Birthday Classes

Tell us what you'd like to see next here: https://twitter.com/Psi_AE/status/1079864211403141120

December 28, 2018

January 2019 Event Calendar

A Month of Good, Evil, and Birthdays!

2019 is here, and that means... time to /party - this month is the month of BIRTHDAYS! We're celebrating the new year and a host of AE team member birthdays, including Vesper, Crulon, Nulgath, Stryche, and Memet. The adventures will continue all month long, so gear up and get ready to /SLAY!

January 1: New Year's 2019 update + January ArchFiend Overlord Seasonal Set + Vesper's Birthday Shop

January 4: Crulon's Djinn Realm Mystery Quest + Void ChronoKnight upgrade bonus gear

January 11: Memet's Spook-easy Birthday* + Fiendish Wheel of Doom update

January 18: Nulgath's Birthday Scavenger Hunt + Nulgath's Birthday Shop**

January 25: Stryche's Were-Bear Birthday Event + Nulgath's Birthday Shop update

* At long-last, we are celebrating Memet's November birthday... now!
** If you were a 1st Upholder in OverSoul, you are going to be VERY happy with the free gift you'll get in AQW - the Void Awakening gear! The gear will release in Nulgath's birthday shop, but YOU will get it for FREE!

December 28, 2018

A New Year is Almost Here

Thank You for Being Awesome in 2018!

We hope you're having a fantastic holiday with your family and friends! Thank you for battling alongside us throughout 2018,and for supporting us with through purchasing Memberships and AdventureCoins! We hope you'll be there with us as we work to make 2019 the most explosive (and expansive) year in AQWorlds' history!

Plans for 2019 include a playable version of AQW:Mobile, expanding the game and world of Lore to a whole new audience. Our goal for AQW:Mobile includes new features like leaderboards and (fingers crossed, if we can make it happen) TRADING.

/join NewYear to replay all our holiday events and -- if you're impatient for 2019 to get here (like I am) take out your rage on the 2018 Ball monster. Head North from the Enter area and defeat it for a chance to get the pieces of the Glacial Knight armor set.

Also available tonight... Bank Previews and Searches! /join /bank to check it out and see all the gear you've stashed away.

Return on Monday, December 31st for all our 2019 rare items and Vesper's birthday shop!

2018: A Chilling Tale

 A new year dawns for the Yetis of EverFrost Valley, and a new generation of their warriors is ready to undergo an ancient rite to welcome the new year. You are the first human ever invited to join in the ritual slaying of the ice spirit Chillbite, Guardian of the Valley. On December 29th, celebrate the new year with your new tribe… if you survive!

2017: Archive of Time

Corruption will result in alteration of existing persons, places, and things in Lore. Correction required before countdown expires or changes will become per-pe- *static* SIGNAL LOST.

2016: Future of Fear

2016 is starting off with a bang.. and blasts… and an attack on Northpointe by the Queen of Monsters’ new Captain, Goregrim! The forces of Good, Evil, and Chaos will need to come together, or Northpointe WILL fall!

2015: A Monstrous Future

With the defeat of the Chanpion of Chaos last summer, the Queen of Monsters has been released from her prison... and she is ready to show our world how little we REALLY know about the nature of monsters! Tonight's release continues the Rise of the WorldBreaker trilogy in the /Northstar map.

Tonight: Battle to reach Karok the Fallen, but FIRST you'll need to face don a mysterious new monster... one HE did not create, but who has been commanded to follow him. Coming FRIDAY, you'll be able to face Karok the Fallen himself! (And have a VERY small chance to get the DarkIce version of his mage armor!)

If we don't want Karok's horde of monsters to join forces with the QUEEN of monsters, it's time to bare our blades and BATTLE ON... or the future will be MONSTROUS!

Old and New Gear for the New Year!

Talk to Quibble Coinbiter in Battleon to get The Fallen Mage Armor with a 15% Class Points bonus! You can also talk to Lim in the NewYear map to access all the returning seasonal rares PLUS find the 2015 New Year's Ball house item in the New Year house shop!

2014: Year of the Horse!

For the 2014 New Year's release, we wanted to take some inspiration from the Chinese zodiac. 2014 is the year of the horse, so naturally this is what we've come up with...

In Norse mythology, Hrimfaxi and Skinfaxi are the steeds of Night and Day, carrying the chariots of the sun and moon across the sky. Their equivalents in Lore are Frostmane and Embermane, and Ulfgar (remember him?) is worried that something is wrong with them. Embermane, the Steed of Day, has gone missing and her brother Frostmane is keeping the land in perpetual darkness. It's up to you to find her so she can bring back the sun - and bring in the new year.

So then, who's that nightmare steed, you ask? Is he what's keeping Embermane from returning to the sky? /Join frostmane to find out!

2013: A New Dawn for a New Year!

Save the sun, Hero, or tomorrow will never come! When a Werepyre petitions the Nocturan Creed, guardians of the night, to ensure he will never be harmed by the light again, you will need to work with the Lumina Votari to protect the sun and save the world! Journey across Lore to ensure that a new dawn - and a New Year - will begin!

2012: Time for Chaos

2012 was the Year of Chaos, and we started the year off with a BANG! Literally! But tonight, you'll go BACK in time to meet Professor Iadoa (Professor Yana, anyone?), a famous Chronomancer who has been missing for decades. He should have stayed gone, though, because now that he's back... it's time for Chaos!

The New Year's ball frozen in place. All clocks have stopped.

2011: The Chaos Continued

Lim has returned to the frozen north to help is close out 2010 with a BANG! Literally.

Well, that's what he INTENDED but once again he can't get his science all in one bucket and he needs your help to stop the ever hungry Icemaster Yeti from munching on this gizmos and doo-dads.

We hope you guys have all had a great holiday. We all took a little time out of insane production schedule to spend some time with our friends and travel hoe to see family, but we are SO READY to get moving on all our plans for 2015! 

HAPPY NEW YEAR! (Almost.)

New Year, New Year!

On Monday, December 31st, we'll release our 2019 New Year's shop, with the 2019 weapons and a host of new wintery gear, PLUS Vesper's pink, purple, and prismatic birthday shop!

December 25, 2018

Happy Holidays, Heroes

Merry Frostval from Twilly, Zorbak, and Twig

From all of us at Artix Entertainment, we hope you have a safe, warm, and wonderful time with family and friends. Merry Frostval and happy holiday, heroes!

Happy holiday, heroes! Twilly, Zorbak, and Twig want to wish you a VERY merry Frostval from all of us at Artix Entertainment. (So... what do you think Zorbak got Twilly for Frostval?! @_@)

December 24, 2018

Merry Frostval (Eve)!

Log in and get your free Frostval Tree Presents!

I will keep this short, because I have a horde of HeroMart elves eyeing the boxes I've been keeping from them. Thank you all for battling alongside us this month! To help you celebrate, we've got two new presents dropping from the Frostval Zard in Battleontown! 

Log in and defeat it (gently) to get the:

• Nibbleon Frostval Tree house item (0 AC)
• Nibbleon Frostval Treeant (0 AC, member)

Both Frostval trees are decorated with moglin plushes, just like the one at the secret underground lab!

After you've finished celebrating, join us this Friday for...

1. An update to the IceStorm Arena! A new dungeon will be added... dark and full of invisible monsters, it will be perfect for farming
2. Balance updates to the IceStorm Arena 
3. All our seasonal New Year's maps and stories return
4. Tinsel's Giftboxes open
5. Defeat the 2018 Ball monster this Friday to collect the pieces of the Glacial Knight armor set 
6. Find the Frostval DoomKnight set variants in the Wheel of Doom Merge shop

From all of us here at the Lab... we wish you a VERY Merry Frostval with family and friends!

December 21, 2018

Our New Frostval Event is LIVE

New Story, AC Gift, Frostval Class, Server Boost, and more!

Battle through the past, present, and future with Cysero and Warlic in our homage to a famous holiday tale… “A Frostval Peril!” Face off against Xanta Claus, IceMaster Yeti, and one of the coldest, most magically-powerful Infernal Mages Lore NEVER wants to see come to power. Teach Warlic the meaning of Frostval and bring joy, cheer, and PRESENTS to all this weekend!

After the release, find the Spacetimebobulator in /frostvalperil to begin the farming quest to unlock the pieces of the 0 AC CheerCaster set!

Holiday Limited Quantity Shop

Our Holiday Limited Quantity sets go on-sale tonight at 6 PM EST (and will restock throughout the weekend). Find Dage's Holiday Paragon of Light set, Nulgath's Santa Warlic set, and more at our Limited Quantity Sets page… but hurry, because once they’re sold out, they’re gone forever! Each package also comes with a unique badge in your Book of Lore and on your character page.

Frostval Barbarian Class

Become a Frostval Barbarian! Battle to save the world by channeling your inner fury. This is one of our best support classes… unless the “Enraged” status is active. Then, you become an AoE-damaging beast, destroying any minion in your path. Immediately unlock the Class for 2,000 ACs in Robina’s Class shop, or quest to unlock a 0 AC variant.

AQW community artist Yo Lae made SO many amazing Frostval Barbarian items that we added several of them to Giefury, as 0 AC monster drops.

Holiday Paladin Gift

Talk to Robina in Frostvale to quest for the Holiday Paladin set! Take on ANY of the very festive Vordred bosses for a chance to get the 12 Santa Skulls needed. Turn in the quest to unlock the entire 0 AC set! The Holiday Paladin armor and cape are a gift from the AQW team to you, so the higher the level of Vordred you take on, the higher the drop rate for the Santa Skulls!

Please note: the female Paladin armor file was corrupted late this afternoon. You will see the male art until Monday, when a fix is rolled.

2018 Holiday AC Gift

Every year, we award free AdventureCoins to all the heroes who have been battling alongside us through the winter events... and this year is no exception! We are giving 500 FREE AdventureCoins to all heroes who log into their account manager with a confimed email address as our way of saying "thanks!" for supporting and enjoying AQWorlds this year.

December 20, 2018

Design Class: Frostval Barbarian

FROSTVAL BARBARIAN! GIVER OF GIFTS, TAKER OF HOPE.

This year we’re bringing back the seasonal holiday class with a bang! Ever want to be a festive machine of death? Welcome to Frostval Barbarian! 

All about the Class:

Frostval Barbarians are givers and takers, depending on how mad they are. While not Enraged, you’re a gift giving god and one of the best supports in the game. While Enraged, you are an AoE damaging beast, destroying any minion in your path.

There are two ways to get the Class:

1. Buy it from Robina's Class Shop in /frostvale for 2,000 ACs
2. Complete Robina's quest to unlock the 0 AC version

If you purchased the 10k Frostval Collection Chest, you'll find the 0 AC Class inside your chest after tonight's update.

Frostval Barbarian Quest

Earning this Class is a sign that you've completed the majority of our Frostval seasonal events, and requires you to revisit some of the quests and areas you've completed in the past to get new items.

1. Get a new drop from the Forest Guardian Gauntlet quest in /alpine

2. Get a new drop from the Holly and Ice quest in /coldwindvalley

3. Get the Sword of Hope from the shop in /icerisekeep

4. Get the Sassafras' War Helm from the Ballista Cables quest in /battlefield

5. Get a new drop from the Defeat Karok quest in /northstar

6. Get the Infernal Ice Heart from Vinara’s Odds Shop in /battleontown (Requires 5 Crypto Tokens and 5 Frozen Orbs from this year's event boss.)

The Barbarians of Frostvale are known for their Strength, Endurance, and Dexterity. Prove that you possess these traits, and you, too, can become a Frostvale Barbarian.

Description: Recommended enhancement: Fighter. During Frostval these nomadic wanderers from the north travel from town to town giving gifts and protecting those in need. You don't want to be on their naughty list though, else be on the receiving end of their most infamous gift - their pure rage.

Mana Regeneration: Frostvale Barbarians gain mana from all hits landed in combat, and especially on critical hits.  The amount depends on damage relative to *their own* HP total.

Abilities:

Barbaric Strike
Deals 100% of your weapon damage to up to 3 targets. Can't miss but can't crit.

Rank 1: Frostval Gifts
Frostval Gifts gives you and up to 4 allies a heal over time that lasts 10 seconds. If you’re Enraged, instead you get Frozen Beard. Frozen Beard reduces yours and up to 3 allies damage taken by 30% for 10 seconds.

Rank 2: Winter's Depress
Depress your foe with a non-damaging wintry blast. Reduces up to 3 opponent’s haste by 20% for 10 seconds. Stacks to 4.

Rank 3: Silver Thaw/Maw/Jaw
Heals 20 mana for yourself, and applies Silver Thaw, Silver Maw, and Silver Jaw to yourself and 4 allies. Silver Thaw reduces mana costs by 15%, Silver Maw  increases crit chance by 10%, and Silver Jaw increases crit damage by 20%. All 3 effects last 10 seconds and stack to 4.

Rank 4 Passive: Festive Suit

Reduces damage taken by 15%

Rank 4 Passive: Barbaric

Increases haste by 50%

Rank 5:  Enrage
Deals 300% weapon damage to up to 3 targets and applies Enrage. Enrage lasts 10 seconds. While Enraged, your haste is reduced by 100% but your damage is increased by 100%. Also removes Frostval Gifts. Enrage can't crit but can't miss.

Rank 10 Passive: Gifted

Increases Strength by 20%

December 19, 2018

Frostval 2018 Limited Quantity Sets

Holiday Sets go on sale this Friday!

Meeeeeeeerry Frostval, Heroes! We've got a blindingly-brilliant set of gear for all you real-life rare collectors. Find Dage's Holiday Paragon of Light set, Nulgath's Santa Warlic set, and more at our Limited Quantity Sets page starting this Friday, December 21st, at 6 PM EST! Each package also comes with a unique badge in your Book of Lore and on your character page! 

Restock Schedule

• 6:00 PM EST Friday night, 12/21 (initial stock)
• 6:00 AM Saturday, 12/22
• 12:00 PM (Noon) Saturday, 12/22
• 6:00 PM Saturday, 12/22
• 12:00 AM (Midnight) Sunday, 12/23 (final restock)

Note: the BattleLord of Ravens set, Ice Portal house, and SnowMoglin house packs will not restock. The quantities you see are the final ones... once they are sold out, they'll never return!

Holiday Paragon of Light

Price: 2000 AdventureCoins
Total # of sets: 4000
Initial stock quantity: 3000
Restock: 250

• Armor
• Accessories
• Holiday Paragon of Light pet
• Character page badge

Santa Warlic

Price: 1000 AdventureCoins
Total # of sets: 5000
Initial stock quantity: 4000
Restock: 250

• Armor
• Accessories
• Character page badge

BattleLord of Ravens

Price: 1000 AdventureCoins
Quantity: 126

• Battlelord of Ravens armor set
• Character page badge

Ice Realm Portal House

Price: 1000 AdventureCoins
Quantity: 235

• Ice Realm Portal House
• Character page badge

Snowmoglin House

Price: 1500 AdventureCoins
Quantity: 354

• In-game house with 4 rooms (and all the snow innards you could hope for!)
• Character page badge

* Unfortunately, "Anatomically Correct Snowmoglin House" is too long of an item name. SAD DAY!

What is a Limited Quantity Set?

The Limited Quantity Sets are just what they sounds like... each set has a certain quantity and once that number has sold out then that's it. The total number of sets is the same for everyone, everwhere, so if you see 300 items left on the web page, that's what we've got left in stock.

How Do Limited Quantity Sets Work?

1. Log into a special LQS webpage on AQ.com (not into the game!) 
2. Purchase the set using either ACs or gold
3. Log into AQW and find your set badge in the Book of Lore 
4. Get all the items in the badge shop for 0 ACs (yay free storage!)

December 18, 2018

Frostval Gift: 500 Free AdventureCoins

Confirm your Email to Unlock our 2018 Holiday Gift Later this Week!

Every year, we award free AdventureCoins to all of our heroes who have been battling alongside us through the winter events... and this year is no exception! Later this week, (just in time for Frostval!) we are giving 500 FREE AdventureCoins to all heroes with a confimed email address as our way of saying "thanks!" for logging in and participating in the releases we've created for you! 

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

1. Have a confirmed email address
2. Log into your account manager
3. Click the Free AC Gift button before January 31st, 2019
4. Enjoy your free 500 ACs!

Make sure you have a confirmed and log into your account manager before January 31st! If your email is already confirmed, THANKS! You can log into your account manager NOW to get them immediately. If your email address is confirmed, you will see...

Happy Holidays from Artix, Alina, and the AQW Team!

Need to update your AQW Account with an active email address?

1. Head to  https://account.aq.com/
2. Enter your Username and Password, then Login
3. Click on the Change Email link on the left
4. Insert your New Email, and Retype New Email, and Submit (see picture below)
5. In a bit, you should have an email in your inbox from: AdventureQuest Worlds MMORPG ([email protected]) with a subject line of: =AQW= AdventureQuest Worlds Confirmation

Confirm that you will get the AQW Weekly Newsletter

1. Go back to  https://account.aq.com/
2. Enter your Username and Password, then Login 
3. Click on the Newsletter link on the left.
4. If your Status reads as "unconfirmed" please click: Resend Email (see picture below)
   
5. In a little while, you should have an email in your inbox from: AdventureQuest Worlds MMORPG ([email protected]) with a subject line of: =AQW= AdventureQuest Worlds Confirmation
6. Click the “CONFIRM YOUR ACCOUNT” link in that email and you’re all set!

December 17, 2018

AQWorlds Patch Notes

Check the list of bug fixes to see what the team has addressed

Reens, Cemaros and the AQW Bug Hunter team are busy squashing the bugs you submit each week to the Bug Tracker at www.Artix.com/bugs.

Please do not send non-release bugs on Twitter.  They will get lost.  Make sure you send bug report forms!

Check back weekly to see if the bug you reported has been addressed.  Please remember that not all bugs are "easy fixes" so some reported and confirmed bugs from each week may not be on the fixed list as they will require more time or a different person to fix them.

If you would like to know how the reports go from you to fixed, check this page:
http://www.aq.com/lore/guides/BugReportFAQ

Happy Holidays and a DNs hiatus!
We're coming into the year end holidays, so everyone at Bugs would like to wish you all the very best!  We hope Xanta brings you something other than coal!

This is also a popular vacation time, and it's no different here at AE!  Due to some well deserved vacation time, the Patch Notes posts are going to be on vacation for a couple of weeks or so.  There will still be some minor bug fixes happening behind the scenes, and we will keep on top of any game breaking fixes during this time.  We just won't be posting them again until we return to the regularly scheduled fits of insanity in January.

Bug Fixes:

1. Golden Helm and Antlers added to Northlands Royalty Tier 1 shop.
2. Boreal Reindeer added to IceStorm Collection shop.

Art Fixes:

1. Abyssal Angel/Abyssal Wanderer male CC bits corrected.
2. Titanium Queen's Battle Crown and Titanium Northern Queen's Crown have stopped imitating each other.

Not Fixed & Why:

1. No Class jumping out of the bank - We’ve been chasing this bug for years, and still cannot catch it.  We cannot determine why it is doing this. Yet! We’re still chasing it though.  For now, I can remove it from your inventories if you want, so please only write in if you want it removed. 

Extras:
More on the Wheel of Doom and Treasure Potions!

We would like to remind everyone that this is not exactly the same as the old Wheel of Doom.  The bonus x6 Treasure Potion drop only happens after the Wheel spins have attempted to award all items.  One of the functions which did not work properly in the old Wheel of Doom was detecting items obtained from the Doom Merge shop, so we have removed that check, and it now awards 3x potions when you spin an item you already purchased, until it has spun all items.

The drop rules for Treasure Potions are:

• Spin the Wheel, get normal rewards + bonus prize
• No bonus prize drops? Get 2 Treasure Potions instead of 1.
• Wheel tries to give an item you bought/already had? Get 3 Treasure Potions instead of 1.
• Already have ALL the Wheel drops? Get 6 Treasure Potions instead of 1.

December 17, 2018

December 2018 Prize Pool

Tickets for Festive ArchMage Set + Treasure Pack now available

Talk to Khuddar Khamundi in Battleon until Thursday, December 20th at 6 PM EST to get tickets for the Fesetive ArchMage set and Treasure Pack. 

This Friday at 11 AM EST, Captain Rhubarb will choose to winners of the December 2018 Prize Pool. 10,000 Santa Warlic Ticket winners and 10,000 Treasure Pack winners will be chosen. (Note: current and former members can win the Santa Warlic set. The gear inside the badge shop will be 0 AC.)

Ticket Details

• Tickets will be available until 6:00 PM EST on Thursday, December 20th
• Winners will be chosen at 11: AM EST on Friday, December 21st
• Tickets cannot be sold.
• Each ticket gives you a chance to get the set or pack associated with it
• If your ticket is selected, it will be removed and you will get your rewards automatically
• If your ticket is not selected, it will be replaced with 3 60 Minute XP Boosts.

Festive ArchMage prize winners will automatically receive their Book of Lore and character page badges, and can buy their 0 AC set items from the badge shop.

Treasure Pack prize winners will have their 5 Treasure Chest Keys and 100,000 gold automatically added to their inventory and account.

If you do not win one of the above prizes, 3 60-minute XP boosts will be directly added to your inventory. (You can change these boosts into Class Points, Gold, or Rep boosts in the Wheel of Doom Merge Shop)

December 13, 2018

Frostval 2018 Featured Collection Chest

2018 Frostval Collection + Quibble's Holiday Shop

Our very own time-traveling sales moglin is BACK in Battleon with a shop full of ice-cold gear from the past, present, and future. And for all you holiday-loving heroes, our Frostval 2018 Featured Collection chest is here! Get all of Quibble's rare gear plus our featured seasonal Frostval armor sets, the IceStorm Warlord and Festive Archer. (Plus 2 exclusive pets and a character page badge.)

The collection of items is SUPER-COOL, as you can see in the screenshot above, and includes items crafted by Dage the Evil, Nakana Rei, Aranx, and Yo_Lae. 

The Frostval 2018 Collection Chest unlocks over 50 items, including:

• Featured Frostval 2018 sets: IceStorm Warlord and Festive Archer
• Boreal Cavalier armor set
• IceStorm Eagle Rider armor set
• FrostSworn Emperor armor set
• All of Quibble's 2018 Frostval rare gear
• the Frostval Barbarian Class and armor set (coming next week)*
• 2 bank pets
• Exclusive Festive Floating Snowball pet with a quest for the character page badge

The 2018 Frostval Collection chest costs 10,000 AdventureCoins (but unlocks over 20,000 ACs worth of gear)! 

Collection Chest Exclusive Pets

When you unlock the Frostval 2018 Collection chest, in addition to all armors and accessories, and the IceStorm Quibble Bank Pet, the Paragon SLAY-Rider Bank Pet, and the Frostval Barbarian Class + armor set, you'll ALSO unlock 2 extra exclusive pets:

• IceStorm Collection chest pet feat. Santa Zorbak (with shop for all the gear) 
• Festive Floating Snowball (with quest for character page badge + pet)

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

Rare and Seasonal Gear Breakdown

There are over 50 (maybe 60... Reens is still setting up the Frostval Barbarian Class accessories!!!) items to unlock in the Frostval 2018 collection chest. In the past, all of the gear in our collection chests has gone rare. This year, though, we are including several of our featured Frostval sets in the collection chest: the Festive Archer and the IceStorm Warlord. Next year, those sets will be available directly in our seasonal Frostval shop, but will not be included in the collection chest.

Frostval 2018 Collection Rare gear: 

• IceStorm Eagle Rider armor
• Boreal Cavalier armor
• 7 Boreal Cavalier helms
• Bladed Boreal Wrap
• Boreal Cavalier Pike
• Boreal Cavalier Blade
• Boreal Cavalier Blade + Shield 
• Frostsworn Emperor armor
• 2 Frostsworn Crown helms
• Ancient Frostsworn Wrap
• Frostsworn Ice Axe
• Frostsworn Ice Blade
• Frostsworn Ice Scythe
• Quibble's Icestorm Rider Bank Pet
• Giftbearer Paragon Bank Pet
• Festive Floating Snowball Pet

Featured Frostval gear (seasonal): 

• Frostval Barbarian Class + armor set
• Festive Archer armor
• 2 Festive Archer helms
• 3 Festive Archer capes (wrap, bow, quiver)
• Festive Archer bow
• IceStorm Warlord armor
• 3 Frostbreath helms
• 3 IceStorm Archer's capes (wrap, quiver, combo)
• Wings of Ice Wrap
• IceStorm Back Blade + Auxiliary Daggers
• IceStorm ShatterSpear
• IceStorm Archer's Bow
• IceStorm General's Blade
• IceStorm Daggers
• IceStorm Gryphon Pet

Next Week: Limited Quantity Sets + Prize Pool

On Monday, December 17th, all heroes can talk to Khuddar Khamundi in Battleon to get tickets for the member-only Santa Warlic set** and Treasure Pack. On Friday morning. Captain Rhubarb will choose the winners of the Frostval 2018 Prize Pool. 10,000 Santa Ticket winners and 10,000 Treasure Pack winners will be chosen. (Note: the member badge shop is available to current and previous members. Gear inside will be 0 AC.)

Ticket Details

• Tickets will be available until 11:00 PM EST on Friday, December 21st
• Tickets cannot be sold
• Each ticket gives you a chance to get the set or pack associated with it
• If your ticket is selected, it will be removed and you will get your rewards automatically

The Frostval 2018 Limited Quantity Sets will go on sale at 6 PM EST, and will feature the Holiday Paragon of Light armor set + Pet, the BatttleLord of Ravens set, the Santa Warlic set (AC version) and the SnowMoglin and IceRealm Portal houses. Find more details on the quantities and prices of our LQS sets next week!

* The Frostval Barbarian Class will also be available for 2,000 ACs or by farming.
** OverSoul fans, this is your chance to get the Santa Warlic set in AQWorlds! For news about the upcoming Warlic's Treasure Frostval 2018 OverSoul release, keep an eye on Twitter next week.

December 13, 2018

Level Cap Increases to 90 + IceStorm Arena

SLAY Bells are ringing this weekend!

Our Frostval celebration continues this Friday at www.AQ.com with a bounty of new gear, an all-new battle arena, and a level-cap increase to 90! Heroes of all levels and class type are invited to fight through the ranks of the IceStorm Raiders for honor, glory, and prizes. Take on this weekend’s level 100 boss -- Warlord Icewing -- with a group of friends, or try to fight him solo if you're a high-enough level!

This weekend:

• Level cap increases to 90
• Higher-level enhancements (including Awe Enhancements) added*  
• IceStorm Arena (with monsters level 5-100)
• Double XP boost **
• Quibble’s Frostval Rares + Frostval 2018 Collection Chest

The Level Cap Increases to 90!

For all you heroes asking us when the level cap will increase... today is the day! It's only been about 1.5 years since the last multi-level cap raise, so it we're adding 5 more levels, taking the cap from level 85 to 90! (Current plans for a level cap increase schedule: 95 in 2019 and 100 in 2020.)

To celebrate, we've added a DOUBLE XP server boost. Next week, we'll add Double Gold, Rep, and Class points as we releaes the Frostval Barbarian Class. 

• Level 85 - 90 Enhancements: level 50+ enhancement shops in your game menu
• Awe Enhancements: in the Awe Enhancements shops in /museum

Also, this week: we've added in functionality from the PTR servers so that as long as you fight monsters that have more than 1 HP, you'll always get at least the minimum level of class points, no matter what level the monster is. (Before, if you fought monsters that were too low a level, you would not get any CP.)

Enter the IceStorm Arena

Warriors, Rogues, and Wizards of all levels and ranks are invited to fight through the ranks of the IceStorm Raiders for honor, glory, and new gear! Battle icy opponents from level 5 to 100 as you earn EXP and gold. High-level heroes can blast their way to the end of the arena to take on the level 100 Warlord IceWing boss.

Icy Barbarian Gear

The dev team's goal is to have the IceStorm arena serve as the best level farming area in-game - with the smoothest, most balanced progression, and high-level monsters for our more experienced heroes.

Merge Shop Rewards include:

• Icy Barbarian armor + accessories
• Icy Infernal armor + accessories

Plus, take on Warlord IceWing for a chance to get the Boreal Bardiche and Cavalier Claymore! 

Icy Infernal Gear

Who are the IceStorm Raiders?

After Tyndarius’ mortifying defeat in the Etherstorm Isles, and his rejection by the Queen of Monsters, the islands were abandoned… until King Rimescar and his army moved in to annex the lands. Ice and snow now blanket an area once known for its volcanic activity. To honor the winter holidays, he’s thrown open the arena to Lore’s most well-known and skilled hero… YOU!

Farming and Rebalancing

In the interest of updating some unbalanced areas and quests in the game, we've adjusted some monster levels and quest rewards.

Changes include:

• Darkness monster level in the Bloodmoon Arena lowered to 25*
• Alchemy quests XP lowered from 100 to 0
• Dys-Geni-c Chaorruption? quest now rewards 5,000 gold and XP

And quest reward increases:

• Willpower Extraction quest now rewards 10,000 XP
• Demanding Items of Nulgath quest now rewards 10,000 XP
• The Poisonous / Refreshing Deal quests now reward 10,000 gold and XP
• GRUMBLE, GRUMBLE... quest now rewards 5,000 XP
• Crag's Thirst quest now rewards 5,000 gold and XP
• Retrieve Void Auras quest now rewards 10,000 gold and XP
• Unstable Essences quest now rewards 10,000 gold and XP
• Shadow Essences quest now rewards 10,000 gold and XP

* The Nothing monsters in the member-only /nightmare remain level 99.

December 13, 2018

Level Cap Increases to 90 + IceStorm Arena

SLAY Bells are ringing this weekend!

Our Frostval celebration continues this Friday at www.AQ.com with a bounty of new gear, an all-new battle arena, and a level-cap increase to 90! Heroes of all levels and class type are invited to fight through the ranks of the IceStorm Raiders for honor, glory, and prizes. Take on this weekend’s level 100 boss -- Warlord Icewing -- with a group of friends, or try to fight him solo if you're a high-enough level!

This weekend:

• Level cap increases to 90

• Higher-level enhancements (including Awe Enhancements) added*  

• IceStorm Arena (with monsters level 5-100)

• Double XP boost **

• Quibble’s Frostval Rares + Frostval 2018 Collection Chest

Also, this week: we're adding in functionality from the PTR servers so that as long as you fight monsters that have more than 1 HP, you'll always get at least the minimum level of class points, no matter what level the monster is. (Before, if you fought monsters that were too low a level, you would not get any CP.)

WHY NO PICTURES?

I know.. the Design Notes look so EMPTY! I have been sick since Monday night, and am just now getting back onto a computer. In place of the normal pics, I've crafted a clean, simple image as a placeholder. 

We'll have many impressive, epic images in tomorrow's Design Notes, along with full details of Quibble's Shop, the Frostval 2018 collection chest, what goes rare, what won't, why the IceStorm Raiders have opened this new arena... and more (like what to expect from next week's Limited Quantity sets).

* Like the Spitfire Enhancements, the Darkness Enhancements have a limited level range, and will not receive updates this weekend.

** A double XP boost starts this weekend. Next weekend, in honor of Frostval, we'll have a Double XP, Gold, Rep and Class Points boost!

December 10, 2018

AQWorlds Patch Notes

Check the list of bug fixes to see what the team has addressed

Reens, Cemaros and the AQW Bug Hunter team are busy squashing the bugs you submit each week to the Bug Tracker at www.Artix.com/bugs.

Please do not send non-release bugs on Twitter.  They will get lost.  Make sure you send bug report forms!

Check back weekly to see if the bug you reported has been addressed.  Please remember that not all bugs are "easy fixes" so some reported and confirmed bugs from each week may not be on the fixed list as they will require more time or a different person to fix them.

If you would like to know how the reports go from you to fixed, check this page:
http://www.aq.com/lore/guides/BugReportFAQ

Bug Fixes:

1. Icestorm map reopened.  It was originally supposed to be part of Frostval In July, not December.
2. Candy Cane Rippers have been moved from the Rescue Blizzy quest to a drop from Frosty.
3. A Rock Inanitas Is Making You Keep  has been made sellable.
4. Ultimate Flame Katana is now Ultimate Flame Blade.
5. Chaos Witness badge will light up now.

Art Fixes:

1. Tainted Destruction Blade has been upsized.
2. Black J5 female neck has been touched up some.  This armour is actually non-standard so this is the best it can get.
3. Claws Of Darkon have been moved a bit for less groping.  Due to layering, this is the best it will get though.
4. Obsidian Grovebreaker Armor has had brown/yellow lines removed.
5. Titanium Northern Queen's Crown and Titanium Queen's Battle Crown will now stop trying to turn into each other.
6. Same for Fiend of Nulgath (Rare) and Evolved Fiend Of Nulgath.
7. Copper Bullet and J6's Birthday Guns have had the grip adjusted.
8. Armed Celestial Commander Wings have been untilted.

Not Fixed & Why:

1. Pets with quests being unsellable - This is not a bug.  There was a two fold reason for this one. One is we have noticed that when accounts become compromised, these pets seem to be the first things sold off, so this is for the pet owner's protection.  The other is to prevent players from obtaining the pet, getting a reward and immediately selling the pet.  This is not how they were ever intended to work.

December 07, 2018

Frostval Returns for 2018

Battle through our returning seasonal events!

Frostval is a time of joy, hope, and... defending Lore from all the insane ice monsters that cannot stop attacking it?!?! Log in this weekend to battle through all our winter holiday events and unlock seasonal rewards!

/join Frostvale to begin battling through all the previous years of Frostval releases, then test your mettle (and metal!) against the biggest gift of them all: Giefury!*

This year, in additional to his seasonal presents, Giefury has NEW gifts for you:

• Frostval Nutcracker armor (red variant)**
• Giefury armor, helm, house guard, and pet
• Frostvale Healer and Mage armors
• Dark Frostdrake Ruler
• Santy Hats and Holiday Flails
• Frostval Doge helms

FrostScythe also drops an all-new version of his armor set, crafted by the incomparable Aranx just to help you celebrate Frostval!

* Giefury's name comes from the Old English noun "giefu" for "a giving, gift", which is related to the Old Norse word "gift, gipt" meaning "gift; good luck." 

** Created just for you by AQW Community artist, Dominik! The blue variant will arrive in the Featured Gear shop this weekend.

ALL of the seasonal events from previous years will also return - that means you'll get to battle Kezeroth, Quetzal, and more... PLUS get all the holiday seasonal goodies that come with them!

Journey to Frostvale

Once again the Frost Moglins of Frostvale are opening the snow-covered gates of their town to all of Lore as they prepare for the merriest of all of Lore's holidays... Frostval! If this is your first year with AQW then you get to play through all of the previous adventures:

• Save Frostvale, 
• Stop the Ice Symbiote infection 
• Watch a young Empress Gravelyn experience her first Frostval 
• Fight to survive as Kezeroth and Karok, ice giant brothers from another world, battle to take OURS
• Somebody PLEASE think of the children! An icy ancient horror has kidnapped them, and they need your help.
• and get SO MANY presents with the return of Tinsel's Seasonal Frostval Shop

Join us Next Week for...

A bounty of battles and XP!

• IceStorm Arena + Level Cap raise to 90
• Double server boosts
• Quibble Coinbiter's Frostval rares shop
• Frostval 2018 Collection Chest (unlock ALL of Quibble's rare + seasonal gear for one price)

Later this month...

That's all leading up to an ALL NEW FROSTVAL ADVENTURE, where we'll battle through the past with Cysero, Lim, and Sora as they teach their bestest friend EVER, Warlic, the true meaning of Christmas. (PSA: things go very, very badly BUT you'll meet some of your oldest, coolest monster-buds from DragonFable.) You are welcome to all of the great Frostval seasonal rares and the heart-warming Frostval stories.

December 07, 2018

Unlock the Northern Royalty Sets

Upgrade to unlock the December exclusive gear sets!

Unlock the all-new Northern Royallty upgrade bonus gear starting Friday, December 7th at 6 PM EST! Buy any AC or membership package worth $10 USD or more to unlock the color-custom Northland Royalty set or get the bonus color-custom Titanium Royalty armor and accessories with the 12,000 AC or 12 month membership packs!
December 2018 upgrade exclusive: Midnight Royalty armor and accessories.

Pack Details

• The Northlands Royalty gear* will be available as an upgrade bonus set every December when you buy membership or AdventureCoins. 
• All packages will also come with the Northern Royalty character page badge and, this year only, the 2018 exclusive character page badge.
• This upgrade bonus gear will be available until 6 PM EST on January 4th, 2019. 

*not including the 2018 exclusive gear.

12000 AC or 12 month membership packages: ALL 40+ Northern Royalty Set items

Get more gear and save more of your real-world gold with our largest upgrade packages! Unlock the Titanium, Golden, and Midnight Plates of the North armor sets with our 12000 AdventureCoin or 12 month membership packages, plus all the accessories:

• Titanium and Golden Plates of the North armors (fabric is color-customizable)
• 24 helms
• 8 capes
• 6 swords
• 2 pets
• 7 Rep/XP/Gold/Class Points boosts added straight to your inventory
• Plus the Midnight Northlands Royalty exclusive gear

2000 and 5000 AC or 3 and 6 month membership package: Golden Northlands Royalty

Unlock the Golden and Midnight Plates of the North armor sets with the above packages, plus their accessories:

• Golden Plate of the North armor (fabric is color-customizable)
• 12 helms
• 4 capes
• 3 swords
• 1 pet
• 5 Rep/XP/Gold/Class Points boosts added straight to your inventory
• Plus the Midnight Northlands Royalty exclusive gear

December 2018 upgrade exclusive: Midnight Northlands Royalty

• Midnight Northern Royalty armor (fabric is color-customizable)
• Guardian of the North cape
• Guardian's Frozen Great Sword
• Exclusive 2018 Northlands Royalty character page badge

2018 Holiday AC Bonus: Get up to 50% More Free ACs

Get up to 50% more FREE bonus AdventureCoins when you buy any Adventure package until January 2nd! If you're excited about all our 2018 holiday items, new gear in the Wheel of Doom, or our 2019 New Year's rare gear, now's the time to top up your ACs and get even more for free.

The bigger the AC package you buy, the more free AdventureCoins you'll get!

12000 AC pack: 6000 extra ACs (50% more ACs)

5000 AC pack: 2000 extra ACs (40% more ACs)

2000 AC pack: 500 extra ACs (25% more ACs)

900 AC pack: 100 extra ACs (11% more ACs)

* Note: bonus AdventureCoins are only available with AdventureCoin packages. The special bonus offer does not apply to membership packages.

December 06, 2018

Gears of Doom & Why Treasure Potions Cannot Be Banked

Gears of Doom & Wheel of Doom

We’re getting a lot of reports on the Gears of Doom and the Wheel of Doom which are not bugs.  The most common two are “not getting gears” and “can’t spin the wheel”.

The most common one is the player banked the first gear and seems to have forgotten it.  Once you place one in your bank, the next one (or two) will go there as well.  Look in your bank.  I’m sorry folks, but there just isn’t time to send each of you an email saying “They’re in your bank”.  

This is also one of the two causes of “can’t spin the Wheel”.  The Gears simply will not work until you take them out of your bank.  So, look in your bank and then remove them to use your spin!

The other cause of being unable to spin the Wheel is you do have to be level 10 for the free spins.  Why?  Because we want to encourage players to play the game!  That is what games are made for, after all.

The next most common result when checking those reports is many people seem to have a misconception on when they will be awarded Gears.  Please look at the following chart.

The week for awarding Gears is personal to you.  It begins the day you pick up your first Gear, and will not reset again until 7 days after that.  You cannot collect more than 3 Gears in your “personal week”.  (See Player A)

If for some reason, you do not manage to log in and collect all 3 Gears in the 7 day period, you will collect the next one the next time you log in, and your restart day will be the day after you use them to spin the Wheel. (See Player B)

We are also investigating options to make this much easier from a player perspective as well!  Keep an eye here on the Design Notes for updates on that!

Why Treasure Potions Cannot Be Banked

Yorumi had to do some new magic and make Treasure Potions unable to be banked to prevent loss of them when players would bank them, and then get more, and try to force the stacks to merge.  While the TPs did not vanish every time you tried this, thanks to some backend magic, if you moved them enough times, eventually one stack would vanish.  

This ONLY happens when it is stacking items which are triggered by player actions and are forced into your inventory, and you have a stack in the bank as well.  So 3 items - Treasure Potions, Daily XP Boost! (1 hr) and Power Gems.  So please don't try to force any other stacks to merge!  They will do it on their own if you just let them.

We explored many ways to stop the Treasure Potions from vanishing, and none of the options which previously existed were fool-proof.  This is when Yorumi got his magic bag out and completely rewrote Treasure Potions so that they could not be banked.  At all.  

This is not a “quick and easy” fix by any means, which is why it was only applied to Treasure Potions, as they have taken on the role of a form of micro currency with the Doom Merge shop, and especially the Platinum Item of Donated Awesomeness.  

For all other items:  There are two types of reactions stacking items have when you already have a stack in your bank.   

For items that you have to pick up manually, it will not allow you to pick it up.   In that case, you may be able to retrieve your stack from your bank and then pick up the item.  

For items that are automatically added to your inventory, it will go into your inventory, and into your bank when you relog if you do not try to force it to stack with the others.  Trying to force it to stack with the others in this case could cause the item to vanish.

In both cases, it is always best to remove your stack from the bank before collecting more items.

We are still looking at better solutions, but we did need to do this to prevent any more loss.  So please, don't try to force any other stacks to merge!  They will do it on their own if you just let them.

December 05, 2018

Final Weekend: Black Friday Gear

Black Friday Gear Leaves Monday, December 10th

There are only 4 days left to get all our 2018 Harvest Eventt, Black Friday and Cyber Monday rare items! Once the event leaves, these items will never return. 

Black Friday 2018 Rare Gear includes:

• Shadow OathKeeper armor set
• Austere ShadowSlayer set
• Shadow BeastMaster of Nulgath set
• Obsidian GroveBreaker set
• Black Sun Ninja set
• Obsidian Peasant armor
• Dark SkyGuard Uniform armor
• Obsidian Pirate Mage armor
• Dark and Shadowed Infernal Companion Cape
• Dark Void Paladin Katana (dual and single wield)
• Shadow SoulSeeker (single and dual wield)
• Dark Derp Fish pet

the HollowBorn Evoker Black Friday collection chest (and all our other Black Friday gear)! The chest will return next November with even more items. Find it now at www.AQ.com 

Correction: the Obsidian No Class was listed as a rare item. It will return each year for Black Friday.

December 05, 2018

December 2018 Event Calendar

This Month: Tis the Season for FROSTVAL!

Winter is coming (for many of you, it's already here!), and so are all our snow-covered, ice-laden, gift-bearing holiday events! To help everyone celebrate, we've got a list of all our holiday events so you don't miss a single moment of cheer. 

December 1: December Seasonal Set: Northern Wanderer arrives for 2018

December 7: Frostval Hub Town returns + December Upgrade Bonus set

December 14: IceStorm Arena + Level Cap Increase + Quibble's Frostval Collection Chest

December 21: all-new 2018 Frostval Event featuring Warlic and Cysero+ Holiday Limited Quantity Set

December 21 - 25: Double XP, Gold, Class Points, and Rep boosts + holiday boss drops

December 28: Memet's Birthday release + Holiday gear in the Wheel of Doom merge shop

December 31: New Year's Eve celebration + 2019 rare gear

Also happening this month...

• Frostval Barbarian Class
• Holiday 2018 free AdventureCoins Gift

December 04, 2018

Apocalyptic DragonLord Leaves Friday

3 Days Left to get our exclusive upgrade bonus gear!

Unlock the all-new Apocalyptic DragonLord upgrade bonus gear now when you buy any AC or membership package worth $10 USD or more to unlock 12 pieces of the Apocalyptic DragonLord set. Get all 23 items, including the bonus Apocalyptic DragonKing armor and Watcher helms, with a 12,000 AdventureCoin or 12 month membership pack!

12000 AC or 12 month membership packages: ALL the Apocalyptic Gear

Get more gear and save more of your real-world gold with our largest upgrade packages! Unlock the Apocalyptic Dragon armor set and the exclusive Apocalyptic DragonKing variant with our 12000 AdventureCoin or 12 month membership packages:

• Apocalyptic DragonLord + Apocalyptic DragonKing armors
• 14 helms, 3 capes, 3 weapons
• 1 pet
• 7 Rep/XP/Gold/Class Points boosts added straight to your inventory

2000 and 5000 AC or 3 and 6 month membership package: Apocalyptic DragonLord 

• Apocalyptic DragonLord armor
• 8 helms
• 2 capes
• 1 weapon
• 5 Rep/XP/Gold/Class Points boosts added straight to your inventory

All packages will also come with the Apocalyptic DragonLord character page badge. This upgrade bonus gear will be available until 6 PM EST on December 7th, 2018. 

December 03, 2018

The Queen of Monsters is...

Missing? Living Among Us? DEAD?!

The Queen of Monsters has long been rumored to reside in an unapproachable Tower near the islands of Drakonus.

Though her monsters still attack the land, the assaults come less frequently now. Ruomrs are beginning to spread. They ask -- where is the Queen?

The answers are troubling. Some say she walks among us as a shapeshifter.* Some say she resides with Drakath, continuing to use him as a puppet. Some say she is dead. Others say that - like the spiders she loves - she is lying in wait. Silent. Preparing.

The question on everyone's mind is... what will the Queen do next? And the one person who MIGHT be able to tell us -- Drakath -- refuses to say. The LoreMasters and Chronomancers will meet soon to discuss this troubling situation.

Coming in 2019... the finale of the Queen of Monsters Saga!

* Robina = Queen of Monsters!

December 03, 2018

AQWorlds Patch Notes

Check the list of bug fixes to see what the team has addressed

Reens, Cemaros and the AQW Bug Hunter team are busy squashing the bugs you submit each week to the Bug Tracker at www.Artix.com/bugs.

Please do not send non-release bugs on Twitter.  They will get lost.  Make sure you send bug report forms!

Check back weekly to see if the bug you reported has been addressed.  Please remember that not all bugs are "easy fixes" so some reported and confirmed bugs from each week may not be on the fixed list as they will require more time or a different person to fix them.

If you would like to know how the reports go from you to fixed, check this page:
http://www.aq.com/lore/guides/BugReportFAQ

Bug Fixes:

1. Map /foulestfowl has been dragged out of hiding.  You can’t really blame a giant turkey for hiding during a food fight can you?
2. Reavers of the Gilded Sun are now properly dagger weapons.
3. Fae’s “Classified Chaos” quest in /fableforest had been one time only, now repeatable.

Art Fixes:

1. Digital Duality of Nulgath Male feet color now stay colored when moving.
2. Doom Midknightgown Female face put back to old one from last week’s fixes.
3. Champion Blade of Nulgath ring in hilt now CC.

Not Fixed & Why:

1. Things that were Artist Choice this week:
   
   • Obsidian Grovebreaker Armor Male horns on the neck area
   • Evolved Necromancer's Hair and Evolved Necromancer's Face white highlight
   • Shadowed Infernal Companion cape positioning
2. DoomWood BOL showing at 97% - This is happening because the final quest at /vordredboss get hashed up by lag.  If you send a bug report with a screenshot link of the Vordred Boss room with all the buttons lit up pretty, I can go ahead and band-aid it for you so the BOL will stop being mean.