Design Notes

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!

October 27, 2011

Battle Card Mod Packs & PaladinSlayer

CardClashers Rejoice, Mod Packs Have Arrived!

It's no secret that I LOVE playing the AQW Battle Card Game, so when Artix mentioned that we were going to make Mod Packs I was right on top of him (an easy thing to do, I'm far taller than he is) making sure that the cards fit in with the rest of the game and only made it more fun.

These cards not only make the game more fun, BUT it proves that we can make additional cards for the game without breaking the flow if the card-game as it is. I'm looking forward to making more cards and maybe including them as real-world bonus items with future AE stuff like shirts and toys!

The Core Game contains 110 cards which is all you need to play this game with your friends so these new cards won't make your deck stronger against your opponents... It just gives you more cards, more options and more ways to own your friends. Each Mod pack allows you to MODify your deck with the Chaos or DoomWood theme cards, or both if you want.

Don't forget that each pack comes with a special in-game item, and HALF of the PaladinSlayer Class and Helm.

• IN TOYS R US STORES Friday, October 28th! 
• DoomWood Mod Pack comes with Vordred's Sword!
• Chaos Mod Pack comes with the Chaos Eye pet!
• Each Pack comes with HALF of the PaladinSlayer Class and Helm!
  (Combine the two packs to form it!)
• Each pack also comes with an Character Page Achievement Badge, like CardClasher did.
• Both Mod Packs will come to HeroMart in the future!

I'd LIKE to tell you that the Mod packs will go on sale in every Toys R Us retail store in the United States tomorrow but just like with the Core Game, some of the stores decided to start selling them a little early. If you are really excited about modifying your deck, getting these items and this brutal class, I'd call your local Toys R Us store and ask if they already have them.  

And once you've GOT your Mod Packs, head here to redeem your code for all the RARE LOOT that comes with them!

If you live outside the United States (and MANY of you do) don't worry. HeroMart will begin selling the Mod Packs very soon. Part of our deal with Toys R Us (US) is to give them first crack at selling them which we are happy to do.

PALADINSLAYER SKILL SET

Since a few of you already have the class, I'd better get the skill breakdown up today.

Anyone who has played through the first portion of DoomWood knows that Vordred, the PaladinSlayer was built for nothing more or less than completely destroying every last Paladin on the face of Lore but their dark powers go far beyond that one simple task. They are powerhouse damage-dealers DESIGNED for combat!

It draws some of its strength from Str and some from Int as it has a number of Physical and Magical attacks. I've had the best results with Hybrid Enh, but if you want to add some survivability, try SpellBreaker and let us know what you think on the forums!

AUTO ATTACK

2 second cooldown.

A basic attack, taught to all adventurers.

You've seen this before.

DECAY

12 mana, 4 second cooldown.

A quick strike dealing both weapon damage plus magical damage. Applies Decay which stacks up to 5 times. First stops all healing them applies a progressively worse DoT.

Here's your main PvP skill for fighting any kind of healer, Paladin or otherwise. You'd be surprised how weak most other classes get when they can't heal themselves. This is also your go-to power. There are better Damage over Time powers in other AQW classes but never underestimate how much life this skill can eat away. Just make sure you keel that stack going... do not let it fade.

DARK ENERGY

15 mana, 7 second cooldown.

Condenses dark energy into a solid projectile and launches it at your enemy.

This is another damage skill. You fire a crystal of pure darkness at your intended target. Great for pulling monsters from across the room so you never have to slow down combat. Also good for firing into the backs of fleeing foes in the PvP arena.

DARK GRIP

35 mana, 15 second cooldown.

Darkness grips your enemy, reducing haste and increasing all damage they receive.

At this rank you start becoming valuable in a group setting, be it PvP or teaming up to fight bosses in the storyline, but this powerful debuff is also really good for solo adventuring. This is another ability that you should not allow to fade. Slowing your foe provides a little damage mitigation, but lowering their defenses at the same time make this skill worth the rather high mana cost.

DARK GRIP

Rank 4 Passive

Increase Strength by 15%

Increase Critical Chance by 5%

Ranking up the class unlocks the ability to hit harder every time you hit, plus an increased chance of getting a critical strike. Nothing bad about it.

UNDEAD POWER

20 mana, 45 second cooldown.

Applies a damage and dodge buff to yourself or a friend. 

For 10 seconds your damage is increased by 60% and your dodge rate goes up providing a decent amount of cover from incoming damage. Once again, solo adventurers will be glad to have this power but it also makes this class ideal for team play.

While testing this ability, we tried teaming up with a lot of classes. The Necro, CardClasher and Vindicator of They classes saw a very noticeable spike in damage output since their damage output is already so high. Rogue, if paired with its skills correctly, was flat-out damage proof for a while but the neatest effect we saw with Defender class. With it's ability to maintain aggro from monsters, this became a real game changer. Paired with PaladinSlayer's damage output it because an army of 2.

VOIDUMINANCE

Rank 10 Passive

POW.

Like a lot of recent classes, this one also has a rank 10 passive. Every once in a while, out of nowhere, you will see a little yellow "Voiduminance" and a very very large damage number appear over your foe. It's tasty.

All things being equal, this is a pretty beastly class and once that we're happy to have in the game. Do you dare follow in the footsteps of Vordred?

Mogloween 2011 Tomorrow!

Tomorrow we will finally be releasing the last update of October... Mogloween 2011. This year's adventure was born when Nursey brought home some fresh peaches and, baker that I am, I decided to forge a peach pie. After Tweeting a picture of it Alina asked for a slice and I said that I would trade them a slice for a poem. From a baker to a writer, it seemed a fair trade.

The poem that she wrote was more than a little creepy. It was about a pie that I had made that had a horrible life of its own drawing you in, telling you things that can't forget but will never quite remember.

As soon as I was finished I said "LET'S DO THIS FOR MOGLOWEEN!"

You can expect a bunch of new seasonal rares and monster drops. We've gotten a lot of requests for some REAL (not seasonal) rares for this Mogloween so Mennace has crafted an amazing armor which you will find in the AC shop. Yorumi and Zhoom were able to change the engine enough to allow you to be able to visit your friends houses and actually Trick-Or-Treat for candy that will earn you other awesome items from the Mogloween Candy Merge Shop.

Last Chance For 3rd Upholder

There are only a few days left to become a 3rd Upholder! This will be your ONLY CHANCE to get the 3rd Upholder Achievement Badge and the Platinum Star Sword. All you need is to upgrade before Nov 4th when we deliver the Star Swords and you will become a 3rd Upholder!

October 24, 2011

New Mogloween Story Friday!

When Cysero bakes... who knows WHAT will happen?

Creepy creatures and spooky treats! THAT means it's time for Mogloween 2011, and we have a diabolically delicious, terrifyingly tasty story for you! Cysero is the Maddest Weaponsmith out there, but did you also know that he was a Mad Baker, as well?

If you can't stand the magic, get out of the kitchen.

Cysero's wandering Forge-Kitchen has appeared in MystCroft, and that's where you'll want to head this Friday! He's baked a devilishly-good dessert and is happy to share it with you. But something about it's just... not... quite... right. It might not look like it, but something is very, very wrong with that pie. And when an overly possessive near-by Vampire Lord gets involved, things are sure to go from bat to worse!

Maybe it's not cherry pie filling. It's probably raspberry.

Be sure to turn your sound on when you play this week's release, because you'll miss a large part of the story - some of the most deliciously-terrifying parts - if your speakers aren't on! The only things you'll hear are the things you cannot see. Be prepared. This Friday... it begins!

Trick or Treat!

You've got friends and they've got houses! And they better have CANDY, too! Because this Mogloween, you'll be able to /join all of your friends' houses and go trick-or-treating!

Trick or Treat! You're mincemeat! You're all monsters I can beat!

There's just one catch: the monsters got to the candy first! Battle those baddies to reclaim your candy, then use it to get sweet, sweet gear at the Cauldron Sisters' merge shop!

Plans and Plots for the (not-so-distant) Future

Today the AQW team met to discuss implenting a brand-new in-game functionality. This gameplay addition will add a lot to AQWorlds if we can do it right, and with the rest of the team as excited about it as I am, the chances are good that when it releases, you guys will have a LOT to do! (And of course, there will be features of it only members can unlock!)

It's not guilds, those are still being hashed out, but they ARE on the to do list. It's also not trading. (It will never be trading.) This is something that will be more geared towards individuals. No promises on when it'll come out, but we've already got plans and specs done. We'll see. And hopefully, so will you!

TMBG Rares Away! But not til November 4th.

Epic rares are a part of AQWorlds events, and that means they're going to disappear soon. But NOT until November 4th, so if you haven't snagged a gigantic stash of crazy-awesome equips, this might be your last chance! Everything else in the TMBG event will stay for ONE year (including the Vindicator of They Class!), but after that, all of THAT content will go rare, too!

3rd Upholder Reminder!

The LAST day to become a 3rd Upholder in AQWorlds and get ALL the shiny gear and achievements before they're rare forever is Monday, October Nov 3rd! (That's in one week!) So if you haven't upgraded your character yet but do want the Platinum Starsword, the Character Page/Book of Lore achievements badges, and all the awesome Member-only perks (AND the ones that haven't been released yet!), then why not join the ranks of the greatest Heroes on Lore?

New Enhancements for levels 41-45 are live!

If you've leveled up recently and are missing some enhancements, you're in LUK! Head over to your favorite Enhancement vendor and check their shop, because it's now fully stocked with level 41-45 Enhancements! Battle on your best with Enhancements that will help you win, no contest!

Battle On, Heroes! We'll be fighting with servers, internet connections, and runaway office furniture as we all try to settle into this new Secret Lab #4 this week. (But really, "lab" is going to have to stand for "labyrinth" instead of "laboratory" because this place is HUGE! So easy to get lost!) See you with more tweets, and Design Notes teasers in a few days!

October 21, 2011

The Collector, Part II

The They Might Be Giants / AQW 3rd Birthday Event Continues!

The second part to our special birthday event (featuring the music and amazingly distorted voice talents of John and John from They Might be Giants) continues tonight!

This week we are adding three new areas (including the member only dino-caves), tons of new quests, cutscenes, monsters, monster drops, new house items, new AC Rare items as promised, and a new Achievement! If you played through the entire event then you already know that we left you, young Drakath, John F. and John L. hurtling through time and space.

You could use a little practice controlling the Collector's Vigilette.

NEW CLASS: Vindicator Of They!

Also, as promised we have released a new class especially crafted for the They Might Be Giants event... The Vindicator Of They!

Here are a few fun facts about this new class: Every skill (other than Auto Attack) references a They Might Be Giants song or line of lyrics. Three of the skills have new battle effect graphics that were designed JUST for this class setting it apart from every other class in AQW & finally, we only have the rights to the event for 1 year so this class WILL go rare when the rest of the event leaves.

You can earn this item from the Token daily quests in the event (Members can earn tokens twice as fast!), the use the tokens to purchase the class, helm, sword and cape from the Token Shop.

If you would spend ACs to have the class RIGHT NOW, you can buy the AC version of the class from the Johns in the Collection map or from Itzachi in Battleon, but remember that you can only buy the CLASS with ACs. If you want the rest of the set then you'll have to do those dailies.

To help you rank up the class a little faster Itzachi will also be selling CLASS POINT BOOSTS for ACs and since we're tossing that in we might as well include the REPUTATION BOOSTS also. Once you equip and use these Boosts, you will double the rate that they increase for a while.

If you're interested in reading more about the new class, you can read the SKILL BREAKDOWN that I posted yesterday.

Higher Level Adventurer Enhancements!

A lot of you have reached higher levels faster that we gave you credit for. Due to server issues we had not planned to release any of the higher level Enh until next week, but we don't want to leave you in the cold so we will be releasing level 41-45 Adventurer Enh. You can find those in the ENHANCEMENTS BUTTON in Battleon.

ATTENTION TREASURE HUNTERS!

We have added some Mogloween costume armors to the Treasure Chests today. A total of 6 new spooky items! Good luck!

Special Thanks To Everyone!

AQW has only one Birthday a year and every time we try and out-do ourselves and I think we really kicked it round the moon this time. I'd like to thank the entire AQW team for putting in extra effort, coming in on days off, staying late and generally owning face on this event.

I'd like to thank They Might Be Giants for not only allowing us to bring them into AdventureQuest Worlds but also for all of their creative input when creating the event that lead from a few rough ideas to a full event with insane voice acting, evil doppelgangers, time traveling aliens and one of our very favorite bands ever. These guys had their own stuff going on... tours, shows and their own lives... but were never too busy to make or take a call to work on the event. It was really, truly great working with them. In real life they are funny, fun, down-to-earth, creative and passionate about what they do (which is a little bit of everything).

Real life story: We were about to get last week's event up for testing and I was on the phone with John F. asking him when would be a good time for the guys to run through the event so they could see what we were doing to them. After tossing around some times, I mentioned that it was my Birthday. John F said "Oh man! Well, we break for Birthdays," and shifted his entire schedule around so we could test the next morning just so I could go to dinner with my wife that night.

Finally, I want to thank you guys. If you consider the hundreds of thousands of players who have taken part in the event so far, this has been the BIGGEST BIRTHDAY PARTY any of us have ever been invited to. I've said it before but here it is again... you are the game. Without players, especially fantastic ones like you guys, a game is nothing more than a bunch of code that nobody ever sees. Thanks each and every one of you for helping to make this our biggest and best birthday yet!

NEXT WEEK: MOGLOWEEN 2011

As promised, next week we will be releasing the brand new 2011 chapter of the Mogloween Storyline with a bunch of new surprises, monsters, seasonal rares and (If Zhoom is right) The ability to go to other players houses and Trick or Treat!

3RD UPHOLDER!

October is AQWorlds' anniversary month! And THAT means that anyone who upgrades (as long as your upgrade expires ON or AFTER November 4th, 2011) will become a 3rd Upholder! That'll get you a sweet character page achievement and the EPIC Platinum Star Sword!(The Star Sword will not be released until November 4th.)

October 20, 2011

Vindicator Of They Class

PART 2 Of the They Might be Giants / AQW Birthday Event!

We have a lot of surprises waiting for you in the conclusion of The Collector like a new achievement, a new member only area and challenge fight, a bunch of new drops and even new items added to the AC Rares shop but nothing is more highly anticipated than the release of the They Might Be Giants theme class, the Vindicator of They!

Here are a few fun facts about this new class: Every skill (other than Auto Attack) references a They Might Be Giants song or line of lyrics. Three of the skills have new battle effects graphics that were designed JUST for this class setting it apart from every other class in AQW & finally, we only have the rights to the event for 1 year so this class WILL go rare when the rest of the event leaves.

Now let's get into the wrought armor and taker it for a test drive.

VINDICATOR OF THEY SKILL SET

This class was designed to be a single target or solo class. It will work best in groups like every other class, but it can handle a fight on its own and it likes it that way.

It's an armored caster class so I used INT Enhancements but you might want to try HYBRID or HEALER and see how those work for you. If you encounter any issues with this class, it will be managing your Mana... at least until you hit Rank 10. :)

Now let's go over the skills.

AUTO ATTACK

2 second cooldown.

A basic attack, taught to all adventurers.

As I mentioned above, mana is the issue at the heart of this class. The good news is that it receives mana for every hit delivered and every hit taken so stay in close and go crazy.  

SUPER TASTER

15 mana, 5 second cooldown.

Summons a Super Taster to bite your foe, causing a DoT and slowing your enemy for 6 seconds.

This is your first and least expensive skill. Once you get your healing attack it's hard to remember to use this one but you MUST NOT FORGET IT. The Damage Over Time is one of the most powerful in the game and the haste debuff is something you never want to be without.

I JUST WANT YOUR HALF

20 mana, 3 second cooldown.

Take a small amount of you foe's life force and heal yourself for a small amount.

Notice that the cooldown is only 3 seconds on this one? That will cause you to want to spam it but don't fall for it. You will eat your mana and be left with nothing in no-time. It is the wise warrior who knows when to apply a self-heal.

WE WANT A ROCK

20 mana, 10 second cooldown.

Petrify your opponent for 4 seconds but applies a DoT to you.

Use this skill at your own risk. The ability to turn most monsters into stone is a nice one to have, especially when you want to deal out the last few seconds of damage in peace but the price may not be worth paying. It's not that big of a deal since you can heal the DoT away but again, it is a question of how you want to spend your mana.

I'VE GOT A FANG  / HOT CHA

Rank 4 Passive

Increase Damage Output by 20%

Increase Haste by 20%

Special passives here. Ranking up the class unlocks the ability to attack faster than ever before while dishing out 20% more damage. In case you've never read one of these skill break-downs before 20%/20% are HUGE buffs to the class.

MASS OF INCANDESCENT GAS

30 mana, 10 second cooldown.

Create a tiny SUN causing massive damage. Applies a DoT and reduces the damage the enemy does for 10 seconds.

Ok, let's go over this one slowly. First, while the mana cost is high, the cooldown is only 10 seconds so it is possible to use it very often. Second, it deals a massive blow to your enemy. Third, it ALSO lays a DoT (Damage Over Time) on them leeching them for even more damage. Fourth and finally, it ALSO debuffs the enemy reducing the amount of damage they can do for TEN full seconds.

Frankly, this skill is like winning the lottery, falling in love and learning you can fly all in the same day.

CAN'T KEEP JOHNNY DOWN

Rank 10 Passive

Randomly, on hit, fully refills your mana.

After playing with this class for a while we decided to add a Rank 10 passive to it to help with Mana flow. The reward for getting your Vindicator Of They all the way to rank 10 is that your mana will completely refill itself from time to time.

There is something else you should know about this skill. Since it's a utility skill instead of an attack we've coded it to happen about TEN TIMES MORE OFTEN than the other rank 10 passive you've seen.

WHERE DO I GET IT?!

As usual Itzachi in Battleon will be offering the class for 2000 ACs for those who feel that they can't wait, but for the patient there will be an EARNED version of the class that you will be able to get from John and John in the Collection map. As you can see in the images above, there is also a matching Helm, Sword and Cloak that you will ONLY be able to earn. You can earn these items by collecting Tokens of Vindication from daily quests in the map.

Since Members have a daily set aside JUST for them they will be able to earn all of these items in HALF the time and if you Upgrade this month you will also be able to call yourself a 3rd Upholder!

Itzachi will also be offering a Class Rank Boost for ACs in her shop to help you get to rank 10 double quick.

3RD UPHOLDER!

October is AQWorlds' anniversary month! And THAT means that anyone who upgrades (as long as your upgrade expires ON or AFTER November 4th, 2011) will become a 3rd Upholder! That'll get you a sweet character page achievement and the EPIC Platinum Star Sword!(The Star Sword will not be released until November 4th.) 

NEXT WEEK: MOGLOWEEN 2011

As promised, next week we will be releasing the brand new 2011 chapter of the Mogloween Storyline with a bunch of new surprises, monsters, seasonal rares and (If Zhoom is right) The ability to go to other players houses and Trick or Treat!

October 07, 2011

Mogloween Review!

Spooky Quests For Creepy Heroes!

The Cauldron Sisters are back to wish you a Happy Mogloween!

This week we are re-opening MystCroft and the surrounding Mogloween-themed areas to everyone for a recap of ALL the previous Mogloween releases! This will give all the players who have started this last year a little time to play through YEARS worth of Mogloween content to get all caught up before we release ALL NEW MOGLOWEEN expansion coming OCTOBER 28th with all NEW Mogloween seasonal rares!

Even if you're an old school player, you can revisit the Cauldron Sisters in the Mogloween Map, fight the Thriller in the Mogloween Graveyard...

Fight the evil dentist/scientist Dr. Voltabolt in his Dentist Office of Nightmares, Battle huge Moglinsters, Fight Mailk-EYE and the other Children of the Candy Corn and the StalkWalker ...

And of course battle the Pumpkin King for your chance to earn the ever popular Pumpkin Lord CLASS!

There are SO MANY seasonal rare items and armors to be earned in this holday event and we can't wait to add more on the 28th! Happy Mogloween!

A Few Small Changes!

We've added some new functionality this week!

First off we've got a new MEMBER PERK! Members can now change the backgrounds on their character pages! All you need to do is explore your favorite maps and click the Set Background buttons that you find to pick your new background.

We even added a special Mogloween one which you will only be able to get as long as Mogloween continues!

Next, we've added a SERVER CLOCK to the game.

It can be found right in your options menu! This will let you know what time it is here at the Underground Lab (as well as other places like New York, Philly, Boston, Quebec, Ontario and everywhere ELSE in the EST time zone) which sould come in VERY handy for you LQS nuts!

THEY MIGHT BE GIANTS AQW BIRTHDAY EVENT STARTS NEXT WEEK!

That pretty much says it all!

Our biggest special event ever is coming Friday, October 14th!

Next Friday - They Might Be Giants special event!

Friday After That- They Might Be Giants special event PART 2!

You can expect more out of this special 2 part release than we have EVER done for any of our events before! The story is bigger, the rares are bigger, the guests are HUGE (pun intended), We are raising the level cap to 45 and adding other surprises I don't want to spoil!

Annual AE Pumpkin Carving Contest!

If you missed the news, our Pumpkin Carving Contest is on again!

The past two years have shown that you guys are INCREDIBLE carvers. Check them out for inspiration; 2009 Pumpkins & 2010 Pumpkins!

We are taking submissions over at the forums RIGHT NOW. This contest ends Monday, October 31st. Winners will be announced on the Design Notes and the Forums on Friday, November 4th! (The same day you get your 3rd Upholder treats!)

Like the previous years, the Grand Prize winner(s) will receive 5,000 AdventureCoins and additional prizes may be awarded to other groovy gourds! This includes a custom Mogloweeny weapon custom made by me. Last Year's Winners received the For The Gourd sword that you can see in my character page picture above!

You want to know how to enter right?

Wait-wait that's not it! These rules and guidelines are simple but MUST be followed accordingly for your entry to be considered eligible:

• Your pumpkin MUST be carved BY YOU! 

• Only ONE photo submitted per person, please. 

• Your pumpkin MUST be your own ORIGINAL WORK! Any work that is copied via Internet and/or Stencils or simply Copy-Pasted of some supreme pumpkin-carving legend will lead to an automatic DISQUALIFICATION.

We will also make fun of you here at the Lab.

• Your pumpkin MUST be carved in an AE theme. Check out pumpkins from 2009 and 2010!! 

• Include an index card or a piece of paper with the year (2011) and your (and only your) AQW Character Name--this way we really know it's made by you, and so we can award you with AC prizes if you win! Make sure your AQW name is readable and legible! 

• Your pumpkin carving can relate to anything from AdventureQuest Worlds or any other Artix Entertainment game! 

• Your canvas must be a pumpkin or another form of squash and/or gourd. (since people have asked, Melons count too)

• The photo of your carved pumpkin must be of the Highest Quality—the bigger and more clear the picture, the better! Make sure that you provide a VALID URL to your photo. Try using a reliable photo uploader like Photobucket, TinyPic or Twitpic. 

• You have until 11:59pm EST on Monday, October 31st to submit a photo of your carved pumpkin! 

Questions? Ready to submit? Go haunt the Pumpkin Carving Contest Thread!

GET CARVIN'!

3RD UPHOLDER!

3rd Upholder Time!

Now that October has actually arrived, the weather is starting to cool down, the days are getting shorter and it's Upholder Time in AQW!

October is AQWorlds' anniversary month! And THAT means that anyone who upgrades (as long as your upgrade expires ON or AFTER November 4th, 2011) will become a 3rd Upholder! That'll get you a sweet character page achievement and the EPIC Platinum Star Sword! (The Star Sword will not be released until November 4th.)

Don't get sick on all that Moglweeny candy!

October 03, 2011

TMBG Birthday Fun

They Might Be Giants in AQW's 3rd Birthday Two-Week Event!

If you follow some of our Twitter accounts then you already know that It's AQW's 3rd Birthday and we have some GIANT treats in store! The band THEY MIGHT BE GIANTS will be joining us in a two week adventure filled with space and time travel and awesome music!

If you've never heard of They Might Be Giants then you're missing out! They are the coolest and strangest alt rock band out there! Zazul, Rolith and I are especially HUGE fans of the band but everyone here at AE loves them.

Really guys, we've brought you a few bands that not too many people have heard of before but They Might Be Giants is NOT one of them! If song titles like "Birdhouse In Your Soul", "Ana Ng", "Dr. Worm", "Why Does the Sun Shine? (The Sun Is a Mass of Incandescent Gas)" and "Istanbul (Not Constantinople)" don't get you singing then you don't know what you're missing. Don't worry... we'll fix that for you :)

The special event starts on Friday October 14th at 6:00 PM Server Time (EST)! We will have even more information for you as we get closer to the Birthday Event!

THIS WEEK: Taco Day and Mogloween Review!

First things first, tomorrow is National Taco Day. This holiday celebrates everything taco and all of it's many varried forms. Macho Taco will show up in Battleon tomorrow and stay for one week (until next Tuesday). Once again he is offering the absolutely delicious tacomancer armor and the rest of the taco seasonal rares!

Then, on Friday AQW's spookiest event begins. When the strange, creepy town of Mystcroft appears then you know Mogloween is getting close! This Friday we will be releasing all of the previous years Mogloween events to let you get caught up.

We'll keep those up during the two week Birthday Event, then on Friday, October 28th we will release this year's ALL NEW Mogloween event with expanded storyline AND all new items!Remember, you won't be able to play this year's Mogloween without completing all the previous years' adventures!

Quibble Leaving TODAY!

Quibble isn't gone yet but he will only remain in Battleon for a little while longer. This is your VERY LAST CHANCE to get this year's TLPD rares!

3rd Upholder Time!

Now that October has actually arrived, the weather is starting to cool down, the days are getting shorter and it's Upholder Time in AQW!

October is AQWorlds' anniversary month! And THAT means that anyone who upgrades (as long as your upgrade expires ON or AFTER November 4th, 2011) will become a 3rd Upholder! That'll get you a sweet character page achievement and the EPIC Platinum Star Sword! (The Star Sword will not be released until November 4th.)

Did You Get Your Free Member Keys?

It's a new month and that means AQW Members get 2 FREE Magic Treasure Chest keys from Twilly in Battleon! Some of you had a small bug this weekend when trying to get your keys if you had them in your bank. The engine can't merge items in your Inventory AND your Bank which resulted in you getting nothing and not being able to do the quest again.

Have no fear! Zhoom was able to reset the quests for each of you that encountered this bug so you can now complete your quest and get your two free keys (Just remember to take them out of the bank and put them in your inventory first).

If you DO forget again, we've added a new pop up to remind you to get your keys out of the bank. Just keep the Item Accept Box open until you have moved them unto your inventory, then click YES on the box.

Now, I'm just going to go freak out for a second

...

HOLY CRACKERS AND BRIE! THEY MIGHT BE GIANTS IS GOING TO BE IN AQW!

September 23, 2011

Bloodtusk Under Siege!

Good and Evil Take Over the Ravine!

Fear of Chaos is tearing apart both the Horcs and Trolls! King Alteon and Empress Gravelyn, worried over whispers escaping from the Ravine, have sent their diplomats to take over, instituting martial law.

With the Alliance's Army controlling the Ravine - the Horcs and Trolls are afraid they will be unable to protect themselves from the Chaos Lord, whoever they may be!

Kagg and Sokrakiis call on YOU, Hero, to help them save their homes, their families, and a mysterious Ore that is sacred to them all. Will you defy your long-time allies to help your newest friends? And Drakath's minions... what chaotic Twin-terference have THEY been up to?

This week has some AWESOME rewards AND a member-only area of the map to battle high-exp and gold monsters! (This area also has increased drop rates for quest items and item rewards!)

Troll Rep Shop:

• Troll Warrior Armor
• Trollinator Cape
• Trollinator Helms

Horc Rep Shop:

• Horc Peacekeeper Armor
• Horcinating Cape
• Peacekeeper Hat

Troll Defiance Shop:

• Pride and Glory
• Troll's Last Stand

Horc Defiance Shop:

• Granite Rippers
• Mauling Stick

And even more rewards from Khasaanda and Zot in the /join ravinetemple map!

New Treasure Chest Rewards!

Treasure Chests just keep dropping! And THIS week there's NEW items in them! We're going to keep adding new items to the Treasure Chest reward drop pool until we have hundreds! And this week we bring you the Onikage Armor and Helm!

Noteworthy News!

Quibble Coinbiter's Talk Like a Pirate Day Shop is staying for another week! Grab your doubloons and loot his shop or he'll make you walk the plank. Yarrrr!
The Bloodtusk AC War Rare shops are GONE! Those epic items are gone for good! We also removed all of the Chaorrupted Troll Boss drops except the pets.

3rd Upholder is Coming!

October is AQWorlds' anniversary month! And THAT means that anyone who upgrades will become a 3rd Upholder! That'll get you a sweet character page achievement and the EPIC Platinum Star Sword! (The Star Sword will not be released until November 4th.)

What comes next for Bloodtusk?

If you're really going to help the Trolls and Horcs, it looks like you're going to need to take on the Alliance! But the Twins -and Drakath - aren't going to make that easy. Nor are they going to stop fomenting Chaos between the Horcs and Trolls! And what of the mysterious Chaos Lord? You'll find out! Join us next week for more of the ravages of fear, loathing, and Chaos in Bloodtusk Ravine!

If you can't do quests for this week:

Then you'll need to follow these steps:

If you can't do Kagg's quests in the ravinetemple map, then here's what you need to do:

Head back to the Crossroads zone, and talk to Rawg (all the way to the right and up):

1) Accept the Oracle quest from Rawg.
2) Answer the Oracle's questions in the middle of the ravine.
*** Then follow the rest of the steps below.

If you've already done the Oracle's quest (answered her questions) for the Horcs, do this:

3) Go and watch the Eclipse cutscene at the end of the Crossroads zone.
4) Watch The River Runs Red in /bloodtuskwar
5) Kill the War Boss again.
6) Watch the cutscene, "Chaos Rages."
7) Go to /ravinetemple and do the quests!

If you can't do Sokrakiis' quests in the ravinetemple map, then here's what you need to do:

Head back to the Crossroads zone, and talk to Druuz (all the way to the right and up):

1) Accept the Oracle quest from Druuz.
2) Answer the Oracle's questions in the middle of the ravine.
*** Then follow the rest of the steps below.

If you've already done the Oracle's quest (answered her questions) for the Trolls, do this:

3) Go and watch the Eclipse cutscene at the end of the Crossroads zone.
4) Watch The River Runs Red in /bloodtuskwar
5) Kill the War Boss again.
6) Watch the cutscene, "Chaos Scars."
7) Go to /ravinetemple and do the quests!

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 20, 2011

3rd Upholders!

What is an Upholder?

AQW is coming up on another birthday! That's means that we are once again going to offer the chance to become an AQW Upholder (The same way that the Founders got their chance at the birth of the game and the way 1st Upholders got their chance two years ago and 2nd Upholders got the chance last year at this time)

What Does A 3rd Upholder Get?!

That's easy! When you become a 3rd Upholder you get a Platinum Star Sword (it's non-member, so you can swing that sword forever and 0 ACs so you can store it for free), an achievement badge on your character page and some CRAZY bragging rights.

Those of you who have been playing for a while know that Founders already get bragging rights. They can say "I was supporting the game before you even heard of it!" and they have the fancy Platinum Dragon pet and character page achievement badge to prove it!

I'm sure you've also seen somebody with the 1st Upholder Golden Star Sword or last year's 2nd Upholder Onyx Star Sword and said to yourself... "DANG! WHY did I have to miss out on that?!"

This is YOUR chance to grab some of the spotlight for yourself (even if you're already a Founder or a 1st Upholder, 2nd Upholder or ALL THREE!)

Sounds Great! How Do I become a 3rd Upholder?!

It couldn't be simpler. Become a member!

1.  If you are ALREADY a member and your membership expires ON or AFTER November 4th, 2011, then you're are ALREADY a 3rd Upholder. Gratz.
2. If you help support AQW by buying ANY membership ANY TIME during the month of October (from October 1st to November 3rd) then you become a 3rd Upholder!

Matches the PNC perfectly!

I Think My Membership Already Makes Me A 3rd Upholder. How Can I Check?

Also, easy. Just click the Manage Account link on the left.

As soon as you sign in you'll see when your membership expires. Here's mine:

Or you could just check your Character Page for the 3rd Upholder Achievement Badge!

Cool! When Do I Get My Super Sweet 3rd Upholder Sword and Badge?

As i just mentioned, some of you already HAVE your badges on your character pages but if not it will appears as soon as your Membership goes through. The Star Sword will magically appear in your backpack on Friday, November 4th.  If your backpack is FULL, don't worry... the Platinum Star Sword will make a temporary spot for itself. Once you remove something from your backpack it will fill in the real slot and your inventory will return to its proper size.

Only Memberships Count?

Yes. You can use Artix Points on the Portal site or any method in AQW to upgrade, but it MUST be a membership. AdventureCoins DO NOT COUNT TOWARD 3rd Upholder.

Anything Else I Should Know?

Yup!

We appreciate every single upgrade and AC that you guys pay for. People seem to like the idea of ACs a lot more than Memberships a lot of you members said that memberships benefits were getting thin and we listened to you adding more member items, member dailies, members areas, and your monthly Treasure Chest Key allowance. Without you there is no way that we could possibly keep the game running but our Founders will always hold a special place in our hearts for believing in us and supporting the game before we even had a game to support. Once again you Founders will recieve an upgraded version of your Platinum Dragon pet... the Platinum Armored Platinum Dragon Battle Pet! (non-member).

Double Platinum all the way across the sky...

The 3rd Upholder Platinum Star Sword and the Founder Platinum Armored Platinum Dragon Battle pet (Yup, it's a battle pet this year!) are both going to have a price of 0 ACs so you will be able to store them for free in your bank!

I Love AQW! It's The Best Game EVER!

Thank you, AQW Player! What a nice thing to say! But seriously... thank YOU for playing. We LOVE making the game for you guys and thanks to the support of Founders 3 years year ago, 1st Upholders, 2nd Upholders last year or 3rd Upholder next month and everyone in between we get to keep making it better and better every week!

It doesn't matter if you were here from the first day or THIS is YOUR first day... we're so happy that you could be with us to celebrate our third birthday, and we hope that you will stick around for many more birthdays and keep adventuring with us.