Design Notes

June 01, 2012

Us vs. Sepulchure!

The final showdown that no one will ever forget

Sepulchure. He is the most powerful and legendary DoomKnight. He unified all of the villains in our world. He slew the good King Alteon. He even slew DEATH itself! He started the zombie apolcoypse and wiped out every living person in he world... EXCEPT FOR US! ready  your weapons and spell books friends. Now begins the final battle. We are all that stands between Sepulchure and the Champion of Light. No matter what happens tonight... our world will NEVER be the same again. BATTLE ON!

"Sepulchure" painting by Dage the Evil

DeathKnight Class & Zombie Quibble

You know... I did not think Moglins like Twilly, Zorbak and Quibble could be zombified. Guess we were wrong. I was wrong about a lot of things. For example, last night on Twitter a player tweeted me: "Hey Artix! Would you do if you came across a pink derp zombie?" To which I replied, "OMG!?!?!?!? WHAT!?!?! WHY! WHY!" (It may not have gone exactly like that... but the tweets already scrolled off my tweetdeck so this is how I remember it.) The rest of the team, seeing this, thought to themselves... "Wow! What a great way to thank Artix for giving us 5 cutscenes to do in only days!" and actually started making these nightmare inducing, therapy requiring, why... why.... oh why would you do this to me, pink derp zombie armors. I love the team, and will not begrduge them the joy of watching me cower under my desk, tweeting on my phone in fear of these pink abominations. But if you start sending me screenshots of pink derp zombie player hordes... I... I.... I am actually to horrified to think about this any more O_O

• Ultimate Horror Armor (pink derp zombies!!!)
• Pink Zombie Villager
• Pepto Zombie Armor
• Derp Zombie Armor
• Zombie Quibble Bank Pet
  
  

The DeathKnight armor will be released tonight too! Check out two posts down for the full skill breakdown. Cyero's goal was to create a class which was damage-over-time over kill! It should be interesting, fun and very different from our existing classes to play.

Happy Birthday Daimyo!

Thank you to everyone who posted a caption on Daimyo's Facebook (Which now has over 2,000 likes!) Did you hit like yet? He loved ALL of your funny caption suggestions.  Great job everyone! to celebrate his birthday, you can get the Daimyo pet for only on da.... *what is that boy?* ... ARF! *Really? ... ARF! *OK, you are the birthday puppy.* .... you can get Daimyo this weekend. He will dissapear from shops for another year and the merge shops to armor him will return on Monday.

"MORE BONES?"
Caption inspired by Osman Oso Kaleziq.

Become a Member and Support the Game

If you have been enjoying AQWorlds and our weekly releases, please support the team by becoming a member.  Not only will you be paying for the servers and keeping our coffee machines powered, you will also get an ever increasing number of in-game features and perks as a  thanks for making it possible for the team to grow the game and make it better each week!

P.S. - In preparation for the release of Alchemy in 2 weeks, alchemy reagents have started dropping from boss monsters. Stock up on them!

UPDATE: Responses from the Grand Finale!

We give it our all every week. Not Friday gets a reaction like this... but one glance at the comments below shows why it is all worth it. Thank you!!!!!

@WonderpBread says, "AE Never fails to satisfy! Well worth the wait! :D BATTLEON!"
@Gjappy says, "you guys did an exellent job with this release!!! *summons you a BIG cake*"
@cyromansor says, "The cutscenes were amazing! *tear of joy runs down cheek* I loved the release to pieces!"
@J1KTheGamer says, "im not one of those crazy fanboys that like everything but THIS RELEASE WAS AMAZING!"
@Cryoskylos says, "1 word after finishing the release....mind blown o.o"
@rinreos says, "same here i luv it :) its so awesome i finished it too, i so liked it :)"
@JasonShadoesky says, "Best...twists....ever...FREAKING AWESOOOME"
@_Neeko says, "clever Aerosmith reference in The Ultimate Horror's description xD"
@AngryAwesomeGuy says, "Release was epic."
@KingJulian says, "ARTIX THIS IS INSANE! THE RELEASE ITS INSANE INSANE I TELL YOU!"
@Brisingr says, "That was a short release, but the cutscenes @Samba_AE rocked them out hardcore! Loved it, definitely looking forward to more!"
@AlphaConduits says, "This release is soooo mother flipping awesome."
@Suskelani_AQW says, "That. Was. UN-MAZING!!! Un-mazing? Get it? *no response* Err, i'll stop now.. That was amazing! Good work to all!"
@DeitylinkAQW says, "THE MOST EPIC RELEASE OF MY LIFE! I can't wait til you can top it!"
@ZeMageAE says, "MOST EPIC RELEASE EVER!"
@Fried_Ryce says, "Those cutscenes, one word, 4 letters, EPIC."
@Excavator_2 says, "OMG!!! Awsome!!! You have done it again, outnumbering your previously cutscenes! I don't think I will ever stop playing."
@QuantumInsannity says, "OMG!! Sooo many great cutscenes and bosses and everything. But... still don't know what champion the "hero" is! Love it!!!"
ShadowRavena says, "Okay then, thanks. And btw... best release in AQW history!"
@Slimjim1516 says, "OH MY GOSH!!!!! That release WITHOUT A DOUBT is one of the BEST releases EVER!!!!! Seriously, it was AMAZING."

Note: We updated the map so it is easier to get the to the boss fight and replay the cutscenes. Once you have completed everything... there is now a simple menu that will let you replay all of the cutscenes and re-battle Dark Sepulchure. Battle On!

May 30, 2012

DeathKnight Class Breakdown

(Pre-translated From Zombie For Your Convenience)
Death Is Upon You

Friday we are introducing the DeathKnight Class for Members only from the Doomwood Reputation Shops for Rank 10 or from Itzachi in Battleon for 2000 ACs.

DeathKnight Class Art, Work-In-Progress from Aranx

DEATHKNIGHT CLASS SKILL SET

The origins of Deathknights are shrouded in mystery. Some say that these undead warriors were pulled from the cold earth by wicked necromancy to answer the threat of the paladins. Some say that a fallen paladin threw off the chill of the grave and pulled himself back to life to lead an eternal perversion of the noble Paladin Order.

Whatever their origins, they are walking death. Not allied to Darkness or even Evil like the DoomKnights... these creatures are simply walking death and opposed to all of the warmth and joy that Life provides.

This is a melee warrior type class so you will want Fighter Enhancements. Only the last skill is magical, so you MAY want to try Hybrid or a Luck build for PvP but mostly you just want strength. The class is built around a LOT of Damage Over Time (DoT) skills. Yorumi wrote an all new mana regen model just for this class which returns mana to you every time you hit an enemy AND every time a DoT ticks off damage on your foe. Some of the skills can be a little costly but if you keep the DoT damage flowing off your target than you will be able to handle it with ease.

It takes a little finesse to use the class to its maximum potential but we have a pretty high opinion of out Members so we're not worried.

AUTO ATTACK

2 second cooldown

A basic attack, taught to all adventurers.

CHILLING STRIKE

5 mana, 5 second cooldown

The chill of death seeps into your foe. Death's Chill causes more damage over time for each stack of this skill. Stacks up to 5 times.

You will notice that this skill doesn't do any damage on it's own. It's not actually an attack, it just applies Death's Chill up to 5 times and each time you stack it, the DoT from the skill gets a little stronger. Considering that this skill affects every other usable skill, do not underestimate its importance. Plus, the DoT gives you Mana...

FROSTFANG

15 mana, 8 second cooldown

This moderate strike causes Frostbite, a damage over time effect that also slows your foe's attack speed. Enemy haste reduced more with more stacks of Death's Chill.

This skill IS an attack PLUS it has a DoT AND it slows your foe down. Your target's haste will get debuffed more with more stacks of Death's Chill but it will consume all the stacks of Death's Chill so you will want to reapply them quickly. Plus, the DoT gives you Mana...

DEATHGRIP

25 mana, 18 second cooldown

A powerful strike that causes Deathgrip. Your foe feels the life slowly crushed out of them causing damage over time and reducing their damage. Enemy damage reduced more with more stacks of Death's Chill. Has a small chance to cause a 6 second stun.

This skill is also an attack, a strong one, PLUS it applies yet another DoT AND it applies a fairly strong damage debuff to your foe which gets stronger with more stacks of Death's Chill AND ALSO it has a small chance to stun your opponent for 6 seconds which is just the cherry on top of this skill. It's expensive and the cooldown is pretty long but it's worth it. Plus, the DoT gives you Mana...

DEATH'S MIGHT & RUTHLESS

Rank 4 passives

Increase STR STAT by 12%

Increase CRIT CHANCE by 12%

More damage and more chance to crit. Since it's a Member Class you get a full 12% of both.

DEATH SHROUD

30 mana, 20 second cooldown

You tap into the power of Death to pull your form back together. Causes you to heal over time, and significantly increases your damage resistance, but also slows your attack speed and reduces your damage output and crit chance while you are regenerating. Amount healed increases with stacks of Death's Chill.

Here is your "turtle heal". You cast a Heal Over Time (HoT) on yourself, and cut all damage you take by a very large amount, but everything has a price. You will also nerf your outgoing damage and lower your own crit % while the heal is in effect. Basiclly, you take yourself out of the fight for a few seconds to regenerate.

The heal also gets stronger with stacks of Death's Chill but like the other skills this one also eats the entire stack so you really have to decide where and when to use your stacks. The skill is very expensive and has a very slow cooldown but it's very useful. At level 45 with full level Fighter Enh I was healing for about 150 a tick, and with a full stack of Death's Chill I was seeing upwards of 400 a tick!

FINAL WORD

Rank 10 passive

Rarely, a frozen wave explodes out of you smiting your foe with all of the finality of death itself.

At rank 10, you suddenly gain a power that goes off randomly, costs no mana and does MASSIVE damage to a single target. You've seen this skill before but with a totally single target class like this it's really the best place for it.

And there it is... DeathKnight Class. Aranx said that after the armor he will probably have time for some matching set pieces (Helm, weapon and/or cape) which will also go into DoomWood Rep at Rank 10 and also be for you Members Only.

Don't Forget...

There's lots to remember this week

• Zhimaira’s "Artix vs Sepulchure" / "Zombies!" Art Contest ends this Thursday, May 31st! Make sure to post your entries here.
• The Zombie Caesar armor limited time shop leaves tonight!
• ShadowScythe Mousepads go on same Friday on HeroMart.Com
• Plenty of Artix & Sepulchure Toys left at HeroMart but we mail out more and more every day and sooner or later these real life limited quantity rares will be gone for good. 
• Quibble gets an item buff this Friday with the Rare Zombie Quibble Bank Pet and more!

204 days until Just Another Day

April 30, 2012

Returning to Doomwood!

Back For More Undead Fun!

And by fun I mean torture.

For us, not you.

Once again, Artix is personally crafting this story which means that we get to do a lot of things that the engine has never done before (which means a lot of new and interesting bugs). It also means INSANE cutscenes as the story continues.

I don't know if you were here for the last Doomwood but it nearly KILLED poor Samba. We asked an inhuman amount of effort from our (at that time) rookie animator, and while this amount of work would have killed, driven insane or caused a lesser animator to walk out of the AE Undergrounjd Lab never to return... Samba somehow rose to the occasion week after week (each week getting steadily worse for her) and somehow managed to pull off the equivalent of THREE MONTHS worth of weekly release animation in just under a single month.

Now we're back and while Artix DID learn that he needs to write fewer cutscenes, he seemed to think that meant that he could just make those few longer and even more insane than the earlier ones!

Needless to say this week it's all hands on deck as we return to Doomwood with an all new story which in nicely to the introduction of our first action figures!

I'm sorry to say that also means that I will be needed in the weekly releases for a while which means no time for Mid-Weeks, BUT we will probably have more MEMBER ONLY addition content in Doomwood than we have had in any other zone. Special fights, side storylines (which is much like a mid-week in itself) special armors, weapons, pets, capes, helms and other goodies and maybe even a special class (we'll have to see on that one).

Artix & Sepulchure Toys

They are nearly here!

My sources (at least the reliable ones) tell me that they are on their way to the U.S. Toys R Us locations right now. They should arrive there a week or two before theyn reach us here and become availible on HeroMart.Com.

People often ask us why we can't get them to Toys R Us locations in other countries and that's mostly because there are different branches of the company and our relationship is so far only with the American branch of the company.

If our stuff keeps selling well in the American branch then we might be invited to start up a relationship with various other branches of Toys R Us... but that's really up to you guys.

Toys R Us gets to set their own price and we want the HeroMart price to be competative with the Toys R Us price so we have to wait and see what they set their prices at before we can set ours. If we decided early and went too high with the HJeroMart price, then we would be shooting ourselves in the foot and losing sales to Toys R Us. If we go to low, then we undercut Toys R Us and they might decide to cut ties with us which kills any future deals we might make with ANY branch.

SO... soon they will get theirs, we will find out what the decide for the price and then we will be able to tell you the HeroMart price whicl will be very close to the store price.

For the special Limited Edition BLACK version of the toys, I'm pretty sure that the price will be $50. It comes with the same in-game items as the normal versions but we made a LOT less of these and you will ONLY be able to get them from HeroMart. These are for hardcore collectors ONLY (or maybe people who want to resell them on E-bay for double price when they sell our and go rare).

More news on that as it arrises.

Limited Time DOOM Starter Package!

A lot of you seem to be taking advantage of this deal and not just for the rare DeathKnight set!

Here's the deal: Right now we are offering our normal 3 month +1000 ACs Membership package (both on our payment page AND on the Portal Site payment page so you can get it with Artix Points) except for a limited time you get an ADDITIONAL 1000 AdventureCoins AND you get the DeathKnight Set (armor, helm, cape and sword based on the traditional DragonFable design) as a bonus!

It will at LEAST be here until the end of the week but this IS a Limited Time offer and once it's gone the armor set will go Rare (Any future DeathKnight class will have new art).

Even if you're already an AQW Member, getting DOUBLE ACs and a rare armor set for the same old 3 month price is a pretty good deal!

If you have already taken advantage of this deal and can't find the set, remember to look in your BOOK OF LORE in the AE section. You will see the DeathKnight badge near the bottom and you can open the shop from there! :)

The LAST Live Draw!

This Wednesday is the final of the five AE artist run of Live Draw events. Dage The Evil is on deck and warming up his drawing hand (by hand signing 500 of his Coffee Dragon prints which sold out over the weekend on HeroMart)

About the gauntlet.... don't ask.

As usual, we have no idea what he's going to draw beforehand but knowing Dage it will be EPIC. Like a banana with a hat or something!

Remember, we go live at 4:00 PM EST (Server Time) and the shop will stay up for only about 24 hours!

Beware Fakes

A lot of you older players have heard this before but over the weekend we got to hear from a whole new wave of NEW players telling us that Alina was promising them they could become mods or offering them free Coffee Dragon prints in exchange for passwords or credit card information.

THAT IS NOT THE REAL ALINA!

No member of the AE staff will EVER ask for your password or credit card information. Neither Alina or I have personal Facebook accounts... we only have Fan Pages. Here is MINE and here is Alina's.

Fake Facebooks and Twitter accounts pop up ALL THE TIME and there are LOTS of people who think that they have found the real deal, but use your head. Be smart. Look around the internet, talk to your friends... most importantly, don't believe everything that you see on the internet.