Design Notes

Lowell Cats

Gets Yer LOLz On!

This mid-week release takes place in NOOBSHIRE where Captain Rolith has been trying to fight off the Horc Noobs and Kittarian Farmers for as long as anyone can remember, but what would send a group of peaceful farmers up against the battle-tested Horcs training for war?

Enter, Lowell...

This nervous looking fellow is (or at least, was) keeper of the Kittarian Holy Relics until they were recently siezed by the Horcs. It's time to climb aboard the Monorail Cat and head to all points Horc to recover the two pilfered relics!

This Member Only Mid-Week Mini Release pulls HEAVILY from LOL cats. If you don't know what a LOL CAT is then just look above. They are silly pictures of cats with silly captions and the internet fell in love with a few years ago.

If you're a fan of LOL cats or cats in general then this mini-story is purrrrrfect for you!

That was lame. I'm sorry.

But seriously, there is some great Cat Themed Member Only rewards at the end of this story pretty much all crafted by our newest addition to the art side of the development team... ARANX!

This includes 2 armors, 2 helms, a cape, a weapon and a 2 MILLIOON GOLD PET, the NaN (Not A Number) Cat.

Enjoy!

183 days until Just Another Day

Tags: LOL Cats Member Mid Week Cysero

Skyguard Grenadier

Courage And Explosives!

Later today we will be releasing the Member Only Skyguard Grenadier Class along with the new addition to the Skyguard storyline.

Before we get to the skills breakdown let me remind you of a few things.

1. The Member Only Skyguard Grenadier Class is, you guessed it, for Members only.
2. TODAY people who have already worked to get their Skyguard Rep up to Rank 10 will get a full week to preview of the class and master its skills.
3. NEXT FRIDAY we will be releasing an AC version of the class (Also Member Only)
4. The only way to get the rest of the set (Helm and Gun) are through the Skyguard Rep Shop (Rank 10 like the class)

Now that that's out of the way, let's get crackin'.

SKYGUARD GRENADIER CLASS SKILL SET

Many people don't know what a Grenadier is. Long ago, just after the development of the first hand-thrown explosives, they were bravest and physically strongest soldiers. They'd have to be brave to walk around lobbing explosives that could blow you to bits and they had to be strong so thew could toss them as far as possible.

This combo of traits meant that every Grenadier was half fearless and half insane. As the technology of warfare developed, grenade launchers were invented so you no longer needed to be the strongest but you still had to have that special mixture of courage and madness that makes the grenadier so unique.

The Skyguard Flightpack is not part of the set.

They are often chosen to lead special assault teams and used as shock troops. Each Grenadier is worth a whole squadron of less specialized soldiers.

WARRIOR is the enhancement that you want to use for this class. It's also built on the Warrior mana regen model so you get mana from both hitting and getting hit.

The interesting thing about this is that each skill is a different grenade and each applies its own state to your foe, but the last skill applies a secondary effect based on which state you have applies to the enemy.

AUTO ATTACK

2 second cooldown

A basic attack, taught to all adventurers.

Here is your basic attack. Nothing flashy but it gets the job done.

HAMSTRING

10 mana, 4 second cooldown

Light damage, lowers enemy damage output for 4 seconds plus applies Weakened State. Weakened State replaces any other state.

This is the first skill that you get. It's the cheapest and has the fastest cooldown but also the weakest. The debuff is nice but once the last skill applies the secondary effect this skill gets nicer. I know that it;s hard to hamstring someone with a grenade but somehow you manage to do it. You're that good.

FLASHBANG

20 mana, 8 second cooldown

Moderate damage, reduces enemy chance to hit plus applies Blinded State to enemy. Blinded State replaces any other state.

Twice as costly as the first grenade and with twice the cooldown time. Again, another nice debuff but again it's the secondary skill that makes Flashbang a sweet skill.

FIRE IN THE HOLE!

SLEEPING GAS

20 mana, 10 second cooldown

Moderate damage up to two enemies, reduces enemy haste and has a chance to stun for 4 seconds, plus applies Gassed State to enemy. Gassed State replaces any other state.

Again, this grenade has a longer cooldown than the two before it but has multiple effects even before you use the last skill. It's a multi-hit attack with moderate damage, reduces enemy haste on both targets and COULD stun both targets.

ADRENALINE RUSH & BATTLE HORN

Rank 4 passives

Increase Dodge by 10%

Increase Damage by 10%

Decent Rank 4 passives. Increase survivability a LOT and do more damage. What's not to love?

REACTIVE GRENADE

30 mana, 9 second cooldown

High Damage, plus has secondary effect based on whichever State was last applied to your foe. Weakened State secondary effect – Bleed causing Damage Over Time to enemy. Blinded State secondary effect – Rally causing Heal Over Time to to you.  Gassed State secondary effect – Elude causing increased Damage Resistance to you. Secondary Effects all last 6 seconds.

Ok, there is a lot going on here so let's take it one step at a time.

Each of the 3 earlier grenade skills apply a State. Weakened, Blinded and Gassed. In addition to doing High Damage, this will add a secondary effect based on which state you have applied.

• If your enemy has the Weakened State applied, then this skill will do High Damage and cause BLEED which is a fairly strong Damage Over Time (DoT) to the target.
  
  
• If your enemy has the Blinded State applied, then this skill will do High Damage and apply RALLY to you, which is a VERY strong Heal Over Time (HoT). This is a great heal, and one of the strongest HoTs in the game.
  
  
• If your enemy has the Gassed State applied, then this skill will do High Damage and apply ELUDE to you, which is a decent Damage Reduction buff.
  

TACTICIAN

Rank 10 passive

Rarely, you see your chance to turn the battle in your favor. You give this attack everything you've got causing VERY HIGH damage to up to 2 targets!

You've seen this type of passive before, but this one causes HIGH DAMAGE to up to 2 targets. If you're fighting a boss then it will just be a nice chunk of extra damage, but if you're farming then BOOM, you just cleared the field.

More To Follow

Keep your eyes here on the Design Notes for more notes on today's release!

301 days until Just Another Day

Tags: Member SkyGuard Grenadier Class Skills Cysero

AE needs a GUI Designer!

AE is looking for an Interface Designer!

From this moment forward, AE will try to find talent in the community before posting job postings elsewhere when possible. This position is primarily an art job and will require no coding skill but knowledge of web technologies and flash is a very large plus. You will be working the with AE team and helping to design functional and intuitive interface layouts for some of our websites and possibly some of our game projects.

Let me save you a little time and say that if you don't know what a GUI is, then you are not what we need. It WILL be a full time job, and in the U.S. you have to be at least 18 to work full-time hours, regardless of where you live.

You MUST be at least 18 year old.  If you are under 18, if you don't include your age, or if you start with "I'm not 18 yet, but..." the application will not be considered.

What they need you to included in your email is:

1. Your real name, age, and country of residence. 
2. AQW Game account name and linked email address. 
3. Master Account name and linked email address. 
4. Forum account name and linked email address if one is entered. (not required to have one)
5. Languages you speak/read.
6. Resume (or C.V.)  *please note we'd like the CV in English. If we can't read it then we can't hire you. If you do not know what a resume is or do not have one, then you are not who we are looking for.
7. Samples of your work. Ideally this will be a link to your online Design Portfolio, however if you choose you may attach no less than 3 samples of your Interface Design to your e-mail.

Please send your COMPLETE application to DESIGN.JOBS@battleon.com 

If the application is not complete, It will be deleted.  And please - one application per person. We will read all the applications.  If you are chosen to go through a further interview, we will contact you.

Unfortunately, since we will get thousands of applications, we can only reply to those who have what we might need. Otherwise you will not hear from us. If you have not heard from us within 2 weeks of submiting your resume and portfolio, it probably means that you have not been selected.

Good luck, designers! We can't wait to see what you've got.

Very Small DoomWood Member Release Today!

If you're really on the ball then you've already noticed these but We have added a few more DoomWood Daily quests for Members only today. That will make repping up a little simpler for you members.

Fixes Coming Friday

Yorumi has tracked down the bug which is breaking the stats panel and he is in the process of ironing out the bugs now. Assuming everything is stable that pesky bug should be fixed by Friday at the latest. We will also be rolling a few fixes to the Tower of Necromancy through the week.

Fixes Coming AFTER Friday

Pretty soon we will be adding new server to the selection menu except THIS server will have a tiny little Brazilian flag icon next to it. Since our Brazilian population continues to grow, the time has come for AE's first nation specific server. This will be an English server, exactly like all the rest but hopefully it will be a welcome sight for our new Brazialian players to enter a server where all the other players speak their language!

We would like the make a Barzilian-based NPC and add him or her to the game but we thought we would go to YOU for ideas. If you happen to speak Portuguese, what do you think would be a good name for the NPC/server? Let us know on the FORUMS! Please, no profanity. We WILL check out what the words mean before we consider them.

This is the first step into true localization. It's a small step but who knows where it could lead?

I should also mention that we are working on the SoulWeaver class as the 15 month AQW membership bonus. We've found a workaround for adding new battle effects which might work, so we can finally proceed with that class.

You may remember talking about the Membership Perks before. If you have at least three months of AQW membership (V.I.P X-over from HeroSmash does not count toward the total, must be AQW membership) then you will earn an Achievement Badge and The Battle Tested Axe Master Armor & Helm!

But there's more... If you have had FIFTEEN or more total months of AQW memberships, you will earn a SECOND Achievement Badge and also gain access to the SoulWeaver class (similar to, but not exactly like the DF class of course).

These items are just little perks for people who have supported the game. They all both be FREE NON-MEMBER (set at 0 AC for free storage) itemsOur way of saying Thanks and another Member Only perk, even after your membership has expired.

They won't be ready this Friday, but I wanted you to know that they are still coming. After all, what is constantly updated design document for?

Technically, that sentence should read "After all, for what is an constantly updated design document?" but that just sounds odd.

COMING FRIDAY!

Speaking of Member Only Perks, THIS FRIDAY we are heading back to the Member Only Skyguard Area. I'll save the details for Alina to tell you in future Design Notes posts this week, since she is writing the zone.

We will also be buffing the Player Suggestion Shop with a bevy of Member Only items this Friday.

Father's Day is this Sunday so we will be running the 2011 Father's Day shop from Friday until Monday.

Now that I'm someone's dad I can say... be very nice to your dad.

Lastly, since you guys have been asking for it I was able to talk Zhoom into finding room for 10 more Friends List spaces for everyone, also coming This Friday. Yay, Zhoom!

I Just Noticed...

... That Artix has already written a Design Notes post today. If you're just reading this now, be sure to check out Artix's E3 Review below!

Tags: GUI Interface Designer Artix Member SkyGuard Cysero