He is now standing just inside the entrance to Guardian Tower. Since the beginning of the game, it has stood tall and silent at the top of Battleon, home to the verification shops but not much else.
Finally we have returned to Guardian Tower in this mid-week mini-storyline and given you a real reason to run around there! This story is full of intrigue and suspence as new and interesting aspect of the Guardians will be revealed.
You get to travel to strange and exotic location. It's a cave.
You also get to tie a dude up and question him.
As usual, if you complete the Member Only storyline quests you will unlock a shop full of new armors, weapons and other items all made by SOLRAC (spelled it right this time).
There was some confusion about this release going to the AQ Classic Guardians instead of being AQW Member Only. While we do appreciate AQ Guardians (as displayed by the verification shop and Guardian Only Class, one of the few totally redesigned at your request) but THIS release goes to the AQW Members who support THIS game.
Guardians still get a LOT out the game in which you have upgraded, AQ Classic! :)
Stuff Closing
I've been seeing a lot of questions about when stuff is leaving the game, or happening in the game so here's a quick-n-dirty list.
FEB 6th!Friday the 13th Event Rares, House Shop and chance to get the Friday the 13th Character page Badge will leave on FEB 6th! The rest of the event and the other badge will be permanent additions to the game.
FEB 13th! The nect I CAN HAS MOD contest winner will be selected on FEB 13th. We will try to contact them that day but it may be several days before and IF their wish changes the Golden Cheezburger Deluxe into anything. The Golden Cheezburger Deluxe will also be removed from Cleric Joy's Shop on FEB 13th!
NEAR VALENTINES DAY: The Artix and Sepulchure Action Figures which will be sold at Toys R Us in the US and HeroMart everywhere else, will be going on sale NEAR VALENTINES DAY. That is the closest to an exact date that we can get. These toys come with the Paladin HighLord and Doomknight OverLord classes, armors, weapons, helms, houses and Character Page Achievement Badges respectively.
CORRECTION: I just found out this the Artix and Sepulchure Action Figures will not be released until Late April of this year.
EARLY to MID-OCTOBER: The THEY MIGHT BE GIANTS event will be going rare this year and taking everyything with it, including the Vindicator of They Class (unless we can finagle our way out of the contract) in EARLY to MID-OCTOBER of this year.
NO IDEA: Our newest project, known under the working title AQ3D, will be released when we are done with it. It takes a long time to develop a game (especially a 3D Browser game) and we're just getting started. We have goals set but it's so early in the project that it's really not worth getting your hops up about it yet.
Did we really NOT release PINK versions of the Unicorn pets with last night's release?! An oversight that MUST be rectified! I couldn't go into the Lab on Monday, sit across from Beleen, and tell her we DIDN'T put PINK unicorns in! (Please don't tell Artix. SHHHHHH!)
To that end, I give you:
SO MUCH PINK!!!
Pink Flame Unicorn Pet - 150 AC/member
Pink Robot Unicorn Pet - 25,000 gold member-only
They are both in the Event Rare shop and will disappear forever once the shop leaves!
But remember, you can see Voltaire, Deady, and Andrew rockin' the unicorn vibe under the shadow of Mount Etherstorm whenever you want, because the story is permanent in-game content! And speaking of Andrew's Pink Fluffy Unicorn song...
I can't stop singing it!
I'm going to talk to Warlic and Andrew and see about recording a "Pink Robot Unicorns Prancing with Heroes" cover! See you all Monday!
PS - Don't forget, the next I Can Has Mod contest will be starting soon! Which mod is it this time, you ask? WE DON'T KNOW! Whoever wins the contest will get to pick which mod gets to grant their wish!
The card accurately predicted tonight's special event with Voltaire!But, beware, until midnight tonight, the "... on a Friday the 13th" card from the AQWorlds Card Game is EXTREMELY deadly. (and Deady.) If anyone takes advantage of this and destroys their friend in a game with it -- please let us know! As always you can get the AQWorlds card game at our online store www.HeroMart.com or in-store at U.S. based Toys"R"Us stores (in addition to our 2012 calendar and thingies - look for it in the card game isle with yu-gi-oh and magic.)
With Voltaire and Deady to inspire all of these EPIC items for tomorrow's event, we sure do! The weapons featured in this Design Notes are all Event Rares* and will be sold for ACs, but there's a whole host of Member-only and free player weapons, pets, and armors that will be released tomorrow!
If you're looking to spend your weekend battling fiery foes and are ready to take on a GIANT ROBOT QUEEN, then this is your lucky Friday the 13th!
Tomorrow's event (Part 1 of 3 Friday the 13th events in 2012) will feature such event rares as:
Voltaire's Chalice, Voltaire's Flaming Tophat, and Voltaire's Black Unicorn!**
The AC Event Rare house shop items will include:
Voltaire's Black Unicorn (yard item)
Burning Tree Trunk (yard item)
Friday the 13th Event Poster (wall item)
Event Rare armors will feature:
SteamKnight Armor
Unicorn Crooner Armor
Steamed Punk Armor
* That means they'll only be available for a limited time! ** Voltaire's Armor will NOT be sold, sorry! There can only be ONE goth-pirate musician!
Unicorn Crooner Armor, Steamed Punk Armor, Obsidian Axe, Mini Magma Dragon!
Among the Event Rare pets, you'll find:
Voltaire's Black Unicorn Pet
Miniature Magma Dragon (member-only)
Amethyst Flame Unicorn
Molten Destruction Blade, Chained Magma Sword, ClockWork Gun, SteamSaw Blade
Event Rare weapons will showcase:
Voltaire's Chalice
Obsidian Axe
SteamSaw Blade
Chained Magma Sword
ClockWork gun
Molten Destruction Blade (color custom)
And more!
If you've read Artix's AQ3D Design Notes today, you'll see that many of the people in the Secret Underground Lab have caught the Lab Plague. Cysero and Samba were out today recuperating, though Samba sick-swayed through animating half of the cutscenes! Cysero cranked out some of the event's NPCs while on the road to recovery, and I was down for the count earlier in the week.
I guess you could say we've been working "feverishly" on this event! /gong
PS: Believe it or not, one of the most time-consuming parts about writing the Design Notes is not the writing itself. It's gathering art assets and making up the graphics. Sorry for the late Notes.
We've begun testing the class that Vader Darkside wish for and we've reached a point where I am comfortable enough with the existing version to tell do the Skills Breakdown for you.
Before we get into it let me say that it's a REAL pain coming up with a concept, art, testing, tweaking and balancing an entirely new class from scratch in a week. Makes it about 10 times worse when we're ALSO trying to get a special event like Friday the 13th out on the same day. Vader Darkside's WISH was just so generous that it made us really want to do right by him. Darkside, I hope you are happy with what we've come up with!
A Few Facts About The Darkside Class.
Origin:Vader Darkside was the winner of the 2nd round of the I CAN HAS MOD contest. He wished that Cysero's Golden Cheezburger be transformed into a pet class that is good for farming which members and non-mebers alike could use.
How To Obtain: In order to get the class you need to have Cysero's Golden Cheezburger which was sold from Cleric Joy for about a month before the contest ended. The Class will not be sold for ACs or gold anywhere in the game. No burger, no class.
Addons: When designing the class art, Dage The Evil also designed a really nice Hood and Weapon for the class. These items will be obtainable from Dage's Legion Shop for hard-to-get tokens. The Golden Cheezburger item itself will turn into the class.
Release Date: We will be releasing it this Friday the 13th! Tell your friends (So they will quit asking over Twitter and on the forums)!
Enhancement: Vader Darkside wished for a caster class so this guy does all magical damage. I highly suggest Wizard Enh, but feel free to experiment and let us know what combo you like!
DARKSIDE CLASS SKILL SET
Vader Darkside wished for a class with a lot of AOE (Area Of Effect, or Multi-hit) attacks which was not as strong as Necro but still a good solid farming class. I think that is just what we've built for him.
That means that while this class is GREAT for taking on lots of monsters at once, it's not great at bosses. It has some skills that will be useful in PvP but I wouldn't recommend this as a PvP class.
AUTO ATTACK
2 second cooldown
A basic attack taught to all adventurers.
You've all seen this before. But it's interesting to note that both you AND your pet auto attack at the same time. This doesn't give any damage increase as the average AA damage is spread out between both of you.
BLOOD BOIL
25 mana, 15 second cooldown
Summons your Battle pet or focuses your anger through your pet to DOUBLE their damage for a short time.
You know what this is if you've ever played Necro or Horc Evader. If you don't have a pet equipped (Battle Pet or even a normal pet) then it will summon the Hate Wolf to your side. If you already have the Hate Wolf or some other Battle Pet summoned, then it's a REALLY nice buff. I suggest using this after you have a few stacks of Deep Rage built up. We'll get into that in a second.
DARK POWER
15 mana, 6 second cooldown
You strike out at your foes with arcing energy, doing light damage and applying Deep Rage to all foes hit. Damage increases with stacks of Deep Rage which stacks up to 5 times.
We couldn't built a caster class for a guy named VADER DARKSIDE without adding lightening shooting from your hands! This is your go-to skill. The cooldown is rather long for a skill that applies a stacking aura but since you can hit multiple foes you can get 3 or even 4 stacks at once. Then activate Blood Boil and BOOM, big hits and bigger crits on everything in sight.
BLINDING PAIN
25 mana, 10 second cooldown
Light damage to all enemies, 25% chance to stun all enemies in range for 4 seconds and reduces enemy damage. Damage reduction increases with stacks of Deep Rage.
This is your damage mitigation spell. Use it when things are getting hairy to reduce incoming damage, do a little of your own damage on the side and possibly stun one, several or ALL of the enemies you are facing. It's not too costly and it only has a 10 second cooldown which means you should use it often if you want to be successful.
BLOOD RUSH & TERRIFYING MIGHT
Rank 4 passive
Increase Haste by 10%
Incerase Damage by 10%
Pretty basic Rank 4 passives here. Do more damage and do it faster than before. The haste buff comes in handy for the next skill.
RENEWAL SPELL
30 second cooldown
Requires at least one stack of Deep Rage. Restores some Health and Mana but reduces Haste severely for a short time. Health, Mana and Haste Reduction increase based on stacks of Deep Rage.
This spell pretty much ensures that you never need to stop farming. Ever. Notice that it has NO mana cost. Just click it and you get Health and Mana back but you HAVE to know when to use it. If you let your life or mana get too low before you use it, the Haste Reduction will get you killed by whatever mob of monsters you have attacking you from all sides. Use it right and you are an unstopable farming machine!
LASH OUT
Rank 10 passive
You can no longer contain your rage. It explodes from you in a magical wave. All enemies in range take high damage. Consumes all stacks of Deep Rage.
Here's the cherry on top. Small % to proc this spell which devestates anyone or anything in your area.
There you have it. The first new AQW class of 2012, courtesy of fellow player Vader Darkside!
We will continue testing the class for the next two days so some of the cooldown or mana costs might change in the final version, but this a pretty solid class right now so I don't expect big changes, if any are required at all.
We will be starting a new I CAN HAS MOD contest soon. We will announce when it begins, and this time you will be able to PICK which Mod or Dev you want to hang out with (based on availability of that person). Cleric Joy will once again be selling some kind of Golden Cheezburger and once again we strongly advise you to HANG ONTO THE ITEM. You never know what the next winner will wish for!
To help ensure flawless tracking of the next Golden Cheezburger in your inventory it will be sold for 1 single AC. Remember that you can get FREE ACs from Ballyhoo or from doing AExtras, so one single AC should not be a problem for anyone.
Friday The 13th!
Only two days (not counting today) until our next Friday the 13th special event featuring rock god and all around cool guy, Voltaire!
This story will be based on a few of the songs from his newest album. The event will become a PERMENANT ADDITION to the game but like all special events, will feature an Event Rare Shop featuring some very special items (including the latest version of Voltaire's Hat) so now might be a good time to spend some of those AdventureCoins that you got for the holidays.
This will also be a chance for our new players to unlock the Friday the 13th Character Page Badge but will also unlock a brand NEW Badge for completing the storyline!
FIRE in the hole*! Flaming unicorns, exploding volcanos, fire elementals, fire spirits... this is going to be one HOT Friday the 13th! Forget sunscreen -when a GIANT MECHANICAL ROBOT** attacks a town on the other side of Mount Etherstorm***, you're going to want an asbestos suit to protect you from the heat!
And it just wouldn't be Friday the 13th without one of AQWorlds' favorite musical guests and his sidekick, Voltaire and Deady! Voltaire's idea on how to deal with this mechanized menace - not to mention his flaming top-hat - are really going to get you fired up this weekend! And did I mention the UNICORN****? I did? Good.
Trot it like it's hot.
We'll be introducing a host of new NPCs, including King (so royal he does not permit his subjects to use his name) and Lieutenant (who wishes to mock King Aldebaran so much he goes only by his rank).
Pictured: NPC too cool for names.
They'll be integral parts in understanding just what made this missile-shooting mecha miss go mad! If you can't stop her, not only the town below Mount Etherstorm will be threatened! With some epicly steam(punk)y rewards in the AC Event Rares shop and as drops, including the Flaming Voltaire Top-hat and the Baby Flaming Black Unicorn pet, this is one event you won't want to miss!
And be sure to turn the music UP, UP, UP because 3 of Voltaire's most incredible songs - including "Riding a Black Unicorn Down the Side of an Erupting Volcano While Drinking from a Chalice Filled with the Laughter of Small Children" - will rock you through this release!
* Also, the whole zone! ** Yes, mechanical robot. Stressing the "mechanical" nature. Today's robots are full of computer chips and almost-magical techno-wizardry.This one is not. *** While this event will take part on the other side of Mount Etherstorm, it will not be a part of the Etherstorm/Desoloth storyline. **** NOT talking about the fluffy pink variety, either. No sir.
Progress On Darkside Class
You may have read this already in Cysero's Design Notes yesterday, but Vader Darkside won round 2 of I CAN HAS MOD and wished for a non-member farming class.
We're calling it the Darkside class! Cysero promised you guys that he would post pics as soon as he had some and here they are.
As Vader Darkside wished, this class will focus on attacking many enemies at once to help people who like to grind and farm for rep or special farming rewards in the Dage and Nulgath areas.
Here is a closer look at the armor.
Dage also made a really nice helm for the armor but Cysero's Golden Cheezburger is only one item so it can only turn into one item, and that is the class. Dage is considering adding the hood to his own Legion Shop later.
Vader Darkside also wished that the class be a PET class. All pet classes have the ability to summon their own custom Battle Pet or Members can equip other battle Pets that they can buy around the game. The Darkside class will be able to summon the Hate Wolf.
This Arcane canine is not only the Darkside's constant companion, it is also the focus for his or her magic, allowing their rage and malice to flow through their pet to achieve maximum magical devestation.
A few appear to be confused on some of the finer points of the class so we'll clear them up now.
Vader Darkside wished for Cysero's Golden Cheezburger to turn into a pet based class that anyone can use. When he said "anyone can use" he meant a non-member class. He did not mean that anyone would be able to obtain the class. That's why he specifically wished that the Cheezburger turn into the class.
A lot of people are saying that they "lost" the Golden Cheezburger item. We've checked many of the accounts claiming this and found that none of them ever had it in our records. Some of you might have deleted it accidentally, some of you may have forgotten that you deleted it, and some of you are trying to acquire the class unethically. We're sorry if this actually did happen to you (anything is possible) but no Golden Cheezburgers will be given out.
The class will also not be sold for ACs. This was all part of the contest wish and the item itself even tells you to hang onto it. If you missed out this time, hopefully you won't next time.
As Cysero mentioned, we will TRY to get the class out by Friday. This timeframe is not a promise but we DO promise to try our best to get it out BY FRIDAY.
Once the class has been tested and balanced so that no further changes need to be made we will post a skills breakdown here on the Design Notes like we would with any other class.
Congrats again to Vader Darkside, and well done on this very selfless wish! The ICHM (I CAN HAS MOD) contest will begin sometime after the Darkside Class has been released and the next Golden Cheezburger will once again be availible from Cleric Joy's shop in Battleon.
Remember that Members and non-members can wish this contest but you can increase your chances by being a member or completing whatever AExtras are availible and offered in your region of the world.
I Spent A Couple of Hours With The Winner This Weekend.
HE asked that we not reveal his name until after he made his wish, but now that he has made his wish I can tell you that he was a non-member named Vader Darkside.
He is a really cool guy! We just sat around talking for the first half hour or so. That might have been because it was 8 AM for me and 2 AM for him (he lives in New Zealand, 18 hours away from the lab). He asked some questions and let me know about a few bugs that needed fixing.
Then he wanted to use his temporary mod status to go visit some of the locked events and see the Member stuff that he was missing out on.
Eventuatually he wanted to go around and fight some of the strongest monsters in the game together!
But I suppose that you guys want to know what his wish was...
Vader Darkside's Wish
Here it is!
Here are the details. This guys LOVES farming the harder areas of the game and earning the hard-to-earn rewards. He wanted a non-member pet class geared toward farming (so lots of multi-hit AOE attacks... Funny that I just asked about that over Twitter). He doesn't want it to complete with Necro but strong enough to get the job done quick and easy. The appearance, he said, should look like an evil caster. I amd working on the skill set and Dage The Evil is working on the art right now and we will post it here on the Design Notes as soon as we have something to show you.
As per Vader Darkside's wish, Cysero's Golden Cheezburger will transform into a brand new rare battle pet class that anyone can use as soon as we have it complete and tested. It will be called the Darkside class!
We told you to hang onto that item!
Since granting a free non-member pet class to everyone who entered the contest is a pretty amazingly selfless wish, Vader Darkside was rewarded with a year Membership (so he can keep enjoying the areas and mid-week releases he explored while he was a mod). I also gave him 50,000 ACs. Finally, He has been trying to earn the Vindicator of They class since we released it so I gave him the earned version of the class (already rank 10) and gave him the rest of the Vindicator set!
A class is a pretty involved wish since we need to come up with the skills as well as the art, animate the summon pet, and test the whole thing before we release it so this won't happen today. We have a lot on out plate with Friday the 13th this week but we will TRY and get this thing up and out by Friday for you.
Any hopes of a mid-week release this week are totally shot.
Friday the 13th!
This Friday, Voltaire and Deady return with a brand new Friday the 13th story! The story will be a permanent addition to the Etherstorm Wastes but, as usual, there WILL be an Event Rare Shop and you will be able to earn the Friday the 13th Badge for a short time.
The Event will have AC rares in the Event Rare Shop, Member only content and lots of stuff and a great story for all players, not to mention all new voice acting and songs from Voltaire!
This Friday the 13th is a lucky one for you!
Funniest Line In AQW?
We need YOUR help for this one. We are looking for some fun stuff from AQW to slap onto some AE T-Shirts and we want to know what funny or membrable lines or moments from AQW stick out in your mind.
This isn't a contest nor a vote. We're just asking for opinions and any feedback that you give us will be appreciated!
Fire and Air spawn flaming tornados. Rivers of burning lava-water flow freely. The Etherstorm volcano, long inactive – merely a symbol of the Fire Dragon’s element – has erupted to life. The very stones of the earth are burning. All this you must contend with when you go to save Etherstorm Wastes from the fury of Desoloth the Final - a mighty dragon possessing the power of the four Prime Elements!
The four new Prime Dragons MUST be raised!
Can you help the Dravix Priests stop Desoloth and raise four new Prime Dragons to ascend to their places on the DragonPlane? Galanoth and Warlic will come to your aid, but YOU must be the one to execute the plan to take Desoloth down, and there's a LOT of work to do before that happens!
The Etherstorm Rep shop (located by Hs'Sakar in /firestorm) will contain some hot, hot items! But you'll also find some epic drops on the fiery monsters this week!
Red Dragon Armor
3 Red Dragon Helms
3 Fire Dragon Swords
PyroPriest Armor
2 PyroPriest Capes
Firestorm Dragon Wings
Firestorm Baby Dragon Pet
Bucket of Lava Mace
Suit of Living Flames
And more!
Suggestion Shop Update!
It's been a while since our last shop update, and you guys have been very vocal in your requests to introduce more suggestions into the game. And that's what we've done! Solrac has taken some epic art and re-worked it into AQW's style.
Legend Armor, Chaorrupted Skeleton Sword and Bladed Cannon and Shield!
Stratos goes through the Suggestion threads once or twice a month and sends on likely art for the AQW artists to check out. If your art hasn't made it in yet, keep on showing it off, because we're always looking for more!
Holidays End Monday!
Frostval is always a cheerful time of year, but we've got to get back into battle-mode, because the Year of Chaos has begun! That means on Monday, the following things will leave for another year:
Beleen's NPC and the non-rare pinkified items WILL be staying, but she'll be moving to a new, random place in Lore. You'll have to find her if you want to buy what she's got to sell!
Lolosia needs Yarrrrrr!
Members got another mid-week update this past Wednesday! Head to Lolosia to find a boatload of undead trouble! That Captain 00000beard really means business! If you think you can handle it without being made to walk the plank, you'll be rewarded with doubloons aplenty!
Friday the 13th is coming in ONE week!
If you haven't seen Voltaire riding a flaming black unicorn down an erupting volcano, you haven't REALLY experienced the catastrophe Friday the 13th creates! But the first unlucky event of three in 2012 will not be what you're expecting! We're breaking the mold, grinding some gears and busting some heads - and it all starts one week from today!
Voltaire returns, things get REALLY hot, unicorns unicorns unicorns (!!!), and so much more! Check back on Monday for more details and concept art!
Have a great weekend, guys! Rest up, relax, get your chill on. You're going to need your energy, because we've got a CRAZY list of events and releases planned for 2012, and it's all starting NOW!
It is hilarious that to our gaming community, Voltiare has become a greater iconic figure of Friday the 13th than the hockey mask-wearing Jason Voorheese. Ooooooh, I wonder who would win in a supernatural creep-off fight between them? (Oh yes, that is the official Twitter question. It should be assumed that Voltaire has Deady... and probably access to various Star Trek and Star Wars technology.) So NEXT WEEK is Friday the 13th... and we will be summoning Voltiare in-game (probably by standing in a dark room and saying his name three times in front of a mirror) where he will appear and hopefully play his new song "Riding a Black Unicorn Down the Side of an Erupting Volcano While Drinking from a Chalice Filled with the Laughter of Small Children." (Yes, that is really the name of the song.)
Voltaire says he wrote this song after he asked his fans on Facebook how to describe his music. One person responded, "Your music is like Riding a Black Unicorn Down the Side of an Erupting Volcano While Drinking from a Chalice Filled with the Laughter of Small Children!" Voltaire had one of those "YES!!!!!!" moments... and named his new album and hit song after it. Note: All of the songs in Voltaire's new album, except for the 3 we are using for the upcoming event, are strictly for fans age 15+. However.... fans of all ages can get his special, um, "dark, funny and all age appropriate" album, Spooky Songs for Creepy Kids... read some reviews.
Voltaire was not the only person to create a Unicorn-themed song based on recommendations from his fans. In fact, the artist who made the song in the next video has the EXACT same story. But our Friday the 13th would be a whole lot creepier if this rising youtube starappeared in it O_O
Galanoth: Why would you post that? Artix: Um... someone posted it on Voltaires wall. I thought it was funny. Galanoth: You are going to upset all the anti-bronies. Artix: ... Galanoth: In fact, posting that may have actually moved the end of the world up from December 22nd! Artix: LOL! OK, you are right. I will take it down. Artix: Um... ok, I cannot figure out how to remove a youtube video from a post.? Artix: OH MAN... IT IS STUCK ON AUTO LOOP! Artix: ZHOOOOOOOOOOOM! HELP!!!!!!!!!!! Rolith: *laughs in the distance*
The new Friday the 13th event is next Friday (only 8 days away.) All of the holiday mega releases really crunched us. We have never had this little time to do an event - so it is going to be a real challenge to see what we can do. Cysero, I talked with Voltaire last night and got a concept. Alina is writing the script now. This event will most likely be three segments long. But you can bet your bottom gold coin that we will be riding a Black Unicorn down the side of an Erupting Volcano! (Wait... or will we?) AQWorlds is so unpredictable.
Power up, Heroes, because the BATTLE will begin this Friday! Epic 1v1 PVP action in the all-new DoomWood arena will see you fighting for gold, for honor, and for the chance to deal massive damage to your opponents! Do YOU have what it takes to dominate the Arena and receive wicked challenge-rewards? Find out this weekend!
The DoomWood Arena is a lead-in to the upcoming release of the zone's twisted tale- written by Artix. Think you're familiar with the Necropolis and the forces of Light and Darkness from their DragonFable days? Get ready to be schooled.
Player Suggestion Shop Shines
Are you an artist or idea-crafter? Do you just KNOW that your design for a weapon is amazing, and that everyone in Lore should be able to wield it? Then you need to post your suggestions in the AQW Suggestions forum!
This week we'll be updating the Player Suggestion shop with brand new gear, goodies, and equips dreamed up and designed by you and your fellow players! If you haven't shared an idea with us yet, now's the time to get sharin'!
Two Weeks Left to Unlock the Vorutanian Key
Wield the most Owerful-Pay weapon in the Orld-Way, the Vorutanian Key blade! How to get it, you ask? Easy!
Method 1: Log in now to smash your way through steampunk cowboys and undead aliens in the ultimate battle to save Lore and capture the Key!
Method 2: Voltaire is selling hand-made copies of the Vorutanian Keyblade as necklaces along with CDs of the music from the event! Check them out on our Event page!
You'd better hurry, because the event will only be around for another 2 weeks! After that, all those epic in-game rares are gone for good,* and we won't have another Friday the 13th event until January of 2012!
* Except the Keyblade necklaces, those will still be on sale through Voltaire.
And if you enjoyed the music from the event (we sure did!), then why not check out the rest of the songs on Voltaire's CD? "Hate Lives in a Small Town" features a WILD world of kickin' country-folk music like:
1 Hate Lives in a Small Town
2 All Women Are Crazy
3 Stubborn As a Mule
4 You Married a Fool
5 When You're Dead
6 Churchyard
7 Fear and Anguish
8 Normal For a Man
9 On the Road
ALSO AVAILABLE from Voltaire
Deady "Big in Japan" and "Urkor Malravenus" vinyl dolls! You saw them in our Friday the 13th event. Now these out-of-this-world vinyl figures are back ready to take action; all YOU need to bring is your imagination!
For us, it's going to be a week full of high-powered planning, rapid-fire arting, and clearing up the last of this weekend's undead invasion (they came with video cameras and stage-lighting, Artix? WEIRD!)! For YOU, though... We're giving you a week to prepare to meet your Doom(wood) in the Arena this Friday! Time to get (stat) training!
Especially THIS weekend, when our wildest, deady-liest, most ship-shape Friday the 13th event yet kicks off! Featuring music from Voltaire's newest CD- "Hate Lives in a Small Town"- the event will rock ALL your worlds, from the desert you remember to an alien planet you should have never discovered!
So join us at sunset this Friday the 13th for a wild-west country-fest of an event happening RIGHT HERE and filled with out-of-this-world antics, epic rare gear, and the revelation of Deady's TRUE form!
And speaking of epic rare gear...
The Boogie Man is going to get you! (Unless you equip this armor first.) Made by Mennace, the Boogie Man set includes a nightmarish armor, a horrifying helm, and a sword that will slash the creepycrawlies that try to invade your dreams at night.
But that's not all the loot we've got for you! (It's only the gear that was turned in today.) Expect more armors, more items, and more weapons of bad-luck destruction! (That's a weapon that will take down unlucky monsters, don'cha know.) An AC Event Rare shop packed with items will also haunt your dreams- and your log-ins!
Friday the 13th: Warning sign
All good friggatriskaidekaphobics (people afraid of Friday the 13th) should know how to tell when one is coming up! The dreaded day occurs at least once a year in the Gregorian calendar and, at most, three times a year. Any month starting on a Sunday will have a Friday the 13th.
The more you know... the more you can plan for undead invasions, unwelcome incursions, and unexpected attacks!
You make your own luck
Friday the 13th might be coming, but we're not going to let superstitions stop us! I've got a black cat and Cysero has broken his fair share of mirrors during his years as a mad weaponsmith, and we're still good to go.
So whether you believe in bad luck or scoff at the superstitious, we'll see you on Twitter, the forums, and Facebook right up until sunset Friday. Once the sun goes down... who knows?*
Play on, pardners!
*Artix knows. He says, "You'll be playing the release, just like the rest of us!" Guess that answers THAT question!
This weekend is Mother's day! (Do something special to show how much your love her!) Next weekend... it will be FRIDAY THE 13TH!!! This is the ONLY Friday the 13th of the year, so we... are going all out! Prepare for a completely insane special event and... oh yes.... as predicted on this card from the AQWorlds Card Game...
...the return of VOLTAIRE and his super-cuddly and evil teddy bear friend, DEADY! But this brand-new Friday the 13th event will feature more than just all-new music, areas, monsters and items... you will get a glimpse of Deady's true form. Dunn dunn dunnnn!
The History of Friday the 13th
Amongst the superstitious, Friday the 13th is a super-unlucky day... ranking up there with breaking mirrors, walking under a ladder, or having a black cat walk across your path. Did you know there is even a fear of Friday the 13th, scientifically called Paraskevidekatriaphobia? Many players have asked me what is the legend and lore behind this day. (And more specifically... how come we do our largest, most complicated releases on what is supposed to be the unluckiest day of the year?)
In real-life history, on Friday the 13th, October 1307, the Knights Templar were completely wiped out by order of King Philip IV. (Sort of like how the Jedi were wiped out in Episode III by the Emperor's order 66.) Other notable reasons involve the combined unluckiness of both the number 13 (Note: Drakath has 13 Lords of Chaos) and day Friday itself (There is probably a good Rebecca Black joke to make here.) In the past 30 years, Friday the 13th was most-popularized by the scary movie series of the same name. This series was also responsible for making hockey masks an icon of spookiness!
In DragonFable, we were running our second undead invasion and it happened to take place on Friday the 13th. Players were surprised and laughing when they found that all 1 million undead were wearing hockey masks. It was our first major in-game parody of a movie. Players were used to fighting a large wave of undead monsters, so it was pretty funny when they eventually got the joke wave consisting of one... lone.... skeleton. His name was Chuckles. (Funny how everything is inter-related!)
Ever since, doing funny events on Friday the 13th became a tradition that our entire community looks forward to. It can happen one to three times a year. Each time we try to top the previous event. Two years ago we did our first live event with Voltaire on Friday the 13th. An article about it even appeared in a gaming magazine about how we crashed the servers. This coming Friday the 13th promises to be the best yet... and not just in AdventureQuest Worlds. DragonFable is doing something that is going to change.... everything! Get ready, friends!
Friday the 13th has passed… but the PINK nightmare is still a reality! Don’t believe me? …uhhh have you seen the length of this post? Well you soon will if you haven’t already scrolled down a bit…
Alright, let’s get right to it. Last Friday… if you missed it by some horrendously unlucky reason… we shared the BIGGEST, BESTEST, and CRAZIEST event to date with over 34,000 of our closest friends! That’s right; since the dawning of AQWorlds, we have NEVER had a higher turnout of players! Thanks for helping make history with us!
With so much awesome going on in game… we had a crazy thing happen over here at the Lab. This was where the “bad luck” of Friday the 13th came into play (hehee, get it, cuz it’s a game that we all play…uhh…). We have had our servers crash before while hosting these crazy Events… but ummmm last Friday, we sorta brought down the ENTIRE gaming network. Ahaha, WHOOPS! If you were online around 8pm EST on Friday, then you might have noticed not only AQW going offline… but also DragonFable, MechQuest, EpicDuel, and the original AQ.
Needless to say… that was pretty epic.
A few minutes later, we got all the serves up and running again, and the entire Lab was filled with /cheers of over-caffeinated joy for managing to release this Event without any other mishaps.
…or so we thought.
Achievements & J6’s Invisible Items that are no longer invisible
Friday the 13th Achievement Badges have been given to those of you who have traveled to Ranger Lowe’s campsite. If you have been around for previous Friday the 13th Events, then your badge is already on your Character Page. Friday the 13th Achievement Badge can be obtained until this Friday, August 20th, so if you don’t have yours yet… get it before it’s too late… or wait until another Friday the 13th rolls back around!
The Stubborn Achievement was supposed to be set to “100 times”, not 10… and from here on out, the achievement has been changed accordingly. So if you were one of the few to get the badge after only 10 times… Gratz! And if you have absolutely no idea what I’m talking about… ask a fellow “stubborn” player!
And for some strange reason… the 5 RARE weapons that J6 made somehow vanished from the AC Event Shop. We have no idea where they went to, but it is confirmed that they are now back in the shop, ready for purchase. Speaking of items… the Rare Friday the 13th Items will be taken out this upcoming Friday, so make sure you get all the Rares you can while you still can!
Spoiler Alert!
Since this post isn’t nearly long enough, let’s get into some juicy details in this week’s upcoming release! We are finally ready to journey to the magical realm of Arcangrove. Arcangrove has always been a powerful place, home to ancient magi who built their renowned tower on its land. The Arcangrove Tower has become the center for all magical research and study in all the lands surrounding Battleon.
But as of late… something has gone horribly amiss with the magical energies. What started as a small quiver in their power has become an outright earthquake. The magi are losing their handle on the forces of nature and the power of magic itself. Unless something is done soon… it could mean the end of all magic on Lore. (Lim pipes in with: SCIENCE!)
Things to possibly watch out for while making your journey through Arcangrove:
Seed Spitters—big, bad carnivorous plants that attack with a barrage of bullet seeds
Gorillaphant—half gorilla half elephant hybrid, first discovered in DragonFable
Magical Pet companions
Battlemage Armor (idk if I was supposed to keep that secret?)
An assortment of Staves and Swords embedded with magic energies
And Chaos Lord… oh no no no wait, I’m not giving THAT sort of info out just yet >:D
Since it is Monday, I can’t surprise you with any spoiler pics. Why? Well the week only just begun, and even though our artists are super amazing… no one can work that fast, not even with a +20 agility boost.
OH but wait, there’s more! Due to popular request, the Player Suggestion Shop will be receiving a bunch of new items suggested by you and your fellow adventurers. We have so many great, talented artists out there that it was hard to narrow down our selection.
If your item gets selected and put in game… congratulations! But if not, then don’t give up! There are so many amazing ideas out there and we just don’t have the willpower to make them all. So keep on tryin’ and maybe one day you’ll see your beloved masterpiece in game!
My DerpFish made it in, after all. LOL!
So is that it? Probably not. But once Artix sees this post of mine… can you say Chainsaw Eyes, maybe? YIKES!
Hi guys, sorry, the J6 weapons were added to the Event Rare shop as promised YESTERDAY! Don't know how they escaped! Derp!
We've been getting a LOT of great feedback on the event. We're really glad that you weren't terrified by the completely random odyessy that became this Friday the 13th Event.
Kimberly was so impressed by you guys during her Live Event that she wrote and recorded the song Battle On which you can hear in her area of the event. She has also said that if you donate $5 for any full One-Eyed Doll album, you get the Battle On song as a bonus! Check it out here.
Thanks for playing and we hope you keep enjoying the event. Have you found all the secrets yet?
Brace yourself for the biggest and WIERDEST event in the history of our game. The event is now live and available for all players. A bonus zone has been added for members featuring out-takes from the voice recording with George Lowe. There are 6 maps, a gazillion cutscenes, and tons of items, rares and quests... we hope you have as much fun playing it as we had creating it for you!
Are you are unable to access the event... or is a map not loading? It is likely you have a half-download file stuck in your browser. Try completely closing your browser. Then after opening it, clear your temporary internet files (in the options.) Then play!
Tomorrow at 6pm SUGT (Secret Underground Lab Time... which also happens to be EST if you happen to be up there... on the surface.) the Friday the 13th special event will begin! Well, that is the plan. We are desperately behind schedule, overwhelmed with bugs... and low on caffeine. With only one day left to build all of the remaining monsters, cutscenes, item shops and quests.... *gulps* hmmm. You know, we should make a documentary about one of these releases for you. It would be titled "Crazy guys and cute girls looking very panicked while staring intently at their computers... which are crashing... and then a zombie apocalypse broke out and they had to change the release to save the world from DOOOOM.... and there was cake." If this is your first time joining us for a major event... hold on to your helms. Tomorrow is going to be unpredictable. I will post a live play-by-play on the homepage for you. You will know what is happening (going wrong) every 15 minutes or so leading up to the start of the event. It is customary to watch in horror as everything we do falls apart minutes before the release in front of an audience of 30,000 players. Superstitious or not.... the problem with this release is it is actually happening on Friday the 13th!
Forum Topic: Feel free to wish Beleen, Miko, Miltonius, J6, Cysero, Llussion and the rest of the AQWorlds team good lu...... er.... wait. You can use any creative way you can think of (even making up your own words), but whatever you do, do not use the word "Luck"! I will start. "AQWorlds team - may the cake be with you.... always!"
AUTO ATTACK
BLOOD BOIL
DARK POWER
BLINDING PAIN
BLOOD RUSH & TERRIFYING MIGHT
RENEWAL SPELL
Pictured: NPC too cool for names.
Legend Armor, Chaorrupted Skeleton Sword 
The DoomWood Arena is a lead-in to the upcoming release of the zone's twisted tale- written by Artix. Think you're familiar with the Necropolis and the forces of Light and Darkness from their DragonFable days? Get ready to be schooled.
