New class skills including group heals!
After extensive testing on the Public Test Realm, AQW 1.0 is now available. This update includes a wide range of new features, which you can learn about here. You may also want to read through our Player Handbook, available at http://aq.com/info/handbook/
Stats
AQW has a newly designed stats system, which is designed to help make gear choices more fun without placing so much emphasis on stats that newer players are left out.
Our system focuses on the standard stats found in most RPGS: Strength, Intellect, Dexterity, Wisdom, Endurace, and Luck. We also have the following secondary stats: Attack Power, Magic Power, Critical Strike Chance, Haste, Evasion Chance, Critical Strike Value, and Hit Chance.
Your character always has some baseline stats, which change depending on what class you currently are. In additional, equippable items may give you additional stats through their Enhancements, which are described below.
In general, Strength and Dexterity are for physical classes, while Intellect and Wisdom are for caster classes. For more information, please consult the Character Overview Panel in-game by hitting "c" or clicking on the "Character Panel" icon on the main menu in the lower right corner of the screen.
Enhancements
In order for most items to be equipped (other than pets, costumes, amulets, and potions), they must first be Enhanced. Enhancements apply stat values to items, which are then applied to your character when you equip them.
Enhancements must be purchased from stores throughout the game. Your class trainer will offer a "smart shop", offering you Enhancements suitable for your level. Non-upgraded Enhancements are only offered for one slot per level (completing a set every 4 levels), whereas member-only Enhancements are available for every slot at every level, with a slight bonus as well.
Enhancements will be a major part of the game from now on, and will be focused on in "end game" areas that will be designed for players at the level cap (currently 30).
Please consult the Player Handbook for more information about the Enhancement process itself at http://aq.com/info/handbook/enhance.asp
Level Cap
The new level cap in 1.0 is 30. Players will find that quests reward substantially more experience than they used to, and that experience requirements per level have been lowered. Leveling is generally much easier up to level 20. We will be adding content to help people reach 30 in our weekly releases. Each time the level cap is raised in the future, we'll follow a similar pattern of making it easy to get to the old level cap, and challenging to get to the new one.
PvP
AQW 1.0 allows PvP, although we are not releasing content for this feature immediately. Adding new PvP areas is our top priority right now. When they are available, PvP areas will be accessible through the PvP Queue, which is a new feature of the user interface (UI hereafter).
PvP is restricted to designated areas only; it is not possible to simply attack other players anywhere.
Information about rewards will be available as the content comes out.
Combat mechanics have been modified extensively for version 1.0. You will find a lot of helpful information for your class on the Character Overview Panel in-game by hitting "c" or clicking on the "Character Panel" icon on the main menu in the lower right corner of the screen.
One major hilight of the new system is mana regeneration. All classes now have a fixed mana pool of 100 MP. Each special action costs a certain number of points to use, and all classes have some way of earning mana while in combat so that they can fight for much longer than was previously possible. Please check the Character Overview panel for tips about how to regenerate mana for your current class.
You will also find that some attacks are now AoE ("Area of Effect") attacks. Examples include the Proto Sartorium's Arc Lightning, which bounces between monsters and deals more damage with each bounce, or the Healer's Healing Word, which now also heals friendly units around the main target for a small amount.
We have also added a global cooldown to all abilities other than AutoAttack. This means that every time you use an ability, all abilities will be on cooldown for 1.5 seconds. This is primarily done to limit burst damage in PvP, where a class with many direct damage abilities such as Berserker could otherwise unload a huge amount of damage on a target almost instantly.
Healing has been made much easier with the inclusing of a Healing Icon. The Icon will pop up over any player who has just taken more than 10% of their HP in damage, or who is below 50% health, if you are playing a class that has a primary heal spell (currently only Paladins and Healers, but more are coming). Clicking this icon will automatically heal that player. This makes Healers much more group-friendly, which is important, because you will need them now.
On a related note, bosses are angry about all the improvements to player classes, and are now hitting a lot harder than they used to. Players are strongly encouraged to try classes with strong enemy damage rection (like the Mage's Ice Shard and the Frozen Blood aura it leaves), and/or strong healing.
Every ability in the game has been adusted to match the new mana system and damage potential of players with significant mana regeneration. Details are broken out below.
We now have potions and spell scrolls in AQW. You may notice that your last action on the action bar is a greyed-out slot that says you can equip consumable items to use them there. These items would include things like Health Potions, or say Scroll of Chain Lightning. You can equip them from your inventory, and then this action will attempt to use the item to cast a spell.
Out-of-combat HP and MP regeneration has been added, reducing the need to /rest as frequently.
As described above in Combat Mechanics, all classes have undergone significant changes. These changes serve several purposes:
- Make all classes stronger, longer lasting, faster, and more interactive
- Balance the class against other classes in the new mana and combat system
- Give the class a role, since you can easily change classes
- Give the class a strength and a weakness in PvP
That said, the main purpose of all of the class development was to make them stronger and more fun to play overall. We think we have done a good job, and the overall reaction from PTR players was very strong. However, these changes are not necessarily carved in stone, and classes may be adjusted in reaction to player feedback, as well as our own assessment of design goals and how well they are being met.
Coming soon. For more information, please consult the Character Overview Panel in-game by hitting "c" or clicking on the "Character Panel" icon on the main menu in the lower right corner of the screen. You will see mana regeneration tips, stat recommendations, and ability descriptions for your current class.
The Inventory and Shop panels have been completely rebuilt. This new layout is designed to make critical information much clearer and easier to find, while also allowing the new Enhancement process to be as simple and informative as possible. Please consult the Player Handbook for more information about the Enhancement process itself at http://aq.com/info/handbook/enhance.asp
The chat frame can now be hidden, or expanded to fill the screen vertically. The toggles for these states are accessible in the lower left corner of the interface, next to the chat entry bar.
Monster levels will eventually be represented by a number of either stars or skulls, depending on the difficulty of the monster. So a level 20 regular monster might show as 2 stars, and a level 30 monster as 3 stars, but a level 20 boss would show as 2 skulls. We are still testing this system, so for now, you will see both levels and stars.
The Options panel has been redesigned, and now allows hiding your cloak or helm, as well as making most other settings persistent on the server, allowing your settings to be remembered if you log in from another location.
The Character Overview panel is now available from either the main menu (bottom right corner), or by hitting "c" on your keyboard. It provides mana regeneration tips, stat recommendations, and ability descriptions for your current class.
More to come soon! See you in game!
