Design Notes

March 30, 2016

Friday: The EveryWhen Portal Opens

Journey through a NEW point in Spacetime! 

Cysero the Green Mage has been experimenting again!  He’s opened a portal to somewhere… or somewhen? He doesn’t know WHAT point in timespace he’s discovered, but he needs YOUR help to map it out… and make sure its creatures don't succeed in making OUR world theirs!

This weekend, you'll face creatures that seem familiar but are absolutely alien to our world. The only way to make sure we do not turn into them is with Cysero's help... and the power of mathemagic! O_O

March 30, 2016

Random Art Fun Time!

Fun with Warlic, Magic, and Image Editing!

For all you art-loving heroes out there, it's time to break out your Photoshop (or MS Paint, for you old-school editors) and show us the craziest situations you can think of to put Warlic the ArchMage in!

Tweet your image to me so we can see the awesomeness and share it around! Just right-click on this link to get a transparent background png: http://www.aq.com/cms/images/EPICWARLIC.png Save it, and edit Warlic into trouble (or helping someone else OUT of it!)

Edits Made by Heroes Like You!

We are seeing some CRAZY images created by heroes on Twitter and Facebook. If you want in on this fun, you know where to send your edits! (Here!)

Warlic's becomes Legendary! - jellymanmitche1

Warlic poses with Usain Bolt - AQWfurious 

 Warlic pulls a Stephen Curry - SeizukoAQW

Only one's Zanpaktou, master of the four Genjutsu, can hope to awaken his Stand. ...wait a second  NE_0_N 

Prepare for EXTINCTION! - Alejandro L

March 29, 2016

Last Chance for Darkblood of Nulgath Gear

The February Upgrade Bonus Gear leaves Friday, April 1st!

This Friday, April 1st, the Darkblood of Nulgath gear leaves FOREVER! It's your last chance to get the gear that will intimidate ALL your enemies! Buy any AdventureCoin or Membership package of $10 USD or more before 6 PM EST this Fridaya to unlock your exclusive February upgrade bonus items!

12000 AC or 12 month membership packages: 9 items + Boosts

Get more gear and save more of your real-world gold with our largest upgrade packages! Unlock the following gear with our 12000 AdventureCoin or 12 month membership packages:

• Darkblood of Nulgath Armor
• 2 Helms
• 4 Weapons
• Darkblood Warrior Pet AND member-only Darkblood Blade Battlepet*
• 7 Rep/XP/Gold/Class Points boosts added straight to your inventory

* Darkblood BattlePet is exclusively available in the 12 month membership package

2000 and 5000 AC or 3 and 6 month membership package: 6 items + Boosts

• Armor
• 2 Helms
• 2 weapons
• Darkblood Warrior Pet
• 5 Rep/XP/Gold/Class Points boosts added straight to your inventory

All packages will also come with the Darkblood of Nulgath character page badge, so you can show off your battle prowess!

VoidCaster Bonus Gear Arrives April 1st!

This Friday, April 1st, the VoidCaster April Upgrade bonus gear and character page badge arrives at 6 PM EST!  Buy any AdventureCoin or Membership package of $10 USD or more starting this Friday, and channel the power of the Darkness AND the Void to annihilate ALL your opponents!

We've had so many requests for this gear since Zee the Legend first posted it on Twitter in earlier this year. It combines the base design of the Undead Legion's Dark Caster gear with Nulgath the ArchFiend's Void theme.

Since Zee went on haitus, Memet (the Assistant Game Lead for AQW) finished his set, creating the female version of the armor, the weapons, accessories, and two pets!

TWO New Nulgath-themed Classes in Progress!

We've also gotten a TON of requests from Nulgath Nation fans over the last several months. That's why today, two of our class designers began working on designs for TWO new Nulgath-themed classes. One will go rare after a month or so, but the other will be permanently available in-game, and will be unlocked by farming Nulgath resources! (So if you've been waiting for a chance to spend your Diamonds, Unidentified objects, and other Nulgath resources, this is the class for you!)

March 24, 2016

Grenwog 2016: Double EXP Weekend

Get Double EXP on ALL SERVERS All Weekend Long!

This weekend, heroes and their families around the world celebrate Spring! New life, more sun, and LOTS of fun times ahead! That's why all weekend long we have a DOUBLE Exp Server Boost on all servers! (And on Legend servers, you'll see even MORE Exp from every battle!) The boost will last until Monday morning, so get farming! (And now that Spring's here... you can!)

March 24, 2016

Quibble Coinbiter Returns... for EVIL!

Prepare... for DARKNESS with Quibble Gear!

Quibble is in Battleon this weekend, heralding the coming of the Throne of Darkness Saga next month! He's selling most of his gear for AdventureCoins, but has a few things for everyone... if you can meet his price! 

What Will Quibble Coinbiter Bring?

If you've seen Quibble appear before, you know that his arrival heralds the beginning of the next main storyline... so THIS time around, he's bringing gear from crafted in honor of so many heroes' favorite alignment: EVIL!

Tomorrow night, find the following gear in Quibble's shop:

• Laken's ExoSkeletal Warrior Set
• Memet's Spiders & Sorcery Set
• Goddess' Esoteric Anarchist Set
• Mort et Quibble Bank Pet
• Blade's Dread Scythe
• the Unfluffy Trophy Tail Cape
• the Crimson Shadows Blade
• and more! 

He never stays in one place long and we have no idea when (or if) he will be back. Remember, he is not selling rares, he is selling items you are not even supposed to have! 

What is a Quibble Coinbiter?

Quibble Coinbiter is everyone’s favorite sales Moglin, who travels far and wide, collecting never-before-seen Items to add to your impressive collection. That's right, his gear has never been seen in the world before, but he sells them used... How is this possible? Quibble has a connection with a slightly corrupt time-travel fairy who supplies him with items that have not even been created yet*.

No one knows if—or when—Quibble’s Items will go permanently Rare, so your best bet is to get all the goodies in his shop just in case it’s the latter!

* Thinking about this should hurt your brain. It hurts mine!

** I wonder... if the item's used, but never seen before... is the time travel fairy going to the future after you have discarded the weapon, taking it from you, and then coming BACK in time so Quibble to sell it to you before you ever found it***?

*** O_O

March 24, 2016

Take on the ORIGINAL Grenwog

This weekend, battle through our Egg-stra Ancient Origin Story!

Millennia ago, a tribe of ancient humans dominated the area we know as the Bloodtusk Ravine. This war-loving society prized strength, speed, and courage. Before young heroes were pronounced fit to adventure through the world, they had to test their strength and skill against one of the most fearsome beasts in the land....

That tradition spread to other lands and peoples, and continued through the ages until the reasons for it were lost to time... and overshadowed by bunnies, chocolate, and cheeps chirping each Spring. (And Cabdury's egg hunt!)

Grenwog is an egg-straordinary holiday on Lore - with eggs to find, bunnies to catch, and the dreaded Grenwog to defeat… but WHY do we fight the Grenwog… and how? Its origin story has been lost to time… until now!

Cabdury Bunny's Egg Hunt is BACK!

Talk to Cabdury (the friendliest, most inedible bunny in town) to access this year's Egg Hunt quests! Collect the eggs hidden around BattleOn and the rest of the town to unlock the Backpack of Eggs and the Vorpal Bunny pet! (Note: Any Vorpal Bunny will be able to access the quests to get this year's regular Berserker Bunny items. Enjoy!) 

And once you've collected all those, why not try Cabdury's Treat Hunt to unlock the Evolved Berserker Bunny set? The merge items will drop from the bosses in Greenguard Forest.  With an Armor, a Helm, a Spear, and a Long-sword, you'll have a bun-tiful amount of items to choose from! The Evolved Berserker Bunny Armor also requires the drop from the final Vorpal Bunny quest.

Grenwog gear, collect it all! (Or as much as you can carry):

• Evolved Berserker Bunny set!
• Berserker Bunny 13 armor, helm, and longsword!
• Daisy on your back cape!
• Mayflower and Marshmallow Cheep pets!
• Fire Egg Staff, Carrotine Cutter, ChickenCow Club!
• And much more!

March 24, 2016

Arcane Dark Caster Buff Details

Arcane Dark Caster Buffs Arrive Tomorrow!

Check out the new details of the Arcane Dark Caster Class buff, arriving tomorrow! Zereldo and Arklen teamed up to bring you a post full of the news, numbers, and info you've been asking for!

_________________________________________________

Hey everyone, it’s Zereldo here and today I’m going to be taking you through the changes we have made for the Arcane Dark Caster Class. For those of you who don’t know, I am the Lead Class Bug and Balance tester. We’ve heard your feedback and after reading hundreds of your tweets and suggestions, and doing a lot of extra testing, we have a round of buffs for you. 

Changes

Envelope In Darkness: reduce mana from 18 to 16
Arcane Overwhelming: increase DoT damage buff from 30% to 50%
Arcane Overwhelming: reduce stun duration from 6 seconds to 4 seconds
Arcane Overwhelming: mana reduced from 10 to 0

Click here to read more on the changes, followed by a detailed explanation of why we’ve made them.

March 22, 2016

Mystical Dark Caster Class confusion

There are 2 versions of the newest Dark Caster Class - the Arcane Dark Caster Class which can be purchased for 2000 AC in the March Rares shop and the Mystical Dark Caster Class which owners of ANY of the newest Dark Caster Armors can get for FREE!

The Mystical Dark Caster Class is identical to the Arcane Dark Caster class.  It has a different name to show the difference in how the class was obtained.

The quests to obtain the Mystical Dark Caster class are available from the Arcane Paragon Pet NPC in Battleon.  The NPC can ONLY be seen if you have one of these armors (or the Arcane Dark Caster Class).  The Arcane Paragon Pet NPC offers 5 Quests:

• Owners of the Shadowed Dark Gunner armor (purchased for 2000 ACs) can do a quest to get the Mystical Dark Caster Class for free
• Owners of the Shadowy Dark Gunner armor (purchased for 1000 ACs) can do a quest to get the Mystical Dark Caster Class for free (your quest requires the purchase of a 1000 AC token from the Paragon Pet NPC's Merge Shop)
• Owners of the Shadowcraft Dark Gunner armor (From the Undead Legion Merge shop - required purchase of the 2000 AC Arcane Dark Caster Armor) can do a quest to get the get the Mystical Dark Caster Class for free
• Owners of the Arcane Dark Caster ARMOR (purchased for 2000 ACs) can do a quest to get the Mystical Dark Caster Class for free
• Owners of the Arcane Dark Caster CLASS to get the Arcane Dark Caster ARMOR for free.

The only way to get the Arcane Dark Caster ARMOR for free is to purchase the Arcane Dark Caster CLASS from the March Rares shop.  There is no way to get the Arcane Dark Caster Armor for free by doing the quests for the Mystical Dark Caster Class.

March 21, 2016

This Friday, the Grenwog Returns!

Egg-stra Ancient Origin Story!

Millennia ago, a tribe of ancient humans dominated the area we know as the Bloodtusk Ravine. This war-loving society prized strength, speed, and courage. Before young heroes were pronounced fit to adventure through the world, they had to test their strength and skill against one of the most fearsome beasts in the land....

That tradition spread to other lands and peoples, and continued through the ages until the reasons for it were lost to time... and overshadowed by bunnies, chocolate, and cheeps chirping each Spring. (And Cabdury's egg hunt!)

Grenwog is an egg-straordinary holiday on Lore - with eggs to find, bunnies to catch, and the dreaded Grenwog to defeat… but WHY do we fight the Grenwog… and how? Its origin story has been lost to time… until now!

Quibble Coinbiter Returns!

In preparation for our next main storyline* (written by Artix!), Quibble will be making his way to Battleon with chests full of dark, deadly, and EVIL gear!

Arcane Dark Caster Class Buffs!

We got a lot of feedback over the weekend from people who'd gotten a chance to play the newest class - Arcane Dark Caster. This week, Arklen and the class team will be looking at the class and testing changes to its power... then making it BETTER! Changes will go live on Friday. :) 

If you were one of the 202 people who purchased the accidentally-released Arcane Dark Caster ARMOR for 1000 ACs but want to get to unlock the class, a new quest has been added to the NPC in Battleon just for you!  Since you paid 1000AC fo your Armor, your quest requires you to purchase a 1000 AC token from the NPCs Merge shop to complete your quest.  Once you do that, you will recieve the class token like the rest of the quests!

March 18, 2016

Lucky Day is HERE!

New Quest, New Class, and SERVER BOOSTS!

Gear up and buff your LUK to make sure your HP stays high... because this weekend, ALL servers have a Double Class Points AND Double Gold Boost! You're going to need it, because once you're doing carousing around the Lucky Day Shamrock Faire (/join luck to head there!), you should try out the new Arcane Dark Caster Class and check out the other March Rare gear from your game menu!

This year, you can test your luck and battle prowess as you battle through the new zone in /luckdragon, created to celebrate Galanoth's birthday! Galanoth has heard an almost neverending amount of stories about the fabled Luck Dragon, and THIS year, he's celebrating his birthday by hunting it down!

Take on the Luck Dragon for a chance to get all of the items in the Pegalion set! If you ARE lucky, you could get one of several bags of gold as reward drops* from the chests, but be careful! SOME of the chests are not quite what they seem, and can get pretty protective of their treasures. You can also talk to Galanoth to find gear from his merge shop! (Including the Lucky Looter set from Neihi and more!)

* from 100 to 1 MILLION gold! If you get one of these bags, sell it immediately to get the gold out! (Minus the 10-25% vendor sellback fee)

Shamrock Fair

You can access the Fair RIGHT NOW when you /join Luck, and then continue to taste the painbow inthe /rainbow and /hedge maps!

Don't miss the many minigames you'll find at the Shamrock Fair:

• Clover Fields (Legend-only)
• Jackpot o' Gold
• Rainbow Run
• Ring Toss
• Smack A Sneevil
• Shamrock Smash
• Battle Gems Mini

Save up the Golden Tickets you earn from the minigames to purchase gear from the Lucky Day Shamrock Fair Merge Shop, and if you get a Lucky Hat or Lucky Top Hat from the Fair Token Shop, you'll earn double the number of Golden Tickets from any minigame you play!

The Luckiest Class: Evolved Leprechaun!

Most people find a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow, but we found the Evolved Leprechaun Class, and we can't think of a better Hero to /equip it than YOU

You can get the Evolved Leprechaun Class in 2 ways:

• Buy the Evolved Leprechaun Class with 2,000 AdventureCoins
• Turn in 12 Lucky Clovers, 20 Rainbow Shards, and 2,000 Golden Tickets to the Lucky Day Shamrock Fair Merge Shop, run by Mog O’Rahilly

Make your friends GREEN with envy as you battle through this Luckiest of weekends filled with LUK, leprechauns, and LOTS of loot!

March 18, 2016

Arcane Dark Caster Class

Dage's 2016 Rare Birthday Class Skills Breakdown

Dage the Evil’s month of amazing birthday gear continues!* The Arcane Dark Caster class was designed by the powers of Arklen, Pisces, and Boxer502 combined, but the entire class team contributed to bring you what looks like a pretty dark and deadly new class! Read on to get a look at what you can get!

How to Get the Arcane Dark Caster Class

Unlock the Arcane Dark Caster Class for 2000 AdventureCoins in the Class shop and find it in the March Rares Shop! If you get the Class or already have the armor, GOOD NEWS! 

That means you can get the class when you:

• Buy the Arcane Dark Caster armor for 2000 ACs to get the Class for free
• Buy the Shadowed Dark Gunner armor for 2000 ACs to get the Mystical Dark Caster Class for free
• Buy the Arcane Dark Caster Class for 2000 ACs to get the Arcane Dark Caster armor for free***

That's GREAT news for those of you who bought the Arcane Dark Caster or Shadowed Gunner armors for 2000 AdventureCoins: YOU unlock the Class for FREE! 

If you created the Shadowcraft Dark Gunner armor by purchasing the Arcane Dark Caster armor for 2000 ACs, you can unlock the Arcane Dark Caster Class for free, TOO!

Talk to Dage's little arcane minion in Battleon to quest for Arcane Tokens to unlock the Arcane Dark Caster Class or Armor from the merge shop!

Note 1: You'll need to have either the 2k AC version of the Arcane Dark Caster or Shadowed Gunner armors to unlock the class for free.****

Note 2: Each of the above armors and the Class will be unsellable until April 6th. 

Arcane Dark Caster Skills Breakdown

Dage has come around to gifting you with his set of shadow skills in the Arcane Dark Arts and you have become one of his legion's elite casters... an Arcane Dark Caster.  

Stats: Arcane Dark Casters favor Intellect and Wisdom.
ManaRegen: Arcane Dark Casters gain mana from all hits landed in combat, and especially on crits.  The amount depends on damage relative to *their own* HP total.

Auto Attack

Type: Physical
Mana Cost: 0
Cooldown: 2 seconds
Damage: 100%       

Envelop in Darkness

You gather the darkness within and unleash it in a quick flurry of black arcane energy. Applies Consumed by Shadows which deals damage over time, stacking up to 100 times and lasting 10 seconds. The duration is refreshed when restacked.

Type: Magical       
Mana Cost: 18       
Cooldown: 2 seconds       
AoE: 1
Damage: 50% 

Yes, this DoT can stack to 100 and yes, with enough foresight and preparation, it’s possible. How high can you go?

Dark Leech

You leach at the darkness within your foe, absorbing a steady amount of health over the course of 15 seconds. The darkness blinds them as well, reducing chance to hit by 15%. Can't miss.

Type: Magical       
Mana Cost: 30       
Cooldown: 30 seconds       
AoE: 1
Damage: 80% DoT and HoT life drain.

This is your main defensive tool. Use it right before casting Arcane Overwhelming and watch both your mana and health quickly replenish. Both the HoT and the DoT get buffed by Shadow Pact from your Arcane Shadow Minion.

Summon Arcane Shadow Minion

Concentrate your shadow magic and summon an Arcane Shadow Minion to buff your dark magic and defend you. Increases all magic damage and magic healing and reduces all damage taken. The pacts last for 10 seconds and can be stacked up to 5 times. Your minion is only visible if summoned out of combat and when you don't already have a pet. Otherwise, they're still there, just not visible!

Type: Magical       
Mana Cost: 20       
Cooldown: 8 seconds       
AoE: 1
Damage: 0%  

A stackable buff that increases damage and defenses. It lasts only a few seconds longer than Arcane Overwhelming’s stun. Unless you’re really careful, you have to chose between keeping these stacks high or keeping Consumed by Shadows stack’s high. For a more defensive approach, the pacts will keep you alive at the cost of damage. 

Arcane Overwhelming

You focus intently, completely enveloping yourself in arcane energy and rapidly regenerating mana for 6 seconds. You are stunned for the duration. You also gain Arcane Unleashed, reducing all mana costs by 50% and increasing DoT damage and haste by 30% for 20 seconds.

Type: Magical        
Mana Cost: 10        
Cooldown: 50 seconds        
AoE: 1
Damage: 0% 

You’re stunned, for 6 seconds! Why would we do that? Well first off, you’re a DoT class so most of your damage will be ticking away while you’re stunned and we wanted a way to give you a mega buff. With proper practice, you should be able to keep both your pacts and Consumed by Shadows up after the stun duration.

Passive Skills

Shadow Skin: Increases Dodge chance by 20%

Arcane Focus: Increases Magic damage by 20% 

Shadow Focus: Increase hit rate by 20%

* And don’t miss the rest of Dage’s dark birthday gear from his shop in Battleon!
** Arklen is our monster animator and one of our regular map coders. He's now branching out into class design as he continues his quest to do ALL THE THINGS! Pisces is one of our intrepid class designers, and played a big role in the technical and balance arenas. Tophats off to Boxer, who had a big hand in the flavor of the design. Mystical Dark Caster Class is IDENTICAL to Arcane Dark Caster, just has a different name.
 *** Just like we have been adding in armor versions of other, older classes, buying the Arcane Dark Caster Class will unlock its armor version!
**** If you're a fan of the Full Metal Alchemist, this is what we call equivalent exchange.

March 18, 2016

March Rare Gear is HERE

March into Battle with awesome new items!

We want to help you spring into battle looking your best, so we've got some really wicked new items lined up! This month, you can find the March Rare Gear shop in your game menu, featuring:

Dage's Arcane Dark Caster Class

March is a HUGE birthday month for the AQW team, and we're continuing to celebrate Dage the Evil’s with the Arcane Dark Caster CLASS! Get all the details in this post: Arcane Dark Caster details

Galanoth's Lucky Dragon Birthday Armor

Gear up to DragOn! It's Galanoth the DragonSlayer's birthday on Sunday, so we've released the luckiest set we could think of to honor his big day! 

Laken's Birthday Gear

The birthdays celebrations just keep coming! Laken's birthday gear is still in the March Rares shop! There's a host of seraphic-themed gear to /cheer for!

Find Laken's birthday shop in your game menu:

• Seraphic Gunslinger armor
• Seal of the Gunsligher and Legion Breaker Capes
• Seraphic Flintlock and Legion Breaker guns
• Seraphic Gunslinger Hat and Stetson helms
• Dual Seraphic Flintlocks and the Seraphic Pistol and Cannon
• Evolved Laken Adherent armor and helms

Boxer's Birthday Armor

Boxer is one of the newer testers, longtime holiday tophat haberdasher, and just this week helped with the Arcane Dark Caster. Tophats off to him, especially because TODAY is his birthday! 

Find the Moonstone Cultist armor in your game menu for 2.1 MILLION gold! (Can you guess how old he is today?!) Don't forget to wish Boxer a happy birthday on Twitter!

March 17, 2016

What's New in AQW?

Coming Soon to AdventureQuest Worlds!

Hey, guys! We've got a LOT of projects in the works right now, so let's run through what the team is working on behind the scenes, alongside the weekly releases that come out every Friday!

New Saga Coming Soon from Artix Next Month

If you've seen Artix's tweets recently, you know he's been working on writing the next big saga, scheduled to start next month. For those of you who've played through the Doomwood Saga (Parts 1, 2, and 3), the set-up will be familiar to you - this is a saga that takes place inside the world and main storyline, but is not directly related TO it.

This storyline takes place in the post-Chaos Lord world, where the Queen of Monsters' minions are wreaking havoc. In a war-torn, chaos-riddled world like this, there are a lot of opportunities for NEW villains to rise. Your character is still a hero even when you (the person on the other side of the screen) are not playing the weekly releases; they're kept busy taking on all the other threats Lore has to offer.*

ALL the Holiday Releases!

This month, the art team began working on assets for Artix's storyline (and the Quibble shop preceding it), in addition to the spring holiday releases we've got lined up. Once those are done, we are going to ROCK THE DARK!

Artix is away at GDC right now (check out Cysero's post on his adventures here), but we just can't wait to start teasing you with the news and art! More design notes with teasers and previews will release over the next couple of weeks!

Changes to the Queen of Monsters Saga

We say that we make our games for and WITH you, and we mean it. Feedback on the Queen of Monsters: Ancient Evils Saga thus far has been mixed, so we're listening to what you have to say, and taking the story in a new, less predictable** direction.

Artix's Throne of Darkness Saga is a starting point for that, as we begin to explore the wider world and see how the Queen of Monsters' presence affects the lands and people you know and love. ***

Shop Smart, Shop HeroMart (in AQW)

Stryche, the head of HeroMart, is preparing for the Grand Opening of HeroMart INSIDE AdventureQuest Worlds! That means you'll be able to check out HeroMart's merch, get even MORE in-game rewards when you get new merch, and easily access all your existing gear! 

More details on Stryche and HeroMart's Grand (in-game) Opening coming soon!

AQWorlds Server Rewrite: 97% Complete!

We are in the very LAST phases of the final testing before launching the new server to EVERYONE! Yorumi and M are knocking down bugs left and right as you guys log into the testing servers and find new ones. (If you haven't done that yet, what are you waiting for?! Get your exclusive PTR Tester badge now!)

The testers have been a HUGE help, and Yorumi's incredibly grateful for everyone logging in to help test. Right now, he needs EVERYONE to log on to the testing servers and try out all the different parts of the game to make sure we thoroughly test all the systems. (Think of things like banking items, mini-games like Alchemy, joining/leaving guilds, enhancing gear, etc)

The entire team is eager to finish Phase 1 of the server rewrite so we can begin adding in the new functionality we know you guys have been waiting for! 

* What did you THINK they did when you weren't logged in? Tweet me your ideas about what your character does when you're not logged in, and I'll retweet the funniest.

** After all, the Queen of Monsters embodies Chaos... she should not stick to such an easily-foreseen plan as "raise 8 titans, have the hero face 8 generals"

*** Yes, that means we're going BACK to the main continent!

March 14, 2016

This Friday: Lucky Day Returns

Do ya feel lucky, Hero?

The luckiest day of the year is rapidly approaching, and so is Galanoth’s birthday! This Friday, log in for an all-new challenge monster that’ll mimic your worst nightmares… but give you the MOST gold! 

All your favorite seasonal rares will return, plus the Lucky Day Shamrock Fair! Get your Golden Tickets and test your luck with our mini-games, then /join luckdragon to help Galanoth get ALL the luck during his birthday Dragon Hunt!

March 11, 2016

March into Battle with Rare Gear

Don't Miss Dage and Laken's Wicked-Awesome Birthday Rewards!

March is a month FULL of birthday celebrations! Dage's birthday last week, Laken's birthday this week, and then even MORE next week! So you know we've got birthday gear for you to /cheer for -- don't miss any of it, because it all leaves soon!

Find Laken's birthday shop in your game menu:

• Seraphic Gunslinger armor
• Seal of the Gunsligher and Legion Breaker Capes
• Seraphic Flintlock and Legion Breaker guns
• Seraphic Gunslinger Hat and Stetson helms
• Dual Seraphic Flintlocks and the Seraphic Pistol and Cannon
• Evolved Laken Adherent armor and helms

Don't miss the Dark Birthday 2016 Rewards!

Dage's birthday always has dark and amazing gear, but this year, we've got a number of returning, seasonal birthday items (in case you weren't with us in the past)! Don't miss the Arcane Dark Caster set, the Legion DoomKnight Class, or - new this year - the Shadowed Dark Gunner!

The Shadowed Dark Gunner is a one-of-a-kind armor: when you click it, you'll transform and appear to be firing weapons at your opponent! (This will also be visible to all other players in the room, as well!)

Dark Arcane Caster Class Coming Soon!

Arklen, Pisces, and the class testing team have been hard at work crafing a class worthy of the Arcane Dark Caster name! It arrives later this month, so keep an eye on the Design Notes for details about when, where, and how to get it!

March 11, 2016

Tonight: SkyTower Aegis Arrives

Journey to Sky Tower Aegis, home of Good Heroes!

Miles above Lore, an impenetrable fortress hovers, housing the greatest defenders of Good the world has ever seen - the Sky Tower Aegis! This weekend, /join skytower to begin your adventure battling among the clouds (the BEST place to get a bird's eye view of the world... and the Queen of Monster's plotting!)

This weekend, log in and begin your adventure miles above Lore:

• Battle to complete 17 quests from 7 new NPCs to rank up your Aegis faction reputation!
• Find 20 new items to collect from the Pet, Rep, and Gear shops in the Tower!
• Check out Laken's birthday shop in your game menu!

Meet the Heroes of the SkyTower!

SkyGuard crew members, Jus Divinum knights, Celestial Realm Warriors... Good heroes of all types and factions UNITE! Many of the most well-known Good-aligned groups have a presence on Sky Tower Aegis.

/join SkyTower and talk to/quest for:

• Wilfre- Sky Tower Aegis Keeper 
• Ada - Seraphic Paladin's Representative
• Cleric Melody- Sisterhood of the Dishpan Hands' Representative
• Admiral Hugo- SkyGuard Representative
• Ithuriel- Celestial Realm Representative
• Sir Vent- Good Faction Representative
• Niteo- Pet Vendor 
• Fablen- Armor Vendor
• Onager- Weapon Vendor 
• Maxwell- Banker
• Vanessa- Hair Shop*
• Inanitas- DragonRune/Alchemy Emissary 

* twin to Bev the Stylist from Battleontown, don'cha know?

Good Gear makes GREAT rewards!

Find all-new Good-themed gear in the shops at SkyTower Aegis! From the Celestial Commander armor set to 4 new pets, there's a lot to love if you fight for the Light!

• Find 4 new pets, including the Celestial Hound, in the Pet shop
• Check out 6 new hairstyles (3 male, 3 female) from Vanessa's Hair Shop
• Get your gauntlets on 15 new items (including the entire Celestial Commander set) from the Gear and Rep shop

March 10, 2016

Happy Birthday, Laken

Laken Levels Up in Life AND in-game!

March is a month of birthdays for members of the Artix Entertainment team, and that makes it time to celebrate! If you don't know who Laken is yet, let's introduce you! Laken, one of our top-notch AQWorlds artists, creates many of our coolest new items, and his NPC stars along with Dage the Evil in the "Laken vs Dage" saga! 

He started playing AQWorlds years ago and started sending us a lot of his artwork... until we kidnapped him and brought him into the team! He's crafted some wicked-good gear for everyone, and you can find the FIRST set in your game menu today!** (The Evolved Laken Adherent set will arrive tomorrow night, with the release.)

In Laken's shop TODAY you'll find:

• Seraphic Gunslinger armor
• Seal of the Gunsligher and Legion Breaker Capes
• Seraphic Flintlock and Legion Breaker guns
• Seraphic Gunslinger Hat and Stetson helms
• Dual Seraphic Flintlocks and the Seraphic Pistol and Cannon

Massive March Birthday Month!

I wasn't kidding when I said March was PACKED with AE team member birthdays! From Dage and Laken and Galanoth and Boxer502 to AQW moderators Kiyone and Sephira, all the way to MQ and ED coders Vivi and Rabblefroth, plus forum mods San Robin and Msyu! Happy birthday to them, and to all of you with March birthdays!

PLUS, today is the wiki's anniversary, so you can also find the Loremaster Mogya helm and pets in the Loremaster Rep shop in the Battleontown Librarium!!

* Check out the latest installment now when you /join envy
** All his birthday rares leave on April 1st. 

March 07, 2016

This Friday: Sky Tower Aegis

Journey to Where the Good Heroes SOAR!

Miles above Lore, an impenetrable fortress hovers, housing the greatest defenders of Good the world has ever seen - the Sky Tower Aegis! 

Skyguard crew, Celestial Realm warriors, and all who fight for the Light and right be welcome in your new home… the Sky Tower Aegis: where the Good soar!

This weekend, /join skytower to find:

• New pets
• New hairs
• New gear
• and a new reputation faction!

March 04, 2016

Dage the Evil: Envy and Birthday

Dage the Evil: Queen of Envy!

With Dage the Evil’s birthday this week, it is the perfect time to update Dage and Laken’s storyline! Return to the intrigues of the Seraphic Paladins, Laken, Ada, and Envy and IF you can discover what the Darkness is hiding… you might just reap the rewards!

Find the Dage and Laken adventuremap in your Game Menu or, if you're up to date on the story, just /join envy! Legion members can battle to get all new rewards crafted by Laken, and all heroes can fight to earn the Seraphic Commander or the Armor of Grief from Neihi!

Don't miss the Dark Birthday 2016 Rewards!

Dage's birthday always has dark and amazing gear, but this year, we've got a number of returning, seasonal birthday items (in case you weren't with us in the past)! Don't miss the Arcane Dark Caster set, the Legion DoomKnight Class, or - new this year - the Shadowed Dark Gunner!

The Shadowed Dark Gunner is a one-of-a-kind armor: when you click it, you'll transform and appear to be firing weapons at your opponent! (This will also be visible to all other players in the room, as well!)

It's Good to be EVIL this Weekend…

MAN it's great to be a Member of the Undead Legion during Dage the Evil's birthday! Your fearless leader (with some help from the other AQW team members) is bringing you dark, deadly, and amazing new rewards this weekend! 

Legion BladeMaster Assassin Class

The Legion BladeMaster Class is an Undead Legion variant of the class released during last November's Black Friday shop, but with altered art from Dage, new icons and animations from Arklen, and different skills from Sync. Find the Class in the Undead Legion Merge shop for:

• 5000 Legion Tokens
• 300 Obsidian Rocks

(This is the "Reanimation" skill and WOAH!)

Undead Legion Castle

For the Undead Legion member who's finished all the quests, maxed out their Legion Tokens, and just doesn't know what else to slay... never fear -- we've got a #HouseGoal for you: the Undead Legion CASTLE! (See all the rooms here!) This house will be a permanent addition to the game, so though the requirements are weighty, you've got time to gather them all!

• 25,000 Legion Tokens
• Level 35
• 15 "Shadow Shrouds" from Kunoichi's "Shadow Embargo" quest in Akiba

March 04, 2016

How to Join the Undead Legion

Dage the Evil wants YOU. Enlist Today!

Dage is one Evil dude, that’s for sure. Do you have what it takes to become part of his growing Undead Legion army?

Undead Legion Requirements

1. Undying passion for the Undead
2. Absolute affection towards the dark and deadly
3. Total commitment to AQWorlds
4. Passion for ridiculously ridiculous quests
5. SKULLS!
6. And more SKULLS!

If you meet the above requirements, then you are the perfect candidate for Dage the Evil’s Undead Legion!

How to Join the Undead Legion

1. Log into AQWorlds
2. Travel to the Underworld (/join Underworld)
3. Find Dage the Evil and introduce yourself
4. Click on “Shops”, then click “Armor Shop” and buy the Undead Warrior armor for 1200 ACs
5. Speak to Dage again, and
   • click “Quests”
   • and then “Legion Quests”
   • and complete the Undead Champion Initiation
6. If successful, you will be able to complete the remaining quests (Mourn the Soldiers, Understanding Undead Champions, Slay the Unworthy, and Fail to the King)
7. After you complete “Fail to the King” quest, you can buy the Undead Champion armor
   • In Dage’s speech bubble, click “Shops”
   • Then click “Legion Shop”
   • Buy the Undead Champion armor for 50,000 gold
8. As an Undead Champion, you can now go on Champion Quests
   • Speak with Dage, slick “Quests”
   • Click “Champion Quests”
   • Complete INSANE quests to prove your worth
9. Start earning Legion Tokens with every successful quest complete

10. Use Legion Tokens to buy things from the Merge Shop

• Speak with Dage
• Click Shops
• Click Merge Shop
• Get epic loot!

Assuming you’ve made it this far, you can complete lots of other quests from Dage, gain access to Dage’s Soul Forge where MORE items can be crafted, and also be fully prepared for Dage’s birthday gear!

March 04, 2016

Legion Blademaster Class Skills Breakdown

Get Legion Blademaster Assassin now!

As promised, we’re releasing a Blademaster Assassin variant, Legion Blademaster Assassin! For Dage’s Birthday, you can too get this Class! Note this Class is GOING RARE and only for LEGIONEERS! Yes only ones who prove themselves to Dage can obtain this Class. Get it before it’s gone!

How to get this Class:

• 5k Legion Tokens plus 300 Obsidian Rocks

Wreak havoc on Lore!

Heya guys, it’s Sync. I like to thank Arklen for going overboard with the effects and skill icons. Hats off to you Arklen! Now this isn’t your normal Evasive, Legion Blademaster Assassin is half bruiser half ninja in my opinion. Comparing to the original Blademaster Assassin, they both hit hard and have their ups and downs. I like Legion Blademaster Assassin for the overall twist within the Class.

Legion Blademaster Assassin Skill Breakdown!

Mana Regeneration: Legion Blademaster Assassins gain mana like most other evasive Classes, by doing damage and dodging. While you dodge, you regen HP as well. High amount of Dodge is the key to have high sustain and mana regeneration.

Stats: This Class is an Evasive, so they prefer on their secondary stats (Hit, Crit, Haste, and Evasion) more than anything else. Also focus on high Dexterity before Strength to be nimble but effective with precise attacks.

Auto Attack:  Nukitsuke
1.75 second cooldown
A blade strike from the hilt, fast enough to hit before your opponent gets a chance to act.

This is your Blademaster auto attack, it hits harder than a Rogue model auto attack, but a bit slower. Hit less than your standard auto attack, but hits faster.

Rank 1:  Diminished Steel
12 Mana, 9 Second Cooldown
Your inner Legion beckons, dealing more damage on the verge of death. Guaranteed to Hit and Crit. 50% chance to apply Spinning Dragon, negating their next attack to 0.

This is your main damage skill, really reliable since it always Hits and Crits. Here's the catch, this skill does more damage the lower your HP is. If timed correctly, you can increase your Damage Output by a ton if you fight on the brink of death.

Rank 2:  Reanimation
Mana 18, 20 Second Cooldown

As you come back to the living temporarily you empower yourself, increasing Dodge by 25% and Critical Strike Damage by 30% for 18 seconds. As your body deteriorates back to the form of undead, you also deal 30% more damage but you apply a Moderate DoT to yourself and also preventing you from receiving any healing from all sources for the duration as well.

This is the core skill on the Class. very similar to the original Blademaster Assassin, but with a twist. You have slightly more Dodge, Critical Strike Damage, and Damage output than the original Blademaster Assassin but now you can’t heal from other sources and have a pretty strong DoT on your self rotting you away back to the dead. Take caution.

Rank 3:  Consuming Blades
Mana 20, 11 Second Cooldown
Lashes out on anyone too close, dealing Moderate Damage to 3 people and drains their life force, healing you for some of the damage done.

This is your minor AoE similar to Simple Solution on Blademaster Assassin. Except on this one, the damage is the same to all targets and heal for some of the damage done. Pair this up with Reanimation, gives you incredible sustain when fighting more targets. Wait you applied Decay on your self how can you heal? Well the sheer function Decay does not negate Necromancer Heals so drain on !      

Rank 4:  Legion’s Bargain  
Increases Damage Output and Damage Taken by 10% & Increases Endurance by 10%

Legion’s Bargain allows you to chance with the Legion, dealing more but taking more permanently. Requiem gives the Class more of a Bruiser Ninja feel , giving it more HP to tank more and to source damage for Diminished Steel without being that low.

Rank 5:  Dark Mantle
25 mana, 10 Second Cooldown

Unleashes a wave of darkness dealing Moderately Strong Damage to 4 targets around the user. Dealing a Moderate DoT and lowering their Critical Strike Chance by 20% for 4 seconds.

Now here is your mini nuke, yes I said mini nuke. It doesn’t deal as much as Umbral Shuriken, but it’s up way more often, still applies a DoT and lowering their Crit chance to hinder their damage against you. Use this as often as possible to apply a constant DPS and debuff on your opponent.           

Rank 10: Assassin’s Discretion.
Increases Hit Chance and Dodge by 12%

Assassin’s Discretion allows the Class to have more consistency and reliability when dodging, increasing the overall core stats of the Class.

Enhancements

I recommend Thief and Fighter for this Class. Thief gives a lot of Dex, increasing your secondary stats is what all Evasive Classes need. Fighter gives you that brute feel to tank more damage and deal more when you’re lower on health.

Thief: The standard Enhancement for this class, focusing on your Dexterity stat is the right way to go increasing your Dodge, Hit, and Crit potential while giving you some Endurance stats and a bit on strength.

Luck: Luck will bring out the damage in the Class when you critically strike, dealing WAY more damage upon so. Also giving a solid balance of all the stats giving it some nice Evasion.

Fighter: I actually recommend Fight on this Class because you have a more bruiser feel while being a nimble ninja, giving you more tankiness and overall Strength for more base damage.

Overall Summary

In conclusion, this Class is an Evasive Brute. Best way to call it in my opinion. Time your Diminished Steel when you’re lower on health to do major damage, note this always hits and crits for consistency in DPS. Reanimation is the core of the Class, giving you raw stats but you losing all links with the living and can’t heal from others.

Consuming Daggers help with this, even though you can’t receive direct heals, necromancer based heals isn’t in this criteria so you’re able to have a direct source of sustain at all times. Dark Mantle, is more constant DPS in AoE while performing a fairly decent DoT and lowering their Crit Chance to have a chance to tank more damage till you’re ready unleash your onslaught.

Had a blast with this variant and I would love to hear your thoughts on it. Contact me on Twitter, https://twitter.com/Sync_AE. :)

March 02, 2016

Dage's Dark Birthday Shop is HERE!

Help Us Celebrate Dage's Dark Birthday!

Wish Dage the Evil, leader of the Undead Leagion and AdventureQuest Worlds artist, a VERY happy birthday! Log in NOW and find Dage in Battleon, check out his birthday gear, and /dance the night away to celebrate the Darkness! (And hey, why not wish him a Happy birthday on Twitter?)

NOW available:

• Rare Arcane Dark Caster Armor set (for AdventureCoins or Legion Tokens)
• Rare Arcane Dark Caster Paragon Pet
• the seasonal Legion DoomKnight Class returns (see how to get it here!)
• A TON of new rare accessories!

The armor will be available for 2000 AdventureCoins each! PLUS, members of the Undead Legion can get the armor version for Legion Tokens...so if you're a die-hard Undead Legion fan with a LOT of time on your hands, fear not! You'll need Legion Tokens, 75 Solidified Souls and Obsidian Rocks, and 6 Enchanted Deathsheads from the Mastery of Death quest in the /undervoid.

Find the Arcane Paragon Pet in Dage's Dark Birthday shop in your game menu... or talk to Dage in Battleon! This pet has SIX quests - one for anyone who owns the pet (even if you aren't in the Undead Legion) with 2 exclusive item drops! The other five quests all reward Legion Tokens and you do need to be a member of the Undead Legion. These quests are geared towards different levels, so whether you want a challenge for farming with monster closer to your level... it's got what you need! The sixth, high-level quest is member only because even though Dage is Evil, he DOES love our members! /cheer!

Available from Dage's Shop for his Birthday!

Several years back, Dage decided he wanted to make the Altar of Caladbolg available while his birthday is here. (During the month of his birthday, he becomes Dage the Mostly-Good!) The Altar is ALWAYS available as a drop from the Treasure Chest, but now you don't have to rely on Luck to get it.

After his birthday ends, the Altar will still be available from the Treasure Chest. If you do not want to pay 5000 ACs for the Altar but DO still want it, you can keep trying to get it as a drop from the Treasure Chest. (If you are upgraded, you get two free spins a month.)

* These rewards will only be available during Dage's birthday each year.

On Friday, we'll ALSO be adding:

• Legion BladeMaster Assassin CLASS with updated art and skills** (Legion Token-only)
• Legion Castle (Legion Token-only)
• Shadowed Gunner Morph Armor (Adventure Coins, only available during Dage's Birthday)
• New storyline rewards from Dage and Laken

* Including a daily quest component.
** Designed by Sync, one of AQW's epic Class imagineers! 

Arcane Dark Caster Legion Class News

The Arcane Dark Caster Class WAS scheduled to release tomorrow with existing class skills (we were already concentrating on the Legion Blademaster Assassin, and wanted to make that an EPIC class for Legion members). But you guys made it clear what was most important to you - a new Dark Caster class- and we are listening!

That is why we will release the Arcane Dark Caster Class with all-NEW skills later this month, to give us the time to craft a well-designed and balanced class.