Design Notes

May 31, 2017

April Custom Weapon Winner

Congratulations, DeleteQ! 

DeleteQ is the winner of our monthly Custom Weapon raffle! Each month, we will choose one winner from among all the accounts that have upgraded (bought membership or AdventureCoins) in the previous month and work with them to create a custom weapon. 

A few weeks ago, we reached out to DeleteQ via email, Twitter, and through a note in his inventory. He chose to combine two existing weapons into one new, AWESOME dual-wield deadly dagger of death and destruction, and here it is:

Each winner has chosen something different. One got a recolored variant, one had an attack animation added, and now this month's winner turned two weapons into one. I can't wait to see what our next winner chooses! (I am surprised no one's chosen to have a completely original, custom weapon created. Will YOU be the one to choose that?)

Will You Do This Again?

Good question! Short answer, yes... at least, we will next month! During the first week of June, we'll choose one person from among a list of people who upgrade in May to get their very own custom weapon (with the option of sharing it with up to 10 friends). Keep an eye on the Design Notes to see if this fun surprise will continue after that!

May 26, 2017

This Weekend: Flamethrower Suit

Our featured set of the week is on FIRE

Our featured set will show all your enemies that YOU are too hot to handle! Blast them with molten pain as you fire off round after round of fiery VICTORY! Find the set in your game news screen and Eremon's Gear shop in /pilgrimage!

The set contains the following items:

• Flamethrower Suit
• Flamethrower Gun
• Flamethrower Open Helm
• Flamethrower Faceguard
• Flamethrower Visor
• Super-charged Flamethrower Gun (spits fire on attack)
• Flamethrower Tanks cape

May 26, 2017

This Weekend: Rumors of a Goddess?!

This Friday, begin the 2nd Book of Monsters story

The first Book of Monsters was a hit! Heroes took on Extriki the Destroyer, the first of the Queen of Monsters’ children, after it emerged from a Rift in the Neverglades. Now, Aria has begun sensing a disturbance in Lore’s spirit as troubling (and exciting?!) rumors arise. This weekend, we begin the second Book of Monsters with the story of Kolyaban the Reshaper!

Darkblood Pilgrimage for Truth

Your journey begins with Aria as the two of you travel from the Neverglades Battlecamp to /pilgrimage. Meet Thedra, Eremon, and more , who have traveled to the area in search of Kolyaban, daugher of the Queen of Monsters, and the legendary First Darkblood! Rumors of her appearance filtered back to Thunderforge, and a contingent was sent to discover more information.

Twisted Creatures Sighted

But as with everything in the land around the Neverglades Battlecamp, NOTHING is quite what it seems... and you should never trust ANY of the creatures you meet. Especially not when they look SO strange!

This weekend, in the Darkblood Pilgrimage camp, find the:

• Spiderwign
• Ustrix
• and the remnants of Extriki (?!?!?!)

Is this a hub town?

Good question, faceless EveryPlayer! Short answer: No. Longer answer: The Neverglades Battlecamp is the hub-town for the Book of Monsters. This has a few "function" NPCs like our hub-towns do, but this is a much more story-focused map. 

May 23, 2017

6 Reasons Not to Share Your Account

Sharing leads to swearing... when your account is stolen

Your AQWorlds account is your online alter-ego -- the hero you want to be while inside the world of Lore. Playing alongside your friends is a huge part of the fun. But it’s better to have them battling alongside you… not AS you. Sharing your account is a risky business, and you stand to lose a lot when you do it.

1. You may lose your account. Permanently. 

When you upgrade your account, you invest real money into it. But if you share your account with others, they may upgrade it, too. Accounts that are shared among many people, and which have payments made by many accounts, can be disabled for payment fraud. 

Even if you are the original owner, you may lose access to your account.
Your friend may lose access to theirs, too, if they make payments on accounts they don't own.

2. They may not give your account back.

If you tell someone else your account and email address passwords, and they change it, they become - in effect - the new owner of your account. Then all the time and effort you put into it will be gone… until you start the process of recovering it. (But jump back up to #1 for a reminder about payment fraud.)

Give away your password and you give away your control.

3. Other people can sell your items/spend your ACs.

Anyone with access to your account can spend your AdventureCoins or sell your items (including rares)... and you can't get it back. 

If someone sells one of your rare gold items, it will be gone forever.

4. Your friends can share your account with others.

Just like it’s a bad idea to use someone else’s toothbrush (because you don’t know where it’s been. EW.)... when other people are able to access your account, they can share it with other people. Who can share it with other people… until people you do not even know have as much control over your account as you do.

Sharing your AQW account is like sharing a toothbrush.
It can get gross and messy REAL fast.

5. The account you use can be taken from you.

If you are playing on an account you did not create, the original creator can take it back without your permission by recovering their account or contacting the Help Team.

If you did not make the account originally, you do not "own" the account.

6. You may get punished for what your friends do.

If you share your account with a friend, and that person uses it to bot, scam other players, or attack the server, you (the account owner) are responsible for their actions. 

You may never use a bot, but if someone bots on your account, it may be banned. Then YOU lose out.

Remember: one account, one person.

That means: each account should only be used by one person. :)

Why Write This Listicle? (A mini bonus listicle!)

1. Many people put years into building their ultimate AQWorlds account. We want don't want to see you lose it... for any reason! 
2. We hear a lot of you saying "But I didn't know it was against the rules. You can't ban me for not knowing!
3. We've gotten a lot of player feedback about losing accounts, and trying to get them back. The best way to prevent losing your account is not to give it away/share it in the first place!

Check out a full list of the rules here: http://www.aq.com/lore/guides/AQWRules

But because inside the game is the BEST place to list our rules, an in-game TL;DR version of the 5 most important rules can be found in Battleontown. Talk to Nythera to unlock a quest, reward, and character page badge.

May 20, 2017

XP Exploit Level Rollback

Heroes level 76 - 85 have been rolled back to 75

Last night's release was HUGELY popular for good reasons... and some not so good reasons. We released a new challenge farming map in /thevoid AND raised the level cap twenty levels, up to level 85. That is the AWESOME news.

The not-so-awesome news is that there were a handful of monsters (and one in particular) with super-high XP rewards (over 42000 in one battle). That made it very easy for some players on the PTR server to level much, much faster than we intended when they added in XP boost item stacking.

This was a situation that needed to get fixed as quickly as possible. Here are the steps we are taking to make things right:

• Fix the monsters giving out super-high XP rewards DONE
• Roll the 879 players above level 75 back to 75 DONE
• Give everyone who logged in since yesterday 12 free one-hour XP boosts DONE
• Put the 15% xp, cp, gold, rep boost back on DONE

That this exploit went live was on us, completely. When we make mistakes like that, we own up to it and strive to make it right.

The exploit and resolution

Last night, Yorumi and Arklen fixed that issue by making sure all those over-the-top monsters were reset to give reasonable XP rewards.

Based on our calculations, the most XP a player could get legitimately get with the best set-up in this time frame* puts them at around, or possibly a bit higher, than level 75.

As of this posting, we have 879 players who are over level 75. Now that the exploit has been fixed, we are rolling all players at level 76 or higher BACK to level 75.

If you are one of those 879 players, we are not banning your account. Having your level/XP reset is enough of a knockback.

But that's not FAIR! You might be saying. They should get banned!

I understand why you might feel that way. But at AE, in ALMOST ALL cases dealing with exploits that are left in the game, when we make a mistake we do not want to punish players for that oversight.*

I want to share a story from Artix that illustrates why this is:

We do not typically ban when the exploit is our fault. We just roll everyone back.
I remember in this one MMO I played way back in the day, they announced that they were dramatically increasing the price of crafting materials.

So me and a dozen other smart people bought gazzillions of them. Then after the price went up sold them and became rich. The game masters got very upset, taking all the items and gold off our characters.

I felt that was wrong of them and vowed I would never do things like that to our players.

In this situations, the exploit was available, and that was our fault. 

Free 1-Hour XP Boosts+ Server boosts

It is never fun to have an error like this go out to live servers - we never want to roll content live that upsets you guys. When we have problems like this, we work to make it right - striving to get the best, fairest resolution live as quickly as possible.

If you logged into your AQW account/s today or yesterday, we are giving you 12 free 1 hour XP boosts to help you battle! Thank you for your understanding and patience while we correct the balance and XP exploit issues with this weekend's release!

With the glitch fixed, the 15% XP, Rep, Class Points, and Gold boost is now back on!

* Without using any glitches or exploits
** That may not always be the case, but in almost all situations, that is our guiding principle.

May 18, 2017

Void Challenge Monster Skills

Battle All-New Boss Monsters in The Void!

In addition to a selection of regular monsters in this week's "Void Challenge" map, we have 6 monsters for you that, on the new server,* have unique abilities and animations! If you’re up for a new type of challenge that will put your knowledge of classes and abilities to the test or, you want a challenge that demands coordinated team combat, then make sure to check out this week’s release on the new servers!

Flibbitigibbest (level 25)

Fast Auto Attack, 25% Haste buff that lasts 6 seconds and -40% all damage taken buff that lasts 6 seconds. 

This guy hits fast with decent damage and can buff his speed up even more! Use classes that debuff his haste to take away his one offensive advantage. His defense buff is strong but only lasts 6 seconds. Make sure to wait until it’s gone before hitting him with your high damage abilities and this bugger won’t be tougher than a housefly

Drakonnas (level 40)

Fast Auto Attack, +50% damage buff and +50% crit chance buff both lasting 8 seconds.

Armor up or get your heals out cause Drakonnas is bringing the pain. His electrifying attacks hit hard and crit often so if you can stun him when he’s buffed or negate his crit chance with a debuff, he’ll be nothing more than a regular guy with a funny mask.

Dark Djinni (level 50)

Regular Auto Attack, AoE DoT and +50% Dodge and Damage buff that lasts 8 seconds.

Even against a team, the Dark Djinni won’t go down easy. He has a strong AoE DoT that can crit (like all DoTs and HoTs on the new server!) and his buffs will having you wishing for a nerf. Pick classes that aren’t affected much if their attacks are dodged or classes that have hit chance buffs so you’re not starved for mana.

Xyfrag (level 70)

Weak Auto Attack, +80% Damage Resist aura that lasts 10 seconds and, Regoovenation, a massive Heal Over Time that lasts 6 seconds.

First off, you’ll need a team of the best at Yulgar’s Inn for a chance to take out Xyfrag. He’s the first of the monsters this week that is designed not to be taken out solo. He has a massive heal over time via Regoovenation in addition to his maxed out +80% Damage Resist aura. There is a way to stop his healing though… with the right classes. Luckily, his attacks are weak in general so, with the right team, you should be able to slurp Xyfrag up.

Nightbane (level 80)

Strong Auto Attack, Leech Attack and an AoE debuff that increases your mana costs by 50% for 10 seconds!

So this guy heals and hits hard and locks out high mana cost abilities for up to 3 targets! You’ll need a special blend of classes to get around his mana cost debuff otherwise, you’ll be howling at the moon for mercy.

The Reaper (level 85)

Regular Auto Attack, Stacking DoT that lasts 18 seconds if not restacked and an AoE nuke.

The Reaper is our strongest and final monster for this week’s release. He demands a coordinated team to get around his slowly stacking, massive DoT. You’ll have to juggle aggro and wait for its 18 second duration to wear off or else face imminent demise. His huge AoE nuke keeps your teammates on their toes so no slacking Jimmy!

Arklen's Helpful Hint #1: Pay attention to their buff animations as they’re timed to wear off when the buff does!

Arklen's Helpful Hint #2: If you are not a high level yet, there are other, lower-level monsters in the Void to battle. But taking on these bosses with a group will give you a taste of what's to come!

* You can still play the release on the live servers, but the boss monsters will not have new skills.

May 16, 2017

Friday: Void Guardian Limited Quantity Sets

Get your gear before the packages disappear!

Starting this Friday, May 19th, at 6:00 PM EST (that's server time, and you can find a server time clock in your in-game options menu) head to our Limited Quantity Sets page to grab some of the darkest gear the Void has ever spawned. Each package also comes with a unique badge in your Book of Lore and on your character page! 

The LQS will feature the following new sets:

• Galactic Imperator
• Void Guardian
• Amaranthine Void Gear (weapons and pet)

Plus a number of existing sets will return! These sets will be available until they sell out. After that, they'll never be available again! 

Galactic Imperator Set

Galactic Imperators are not always supervillains looking to control the galactic void, but when they ARE... they do all their conquering without leaving their thrones.

• Galactic Imperator armor
• Galactic Imperator cape
• Galactic Imperator helm
• Void Energy Orb: single + dual wield
• Floating Micro Galaxy cape

Void Guardian Set

Deep in the heart of the Void live creatures that should NEVER enter our world! It's up to the Void Guardians to ensure our safety. 

• Void Guardian armor
• 4 Void Guardian helms
• Heart of the Void Staff
• Void's Lace Runestaff
• Rune of the Void Cloak
• Void Guardian's Claw: single + dual wield

Amaranthine Void Gear

The Void is its own element, but when combined with just the right amount of starstuff, Amaranthine Ore is formed. Each of the items in this set has been infused with the ore, which gives them their unearthly glow.

• Amaranthine Void Blade
• Amaranthine Tri-Spear
• Void-Dweller Koofu pet

What is a Limited Quantity Set?

The Limited Quantity Sets are just what they sounds like... each set has a certain quantity and once that number has sold out then that's it. The total number of sets is the same for everyone, everwhere, so if you see 300 items left on the web page, that's what we've got left in stock.

How Do Limited Quantity Sets Work?

1. Log into a special LQS webpage on AQ.com (not into the game!) 
2. Purchase the set using either ACs or gold
3. Log into AQW and find your set badge in the Book of Lore (no character page badge attached.)
4. Get all the items in the badge shop for 0 ACs (yay free storage!)

Limited Quantity Package Restock Schedule

Package quantities partially restock throughout the weekend to give everyone a chance to get the gear they want, no matter what timezone or country they live in.

Restock times:

• 6:00 PM Friday, 5/19 First stock!
• 9:00 AM Saturday, 5/20 (restock)
• 12:00 PM Sunday, 5/21 (restock)

May 15, 2017

This Friday: Enter the Void

Battleon's Void Challenge Battle Area arrives in AQWorlds!

Long-time fans of the original AdventureQuest will recognize this strange realm and the creatures in it. This Friday, May 19th, talk to Dewlok in Darkovia to enter the Void and take on challenge monsters from our world and beyond - like the Xyfrag, the Reaper, Nightbane, and more!

As long-time players of our games know - when you enter the Void, you never know exactly WHAT you'll be facing!* Talk to The Reaper, walk to the right, and you'll be instantly transported to a battle facing a creature anywhere from levels 15 - 85.*

We're also introducing some classic baddies straight from the original AdventureQuest, including:

• Xyfrag
• Nightbane
• The Reaper
• Carnax Left and Right arms (will the rest of the beast pierce the veils between worlds in the future? Only time will tell!)
• Dark Djinn
• Drakonnas
• Flibbitigibbest

And if you battle through this week's release on the PTR servers, you'll fight versions of them with unique challenge monster skills! (They will appear as normal monsters on the regular servers.) Find a list of the boss monster skills in this Design Notes post.

All of the monsters in /thevoid drop the resources to craft the Void Knight armor set ,Dewlok the Koofu Rider pet, and the Reaper's Scythe. You'll also have a chance to get regular and high-level reward drops:

• Void Slicer, Piercer, and Manipulation weapons (level 50+)
• Edge of the Void blade
• the Reaper's Crossbow
• Xyfragment pet
• Reaper's Void scythe and hourglass (merge these to make the complete Reaper's Scythe!)
• Reaper's Time-Turner
• Nightbane's Wings

* You cannot control your path through the Void... it is too random. BUT if you talk to the Reaper, he will send you straight to a battle... against HIM!

LoreMaster House Shop

Talk to LoreMaster Maya in Battleontown to begin crafting your new library! ALL loremasters need a place to store their tomes and scrolls, and the best, most skilled hero-librarians are able to fill a university!

Level up your Loremaster rep to unlock new houses, then battle the monsters in Greenguard to get the resources you'll need to build them. In addition to building materials, each house will require the following:

• LoreMaster Tent House: rank 1 + 50,000 gold
• LoreMaster Hutch House: rank 3 + 100,000 gold + LoreMaster Tent House 
• LoreMaster Cottage House: rank 5 + 250,000 gold + LoreMaster Hutch House 
• LoreMaster Library House: rank 7 + 500,000 gold + LoreMaster Cottage House
• LoreMaster University House: rank 10 + 1,000,000 gold + LoreMaster Library House

Level Cap Raises to 85: 20 more levels

Now that we're able to give you guys some battles to sink your teeth into with the unique challenge monster skills... it's time to raise the level cap! It's been about 2 years since the last multi-level cap raise, so it we're adding 20 more levels, taking the cap from level 65 to 85!

This weekend, find enhancements for levels 66 - 85 in the level 50+ enhancement shops in your game menu! Then, in the very near future, we will add in the Awe enhancements and update both the Honor Hall battle arena and /shadowrealmb to give you even more places to farm!

May 12, 2017

This Friday: ShadowFall Strikes Back

Book of Monsters Saga, Chapter 1 Finale

First, the rift into the Plane of Monsters opened. Then Extriki the Destroyer entered our world, and we learned just how strong a Monster spawned by the Queen can really be! Now, we hold the key to defeating Extriki - we need to weaponize the world itself!

No one is more versed in the nature of... well... Nature than Ravinos in in Brightoak Grove. The fate of our world is at stake, and it is the planet itself that will help us save it! But you need to hurry, Hero -- Lord Brentan has spotted Extriki and he is only a few miles away from the Battleon Guardian tower!

Finale Rewards

This week's story finale release has 3 cutscenes, a miniboss AND finale boss, with 13 boss drop rewards (including the Toxic Scavenger set), 5 regular monster reward drops, plus a new battlepet in the Rift Gear shop! 

Tweet your favorite screenshots from the release to @Alina_AE so I can retweet you and spread the news of your awesomeness!

May 11, 2017

Underglade and Toxic Scavenger Gear

Find this weekend's featured set in your Game Menu tomorrow!

Deep within the caves under Brightoak Grove lives a humanoid, semi-sentient creature that only comes to the surface during one of the Brightoak Druids quarterly Lunar renewal ceremonies - The Underglade Scavenger. During the latest rite, the poor beast fled in fear, sensing a disturbance in Lore's ley lines. Sadly, it ran into a pool of Extriki's toxin, and was irreparably tainted.

Starting this Friday, find the Underglade Scavenger in the Rift Gear shop for AdventureCoins or gold (for members). All heroes can battle Extriki the Destroyer to unlock the Toxic Scavenger set!

May 05, 2017

May Upgrade Bonus

Unlock the LightStrike Commander set when you upgrade in May!

Unlock the LightStrike Commander set when you buy any membership or AdventureCoin package worth $10 USD or more starting this Friday, May 5th, at 6 PM EST. Upgrade with a 12000 AdventureCoin or 12 month membership to get the ShadowForce Commander set, too! This upgrade bonus leaves June 2nd, 2017.

Tier 1: LightStrike Commander

Fight for what is right... fight with the light. Keep your goal in sight and the Queen of Monsters will never be able to rule our world!

Tier 2: ShadowForce Commander

The power of darkness will ensure our victory. With it, the Queen of Monsters cannot take over our world!

May 05, 2017

The Toxic Test is LIVE

The Book of Monsters: Destroyer Saga continues!

To defeat Extriki the Destroyer, Empress Gravelyn seeks information... and she needs YOU to get it for her. 

But take care in the questioning, Hero -- if the creature doesn't survive, we will never get the answers we need! It may be easier to win his trust and get him to cooperate. As the grannies say, "you catch more monsters with honey than you do with stabbing." /join charredpath to continue your adventure!

Calling all LoreMasters!

Loremaster Maya in Battleon and Loremaster Emily in the Neverglades Battlecamp need your help to collect information about the creatures of Lore. Starting Friday, May 5th, some creatures may drop scrolls which you can turn in to get more information about them.

Find the LoreMaster and Dark LoreKeeper armors in the LoreMaster rep shop! Then, later this month, you'll be able to unlock and "level up" your LoreMaster House:

• LoreMaster Tent
• LoreMaster Hutch 
• LoreMaster Cottage
• LoreMaster Library
• LoreMaster University

Cinco de Mayo Returns!

Mad Cinco de Mayo celebrations will get underway on Friday, May 5th! To join in the fun, we're bringing back a shop full of crazy-awesome accoutrements for you to equip. Then rock out for Randor the Red's birthday as we celebrate our favorite wolf-loving wallpaper-maker! Find the Cinco de Mayo and Randor's birthday gear in the May Featured Shop.

Reminder!

AEXtras is still a great way to get FREE ADVENTURECOINS and even FREE ARTIX POINTS so you don't miss out on these limited-time rare items! Just CLICK HERE to get started!

Or, You can jump onto your Master Account and start earning free Artix Points using AExtras and use those Points to get stuff in ANY of our games!

May 04, 2017

May the 4th Be With You

... And also with you, MechQuest Fans!

Head into AQWorlds and celebrate May the 4th with holiday gear imported all the way from the MechQuest universe! Find the items in the Featured May Gear shop in your game menu. 

MogWars comes to Lore lwith a pet based on my favorite monster from MechQuest -- Master Twang! Plus, we've got some deadly energy weapons we overclocked to help all you heroes defend yourself with against any monsters in the galaxy!

May the 4th holiday... wait, what?

Well... it's not, really. Unless you're a particular breed of nerd. As the Intergalactic Space Wiki (run by wookies, of course) tells us:

"May 4 is considered a holiday by Star Wars fans to celebrate the franchise's films series, books, and culture as well as strict religious rituals.[3] The date was chosen for the easy pun on the catchphrase "May the Force be with you" — "May the fourth be with you". Even though the holiday was not actually created or declared by Lucasfilm many Star Wars fans across the world choose to celebrate the holiday."

MechQuest: Mecha RPG in a fantasy world

Our May the 4th gear was imported from MechQuest, our *deep breath* single-player, browser-based, fantasy giant destructive war machine battle game. *exhale* WHOOOOSH that's a mouthful. Heavily inspired by the art from every mecha & giant robot series ever created, if you like battling in giant mechs, it's out of this world!