Design Notes

February 25, 2019

AQWorlds Patch Notes

Check the list of bug fixes to see what the team has addressed

Reens, Cemaros and the AQW Bug Hunter team are busy squashing the bugs you submit each week to the Bug Tracker at www.Artix.com/bugs.

Please do not send non-release bugs on Twitter.  They will get lost.  Make sure you send bug report forms!

Check back weekly to see if the bug you reported has been addressed.  Please remember that not all bugs are "easy fixes" so some reported and confirmed bugs from each week may not be on the fixed list as they will require more time or a different person to fix them.

If you would like to know how the reports go from you to fixed, check this page:
http://www.aq.com/lore/guides/BugReportFAQ

Bug Fixes:

• Obsidian Samurai's Katana added to the February Seasonal Shop.
• Void Quibble Bank Pet rarity fixed.
• Quest button at /catacombs no longer going blank.
• Cape des Coeurs (and other HHD seasonal items) moved into Prince Jim’s shop.
• Jing Gongji seasonal items now available from Princess Miko in /akibacny instead of Treasure Chests.

Art Fixes:

• Soul Harvester ghost leg peeking out while moving has been removed.
• IceStorm Eagle Rider red outlines fixed.
• Royal Swordhaven Bow now has a bow string.
• Sanctified Armor female foot fixed.
• Frostval Zorbak Hat Helm and Frostval Zorbak Hat and Locks CC bits fixed.

Not Fixed & Why:

• Happy House of DOOM not showing in the Doom Merge shop preview is because it’s a house in a not-house shop.  It shows normal once you own it.
• Armours which use non-standard bits in the eyes (longer or heavier lash lines, thicker brows) may cause issues when equipped with helms which were not made for them. This is not actually a bug, it’s an artist choice / non-standard issue.
• Future you- part 2! Gets cranky when you use non-standard armours. 

February 20, 2019

This Weekend: Enter the Underworld Arena

Battle the Undead, Join the Dark Hand, and more!

This weekend, Axeros, ally of Dage the Evil and leader of the Dark Hand, welcomes you to the Underworld’s deadliest Arena!

Built by generals of Dage's Undead Legion, this battleground serves as a proving ground for fallen adventurers who refuse to lay down and die. The best arena combatants may be recruited into Dage’s Undead Legion. Some may choose to work with Axeros... IF they pass his test and quests. IF you think you have what it takes - test your might against the warriors within, and reap the darkest rewards. (literally, the set is based on Vantablack, one of the darkest substances known to man).

• Test your skill against Undead Legion monsters
• Defeat the Legion Fiend Rider and other mobs for pieces of the Vanta BladeMaster set
• Complete Axeros' insane farming quest to join the Dark Hand for exclusive gear

Axeros' Birthday Rewards + the Dark Hand

This event features Axeros, in a belated celebration of his birthday (send happy birthday wishes on on Twitter!) and serves as a PvE* lead-in to next week, as we celebrate Dage the Evil's Dark PVP** birthday.

Axeros' DarkHand Assassin shop can only be unlocked if you get the Soul Keeper Blade from his Worthy of the Blade farming quest. 

* Player vs Environment
** Player vs Player

February 20, 2019

This Weekend: Legion Symbiote

Will you be consumed by darkness?

Gear up to celebrate death, destruction, and darkness with a deadly new set that will consume your soul... but take your battle skills to the next level. Find the all-new Legion Symbiote armor set in your Featured Gear Shop for AdventureCoins until March 31st.*  

Crafted by AQW Community Artist Tyronius to celebrate Dage the Evil's birthday next week, this set is the next in the fan-favorite "Symbiote" series. 

• Legion Symbiote armor
• 3 Legion Symbiote helms
• 3 Legion Symbiote capes
• 3 Legion Symbiote weapons

* The set will also be permanently available in the Undead Legion shop in /underworld. 

February 20, 2019

Obsidian Samurai Leaves Next Week

Available every year from February 1st - 28th

March is almost here, and that means it's just about time to say goodbye to our February Seasonal Set for the year. Unlock all of the Obsidian Samurai items gear, plus an exclusive character page badge, when you buy the full pack, or get individual items from Garek's shop in Battleon. The set will be available until 11:59 PM EST on February 28th, 2019.

February Set: Obsidian Samurai

Unlock the Obsidian Samurai armor and all its accessories until Thursday, February 28th at 11:59 PM EST (that's server time), 

There are two ways to get the gear:

1) Total package: Buy the entire set directly through the website for $9.99 USD 

2) Individually: Buy each of the individual pieces from Garek the Traveling Gear Merchant in Battleon.

The total cost to buy all of the gear individually is 5,400 ACs, so getting all the gear from the Northern Wanderers pack is a pretty sweet deal (you save 3,400 ACs).

The set includes:

• Obsidian Samurai armor
• Samurai's Shadow Cape (glow is color-customizable)
• Obsidian Samurai Banners cape
• Obsidian Samurai's Helm and Masked Helm
• 4 Obsidian Samurai hair helms
• 5 weapons (including dual-wield katanas, nodachi, and naginata)
• an exclusive character page badge

Seasonal Set Details

Each month, we'll feature a new set, available only during that month every year. 

Seasonal Sets
September: Celestial Naval Commander
October: ChronoStriker
November: Harvest Hunters
December: Northern Wanderer
January: ArchFiend OverLord
February: Obsidian Samurai
March - August: ??? - come back to see what we'll bring!

Frequently Asked Questions

Is this the same as the monthly upgrade bonus? 

Upgrade bonus gear is an extra reward for buying AdventureCoin or Membership packages; new bonus gear comes out roughly every month. Seasonal set packs are bought separately. Just like the Flame Dragon Warrior pack, you can buy the entire set directly, for one price, on our site. You can ALSO buy the individual pieces in-game.

This set will return EVERY February, so if you can't get it now, you'll have another chance in 2020, or 2021, or 2022, etc.

If this isn't the monthly upgrade bonus, what IS the bonus?

You can see all the available upgrade bonuses on our upgrade site. The next bonus set will be available soon, so keep an eye on the Design Notes! 

What if I just want ONE of the items?

You're in luck! Talk to Garek in Battleon. He'll be selling the individual pieces of the set through January 31st.

Where do I get my gear if I buy the full set through the website?

You'll find it in your Book of Lore.

February 15, 2019

Hero's Heart Day Returns this Weekend

Log in to love, honor, and to SLAY!

Hero's Heart Day is a holiday full of emotion -- most heroes either LOVE the hearts, the pink decorations, and the cheerful cheesy romance... or they love to DESTROY them!  This weekend, log in and /join wubbles to love, honor... and to SLAY!

This year's event brings you:

• Fuzzy teddy bears 
• A quest to retrieve an ancient artifact that can bring inanimate objects to life
• A second quest to deal with the VERY VERY BAD thing that happened when you completed the first quest (Spoilers: fuzzy horrors and eldritch tentacles have been spotted...)

New Holiday Event Gear

Getting the sweet new Valentine’s Day gear will be as easy as falling in love! Find the rare Goddess of Love armor set from OverSoul and the seasonal Red Rose set in the Featured Gear Shop in your game menu for AdventureCoins.

Also available this weekend are:

• New hairs! Check out Bev's Hair Shop for the Red Rose-themed hairs (and glasses face morph)
• New gear in the Wheel of Doom merge shop! Find the Gilded HeartBreaker weapon set and the Happy House of Doom in the merge shop
• New house item shop! If you loved the zone art from Memet's /spookeasy zone, now you can own a Hero's Heart-themed version of the house, plus all the candy-themed house items. Talk to Vesper in /wubblevania after you complete the story.

February 11, 2019

Email Issue Update: FIXED!

Blocked Email Fix and Re-confirming your email

We have fixed an issue where players were unable to receive emails from Artix Entertainment last week if they used Hotmail, Outlook, and Live.  (Though initially, all email providers were affected.) If you tried to reset your password, confirm your email address, etc, and did not receive a reply from us, you were affected and may have received an email asking you to reconfirm your address.

Notice to Reconfirm

You may have gotten a notice that you need to reconfirm your email.  This is part of the solution, and you should do this as soon as possible to continue receiving emails from Artix Entertainment.  You can adjust your email preferences on the Manage Account page.

Still not seeing emails?

If you reconfirmed your email address and still cannot see our emails, please check your spam folders first.  (Microsoft email providers may still be directing our emails to your spam folder.)  If you see the email there, you can mark it as Not Spam and they should be delivered to your inbox in the future.

If you are still not receiving any mails at all, please submit a ticket to Artix Support and they will be happy to work with you to get everything sorted out.

We’re very sorry for the inconvenience this has caused and appreciate your patience while we work on getting things back to normal.

February 08, 2019

New Doom Set: Yokai Senshi

Available in the Wheel of Doom and Merge shop!

The Wheel of Doom spins round and round... and this week, as we celebrate the new year in Yokai Isle (and China celebrates its lunar new year) we've got an all-new, party-ready set for you -- the Yokai Senshi! 

New Gear from the Wheel of Doom!

We know a lot of you are raring to redeem your free spins... so we're adding a full new Epic rarity set for you, crafted by AQW Community Artist, Bido! Each of the Yokai Senshi set pieces will be available from the Wheel of Doom and from the Doom merge shop. This set will return each year during the event.

Pieces of the set include:

• Yokai Senshi armor
• Yokai Kabuto Mask
• Yokai Kabuto Helmet
• Senshi's Guard cape
• Kogane no Yumi
• Kogane no Yari
• Kogane no Katana
• Kogane no Ha
• Dual Kogane no Ha

All our seasonal Winter Wheel of Doom gear - including the Yokai Senshi set - will leave leave Wednesday, March 20th, the first day of Spring.  This gear will return next year during the Winter months.

Get your Free Spins

Everyone loves to get prizes... and that's why we brought back back free spins for the Wheel of Doom!

• Members get one free spin a day while their upgrade is active
• All players get one free spin a week. 

See the Free Spins Design Notes for more details.

Platinum Item of Donated Awesomeness

We've gotten a lot of really positive feedback after introducing the free spins... but also a lot of you who wanted 1) a way to make sure you got an Item of Donated Awesomeness and 2) kept spinning in a quest to get the Epic Item of Donated Awesomeness to drop from the Wheel... and then not didn't get it.

That's why, earlier this month, we introduced the Platinum Item of Donated Awesomeness. This item is available from the Doom Merge Shop, so even if you don't receive the EIoDA as a bonus prize, you can save up your Treasure Potions and get the PIoDA.

Important Points

• The PIoDA will be a Wheel of Doom merge shop exclusive. 
• Cost: 1,000 Treasure Potions. 
• You can get both the EIoDA (from the Wheel) and the PIoDA (from the merge shop)
• The PIoDA currently stacks up to x5. We are looking at ways to increase this by popular demand.

At a cost of 1,000 Treasure Potions, that means a member who ONLY uses their one free spin per day/week will need to log in every day for about 2.5 years to get it... but they WILL get it eventually. 

* Exceptions include staff personal items, custom weapon contest prizes, HeroMart items, etc

February 08, 2019

Save the Honorable Boar Spirit

Our Yokai New Year Celebration continues this weekend!

Join Empress Miko this weekend as our Yokai New Year celebration continues! But before the celebration can begin, the people of Akiba need your help. Zhū the Honorable Boar is trapped, caught in a mysterious sleep enchantment. Enter his dreams and battle to free him, then get ready to /party!

Join akibacny and fight to save the party!

• Quest to enter Zhū's dream
• Fight through Zhū's memories to discover what happened to him
• Battle the creature who sought to keep him trapped... forever

Yokai New Year Rewards

Our featured event farming set was crafted by the super-dedicated, Yokai New Year-loving AQW community guest artist, Nakana Rei! Fight this weekend's event boss to collect the pieces of the Zhū Ronin armor set!

In AQW it has become tradition that we sell a Non-Member AC pet to go with the theme of the Chinese New year. This year it's the Lucky Coin Pig pet to honor the year of the pig! Find that pet and the Boaruto's Father cape in the Featured Gear Shop in your game menu.

We are adding a few awesome-but-rare items that you will never see again (sad face if you miss out)! 

• Floating Pigs cape
• 3 Little Pigs pet
• Lucky Coin Pig pet

You will also find a ton member and non-member Seasonal Items returning to earn while the Yokai New Year event lasts! Happy New Year!

Class Buffs: Chunin + Artifact Hunter

This week, we wrapped up our February birthday class buffs with Chunin and Artifact Hunter. 

Chunin Changes: To increase its viability, we wanted to address two things that you all wanted to see change: its heal (or lack thereof) and the self-stun on Chi Blast. 

• New Auto Attack default Auto Attack is now a unique auto attack called Chi Strike (has a chance to apply a small heal over time effect + attacks two monsters) 
• Chi Blast Changes removed the self-stun effect and increased Chi Blast’s damage
• Monster Target Changes all of Chunin’s skills now target only two monsters (to prevent drawing more aggro than you can manage)

When coupled with its already impressive damage mitigation, the Chi Strike auto attack gives Chunin the sustainability it needs to farm without taking rest breaks or relying on a healer. And by targeting two close range monsters, you further increase the amount of damage you can deal to both targets.

Because most Chunin users would almost never trade Chi Blast's high damage for its self-stun, we removed the self-stun effect, and to ensure it’s on par with newer classes, its damage was buffed.

Artifact Hunter Changes: To address its mana issues, we adjusted damage numbers for its second skill, then buffed it so that the skill will always result in a critical hit.

Last Chance for Nulgath Birthday Gear

We celebrated Nulgath the ArchFiend’s birthday celebration last month, and it's almost time for his birthday shop to leave for the year. Find the Void Rebirth and Void Awakening sets in your game menu until next Friday, February 15th. 

And don't miss your chance to get the color-custom version. Once the shop leaves, it will NEVER be available again!

February 05, 2019

AQWorlds Patch Notes

Check the list of bug fixes to see what the team has addressed

Reens, Cemaros and the AQW Bug Hunter team are busy squashing the bugs you submit each week to the Bug Tracker at www.Artix.com/bugs.

Please do not send non-release bugs on Twitter.  They will get lost.  Make sure you send bug report forms!

Check back weekly to see if the bug you reported has been addressed.  Please remember that not all bugs are "easy fixes" so some reported and confirmed bugs from each week may not be on the fixed list as they will require more time or a different person to fix them.

If you would like to know how the reports go from you to fixed, check this page:
http://www.aq.com/lore/guides/BugReportFAQ

Bug Fixes:

1. Titanium Crowned Northern Snowball added to Titanium Northlands Royalty shop.

Art Fixes:

1. Seraphic Commander female changes from last week now showing.
2. Sandsea Enchanter female skirt part has been smoothed out.
3. Evolved Hex of Nulgath female skirt covering leg now.

Not Fixed & Why:

1. Necrotic Caster's Skull Pet not CC to eye color. This has been mentioned before as well.  CC pets don’t work.  Pets were never intended to be CC and they break.  A lot. When a CC pet breaks, such as the CC bit resetting to base colour when you change rooms, there really isn’t anything we can do about it.  This is why we usually do not do CC pets.

February 02, 2019

This Weekend: Superbowl Sunday

Half-time is /Punt time!

When the Satyrs* face-off against the Loyalists**, all of Lore goes CRAZY! So, football fans, kick your puntin' foot into high gear, because it's half-time, and we've opened the /punt map! Score a field goal AND a rockin' character page badge by punting Twilly across the field and into the end zone!

Loyalists vs Harpies!

The half-time shop sports a stock full of fantastic fan favorites! So grab your pompoms and /cheer for your favorite team! 

* Congratulations to making the big game, Satyrs! We're excited to a see a new team in the roster.
** Seriously, the Loyalists are INSANE! They've played in 2018, 2017, 2015, and 2012. Crazy talent!

February 01, 2019

GroundHorc's Day Returns

How long will winter last?

Happy Groundhog Day! On this day every year, Philip the weather predicting groundhog pops his head out of his hole and peers around. If he comes out to play, then spring is here. But if he sees his shadow and vanishes back into his warm cozy burrow, then we know that we are in for SIX MORE WEEKS of winter!

When you log in this Saturday, you'll see  Philip the Weather-predicting groundhog. If you aren't familiar with strange US folk traditions, here's the story of Puxatawnee Phil, who inspired this NPC. Talk to Phil in Battleon and complete his quest to save his brother (also named Phil... it's a family thing) from General Porkon in the Horc Fort.

Then wear his head on your face to celebrate. 

February 01, 2019

Yokai New Year is Almost Here!

Get Ready to /Party... Yokai Style!

We have a TON of events happening, because this is the week of OMG all the returning events! So strap on your lightest gear and get ready to MOVE!

Yokai Isle blends many cultural elements from China, Japan, and other Asian countries to create one of the most popular zones in-game. So every year, we celebrate Yokai New Year in Akiba. This year is the Year of the Boar (and the colors brown, yellow, and grey) in the Yokai Calendar. 

Talk to Empres Ai no Miko and battle the Honorable Boar monster in the Empress' throne room. Take him on to show your respect for the boar's determination and courage.

The boss monsters has a chance to drop:

• the Boar's Guard armor set
• Brown Foo Dog
• Honorable Boar house items
• Honorable Boar pet
• Obsidian Samurai Armor Stand house statue
• Obsidian Samurai Banner house wall item

Class Balance Updates

Pisces and the class balance team are back at it -- updating classes you love to keep them fun and handy in battle! We changed four classes this week:

• DoomKnight 
• Artifact Hunter 
• Mystic and Arcane Dark Caster 

The classes that received the most significant changes were Mystic and Arcane Dark Caster, while DoomKnight and Artifact Hunter received smaller changes. Because of this, DoomKnight and Artifact Hunter may be revisited later in February based on your feedback-- so hop on social media or on Discord and let us know what you think about these classes!

Mystic and Arcane Dark Caster Changes

The biggest change you guys wanted with these was a decrease in the time required to build up momentum. Now you won’t need to reach 100 stacks of your first skill before seeing high DoT numbers!

• Envelop in Darkness: now stacks to 20 (instead of 100), but the Damage over Time effect increases at a much faster rate. 
• Arcane Overwhelming: cooldown reduced from 50 seconds to 25 seconds
• Arcane Overwhelming: Self-stun/mana recovery increased to 5 seconds. 

The significant cooldown reduction and haste boosting effect of Arcane Overwhelming means your damage will now be consistently higher IF you can manage your skills and timing well. 

DoomKnight Class Changes

After a thorough review and reading your feedback, we saw DoomKnight would most benefit from increased mana regeneration opportunities.

• Blood Offering: mana cost removed, now costs 20% of your max health.
• If Blood Offering is used when Dark Wound is present: 20% increase to Haste and Crit Chance (contributes to mana recovery).

Artifact Hunter Changes

Buff applied to the Supreme Arcane Spell:

• Deals increased damage 
• Has a slightly stronger Damage over Time effect 
• Costs less mana 
• Will always hit (but can never deal a critical hit).

But that is not all we've got in the works! Later this month, the class crew will look at... 

• the possibility of additional changes for Artifact Hunter and DoomKnight 
• Buffing Chunin 
• Reworking the skills on a currently rare class whose skills may make an appearance on Heroes Heart Day. 

And just as a reminder: the classes changed in February were directly influenced by YOUR feedback! If you want to see something change, hop on Twitter, Facebook or the forums and let us know!

Also Coming this Weekend...

Log in tomorrow as our GroundHorc's Day quest and gear return. Then come back this Sunday during the SuperBowl Half-time show as we re-open the /punt map and the LoreBowl Gear Shop featuring the Loyalists and the Satyrs!

Next Weekend... Yokai New Year Continues

Join us for an all-new story adventure!  Zhu, the boar spirit we must honor and celebrate, has been enchanted, and lays unconscious. He is still alive, but our mystics say the only way to revive him is to enter his dreams and destroy whatever has trapped him. 

February 01, 2019

Become an Akiban Defender

Upgrade to unlock new exclusive gear sets!

Unlock the color-custom Akiban Defender upgrade bonus sets now and channel your inner warrior! Starting this month, buy any AdventureCoin or membership package worth $10 USD or more to select an upgrade bonus set of your choice from a list of options in your Account Manager. 

Pack Details

 Choose the Akiban Defender bonus to unlock two full armor sets. The fabric on the armor and helms, plus the hilts and sheathes of the weapons and capes are color-customizable.

• Akiban Defender armor 
• Enchanted Dark Samurai armor 
• 3 helms
• Akiban Samurai's Shadow cape
• Dark Samurai's Shadow cape
• 4 more accessory capes
• 4 swords
• 3 dual-wield weapons
• Rep/XP/Gold/Class Points boosts added straight to your inventory
• and a character page badge

Once you've chosen the Akiban Defender bonus on the Account Manager page, log in and find the set's shop in the Other Achievements tab in your Book of Lore. 

12000 AC or 12 month membership package rewards:

• ALL the Akiban Defender gear
• 7 Rep/XP/Gold/Class Points boosts 
• 10 Wheel of Doom Tickets (worth 2,000 ACs!)
• and a character page badge

Boosts and Doom Tickets will be added directly to your inventory.

2k and 5k AC or 1, 3, or 6 month membership package rewards:

• ALL the Akiban Defender gear
• 5 Rep/XP/Gold/Class Points boosts 
• and a character page badge

This Friday, our Upgrade Bonuses Level Up... Choose your Reward!

In the past, our upgrade bonus sets would only be available for a single month, and then would become permanently rare. We made some really incredible gear... that no one can get now. I've talked with many of you individually to brainstorm and get feedback, and starting this month, our upgrade bonuses will become permanently available. We will continue to add new upgrade bonuses regularly, but the big difference is... now you can choose which upgrade bonus set you want!

Starting this Friday, when you buy any AC or membership pack worth $10 USD or more, you'll be able to choose one of the following bonus sets:

• Akiban Defender
• Copper Void ChronoKnight
• Golden Northlands Royalty

Important Details

• All future upgrade bonus packs will be added under this system. 
• ALL of the upgrade bonus gear for a set will be available when you buy an AC or membership pack worth $10 USD.
• We will no longer be doing Tier 1 and Tier 2 sets.
• Each time you upgrade, you'll be able to choose another bonus set. If you've already unlocked all the available sets, once a new one releases, you'll be able to choose it immediately.

If you buy a 12,000 AC or 12 month membership pack, in addition to choosing an upgrade bonus set, you'll also get 7x Game Boosts, a character page badge, plus 10 Wheel of Doom Fortune Tickets (worth 2,000 ACs).

Upgrade Pack Changes: Why Now?

As I talked with many of your fellow AQW players about these changes, one question repeated itself over and over: "why do we need to do this? Why now?"  

Development for AQW:Mobile is going to go into overdrive. With AQW:Mobile, we will not be able to do nearly as many rare items (this is in large part for game performance reasons, like managing asset loading, just like in AQ3D). It is also a pretty big blow to the artists and future players to lose access to entire sets of gear every month. 

We want to avoid that. We want to keep all the incredible art the team makes available for everyone, no matter when they start playing. And as we move into new platforms (mobile devices, Steam, ... maybe consoles?!) we want to make sure that art is available for the new heroes who will join you.

Upgrade Pack Changes: Why These Changes?

The goal with all these changes is to reward you even more -- to give you guys more options and more choices. (Plus, this new method lets people who upgrade multiple times get multiple rewards.) This is a great improvement for players who want to collect upgrade bonus sets (but may not always have the ability to when they first release).

February 01, 2019

February 2019 Calendar

New Year, New /Party, and more Love!

February is a month of celebration... from ringing in the Yokai New Year to the SuperBowl /party all the way to Hero's Heart Day! Log in all month long for new holiday events, stories, and gear.

February 1 Yokai Celebration: Year of the Boar, Pt 1 + Akiban Defender upgrade bonus + Obsidian Samurai seasonal set

February 2 GroundHorc's Day quest + gear

February 3 Superbowl Sunday: Punt map and team sets

February 8 Yokai Celebraion: Year of the Boar, Pt 2 (new story) + Wheel of Doom update

February 15 Hero's Heart Day 2019 + Event Rares and Featured Gear shop update

February 22 Legion Arena challenge + Featured Gear shop update