Design Notes

September 26, 2023

Become a 15th Upholder

Support AQWorlds and Become a Legend!

Starting now, upgrade your account with any membership to become a 15th Upholder. You'll instantly unlock a bounty of exclusive items and perks. We always say that we make AdventureQuest Worlds for and with you. It would not be what it is today without the trust and confidence of the original Founders and early Upholders... and we would not be able to build what comes next without your support now. 

History of Founders and Upholders

15 years ago, in 2008, AdventureQuest Worlds went live. A legion of passionate AdventureQuest Guardians and DragonFable DragonLords joined us on a new game-making journey. The early support of those Founders kept AQWorlds free for everyone to play. In recognition of their trust and confidence, every October we host a new Upholder promotion to reward other heroes who support the game's development. 

How to become a 15th Upholder

Starting Friday, September 29th, at 12:01 AM EST, we are once again offering the chance to become an AQW Upholder. 

• Have an active membership that expires on or after 11:59 PM November 1st or
• Upgrade your AQW account with ANY membership* starting this Friday or ANY TIME during the month of October

On Friday, badges will be added have been added to all heroes who are already 15th Upholders.* The first batch of 2023 exclusive Star Swords will arrive with Friday night's game update. 

15th Upholder Rewards

As a 15th Upholder, you'll receive:

• Guaranteed access to the AQW: Infinity Tech Demo test / preview as soon as it is available
• 10 exclusive 15th Upholder Star Swords (new for 2023!)
• 5 new AE Star Swords, available for all heroes (new for 2023!)
• Upholder Sentinel Class and armor set
• Star Sword: Origins zone access
• 13 Chaos Lord Star Swords
• 12 Lord of Order Star Swords
• 15th Upholder Character Page Badge
• Infinite bragging rights

15th Upholder Star Swords

The 15th Upholder Star Swords are based on fan-favorite NPCs from AdventureQuest Worlds.

1. Artix's StarSword of Destiny **
2. Zhoom's Sandsea Ranger Star Sword
3. Dage's Underworld Star Sword
4. Warlic's Blue Mage Star Sword
5. Beleen's Pink Hearts Star Sword
6. Cysero's Green Mage Star Sword *** 
7. Gravelyn's Star Sword of DOOM
8. Galanoth's DragonSlayer Star Sword
9. J6's BountyHunter Star Sword
10. Grimskull's DungeonMaster Star Sword

A while back, I polled my followers on Twitter to see which NPCs were among the most popular. We based a number of our Talk Like a Pirate Day armor sets as well as this year's Star Swords on those results. Thank you for your suggestions and feedback!

* Only memberships count towards 15th Upholder.
** The original sword from DragonFable (shown below) will be available separately in the future. It was included as part of Artix's Star Sword as a special bonus for 15th Upholders.
*** Item description says what?! O_O

DragonRoad Star Swords & Class For ALL Upholders

We wouldn't be here without your support, and we want to make sure you know it! The Sentinel Class will be available for ALL previous Upholders and Founders as our way of saying thanks for supporting us in the past! And for the last several years, we've added new Star Swords available to every Upholder... and that continues this year. You'll find them in the Star Sword Merge shop in /dragonroad. 

New for 2023:

• Epic Duel Star Sword (Click to change the blade between red and blue!)
• BioBeasts Star Sword
• Twilly's Star Sword
• Zorbak's Star Sword
• Twig's Star Sword

Want to know if you're already an Upholder?

That's easy! Just click the Manage Account link on the left under the ACCOUNT section. As soon as you sign in you'll see when your membership expires. 

Thank you, sincerely, for your support

We appreciate every single upgrade and AC that you pay for. We know many of you prefer different types of upgrades, and art, and stories, and battle difficulty. It takes all kinds of people to make a world... and to make a game... and to make a gaming community. For you reading this right now... the entire team is grateful you are here.

Your support makes all of our daily and weekly releases possible. It allows us to keep updating and expanding AQWorlds, and lets us keep most of the game free to play for ALL heroes. Thank you for helping us keep AQWorlds online and updating since 2008, and working on the early development phases that will bring AQ: Infinity to life.

Without you there supporting AdventureQuest Worlds' development, we could not keep the game running. Full stop.

The original AdventureQuest Worlds Founders will always hold a special place in our hearts for believing in us and supporting the game before we even had a game to support. As always, Founders will recieve a special upgraded version of your Platinum Dragon pet. This year is the 0 AC Palladium Armored Platinum Dracolich Battle Pet (non-member).****

15th Upholder Badge Accidentally Added to Character Pages. FIXED!

At 11:55 AM this morning, we added the 15th Upholder badges to everyone who automatically unlocked the achievement badge. 45 minutes later (and after many confused posts and bug reports) Captain Rhubarb figured out the issue. There was a typo in the query awarding the badges... so anyone who got 14th Upholder in 2022 accidentally got the 15th Upholder badge. 

We rollled the fix by 12:41 PM EST, and the badges were removed from all accounts that should not have had them. I apologize for any confusion the issue caused. If you believe you should  have a 15th Upholder badge but don't see it, you can check your Upholder status inside your Account Manager. 

**** More adjectives = more cool. Plus, Palladium is rarer than Platinum. \O/

September 29, 2023

This Weekend: Water Dragon Salvation

Lady Celestia Needs your Help in Ashray Village

This weekend log in and sail into danger to assist Lady Celestia, the High Priestess of Dragons. The Great Water Dragon's egg has been stolen and hatched before its time into a twisted, aquatic abomination, threatening all around it. She needs your help to send it to an eternal rest deep beneath the waves. 

New game release

• Battle a mysterious monstrosity from the sea to collect a shipload of new reward gear
• Final update for Quibble's 2023 Talk Like a Pirate Day 2023 Shop + Collection
• 15th Upholder begins!

Leaving

• September 30th: September Hub town map leaves (/septhub, Augusthub, Indonesia events)
• September 30th: Celestial Naval Commander seasonal set

Weekend Daily Gifts & Boosts

• Server Boost: Double Reputation, Class Points, Gold, and EXP
• Crafting Resource Boost: Void Auras
• Saturday: Dark Knight's Spear from the Fallen Warlord in the /infernalarena
• Sunday: Blacksteel Dragon Axes from the Red Dragon in /lair

And don't miss the rest of this month's update. See the full release lineup here: AdventureQuest Worlds calendar.

New Reward Gear

This weekend, we've got host of new reward items for you to collect and create. Head to /ashray for monster drops, Lady Celestia's Merge Shop, plus new gear added in /yokaipirate and in Lucia's Deep Trobble  Inn chest quest! 

September 29, 2023

Yarrr! New Loot in Quibble's Collection

The Final Update for our 2023 Pirate Collection is here

Quibble Coinbit-ARRRR just got in a new shipment o' loot fer his best mates. Check out his shop for new pirate-themed gear from the past, present, and future for heroes. Rare-hunters can get all of the items in this year's collection for 10,000 ACs with the Grim Seas collection chest (unlocks over 175 items and a pet with a rare character page badge).

 This year's Talk Like a Pirate Day collection features fan-favorite characters reimagined as seafaring NPCs (aka "Notorious Pirate Crew-members"). The chest unlocks over 175 items total. 

New gear in Quibble's Shop:

• Paladin Slayer Pirate Captain set
• Category Five Hurricane Pirate set*
• Astravian Naval Rebel set
• Vengeful Shiryo Rebel set (color-customizable)
• Savage Zard Territory Ground Rune
• Liberating Lightning Bolt polearm
• Liberating Cloud Fists
• and more!

Quibble's 2023 Grim Seas Collection Chest Details

• Find the Grim Sails 2023 Chest pet in the Featured Collection Chest shop
• Automatically unlock all the 2023 TLaPD collection items as they release
• Complete the Grim Spectre pet's quest to unlock an exclusive character page badge

Last week, over 100 items released in Quibble's Chest + Shop:

• Grim Sails 2023 Collection Chest
• Eldritch Pirate Crewmember armor (AC + member versions)
• Necro Skull helms and weapons
• GrimBlight Naval Commander 
• DungeonMaster Naval Commander
• GrimBlight helms, capes, and weapons
• J6 Naval Commander armor set
• Westion Naval Commander armor set
• Galanoth's Naval Commander armor set
• Gravelyn's Pirate Captain armor set
• Beleen's Crimson Crewmember, Captain, and Admiral armor sets
• Dage's Stygian Navigator armor set
• Cysero's Naval Commander armor set
• Doom Captain Capuchin Bank pet
• DoomTech DeepSpace Cthulhu pet
• Left Sock Parrot pet
• Imminent Demise pet

The Chaos Pirate Seasonal Collection Chest Returns

For AQWorlds' 13th anniversary, we added a seasonal Chaos Saga Pirate chest with over 100 items! Unlock them all when you get the Chaos Pirate Collection Chest, or buy individual items from the shop in your game menu.

The seasonal Chaos Pirate Collection Chest includes:

• Mobius Naval Commander set: based on Escherion, the 1st Lord of Chaos
• Duality Pirate Captain set: based on Xing and Xan, the 2nd Lords of Chaos
• Chaos Dragon Pirate Captain set: inspired by Chaos DragonLord Vath, the 3rd Lord of Chaos
• Ruby and Emerald Yokai Pirate Captain sets: inspired by Yokai Isle, the 4th Chaos Saga area
• WerePyre-ate Captain set: inspired by Wolfwing, the 5th Lord of Chaos
• Discordian Naval Commander set: inspired by Discordia, totally the 6th Lord of Chaos
• Arboreal Pirate Captain set: inspired by Arcangrove, the 7th Chaos Saga area
• Sandsea Naval Commander set: inspired by Zhoom, your main ally in the the 8th Lord of Chaos Saga
• Horcish and Trollish Naval Commander sets: inspired by your allies in the 9th Lord of Chaos Saga
• Chronomancer Pirate Captain set: inspired by Iadoa, the 10th Lord of Chaos
• ChaosFang Naval Commander set: inspired by LionFang, the 11th Lord of Chaos
• Swordhaven Naval Commander set: inspired by Alteon, ruler of the 12th Chaos Saga area
• Eternal Dragon Naval Commander set: inspired by the Eternal Dragon of Time, the 13th Lord of Chaos
• Ahoyrion Quest pet (with quest for exclusive character page badge)

Just want a couple of the items listed above? Apart from the exclusive pets, all of the gear contained inside the 2023 TLaPD Grim Sails Collection Chest shop will also be available to buy individually in Quibble's Event shop.

Cysero's Forge House Items Update: Accidental Early Release

These items mistakenly released too early. They were intended to release in October as farming quest reward items (along with a variant using the normal Cysero NPC art). The items will not be limited to the TLaPD 2023 collection chest owners. 

We will not remove them, but will adjust the rarity to reflect that they aren't exclusive, and will add the 0 AC tag that the items were intended to have upon launch next month.

So if you own the collection... grats! You get an early sneak-peek!

September 26, 2023

Now Available: New Quest + Weapon

Why wait until Friday? Play now for more reward gear!

Every day you log in to AdventureQuest Worlds, there's a new server boost, item reward drop, or activity for you to enjoy. Our main game updates go live on Friday nights; this year, in addition to the weekend item hunts and daily server boosts, we've added an additional mid-week mini-release to our schedule. Our team gets to be even more creative and YOU get even more rewards. It is win-win! 

September 26th || Lost Guardian Blade III

The Guardians who watch over the tower in Battleon are famous throughout Lore, with a history going back for years upon years. Grizzled veterans tell tales to new recruits of the strongest and bravest among them, filling their heads with dreams of glory and visions of bright blades flashing in the sunlight. Talk to Valencia in the /museum to begin a series of quests to reforge a blade by one of these lost, legendary guardians!

Part 4 will release in October, during our month-long 15th birthday celebration! The quests + rewards are permanently available.

Lolosia Expansion: New Rewards

Yarrrr! We be preparin' fer Talk Like a Pirate Day by expandin' one of th' most-loved maps in-game: Lolosia! /Join Pirates and talk to Lucia, outside the Deep Trobble Inn. She has new quests for you; finish them and she'll reward you with two new weapons!* 

Then return next Tuesday for a few new seasonal quests with even MORE loot, including a merge shop that'll enchant one of this week's rewards!

* That there description of the "Here There Be Dragons" scythe looks right interestin'... O_O

September 5th || Infernal Slayer Blade

As his warriors prepare to open the new Infernal Arena in the Celestial Realm, Aranx created a short Treasure Hunt for you! Talk to Valencia in the /museum map to begin your quest to unlock the 0 AC Infernal Slayer Blade! 

Quests + rewards are permanently available.

ShadowRealm Past Hunt

Deep inside the Shadow Realm's Past, a mysterious chest sits. You can hear a rustling sound coming from inside it. If you are brave enough, open the chest and see what quests... and rewards... await!

Level 45+ Required, rewards will be permanently available.

Primaris Paladin Set

Now available from the Merge shop in /titanattack, attle the Titanic Paladin for Sun Seals and grab jars of Holy Wasabi from the Supply Caravan. You'll need those and more to craft the full 0 AC set!

This gear will be permanently available.

New: Star Rating Difficulty Guide

To help you better gauge the type, length, and difficulty of our mid-week updates, we're adding Star Ratings (like you see on monsters). 

• 1 star: Pretty simple. Most players should be able to finish this with little to no issue. 
• 2 star: Slightly more complex. It might take looking up a clue or two on the wiki, or talking to friends. 
• 3 star: Somewhat complex. These may have a ciper or a multi-step clue to solve. 
• 4 star: Complex. Tough clues, 1 or 2 unique clue locations, and may be level-locked. 
• 5 star: Very complex. Very difficult clues, multiple unique clue locations, will likely require heroes to show/hide the UI, check background art, and may require some monster farming.

Thank you to everyone that has been logging in, enjoying, and sharing your thoughts on the last few months of mid-week treasure hunts and updates. We'll continue to evolve our mid-week updates based on your feedback!

September 22, 2023

Avast! More RARE Pirate Loot

Quibble's got new Rare pirate gear just for you

Quibble Coinbit-ARRRR just got in a new shipment o' loot fer his best mates. Check out his shop for new pirate-themed gear from the past, present, and future for heroes. Rare-hunters can get all of the items in this year's collection for 10,000 ACs with the Grim Seas collection chest (unlocks over 175 items and a pet with a rare character page badge).

 This year's Talk Like a Pirate Day collection features fan-favorite characters reimagined as seafaring NPCs (aka "Notorious Pirate Crew-members"). The chest unlocks over 175 items total, with over 100 arriving last week, more arriving tonight, and a final shipment next Friday, September 29th. 

New gear in Quibble's Shop:

• Plus, find the Grim Sails 2023 Collection Chest pet
• Astravian Buccaneer armor set
• Shub Thalassarath & Writhing Thalassarath Pirate armors
• Thalassarath Pirate set accessories
• Noxious Piranha pet
• Seabutcher's weapons
• Adroit Artillery Pirate armor set
  
• Seaproof Rapid-fire Gatling Guns
• Pirate Hook Shot Gauntlet
• Gravelyn's Undead Pirate Dragon pet
• and more!

Quibble's 2023 Grim Seas Collection Chest Details

• Find the Grim Sails 2023 Chest pet in the Featured Collection Chest shop
• Automatically unlock all the 2023 TLaPD collection items as they release
• Complete the Grim Spectre pet's quest to unlock an exclusive character page badge

Last week, over 100 items released in Quibble's Chest + Shop:

• Grim Sails 2023 Collection Chest
• Eldritch Pirate Crewmember armor (AC + member versions)
• Necro Skull helms and weapons
• GrimBlight Naval Commander 
• DungeonMaster Naval Commander
• GrimBlight helms, capes, and weapons
• J6 Naval Commander armor set
• Westion Naval Commander armor set
• Galanoth's Naval Commander armor set
• Gravelyn's Pirate Captain armor set
• Beleen's Crimson Crewmember, Captain, and Admiral armor sets
• Dage's Stygian Navigator armor set
• Cysero's Naval Commander armor set
• Doom Captain Capuchin Bank pet
• DoomTech DeepSpace Cthulhu pet
• Left Sock Parrot pet
• Imminent Demise pet

Next Week

• PaladinSlayer Pirate Captain armor set
  
• Astravian Navigator armor set
• Enchanted Pyromancer Pirate armor set (color-customizable)
• and more

The Chaos Pirate Seasonal Collection Chest Returns

For AQWorlds' 13th anniversary, we added a seasonal Chaos Saga Pirate chest with over 100 items! Unlock them all when you get the Chaos Pirate Collection Chest, or buy individual items from the shop in your game menu.

The seasonal Chaos Pirate Collection Chest includes:

• Mobius Naval Commander set: based on Escherion, the 1st Lord of Chaos
• Duality Pirate Captain set: based on Xing and Xan, the 2nd Lords of Chaos
• Chaos Dragon Pirate Captain set: inspired by Chaos DragonLord Vath, the 3rd Lord of Chaos
• Ruby and Emerald Yokai Pirate Captain sets: inspired by Yokai Isle, the 4th Chaos Saga area
• WerePyre-ate Captain set: inspired by Wolfwing, the 5th Lord of Chaos
• Discordian Naval Commander set: inspired by Discordia, totally the 6th Lord of Chaos
• Arboreal Pirate Captain set: inspired by Arcangrove, the 7th Chaos Saga area
• Sandsea Naval Commander set: inspired by Zhoom, your main ally in the the 8th Lord of Chaos Saga
• Horcish and Trollish Naval Commander sets: inspired by your allies in the 9th Lord of Chaos Saga
• Chronomancer Pirate Captain set: inspired by Iadoa, the 10th Lord of Chaos
• ChaosFang Naval Commander set: inspired by LionFang, the 11th Lord of Chaos
• Swordhaven Naval Commander set: inspired by Alteon, ruler of the 12th Chaos Saga area
• Eternal Dragon Naval Commander set: inspired by the Eternal Dragon of Time, the 13th Lord of Chaos
• Ahoyrion Quest pet (with quest for exclusive character page badge)

Just want a couple of the items listed above? Apart from the exclusive pets, all of the gear contained inside the 2023 TLaPD Grim Sails Collection Chest shop will also be available to buy individually in Quibble's Event shop.

Cysero's Forge House Items Update: Accidental Early Release

These items mistakenly released too early. They were intended to release in October as farming quest reward items (along with a variant using the normal Cysero NPC art). The items will not be limited to the TLaPD 2023 collection chest owners. 

We will not remove them, but will adjust the rarity to reflect that they aren't exclusive, and will add the 0 AC tag that the items were intended to have upon launch next month.

So if you own the collection... grats! You get an early sneak-peek!

September 22, 2023

This Weekend: Pirates vs Tyranny

Our Talk Like a Pirate Day Event Contin-YARRRRS!

Callin' all pirates, rogues, and water-mages hungry for adventure... and treasure! Log in now to blast and slash yer way through Part II of our 2023 Talk Like a Pirate Day event. You'll need to evade a fleet led by the Radiant Mirage, the legendary Admiral Zheng. He'll stop at NOTHING to capture Yokai's Empress... but he's never faced YOU before. The outcome will shake the very foundation of the Yokai Isles and intertwine its destiny to the Empire of Steel, Wuji.

New game release

• Talk Like a Pirate Day 2023: Legends of Yokai, Pt 2
• Quibble's TLaPD 2023 Collection Chest + Rare Gear Shop (update)
• New quest + rewards in Deep Trobble Inn
  
• Featured Gear Shop: Aelious' Eternal Flame + Sparkles of Love cape 

Weekend Daily Gifts & Boosts

• Server Boost: Double Reputation
• Crafting Resource Boost: Dark Spirit Orbs
• Saturday: Necro Pirate Loot drops from Admiral Zheng in /yokaitreasure
• Sunday: Infernal Devourer Scythe drops from the Dark Devourax in /infernalarena

And don't miss the rest of this month's update. See the full release lineup here: AdventureQuest Worlds calendar.

New Reward Gear

This weekend, we've got host of new reward items for you to collect and create. Head to /yokaitreasure for  monster drops, the Yokai Treasure Merge Shop, plus new gear added in /doompirate and /yokaipirate. Read on to see what you can unlock, and how, then head in-game and get your battle on!

New /YokaiTreasure Monster Drops: 

• 9 pirate crew weapons
• J6 + Westion Commander's Backup Shotguns
• 4 Dai Tengu set items
• 4 Stygian Navigator + 4 Stealthy Sea helms
• 2 Ninja Pirate capes + 4 weapons
• Maurader's Monkey Helm + cape
• House items: Wuji Zodiac Wheel, Golden Long Head & Statue 

Yokai Treasure Merge shop

• Tengu Admiral + Dai Tengu Admiral armors
• 2 Tengu Helms + Tengu Typhoon Blades
• 4 DragonSlayer Commander's weapons 
• Shinobi Pirate Master armor, 6 helms, 2 daggers

Bonus Pirate Drops:

• Lovely Roger Flag cape drops off Disguised Pirates in /yokaipirate
• Doom Captain Capuchin pet drops off Gallaeon in /doompirate

Deep Trobble Inn: New Quest + Item Buff

Make your way to the Deep Trobble Inn in the /pirates map and you'll see a dark Treasure Chest atop the barrels. Ask, and Lucia will tell you that this chest washed up on shore last Summer. It passed from sailor to dock-worker, from merchant to mage... until it was given to her in payment. If you're up for the challenge, accept the quest to open it and you'll unlock a bounty of new rewards!

Each time you complete the chest you'll get one of the Astravian Corsair set items plus a have a chance to get one of the other chest's treasures!

16 Deep Trobble Inn Treasure rewards:

• Astravian Corsair armor
• 3 Astravian Corsair helms + 2 capes
• Marauder's Monkey Mace
• Lit Cannonball Stack house item
• Gunpowder Beach ground rune
• Pearl Dust Arm Shuriken gauntlet
• Grim First Mort on Yer Back + Skull 'n Flag capes
• Beleen's Balloon Cutelass (single + dual-wield)
• Captain ChinchillARRRR cape and pet
  

Mid-Week Reward Updates

Based on your feedback, we have some some SEA-riously nice updates to the Higure weapon:

• Now does 40% more damage to monsters
• Damage range changed to static
• Added a 30% Class, Rep, and EXP boost

New "Empowered Higure" weapon: this new weapon has been permanently added* to the /ultrdarkon merge shop. It does 51% more damage to monsters and can be purchased for x1 Higure, x20 Darkon Insignia, and x20 King Drago Insignia.

Plus: Lucia's Quest for the Bonebreaker  is no longer a daily quest. 

* Higure will remain a seasonal weapon, but Empowered Higure can be merged all year round.

Gear Leaving Soon

All our holiday loot 'n booty has to leave sometime! Make sure YOU don't miss out! If you haven't checked out our other seasonal Talk Like a Pirate Day events yet, /join septhub (our September event hub town) to find all our seasonal Talk Like a Pirate Day maps, birthday NPCs, and battle for loot, booty, and adventy-ARRRRR!

• Tlapd
• Pirates
• Piratewar
• Hiddendepths
• Blazebeard
• Manacannon
• Kaijuwar 
• Heartofthesea
• cetoleonwar

Leaving Friday, September 29th:

• August and September hub towns
• Indonesia Independence events

Leaving Friday, October 6th:

• Seasonal Talk Like a Pirate Day events
• Quibble's 2023 Grim Seas Rares & Collection Chest

/Cheers for Two AQWorlds team members

We're very happily celebrating two real-life level-ups this week. Wish them much joy on Twitter!

• Teka, the AQWorlds graphic designer, who makes all the prettiest pictures, has a birthday today! 
• Aelious, the Assistant Bugs General / Bug Badger, is celebrating his IRL wedding! <3 

Teka's seasonal birthday items drop from the Zard in Battleontown.

Find Aelious' rare Purple Eternal Flame cape (member-only gold) and Purple Sparkles of Love (gold) in your Featured Gear Shop until October 27th.