Design Notes

February 20, 2015

Yokai New Year and Carnaval

Are You Ready To /Party?

Usually the end of the year is considered the holiday season, but February has just been FILLED with them - Valentine's Day, Friday the 13th, Pancake Day, and now... Chinese New Year and Carnaval! That means only one thing: the party continues!

This year, we're celebrating Chinese New Year and Carnaval in the same week, because bigger parties are better! So grab your beads, feathers, sparkly costumes, chinese lanters, and cheongams and get the celebration started! /join akibacny or /carnaval (or talk to Miko and Frevo in Battleon) to begin the adventure!

Don't Forget Your Party Clothes!

Can't go to Carnaval without a Samba costume! We have a ton of Carnaval gear to help you celebrate, including two gorgeous full sets for free players: Roroth's HarleQuint set and the voodoo-themed Samba costume pictured below...

It's Carnaval in Terra da Festa! P

Carnaval (or Carnival/Carnivale in other parts of the world) is the world's largest party. Every year more and more people from all over the globe celebrate this festival of fun and transformation but NOBODY does it like Brazil! It is a week-long party full of parades, food, fun and friends where your normal life is overturned and everyone generally goes nuts, and it's finally come to LORE!

Batista, one of our volunteers, translated the release!

In the town of Terra da Festa, the party is in full swing bringing you amazing party outfits inspired by those seen in the streets of Rio de Janeiro. Some of out Brazilian players have complained that the previews of the outfits were not a revealing as the real deal, but we wanted to keep the game friendly for everyone so we had to tone them down a little. 

Members will find special bonus quests with special Member Only rewards, but there are shops and an AC Rares Shop and other quests for everyone to enjoy! In an AQW first, players from Brazil will find the ENTIRE release has been translates into their native tongue.

We've got SO MUCH for you in the permanent Carnaval map:

• Lots of Items, both Rare and permanent 
• Carnaval storyline
• Brazil Mythology Monsters
• Rio de Janeiro-inspired Map
• Day and Nighttime versions of Map
• New NPCs
• Carnaval music
• Cutscenes
• Member-only Quests
• Special surprises for Paymentez players
• Paymentez-exclusive Quests
• English and Portuguese translations, courtesy of Tendou no Mazo

We want to thank all of you for your support! Obrigado Pelo Seu Suporte Have fun and Happy Carnaval! 

Chinese New Year of the Sheep 2015!

This year you get a double dose of international celebration! On the other side of the planet in China, everyone is celebrating Chinese New Year . In /Akibacny the princess of Yokai Island,Ai No Miko, and the river dragon Panlong need your help once again.

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 Yokai Ram to honor the year of the sheep!  We are adding a few truly amazing Rare items that you will never see again in the Chinese New Year Shop too. Such as... Memet's Golden Yang set! 

You will also find a number of Member and Non-Member Seasonal Items returning to earn while Chinese New Years lasts! Happy New Year!

February 04, 2013

Design Noteworthy

Everything you need to know, right here, right now!

Happy Monday! I hope you had a wonderful weekend—and from all the positive feedback on our Twitters and Facebook, everyone LOVED Friday’s release!

You think last week was epic? Just wait until this Friday’s newest release. It’s totally going to blow your socks off… even if you aren’t wearing any!

Arriving Friday: Cultural Celebrations!

As you may know from my previous Design Notes post, Carnaval begins this Friday, February 8^th. Carnaval is the largest party in the world… and it’s coming to AdventureQuest Worlds!

Carnaval is the most joyous time of the year. Thousands of people will gather in the brand-new Terra da Festa map and dance down the streets of the Sambódromo. Everyone dresses up in fantastic costumes festooned in feathers, headdresses, and masks. But that’s not all—the Carnaval event will feature:

• Lots of Items, both Rare and permanent 
• Carnaval storyline
• Brazil Mythology Monsters
• Rio de Janeiro-inspired Map
• Day and Nighttime versions of Map
• New NPCs
• Carnaval music
• Cutscenes
• Member-only Quests
• Special surprises for Paymentez players
• Paymentez-exclusive Quests
• English and Portuguese translations, courtesy of Tendou no Mazo

Get ready to Festa like never before!

Chinese New Year in Akiba

Gong Xi Fa Cai! Happy New Year! The Chinese New Year begins February 10^th, but we are celebrating early starting Friday the 8^th in Akiba on Yokai Island. 

We will be re-releasing your favorite Seasonal Rare Chinese New Year items in addition to brand-new ones! It’s the Year of the Snake, ssssso you better believe thessseee Sssssseassssonal Rare Itemssss will be the coolesssst in all of hissssstory! You can really sssssssink your fangssssss into thissss sssspecial releassssse. 

Last Chance!

The Australia Day and Mod Birthday shops in Battleon leave later today! So make sure you get these items while you still can!

Leaving Wednesday

Groundhog's Day quest leaves Wednesday. Did he see his shadow? You better find out soon before he burrows away for a whole year!

Leaving Next Monday

Pick-up these touchdown items! The Half-Time shop and Punt Twilly minigame leaves next Monday. So if you wanna score big, score these Half-Time rares!

Thank you so much for playing AdventureQuest Worlds, and a super special THANK YOU to all our wonderful Members and AdventureCoin buyers for supporting us! We couldn’t have come this far without you, and we certainly wouldn’t be able to release new content every single week without your support!  

Battle on my friends! =D

February 06, 2012

Time Marches Ever Onward

Last Chances!

Today is February 6th. That means that the Friday the 13th House and Event Rare Shops will be going rare and that the Akiba New Year event will be leaving as well and taking with it all the great seasonal items and rares (like the non-member AC pet) with it. 

so long, PanLong!

New Beginnings!

Lady Azjurai is getting married tomorrow! If you weren't aware, Lady Az is a Mod on AQW but started out years ago as a player just like you, she was asked to help out on the forums then eventually moved to full AQW Mod and we count ourselves lucky for all the help and pre-release testing that she has been able to provide.

Finding love is a rare and wonderful thing and very often you want to share you feelings and celebrate with those who mean the most to you. In this case, she had decided that she wants to share her happy day with all of us in the AQW community.

Later tonight (or tomorrow at the very latest), you will be able to find Lady Azjurai in Battleon and she will be offering to share some items with you.

The Ruby Eternal Flame, Romantic Raccoon Helm (She has a thing for raccoons) and the Evil Toaster of Love.

I'm told that this was the first appliance that the two love-birds purchased as a couple and has given them nothing but grief since they plugged it in. It seems to actually have an evil face on it and it will burn the toast no matter what setting you put it on. Lady A and her bethrothed have many fond memories of running around their place, fanning toast smoke out of the window and laughing together.

Lady Az, we could not be more happy for you. Thanks for sharing your happy day with us and we all wish you guys the very best that life has to offer. Gratz!

I CAN HAS MOD Round 3!

It's been a while since we've mentioned it so this is just a wee reminder that the next I CAN HAS MOD winner will be selected on February 13th. To enter the drawing all you have to do is get the Golden Cheezburger Deluxe from Cleric Joy in Battleon. That gives you one chance to win.

Every months of AQW Membership left on your account on the date of the drawing and every AEXTRA that you complete will also increase your chances by one more entry.

Here is the FULL CONTEST PAGE if you have more questions.

REAL LIFE Limited Quantity Shop!

2012 is already in full swing, and pretty much everyone who wanted the ChronoCorruptor Class that comes with the 2012 AQW Calendar now has it, but I keep getting asked if this class is going rare.

Going RARE, one calendar at a time!

The short answer is that YES, it is going rare. We only have a few hundred 2012 Calendars left in HeroMart, and there are still a few floating around the US Toys R Us stores, but that's it.

We can't possibly print an infinite amount of calendars so, no matter what, there will only ever be a limited number of these classes in AQW.

Heroes Heart Day Is Coming Friday!

AQW's Valentine's Day Event, Heroes Heart Day, is coming so expect to be burried under a wave of pink hearts, thorny roses and chocolate with confusing cream centers.

This Heroes Heart Day we are going all out with special Musical Guest Mia J. Park so sadly there will be no time for a Mid-Week Release this week but you can expect this event to blow our previous Heroes Heart Day adventures out of the water. 

Special reporter Artix Von Krieger has more on the event. Back to you in the studio, Artix...

Artix?

Sorry folks, we seem to be experiencing some techincal difficulties. We'll check back in with Artix in tomorrow's Design Notes for that Special Report. See you then!

319 days until Just Another Day

January 20, 2012

Betrayal is in the Air

Be on your guard in the Air Realm!

Lightning flashes when Air and Earth clash! Winds of fire scour the sandy land. Noxious fog settles in the valleys, choking the breath from the dragons that remain. All this, As'iiur sees. And he despairs. That is why he need YOU, and with you, Galanoth, to help him create the dragon-strength air-binding potion to subdue Desoloth.

Wind be ever all around you, Hero!

Only then will his realm - and his precious draconic children - be safe! Galanoth's knowledge of how potent to make the air potion will come in handy while you are off battling to gather the components. But beware, for all is not as it seems! Can you trust those around you? 

404 Lore Error: DragonSlayer Not Found

Also be sure to check out the additions of two of our newest contributors! Hizu, formerly a HeroSmash animator, is going to begin helping Samba animate monsters, freeing her up to pump more epicosity into the cutscenes! And welcome Reeky to the AE team! He is Warlic's sound assistant and composed the gorgeous music you're hearing tonight! Welcome to you both, the AQW team is lucky to have you!

Chinese New Year returns! 

Panlong, the legendary lake dragon, has risen to welcome in the new year as the old one flows out with the tide! He has many quests for you to go on, Hero, and even MORE rewards for you to claim once you're done!

Year of the Dragons on parade!

New Year's rewards will feature:

• FOUR colors of the Dragon Armor!
• Water Dragon Spirit Pet! (member only)
• Parade Dragon Pet! (AC non-member)
• And so much more!

The Chinese New Year's event will be available until Monday, February 6th!

Members: Return to Akiba!

If you didn't log in on Wednesday, Members, you've got a WHOLE member-expansion storyline to do! If you like shadows, assassins, or saving princesses, then this is the update for you!  Take a tour of a new addition to the Akiba map and get some EPICLY shaded shadowninja rewards!

We cut the Cheese release!

That's right. It was us. We'll take the blame. No new Cheese Day items. Try not to be bleu. It stinks, I know, but we just didn't have time while producing all this other AWESOME content! So no new Cheese items, and all those great, gooey rewards from last year are still rare. 

Don't worry, though, the rest of the release is full of muensters to battle and some really gouda-looking rewards to gain! Sorry, that last line was probably too cheesy.

Coming Soon!

Next week as we journey through Etherstorm's Water Realm, we'll find out just where Galanoth went, and more importantly... WHY. After that, we'll start rockin' with Etherstorm Waste's Earth Realm. Beyond that comes... Valentine's Day! But beware, because ARTIX is writing this holiday event, and he WON'T let me even look at the script. Mermaids, love, and... Artix writing it all?!

Have a GREAT weekend, everyone! We'll return on Monday for another week of stories, gaming, and unpredictably Chaotic insanity! And speaking of unpredictable insanity... have you seen Artix's new AQ3D project Design Notes?

January 17, 2012

Etherstorm Air Realm

Bert Boomtower mumbles:

Well, hello Heroes! I haven't seen you since, since that DoomWood fiasco! I hope you've been well, I sure do! But I never did think to myself that this here Etherstorm Wastes had a... a beyond! No sirree, I didn't! But it DOES!

An' it turns out that ol' Bert's been asked to raise a sign to point all you Heroes to it, yes he has! I mean me. I have. I'm ol' Bert. Bert Boomtower! *grumble* But  wouldn't ya guess it that I can't as do m'job because o' that ol' wall o' FOG! Who knew fog was SOLID?! A body cain't work but their honest labor gets in'errupted.

So, I'ma gon' wait here in this Air Realm with that fidgety, nervous-lookin' Air Dravix fellow, an' the wind all a-blowin' MIGHTY hard! Why don'cha go talk to him, eh? He looks like he could use a mite o' your Heroing, Hero. Seems somethin's on his mind. What would make a great, pow'ful Priest like it git worried? Could be the DragonSlayer you're travelin' with, mebbe?

Dravix and DragonSlayer, an uneasy peace.

Nah, ol' Galanoth, he's a straight upright ol' stick. Good wood, he is. Ever'one knows THAT. But you, you go an' talk to him, Hero. 's your job, an a body's gotta do what they gotta DO, y'know? For me, I'll just sit tight with this sign a-pointin' the way to the Ruins of Tiba- Tibat- eh, som'thin' or other. Some strange tongue, it do be!

Alina continues:

Thanks for the warning, Bert! The Heroes will get right on that... this Friday! Good luck with your sign-posting!

Shadows Over Akiba!

IN Akiba, to be precise! MEMBERS should be on the lookout tomorrow night for the next member-only mid-week expansion! This time you'll be journeying to the mystical land of Akiba, home to royalty, shrines, and Yokai!

In the Land of Yokai, shadows dance in the light of carved-stone lamps.

Those ghastly ghosts of legend roam the lands, and you'll need to deal with them as you help a shadow-y figure deal with, what else? The shadows! Let your light shine as you helpl this poor stranger; if you don't, he'll remain forever a shadow of himself!

With awesomely-shaded rewards that'll lighten your mood and weigh down your backpack, this is one mid-week release members won't want to miss! And speaking of Akiba...

Year of the Dragon - Chinese New Year!

Celebrate! Celebrate! /Dance to the music of the drums and the flutes as the dragons dance through the streets, it's Chinese New Year! (Or will be on Monday!) You'll need to quest through Akiba to help PanLong, the legendary lake dragon. He's risen from his watery home to welcome in the near year as the old one flows into the past.

PanLong, the Legendary Lake Dragon

But we can't wait that long to begin the festivities, so we're kicking off our celebration THIS Friday with rewards that'll have you roaring louder than DRAGONS! And speaking of dragons... you'll get access to rewards (like 4 colors of the armor below, dragon morph heads and dragon helms!)that will have you flying high or terrorizing towns! (Depending on your alignment, of course!)

Year of the Dragon 2012!

Friday the 13th, the bad luck continues!

If you were around last week, you might have seen that most of us caught the Lab Plague at some point. GOOD NEWS: people are slowly but surely recovering! BAD NEWS: Some of us had our LUK stats nerfed last week. Faith, Wrayth, and I are all dealing with either bandages, braces, or both this week after mishaps while in action put us all in traction!

Here's to a speedy recovery! (From where I sit, I can see a black cat, a ladder, and an unbroken mirror. Not tempting Fate much at all, nope.)

February 04, 2011

Tonight’s Release is live!

Celebrating the Chinese New Year and Super Bowl Sunday!

Gong Xi Fa Cai! That means “Happy New Year” in Chinese! Ai no Miko taught me it =D

So Gong Xi Fa Cai my friends! The time has come to celebrate the Chinese New Year in Akiba!

But it’s not like we can just sit back and party the night away. Thanks to an evil chaorrupted spirit known as the Nian, the Four Creatures of the World are in danger so there is no time to waste! The newly made-over Princess Ai no Miko is waiting for you in Akiba to help save these sacred creatures.

Each Creature—the Black Tortoise, White Tiger, Red Bird, and Blue Dragon—symbolizes the four directions, seasons, and elements of Lore. These Creatures are deeply rooted in the Chinese Mythology and we cannot let them succumb to the Nian! You must save them!

Miko will send you on 8 different quests in order to save the Four Creatures. But these quests are unlike any other you’ve been on. You will have to search the entire world of Lore in order to get the required items to forge the necessary Emblems to free each Creature’s spirit from the Nian. Only then will you be able to set their spirits free!

Ai no Miko also has a Seasonal Rare House Item and Merge Shop loaded with Chinese New Year items. Some items in here sell for gold… some sell for ACs… but most of them require intensive Item farming for their item requirements! You’re ganna have to get creative—and super lucky!—if you hope to get the coolest gear in the Shop!

There is even the Non-Member Chinese New Year Bunny Pet! Last year for Chinese New Year, we offered a very special non-member pet for AdventureCoins. It’s only fair to keep the same pricing as last year, so this year’s non-member AC pet is selling for only 300 AdventureCoins! 300 ACs is fairly easy to get, using the AExtras page (make sure you have a REAL but SECONDARY e-mail set up to avoid possible spam!) and even the basic 3 month membership comes with 1000 ACs standard =D

This adorable ball of fur will only be available during this Chinese New Year release for the Year of the Rabbit. The next Year of the Rabbit is 12 years away… so you can wait until then OR you can get your little Rabbit pet now ^___^ I wouldn’t miss this opportunity if I were you!

Ctrl+Alt+Del Event—extended ‘til Monday!

Speaking of opportunities… this is your last chance to play through the Winter-een-mas special event! Make sure you get all the Event Rare Items in the shop because they will NEVER be available again! The Event Rare shop will disappear forever this Monday, February 7^th but the Event itself will still be playable for upgraded Members after that.

SuperBowl Sunday… on Friday!

This Sunday is Super Bowl XLV! So we are celebrating in the only way we know how—with pigskin weapons, deadly pom-pom chakras, giant foam fingers, moglin referees, protective headgear, football armors, and cheerleader costumes!

/Cheer your favorite team to victory while showing your Super Bowl spirit! You can also play the classic minigame, Punt Twilly, and bring your team to victory (and a Moglin Punter Achievement to your Character Page) with a perfect score of 100 Yards!

Pet of the OMGFINALLY Month!

Calm down, calm down—we’re only a *few* months late on releasing the next Pet of the Month =p But thanks to the super-awesome Lodarazs, Aria has a new Panda Bear cub in her shop!

D’aaawwwww! It’s even got some bamboo in its mouth! But be careful—you know what they say about panda bears: they eat, shoots, and leafs. HA GET IT? ‘Cuz like, there’s this joke that goes something like… oh never mind…. It’s been a long week, my friends  ^____^    

Wow… now that’s A LOT going on in just one night! If tonight’s release doesn’t score a touchdown in your score book then I don’t know what else will! Everyone worked REALLY hard on this week's release so on behalf of the entire team... ENJOY! Or else!

Happy Chinese New Year and Battle On!

January 31, 2011

Just another manic Monday

The last day of January has been the busiest day of the year for me!

You’re probably saying to yourself, “Monday? A busy day? It’s only the start of the week…? And Beleen is freaking out over what exactly?” Are ya thinkin’ something like that? Am I close?

Regardless if I’ve hit the nail on the helm or I’m waaaaay off… I’m going to explain why I’m so busy while revealing everything else that has happened today and will happen this upcoming week! So sit back, relax, equip some anti-pink protective goggles, and enjoy all the bulleted points I’m about to make =D

Book of Lore Badges: Inventory Increase

On Friday, the MAX number of obtainable Inventory Slots in your Backpack went to 100, and MAX Bank Slots went all the way up to 250 (and you can still store an unlimited amount of AC items in your bank)!  

Two new achievements were *supposed* to be added to the Book of Lore on Friday... but something went horribly wrong and the ‘Spaced Out,’ ‘Maxed Out,’ and ‘Superhuman Vault’ badges weren’t working properly.

BUT NOW THEY WORK! Yay!

Thanks to the hard work from Yorumi, Llussion, and Minimal, and the tears from yours truly, these achievements now work and show up in your Book of Lore. The Spaced Out badge appears when you have 75 slots in your Inventory, Maxed Out is awarded for getting all 100 Inventory Spaces, and Superhuman Vault appears when getting all 250 bank slots.  

Ctrl+Alt+Del Event Fixes

Have you played through the entire CAD Event? Helped Ethan retrieve his Winter-een-mas Crown? And now you wanna farm Battle Zeke buuuut that Cutscene keeps playing and kicks you back to GameHaven?

Well that’s been fixed, too! After you defeat Battle Zeke and complete all the quests in GameHaven, the Warehouse, and Arcadion, you will never have to watch that Cutscene ever again after you pwn Battle Zeke. So happy farming—he has 6 wicked drops if you’re lucky enough!

Also, the Character Page Achievement for the Ctrl+Alt+Del event is still not working. But fear not! Zhoom the fancy-pants programmer says that these achievements *should* show up sometime tomorrow. Once they are up and working properly, we will announce it on the Homepage, on these Design Notes, and on our Twitters =D!

Groundhog’s Day this Wednesday

Holy groundhogs! It’s ALMOST February 2nd! Do you know what that means? …uh yeah, I guess my little subtitle thing up there gave it away. It’s Groundhog’s 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! 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!

What will Philip predict this year? Log in this Wednesday for a mid-week Groundhogs’ Day release!   

Chinese New Year—Year of the Rabbit

February 3^rd marks the Chinese New Year—the Year of the Rabbit! So to celebrate this 15-day long festival, Akiba on Yokai Island is currently being decorated with lights, lanterns, and fireworks, and will be fully ready by Friday night's release!

There will be bunches of new quests and even more new items to choose from to get you in the spirit of things! Princess Miko is EVEN getting a makeover for this special occasion. She’s ganna look sooooooo pretty! Hehehhe!

Last year for Chinese New Year, we offered a very special non-member pet for AdventureCoins. And this year… we’re doing the same thing! Can you guess what it’ll be?

It’s only fair to keep the same pricing as last year, so this year’s non-member AC pet will be selling for only 300 AdventureCoins! 300 ACs is fairly easy to get, using the AExtras page (make sure you have a REAL but SECONDARY e-mail set up to avoid possible spam!) and even the basic 3 month membership comes with 1000 ACs standard =D

SuperBowl Sunday… on a Friday

ARE YOU SERIOUS?! Three events in one week? This is MADNESS!

No actually… this is AQWorlds. And we do these kind of things all the time! And this Sunday is Super Bowl XLV! So, naturally, Battleon is celebrating this too in the only way we know how—with pigskin weapons, deadly pom-pom chakras, giant foam fingers, moglin referees, protective headgear, football armors, and cheerleader costumes.

/Cheer your favorite team to victory while showing your Super Bowl spirit!

Dage’s OOPS!

They don’t call Dage “the Evil” for nothing! Awhile ago, in the Black Market Shop (which has currently vanished… and no one knows if the Vendor will come back or not…) had a pair of totally awesome weapons called the Reavers of Amenti.

Dage the Evil mistakenly said on his Twitter that the Reavers of Amenti would be a requirement for a future item in his Merge Shop. BAD DAGE, BAD! No one can make such promises, and last week when his “Zealith Reavers” were added to his secret shop secretly hidden in a secret place somewhere in Lore, the Zealith Reavers DID NOT require the Reavers of Amenti as a turn-in.

We have gotten complaints that some players bought the Reavers of Amenti just for Dage’s weapon. We care about each and every one of you, and we want to make everyone happy! So to make amends, we have made the Reavers of Amenti permanent Rares! Congratz to everyone who has them! That Black Market dealer never knew if his items were ganna go Rare anyway...

But wait, there’s more! If you don’t like the Reavers of Amenti because you wanted Dage’s Zealith Reavers instead, feel free to sell 'em!

The Zealith Reavers are still in Dage’s secret Merge Shop and can be obtained only by completing his ridiculous quests and having some serious luck to get the necessary item turn-ins.

Remember folks, AQWorlds is a game made FOR YOU! Without your support, none of this would be possible. THANK YOU for making all of this possible, and never be afraid to let us know how we can make this MMO the best one out there =D

You guys have been great! And you have survived yet another one of my ramblings. Hehehhee! It’s only Monday, and it’s been the craziest Monday yet, but this hectic day promises a glorious week ahead!

Battle on!