Design Notes
May 04, 2012
Doomwood Part 2 BEGINS!
"Making the world... a darker place..."
The original DoomWood is one of the most popular and memorable storylines in the history of the game. Following up a hit (not unlike making a sequel to a hit movie) is a pretty big challenge. You need to take the story deeper... innovate... do something daring (and in our case, blatantely against the rules). This new DoomWood 2 Saga is a 5 parter which will start tonight. The story will start as so many of you were hoping, taking you deep within the Necropolis. But each week... it will spiral faster and faster into madness. If you want to make a hit sequel... you will have to break ALL the rules. I REALLY hope you enjoy it friend... BATTLE ON!
Artix & Vayle outside the Necropolis... good memories.
In tonight's release
- DoomWood Part 2 Storyline begins!!!
- New items throughout the release including shop items, monster drops, quest rewards designed by Dage, Solrac, Veneeria, Aegis, Jemini, end even Cysero!
- 2 new epic maps by J6
- 2 new storyline cutscenes by Samba
- 4 new monsters including the 5-headed Dracolich (which technically makes it 9 monsters since each head is animated as a seperate monster.)
- New Necropolis music by Reeki (Warlic's apprentice)
- Insane Challenge fight for Members
- Blinding Light of Destiny Quest chain begins (2 quests released this week. Note: It will be the hardest and longest quest chain in the game... ever. Probably taking 6 months or more to fully complete. In a more reasonable amount of time you will be able to create OTHER weapons of Blinding Light will be used in later parts of DoomWood. As promised years ago, this quest chain is for both Free players and Members players.)
- Sepulchure's Armor Quest chain begins (To reforge Sepulchure's DoomKnight armor back to it's former power.... there will be an opportunity for you to steal it.)
- ATTENTION DragonFable players... I met with Geopetal and... in tonight's release we are dropping some MAJOR backstory plot bombs!
DoomKnight OverLord CHALLENGE FIGHT!
As a special bonus this week... we put in, what we believe, is an impossible battle against two DoomKnight OverLords. You have proven us wrong in the past. We are looking forward to your screenshots.
Xan Poster Heats Up Heromart!
Get fired up with our newest DragonFable-themed poster, NOW at HeroMart! Featuring Xan, DragonFable's premiere pyromancer, the poster comes with red-hot rewards in both DragonFable and AdventureQuest Worlds!
Both the signed and unsigned versions of the Xan Poster come with the Fire Claw Scythe, which has a special animation triggered by using the auto-attack skill! (You will need the spitfire enhancement equipped for the special to work.) Be the first in your party to show off this all-new, blazing battle technique!
The poster is 24" x 36" (61 cm x 91cm) and costs $25 USD for a version signed by all of the staff at the Lab, or $9.95 USD for an unsigned version!
April 30, 2012
Returning to Doomwood!
Back For More Undead Fun!
And by fun I mean torture.
For us, not you.
Once again, Artix is personally crafting this story which means that we get to do a lot of things that the engine has never done before (which means a lot of new and interesting bugs). It also means INSANE cutscenes as the story continues.
I don't know if you were here for the last Doomwood but it nearly KILLED poor Samba. We asked an inhuman amount of effort from our (at that time) rookie animator, and while this amount of work would have killed, driven insane or caused a lesser animator to walk out of the AE Undergrounjd Lab never to return... Samba somehow rose to the occasion week after week (each week getting steadily worse for her) and somehow managed to pull off the equivalent of THREE MONTHS worth of weekly release animation in just under a single month.
Now we're back and while Artix DID learn that he needs to write fewer cutscenes, he seemed to think that meant that he could just make those few longer and even more insane than the earlier ones!
Needless to say this week it's all hands on deck as we return to Doomwood with an all new story which in nicely to the introduction of our first action figures!
I'm sorry to say that also means that I will be needed in the weekly releases for a while which means no time for Mid-Weeks, BUT we will probably have more MEMBER ONLY addition content in Doomwood than we have had in any other zone. Special fights, side storylines (which is much like a mid-week in itself) special armors, weapons, pets, capes, helms and other goodies and maybe even a special class (we'll have to see on that one).
Artix & Sepulchure Toys
They are nearly here!
My sources (at least the reliable ones) tell me that they are on their way to the U.S. Toys R Us locations right now. They should arrive there a week or two before theyn reach us here and become availible on HeroMart.Com.
People often ask us why we can't get them to Toys R Us locations in other countries and that's mostly because there are different branches of the company and our relationship is so far only with the American branch of the company.
If our stuff keeps selling well in the American branch then we might be invited to start up a relationship with various other branches of Toys R Us... but that's really up to you guys.
Toys R Us gets to set their own price and we want the HeroMart price to be competative with the Toys R Us price so we have to wait and see what they set their prices at before we can set ours. If we decided early and went too high with the HJeroMart price, then we would be shooting ourselves in the foot and losing sales to Toys R Us. If we go to low, then we undercut Toys R Us and they might decide to cut ties with us which kills any future deals we might make with ANY branch.
SO... soon they will get theirs, we will find out what the decide for the price and then we will be able to tell you the HeroMart price whicl will be very close to the store price.
For the special Limited Edition BLACK version of the toys, I'm pretty sure that the price will be $50. It comes with the same in-game items as the normal versions but we made a LOT less of these and you will ONLY be able to get them from HeroMart. These are for hardcore collectors ONLY (or maybe people who want to resell them on E-bay for double price when they sell our and go rare).
More news on that as it arrises.
Limited Time DOOM Starter Package!
A lot of you seem to be taking advantage of this deal and not just for the rare DeathKnight set!
Here's the deal: Right now we are offering our normal 3 month +1000 ACs Membership package (both on our payment page AND on the Portal Site payment page so you can get it with Artix Points) except for a limited time you get an ADDITIONAL 1000 AdventureCoins AND you get the DeathKnight Set (armor, helm, cape and sword based on the traditional DragonFable design) as a bonus!
It will at LEAST be here until the end of the week but this IS a Limited Time offer and once it's gone the armor set will go Rare (Any future DeathKnight class will have new art).
Even if you're already an AQW Member, getting DOUBLE ACs and a rare armor set for the same old 3 month price is a pretty good deal!
If you have already taken advantage of this deal and can't find the set, remember to look in your BOOK OF LORE in the AE section. You will see the DeathKnight badge near the bottom and you can open the shop from there! :)
The LAST Live Draw!
This Wednesday is the final of the five AE artist run of Live Draw events. Dage The Evil is on deck and warming up his drawing hand (by hand signing 500 of his Coffee Dragon prints which sold out over the weekend on HeroMart)
About the gauntlet.... don't ask.
As usual, we have no idea what he's going to draw beforehand but knowing Dage it will be EPIC. Like a banana with a hat or something!
Remember, we go live at 4:00 PM EST (Server Time) and the shop will stay up for only about 24 hours!
Beware Fakes
A lot of you older players have heard this before but over the weekend we got to hear from a whole new wave of NEW players telling us that Alina was promising them they could become mods or offering them free Coffee Dragon prints in exchange for passwords or credit card information.
THAT IS NOT THE REAL ALINA!
No member of the AE staff will EVER ask for your password or credit card information. Neither Alina or I have personal Facebook accounts... we only have Fan Pages. Here is MINE and here is Alina's.
Fake Facebooks and Twitter accounts pop up ALL THE TIME and there are LOTS of people who think that they have found the real deal, but use your head. Be smart. Look around the internet, talk to your friends... most importantly, don't believe everything that you see on the internet.
April 25, 2012
World Premiere of Video!
GAME UPDATE:
Diozz's Live Draw was a lot of fun and the Artix vs. Sepulchure video is a HUGE hit! Also, the Member only Mid-Week Release is now LIVE! /join lightguard and talk to the paladin loremaster, Michem to start your new mini-adventure!
Behind the scenes: Artix vs Sepulchure
DoomWood Part 2 is coming... and this time, the story is going to break ALL of the rules and finally allow players to reforge the Blinding Light of Destiny. (The storyline will be available to ALL players.) Building excitement before DoomWood Part 2 begins... is a "WHAT IF" video. There has never been a showdown between the ultimate evil DoomKnight Sepulchure (Gravelyn's father who was the main villian of DragonFable and destroyed at the beginning AQWorlds by Drakath.), and the good Paladin Artix. (Well, as you know Artix MIGHT not not be a Paladin by the textbook defination... but he is 100% good.) This is all about to change in the debut of this action packed stop motion video... Artix vs Sepulchure! (I, um... really hope I do not lose? O_O)
I have been writing anything goes "ALL GAME" design note posts at www.Artix.com with even more insider news. Please bookmark it and check in daily. To create this video, we teamed up with rising star stop-motion animator Counter656. He animated the video by taking the soon to be released Artix and Sepulchure collector's action figures, chopping them up into smaller pieces, and adding TONS more joints. (Like they do on Robot Chicken.) . It took him about a week per minute of animation. Then he used Adobe AfterEffects to create the Special FX. The result is... amazing. I cannot wait to watch it in game with you tonight.
The figures in the video are our FIRST action figures and the team is incredibly excited -- mostly because if these do well, we get to create more in the future including Drakath, Dage, Warlic, Galanoth, J6, etc... The figures will be available VERY soon (like 3 to 5 weeks) at www.HeroMart.com and in U.S. based Toys"R"Us locations.
Artix (Paladin) figure includes:
- 5 exclusive cards for the AQworlds Card Game
- Paladin's Castle - with working trap door.
- Paladin HighLord Class
- Paladin Highlord's Armor
- Artix's Helm (not that he ever wears it... you should though!)
- Highlord's Battleaxe of Destiny (Similiar to the Blinding Light)
Sepulchure (DoomKnight) figure includes:
- 5 exclusive cards for the AQworlds Card Game
- DoomKnight's Castle - with working trap door.
- DoomKnight Overlord Class
- DoomKnight Overlord's Armor
- Sepulchure's Helm (ULTRA RARE)
- Overlord's DoomBlade
In addition to the regular Artix & Sepulchure figures we made a VERY LIMITED number of "Black Armor" variants. Because this is the 1st edition, they are expected to become very rare and desirable in the future. (*whispers* Like... leave them in the box if you manage to get one, ok?)
\
Also tonight, there is a mid-week release. I am pretty sure it will be in this place in DoomWood... beause Cysero asked me to come up with 12 more Paladin names. (Thank you to everyone on Twitter who helped me!) One of my favorites was "Derpadin".... so we asked Beleen to draw us a Derp Paladin... "Where is Derpadin!?" I LOVE her Derp art! (Also be sure to check www.Artix.com later this week for a video of Beleen doing motion capture for the 3D game project.)
Twitter/FaceBook/Forums Question: On a scale of 1 to Derp, how much do you love Derpadin? "My love for Derpadin is [YOUR ANSWER] out of derp." It could be 5, 62, 8999, A, Blue, Leiderhosen, etc
November 01, 2011
BattleCard Mod Packs
Available NOW in stores and online!
Many cards to choose from like:
- Heart Swap - trade health points with your opponent!
- ... On a Bonemuncer - +1 to damage
- Your Shoe's Untied - Prevent a single Block, Trap, or Counter
- And many more epic and sneaky strategy opportunities
With one MOD PACK you'll be able to buff, debuff, and Trap your opponent into hours more fun. With both of the packs, that could turn into DAYS of card-clashing, damage-dealing, block-bashing, Chaos-causing FUN!
For more information, cool pictures, and rockin' videos, check out this Information Page!
October 25, 2011
BattleCard Mod Packs this FRIDAY!
Get yours at any USA Toys R Us!
Chaos! DoomWood! Complete battlecard craziness in TWO mod packs! This Friday, October 28th, you can get YOUR BattleOn Battlecard Mod Packs at any Toys R Us in the USA!
Each pack contains all of the cards in it's expansion (no buying endless booster packs!) We are pricing them as cheap as possible and each comes with an exclusive in-game item.
- IN TOYS R US STORES Friday, October 28th!
- DoomWood Mod Pack comes with Vordred's Sword!
- Chaos Mod Pack comes with the Chaos Eye pet!
- Each Pack comes with HALF of the PaladinSlayer Class!
(Combine the two packs to form it!) - Both Mod Packs will come to HeroMart in the future!
If YOU want to be the first one in your town to /equip the EPIC PaladinSlayer class, control the creepy Chaos Eye pet, and wield the very devastating Vordred's sword, then head to Toys R Us THIS Friday!*
And once you've GOT your Mod Packs, head here to redeem your code for all the RARE LOOT that comes with them!
* Cutting in line means you'll be able to cut the deck faster! (Kidding, kidding...)
August 22, 2011
Rumors of Chaos Rising!
Bloodtusk Ravine is about to get BUSY!
The majority of the Trolls in the Ravine wish to forget the past and ignore their "more primitive" neighbors to the west. The Horcs know that vigilance is ever necessary, as not all Trolls are as placid as others. But factor in the Troll-Horc hybrids and you get an explosion of hated: for each other and themselves!
Meet Druuz and Rawg: cousins, hybrids, bitter enemies
Druuz and Rawg share a similar story, but a very different history. You'll learn more of their families and childhoods on Friday. And once you find them among the wilderness of the jungle and plateau this week, they'll be the starting point on your journey to get some orderly answers to the chaotic rumors floating around both towns!
Bloodtusk Ravine is boiling with tension, and Chaos is about to erupt!
For centuries, there has been an uneasy peace between the Horcs and the Trolls of Bloodtusk Ravine. Occasionally, events like tragic and forbidden romances will occur between the races, causing havoc and dissension among both peoples. But that is not enough Chaos for... the Twins!
Battle your way to the truth this weekend!
DoomWood on the Travel Map on Friday!
This Friday you'll be able to experience (or re-live) the most EPIC battle between Light and Darkness that Lore has ever seen! Just open your travel map and journey to Doomwood. /Cheer for J6 for finding the time to squeeze this vital map update into his ever-busy schedule.
No Suggestion Shop
Our artists are absolutely up to their elbows in pixels and paint this week Flashing gnarly gear for this week's release, so we're going to need to delay the Suggestion Shop. But that just means you'll have more time to work on your ideas before submitting them for consideration! Who knows, next time it might be YOUR art that makes it in-game!
Naval Commander for TLaPD
We asked you guys this morning whether you wanted Chaos Naval Commander, Platinum Naval Commander, or Fiery Naval Commander for the 2011 Talk Like a Pirate Day event. After reading the deluge of replies on Twitter and the forum, we went with the overwhelmingly popular Platinum Naval Commander! Like last year, an additionla pirate-themed armor will also be released.
Look for that to be released along with other epicly piratical gear this September 19th for Talk Like a Pirate Day 2011! Pictures and prices will come as TLaPD gets closer.
July 29, 2011
Coming Tonight!
Evolved Shaman, UndeadSlayer, Vordred Boss Fight
As I write this post, it is 1:30am EST in the morning. Samba and Nulgath are still animating the insane number of cutscenes coming in tonight's Vordred Boss Fight. (We appreciate what you are doing so much! Go guys go!) This is going to be unlike the end of any other zone so far... and it is REALLY difficult not to talk about it until you had a chance to play it. Ghost even wrote a new song for it!
But we can show you a preview! (Bad Artix, bad! - Alina)
We also have two classes being released. The one I am most excited about is Undead Slayer. It is a decent class against normal monsters... and AN UNIMAGINABLE WRECKING BALL OF DESTRUCTION against undead monsters. It also has a heal. Cysero does not like it because there is no real strategy to the class. On the other hand, I love it because it is exactly the way I enjoy playing. (That and I one shotted Noxus with a 15K Spirit Dragon Lance)
I have not seen Evolved Shaman yet, but it looks interesting too. Dage is working on the art for both of these classes. He had to prepare for a severe weather up North - but he said he should have them tomorrow morning.
Also, it is possible to get the 2nd piece of the Blinding Light of Destiny in tonights release... if you can get the Ultra-Good ending. Good luck everyone... tonight we BATTLE VORDRED!
Card Game MOD PACKS!
Toys"R"Us was really surprised that a small indie game company like us would have so many people to visit their stores for our card game. Thank you for making us look so good! (We were wondering if anyone remembered that I promised to write the DoomWood saga as a thank you to all the players who did.)
The AQWorlds CardGame has been an ongoing success and Toys"R"Us asked if we would create something to keep the card game fresh and lively with the holiday season coming up. We thought about it hard... because we promised that this was not one of those games where you had to buy endless foil wrapped mystery packs at some change of getting rares cards. We were not making that up!
So we came up with something completely new - a MOD PACK. Imagine if you took all the best cards you were hunting for from booster and expansion packs and put them all into a single pack which was a one-time purchase (just like the original game). We built two of them: DoomWood and ChaosLord. Each pack comes with a lot of awesome new themed cards ... including some rule twisting special cards. Simply mix them into your deck and make the game even more fun.
Both the DoomWood and ChaosLord mod packs are a one-time only purchase and will come with bonus in-game items which will be announced closer to the release date... which should be in October!
Twitter/Forum Question: What was your favorite area, cutscene or fight in the DoomWood Saga?
July 26, 2011
12 Page Script!?
The biggest script ever for a non-Special Event Release
A normal weekly release script is 1.5 pages... often double spaced. THIS WEEK's script is 12 pages... single spaced! (11 cutscenes, 4 boss-type fights, and 5 single-item reward shops.) Thank you to everyone who tweeted ideas to help with the script yesterday! Your creativity and passion for the AQWorlds never ceases to amaze... and inspired me to write more than anyone could imagine. My favorite part of the game-making progress is when we have fun thinking up crazy things together. (What other game studio does that!?) For the record, a room full of network TV writers will throw around hundreds of ideas and use only one. That is what we did together last night. With a twist... I wanted to make this ending a surprise for you. So when I asked you to think of something unexpected, I was also making sure no one could guess what I was writing for you. (As usual, some of you are just too clever... and a lot of rewriting took place.) Also, as promised... it pretty serious (90%). So here are some out takes that WILL NOT be in the script for you to enjoy...
Vordred: ARTIX, I AM YOUR FATHER!
Artix: Really?
Vordred: NO.
Vordred: I NEED MORE SKULLS!
Vordred: ... MORE SKULLS!!!!
You: Did'ya ever consider hitting a costume store after Halloween? You can get some really good discounts.
Vordred: YOU WILL PAY FOR YOUR INSOLENCE!
You: Does the 90% off savings apply to insolence?
You: Vordred... prepare for the FINAL BATTLE!
Vordred: WAIT... I NEED TO USE THE LITTLE UNDEADSLAYERS ROOM!
Vordred: AND IT IS *REALLY* HARD TO GET OUT OF THIS SKULL ARMOR...
Vordred: ... REALLY HARD.
Vordred: NOXUS PUT THE SKULL SHAPED ZIPPER ON THE BACK.
Vordred: LOOK AT MY ARMS... DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA HOW HARD IT IS TO MOVE THEM?
Vordred: I CAN BARELY OPERATE A FORK! HOW AM I SUPPOSED TO REACH BACK THERE?
You: Alright... Artix, this is NOT going in the script.
Artix: Awwwww.... Alright. We are keeping this 99% super serious!
Artix: Well... 90%
P.S. The winner of the Matromy contest will be posted on the homepage tomorrow. We are just waiting for verification! Also check in tomorrow... for a post on how our animators and programmers are doing! Samba & Nulgath are in the hot seat his week.... good luck guys!
July 25, 2011
Writing DoomWood!
Will Vordred become the Champion of Darkness?
The final battle with Vordred is coming this Friday... and as of the time I posted this at 7:30pm EST on Monday night... I am still writing the finale. (Only 4 days left!? Plenty of time O_O) Aside from the terrifying looming deadline of Friday this release is both very exciting and a little sad. Because DoomWood has been, according to the playerbase at large, one of, if not the most, popular storylines in AQWorlds thus far. Each week topped the previous. We broke almost every rule in the game during the course of DoomWood... which brings us to the point of this post -- why should we adhere to the rules with the Boss fight? Inspired heavily by the recent Sepulchure vs Drakath boss fight in DragonFable, this week's saga ending duel will be different from the things you have seen before. More coming tomorrow. Oh, and while you wait for tomorrow's post, can you give me a hand writing the finale?
Forums/Twitter Question: What unpredictable things would you like to see happen during the finale?
July 25, 2011
The DoomWood Finale
Coming this week
This Friday is the thrilling conclusion of the DoomWood saga as the story finally reaches its climax. You've made your way through DoomWood, been everywhere from the top of the Tower of Necromancy to the bottom of the darkest dungeon that the Necropolis has to offer. You've tolerated Zomboda and all of the puns in the Chopping Maul. You've seen Noxus and Chuckles change places and Gravelyn change clothes and last week you accidentally helped ArcAttack accidentally super-charge the Paladin Slayer, Vordred.
Now it all comes to a close. You and Artix are ready to face Vordred and stop him once and for all.
If he can be stopped.
Samba and Nulgath are both already hard at work on the cutscenes because this is no ordinary conclusion. As always, you shape the storyline. We've been getting a lot of great feedback from you guys on this zone and you've had a lot of different ideas about where it's going so we are opening up the ending to multiple possible endings all based on your choices.
ArcAttacking!
Last Week's ARCATTACK event is still in full swing. There are LOTS of non-member drops, LOTS of member only items in the member only backstage area and LOTS of rares in the EVENt RARE SHOP, but those won't last forever. The drops and member shop are staying in the game along with the event but those rares will be leaving soon. Don't miss out.
If you want to read more about the band and see what ArcAttack Fans think of the event, visit:
or ArcAttack's Facebook Fan Page. As long as you there, you might as well Like them!
Trying To Make Everyone Happy
A few new classes are coming to AQW this weekend. As promised, the UndeadSlayer Class (for members only) will be coming to the DoomWood Rep Shop for rank 10 DoomWood Rep BUT for those of you Members who have not yet hit Rank 10 while farming for Necro, there will also be an AC version of UndeadSlayer (also member only).
Just like Necromancer, there will be no difference at all in appearance or abilities. The AC version is just there to give you the option to work hard to earn the class or just drop the ACs and save the time.
We've been getting a lot of mixed signals from you guys about an AC version of Arcangrove's non-member Shaman Class.
A handful of very dedicated players have worked tirelessly to earn the Shaman Class but we've gotten tens of tousands of messages asking us to add an AC option to buy it. It's impossible to make everyone happy, but that will never stop us from trying. Of course, it would be a terrible insult to those hard working players to go back and make Shaman Class availible for purchase but we think we've found a compromise that will work for everyone.
This weekend we are introducing EVOLVED SHAMAN CLASS to Arcangrove. It will have an all new look and new set of skills based on the original Shaman Class Build with entirely different powers.
Here's the nice part, if you have already earned Shaman, you get the earned version of Evolved Shaman FOR FREE. No fighting through impossible tower mini-games or farming for a drop that never seems to drop... It is a gift to those of you who put in the hard work and time to earn Shaman. Everyone else will still have the option to earn Shaman and Evolved Shaman just like you did or they can buy Evolved Shaman with ACs but the original Shaman is not and will never be for sale.
New Color Picker
Zhoom and Yorumi have pretty much ironed out most of the bugs from the new color picker and have told me that (unless they find some OTHER terrible bugs) the new color picker will be live THIS WEEK. Sorry that we weren't able to release it last week, but we're soo close... can ya taste it?
What does it taste like?
July 14, 2011
Legendary Release Lineup GO!
Noxious Noxus Boss Battle Blowout!
This Friday the showdown in Shadowfall BEGINS! There's something rotten in Doomwood, and all noses point towards Noxus' rotting corpse! If you want to save Gravelyn, the Alliance, and Artix, you'll need to break through the massive battalions of undead and take Noxus DOWN!
We're also stocking some NEW awesome additions to the War Merge shop and epic rare items for monster drops, so get in there and BATTLE ON!
ArcAttack is Electrifying!
Next Friday at sundown AQWorlds will team up with the epicly electric musical guest star, ArcAttack! These mad scientists will fuse music and energy in an experiment that will ROCK THE WORLD! That much power would make Vordred COMPLETELY unstoppable! You've got to save the scientists and stop Vordred's super-charged takeover attempt, so get ready to grab a guitar and turn the amps up to 900,000 in this special musical event!
Here is some video of Arc Attack Performing... it is really something that needs to be seen to be believed!
You may have seen Arc Attack perform on Amercia's Got Talent. Here is a snippet from the show giving you a a little more information on the band.
Meet and play with ArcAttack in-game in ONE WEEK during AdventureQuest World's most SHOCKING musical event!
DoomWood's Finale - The Nature of Darkness!
On July 29th, the ultimate battle between Light and Dark will come to an end! Face death, destruction, and Darkness... and its Champion! Artix's story will not be complete until YOU finish telling it, Hero!
SATURDAY at 10 AM EST - LQS!
Set your alarms for 10 AM server time, because the Limited Quantity Shop is BACK! It's stocked with gear that's sure to get grabbed up FAST, so if you want a chance to equip the coolest in Tomix-designed steampunk wear or rock the Soul Harvester set that Dage has made, you'll need to move quick!
Here's a handy online time zone converter to make logging in at just the right moment a little easier!
- SteamGear Armor - 900 AC - 7,000 qty
- SteamGear Helm - 300 AC - 7,000 qty
- Gilded Coffin Cape - 150 AC - 7,000 qty
- Dire Daggers -300 AC - 3,500 qty
- SteamGear Bow - 200 AC - 3,500 qty
- Clockwork Moglin Member pet - 25,000 gold -7,000 qty
- Soul Harvester Armor - 700 AC - 9,000 qty
- Soul Harvester Hood - 300 AC - 9,000 qty
- Soul Harvester Spear - 200 AC - 9,000 qty
- 2 swords -250 AC - 3,000 qty
- 1 non-Member sword -25,000 gold - 30,000 qty
- 1 axe - 250 AC - 3,000 qty
- 1 staff -250 AC - 3,000 qty
Sensational SteamGear Armor
Spectacular Soul Harvester Armor
Cunningly Cute Clockwork Moglin
Reminder!
AEXtras is still a great way to get FREE ADVENTURECOINS and even FREE BATTLEON POINTS, and with new Inventory, Bank slots and Preimere Event rares to buy there's never been a better time!
Just CLICK HERE to get started!
We've got a LOT lined up for the rest of July! We hope you've enjoyed the DoomWood zone so far, but hold on to your helms because you haven't seen ANYTHING yet!
July 05, 2011
Epic War in DoomWood!
...but attacking SHADOWFALL?
Darkness! Doom! The bones of MILLIONS OF UNDEAD!!! All of this and more are almost in Noxus and Vordred's grasp... IF they succeed in conquering Shadowfall! It is an epic battle for both Light AND Dark this week; only YOU will be able to save Gravelyn's home and undead army - and you'd better, if you want to have any hope of saving Lore.
Noxus and Vordred are on their way to Gravelyn's throne room and you've got a ways to travel from DoomWood to Shadowfall. So grab your most terrifying weapons, equip your highest enhancements, and prepare to /unsheath on a moment's notice because THIS FRIDAY the war for ShadowFall BEGINS!
War rares galore AND a Player Suggestion shop update will have you stuffing your backpack with new loot until it's so heavy you'll need to train your STR in order to carry it!
Paladin/DoomKnight Revamp 2.0 Begins!
Last week we launched the introduction of the re-vamped DoomKnight and Paladin classes. Many of you were really happy with the changes, but enough of you wanted to see MORE! So we're going back to the coding board and seeing how we can fine-tune, rework, and SUPERCHARGE those improvements!
Revamp 2.0 begins this week; we'll keep you posted on details as we work out and change up the numbers!
Chaos Shaper - Shaping up Nicely!
Chaos will recreate you into a completely new form, but not if YOU master it first! This LUCK-based class will have you causing pure havok on the battlefield; your enemies won't know what hit them, only that they're down for the count and seeing stars! (Or skulls, if they're undead.)
Male Chaos Shaper class
Because this is a preview, and because we love teasing you with information, here are the NAMES of the skills:
- Twist Time
- Chaos Fog
- Chaotic Touch
- Death Grip
- Two un-named passives which will deal crit and damage
Yorumi is in a coding frenzy getting the code right. Cysero's given him a list of twisted skills to confound, confuse, and concuss your enemies until they won't be able to STAND against you, let alone attack you!
We're making good progress on the class and hope to have it done soon. We'll keep you posted!
Things we are working on RIGHT NOW!
We had a meeting this morning to go over plans for AQWorlds. They were divided into 3 parts: Immediate, Current, and Future plans.
Projects we are working on for this week:
Shadowfall war: this week's release, with rare items galore and a nifty Suggest Shop update.
Color palette fix: this will NOT get fixed this week, but Yorumi is working with Zhoom on it.
Doomwood being added to the map: on Friday you'll be able to walk to Doomwood!
Projects we are making progress on:
New Tutorial coming:
To make the new player experience the BEST it can be, we're introducing a tutorial! Written by Cysero, this walkthrough of gameplay basics should make getting in-game, gearing up, and getting your BATTLE ON much faster and more fun!
Battle On Battle Cards EXPANSION PACKS!!!
If you enjoyed the card game, you'll LOVE these two expansion packs featuring ALL NEW cards!
PaladinSlayer Pack:
This will feature a doom-filled deck of darkness and destruction! The featured card-game class will be... PaladinSlayer! (NOT the same as UndeadSlayer, which is an in-game class which will come in Doomwood!) You'll get cards like "...On a Bonemuncher!" and "Vordred's Sword"!*
Chaos Pack:
Chaos consumes ALL! And with this chaotic card-deck you'll be able to completely chaorrupt your friends! The featured card-game class will be... Chaos Lord! (NOT the same as an in-game Chaos Lord class. That doesn't exist.) You'll get cards like "Yokai Dexterity" and "Chaorrupted"!**
We do not know what the in-game items attached to these will be. But we will think of some! We're working hard on the expansions, but do not yet have a confirmed release date. We will keep you updated on when that will be!
* Card names are subject to change. These are just examples.
** These are examples too, and will change if we can come up with something more AWESOME!
Forum question: What cards would YOU like to see in the Paladinslayer and Chaos card decks? Let us know and your favorite weapons, pets, armors, counters and traps might end up in the expansion pack!
July 04, 2011
Happy Freedom Weekend!
Friends, Fun, and Fireworks
Celebrate, Heroes! Friday was Canada Day and today is Independence Day for residents of the United States. To help you express your jubilation, we've got the Freedom Shop in Battleon stocked with rockin' rocket weps, crazy cannon pets, and this year's special items: the Liberty Blades!
So raise those sparklers high, wear your Maple Leaf capes with pride, and have fun on this last day of Freedom Weekend! This is best time to spend with family and friends, sharing laughs and stories at cookouts, shooting off fireworks (stay safe!) and preparing to BATTLE ON as we get ready for the next installment of the DoomWood storyline!
We haven't seen Vordred in a while, and that is VERY ominous! What could he be planning? What nefarious schemes have Noxus and Sally been plotting? Get ready for another chilling chapter as Vordred makes his move to become the Champion of Darkness!
More details tomorrow once we're all back at the Secret Underground Lab! Until then... Happy Fourth of July, everybody! I'm off to help Rolith with the cookout, and hopefully I'll have some fantastic fireworks pictures for you tomorrow on Twitter.
July 01, 2011
Dracolich tonight!
Deep within the Temple of DoomWood
(SPOILER ALERT: If you are not caught up in the DoomWood Saga do not read!)
Last we left off in the DoomWood Saga, Artix (Hey, that is me!) escaped from the prison of LightGuard Keep (Which *coughs* you put me in without telling me why.) to find and battle the PaladinSlayer Vordred. Meanwhile, you went to the Necropolis and discovered that Noxus, who had been defeated back in DragonFable, has been brought BACK as a Lich (A lich is a very powerful undead wizard -- remember, Noxus was actually alive in DragonFable) by the new Necromantress, Sally (Wearing her terrifying pink Necromancer robes). With three major villians focused on turning our world into a barren undead wasteland... things are looking pretty grim. We are not sure why we are supposed to keep Artix (Still me! So wierd talking about myself in the 3rd person) away from Vordred... other than Vordred is an evil PaladinSlayer who will apparently gain unbelievable powers of darkness if he slays Artix personally.
Considering that Vordred, the PaladinSlayer is immune to all light based attacks, we all believed that he was certain to effortlessly slay Artix if he found him... but now we think there may be another reason we need to keep Artix away from him. In a very confusing twist, Vordred identified that Artix's Axe (The blinding light of destiny) was in fact, NOT light-magic based and mentioned something about Artix not being able to cast light based spells on his own. Then we watched in horror as Vordred corrupted the Blinding Light of Destiny into his new personal weapon... (Did I mention things looked Grim?) Tonight you will brave an old school dungeon crawl to the bottom of the Temple of DoomWood, defeat a Dracolich (there are rumors that two are down there) and learn a secret that no human was supposed to ever know! (If you are not human, then I guess it is ok for you to know it.)
Also happening!
- 4th of July and Canada Day Shops open!
- Paladin & DoomKnight Classes are getting BUFFED in tonight's release with new or updated skills and AWESOME passive Rank 10 bonuses (See the post below)
- Temple of DoomWood & the Dracolich (rumors are there are two down there) & cutscenes
- EpicDuel just had it's Delta Release
- HeroSmash just release part 2 of the Trails of Death (Best releases by far! I love it)
- DragonFable is drawing near to the epic conclusion of their storyline... I do not want to ruin it for you, but a VERY important character was just slain by Sepulchure and the players are FURIOUS! (It is getting REALLY good)
- We hit 100,000 Likes on FaceBook and Randor the red made a special Wallpaper with 100,00 thumbs (one to represent each of you) at www.ArtixWallpapers.com
June 09, 2011
Necromancer Breakdown!
Unraveling The Mystery Of Necromancer
The Necromancer Class comes out TOMORROW. Somehow people are still confused about the EARNED & AC versions of the class so I will try and break it down.
There will be 2 paths to get that lead to obtaining the non-member Necromancer class.
PATH 1, The Earned Path: You can EARN the Necromancer through hard work and dedication. Once you reach the top of the Tower of Necromancy in DoomWood the master of the tower will offer you the class if you are able to deliver 2 items. The first is the Necropolis University Expanded edition of the Necromonicon which can ONLY be found for Rank 10 DOOMWOOD REPUTATION from the DoomWood Rep Shop in LightGuard Keep. The second item a Creature Shard that will be a 5% drop from the Creature Creation in the Chopping Maul.
In summary, to earn the EARNED version you need to get to Doomwood Rep Rank 10, Farm the Creature Creation and overcome all of the tests and puzzles on your way to the top of the tower.
PATH 2, The AC Path: You can BUY the Necromancer for 2000 ACs from Zorbak in his hut in the Chopping Maul map. You will have to have completed all of the doomwood quests neccessary to enter Zorbak's hut but hopefully you have aleady done that.
the AC version will also be able to be purchased through Quibble until he leaves town, then you will have to buy it from Zorbak if you want that version. It will NOT be going Rare when Quibble leaves.
Other than the price (and the fact that you can store the AC version for free because it is an AC item) there is NO DIFFERENCE AT ALL between these two versions of the class. They have the same appearance, they have the same skills.
Necromantic Skill Set
Now let me tell you what to expect from Necromancer.
You need to understand the Necromancer to really master it. Necromancers are all about stealing life energy from the living and even sacrificing their own life energy to become more powerful. If you are unwise, you can eaisly kill yourself with this class.
The class balances on the razor's edge between life and death. Using your own life force to power your pet and stealing your enemies life force to keep you alive. It needs you to pay attention and use your brain.
Watch your HP bar, find the happy place between sacrifice and power... then DESTROY!
AUTO ATTACK
2 second cooldown.
A basic attack, taught to all adventurers.
SUMMON MINION
45 mana, 16 second cooldown.
Summon an undead minion to your side or sends it into a frenzy, doubleing all damage at the cost of health.
This is a very necessary skill to understand.
FIRST, if you do not summon your minion, your attacks will do next to nothing to your foe.This should the first skill you use, unless the Skeletal Minion is already standing right in front of you.
SECOND, if you have another pet equipped, UNequip it. Your minion cannot be summoned if you already have a pet equipped.
THIRD, once your minion has been summoned this becomes a POWERFUL attack buff for your pet. You watch as your pet goes into overdrive doing slightly more than DOUBLE DAMAGE for the duration of the effect, but you also watch a portion of your life energy tick away.
WEAKEN
15 Mana, 5 second cooldown.
Weakens the target, lowering damage while stealing some of its life and healing you.
You will be using this skill a LOT. Not only does it do a small amount of damage and return some HP to you, it also lowers your foe's damage output by 40% for the duration of the effect. As nice as this is, between your pet's Frenzy skill and the Infect skill, you will be giving up a lot of your life.
Use this to keep you going.
INFECT
3 second cooldown.
Infect yourself, damaginf yourself tor estore MP.
THIS SKILL is the dangerous one. You can get away without using it, but if you learn how to use it wisely, it basicaly opens up a world of infinite power to you. Use this skill to convert a good portion of your HP directly into MP.
Master this skill and you master the class.
DEATH'S SPEED & DEATH'S STRENGTH
Passive.
Increase Damage Output by 20%
Increase Haste by 20%
Pretty standard fare here. Ranking up the class unlocks the ability to do more damage and do it faster than ever before.
COMMAND UNDEAD
20 Mana, 6 second cooldown.
Order your pet to attack doing increased damage.
Here is your mini-nuke. It's a very handy power to unlock as it buffs your pet for a beefy single strike against your foe which only costs mana, without eating any of your life. Use in conjunction with Summon Frenzy skill and apply liberally to foe for best results.
Just spam this sucker. It's not like you're running out of mana anytime soon, right?
SO there you have it. Necromancer in a nutshell. If I were you I'd use Wizard Enhancements since Necro gets its power mainly from INT and slightly from WIS like Magi do.
Right now the Skeletal Mintion pet that you summon to stand before you, shield you and attack your enemies is the ONLY Battle Pet in AQW. We plan on adding several more in coming weeks which will be REAL pets (not temp pets) and nearly all of which are planned to be member only.
ALSO COMING TOMORROW!
In addition to the Necromancer Class to be found at the top of the Tower of Necromancy and the AC version in Zorbak's Hut, we have also spent all week working on the devilishly constructed Tower of Necromancy. The original plan for the tower was set down on paper by Artix and it goes from pretty simple to nearly impossible in only 10 floors!
If you are able to make it to the top, not only will you get a bonus cutscene where you meet the Master of the Tower but you will ALSO gain access to the MEMBER ONLY Necromancer Shop in which you will find a treasure trove of necrotic weapons and a few alternate armors for the necromancer.
Quibble is also getting a buff this week, vastly increasing the number of items he is offering. This round will be more Pali themed and less skull-i-fied but there are a few putrid additions all provided by AE artist Mennace.
AE and PariahCon 2011!
Several members of the Artix Entertainment STAFF including Artix, Nythera, Jemini, Korin, myself and several others are headed to the Imperial Swan Hotel Lakeland, FL on Friday, June 10th for PariahCon 2011!
It's Lakeland's first ever anime/gaming/collectible convention. Because this is the first year for this con, we expect it to be small but small cons are GREAT for getting to meet lots of new people!
Our Artix Entertainment Panel will be held on Friday, June 10th at 4:00 PM EST in the Main Events Room on the 7th Floor. We will be talking about all kinds of secret AE projects, playing round after round of the AQW Battleon Battle Card game with everyone there and just goofing off. We really hope to see you there!
Welcome Back Alina!
Glad to have you back in the lab. Thanks to everyone who wished her well onver Twitter and on the forums.
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