Design Notes

April 20, 2012

Assault of the Banished One

Knave1's Undead Minion rebellion!

Be on your guard this weekend, because it looks like not ALL of Lore’s necromantic servants are under control. They’ve called down the wrath of the Desterrat Moya – the Banished One – upon us all! Help Knave1, King Alteon’s Royal UndeadSlayer, face down this eons-old entity and send it back to the dimension from which It escaped!

The Desterrat Moya is in the Void, waiting to begin its attack on Lore!

The Desterrat Moya – called the Banished One – is an entity which inhabited this plane long before Lore’s current pantheon. It is an Elder One which clashed with gods… and lost. Not a god itself, the Desterrat Moya is a creature from the time when our stars were dark, but undead minions have called on it for generations to free them from their Masters. And now it has listened!

Send the Desterrat Moya back to Its dimension and you'll have a chance to receive epic reward equips like:

• Armor of War!
• Boom That Went Dynamite Gun!
• Ascent to Arms Blade!
• Infector Deorum Helm!
• And more!

Knave1 has a bevy of battle-ready gear to offer you, too! Check his Royal UndeadSlayer and AC Rares shops to see everything in stock! The AC Rares shop leaves on Monday, April 30!

AC Rares Shop items include:

• Undead Minion Rebel Armor!
• Ascent to Protect Armor!
• Ascent of Long and Short Hair helms!
• Muted Helm!
• Ascent to Conquer Blade!

Undead Minion Rebel Armor!

The Royal Undeadslayer Shop will be in-game forever and includes:

• Purifier Armor!
• Mask of the Infiltrator Helm!
• Scarfie! and Golden Cape of Twirling!
• The Epic Blades!

Purifier Armor and Epic Blades

Who is Knave1? 

From Monday's Design Notes: Knave1 is the winner of the final I Can Has Mod contest! His wish was for his own storyline, an armor, and his own NPC. He asked to be King Alteon's personal UndeadSlayer and wanted your help to slay an Undead god. We thought that was a REALLY cool wish and immediately started planning out how to realize his dream.

Dage's Dark Caster X shop!

Some of you got a taste of what it's like to be a Dark Caster. But why pretend when you can be the real thing? Dage is gathering his forces and he needs souls... I mean SOLDIERS for his Legion. Join him, embrace your power and become a Dark Caster X! Together you will march on Dage's ultimate opponent, NULGATH! Be prepared; the extermination begins this Summer!

Dark Caster X armor can be yours!

Everyone who has the ORIGINAL Dark Caster armor will gain access to the Dark Caster CLASS (to be released in the future)!

Dage vs Nulgath Summer War!

If you skipped over the paragraph above, make sure to read THIS one, because we are officially announcing this Summer's WAR! Dage vs Nulgath! Choose a side, join an army, and prepare to slay, slaughter, and battle the forces in a war of Evil vs Evil!

Earth Day 2012 event and Limited Time Shop!

After you've saved Lore from the Desterrat Moya, save the world from the evils of pollution! /join pollution to help Captain Lore, battle General Pollution, and gain access to the greenest gear in the game!

Season rares include:

• Potato Powered Lightning Rod!
• Bucket Head Helm!
• Recycle Bin Turtle Pet!
• And more!

Punch through the pollution!

Earth Day Limited Time Shop!

You've got the whole world on your face! /sing Carry the weight of the world on your shoulders and look environmentally-conscious while doing it when you purchase the member-only Terra Topper Helm! The shop leaves on Wednesday!

Surprisingly lightweight!

Warning: Shop Loaders are Bad!

Shop-loading is bad, mmmkay? When you download ANY program to play AQWorlds, you run the risk of infecting your computers with viruses, keyloggers, and other malicious code that could crash your computer. Besides that, it's against the Terms of Service you agreed to when you made your account. If you have been shop-loading, you'll know it, and so do we. Play right, play fair, and Battle On!

Lorepedia!

Beleen and Jemini have been working very hard on a secret project, and today we unveiled the first phase of it! Head to www.AQ.com and look for the Lorepedia button:

This link to our on-site encyclopedia will take you to a page giving you the option to read about Lore's Classes, Badges, or Moglins! With all-new art and a collection of crazy-useful info, this page will continue to be updated in stages. Coming next: information on the Chaos Lords, Chaos Zones, and AQW NPCs!

The Lorepedia is not meant to replace the wiki; it's meant to enhance your knowledge of Lore and AQWorlds. It will not include information on info like monster drops or quest-givers, but it WILL give you all sorts of details about the characters and stories that make up our world!

Have a great weekend, everyone! We're going to get our game on, get to relaxing, and hopefully have a blast before returning to the Lab on Monday to begin Doomwood Part 2: Whispers of the Dark Lord!

April 16, 2012

Planet in Peril - Knave1's story

Assault of the Banished One!

Undead minion rebellion?! Scattered throughout Lore are the undead minions of necromancers; most of them cannot talk or think. They can only do the bidding of their Masters. But some... some DO remember their time as humans, remember what it was like to be free. And those that do have passed down through generations of undead the story of the Desterrat Moya - the Banished One.

An entity which inhabited this plane long before Lore's current pantheon, this creature has clashed with gods... and lost. An Elder One from the time when the stars we see were dark, the Moya is very powerful and grows stronger feeding on the pleas and petitions of the undead minions who can still think. However, though they look on the Moya as a deity, they do not comprehend its true nature and that may be their downfall!

Their cries have strengthened the Moya enough that it has broken free of the dimension where it has been sealed away, and now it travels to us! The undead* believe the Desterrat Moya comes to free them... but it has different, deadlier plans.

Work with Knave1, King Alteon's Royal UndeadSlayer, to save Lore from the threat of the Banished One and prevent an undead uprising! Look for Knave1's rewards shop, awesome monster drops, and a few rare boss drops from the Moya! Plus, the Interfector Deorum helm will be released, as well as new spear weapons!

* Although Dage the Evil created the art for the Desterrat Moya, Knave1's storyline is not connected to his Undead Legion. Good question though, Askewen!

Who is Knave1 and why does he get a story?

Knave1 is the winner of the final I Can Has Mod contest! His wish was for his own storyline, an armor, and his own NPC. He asked to be King Alteon's personal UndeadSlayer and wanted your help to slay an Undead god. We thought that was a REALLY cool wish and immediately started planning out how to realize his dream.

Originally the Final Cheezburger item was going to be called the GodSlayer Armor, but in response to many players feeling uncomfortable with the name, we decided to call it the Interfector Deorum Armor.** It keeps the spirit of the idea but is not as abrasive for a lot of you guys. So if you're wondering where you're Final Cheezburger went in your inventory, look for the Interfector Deorum Armor!

** With players from around the world, all of whom have different backgrounds and ideologies, creating content that pleases the majority can be a challenge. This time, we got enough negative feedback about the original name of Knave1's armor that we felt it would be more beneficial to the community as a whole to change it.

Earth Day 2012!

Hero, your planet is in peril, and NOT just from the Desterrat Moya! Pollution can kill a world dead just as easily as an attack from an inter-dimensional deity! This Friday AQWorlds celebrates Earth Day with the return of General Pollution, Captain Lore, and all the epic Earth Day seasonal rares!

 Thyton in-game Livedraw Wednesday, 4PM!

Quick as a ninja, Thyton's going to appear in-game this Wednesday at 4PM server time, draw an all-new weapon based on your suggestions, and disappear in a cloud of smoke! Make sure you log in and /join stream to watch the event! A shop will be available for you to purchase the item which will turn into whatever Thyton makes! This is the third in our series of in-game Livedraw events!

Grenwog, Lucky Day, Evolved Leprechaun Class Gone!

It was egg-citing while it lasted, but then our luck ran out! Grenwog and the Lucky Day Fair, as well as the Evolved Leprechaun Class, have all vanished. They will return next year with all new seasonal rares!

Artix and Sepulchure Action Figures!

Your luck is in! (Even if Lucky Day is out.) The Artix and Sepulchure Action Figures are currently on a boat in the middle of the ocean, making their way here! And the timing could not be better, because DoomWood: Part 2: Whispers of the Darkness Lord begins in TWO WEEKS! 

As Artix said on the AQ3D design notes:
To kick off the storyline, we will be releasing a stop motion battle video of the upcoming Sepulchure and Artix action figures which was created by our new friend from overseas. He took the figures apart, added a bunch of extra joints, and... well.. he sort of "robot chicken-ized" it.

If you want Artix and Sepulchure Action Figures of your own, you'll be able to find them at Heromart and US Toys R Us stores! Each action figure contains 5 rare cards to go along with out BattleOn Battle Card Game and includes a code to unlock the Caste or Doomknight item set!

April 09, 2012

Voltaire returns for Friday the 13!

Deady vs the Sleezter Bunee!

Clones, bombs, and... BUNNIES?! Voltaire and Deady are BACK this Friday the 13th for an all-new event featuring the creepiest Bunee this dimension has ever seen! Sleezter Bunny's army of furry clones will have you hoppin' while Voltaire gets you rockin' to acoustic remixes of some of your favorite songs from his last album!

With eggs so spoiled they'll rot your flesh, a bomb built to blast, and an army of bunny clones that reproduces like... well, rabbits, this is going to be ONE event where showing a lucky rabbit's foot might attract more monsters than it repels!

Sleezter Bunee Toys at Heromart!

No Friday the 13th event with Voltaire would be complete without real-world swag to remember it by! Take home your very own Sleezter Bunee Toy from Heromart this Friday!

Each Bunee comes with SIX pets - 6 non-member pets!* Voltaire's IRL loot never fails to stun, stupefy, and terrify, so if you're looking to scare the living daylights out of your enemies (... or friends!), then these are the toys to stick on their shelves when they're not looking!

 * The Heromart site is out of date. You will get all SIX in-game pets when you purchase a Sleezter Bunee toy!

J6 Shirts in Heromart now!

Bounty Hunters, take note! J6 shirts are back in stock now but they won't be on shelves for long! This is the third time we've restocked the J6 shirts, and we don't know how many more we'll make, so if you want to look as fly as a J6, head to Heromart now!

Shirt comes with the J6 helm and the J6 Cowboy Armor!

Action Figures Coming Soon!

Now YOU have the power to choose who wins! Pit Artix against Sepulchure, Sepulchure against GI Joe, or Artix against a T-Rex! You decide the battles, you decide the winner! All you need to do is head to Heromart.com and pick up your own copies of our first-ever action figures! We expect to get the toys in late April or early May. We'll let you know as soon as we get them in!

Wednesday Livestream at 4pm with Mido!

Mido comes to AQW! If you've played through Etherstorm, you'll have met him already. And now you get to see his incredible art skills in action! This Wednesday at 4PM server time, log in to AQWorlds and /join stream to see Mido take YOUR suggestions and turn them into an awesome in-game item!

GodSlayer Armor coming this week!

When Knave1, the winner of the last I Can Has Mod contest, made his wish, he decided to become an in-game NPC with his very own storyline! He is King Alteon's Royal UndeadSlayer, and he needs your help to slay an undead god. With that as a base, we think we've crafted a compelling tale that will explore a facet of the undead most people never consider!

He also requested that his release be short, so we'll be fitting the entire tale into a single release, and it will all take place NEXT Friday! BUT the Final Golden Cheezburger will turn into the GodSlayer armor THIS week! I hope you've hung on to yours!

Botters Beware!

Bans for Botters! Earlier today, Yorumi had a coding breakthrough! He implemented a solution which lets us ban scores of botters which previously went undetected. In the first hour the patch was live, we disabled the accounts of 3,200 botters! They will be disabled for 24 hours THIS time, but if it happens again, the ban will become permanent.

Please, guys, we want you to enjoy PLAYING the game, hanging out with friends, and slaying epic monsters. Play right, fight hard, and BATTLE ON!

More news coming!

Look from more news from Cysero about the Voltaire Friday the 13th event as the week continues! Be sure to join us this Wednesday for the Livestream event with Mido! And get ready for Doomwood Part 2, which is coming in a couple weeks!