Design Notes

August 05, 2026

PaladinSlayer & CardClasher Class Reworks

Sharper Card Skills & MORE SKULLS

Good news! The newly reworked CardClasher and PaladinSlayer Classes arrive next Friday, August 7th! Vordred the PaladinSlayer was generous enough to write out a post for me to share, so let's get to 

THIS IS VORDRED. THE DESIGN NOTES WRITER MINION WAS TOO SLOW. THEIR SKULL HAS BEEN REPURPOSED. INSTEAD, I WILL TELL YOU ABOUT MY CLASS.
LUCKY YOU!

IF YOU EVER WANTED TO BE ME (AND YOU DO) YOUR DREAM IS ABOUT TO COME TRUE.
LUCKY YOU x 2!

I AM VORDRED THE PALADINSLAYER.
UNSTOPPABLE ON THE BATTLEFIELD. IMMUNE TO DAMAGE. 
WIELDING MAGIC DARK ENOUGH TO CRIPPLE PALADINS OR ANY OTHER FOOL WHO STANDS IN MY WAY.

LOOK AT ME FUNNY AND I WILL TURN YOU INTO MY MINION, TOO. BECAUSE...
MORE SKULLS = MORE POWER!

PaladinSlayer Class Details

Description:
Recommended enhancement: Hybrid. YOU ARE A PALADINSLAYER. NO MERE MORTAL BOUND TO THE LIGHT CAN DEFY YOU! ALL WHO EXIST MUST BOW TO YOUR SUPERIOR SKILLS AND MARTIAL ABILITIES!

Stat Model: Full Hybrid

Mana Regen: PaladinSlayers can mana when they:

• Strike an enemy in combat (more effective on crits)
• Are struck by an enemy in combat

Skill Breakdown

BLADE OF MASSIVE DESTRUCTION

Rank needed: 1 / Default Attack
Target: Enemy
Max Targets: 1
Type: 100% Physical
Range: Medium
Mana Cost: 0
Cooldown: 2 seconds

A blade feared by even the most courageous Paladins. Deals bonus damage to Humans.

THE OLD WRITER LEFT A NOTE. IT SAYS:

"The descriptions were too hard to read in caps lock, so we opted to just have the skill names in all caps."

WHO DID THEY THINK THEY WERE? CHANGE DENIED. CONTININE READING.

FEAR THE LIGHT

Rank needed: 1
Target: Enemy
Max Targets: 1
Type: 105% Hybrid
Range: Long
Mana Cost: 5
Cooldown: 6 seconds

Nullify your foe's pathetic healing magic! Applies Decay, negating all non lifesteal healing your target receives for 2 seconds. If Morph is active, applies Fear the Light, a 4 second DoT. 

PALADINS ARE NOT SO TOUGH WITHOUT THEIR HEALING. BUT WHY STOP AT JUST PALADINS?

SHADOW GRASP

Rank needed: 2
Target: Enemy
Max Targets: 1
Type: 125% Hybrid
Range: Long
Mana Cost: 10
Cooldown: 10 seconds

The shadows grab hold of your foe, stunning them for 2 seconds. Also applies Shadow Grip, reducing Crit Chance and Dodge by 30% for 10 seconds.

If Morph is active, Shadow Grip becomes enhanced, reducing Outgoing Damage, Hit Chance, and Haste by 30% for 4 seconds.

MY SHADOWS WILL SPREAD ACROSS THE WORLD! THERE WILL BE NO ESCAPE.

MORE SKULLS

Rank needed: 3
Mana Cost: 20
Cooldown: 30 seconds

Amass the Skulls around you and Safeguard yourself for 30 seconds, increasing Damage Resistance by 80% and blocking up to 3,000 damage. Your Undead Power strengthens you or an ally, increasing Outgoing Damage and Crit Chance by 50% for 8 seconds.

MORE SKULLS! AS LONG AS I HAVE MY SKULLS, I CANNOT BE STOPPED. MY POWER ALSO GROWS IMMENSELY, AND IF I AM FEELING GENEROUS I MAY PROVIDE ONE OF MY MINIONS WITH POWER INSTEAD.

VOIDUMINANCE!

Rank needed: 5
Target: Enemy
Type: 500% Hybrid True Damage
Range: Long
Mana Cost: 15
Cooldown: 15 seconds

The ultimate Paladin slaying spell. Deals true damage and applies Necrot, reducing your target's Damage Resistance by 50% for 15 seconds. Also Morphs your target into your undead minion for 4 seconds, commanding them to attack only you and reducing their Outgoing Damage by 90%.

ALL WILL SERVE ME! NO PALADIN CAN RESIST THIS SPELL, AND IF THEY SOMEHOW DO THEIR DEFENSES WILL BE CRIPPLED.

THERE IS ANOTHER NOTE FROM THE OLD WRITER. IT SAYS:

"Since the functionality to turn an enemy undead doesn't exist, we opted to make the undead minion part of Voiduminance a taunt that cripples your foe's damage. Vordred seems like the kind of guy who'd toy with his minions like this anyways."

THEY ARE NOT WRONG, HAHAHAHA!

Passives

Inescapable Shadows

Rank needed: 4
Type: Passive

Haste increased by 15% and Hit Chance increased by 50%.

Ancient Evil

Rank needed: 4
Type: Passive

Your power comes from deep beneath the Necropolis, increasing your Strength and Intellect by 25% but you are vulnerable without your layer of Skulls, reducing your base Endurance by 50%. 

Detect Living

Rank needed: 10
Type: Passive

While your target isn't Morphed, Blade of Massive Destruction applies Detect Living, which stacks to 20 and lasts 10 seconds. At 20 stacks they're consumed to apply HAHAHAHAHA, increasing your Crit Chance and Crit Damage by 500% for 10 seconds and causing More Skulls to grant Undead Power to all allies. Detect Living is always applied against Humans.

HAHAHAHAHA! 

Conclusion

WHOEVER REWORKED PALADINSLAYER DID A GOOD JOB. THEY INCORPORATED MY SKULLS, MADE IT REALLY TANKY, GAVE IT A LOT OF DEBUFFS INCLUDING ANTI-HEAL, ADDED MY VOIDUMINANCE SPELL, AND EVEN REMEMBERED MY DETECT LIVING ABILITY. IT REALLY FEELS LIKE "VORDRED (ME), THE CLASS"!

YOU HAVE ENOUGH DETAILS FROM ME ABOUT PALADINSLAYER NOW.

HERE IS A NEW MINION. THEY WILL CONTINUE THIS POST WITH INFORMATION ABOUT THE CARDCLASHER SKULLS. 

...

New writer taking back the keyboard. Vordred is all-powerful and would never typo. So he 100% meant to say CardClasher Skulls. So wherever you see me say CardClasher Skills, make the substitution you know he would want.

(VORDRED NOTE: YOU WILL DO, MINION. FOR NOW.)

*cough* Right. Back to class rework details with the reworked and revamped... 

CardClasher Class Skills

The new CardClasher is similar in many ways to the old one, but with a new way to play.

• You draw random cards. 
• Choose to spend them for effects or throw them at your opponents for damage.
• We kept the three card deck set-up but added way more powerful buffs and debuffs.
• Buffs and debuffs can now be shared with your friends.

Combined with fast cooldowns, these changes make the updated CardClasher a high-energy, fast-paced, and rewarding class... when things go right.

Description:
Recommended enhancements: Lucky. CardClashers draw powerful cards with diverse effects, playing them to manipulate the flow of battle!

Stat Model: Luck Hybrid

Mana Regen: CardClashers don't use mana, they use cards.

Skill Breakdown

Duel

Rank needed: 1 / Auto Attack
Target: Enemy
Max Targets: 1
Damage: 55 - 165% Hybrid Damage as Physical
Range: Medium
Cooldown: 1.75 seconds

Advance your turn, damaging your opponent.

A simple autoattack. Doesn’t do a lot of base damage, but gets increased drastically by Raise the Stakes and your various buffs and debuffs.

Draw

Rank needed: 1
Target: Enemy
Max Targets: 1
Range: Medium
Cooldown: 1.5 seconds

Draw a card for you and your opponent, applying one of three random cards. These cards do nothing, but can be activated by Playing or Dealing them. Drawing again replaces the existing cards.

This is the start of the class combo! You draw one of three random cards for both you and your opponent. Red cards represent offensive effects, blue cards represent defensive effects, and green cards represent healing related effects. This plays into your next few skills.

Play

Rank needed: 2
Target: Enemy
Max Targets: 1
Damage: 150 - 450% Hybrid Damage as Physical
Range: Medium
Cooldown: 9 seconds

Activate your opponent’s card, applying a debuff to them based on the card, and consuming Raise The Stakes. If you have Vigor or your opponent has Weakness, deal extra damage.

• PaladinSlayer: -20% Defense and Haste and prevent your foe from healing for 6s
• Necromancer: -40% Damage dealt for 12s
• DoomKnight: -50% Defense, Crit Chance, and Dodge for 12s

This turns the card on your opponent into an effect! The effects mirror most of the debuffs on each stated class, but only last a short while in comparison to the class themselves. Play your cards carefully to ensure victory!

Deal

Rank needed: 3
Target: Friendly
Max Targets: 4
Type: Status
Range: Medium
Cooldown: 9 seconds

Activate your held card, applying buffs to you and your teammates depending on your held card, and consuming Raise The Stakes.

• Paladin: +70% All, Phys, and Mag defense with a large HoT for 3s
• Bard: +20% Damage, +10% Haste, +5% Crit, and -20% Mana Cost, and a Heal over Time for 18s
• Legendary Hero: +40% STR, INT, and LCK, +25% Damage, and +40% Crit Damage for 6s

Turn the card on you into a positive effect! This affects not just you, but up to three other teammates as well. This greatly enhances you and a small party’s abilities, once again mimicking effects from other classes.

Card Toss

Rank needed: 5
Target: Enemy
Max Targets: 1
Type: 190 - 570% Hybrid Damage as Physical
Range: Infinite
Cooldown: 1.5 seconds

Toss your unused cards at your opponent, dealing damage. Gain a stack of Raise the Stakes for each card, increasing your skill damage by 50% per stack up to 4 stacks, lasting 10 seconds. Raise the Stakes is consumed when you next Play or Deal.

Don’t like your cards? Toss them at your foe for damage! Doing so greatly increases the damage you deal with subsequent skills. Play this at the right time, and you can end up dealing huge amounts of damage!

Passives

Stacked Deck

Rank needed: 4
Type: Passive

The cards are stacked in your favor, granting you +10% Dodge and Haste, and +20% Crit Chance.

Luck of the Draw

Rank needed: 4
Type: Passive

You believe in your cards and your good fortunes. +10% Luck.

Topdecking

Rank needed: 5
Type: Passive

Starting from rank 1, your abilities cannot be avoided. Dealing once more while under card effects Deals them one more time on your selected target.

Conclusion

While CardClasher carries a lot of buffs and debuffs, make no mistake- it can still solo and deals a respectable amount of damage. While not quite as damaging as the strongest offensive classes, between its damage and varied support abilities, you’re sure to find a place in every party.

You adjust and balance your play- will you focus on grabbing the effects that you need, suppressing your foes and supporting your team, or will you throw all your cards at your foe, dealing as much damage as you can?

How Do You Get These Classes?

Stryche (the head of HeroMart, our online merch store) confirmed we are going to begin a pre-order for a new batch of Battle On Battle Card games soon! They should arrive later this year, so if you've been after getting your gauntlets on the Original BattleOn Battle Card game IRL... your wait is almost over!

This new batch of Battleon Battle Card games will unlock the CardClasher Class with all of the updated skills listed above... but with NEW art. Players who already unlocked the CardClasher Badge Shop will keep their original class art and unlock the updated CardClasher Ace armor art. Anyone unlocking the CardClasher Class starting with this year's new batch of card games will get see the CardClasher Ace art.

Players who already unlocked the CardClasher Badge Shop will keep their original class art and unlock the updated CardClasher Ace armor art. Anyone unlocking the CardClasher Class starting with this year's new batch of card games will get see the CardClasher Ace art.

Anyone buying the new run of Card Game Packs will get:

• CardClasher Class (belt pouch art removed)
• CardClasher Ace armor (belt pouch art removed)
• NEW Ace of Cards helm
• NEW CardSharp Fanned Cards mace
• Card Cape
• CardBlade (single + dual-wield)
• CardClasher House
• The same, iconic character page + Book of Lore badge art (but which will open a new shop)

Players who have already unlocked the CardClasher Badge Shop will get:

The original...

• CardClasher Class & Armor art
• Card Cape
• CardBlade (single + dual-wield)
• CardClasher House

Plus the new...

• CardClasher Ace armor (belt pouch art removed)
• NEW Ace of Cards helm
• NEW CardSharp Fanned Cards mace

Anyone who has the original, pre-2026 update CardClasher Class will get:

• an exclusive Pyramid Box Pet

Anyone unlocking the 2026 version of PaladinSlayer Class will get:

• PaladinSlayer Class (with MORE SKULLS added)
• PaladinCrusher armor (with MORE SKULLS added)
• the new SKULLCRUSHER MACE
• The same, iconic badge art (but which will open a new shop)

Players who have already unlocked the PaladinSlayer Class will get:

The original...

• PaladinSlayer Class
• PaladinSlayer Armor + Helm 
• Skull Pauldrons of Vordred Cape

Plus the new...

• PaladinCrusher armor (with MORE SKULLS added)
• SKULL CRUSHER mace

Anyone who has the original, pre-2026 update CardClasher Class will get:

• NO BODY Pet

The CardClasher and PaladinSlayer classes are a break from how we have handled previous restocks because it had been so many years since the last restock, and they are such fan favorites.

Thank you to everyone who gave feedback on how you would like to see in-game rewards set-up for future restocks. Yesterday Artix, Stryche, and I met to lock down our plans for how those would be handled based on the input we received. 

PS: Many players on Twitter had seen the CardChaser armor set Despera made several years ago. That was (and is still) planned to arrive in the HeroPoints Merge Shop.

July 24, 2017

PTR Test: Auto-Enhancements

Help us test a new feature on the PTR Server!

About 2 weeks ago, Artix and I were in the command center, discussing what else we needed to put the server rewrite live. And one BIG thing came up -- making sure the game felt right to you guys that first time you log in on the new server.

Based on your feedback, a majority of our community feels positive about the changes (even if there is still room for improvement). That tells us that we're at a point where we should move forward with launch planning. BUT we want to make sure the game feels good to you, and that you can jump into it and play easily, regardless of the combat changes. To help with that, Yorumi built (in record time!) the new...

Auto-Enhancement Feature

With this new feature, you'll be able to click a button and have all your equipped gear enhanced with the best, most useful specs. Some notes:

• Only the gear types you currently have equipped will be auto-enhanced
• If you want to change any of the auto-enhancements, you can go in and manually re-enhance the item
• During the auto-enhancement testing, enhancing is free

Note: because of how different the enhancement systems are on the new vs old servers, if you enhance gear on the PTR server and then go back to the regular servers, you may encounter glitches. If you encounter issues with loading on the regular/old servers, return to the PTR and change gear to things that are showing as currently enhanced.

If you are experiencing any bugs with the Auto-Enhancement system, please report them at Artix.com/bugs. Thank you!

Did You Say... Preparing for Launch?

Yes, yes I did. We've gotten a TON of feedback, and we appreciate all of it. At this point, there are a few issues that cannot be fixed until we make the changeover to the new system/server. Yorumi is going to spend the rest of this week monitoring the auto-enhancement feature and feedback to hear your thoughts.

While he does that, he will begin preparing the servers and systems for the changeover. 

This also means it is your LAST chance to farm up the Quest Mission Sprocket requirements to unlock the 0 AC Sir Ver Bank Pet.

Once the rewrite IS live, the team will focus on fixing the issues mentioned above. We'll also begin heavily focusing on the class balance, combat changes, and class bug fixes that can only be done on the new server. 

At this point, any class bugs still occurring on the PTR server will be fixed once the rewrite is live, and new systems/features available to address them.

March 04, 2015

AQWeekly Newsletter: March 6

Dage's New Class, Items, and New Storyline Release!

After crushing the 4 Horsemen of the Apocalypse, complete the Champion's Gauntlet Daily Quests, score hot new loot by Dage & Laken, and then embark on Dage’s new storyline release!

March 20, 2015

New Flash Player Update: 17.0.0

How to update Flash Player and keep it up to date!

Adobe Flash Player upgraded to level 17 (this comes after last month's update to 16.9). And this has caused some problems for some online games that use the Flash Player plugin—like, for example, all Artix Entertainment games!

From our end, we think we have solved most of the issues, so now it’s our turn to help YOU get rid of some your Flash bugs if you have them!

What is the Adobe Flash Player?

The Flash Player is a plug-in that is required to play all of our games, and is automatically ‘plugged in’ to your browser (Internet Explorer, Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, Opera, Safari, etc.). Adobe Flash Player makes our games run, displays the flashy animations, makes your shiny Blade of Awe glow bright, and plays all the epic cutscenes!

Which version of Flash Player do I have?

First of all, you might need to know which version of Flash Player you have on your browser. To find that out, follow these easy steps:

1. Open your browser.
2. Go to www.aq.com/play-now
3. Right click somewhere near the ‘Login’ button.
4. In the menu that then opens, you need to READ the last line, which says something like “information about Flash Player 17.0.0.305…”
5. IF it DOES NOT say “Information about Flash Player 17.0.0.…” and gives another number, then you need to upgrade your Flash Player to the latest version.

How to upgrade Flash Player to the latest Version?

If you do not have the latest version of Flash Player, you‘re in trouble….  O__O ….. because older versions of the Flash Player will cause your game will lag, disconnect, have sluggish animations, etc. So it is ALWAYS better to upgrade. Here is how to upgrade your Flash Player if you do not have the latest version:

1. Open your browser
2. Go to http://get.adobe.com/flashplayer/
   • If you have an older version of Flash Player, the page will automatically tell you to upgrade it.
3. Click the link “Download the Adobe® Flash® Player system plug-in”
4. Click “Install now” to download the newest version and install it.
5. Follow the instructions given by the program.
6. Restart your browser and it should be working fine now!

This method should work for any browser you use. Some browsers, like Google Chrome and Mozilla Firefox, automatically update Flash Player when a new version is out. Other browsers do not and then you will have to update Flash manually.

I want Flash to automatically update!

When you update your Flash Player, there is an option in the installation process where you can check the box to make Flash Player update automatically, like in the picture.

However, you may not know if you enabled that for your computer. Or that you are sure your computer has not enabled automatically updating Flash Player. In that case you can still enable it in this way:

1. Go to www.aq.com/play-now
2. Right click near the “login” button.
3. Click “General Settings” in the dropdown that opens.
4. Go to the tab “Advanced Options” in the Settings Manager that opens.
5. Click on the button “Change Update Settings”, this might require administrator rights.
6. Check the bullet/box of “Allow Adobe to install updates”
7. Additionally you can click “Check now” to see if there are any updates for Flash Player.
8. Close the window and you should be fine.

I am using Google Chrome and it does not work like that!

Oh yes, Google Chrome acts a bit weird in that case. Chrome usually updates Flash automatically, unless something (or someone!) disabled it. Here’s how it works for Google Chrome:

1. Go to www.aq.com/play-now
2. Right click near the “log in” button.
3. Click “General Settings” in the dropdown that opens.
4. The browser will bolt you to a help page of Adobe in a new tab.
5. Scroll down till you see a link called “Panel General Notification Options” and click it.
6. Set “Check on updates” in the screen that follows on 14 or 7 days, and check the box “Warn me about new updates”
7. Close the tab and it should be set now.

What if it still does not work right?

Curse technology!! It could be that your computer just refuses to update the Flash Player, or that it keeps messing up because of conflicting versions.

In that case, it is better to entirely remove Flash Player and re-install it. To remove Flash Player, it’s best to do that via your computer’s configuration panel. (Note: this might differ per Operating System)

1. So go to “Start”
2. Open the configuration panel.
3. Go to “Programs and Software”
4. Search for “Adobe Flash Player” (there might show multiple of them)
5. Right click them, and select “uninstall/delete”
6. If you had more “Adobe Flash Players” showing in the list, uninstall these too.
7. Then open your browser and go to http://get.adobe.com/flashplayer/
8. Click the link “Download the Adobe® Flash® Player system plug-in”
9. Click “Install now” to download the newest version and install it.
10. Follow the instructions given by the program.
11. Restart your browser and it should be working fine now!

Still having troubles after? Then you might want to check if your Firewall or Security programs are not blocking it. Programs like AVG could still be blocking it. Quick options to change that would be:

1. Open the AVG panel
2. Go to Firewall
3. Go to Options
4. Go to the tab Applications
5. Make sure “Adobe Flash Player” is on the list of allowed applications.
6. If it’s not, add it manually.

This is all we can teach you about Flash Player—a tricky but very good plugin that all our games run and live on. If you have additional questions, feel free to comment below and we will try our best to help you out! Please only write our Player Support team if there is a serious and/or complicated problem.

Thank you, Gjappy!!

When you see Gjappy in game, be sure to give him lots of /cheers for helping US help YOU! We could not have done this without his help, and we cannot thank him enough. So if you want to share your love, be sure to thank him on Gjappy’s Facebook and on Gjappy’s Twitter!

January 21, 2015

New Game Updates on Jan. 23

Special Event Finale! Za'nar: Ring of Light

Battle through the Tombs of De’ther, recover the Ring of Light, and defeat the dragon Jir’abin. Embrace the Void by becoming the Void Defender! Read more here.

More Items this Friday by Nulgath!

ArchFiend fans LOVED the Hanzo gear, so Nulgath is releasing even more! Get the Golden & Shadow Hanzo Sets, plus new items! Read more here.

Epic Loot: New HeroMart Arrivals this Friday

This Friday, get your gauntlets on Za'nar: Impossibility book & new J6 shirt! Buy both J6 shirts & get a limited item! Za’nar book also includes game item. Shop smart, shop HeroMart!

Coming Soon: Northpointe Village

In the upcoming weeks, journey to Northpointe--the starting zone for the new main AQW storyline. And then... prepare for the FireStorm Assault!