Cysero
Kitsocke
January 29th, 2010
Kitsune is HERE!
The Time Has Come To Battle The 4th Lord Of Chaos!
Chaos Lord battles are always big weeks but we have outdone ourselves this week. 46 new items are being released, along with one of the toughest Boss fights and two of the best cutscenes in AQW history!
Zoidberg Noise
Chaos Shogun Kitsune!
Minimal and Miltonius are really the heroes this week. Miltonius went out of his way to animate 2 of the best cutscenes that we've seen so far in AQW, and Minimal took time out of his constant improvements on the PTR to hand-code this special Chaos Lord fight. One of our toughest yet. Bring friends. Trust me.
Meanwhile the art team were busy making all 46 brand new items being added to the game this week, TONS of new house items being added to Obaasan's Akiba house item ship in Akiba, 3 new Good rep weapons, 3 new Evil rep weapons (not to mention 2 new Rep dailies for both Good and Evil giving up to 8000 rep per day!), and Kitsune's drops: His Armor, Helm, Cloak, 3 versions of the Hanzamune blade and a new Chaotic Weapon just for this fight!
And don't forget that our little friend Quibble Coinbiter is back in Battleon, ready to equip you and your friends with the finest in never-before-seen, slightly-used items and rares!
quib
Quibble is BACK!
14 new itesm are waiting for you but remember that Quibble doesn't ever stick around for long, so get them while you can!
Speaking of Limited Time items, this is the last week for the Chaotic O-dokuro Skull House. Once the house is gone, it's gone forever, so if you've been waiting until the last minute... well, here it is.
Next week we start work on the next zone... and we are all very excited to finally be bringing Darkovia from AQ to AQW! We've also got Heroes Heart Day and Chinese New year (both on the same day) AND the return of the much lauded Superbowl shop and Punt map!
See you guys there! Be there or be somewhere else!
Artix
Grateful Student
Grandmaster Lazo
In loving memory of a legendary teacher
I would like to take a moment before tonight's release today to give respect and honor a great teacher who is no longer with us. Grandmaster Lazo was a humble and wise man who helped forge and popularize the most widely practiced Filipino martial art in the world. He was the co-founder Modern Arnis, Kombatan, and later founded the Luzviminda Arnis Kali combat system. Forgive me for this comparison, but how such an amazing man could have mysteriously been found living here in our swamp filled region of Florida can only be compared to Yoda living in Degobah. It was a great honor for Zhoom, Thyton, Cysero and myself to train in Arnis under Grandmaster Lazo. We will never forget his wisdom, humbleness, and the teachings of his special art. I invite you to honor his memory by reading about Grandmaster Lazo's accomplishments on this website.
j6
January 28nd, 2010
Spoiler Alert!
Sneak Peak at Friday’s Release
Are you prepared to fight the 4th Lord of Chaos?* I certainly hope so, since the closer the Yokai War gets to 100% completion, the closer you are at fighting not only O-dokuro, but Chaos Shogun Kitsune as well. The Chaos Lord will not come out of hiding until you defeat all of the Yokai on the battlefield, so if you hope to take down Kitsune on Friday… you still have a bit of a ways to go. (Last time I checked, the War was only at 69%. C’mon, heroes, hop to it!)
Kitsune
Look. Look at him. Kitsune doesn’t look that tough… does he? Well… maybe a little. Okay, yeah. Yeah he does. And as if his attire wasn’t intimidating enough… Chaos Lord Kitsune puts up a fight like none other to date. Thanks to Minimal, brand-new programming and functionality went in to making this Chaos Boss battle different from any other fight in all of Lore. Erm… what does that mean exactly? It means you’re going to have to use logic and skillful reasoning to figure out how to defeat this Chaos Lord. And since Kitsune can change from Human to Fox Spirit form at any given moment—oh the joys of being a shape-shifting Yokai—it is up to you and your friends to figure out just how to defeat the 4th Lord of Chaos! (You can ask Cysero for advice, but he will probably offer you a pancake or some Low-Fat FishWhip.)
*Remember, the 2nd Lord(s) of Chaos are the Twins, and even though we have not fought them yet, they are technically considered the “second” while Vath was the 3rd…. Kitsune is the 4th… and the 5th being
Quibble Coinbiter Returns!
Everyone’s favorite traveling salesmoglin is headed towards Battleon! And from what I can see (I have 200/200 vision), Quibble is LOADED with a bunch of barely-used-never-before-seen-high-quality items imported straight from the future! There are at least 15 new items stored away in his…well… store, ranging from Swords to Guns to Polearms to Maces and even Koi-on-a-Stick. You never know if or when these items will go Rare, so make sure you get the gear while the gettin's good!
Quibble Guns
Good and Evil Daily Rep Quests
Just from reading this subtitle, you already know that this blurb has something to do with… something dealing with… something. And you’re right! Four brand-new Daily Reputation Quests have been added to the Good and Evil factions—2 for King Alteon and 2 for Gravelyn. Head to your faction leader and speak with them for these new Daily Quests that will boost your aligned Reputation drastically! And, of course, if your Rep is high enough, you just may be the lucky new owner of these new weapons!
Now that you know all of our secrets… I guess there is only one thing left to do. You can either eat the FishWhip that Cysero has already set aside for you. *shudder* OR you can take the much safer route: fight in the Yokai War!
See you on the battlefield =D
Cysero
1 Month Old
Baby Sock
January 26th, 2010
The Captain Rhubarb Effect
The Tide Of The Yokai War Is Turning
As Artix reported, Captain Rhubarb has fired his mighty birthday cannons, raining cannonballs into the yokai war. The effect, however, was not what he expected...
Zoidberg Noise
Shoo! Get!
The cannon blasts did not take out any of the war waves, but it DID scare off a few of the monsters (specifically the hardest ones) and caused the remaining monsters to increase their War Medal drop rate!
Now, with the war going faster, you will get to the war boss even more quickly. I feel that I should remind you that the war boss not only drops a bunch of new member and non-member yokai themed house items, but he also drops the member-only non-chaotic version of the O-dokuro skull house!
Also, remember that the Chaotic version of the O-Dokuro house will only remain on sale until the war is over. After that... it's gone FOREVER!
New House
Limited Time Chaotic O-Dokuro Skull House!
This weekend, Members will get sneak preview showdown with Chaos Shogun Kitsune a week before non-members, but to battle the Chaos Lord, you MUST defeat the war boss first!
I'm sure that I don't need to tell you that the Kitsune will be dropping his armor, helm, cape and some other really rare item drops.
We will also be adding a HUGE number of new items to Obaasan's house item shop, a few great new items to the Good and Evil reputation shops (in Swordhaven and Shadowfall) AND some new Good and Evil rep Daily quests to help you earn them.
There is even a rumor on the wind that Quibble Coinbiter, the sales-moglin is making his way toward Battleon with an amazing assortment of never-before-seen (slightly used) items and Rare items!
Kitsune is waiting for you... and only the horde of thousands of yokai pouring out of the rift stand in your way, but you're not going to let a little thing like a war stand between you and your Destiny... are you?
Artix
War-adin
The Great Yokai War!
At 50%.... the next area will UNLOCK
As you read this, your friends are battling against the Chaos Lord's army of Yokai Monsters. At 50% a new area will unlock.
Win by Friday... and we will at long last face the Chaos Lord!
Happy Birthday Captain Rhubarb!
Today, our favorite Pirate, the scourge of the 7 C's* has leveled up! Rumor has it that the Pirate's ship is almost to the coast of Yokai Isle. He intends to light his new birthday cannon's fuse and blow out a few waves of the war to celebrate. Wish the Capt'n a happy birthday by wearing your pirate gear today. For two reasons 1) He is slightly less likely to aim at you. 2) The more people in uniform, the bigger the blast will be**!
* The 7 C's -- Curses, calamity, conspiracy, catastrophe, carnage, cannon-balling, and coding!
** Literally. We are going to add up the number of people using Pirate items/armors/pets and run an unnecessarily complex mathematical algorithm to determine how many enemy units are affected. It may wipe out a certain number of monsters, or weaken them. Yay for Captain Rhubarb's Birthday!
Forum Question: Do you have some interesting ideas ideas for the Chaos Lord battle? Let us know on the forums.
Reens
Bustin' Bugs!
January 22nd, 2010
Item Drop Fix!
They'll stay in your inventory now!
Just a quick note to let all of you know that your item drops will now stay in your inventory! Those sneaky Time Travel Fairies seem to be branching out into other areas of interest... but we've got them stopped this time!
A huge thanks to Zhoom who took the midnight call, and had a fix up in no time!
j6
Socks At War!
January 22nd, 2010
Satisfaction!
The Greatest Yokai War!
The Ultimate Showdown between Hero and the Yokai!
The time has come for WAR! Chaos Lord Kitsune has summoned the great, forbidden Chaos Beast from the Rift of Time, endangering the entire world of Lore. And to make matters even worse, the Rift is unleashing thousands of Yokai into the lands, threatening to swallow up Yokai Island!
war
CALLING ALL HEROES!
It is up to YOU and your friends to put an end to Chaos Lord Kitsune’s reign before this matter gets out-of-hand! Fight with all your strength through the waves of Yokai that flood the massive mountain made up of bones and skeleton fragments. But wait… this is no normal mountain… this is actually O-dokuro! (This Chaos Beast IS huge!) Who knows what dangers await once you—or IF you—defeat the war of Yokai… but this is the ONLY way to stop Chaos Lord Kitsune once and for all!
If you cannot stop this war in time, then… well… we don’t want to even think about what will become of Yokai Island, or the rest of Lore!
O-dokuro House x 2
We KNOW you can do this, Hero! We have full faith that you can win this war and take down the massive O-dokuro! If you are successful, then you may be one of the few to get the O-dokuro Skull House that drops from this Chaos Beast. This is an incredibly rare drop, so only the most skillful (and most lucky) warriors can obtain this 3-room skull home!
House!
Chaotic O-dokuro Skull House! ON SALE NOW!
Can’t wait to get the O-dokuro Skull House? No worries—we are also offering a super-rare, limited-time only Chaotic Skull House that is available starting tonight in Battleon! This totally awesome, chaotic tribal skull home features a spacious 3-room floor plan and comes with its very own Yokai Shop Keeper inside—the first of its kind! We call this IOD, short for Item On Demand. (I wish my house offered this feature in real life!) But act quickly… this rare house will only be available for a short time, and once it’s taken out of Battleon, it will be gone forever! Don’t miss out!
New Items!
Not even war can stop new items from being made. In fact… this week’s release is just teeming with brand-new items! Speak to Hashi Hime just outside the battlegrounds for a collection of all-new wares, including:
*
Karasu Wings (color custom to match your hair!)
*
Black Steel Tofana
*
Brutal Tofana
*
Really Large Chopsticks
*
Salmon Nigiri Hat
*
Tuna Nigiri Hat
*
Cali Roll Hat
Sushi
All New YOKAI REPUTATION ITEMS!
It is rumored that the Yokai War Boss is also jam-packed with items as well! But these aren’t regular swords and helms… they are carrying 13 never-before-seen house items! You can now decorate your home with a collection of Yokai décor:
*
Koi Trophy
*
Hanzamune Blade Replica
*
Tiger Scroll
*
Koi Fountain
*
Yokai Sandals
*
Yokai Lute
*
Dragon Scroll
*
Yokai Harp
*
Evil Umbrella Lamp
*
Small Yokai Shrine
*
Large Yokai Shrine
*
Stuffed Neko Matta
*
Stuffed Samurai Statue
Yokai Daily Rep Quests
Questgivers
>New Daily Rep Quest Givers!
In need of more Yokai Reputation? Look no further than the city of Akiba! Some of your favorite NPCs will award you handsomely if you agree to help them out on a few Daily Quests. Help Mitsu Bushi, Kunoichi, and Nekomimi out every day and watch your Yokai Reputation (and Gold and Exp) grow significantly!
This is WAR, hero… so we will be seeing you on the battlefield!
Have a fun WAR! Or else!
j6
January 22nd, 2010
Anticipation!
Preparing for Tonight’s Release
Who is ready for tonight’s release? I know I am—and since I cannot communicate telepathically (yet), I am sure you are too! We’ve really outdone ourselves this week. And I hope you’re ready for everything in store.
Where do I even begin? Cysero says the best place to start is at the beginning…
Chaos Lord Kitsune is a pretty bad guy. He’s caused us trouble since Day 1 of the Dragon Koi Tournament. But he hasn’t stopped there. He has opened the Rift in Time and has unleashed THOUSANDS of Yokai into the world of Lore. And—as if that wasn’t bad enough—he has even summoned the Forbidden Chaos Beast, O-dokuro.
So what are we supposed to do? WE FIGHT! Watch out, Mr. Kitsune; we’re bringing the WAR to you TONIGHT!
The only way to stop Kitsune is to fight through the waves of Yokai that cover the battlefield (yes, this means a new map! Yay!) Hashi Hime will be at the entrance, offering you encouraging words and some new Yokai Rep items… such as this lovely getup that Cysero is modeling.
Sushi Gear
Lookin’ good enough to eat!
These War baddies are also LOADED with brand-new never-before-seen items to decorate your humble abode with. And when I say “never-before-seen” I really mean it—no one, not even me or Cysero or Artix, has seen what they look like! But I do know one thing for sure: whether you are a Member or a Free Player, you are ganna LOVE THEM! =D
If you’re ganna have new house items… then you are ganna need a new house to put them in, right? Right!
Check this out: there will be TWO NEW houses released tonight… both modeled after O-dokuro! Who doesn’t want to live in the giant skull of the Forbidden Chaos Beast? Well… now is the chance to make your long-awaited dreams come true!
New House
You see that? That’s the Chaotic O-dokuro Skull home. How awesome is it? So awesome! This super-rare, limited-time only O-dokuro house features a spacious 3-room floor plan with a lovely scenic view of feudal Yokai Island. But the most interesting feature this home has to offer is not just its awesome curb appeal… it’s the Yokai Shop Keeper inside! This is the FIRST house EVER to feature a shop owner inside (who randomly generates a Yokai Island Shop each time you enter the house) and can be acquired in Battleon for a limited time only starting tonight… but hey, once it’s taken out, it will be gone forever. So whatever you do, don’t miss this opportunity!
Can you see why I’m so excited? I bet you are, too! Stick around for more info the closer we get to Release!!
Cysero
Limited Sock
January 21th, 2010
The End (of yokai) Is Nigh!
Every Battle Takes Us Closer!
We've got a lot of stuff in the works, right now. It's hard to know what to tell you about first. I guess I should start with tomorrow's release.
The time has almost come to do battle against Chaos Shogun Kitsune, but first thigns first... he used the Hanzamune Sword to open a rift to the Yokai world and Yokai are pouring out following behind the chaos beast O-dokuro!
Before you can face Kitsune, the Yokai army must be defeated and the rift sealed or else the world of Lore will be overrun by Yokai! This means WAR!
If you defeat the war boss, you will be able to unlock a new house in the Akiba house shop.
Skull House
O-dokuro's Skull is a HOUSE?!
And who hasn't always wanted to live and throw parties inside a giant skull?
Hashi Hime, the Bridge Maiden's Yokai Reputation shop is getting a buff with several new Yokai rep items, like the Brutal Tofana!
Brutal
BRUTAL!
...and Skyline has kindly made a set of Dai Tengu wings that will match your hair color!
And we are adding 3 brand new Yokai Reputation Daily Quests around Akiba. Each will give you a very large boost to your daily rep gain!
Non-members will be able to do battle with O-dokuro as soon as the release goes live, but it's hard to kill something that is already so very VERY dead. You may win the first battle, but you haven't won the WAR!
We;ve got a lot of other stuff that we're working on. Minimal, Artix and Dumoose (who has returned to us for a second internship!) have been working on the PTR and we are growing ever closer (as we have been for months and months) to pushing the new PTR engine to all the live servers!
Minimal and I are also brainstorming on the Kitsune battle, and I think we've come up with a few interesting tricks that will make fighting him a new and interesting challenge.
Lim and I are working on a new game concept unlike any of our other RPGs, which you already know about if you follow my Twitter.
You will ALSO see Lim, Rolith, Ai No Miko and I dressed up in Lab Coats (Man, I could use a haircut). A lot of people have been asking me "Cysero, why are you guys wearing lab coats?!" My only answer is "Why AREN'T YOU wearing one?!"
Be honest with yourself.... if you were given the chance to wear a lab coat, especially if you work in an underground lab, can you think of any excuse not to wear one?
To be totally honest, I'm not sure where the lab coats came from, but as my grandmother always used to say "When life hands you a lab coat, PUT IT ON!"
A lot of people have also mentioned that Ai No Miko is short. UNTRUE! Lim, Rolith and I are all well over six feet tall so she just looks like a pocket pal. She is, in fact, completely average sized.
See you in the war!
j6
January 19th, 2010
Limited Rare Weapons!
Cataclysm and Disaster
Ever wanted to get your hands on some super Rare, super awesome, and super limited-time items?
Well here’s your chance...and your only chance… to get the Cataclysm Staff and the Disaster Blade! These bad boys were crafted long ago by a cursed knight, and from the looks of things, this deadly duo lives up to their names quite well. The Cataclysm Staff is teeming with mystical energies while the Blade of Disaster flows with mysterious plasma. But who can handle such immense power? Well… for starters… YOU can!
But make haste, my friend—the clock is ticking away in Battleon… and once the timer reaches 0, these items will NEVER EVER be released again. So when we say these weapons are super Rare, we really really mean it. Just click on the giant button in Battleon to acquire the Cataclysm Staff or the Disaster Blade… or both! The two are priced accordingly to their elite standing… only 1337 Gold each! =D
Will you be one of the lucky few to harness such greatness?
limited
j6
January 15th, 2010
Tonight's Release!
New Chaos Beast, new Shrines, new items, new cutscenes, and so much more new!
How excited are you? Not only have you successfully survived the back-to-work or back-to-school trauma (myself included), but it is also Friday. And EVERYONE knows what Friday means. New Releases! Yeah! And with soooo much happening in tonight’s Yokai update, you’re going to want to check out everything that is going on. Hence why you are reading this post, right? =D
Kitsune’s Past, Present, and Future
Everyone knows who Chaos Lord Kitsune is. But… before he fell to the powers of Drakath, what did Kitsune used to be like? Was there ever a good-guy behind the Chaos Samurai mask? And why did he steal the legendary Hanzamune Blade from the Dragon Koi Tournament in the first place? There are so many questions concerning the Chaos Lord… and tonight, they will FINALLY be answered! You will have to find Hashi Hime, the Yokai Bridge Maiden, in order to discover the truths behind Kitsune’s past, present, and—*gulp*—future!
Kitsune
The Final Yokai Shrines
Guys, this is it. Last week, you traveled to two different Yokai Shrines. And guess what—2 more Shrines are just waiting to be discovered. Meet with Princess Miko at the Funa-yueri Shrine and help her restore peace to the beautiful riverside by making Sushi! But you’re going to want to watch out for the half snake, half woman creature named Nure Onna. Trust me, you do NOT want to be around this thing when it throws a hissssy fit. (heh, get it, it’s the sound a snake makes!)
YokaiFunayurei.gifThe fourth Shrine is in the graveyard for the lost souls on Yokai Island. Since the number 4 is considered a bad number in Akiba legend, Princess Miko will not be able to assist you. Instead, you will have to befriend a new Yokai named Neko Mata, a cat-like spirit with a forked tail. This sly feline needs you to fight Skello Kitties and the Nopperabo Ninja and Samurai who patrol the lands. But NekoMatasomething isn’t quite right with Neko Mata… granted, a talking forked-tailed cat is not normal to begin with, but something else is off… waaay off…
O-dokuro, the Forbidden Chaos Beast!
Just when you thought things couldn’t possibly get any worse… here comes a giant undead skeleton made up of skeletons called O-dokuro. By reading Artix’s earlier DN post, you already know the gist of who—er, what—O-dokuro is. But I’m here to elaborate just a bit =D
O-dokuro
Trapped in the Rift of Time, O-dokuro has been imprisoned for over 1,000 years. The only way to free this forbidden Chaos Beast from his prison is with the Legendary Hanzamune Blade, which is safely being held inside the Akiba Palace. Or… at least it was, up until Chaos Lord Kitsune stole it during the Dragon Koi Tournament. We can only hope that Kitsune doesn’t realize the true powers of the Hanzamune Blade… O-dokuro is far too strong and powerful for anyone to control—including a Chaos Lord—so defeating the Chaos Beast will be nearly impossible. Only a few select Members will be able to fight O-dokuro this week… so if you haven’t Upgraded yet, now is the best time to do so and to show your support for your favorite MMORPG! ^__^
New Rep Items
I saved the best for last: new items! Now, I know we released a bunch of items last week, but we have received a new shipment of Yokai Rep Items that are simply amazing. Incredible. Remarkable. Whatever adjective you would like to use, you will agree with me when you see these rockin’ brand new items:
* Furai Sword (completely color customizable!)
* Elegant Kimono Armor (color customizable base and trim)
* Funa-yurei Morph (Helm)
* Nure Onna (Helm)
* Yurei Ladle
* Hashi Trident
* Dark Prismatic Katana (completely color customizable)
* Light Prismatic Katana (color customizable, too)
Katanas
These items ALL require high levels of Yokai Reputation, and hopefully you’ve been helping Princess Miko out so that you too can get your hands on this awesome gear. You can find these items by visiting Hashi Hime, the Bridge Maiden, between the two final Shrines.
Bridge
OH! Silly me—how could I forget about Artix’s favorite Pepto-Paladin Armor? Hey, despite what Artix says, I DID NOT force him to wear this armor. …okay, well, maybe I nudged him just a bit…
You too can get the Pepto-Paladin Armor! Smack dab in Battleon, just click on the “Upgrade Shop” button on the right side of the screen and show your Pepto-Pride!
Artix
Slayer-adin!
Friday is Release Day!
The best way to celebrate the end of the week
Join us tonight for our monster filled release. We are nearly ready to face the Chaos Lord, but first... are you prepared to battle two new types of Yokai monsters? I long time ago, I wrote to you from Japan about the Nekomata (Or as we call it... the Doom Cat) These split tailed cats can shapeshift and even raise the dead. If one of these were to be let loose on a battlefield... it could raise enough skeletons that the skeletons might all merge and fuse together and form a O-dokuro. Wait...
Odokuro
Artix: Woah! Beleen.... is that really going to happen?
Beleen: What?
Artix: Do we really get to fight a GIANT SKELETON yokai made up of an entire battlefields worth of undead skeletons. It is like the Devastator of the undead!
Beleen: Yup
Artix: OMG!!!!!! RELEASE IT NOW! PLEEEEEAAASE!!!!!!!
Beleen: Nope! You'll have to wait with everyone else.
Artix: Pleeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeease!!!!!
Beleen: J6 and Miltonius finished the art and animation. I guess you could test it if -- you wore this "pretty pretty pink Paladin armor"
Artix: ....
Beleen: Also, we have two new cutscenes tonight. This is it... the final step before the Chaos Lord showdown!
Forum Question: Should he do it?
Cysero
Child's Sock
January 11th, 2010
Making It Look Like Childs Play!
It's AMAZING How Generous Some Of Our Players Are
Remember the Signed Xan Poster?
Xan
This One!
Most of the game development team signed it and then we auctioned it off on e-bay. The high bidder bid a shocking $14,999.44 USD for it.... and that high bidder was some kid who thought he could sam us out of the poster.
I was heart broken. To think that someone would defraud Childs Play, a charity that helps sick kids in children's hospitals all over the world out of fifteen THOUSAND dollars. It was enough to make me lose hope in humanity.
THEN someone contacted us and offered to buy the Xan poster for the original high bid of $15,000.00 USD but and ALSO volunteered another generous $2,000.00 USD on top of that!!!
With help, Artix Entertainment has raised a grand total of $17,000.00 USD for Childs Play! A full 7 grand MORE than we raised for Child's Play last year!
How are we going to top this next year?
I'm going to have to autograph and sell off my organs or something.
Artix
Meet-adin
Meetings of DOOM
Plan now, so we can change our minds 100% later!
Today is officially planning day. Right now, we are meeting on the AQWorlds PTR, level cap raise, new PvP types, and the big release! ...also, we are only two weeks away from a Chaos Lord Battle!
Meanwhile, the ArchKnight storyline (The story of Ash, a boy who quests to dave a Princess so that he can become a Knight... and it goes terribly... terribly... erribly wrong.... every time.) is about to have its exciting conclusion in DragonFable.
Forum Question: What changes would you like to see on the PTR before we go live?
Beleen
January 8th, 2010
Tonight’s Release!
Journey to the Yokai Shrines
Are you ready for a New Year Revolution? I know I am! And it’s about time to put an end to Chaos Shogun Kitsune’s reign.
Yokai Island is overrun with crazed monsters known as (you guessed it) Yokai. According to real-life Asian Folklore, not all Yokai are bad. Most are pranksters. Some are lonely and looking for a friend. Others are just plain creepy who simply want to eat your liver (yes, this IS true!). But since Kitsune is a Chaos Lord, this all-around-bad-guy has vowed to turn all the Yokai against the Human race. And apparently thus far, he’s kept true to his resolution.
The time has come to show Chaos Lord Kitsune that we are not going down without a fight! Travel to the first two ancient Shrines of Yokai Island and meet with the Yokai there. Some are friendly… some are mean… but most are just plain disturbing!
Yokai
Meet Tanuki the prankster raccoon, the fiery SoulTaker, a bunch of Tsukumo-Gami, and Onibaba the Mountain Hag! I guess this kind of goes without saying: this family portrait is one that I would not like to be a part of. Even though, truth be told, I do look like Onibaba when I wake up in the mornings…!
Yokai Shrines Tour Information
Ready to start your Yokai Shrine tour? East of the Hatchiko Hotel lies a lush Bamboo Forest, home to many Yokai big and small. And guess what—this is where the First Yokai Shrine is located! Travel through the forest where you will find the legendary Jinmenju Tree, made famous for its Human-Faced Fruit. You might have to fight off a few rambunctious Tanuki and the dreaded SoulTaker in order to reach the Shrine, though.
If you survive long enough to make it through the Bamboo Forest, you will find yourself nearing the Second Yokai Shrine. You might wanna plug your nose for this zone… since it is a safe haven to forgotten, tossed-out Yokai known as Tsukumo-Gami. But keep an eye out for the fabled Mountain Hag who is rumored to be hiding somewhere in the trash… Her name is Onibaba, and as you can see from her mugshot, she is not the nicest lookin’ lady around…
New Items
Oooh, how exciting! New items always make me smile… and since we have over 15 new ones this week, my entire face is just one huge grin =D Check out all these awesome Yokai-themed items that you can get your hands on!
* YokiBo
* Twin Impaler
* Sleek Katana
* Retribution of the Fallen
* White Tiger (Pet)
* Mini Tanuki (Pet)
* Jinmenju Morph (Helm)
* Tanuki Head Morph
* Yokai Umbrella
* Yokai Lute
* Wanyudo Wheel
* Haunted Lute
* Haunted Umbrella
* Tsukomo-Gami Armor
* Tanuki Morph (Armor)
* Yokai Kimono (Armor)
* Youkono Armor
* And 2 different Fox Head Morphs
items
You can only get these super sweet items after defeating the monsters at the Yokai Shrines. Best of luck to you all!
Bill My Parents!
Woah, check this out. If you live in the US or Canada, you can now use Bill My Parents to get AQW Memberships and AC packages! This method works just like a Wish List—and you know how much fun Wish Lists are!! This feature is perfect for letting your parents, relatives, and other family members know that you want to buy something awesome like a bundle of AdventureCoins or a 12 Month AQW Membership. And if your family approves the purchase, then they can take care of the payment stuff while YOU get to test out your brand-new AQWorlds upgrade! When you go to make a purchase for a Membership or an AC package, just click on the “Bill My Parents” payment option and POOF you’re done! You can also check out Bill My Parents for more information!
On a side note… Artix hasn’t seen these Design Notes yet. And I’m pretty sure that when he does, all the glamorous PINK might make him ill. Sorry, Artix, and anyone else allergic to Pink! >.<
On another side note… I hope you enjoy this week’s release! We sure had a lot of fun making it… and I had a lot of fun bugging J6 for 5 days straight! Best Buddies, right? =D
j6
January 4th, 2010
Dangerous!
H'm see not next go to!
Happy New Year! Frostval is over, so this week will be the last week you can access the town of Frostvale. The Frozen Northlands will stay, but the all of the festive areas will disappear again on Friday bringing us back to the Yokai Isle. To get in the Yokai spirit this week, Artix suggested we do a double movie date last weekend. This probably turned into one of the funniest nights of the year for me. The first hurdle we had to get over is the fact that we live about 2400km away from each other, so driving over wasn't an option. Through the magic of laptops, webcams, wires and a few minutes of "can you hear me now?" I finally got his webcam to show up on the TV. So Artix and Trini were on their end with cake, Cinazool and I were on ours with pizza and we were ready to go. The movie Artix selected was GeGeGe No Kitaro 2. Up to now it could have been a pretty normal night, but before last weekend, I had never heard of that movie, and neither had most stores in my town. So finally I found a copy in a store that claimed had english subtitles and was sure it was going to work great. Artix and I both hit play at the same time and were ready to go. After the first two minutes, Cinzool and I looked at each other with a puzzled look and both went "whaaa?" at the same time. The subtitles were in english, but we had a really hard time trying to follow them. I don't know who translated the movie, but the subtitles sounded like a drunk yoda were reading them. We were watching this and trying to follow as he characters are saying things like "the description table noodles is to can't win". So the first half hour Cinazool and I were cracked up laughing, snorting rootbeer out of our noses watching this. Luckily for us Artix had a much better version so the evening turned into a play with him reading the male parts and Trini reading the female parts of the correct subtitles. Every few minutes we would crack up laughing again and we would swap subtitles to see how wrong ours was. Like this gem: "Did the bewitching imperial concubine see? Is a cat elder sister this, H'm?" Try to figure that one out, we still don't get it. The movie was good though, my favorite parts were when an evil creature was attacking, he would yell out "Dangerous!" I think that will be my new warcry. So we had a great night, got lots of inspiration from the movie (which i still don't understand the ending...or the middle...or the start. The credits were perfect though!) and I've been trying to convince Artix to have a movie night like this in the game for all of us to watch together.
So that was my New Years, how was yours?
Artix
Birthday-adin
...and...
Minimal
Zhoom
Miltonus
...and...
Safiria
Nythera
Zazul
Happy New Year!
The YEAR OF CHAOS is about to begin...
Friends, thank you for the best year ever! Before the highly anticipated insanity of 2010 begins, let us take a moment to look back over the year... and chuckle at all of the victories, train-wrecks and embarrassing moments that we shared together.
As you may recall, we launched AQWorlds just before the start of 2009. The game was brand new and did not even have a story yet. I was shocked when I realized how many things did not exist until this year. Thanks to your ideas, suggestions and very appreciated encouragement, the team accomplished....
211+
Weekly Releases
between our 5 games this year!!
* The storyline began!
The intro of the game where Drakath first appeared, slew Sepulchure and mortally wounded King Alteon
* Our first game-wide Wars!
We battled side by side against millions of monsters in a massively multiplayer version of the wars for the first time.
* Housing was released!
* The 1st Lord of Chaos: Escherion
In a zone inspired by the artwork of MC Escher, players battled their first Chaos Lord. Escherion is a battle mage with the power of inversion.
* The 2nd Lord of Chaos: The Twins
The Twins were originally balanced, once offering good advice and one offering bad... until Drakath intervined, and secretly replaced the good one with... well, that is a story for next year. The Twins have not been fought and currently only appear during one-time-only special events.
* The 3rd Lord of Chaos: Vath
The 3rd Chaos Lord is a Dark Elf DragonLord. Controlling a giant Dragon named Stalagbite he took control of the Dwarfhold Mountains and the mystic forge within.
* The 4th Lord of Chaos Revealed: Kitsune
Inspired by Artix's adventures to the far East, Yokai Isle features anime-spoofs and famous Japanese monsters that you may never have heard of!
* 18,000 Mages Teleported the town of Battleon
In order to move the town from the path of an on-coming meteor, all of the mages of the world united to cast a giant teleportation spell. On the first attempt, we landed above Gravelyn's evil fortress.
* AQWorld's goes widescreen!
Eveyr map in the game was resized to our new, bigger screensize.
* Voltaire Friday the 13th Event
Our first live event with a musical guest star! 32,000 players showed up for the 1st live event crushing the servers like a peanut under an elephant's foot. Then, there was a second Friday the 13th... and we did another one with hourly shows!
* Artix, Twilly & Zorbak visited Japan
* Warpforce, our 1st Expansion was released!
The team that runs the original AdventureQuest created a full spin off game taking classic AQ style game play to the stars.
* The MechQuest ArtBook
Our first artbook! Created at the lab by Johnny Atomic, Aisha and the team, it is BEAUTIFUL! (and full of Artix's bad grammar and typos). See for yourself
* NPC's got those pop-up thingies
It might not sound like a big deal, but it really added a lot to the game!
* DragonCon 2009!!!
Best convention ever! We ran a panel and players came dressed as J6, Escherion, Tek, Yulgar, Cleric Joy, and Ash! One player (Sunbrella) even flew all the way from New Zealand to come meet us! As usual Zorbak took lots of pictures! Oh, we also went to JCON this year which was a blast!
* Special Events
o SuperBowl (& Moglin Punting)
o Hero's Heart Day
o St. Patrick's Day Drakel Cannon
o Mother's Day
o Earth Day
o 40th Anniversary of landing on the Moon
o Father's Day
o Ninja Day
What!? I do not remember a Ninja day.
o Independance Day (US & Canadia)
o Graduation Shop
o Talk like a PIRATE Day, "ARRRRRR!!!"
o Mogloween (Cauldron Sisters, the Thriller!)
o Harvest Festival (Oishii & Turdrakens)
o Frostval (Hungry for Cookies?)
* The Save Chuckles Movement
It was an inside joke started by players that spiraled out of control, ending with a T-shirt and the world's cheesiest infomercial.... it called for the return of Sepulchure's laugh-aholic skeletal sidekick (who originated from DragonFable!)
* The PTR: Stats and PvP began
The biggest and most important project of the year finally opened giving players (and the staff) a glimpse of upcoming PvP and player stats. (PTR Server - currently , Member only)
* Forum Contests
We many fun contests on the forums this year... here are a few of the most memorable!
o House Decorating Contest
o The Ballyhoo Commercial Contest
o Pumpkin Carving Contest
o Holiday Cookie Contest
* DoomKnight Released!
Doooooooooom...... then Beleen forces us to make Pretty Pretty Pink DoomKnight armor for the girls.
* 1st TV Commecial
With footage inspired by the players, voice acting recorded in Artix's bathroom and edited on $99 off-the-shelf video software... it was shown nationally on major channels including Cartoon Network, Nickleodon, and MTV! (Older version)
* AQWorlds gets a 10+ rating by the ESRB
We also joined TrustE, which is a highly respected privacy protection program. While you and the players already know we are honest and responsible, it is nice having major organizations give us their stamp of approval!
* Golden OnSlaught
(AQWorld's 1st Birthday Party)
Twig was left alone to decorate... cake, presents and Sweetish Fish as far as the eye could see. Meanwhile, a ground of overzealous Knight's kidnapped the entire staff (It was so funny how Cysero was trapped in a chalk circle and could not cross it.) In order to save them EVERY player in the game turned undead and joined Gravelyn's army of darkness in the most bizzare rescue mission EVER. Epic win. In the end, the heroes were rescued, the knights of the Golden Onslaught joined the players and their former leader, Maxmillian Lionfang, excaped... and ran into the Chaos Lord(s) known as The Twins. You can still get wallpapers from ArtixWallpapers.com
* Interview in in Beckett's GAMER Magazine
AQWorlds appeared in a magazine for the first time (both last month, and it will again next month.)
* The AQWorld's Deady 8" Vinyl Figure
We released a collector's figure with Voltaire. ALL the units we had available to sell from the lab were sold out in a weekend.... behind the scenes we created a brand new online store called HeroMart. (If you are not a Hero, we also made VillianMart)
* EpicDuel, our 5th Game was released!
Titan & Nightwraith officially became part of Artix Entertainment and got access to hardware and talent to build EpicDuel even better.
* AQWorlds is at 14 Million Free accounts
X weapons, x friends, x armors, (Zhoom is getting the numbers for me still... he said right after the release.) and one extremely hyper, radio-active hampster powered database server.
* Master Account System goes into Alpha!
"The One Login to Rule them All!"
While still in development, it is going to allow for cross game achievements, item unlocking, friends lists, contentests for our community and more!
* Cysero had a baby!
Well, not him personally. Little Jack, the future harvester of missing left socks, was born on Dec 26th!
* Signed Charity Auction Poster for $15,000!??
When new posters were created for the secret underground lab, there was one made at a different size. Cysero suggested that instead of just hanging it on the wall, that we auction it for the Child's Play Charity. With hopes of sending $100 to $200... the team was SHOCKED when bidding closed at $14,999.42. 100% of the proceeds will go to the Child's Play Charity which helps sick kids in Children's Hospitals.
Thank you!
On behalf of the entire team, I would like to thank you and all of the other great players who made this possible. It is because of you that we were able to create AdventureQuest Worlds and put our hearts into making it better each week. Whether you made suggestions, helped us squish bugs, upgraded and became a member, clicked on ads, tested new features, or helped your fellow players on the forums -- you have made this all happen. Thank you!
Now.... are you ready for everything that is about to happen in 2010? Battle on in the New Year friends!
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