April 2010

Beleen
Concert-adin

Cogito Ergo Sum
Mythsock Canyon


April 30th, 2010
Mythsong Canyon!
Mythsong Canyon!

Welcome to Mythsong Canyon brave hero. This is the beginning of a brand new music-themed area, available to ALL AQW players!


The Musical Town of Mythsong City!

In this Brand-new zone Mythsongwe have new items, new pets, new characters, new hairstyles, new monsters and a new Challenge Fight with new tricks up his slimy sleeve!

newest NPCs
The new Mythsong NPCs!

If you want to start earning Mythsong Rep, talk to Jon Jett in the Rep Shop for your daily Rep Quest to defeat the French Horned Toadragon at the top of the French Materhorn just outside of town. Each of the other shopkeepers in Mythsong also need help and you can earn rep with them too!

You'll also find Dorian Mode, the storyline Quest giver NPC standing in the center of town near the large cluster of Mythsong Singing Crystals.


Dorian Mode stands in the City Center!

We even added Ghost's Mythsong Theme to town, which you can turn on and off by clicking on the largest Crystal Clusters, but each of the smaller crystals have their own tones. You can make your own song!

Maybe some of you can record your own songs and show us what you can do with a simple, crystal-clear octave!

This is just the beginning of Mythsong Canyon, and soon we will be introducing the newest Chaos Lord to you, as well as adding EVEN MORE quests, items, reputation quests and rewards, pets, hairstyles, our first NEW CLASS IN A VERY LONG TIME (eventually, not this week) and musical puns to the zone... but for this week, have fun being one of the first players to visit Mythsong City!
AQ Worlds to Appear in U2 Video!
"Even Better Than The Real Thing"


A week ago, you may have saw that I was running around AQWorlds taking a bunch of video footage. Why? Believe it or not, we were asked if some video from our game could be used in a U2 concert on June 26th in Glastonbury England! The footage will be in a collage of games shown during U2's song "Better than the Real thing". We gave them footage from all of our games -- and we have no idea what they will choose to use, or how much. Might only be 2 seconds... but we just got word that we made the final cut! The concert will air on the BBC channel.

It is good to be back at the Lab! I was out of the country the past few days on yet another mission from the Secret Order of Undead Slayers. Thank you to everyone who was keeping me company on Twitter during those 3 hours the computer systems were down at Customs. On a completely unreleated side note, I met Mrs. Universe 1998, Wendy Fitzwilliam, earlier this week. Having never met someone who was the best in the Universe at something before... it was pretty exciting. Things never get dull around here!

Forum Question: We are about to start our Music themed Zone. Do you play any instuments in real life? If so, how long? If not, did you ever want to learn one?

Beleen


April 27th, 2010
Hey PayPal!
What's taking so long?

Hey everyone! Sorry about the PayPal issue (see the below post). It’s taking a bit longer than we expected but I assure you that everyone will get everything they paid for =D Cysero and I are getting tons of Tweets from your fellow players that have already received their upgrades… so if you are one of those who haven’t yet gotten your Membership or ACs via PayPal, just sit tight and it will be delivered shortly ^__^

We appreciate your patience and support through this PayPal issue. In the meantime… do you have any great ideas for our newest zone, Mythsong Canyon? I’ve already got some awesome ideas lined up* but I’m sure you have even better ones, so tell us about them on the Forums!

*Despite popular belief, not all of my ideas are colored hot pink. Okay. Fine. Maybe only a few…

Jack is 4 months old today!
PaySock Error

Beleen


April 26th, 2010
Upgrade Oops & Mythsong Canyon
Big "Sorry!" Coming Your Way!

Back-End Bug strikes again. With all of our attention pointed to the new game engine, the bugs decided it would be a great time for a surprise attack and jumped onto our payment system.

MANY of you noticed (starting around 5 PM EST on Friday) that you upgraded in AQW or got ACs using PayPal and the payment went through... and that's all that happened!

Due to a very major coding error PayPal was able to accept payments but something broke down along the way and your upgrades/ACs were never delivered!

We have FIXED this super-fun little issue, and we have FULL records of everyone who paid and you WILL be getting what you pay for. Nythera, Zazul, Alac and Geopetal are moving at the speed of light to ensure that you get your upgrades and ACs by the end of tomorrow at the latest, but probably in the next few hours.

If you upgraded, your upgrades will take effect as soon as we put them into the system, not from when you paid so you will not be losing out on a single day of your upgrade time.

Thanks for upgrading and keeping AQW going strong, and again... Sorry. We did not just take your money and buy a LOT of pancake mix and fill Artix's pool with blueberry pancakes and fresh, warm maple syrup while he is out of town.

Cause that would be irresponsible.

And really, REALLY funny.

But nobody let me do it.
Mythsong Canyon

Last week I asked my Twitter Friends if they would rather see the musical themed chaos zone or the Horc themed chaos zone next, and the musical Mythsong Canyon won by a huge margin.

I agree with them, SO this Friday Mythsong Canyon will open! We have a few new ideas for this zone, including at least one new class (thanks to thee new engine we can make classes again!) and a fully functional town with a rep shop, hair shop (with loads of new hair styles), a pet shop and an item shop. Each of the new town NPCs will also have a few quests with a chance to earn hard-to-get item drops as rewards!

I'm trying to talk Ghost into doing a town theme song. You'll be able to turn the town song on and off, so you can touch the Singing Crystals that are strewn around town and make your own music.

We are also releasing a challenge monster this Friday to go hand-in-hand with the introduction of Mythsong.

We probably won't have time to get into the story of this music filled area this week with everything else that we are trying to cram into this town, but it will be a fun introduction to a whole new area!
Last Chance for Rixty

Can you believe it’s already the last week of April? I can—it says so on my calendar!

But… waaaaaait a second…. it’s already April 26th?! OMG—today is the last day to get the Rixty Ripper! After 11:59pm EST tonight, the Rixty Ripper Scythe will go permanently rare and will never be offered again.

Rewards

How can I get the Rixty Ripper before it’s too late?! Glad you asked ^__^ Rixty is the newest way in the USA to get Upgrades in your favorite AE Games. And it’s the ONLY way to get the Rixty Ripper in-game Scythe! By redeeming 2,000 or more Battleon Points via Rixty, you can upgrade your account while instantly receiving the wicked Rixty Ripper Scythe! You can find a Rixty location near you and step-by-step instructions on our Rixty Ripper Page.

sdwd
Planet Sock!


April 23rd, 2010
Planet Day!
Take general Pollution down to zero.... hp!

Welcome to Planet Day! A relatively new holiday here on Lore where we take some time out to celebrate our natural environment, our place in it and think of ways to protect it for future generations!

Captain Lore has arrived (check the mullet) to demonstrate a few new clean, renewable energy sources... but General Pollution has other ideas. Help Captain Lore retake his Renewable Energy Platform and show General Pollution that the world has no interest in his filthy chaos burning technology!

good Ol cap
He's our hero.

You will be able to get a number of Seasonal Rare items from Captain Lore's shop and as drops from General Pollution... but the BEST rewards come as possible drops from Captain Lore's final quest.

Rewards
The Arbor Armor!

While we all celebrate Planet Day every day in our own ways, the Plaet Day event won't be here for long so get these seasonal rares before Captain Lore packs up and continues his search for envrionmentally friendly resources!
The PvP Preview Continues!

You still have a chance to earn the limited time PvP Preview Werepyre Slayer items! Meet your friends on the Darkovian Battlefield and take home the Combat Trophies you need to obtain these guarenteed rares! Once the PvP Preview is gone, these items will be gone forever!


Special PvP Preview Rewards!

The new engine is working better and better every day and Minimal and Zhoom are working tirelessly to make sure all the bugs that you discover get squished as fast as they can.

Remember: if you encounter a bug, please report it on the AQW forums! Adventurequest Worlds improves every week, but without YOUR feedback, we won't know what to fix!

Happy Planet Day and have a great weekend!

sdwd
Captain Sock!


April 22nd, 2010
Engine Patch & Captain Lore!
We've got a new engine patch!

We rolled out a new engine patch that will hopefully take care of the Disconnect issues. Please report any bugs on the BUGS FORUM THREAD for today's patch!
Happy Earth Day!

Today is Earth Day here on Earth, but tomorrow begins the Planet Day celebration on Lore. You'll get the chance to help Captain Lore free his eco-friendly energy platform from the chaotic clutches of General Pollution!

The power is YOURS... and everyone ELSE's!
Captain Lore. Yeah, we went there.

Beleen

J6 Earth Day


April 22nd, 2010
Happy Earth Day
Let’s make the world a better place!

Today is the day to show Earth how much we really care about her—it’s like Mother’s Day, only Mother Nature’s day! This world is the only one we’ve got (outside of Lore) so we have to do everything we can to protect it. Help spread Earth Day awareness and together we can make Earth a better, cleaner, and more epic place!
What Can I do to Help?

There are many simple ways to help save the environment. Here are just a few steps you can take to make this Earth Day the best one yet.

* Turn off the water when brushing your teeth
* Use Energy-efficient appliances and electronics
* Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle
* Plant some flowers or a tree! Why not both!
* Conserve gas by carpooling or teleporting (where applicable)
* Replace those old light bulbs with Energy-efficient ones!
* Turn off all light switches when not in use
* Clean up litter from your favorite hang-out spots
* Use less AC and Heat (it also helps save a bunch of money!)
* Get your friends and family to help out, too!

Some Earth Day Motivation

Earth DayLast year we celebrated Earth Day by releasing a special Seasonal shop in Battleon. We are doing the same for Earth Day 2010 and more… but it won’t be released until tomorrow!

Why? Well, since today is Earth Day, we want you to help the environment in every way you can. And even though you are helping Lore out by slaying monsters and beating up princesses, take this one day to show your love for planet Earth!

In exchange for your Earth Day dedication, tomorrow night’s release will include not only an Earth Day Seasonal Rare Shop, but also New Quests, New Items, a New Map, and even a New Villain: General Pollution!

Pollute

Some of you might recognize this early 90’s cartoon parody. Others might not (which will REALLY age us). Regardless, it will be up to you and your buddies to confront the General and take Pollution down to zero… health.
Happy Earth Day everyone!

Beleen

Artix
Finale-adin

This is a picture
8 Track Sock




April 19th, 2010
A Case of the Mondays
Current happenings in the Secret Lab

It’s Monday! Cysero has entrusted today’s DN post to yours truly, so if you are sensitive to pink, I suggest hitting Ctrl + A to make the text bright white, because you know how my posts can get out of control. So Earth Day is this week. It’s a whole day celebrated to making our world a better, cleaner and healthier place! If you were around last year for Earth Day, then you should remember all the crazy “recycled” gear we had in Battleon. But there’s more to come this year! I don’t wanna reveal too much, but I can say that there will be new quests (and new items!) lined up for the Earth Day celebration. There is even a new foe making the scene: we don’t want to get sued for copyright infringement, so the villain you will be facing on Friday is the one, the only, General Pollution!
Battleon Points?!

A lot of your fellow players have been asking about the Portal Site, Master Accounts, Battleon Points and Rixty. And now is a pretty good time to explain all of this so that you guys are less confused. Hopefully.

The Portal Site is this awesome, convenient page that contains every Artix Entertainment game, from AQWorlds to DragonFable to MechQuest. With your Master Account login, all of your game accounts are linked together, allowing you to access any AE game without having to bookmark each one’s homepage =) Your Master Account also keeps track of Battleon Points, the newest way to get upgrades!

When you purchase an upgrade with your Master Account Login, you receive Battleon Points that can be put towards any AE game. Earn Battleon Points and save up to get bigger and better upgrades, like a 6-month Membership in AQW or a Varium package in EpicDuel! Or both.
There is also a special promotion going on right now: the Rixty Ripper! Rixty is the newest way to change your loose change into upgrades at 10,000 Coinstar locations nationwide. And when you get 2,000 or more Battleon Points via Rixty, you instantly receive the Rare Rixty Ripper Scythe. You can find step-by-step instructions on our Rixty Ripper Page.
Eww, bugs!

No one likes bugs. Especially when they get inside AQWorlds and chew threw important wires and gadgets that make things go ker-plewwie! Even though I am not a programmer, I am part anteater and am currently working on the bug problem along with your favorite Mods.

Bugs!

Throughout the week, we will be testing possible solutions to server performance issues. We hope that these issues will be quickly resolved, but as every good anteater knows, we must take our time to assure that all bugs are exterminated in the form of new updates. The entire team appreciates your patience while we are working on the problem, and we hope that these bugs are squashed/devoured in no time =D

Question: What are you doing to help the planet on Earth Day? Let me hear about it on our Twitters! http://twitter.com/BeleenAE

http://twitter.com/Cysero

http://twitter.com/ArtixKrieger
You Speak, We Listen... Usually.

First off I want to say Thanks to everyone who has taken part in the PvP Preview (even the non-members who found that X marks the spot in the Darkovia battlegrounds). There are obvious bugs to work out and a lot of features that you guys are concerned with.

Artix and I along with the rest of the AQW team sat down and went over hours and hours worth of forum posts and listened to what you guys have had to say about the PvP Preview.

As soon as possible we will be allowing you to chose your side and queue with your friends. We will be changing the queue system so that when a player disconnects or has to go eat dinner, the next person in line will enter the battelground, We will be adding a lot more rewards to the shop, We will be stopping players who are in-combat from leaving their current frame, and a number of other changes to the system.

Please keep in mind that this is a PvP PREVIEW (in a lot of ways, it's a lot more of a preview than the PTR PvP was) and we will have already planned to release new rewards, higher ranks of the PvP necklace, and new maps with different rules.

Your feedback was AMAZINGLY vaulable is helping us see the weakest points of the PvP system and once again, we thank you. The Preview continues... and hopefully, so does your feedback!

Some people are complaining that the monsters are too hard and we are still in the midst of tweaking them but don't expect a lot of changes there. They are a lot tougher because they were MEANT to be a lot tougher. Sometimes they will roll really well and finish you off in 2 shots, which is partly why you bring a team to help. You WILL need healers and a healer. You WILL need to communicate with your fellow players.

To quote Minimal "people who go to fight Wolfwing will find that he was been replaced with a steep learning curve." This basicly means that there will be a period of adjustment where some of your felow players realize that they have to LEARN theor class and USE their skills.

No more setting your character on auto-attack and tabbing over to Epic Duel while your priest beats a CHAOS LORD into the ground with a porrly made table leg by his or herself.

The chaos lords were intended to present a challenge and they WILL ALWAYS be hard. It makes the rewards so much sweeter (and the drop %s a lot higher!). You were MEANT to die a few times, and healers were MEANT to be useful.

All that being said, we know there is always room for improvement and some of the lower level mobs are harder than intended for new players who have not yet learned to use their skill... or that they have skills to use. We WILL be making changes, so hang in there.

Remember, Get Enhancements which the right level and useful to your class (Strength will not make a mage hit harder.... Int will. We did a lot of the thinking for you), learn your clases and your skills.

It's a brave, new Lore out there. Be prepared!

Beleen


April 16th, 2010
Tonight’s Release!
PvP Preview, Chaos Lord fight, New Items, and more!

Heya folks! There is so much going on in tonight’s release that I don’t wanna keep you occupied here when you can be experiencing…

Player vs Player Combat!

That’s right! Tonight’s main event is the Darkovian PvP battleground map where you and your friends can duel it out in our FIRST EVER Player vs Player arena. Dumoose, the Master of PvP Warfare in Battleon, will instruct you with everything you need to know about PvP. He also has some quests for you that will unlock another AQW first: the Werepyre Slayer Set!

pvp gear

This entire set can be obtained by turning in Combat Trophies from your PvP battles. Only the strongest—and most committed—heroes will be lucky enough to equip the entire Werepyre Slayer set. Read more about PvP and the new PTR releases in the AQW Player Handbook.

And just so you know, this PvP Preview is currently Members Only. But with the help of Rixty, upgrading your account is easier than ever… especially since the Rare Rixty Ripper Scythe can be yours when you become a Member. You can find a Rixty card dealer near you and join us tonight for PvP Combat while wielding the Rixty Ripper!

Rixty
New PTR Weapons

Celebrate the release of the PTR with an entire shop dedicated to PTR items! Literally. A shop full of incredibly dangerous weapons whose initials spell out P-T-R! It is confirmed that these items are RARE and will only be available during this week’s release. These cleverly named PTR weapons include:

* Precise Talisman of the Ranger
* Precision Tachi of the Remarkable
* Pheonix Temper and Revenge
* Prized Tomahawk of the Revered
* Peace Terminating Rifle
* Prestigious Tanking Roundhead
* And the Plundered Tarnished Rapier

This shop also sells 2 brand-new PvP Amulets. The Copper PvP Amulet offers you an additional 500 health in battlegrounds while the Bronze one gives you +650 health. These necklaces are a great investment for all PvP battles… and reflect your great fashion sense, too!
Chaos Lord Wolfwing!

Not a member? Not a problem! We still love ya, so to show our thanks, we’re letting you fight the latest Chaos Lord! But uhhhh he’s bigger and badder than ever. Since the PTR release, Wolfwing is furious at all the new changes and bugs that we’ve squashed, and he’s ready to take his revenge out on you! (told ya we loved you!) If you hope to survive this encounter (and furthermore, hope to save Darkovia from his wrath), you will have to team up to take down this brute.

Wolfwing

Need a hint? Make sure you have a healer in your group! And good luck to you all—you’re ganna need it!

Now that I have flooded the Design Notes yet again with a monsoon of PINK, it’s time for you to EXP the release! Have a great weekend, and battle on!

Artix
PvP-adin


April 15th, 2010
Coming Friday Night!
The Chaos Lord Fight opens for ALL PLAYERS

Wolfwing is the most powerful Chaos Lord we have ever faced! (... and the most fun battle in the game when battling along side your friends.) On Friday, for the first time, this major game boss will be available for all players to battle! Be sure someone equips their healer armor... to get Wolfwing's awesome item drops you will need to use teamwork and all of your skills!

Forum Question: What classes make the best group to beat Wolfwing with?
PvP Preview!

Our 1st Player vs Player Preview is opening for Members tomorrow. It will be a Darkovia themed PvP map. Rewards from PvP will include health potions, lightning scrolls, special flags, armor, helm and the new PVP AMULETS! What is a PvP Amulet you ask? It is new type of item that increase your health whenever you are playing in a battleground. You can buy the first one for gold which will give you +500HP in battlegrounds. More powerful amulets can be earned by winning matches!
PTR Rares Shop

To celebrate the release of the PTR onto the live servers, J6 & Cysero are releasing a set of special PTR-inspired AC items which will only be available for roughly a week. These guarenteed "Super Ultra Mega Rares." Which reminds me... anyone want to help us assign rarity to all of the other items in the game?
Boss Monsters get a Nerf Hammer beat down

We have been listening to your feedback on the Nerf the Monsters thread and are making adjusting to many monsters. We think you will be happy with the changes you recommended. Please know that Boss monsters at the end of major storylines (like Wolfwing) will be very challenging fights requiring a group of players to use teamwork and strategy. Unlike many other games AQWorlds lets you switch classes at any time. We strongly recommend getting a healing class like Paladin or Healer. Then if your group needs a healer you can switch to help keep people alive through the boss's crazy damage. Also, there is no penalty for helping other players fight a monster in AQW. You get full XP when you help other players and so do they. One of the best parts of AQ Worlds (an aspect which is unheard of in other games) Is that when a monster drops an item after you defeat it, EVERYONE who helped defeat the monster recieves the item drop! We hope you agree, these game mechanics unite to make the best cooperative gameplay ever -- and it runs in your web browser!

Beleen


April 13th, 2010
Got loose change?
Get the rare Rixty Ripper today!

All of you have been asking, “OMG where did Cysero get that Rixty Ripper scythe!?” The answer will finally be revealed:

Rixty

Have a jar full of coins at home staring back at you? How about a stash of crumpled bills in your jean pockets? Or a mountain of change behind the couch cushion?

You are in luck! Rixty lets you purchase Memberships and AdventureCoins by exchanging your loose change for FREE at 10,000 Coinstar machines throughout the USA. You can also buy a Rixty prepaid card at a nearby convenience store and transfer your cash online with no fees. Rixty currently has over 18,000 convenience store locations nationwide.

It’s easy! Here's how:

1. Click here to find the Coinstar machine or Rixty prepaid card retailer nearest you.
2. Visit http://portal.battleon.com and login or create a BattleOn Games account.
3. Click Shop from the menu, and choose Buy Points.
4. Choose Rixty as your payment option.
5. Enter your Rixty Code (or login to your Rixty account) and follow the instructions to complete your BattleOn Points purchase.
6. Click Dashboard, and select the game user account you want to upgrade with your Points (in this case, AQWorlds!)
7. For this special promotion, you will need to obtain at least 2,000 Points ($10) in order to receive the Rixty Prize Coupon that unlocks the Rixty Ripper scythe.
8. Suddenly, the Rixty Ripper magically appears in your AQW backpack, just for you!

Rixty Chaos
Chaos Lords’ weapon of choice? The Rixty Ripper!

Getting BattleOn Points allows you to get what you want, when you want it, for any of your favorite Artix Entertainment games! When you get Battle Points on your Master Account, you will be able to redeem them for any AE game that you have an account in, as long as you have linked it to your Master Account. This is our first time introducing the BattleOn Points system… and the only time that the Rixty Ripper will be available!

Oh, one more thing: there are no fees to use Rixty! So whadya waiting for? Be the first to get the Rixty Ripper and show it off in the new PTR Server!

If you need any more information about Rixty, visit www.rixty.com. They should answer all of your questions and get you one step closer to the awesomeness that is the Rixty Ripper!

Artix
Because...
Minimal does not have an Avatar yet! (Would anyone like to try drawing him an NPC?)


April 13th, 2010
AdventureQuest Worlds 1.0
Official Release notes of our major game upgrade

Every effort has been made to ensure that the information listed here is accurate and reasonably comprehensive. If any information appears to be in error, please let us know, and we will update it.

Version 1.0 Released
After extensive testing on the Public Test Realm, AQW 1.0 is now available. This update includes a wide range of new features, which you can learn about here. You may also want to read through our Player Handbook, available at http://aq.com/info/handbook/

New Features

Stats
AQW has a newly designed stats system, which is designed to help make gear choices more fun without placing so much emphasis on stats that newer players are left out.

Our system focuses on the standard stats found in most RPGS: Strength, Intellect, Dexterity, Wisdom, Endurace, and Luck. We also have the following secondary stats: Attack Power, Magic Power, Critical Strike Chance, Haste, Evasion Chance, Critical Strike Value, and Hit Chance.

Your character always has some baseline stats, which change depending on what class you currently are. In additional, equippable items may give you additional stats through their Enhancements, which are described below.

In general, Strength and Dexterity are for physical classes, while Intellect and Wisdom are for caster classes. For more information, please consult the Character Overview Panel in-game by hitting "c" or clicking on the "Character Panel" icon on the main menu in the lower right corner of the screen.

Enhancements
In order for most items to be equipped (other than pets, costumes, amulets, and potions), they must first be Enhanced. Enhancements apply stat values to items, which are then applied to your character when you equip them.

Enhancements must be purchased from stores throughout the game. Your class trainer will offer a "smart shop", offering you Enhancements suitable for your level. Non-upgraded Enhancements are only offered for one slot per level (completing a set every 4 levels), whereas member-only Enhancements are available for every slot at every level, with a slight bonus as well.

Enhancements will be a major part of the game from now on, and will be focused on in "end game" areas that will be designed for players at the level cap (currently 30).

Please consult the Player Handbook for more information about the Enhancement process itself at http://aq.com/info/handbook/enhance.asp

Level Cap
The new level cap in 1.0 is 30. Players will find that quests reward substantially more experience than they used to, and that experience requirements per level have been lowered. Leveling is generally much easier up to level 20. We will be adding content to help people reach 30 in our weekly releases. Each time the level cap is raised in the future, we'll follow a similar pattern of making it easy to get to the old level cap, and challenging to get to the new one.

PvP
AQW 1.0 allows PvP, although we are not releasing content for this feature immediately. Adding new PvP areas is our top priority right now. When they are available, PvP areas will be accessible through the PvP Queue, which is a new feature of the user interface (UI hereafter).

PvP is restricted to designated areas only; it is not possible to simply attack other players anywhere.

Information about rewards will be available as the content comes out.

Combat Mechanics
Combat mechanics have been modified extensively for version 1.0. You will find a lot of helpful information for your class on the Character Overview Panel in-game by hitting "c" or clicking on the "Character Panel" icon on the main menu in the lower right corner of the screen.

One major hilight of the new system is mana regeneration. All classes now have a fixed mana pool of 100 MP. Each special action costs a certain number of points to use, and all classes have some way of earning mana while in combat so that they can fight for much longer than was previously possible. Please check the Character Overview panel for tips about how to regenerate mana for your current class.

You will also find that some attacks are now AoE ("Area of Effect") attacks. Examples include the Proto Sartorium's Arc Lightning, which bounces between monsters and deals more damage with each bounce, or the Healer's Healing Word, which now also heals friendly units around the main target for a small amount.

We have also added a global cooldown to all abilities other than AutoAttack. This means that every time you use an ability, all abilities will be on cooldown for 1.5 seconds. This is primarily done to limit burst damage in PvP, where a class with many direct damage abilities such as Berserker could otherwise unload a huge amount of damage on a target almost instantly.

Healing has been made much easier with the inclusing of a Healing Icon. The Icon will pop up over any player who has just taken more than 10% of their HP in damage, or who is below 50% health, if you are playing a class that has a primary heal spell (currently only Paladins and Healers, but more are coming). Clicking this icon will automatically heal that player. This makes Healers much more group-friendly, which is important, because you will need them now.

On a related note, bosses are angry about all the improvements to player classes, and are now hitting a lot harder than they used to. Players are strongly encouraged to try classes with strong enemy damage rection (like the Mage's Ice Shard and the Frozen Blood aura it leaves), and/or strong healing.

Every ability in the game has been adusted to match the new mana system and damage potential of players with significant mana regeneration. Details are broken out below.

We now have potions and spell scrolls in AQW. You may notice that your last action on the action bar is a greyed-out slot that says you can equip consumable items to use them there. These items would include things like Health Potions, or say Scroll of Chain Lightning. You can equip them from your inventory, and then this action will attempt to use the item to cast a spell.

Out-of-combat HP and MP regeneration has been added, reducing the need to /rest as frequently.

Classes: General
As described above in Combat Mechanics, all classes have undergone significant changes. These changes serve several purposes:

* Make all classes stronger, longer lasting, faster, and more interactive
* Balance the class against other classes in the new mana and combat system
* Give the class a role, since you can easily change classes
* Give the class a strength and a weakness in PvP

That said, the main purpose of all of the class development was to make them stronger and more fun to play overall. We think we have done a good job, and the overall reaction from PTR players was very strong. However, these changes are not necessarily carved in stone, and classes may be adjusted in reaction to player feedback, as well as our own assessment of design goals and how well they are being met.

Classes: Individual breakdowns
Coming soon. For more information, please consult the Character Overview Panel in-game by hitting "c" or clicking on the "Character Panel" icon on the main menu in the lower right corner of the screen. You will see mana regeneration tips, stat recommendations, and ability descriptions for your current class.



User Interface
The Inventory and Shop panels have been completely rebuilt. This new layout is designed to make critical information much clearer and easier to find, while also allowing the new Enhancement process to be as simple and informative as possible. Please consult the Player Handbook for more information about the Enhancement process itself at http://aq.com/info/handbook/enhance.asp

The chat frame can now be hidden, or expanded to fill the screen vertically. The toggles for these states are accessible in the lower left corner of the interface, next to the chat entry bar.

Monster levels will eventually be represented by a number of either stars or skulls, depending on the difficulty of the monster. So a level 20 regular monster might show as 2 stars, and a level 30 monster as 3 stars, but a level 20 boss would show as 2 skulls. We are still testing this system, so for now, you will see both levels and stars.

The Options panel has been redesigned, and now allows hiding your cloak or helm, as well as making most other settings persistent on the server, allowing your settings to be remembered if you log in from another location.

The Character Overview panel is now available from either the main menu (bottom right corner), or by hitting "c" on your keyboard. It provides mana regeneration tips, stat recommendations, and ability descriptions for your current class.



More to come soon! See you in game!



Artix
PTR-adin


April 13th, 2010
PTR goes to LIVE servers today!
See the Play by Play on the homepage*

It is really happening! AQWorlds is gettings Stats, Level Cap increase to 30, New interface with Item previews, Class rebalancing, room-wide attacks, health potions, weapon procs, speed improvements, and an unbelievable amount of behind the scenes improvements that you were never hear about... it is literally a completely redesigned game engine! IF** it goes well... then our first full PvP map will be released Friday along with the new PvP Amulets (which increase your health by a thousand or so hitpoints in PvP maps.)

We hope you have fun during this event today!. If you have not been with us for a major upgrade before -- hold onto your helms! Know that our goal is to make the game better for you -- if something goes wrong, we will keep working until we fix it! Just as we have always done in the past. Good luck everyone!

Onward... to the homepage!
It is time to start updating the Play by Play... join me on the homepage for up to the moment news and behind the scenes secrets as we prepare to go live!

Rixty
The Rixty rechargable cards (from those that can be used on any of our AE Games are going to be released today too! More on this coming later.

* ... and follow the Train Wreck as it happens. (KABOOOOOM!)
** Weather announcer says, "Expect sudden server failure followed by a hurricane of lag and a lot of panic. It should be really enjoyable to watch the AE Team run around like chickens trying to fix all the bugs. In otherwords... the usual."

Artix
Finale-adin

This is a picture
8 Track Sock


April 9th-ist-ish, 2010
Chaos Lord of Darkovia!
Prepare for the epic Vampire & Werewolf filled finale

Tonight, Members will be the first to battle the fiercest Chaos Lord we have ever faced. What type of Vampiric powers will he try to use to stop you*? What rewards will be bestowed upon you if you emerge victorious**? Also, we are having a special... waaah? Is Cysero really having an 8-Track day release?

Wolfwing

* No sparkling allowed!!!!!!!
** Trick question... rumor has it the Chaos Lord is invincable and will be the end of us all. (Oddly, this only makes me want to battle him more. Who is with me?)
PTR Release coming next Tuesday

We are still pushing hard for the highly anticipated release of the Public Testing Realm (PTR) next Tuesday. This will introduce Stats to the game and increase the level cap to 30! If it is successful, we will launch PvP next Friday! Anyone who helps test on the PTR will receive a special achievment & badge. P.S. We are working on the hair bug as you read this.
Art Contest Judging Battle!

Beleen downloaded all 1,781 drawings to judge our latest art contest. AMAZING WORK EVERYONE! We gathered around the huge table in the war room and put each entry up on the main screen... if you submitted a piece of work, we took the time to really appriciate it! Picking prize winners is the hardest thing we will ever have to do... but no matter if your submission places or not -- you are a winner in our eyes!

This is the last picture
There were 1,781 entries in the Art Contest

Site note: Artix is strong vs Undead. Weak vs Allergy season! *sniffle* Achoooo! How are your allergies holding up? Hope you are not allergic to Vampiric Draconian Werewolf fur for tonight's fight!
Chaos Lords and Disco Ducks!

The time has arrived to do battle with the most fearsome of Drakath's Chaos Lords. Wolfwing awaits any stalwart players brave enough to face him in his own lair. This week the Chaos Battle fight is for MEMBERS ONLY!

But thigs are different this time. Remember that he's part Vampire, part Werewolf and all BEAST! When an animal is cornered it fights with a frenzied speed and strength!

This is another picture
Showdown Time!

Also be aware, hero, that a choice faces you. Like most choices in life you only get to make this ONCE and the effects are permanent. Choose carefully.

Also, Sunday is 8 Track Day and to celebrate (kind of) Disco Stoo'pid, the Disco Dancing Horc, is coming to Battleon for one week only!

This is yet another picture
Groovy Groovy!

If your funky moves have enough funk to them maybe he will reward you with the Disco Dancefloor House Item, Disco ball, House Item, or even his groovy hair doo or his own armor!

Good luck, disco ducks! Have a good weekend. Or else!


Public Test Sock


April 8th, 2010
PTR Tester Achievement Badge
The Achievement Badge is LIVE!

The very final and very most important round of PTR testing has begun and with it comes the PTR Tester Achievement! I've got mine!

If all goes well this time, the PTR engine will go live to all the servers NEXT TUESDAY!

Log into the PTR NOW to get the achievement, and thanks once again for helping make AQW better and better every week!

If, for some reason, you don't get the achievement when you log into the PTR, please Clear Your Cache and try again!

Have fun, report bugs and give us feedback!

Cy-bermen vs. Cyserobots
Sockter Who


April 7th, 2010
Chaos Lords and 8 Tracks.
Chaos Lord time!

This week, Members get to battle Drakovia's own Chaos Lord, Wolfwing!

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Chaos Lord Wolfwing!

As usual he will be dropping his own armor, and as usual we have planned an interesting fight for you. I don't want to ruin the surprise for you, but You'll want a healer with you.

Minimal and I talked about him for a bit and he's got not one but two unique aspects to his battle. it might take you a few attempts before you can take him down. It might take you more than that.
Do you even know what an 8 Track Tape is?

This Sunday is "8 Track Day". If you don't know, and 8 Track Tape was the musical medium that came after records and before casette tapes. Thanks to 8 Tracks people were finally able to listen to their own music in their cars.

8 Track Tapes didn't last long in the world. They were too clunky, and didn't hold enough information to really be practical. Much like the rest of the 70s, it was just a bad idea.

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The NPCs Live In Concert Original 1976 Eight Track Recording!

To celebrate 8 Track Day, Disco Stoo'pid the disco dancing horc will be coming to Battleon (from the past?) this weekend and will give players a chance to win his "8 Track Flashback" armor plus a number of 70's themed house items, like your own disco ball, shag carpet or lava lamp!
PTR is coming NEXT TUESDAY!

PTR is finally, actually, really, honestly, almost ready. Next Tuesday we are moving the PTR Game Engine that most of the coding team has been working on for what feel like a decade... will be released on ALL the live servers.

This means, Stats and the new Enhancement System (Most of your stats come from which Enhancement you pick for your gear), We will fianlly be able to make new CLASSES again, Member Enhancements are able to have special powers (like a 5% change to add an fire DoT to an enemy), We will be raising the level cap to 30 AND very soon (within a week or so of releaseing the PTR engine) Player versus Player battles will go live!
PTR Achievement!

We need your help testing, and we appreciate all the help you've given us so far so starting sometime tomorrow, anyone who logs on and helps us in this very, very crucial last round of testing... will instantly recieve a PTR Tester achievement in their Book of Lore as well as on their Character page!

Beleen


April 5th, 2010
Last Day!
Drawing Contest Closes Tonight

Hello there! Just a quick heads up: the AQW Drawing Contest concludes tonight at 11:59pm EST, and no more entries will be taken after that time. As of right now, 1,461 masterpieces have been submitted on this single thread (the Forum Mods are ganna pwn me lol), so if you want to be a part of this contest (and have a chance at winning the grand prize of 5,000 ACs) make sure to post your drawing today!

Once the contest closes tonight, all artwork will be judged throughout the week (1,461+ pictures is a lot to go through) and the winners will be announced this Friday, April 9th on the Design Notes and on the Forums. AC prizes will be awarded then as well (prior to this week’s insane release) so keep those fingers crossed—unless you’re still drawing—and everyone will find out Friday if your Pencil is mightier than the Sword! Good luck =D

Beleen


April 2nd, 2010
Dracowerepyre-sized Release!
Hunt down the Chaos Beast and… eggs!

You thought dragons were big? Well check this out: enter the next Chaos Beast, Dracowerepyre! Not only is this monstrosity 50% dragon and 50% werepyre (which is half-lycan and half-vampire) but he is also 50% Chaos. That’s right—this Chaos Beast is ready to rock the battlefield with 150% absolute power… and a HP bar set to 30,000! You and your friends will have to team up if you hope to take down the ultra-powerful Dracowerepyre.

Dracowerepyre

It would be unwise (and impossible due to clever programming) to storm right through the Chaos Caves and fight the Dracowerepyre. Test your strength against Wolfwing’s Werepyre Army who are patrolling the Caves before taking on the fully-grown Chaos Beast. If you are lucky enough to survive the battles ahead, the Dracowerepyre drops the following items:

* Chaotic Dragon Blade
* Burning Dragon Mace
* Gold Lycan Skull Mace
* Chaotic Dragon Club
* Gold Lycan Skull Staff

What better motivation than 5 all-new weapon drops? All of these items have pretty low drop rates, so only the most fearless, most courageous, and most lucky heroes can obtain these!

If you need more practice fighting off Darkovian baddies, you can always return to the War, which is now a permanent addition within this zone. Both the Lycan AND Vampire War Shops are available on the battlefield, offering you household items to decorate your humble abode with. Because the Vampires lost the War, obtaining the new Vamp house items comes with a price—an AC price tag that is! Head on over to Brysin’s War Shop to check out 4 new items and a new home: the One-Bedroom Vampire House.

Speaking of new items, Valencia has just stocked her shop with the Silver Lycan Skull Mace! Head over to Battleon Town and speak to the chick with the purple hair to get your very own Mace, fully assembled and ready for battle. And ready for screenshots, too!

CYsero Egg
An Eggstreme Holiday Event

It’s that time of year again: Grenwog! Last year’s egg-laden holiday is being re-released along with Seasonal Rare Items, monsters, and quests that only happen during the 1st Sunday of April (or in AQW, the first week’s release in April)! If you missed out on last year’s Easter event, now is your chance to relive it. Get your hands on 12 Grenwog Seasonal Rares and prepare yourself for the mutated egg-laying rabbit holiday with:

* Eggstreme Egg Beater 10
* Vorpal Bunny 10
* Transforming Berzerker Bunny Spear 10
* Berserker Bunny Armor 10
* And many more Seasonal Rares!

Most of this loot can be obtained by completing quests from the Vorpal Bunny and the egg-hunting Cabdury moglin…rabbit…thing… within town, who offers you a Seasonal Item Shop. And 2 super rare surprises drop from the overpowered Grenwog beast himself… if you are lucky enough to defeat him!

Grenwog

Whassit? The Mini Grenwog Pet, you say? For all you rare-hunting-hunters out there, I have good news (and for everyone else, it’s probably bad): the Mini Grenwog Pet has gone PERMA RARE! This means that the Grenwog boss no longer drops his Grenwog’s Tooth (the item that transformed into the mini pet last year). However, there are a lot more teeth in that mouth of his, and if you happen to get Grenwog’s Other Tooth, make sure you keep it, because it will turn into something rare this year too. But what it is, I cannot tell you. Yes I know what it will be. But I’m not sayin’ =p
The Perfect Grenwog Gift

Looking to fill your Grenwog Basket with something other than colorful plastic grass and candy-filled eggs? The AE Upgrade Card makes a great addition to any Grenwog Basket… especially since we are offering the Transforming-Super-Rare-Non-Member Choco-Bunny Pet when you activate your card! If you purchase an AE Upgrade Card from a store near you and activate it anytime from now until Sunday, April 11th, then the mouth-watering-milk-chocolatey-transforming-mutant-Choco-bunny pet will be yours! Yum, it’s better than candy! Oh wait…!

Have a great weekend everyone, and try not to eat your Choco-bunny! Okay, well maybe just a nibble… more…

Miko: Your post is MILES long!
Beleen: It's good cardio for the eyes.
Miko: Cardiac arrest for the eyes.
Artix: Agreed.
Beleen: roflol's

Artix
Fool-adin

Miltonius
Minimal
Zhoom
Reens
... and everyone!


April 2nd, 2010
Did we get you?
A memorable April Fools for all of us

Before our big double release tonight (The Cyborg, Dragon + Vampire + Werewolf... Chaos Beast & the seasonal Grenwog event) we wanted to thank you for such a fun time yesterday. We really hope you enjoyed the April Fools prank. The concept of 11 million Mods and only 8 players still makes me chuckle. For the team it was a blast -- we spent the entire day running around asking you all if we could be mods. You played your role perfectly!

There were a few people who did not catch on that it was a joke. So I would like to make sure everyone knows that there is no such thing as an "Auto Mod" (yet?), and there was no bug yesterday. Well, at least not any more bugs than usual O_O

Forum Question: While we wait for tonight's release... do you have any clever ideas for our prank next year!?

Game Jokes
We did April Fools releases in all 5 of our web based games. In the original AdventureQuest they switched the genders of all the NPCS! (Galanoth did not warn Artix before he logged in.... terrifying result) In DragonFable players logged in and found themselves in AQWorld's starting town! EpicDuel released prank items and made their staff characters available to fight! MechQuest players were told that the game was getting an audio upgrade. Korin secretly replaced ALL laser, missile, and cannon sounds in the game with spoken "Pew Pew" and "Woooooosh" sounds.


"Graphics Optimization" - AQWorld's 2009 Prank

My favorite of all time -- last year in AQWorlds we told everyone that we made some "minor" art changes to reduce bandwith and players logged into a poorly drawn, black & white stick-figure recreation of Battleon. I probably just like it because they let me draw it. But if you want to see some real art, check out the new drawing contest.

Chaos Beast fight tonight!!!

Artix
Not-Mod-adin


April 1st, 2010
Auto-Mod Bug!
EVERY Player has been granted Mod Status

Due to a freak bug in the newly released auto-mod tool, which selects certain players to be moderators based on their in-game behaviour... All 11 million players of the game have been promoted to Mod status with a Gold Name! Meanwhile, the auto-mod tool demoted the entire staff! (...including Artix, Cysero, Beleen, J6, Miltonius, Reens and Minimal!)



"No, you cannot be a Mod."

For the longest time the top question asked by players is, "Can I be a Mod" and "Can I have more gold?". When players were asked what they thought of being a Mod in the town of Battleon, they responded, "Being a Mod is nice, but this isn't what I meant when I said give us more gold." Oh... and Happy April Fools!