It's time again


Battle on General


Truphma World Jumping

Ah, the bitter sweet 3rd installment. I say bittersweet because, even though I absolutely love this quest and can't wait for everyone to play it, it is the last one. I have had so much fun writing these quests and presenting them to all of you that I don't want it to end. But, that would be selfish, now, wouldn't it? If I hogged all the spotlight, no one else would get to show off their talents and creativity... thus, making me a Truphma of sorts myself!

Today you are going to get to see what the Truphma are striving to do, what they have done (surprise!) and what they are fully capable of doing to people. You will see what Eukara Vox has to battle in the future. And, you will find out, along with her, what her studies under Master Archanius truly was meant to prepare her for.

I do have things planned for the future, things that I hope I craft in ways that all of you enjoy and appreciate. Thank you all for playing the releases, giving me feedback and expressing your opinions. I have learned a few things this release, that hopefully will be seen in the ones to come.

It has truly been an honour and privilege to write for you. Thank you very much.

On a special note, I want to thank Kaelin and Kiyodai for helping with the spell names. They weren't exactly sure what they were naming, but they were a tremendous help. I had what I wanted and they helped my brain sort out and put words together.


Story


Recently AQ released a preview of Bizarre Fleck 2. Fleck 2 is just the beginning of a year of some very interesting story aspects, many of which have much to do with Shadow, unexpected relationships, unexpected combination, and dangling mysteries. Fleck 2 itself will tie together the Hall of Memories content, Fleck I content, and a number of loose threads you may or may not have noticed into a big mysterious bow.

Falerin is fragmented and how he comes back together depends on you even as several other NPCs depend upon the player response to another mysteriously ticking clock.

And as to mysterious.... once the mystery unravels "Seth Cay Dhows" will become less mysterious, his origins and behavior will be explored and ultimately he will become a known quantity. Still a somewhat mysteriously motivated quantity mind you, but known enough that his current title becomes less and less adequate.

So what is the true name of Seth Cay Dhows.... the transdimensional transelemental shadow?

Well the fact is... we have no idea... seriously... no idea whatsoever and that my dear friends is on PURPOSE!

Starting sometime this weekend we will be opening up a contest to run for the month of January. The nature of the contest was already implied by earlier hall of memories releases. The true name of Dhows is one that will be given to him, like in Michael Ende's Neverending Story by the Player Character and not just the player character but by the players or "Terns" themselves as Dhows names them.

This is your chance to help define a major villain in AQ history by giving us a name.

The first place winner will get direct recognition of their contribution and use of their name for Dhows in game as well as a prize of 2000 Z tokens. First runner up will receive 1000 Z Tokens and second runner up will receive 500 Z Tokens.

If the submitted names are particularly good we might even use them for other things. However as per usual all submissions to the contest become the property of AE to use as we see fit.

Specific submission guidelines will be forthcoming.



Adventure Quest Worlds

Akidz and FallenPaladin

Tales of adventure, pinky fingers, and wishes
Congratulations once again to Akidz and FallenPaladin, the winners of the 1st round of the CAN I HAS MOD contest! This weekend, I had the honor of adventuring with both of these awesome players. I was very proud of both of them for making selfless wishes that benefited all of you, and not just themselves. Therefore, I did something very special for each of them. I hope future winners of the contest are as cool, fun and awesome as these two players are!
Akidz, Winner #1
As a long time player... Akidz was completely shocked to find out he had won the contest. Mostly because, he did not think he had entered! His little sister was playing his account and got the Golden Cheezburger.


"How about we create a special photo album for
all of my undead friends out there?"

Played AE Games since - The original AdventureQuest
Logins - 3,884
Wish - A non-member pet themed after billy the Kid (The golden Cheezburger magically transformed into this item.)
From us: For his selfless wish that made so many players happy, and because he is the 1st ever winner... We bought him 1 Million AdventureCoins. He is now the first, and to my knowledge, only "AdventureCoin-ion-aire" with a total of 1,000,366 ACs.
Our adventure: He is undead.... so, um, as his sworn assistant he took me around the game making a special photo album for all of the other undead players out there to.. um... enjoy!


First we visited undead battlefields.



Then, in anticipation of Frostvale, he fed the Ice Dragons.



Then, he helped me identify all of my weaknesses and allergies to specific colors.



Then we played a very special version of Punt Twilly. (Hey, I can see my house from here!)



... it went on for hours. And hours. O_O. (Any healers in the house?)

FallenPaladin, Winner #2
When it came time for FallenPaladin to make his wish... he asked you for help on the forums. He made a very bold and controversial wish that revealed Wish List: How to use #2!

"Uh oh... here comes the Genie Wish Lawyer! "


Wish List: How to use #2
In the event that a wish will break fundamental game play, upset a player or group of players, or in any way result in problems or complications for the staff or game... a Genie Lawyer will be summoned from the forbidden plane of litigious wishes. If the wish was made with good intentions, the Genie will begin to negotiate a wish that will benefit the wish maker. If the wish was made out of spite, hate, greed or bad intentions, the Genie is allowed to use their powers of “wish legalese” to re-interpret the wish. If the genie is “unclear” on a certain part of the wish… even if it makes perfect sense to everyone else, the Genie is allowed to ask random players online questions and replace parts of the original wish with their answer.
Wish Result: SPECIAL SHOP THIS WEDNESDAY!
The armor he wished for is one of the most challenging items in the game to obtain. The Wish Genie felt it would be unfair to the players who worked so hard for it if it was given away. Also, the detail and animation on the original armor creates a great amount of graphics lag. So instead, a new, different version of the armor will be created in FallenPaladin's honor. It will be available for 24 hours only starting this Wednesday.
Played AE Games since - The original AdventureQuest
ID#: 89,145 (Woah! Super low! He was a Beta tester)
Wish - A special re-crafted and different "wish" variant of Dage's Undead Legend armor will be released on Wednesday, non-member, 0g, for all players. This will be available through an NPC version of FallenPaladin which will be located in Dage's room in ShadowFall for 24 hours only starting Wednesday.
From us: For making a selfess wish that benefits all players, FallenPaladin is granted the title of Ambassador of Evil and will be giving you the item personally from Dage's room in ShadowFall on Wednesday. As Ambassador, he gets full access to Dage's arsenal. (Note: The bonus from us, if we give it, will be different for each player.)
Our adventure: We battled monsters across the world with other players and mods! ...and I got to battle my mirror image, Super Undead Artix!



One-Eyed Doll
The band is currently on tour. This weekend, former special musical guest, One-Eyed Doll, had a concert not too far from the Secret Underground Lab. They stopped by to visit. Kimberly signed 25 of our "The NPC's: Critical Hits" CDs (One Eyed Doll sang the 1st track on the CD "Battle on!") 2 of them are being mailed to the winners of the contest and 20 are being put up for sale on HeroMart - Your One Stop Shop Online For Hero Things . We gave the band a bunch of goodies including the new Artix Entertainment T-shirt. So.......... later that night we went to the show and were SHOCKED when Kimberly came out on stage wearing the T-shirt we gave her. She had rock-ripped-shredded-awesome-a-fied it into a heavy metal stage dress. She dedicated a song to us and actually played "Battle On!" in front of the 1,500 person St. Petersburgh State Theater audience! There is something... unforgettable.... about witnessing an out of control mosh pit rage on to our all-age's game community's theme song...


"Screenshot or it did not happen!"


f you want one of the 20 signed copies of NPC's Critical Hits CDs that Kimberly from One-Eyed Doll signed or the new Artix Entertainment T-shirt, hurry to HeroMart - Your One Stop Shop Online For Hero Things before we run out.
THIS FRIDAY! New Contest, Frostvale, and CHAOS LORD
The next 13 months of AQWorlds are going to be crazy!!! Starting with this weekend... when we at long last go up against the Bloodtusk Ravin's Chaos Lord! Also, our wintery, holiday Frostvale event returns, giving everyone a chance to catch up before we expand it this year. Meanwhile, Cysero has been working on new mid-week releases. Talking about Cysero, he is up NEXT as the prize for the I CAN HAS MOD contest. A brand new golden cheezburger will appear in shops on Friday with the release.


Adventure Quest


Story


Recently AQ released a preview of Bizarre Fleck 2. Fleck 2 is just the beginning of a year of some very interesting story aspects, many of which have much to do with Shadow, unexpected relationships, unexpected combination, and dangling mysteries. Fleck 2 itself will tie together the Hall of Memories content, Fleck I content, and a number of loose threads you may or may not have noticed into a big mysterious bow.

Falerin is fragmented and how he comes back together depends on you even as several other NPCs depend upon the player response to another mysteriously ticking clock.

And as to mysterious.... once the mystery unravels "Seth Cay Dhows" will become less mysterious, his origins and behavior will be explored and ultimately he will become a known quantity. Still a somewhat mysteriously motivated quantity mind you, but known enough that his current title becomes less and less adequate.

So what is the true name of Seth Cay Dhows.... the transdimensional transelemental shadow?

Well the fact is... we have no idea... seriously... no idea whatsoever and that my dear friends is on PURPOSE!

Starting sometime this weekend we will be opening up a contest to run for the month of January. The nature of the contest was already implied by earlier hall of memories releases. The true name of Dhows is one that will be given to him, like in Michael Ende's Neverending Story by the Player Character and not just the player character but by the players or "Terns" themselves as Dhows names them.

This is your chance to help define a major villain in AQ history by giving us a name.

The first place winner will get direct recognition of their contribution and use of their name for Dhows in game as well as a prize of 2000 Z tokens. First runner up will receive 1000 Z Tokens and second runner up will receive 500 Z Tokens.

If the submitted names are particularly good we might even use them for other things. However as per usual all submissions to the contest become the property of AE to use as we see fit.

Specific submission guidelines will be forthcoming.



Dragon Fable

December 02, 2011
Lots of Random Things!

Lots and lots and lots!

Frist of all a new version of Swordhaven is up! The Guard Captain has two new random quests, with more to come next week. Fight your way through the forests and marshes around Swordhaven and collect revamped versions of weapons that dropped from the original randoms

The residential section is also open, as well as a new shop with adorable Sewer Pets in the Market!

Dragonsgrasp
They flying city of Dragonsgrasp also got an update this week with a brand new house item shop! Just find your way to the Inn and the continue going left past the guard with the polearm. A brand new house style (NINE rooms!*) and lots of new house items await you there!

*Hallways included!

-

November 29, 2011
Everything Old is New Again!

This week we'll see a bunch of new randoms in Swordhaven which begs the question... what would you like to see drop from the new randoms?

The original randoms had a huge amount of classic weapons and DF's new mystery intern has been charged with revamping them for the new randoms, but which ones would you guys like to see redone? (The new intern would like to sleep so redoing allllll the old wespons might be a bit much.) Which weapons do you like just the way they are but want to see higher level versions of? Try to keep it to the drops available in the original randoms!

Child's Play
Child's Play is an awesome charity that helps get games and fun items to sick kids around the world. Artrix Entertainment has been a supporter for several years. This year though, thanks to all our players generosity we've been able to become Platnium Sponsers! We just want to thank all of you for helping through playing our games! We couldn't have done it without you!


Mech Quest

December 02, 2011
Flavescent Friday and Planet Liath

Flavescent Friday! The Event section of the Shops interface is where you will find the Flavescent Friday Discounts and Rares! There is a limited selection of Rare mecha models as well as non-rares. The non-rares are 50% off the normal selling price! The weapons selected are 50% off as well. The version of the RARE Chronomech that is in the shop is not quite identical to the one that was offered with the 3011 Calendar. It scales only to Level 50 and has been named differently to help distinguish it from the promotional version.

We took your input on the forums and considered the pros and cons of everything you said you would want to see (and not to see) in the shops this year. It turned into a lively debate again, and it was fascinating to see what interests you. Honestly I was originally considering limiting this year's offerings to mechas only, but everyone was interested in having a weapons shop - and I'd like to remind you that we have the Salvage quest in Soluna City which really does fill that niche nicely. This year's selection of weapons is mostly for over level 20 - but you can stock up now in advance for when you attain that higher level! (The level range is my fault - I was so focused on getting just the right mecha models selected that I ended up putting weapons on the back burner.) There is a chance that I might add something for the neglected levels, as suggested by ZamuelNow on the forums - Korin gave his blessing so it just depends on how the weekend plays out. I do love the name "Saturated Saturday" that ZamuelNow came up with!

Korin & I decided that Flavescent Friday will last for the entire weekend, so you have time to decide what you'd like to add to your inventory! Keep an eye on the shop, in case we have time to add anything. No promises, but if I add something I'll put out a quick Design Note!

Planet Liath: The Black and White Planet! Liath is now open to everyone who has completed Val's quests at the Museum and also has flight clearance! There are now Non-Star-Captain shoulders in the reward shop (the Nova Gem Preview weapons are Rare FOREVER) and Star Captains still have a nice shoulder in the shop as well, although it is a bit different from the SC Exclusive Preview version. blues designed the specials and Vivi coded them up - and Vivi also made their database entries and did the shop work! Huzzah! (Debut in the database!) (And many many thanks!)

Minar arted up the cool and all-new backgrounds for the town and new element for the new quest, and there's an 'establishing shot' he also made that isn't LIVE yet, because we are adding a landing cutscene next week. (I'll be plotting that out next, along with a little extra dialogue.) Many thanks to Minar for being such an integral part of our dev team while still going to school, etc. !!

Korin let me put together the general visual design for this planet and much of the storyline planning and specific dialogue - I tell you this because I am starting to hear that people don't know who does what, and I generally tell you what everyone else does but not too much about what I do. We do a lot of collaboration as well. So for example I'm hoping Lyris will have time to work with me on one of her awesome animated cutscenes for the landing ...

Korin has introduced a brilliant feature in the quest after you arrive in the town - making rolls to advance much easier and more hopeful - it actually made me not care about rolling under the required number while testing, because I was given hope that I'd succeed and the end was really in sight - and it was! What do you think of this new feature? The new 'organic' dinosaurs are Korin's brainchild (or should that be "brainchildren") too!

*Teaser* Arklen has sent along a something that is animated and relates to Planet Liath... something blues and Vivi will definitely be involved in working on, and something I'll have a hand in... speculations welcome, but no further spoilers are forthcoming anytime soon!

Have a fantastic weekend - thanks for playing MechQuest!

-


November 18, 2011
Mae OOps Limited Time Weapon

The Shining Baz-O.Ops is:

ONLY available from release time today (Friday the 18th of November - whenever everything is ready) to noon Server Time (Eastern Standard Time) Monday (the 21st of November)
priced at 594000 credits
a Star Captain Exclusive Super-Ultra-Uber-Rare Back Shoulder weapon.
a Level 45 version of the Star Captain Bazookas rewards for the SC Sneak Peek of the Black and White Planet
visually 'shinier' than the 'normal' SC version
costs much, much, much more than the 'normal' version due to a pricing typo that I sent out in the weekly newsletter
So what's this all about? As usual, I put together the weekly newsletter - and I heedlessly sent it upward without triple-checking my figures. Even when my new Gremlins ArchKnight, NaturallyMaria, said something to me about the crazy-high pricing on MSN, I was oblivious. You can read about it while the thread is still active here. The reaction on the forums upon seeing news of a weapon priced at 594000 credits was fascinating - players with insane amounts of credits stockpiled were simultaneously going O.O and interested in having a limited-time insanely-expensive weapon for rarity/novelty value.

So Korin gave the go-ahead, and I - well, the technical term would be "recolored" but ... let's just say I - changed the look of the weapon slightly.

The 'normal' SC weapons are going to be in the reward shop for the duration of this Star Captain Sneak Peek. After the new planet opens to everyone, this version of the SC shoulder will go rare forever. Nice stand-alone weapons that become insane in synergy with the Nova Gem Front Shoulder counterpart. Their levels and pricing are

7 - 2100 credits
10 - 3000 credits
13 - 15600 credits
19 - 22800 credits
22 - 26400 credits
26 - 31200 credits
29 - 34800 credits
32 - 38400 credits
37 - 44400 credits
41 - 49200 credits
45 - 54000 credits
The Nova Gem Front Shoulder weapons synergize with the SC Back Shoulder weapons to create insane power! They are good stand-alones, but amazing as a pair!! These shoulders will also go rare forever after the new planet opens to everyone. Levels and pricing:

7 - 84 NGs
10 - 120 NGs
13 - 156 NGs
19 - 228 NGs
22 - 264 NGs
26 - 312 NGs
29 - 348 NGs
32 - 384 NGs
37 - 444 NGs
41 - 492 NGs
45 - 540* NGs
*(Newsletter also had a pricing typo, stating the cost as 594 Nova Gems. The correct Nova Gem price for the Level 45 version is indeed 540 NGs)

I'd like to send a shout-out to Warlic and superjars for the proofreading and editing work today!!!!

NOW back to breaking everything before it's time to release it!!!


EpicDuel

December 02, 2011
Frosty Destruction!
The Delta weapons are going, gone GONE! They have been replaced with the Frost Destroyer mutating weapon AND the Frost Slayer broadsword! These beautiful and powerful mutating weapons are available with the 10K varium package!

This set of amazing weapons comes with an ability called Frostbite, which is a chance to cause your opponent to "leak" energy for 3 turns. If you have Baby Yeti and one of the new Frost Destroyer or Frost Slayer weapons equipped, your Yeti will also gain this ability to inflict Frostbite on your foes!




-
November 29, 2011
A Frosty Design Notes
Welcome to another Design Notes, EpicDuelists! I hope all of you US players enjoyed your time with friends and family and got stuffed on turkey and ham (or tofurkey if you’re so inclined). Here in the Northern Hemisphere, it’s getting colder, and we’re introducing our Winter event.



Last chance for 11/11/11 and Delta Weapons

This week, the 11/11/11 cheevos, missions, and Nightwraith’s personal items will be going seasonal rare. This will also be the final week we will be offering the Delta set in the 10K varium package. What is its replacement? Keep reading!

The Christmas/Winter seasonal house items will be returning in this update as well.



Frysteland

The mountainous continent to the North of the main continent of Delta V was called The Northlands by the colonists to the planet, but the indigenous people already had a name for it- Frysteland. Today, the area remains a strategic location for both Exile and Legion interests, and players will be able to ally with some famous faces in this battle.

One familiar face players will see in Frysteland will be jolly baker and weapons dealer Hank! Hank and Valestra prefer to spend the holiday season together in their Winter Abode, far from the stresses of city life, where Hank can bake Juloffenblotten cookies and Valestra can make delicious hot chocolate, and afterwards cozy by the fire, watching the yetis hunting rabbits outside. However, Hank’s gotten word that Arctic Commander Edgar Boothe is planning something big this Juloffenblotten... and it’s not a lute berry pudding.

Also making the journey from Fortune City to the Frozen Northlands is Alydriah Descarl. Since she’d begun to corrupt the wildlife, Descarl has planned to use these more powerful and violent animals to destroy anyone- human or otherwise- who would stand in her way.

Although this week is just an introduction to the storyline, we hope to make this future releases a full-fledged Winter event the likes of which you have never seen! The idea is that players will be able to choose alignment specific quests to determine the outcome of the storyline!

What is this? Quests based on alignment? Yes! Members of both the Exiles and Legion will battle each other, as well as the corrupted Yetis to win over the allegiance of the Krampus people.



New Promo?

With the Delta Weapons going rare, they will be replaced with the Frost Destroyer mutating weapon AND the Frost Slayer broadsword! These beautiful and powerful mutating weapons will be available with the $50 10K varium package starting this Friday!



This set of amazing weapons will come with the ability called Frostbite, which is a chance to cause your opponent to "leak" energy for 3 turns. If you have Baby Yeti and one of the new Frost Destroyer or Frost Slayer weapons equipped, your Yeti will also gain this ability!



En Espanol!

We've had Portuguese support for EpicDuel for a few weeks now and it has really helped us refine the localization system. Now, we're ready to expand to new languages. Starting this Friday, EpicDuel will also have support for Spanish language in game!



South for the Winter

It’s not just Hank who likes to be warm and cozy during the winter- many animals migrate, including the Monarch butterfly. Perhaps the most recognizable insect in North America, the bright orange butterfly will begin flying from North America toward Mexico and Central and South America, where they will overwinter in huge clusters, huddling together on a tree, often forming clusters that cover entire trees!

This migratory behavior is not noted in populations outside of continental North America, as populations in Australia do not migrate very far, and they do not migrate at all in Hawaii.

Also interesting is that Monarch butterflies are one of the few insects that are capable of crossing the Atlantic ocean, and they are becoming more common in areas like Bermuda, where the plant they consume as larvae- milkweed- is a common ornamental plant. The consumption of milkweed as cateripllars make the adults distasteful to predators.

Sticky

@Nico