AQ3D Design Notes/News/Patch Notes

War Result.... DRICTORY!
Artix Krieger | Tuesday, October 17, 2017



"DRICKTORY!" Congratulations to Dricken Cabin!
Well fought all! Everyone who contributed is now officially a part of history. Dricken cabin has reached 100% and won the war! Login and get your perma-rare backflag from Zip in the Dricken camp. Proudly displaying the Dricken logo, it is available to all players commemorating this event. Also, congratulations to Frogzard cabin for unlocking the Campy Warrior armor reward for all players.

Mogloween will open in less than 24 hours on on platforms: Android, Apple, Mac, & PC.


What was this event?
In the B-horror movie campy camp of Camp Gonnagetcha (Which only appears on Friday the 13ths for a limited time), two cabins fought to prove who was best. The war between Camp Dricken and Camp Frogzard was brutal... and will forever be remembered as our first war. Teams collected War badges for their cabin to increase their side's war meter to 100% first.



Both Frogzard and Dricken 50% rewards unlocked!
The end of the war was so intense! If you were there, then you know exactly what I mean. As the Drickens approached victory, time was running out for the Frogzards to unlock their camp's 50% reward. The Frogzards never gave up and fought fiercely-- their perseverance rewarded by what became an awesome last moment joint effort from both sides, unlocking the Frogzard's 50% reward! Well fought all.

• Campy Rogue Armor - Unlocked! Craft this at Zip in the Dricken Camp
• Campy Warrior Armor - Unlocked! Craft this at Ace in the Frogzard Camp

Shrade is still on the loose!
Whilst the cabins waged war, everyone’s favorite psychopathic, machete wielding, hockey loving, epic-horror-loot-pinata stalker is still on the loose. Bring some tough friends.



You just became part our game world's history
Have you ever heard the term "Dragonfable Warmonger?" They (possibly you, if you are one of them) got this title for enduring some of the longest, most grueling, grindiest wars in DragonFable-- some taking three weeks. They are pretty much the Spartans of video game wars. DragonFable's WarMongers do not know how to give up... and they are the kind of crazy that you want on YOUR SIDE (no matter what the event.) They came from a time in DragonFable's history before the wars improved and become more fun. The stories of the war meters they obliterated are legendary-- and can never be taken away from them.

You just completed a brutal and grueling war that will go down in history. In the future, you, and everyone who participated in this first ever AdventureQuest 3D Beta war will be remembered for having accomplished this. Soon, when we have PvP, random missions, spontaneous war events, and smaller meters that unlock the war as a story... *smiles* and then you will encounter brand new players that say "OMG, this is so hard!"-- and you will laugh. You will laugh and tell them the tale of your warmongering way back at Camp Gonnagetcha, when is was REALLY HARD.

Well fought... AdventureQuest 3D Warlords!



Camp Gonnagetcha T-Shirts
Available now at www.HeroMart.com

When real-life Warlic and I were in middle school, we went to a real-life camp. I got posion ivy. Also, neither of us showered the entire week. (over sharing?) We never got a T-shirt. But you can. Two Campgonnagetcha T-Shirts are available at www.HeroMart.com -- one for each team. They include an in-game cape with your team's logo on it. These are a limited time (rare) item-- and will never come back.
You can see the capes on the T-shirt pages



Next stop - Mogloween's Haunted Mystcroft Manor
Get your perma-rare Dricken back flag. Within 24 hours we will restart the servers to open Mogloween's Mystcroft Manor across all platforms (PC, Mac, Apple, & Android). You will be able to get their by talking to Myx (the talking cauldron) in town. This year's new "Pumpkinmancer" (totally looks like a Pumpkin Skeletor) set will be obtainable by all players

P.S. After the war if anyone asks "Where is Mogloween!?" please let them know it will be up within 24 hours.

Edit: updated design notes with changes Artix made.

 

Hopefully there's some new items in the Mogloween event, though I can't wait to get my hands the stuff I forgot to get last year.

 

Mogloween 2017 is LIVE!
Artix Krieger | Tuesday, October 17, 2017


Mogloween has begun!
Enter the haunted Mystcroft Manor... if you dare. <Insert sinister "MWAHAHAHAHA" laughter here> How? Speak with that talking cauldron named Myx in town.



Pumpkinmancer (NEW!)
Ambitious adventurous will quest to unlock all wings of the haunted mansion and craft this year's new seasonal rare set-- Pumpkinmancer! There is also a Pumpkin Scythe and a Shadow variant of the helm.



"OH! YEAH! NOOO!"
OK, we seriously need a meme of Myx busting through a wall yelling "OH! NOOO!" This talking black cauldron is always brewing up trouble... evil pumpkin spice flavored trouble. Someone (or thing) placed him in our freshly decorated town. Talk to him to travel to Mystcroft Manor, Camp Gonnagetcha, get the 2017 Mogloween Collector's Edition, and more.



Mogloween 2017 Collection
Our 1st ever Mogloween collection features brand new items, armor, and two travel forms-- Skeleton and Lil’ Skelly! Both which run at 130% travel speed. Get the items separately, or get the ENTIRE Mogloween 2017 collection which includes a rare badge, permanent access to the items which frees up your inventory space, will save you a coffin-load of (30% off = Save 2,200 DCs), and you are directly supporting AQ3D’s ongoing development.



Happy Mogloween!
Mogloween and the loot you can obtain in it is only available once a year for a limited time... and that time is now. Mystcroft Manor is vastly superior to last year. You will not fall through any *coughs* trap doors. (Last year, we used to fall straight through the map under certain situations) The Haunted Manor is now scaling allowing all players to play together. Furthermore, there is a level 12+ requirement for the higher level challenge wing Which means no level 1 players can wander in and stay there, making it impossible to clear the room. But if you do need to go, you can now leave the house at any time by existing through the red glowly indicators on the floor. The new quest systems will make it very clear where to go. Because we used a new quest chain, everyone will play from the start-- but it does not take very long.

Happy haunting heroes!

 

Class Improvements - Want to help test?
Artix Krieger | Wednesday, October 18, 2017

Class Improvements available for testing now on our Public Test Realm (PTR for short)
It's finally here! ...and the feedback so far has been overwhelmingly positive. AdventureQuest 3D is going to have a very large number of playable classes that you can obtain and change between at any time (60+). Which is why it is so important that our four base classes (Warrior, Mage, Rogue, and Guardian) are unique, interesting, and fun. Test out the new classes on our Public Test Realm (STEAM ONLY) and help us make them the best they can be. You will discover combat has become faster, smoother, and the THE NEW ULTIMATES ARE AWESOME!



GENERAL IMPROVEMENTS

• Each class now has an ULTIMATE
• Classes are more unique from each other
• Attacks are faster (Classes attack at different speeds)
• The motion trails of special attacks and their damage #'s are now a different color
• Death respawn timer is now shorter-- but you do not spawn at full health.
• You can walk backwards faster
• Auto attacks can now accumulate points, fire off specials, etc
• We are still tweaking and improving things-- so please give us lots of feedback!

WARRIOR
"Tank and spank!" Specializes in close combat and can gather up enemies with an area of effect attack.

• Interesting class trait: the Warrior class does not use mana nor any type of resource.
• Sever - A quick, precise slash.
• Crushing Blow - A bone-crunchingly powerful swing of your weapon.
• Whirlwind - Slice at everything around you cutting through enemy Armor
  • Special Effect - Armor Break
• ULTIMATE! Earthbreaker - A massive attack that shatters rock and foes alike.
• Passive Ability - Weakness Exposed: Every 5th spell deals increased damage.

MAGE
"Run and gun!" Specializes in long range combat and can slow and stun opponents.

• Interesting Class Trait: Regular attack is a long range spell cast
• Fireball: Kamehameeeeeeeeeeee---FIREY-BOOOOOM! (You get the idea.)
• Ice Spear: Launch a conjured lance of ice at your foe, dealing Frost damage over time. Effect: Frost Effect: Slow
• Lightning Strike: Blast your enemy and Stun them briefly. Effect: Stun
• ULTIMATE! Meteor Volley: Summon devastating meteors to annihilate your target.
• Passive Ability: Mana Spring: Mana Regeneration increases as Mana approaches 0.

ROGUE
"Slicing and dicing is more fun with posioned blades!" High speed close quarters combat using poison.

• Unique class trait: Auto Attacks generate 1 Poison stack. Poison stacks up to 8. Fast Attacks.
• Poison Strike: Apply several (4) stacks of Poison at once.
• Swift Kick: Surprise your foe, briefly Weakening their attacks.Effect: Weaken
• Scorpion Sting: Converts stacks of Poison into Heavy Poison.Effect: Heavy Poison
• ULTIMATE! Venom Dance: Rapidly apply full Poison stacks and reset the cooldown on Scorpion Sting.Effect: Poison
• Passive Ability: Agility: Increased speed of Spells and chance to Dodge.

GUARDIAN
"Pretty much a Dragon magic powered Jedi" - Protect your fellow players while helping them with area of effect heals

• Interesting Class Trait: Normal Attacks generate 1 Guardian Mark. Guardian Marks stack up to 10.
• Guardian Strike: A strike from the heavens. Gain 3 Guardian Marks. Effect: Guardian Mark
• Dragon's Breath: Channel Dragonfire to incinerate your enemy. Damage increases with Guardian Marks.
• Guardian's Hope: Recover your Health, and Health of nearby allies. Heal increases with Guardian Marks.
• ULTIMATE: Guardian Summon - Summon the power of the Guardian Dragon to burn your enemies to cinders. Turns the target's attention to you.
• Passive Ability: Bulwark - Reduce all damage taken by 5%

LET US KNOW WHAT YOU THINK & REPORT BUGS!
Test out the class improvements on the Public Test Realm (PTR). Then, comment below and let us know what you think of the new classes improvements. Also report any bugs that you find with the classes (and specially the classes only on this post.) We will be reading the posts, fixing bugs, and doing tweaks as fast as possible with hopes of releasing the new classes to ALL DEVICES as early as next week.



A few notes

• We have not added SoundFX to the new skills yet
• The current backwards running animation is intentionally funny (*looks at Korin*)
• Yes, you are all a little more powerful than you were previously

 

The Blinding Light of Destiny is REAL!
Artix Krieger | Tuesday, October 24, 2017

Famous Fantasy Weapon-Smith, Michael Cthulu from the TV Show "Big Giant Swords On Discovery" created a REAL LIFE version of Artix's battleaxe,"The Blinding Light of Destiny". The finished axe weights 90lbs. Most of its weight is in the blades which makes it extremely challenging to lift yet alone wield. True to it's legend, the axe is built for slaying the evil undead. When testing it out by smashing a skull with it, the weapon did all of the work, not just smashing through the skull but also destroying the board it was supported on.



Watch the video of Michael Cthulu creating the Blinding Light of Destiny on YouTube.

 

Darkovia Release Schedule
Artix Krieger | Tuesday, October 24, 2017

DARKNESS IS COMING
In Darkovia, a land cursed by eternal darkness, the Vampires and Werewolves lock fangs in a deadly war! What caused the tense peace between these two factions to suddenly snap? More important, why are they fighting so fiercely over the small town of Darkhurst? Does it possess a secret or some sort of terrible prize? A ShadowSlayer has appeared in town to help protect the townsfolk-- but in a conflict of this size, they cannot do it alone.



Darkovia Saga Release Schedule
The Vampire vs Werewolf focused saga was originally slated to be released over 3 releases. Realizing we are already at the end of October and not wanting to sacrifice any of the story by rushing it, we are going to *coughs* increase it to 5 releases. Wait... WHAT!? I know, that sounds crazy to increase the number of releases. However, by releasing the story arc in 5 vampire-fang sized bites, we are going to try to set a pace and tempo of releases that we can keep up with steadily. This means Darkovia will begin on Halloween/Mogloween and then continue through November alongside AdventureQuests 3D's other features and content-- including the highly anticipated new classes and The Dragons of Ashfall: Part 3.

• THIS WEEK - Improved Classes LIVE Release
• NEXT WEEK - Darkovia Part 1
• THEN - Darkovia Part 2

What level will Darkovia be?
We are very eager to raise the level cap. The epic boss fight in The Dragons of Ashfall: Part 3 will increase the level cap towards 20. Which puts us in a sticky situation for Darkovia (Which was actually not intended until around level 35). So, for this question, I ask that you stand in my shoes and imagine you are responsible for making sure all players have something to look forward to. Here is our dilemma. Long time players will want the new content to be level 17-20. But the items you get from this release cannot make you overpowered for the upcoming Ashfall's Boss Fight. Which means, no matter what we do, it cannot be higher than Ashfall's content for THIS release. We could make Darkovia somewhere between level 8 to 15. But obviously that has no value for the higher level players (unless we add max level challenge fights.) It would help newer players that are struggling in the old content that has not been updated like Greenguard was yet. Finally, we could have Darkovia (or parts of it) scale to allow all players in. However, we just came off of two completely scaling releases, and may players (and the team) feel it is time to put more permanent content in the game at a specific level. I need to make the final decision soon, and would very much like to hear your input before I do. You guys are really clever, and because you have been playing so diligently, some "thinking out of the box" ideas may just pop







The stakes are high and unrest assured that there is no silver lining to this cloud of impending doom.

 

Mogloween 2017 Collection
Artix Krieger | Thursday, October 26, 2017

Transform into a Skeleton?
Do you look in the mirror and wonder... what do I look like under all this skin and muscle? (I'm asking for a friend.) And what if you could transform yourself into a skeleton at will, and could run fast... like 28 days later fast... chasing your friends at horse-like speed while whispering evil cackles to yourself? Perhaps you should grab that 2017 Mogloween Collection in town before it's gone.



Items in the Moglwoeen 2017 Collection
Talk to that black cauldron, Myx, in town to check out the shop. You can get these items individually, or get the entire set as a collection which includes a rare badge and permanent year-round access so you can re-get the items at any time (Freeing up your inventory space.)

Included in the Collection

• Skeleton Travel Form
• Lil' Skelly Travel Form
• Trollukstein Warhammer
• Creeping Curse Wand
• Back Reactor
• Trollukstein Head Morph
• Trollukstein Armor
• Trollukstein Gloves
• Trollukstein Boots
• Dead Head Morph

Collection also includes...

• Rare Badge for your Character Page
• Permanent year-round access to the items (Grab them any time for 0 gold)

Save 30% (2,200 DragonCrystals) with the Collection

Getting a collection is a great way to support AdventureQuest 3D's ongoing development and content updates. These collections will be released scarcely-- except for now at the end of the year where Talk Like a Pirate Day, Mogloween, and Frostvale all sort of slam into each other like a holiday car pile-up. By doing collections, which feature travel forms and cosmetics, we are able to uphold our promise of no "pay to win" while keeping the server lights on. These are completely optional items that collector's will really enjoy. I am really proud of the team for the quality of the items in the collection, and also the ones you get from normal gameplay-- like this year's Pumpkinmancer set (one of the best looking armors yet!)



Improved Classes getting ready to go live!
We submitted our newest version of the game, and when it is approved the new warrior, rogue, mage, and guardian will go live for all AdventureQuest 3D players. The feedback from the public testing realm has been overwhelmingly positive, and cannot wait to see what everyone thinks when it goes live. Battle on!

 

Just released! Improved classes
Artix Krieger | Thursday, October 26, 2017

Combat overhaul is a literal "Game Changer"
Login on any device and play the new & improved Warrior, Rogue, Mage, and Guardian classes. They now feature unique play styles with new skills, animated FX, and ULTIMATES!

New in AdventureQuest 3D version 1.6.0 code name "Pew Pew"
This release has only one goal-- to make AdventureQuest 3D's combat more fun! Which means we made fighting faster, more exciting, and updated each class with a distinct play style. We hope you love it-- every class feels more fun to play. This is a vital update, setting the foundation for us to create the next wave of classes. Login and see for yourself, or read on for the juicy details.

Gameplay Changes

• Health and Mana potions now have a cooldown of 10 seconds before they can be used again.
• Monster runspeed in combat has been increased.
• The player can now move at the same speed in all directions. Including backwards!
• Players can now cast all spells while moving.
• Global Cooldown (GCD) has now been lowered to 1 second. The GCD is the time required before you may cast another ability.
• Revive Timer has been updated - the player will now Revive with 50% Health and 0 Resource. The Revive Timer has been lowered to 3 seconds in outdoor maps only. The Revive Timer remains the same inside Dungeons (10 seconds).
• Crowd Control (CC) abilities now have Diminishing Returns. CC abilities are abilities which include effects that slow movement or stun, etc. (More CC mechanics will be coming soon!) After 4 applications of a CC-type spell, the mob will become immune to that effect until combat ends (the mob dies, or resets). This will be indicated by an <immune> message. If a CC ability also does damage, the damage will still be applied.
• Damage over Time (DoT) spells are now affected by Armor.
• Players can now be Stunned by enemies.
• The player will no longer auto-run to a target when activating an ability if that ability is unable to be used (for example: not enough resource, or skill is still on cooldown)
• Auto Attack will now be toggled off when switching targets.

User Interface Improvements

• A skill icon will now flash when the ability is ready to be cast.
• Skill tooltips now have additional info!
• New Buff and Debuff icons; you can also hover over these icons to see their effects now!
• Each Class now has its own Class icon, which is reflected in the player portrait window!
• Some Skills have new icons.

Class Improvements
Please keep in mind that much of this is still a work in progress and will likely be tweaked and updated as we move forward!

• All classes now have an ULTIMATE ABILITY which is unlocked through using abilities and dealing damage.
• All classes now use their own type of resource. Resource (previously Mana) bars have been updated to reflect this.
• All Classes now have their own Passive Ability / Effect.
• All new Classes Panel! This Panel will show all of a Classes' Skills, as well as their Passive Ability.
• New animations and particle effects and swooshies and explodeys (and fire) for almost every skill!

WARRIOR

• Unique Class Trait: The Warrior does not use any resource of any kind.
• Sever: A quick, precise slash.
• Crushing Blow: A bone-crunchingly powerful swing of your weapon.
• Whirlwind: Slice at everything around you, cutting through enemy Armor.
  • Effect: Armor Break
• Earthbreaker: A massive attack that shatters rock and foes alike.
• Passive Ability: Weakness Exposed
  • Every 5th spell does increased damage
  • Applies a temporary Attack Buff to all allies (unique spell, cannot be stacked with others of the same type)

MAGE

• Class resource: Mana
• Fireball: A huge blast of fire.
• Ice Spear: Launch a conjured lance of ice at your foe, dealing Frost damage over time.
  • Effect: Frost (Damage over time)
  • Effect: Slow (Crowd Control)
• Lightning Strike: Blast your enemy and Stun them briefly.
  • Effect: Stun (Crowd Control)
• Meteor Volley: Summon devastating meteors to annihilate your target.
• Passive Ability: Mana Spring
  • Mana Regneration increases as Mana approaches 0.

ROGUE

• Class resource: Spirit
• Unique Class Trait: Auto Attacks generate 1 Poison stack. Poison stacks up to 8.
• Poison Strike: Apply several (4) stacks of Poison at once.
  • Effect: Poison (Damage over time)
• Swift Kick: Surprise your foe, briefly Weakening their attacks.
  • Effect: Weaken
• Scorpion Sting: Converts stacks of Poison to Heavy Poison.
  • Effect: Heavy Poison (Damage over time)
• Venom Dance: Rapidly apply full Poison stacks and reset the cooldown of Scorpion Sting.
  • Effect: Poison (Damage over time)
• Passive Ability: Agility
  • Increase Cast Speed and Critical Hit Chance by 5%.

GUARDIAN

• Class resource: Mana
• Unique Class Trait: Abilities are boosted by Guardian Marks. Auto Attacks generate 1 Guardian Mark. Guardian Marks stack up to 10.
• Guardian Strike: A strike from the heavens. Gain 3 Guardian Marks.
  • Effect: Guardian Mark
• Dragon's Breath: Channel Dragonfire to incinerate your enemy, forcing the enemy to attack you. Damage increases with Guardian Marks.
  • Effect: Full Taunt (instantly turns the enemy toward you)
• Guardian's Hope: Recover your Health, and Health of nearby allies. Heal increases with Guardian Marks. Heal amount is based on the Guardian's max Health.
  • Effect: Heal (Area of Effect)
• Guardian Summon: Summon the power of the Guardian Dragon to burn your enemies to cinders.
• Passive Ability: Bulwark
  • Reduce all damage taken by 5%.

BATTLE ON!
Literally... log on and battle on! Let us know what you love and if you have ideas on how to make it even better. Also accepting brainstorming for the DragonSlayer class which is coming next.

 

TOP 10 REASONS DARKOVIA WILL BE LATE
Artix Krieger | Monday, October 30, 2017

Top 10 Reasons Darkovia is going to be late
You do not need to be psychic nor a tester to have forseen Darkovia is going to be a few days late. So here we go... let's count down the top 10 reasons why!

#10 Pantless Werewolves
Since our werewolves do not wear pants, we're just waiting for their fur to grow.

#9 Everything in the release worked on the first try... so we are going back to put bugs in.
Putting bugs into a release requires diligent effort! Our bug-placers must painstakingly test the game over and over to make sure that random, indescribable bugs that cannot be reproduced pop up when you least expect it.

#8 Artix & Cysero think they're writing a visual novel
The Darkovia Saga Part 1 is extremely plot heavy with over 22 dialog cutscenes which introduces an interesting cast, and sets up the future releases. (This is the only entry on the top 10 that's not a joke)

#7 Stranger Things
Did they HAVE to release it on Friday? REALLY!? (If you are watching it, be sure to keep an eye out for my buddy Joe Davidson who plays "Nerdy Tech Guy" in his white lab coat in several episodes.)

#6 We're reading your class feedback... still.
There are thesis papers shorter than some of your commentary on the new classes.

#5 The Dev team's deadline was accidentally set for October 2018
"You mean Darkovia was for THIS YEAR!?"

#4 When its ready o'clock is stuck at "I just can't"
Knew we should have gotten one of those fancy Apple watches instead.

#3 Waiting for the private servers to release Darkovia... so we can steal it
"What a twist!" - M Night Shyamalan

#2 Were still waiting for Team Frogzard to win
Huh? ...what do you mean the war meters froze when the Drickens hit 100%?

#1 <NEW! Create your own>
Please make it funny, not mean It sucks more than a vampire and bites more than a werewolf that Darkovia did not launch in October. Not that it really had to. Unlike the Friday the 13th and Mogloween releases, the new Darkovia area is permanent content that will be available all year round. For those who might be tempted to blame the class improvement release, please let them know that the coding team and content team work separately so this was definitely not a blocker. The honest reason Darkovia will be late was the amount of extra work & content we put into Friday the 13th and Mogloween. It has definitely not been for lack of effort-- we were here until the wee hours of the night every day last week and many of us worked diligently through the weekend. As it has been very challenging accurately predicting our release times with this new cross-platform 3D game, resulting with no end of egg on my Paladin Helmet's visor, from here on out I will include more detail of where we are at exactly with an upcoming release, and refrain from announcing hard deadlines. At least until we have smoothed out our game releases to a reliable schedule like our other games. You may see us struggle, but you'll never see us quit." Battle on!

P.S. This is a special design notes post because it marks the first time you have seen me intentfully write with contractions. I also think I made up the word intentfully.

 

Shadow Slayer W
Artix Krieger | Monday, October 30, 2017

"I stalk the dark creatures that stalk the night."
ShadowStalker W is Lore's foremost expert vampire slayer, werewolf hunter, and ghost exorcist. He is ever willing help the victims of these creatures-- for a price. He is the 23rd of his line. However, should the events unfolding in Darkovia proceed unchecked, he may very well be the last.



The ShadowSlayers
The ShadowSlayers are deeply intertwined through Darkovian history. The forest of eternal darkness has beared the fruit of many legendary heroes and villains. Perhaps it is the natural law of things, that when humans are oppressed by tyrannical vampire nobles, that one rises to defy them. Certain scholars argue that the darkness itself selects one to maintain some type of twisted balance as it works towards its master plan. That being said, very little is actually known about the ShadowSlayers. Are they cursed themselves in some way? It is unknown how you find one, let alone become one. As for their origins, the only mentions of the 1st ShadowSlayer exist in a rare book known as the Book of Darkov. This book is a collection of tales and superstitions collected from all corners of Darkovia.

AdventureQuest Lore
The original Darkovia was a heavy fan favorite of the original AdventureQuest Web-Based Flash Game. The area focused heavily on the conflict between the Vampires and Lycans (Werewolves). When you first entered the adventure, you met VampireSlayer E. This was, of course, an obvious tongue-in-cheek parody of one of my all time favorite anime characters. He taught you the lore of these supernatural creatures before you went to their respective castles & lairs. Years later, in the MMO AdventureQuest Worlds, we introduced a female hunter named ShadowSlayer Z. The lore around the ShadowSlayer started taking shape in our world. Because AdventureQuest 3D is a "re-imagining" the previous slayers are not cannon. But they both did exist before our story takes place, and they will be referenced through pages of the Book of Darkov, armors, or surprises as the story progresses. To the enthusiastic and loyal AdventureQuest fans, we are excited to blend AQ's, DF's, and AQW's Darkovia into something both fresh and familiar. (Note, I would really love to make a comic, book, or TV show of this and future releases one day.)

Darkovia Part 1 will be the next AdventureQuest 3D release, raising the level cap to 18

 

If you read the design notes and connect all highlighted words
Darkovia Secrets #1

Darkovia is coming on wednesday
DragonSlayer class will be released in part three of ashfall.
Artix is going to a poppy concert (prolly Kimberly Freemans concert)

 

Darkovia Secrets #1
Artix Krieger | Monday, November 6, 2017

Darkovia: Part 1 is the next exciting AdventureQuest 3D Release
This is a post about the upcoming Darkovia release. It is a perfectly normal post. It does not contain secret messages of any kind. Please enjoy this standard, regular post.



Meet Stephen
Many people live in Darkovia, including Stephen, who is a retired King's guard. Coming from Swordhaven with his wife, Anne, he is hoping his son will find a more peaceful and safe life than the one he endured. Every Wednesday, Stephen delivers rice to Boog's inn, the Mayor's, and also to several families who could not otherwise afford the food.



What to expect in Darkovia: Part 1
Darkovia will be more plot heavy than our previous releases. Just as you met the DragonSlayers in Ashfall, you will meet familiar faces from the classic AdventureQuest's Darkovia Saga, as well as new ones. It will be fun for those who have played before, and for those of you just joining us when it is released. In this part of the saga, you will find threefactions struggling to maintain control of the town. Watch your step for Vampire ashes and do not fall for any of Boog's tricks.



Boog's Tavern
Artix said that sitting is going to be a mandatory feature in Boog's Tavern. Unlike Yulgar's Inn where the music is poppy and there is room for concerts, Boog's Tavern is a bit more forlorn. It is bigger, and has a few secrets which will appear in the coming parts. From the twisted necromancer Morgul, to the stitched together moglin, Squee, and the imposing Boog himself.

Darkovia Production Status
The Town, Inn, Monsters, NPCs, and Dialogs are now 100% complete. We are fixing a few issues with the quests, and adding the ShadowSlayer ranks & a few extra drops & reward items.

 

Darkovia is LIVE!
Artix Krieger | Wednesday, November 8, 2017

Enter a land cursed by eternal darkness
The Vampires and Werewolves have lock fangs in a war that will engulf the world. Part one of the Darkovia saga has just been released and the level cap has been raised to 18.



Released in Part 1

• The Town of Darkhurst
• Boog's Tavern
• You can sit in the chairs in Boog's Tavern
• Rank up as a ShadowSlayer and unlock E's armor
• New item drops and rewards
• Level cap raised to 18

Coming Next
The next exciting release continues where this one leaves off... granting us access to Darkovia Forest in Part II. We wrote the story arc in such a way that this is the perfect place switch back to the highly anticipated conclusion of our previous area. Which means, as you are reading this, Korin is finishing animated the cutscenes for The Dragons of Ashfall: Part III while Rabbleforth is working on the DragonSlayer class. We are building several new features (which you can easily guess at) for the future parts of Darkovia which will make it really interesting when you can side with the Vampires and Werewolves.

 

1.6.2 fixes and updates

• Mine Bombs are now working properly again in the Crystal Queen Spider encounter in Mine Pass
• The Infernal Portal to the Void Hall should now be working again, once you have acquired the Staff of Infernal Teleportation.
• Certain Travel Forms should now work as intended.
• Mobs should no long skip their death animation and should die properly.
• Fixed an issue where the UI would stop responding; triggered by certain combat events.
• Environmental Damage (lava, poison etc.) should no longer break.
• Poison Gas in Umbral Caves should be working again.
• Ability keys will now animate when pressing them via hotkeys.
• Added a visual notification for a queued spell. A spell can now be queued if activated close to the end of the Global Cooldown.
• Auto Attack key now highlights when active.
• Status Effects: your own effects are now indicated by a larger icon.
• Status Effects: effects that are at max stack size are now bolded.
• Status Effect icons should now clear properly from the character.
• The character stats panel should now update in real time.
• Sounds should now play properly when they are happening to an enemy that is already dead.
• Meteor Volley should now play a sound on every projectile.
• Casting bar no longer gets stuck if you transfer maps in the middle of casting.
• Casting bar no longer gets stuck if you change classes while casting.

 

+10 Bag Slots and Invisible Items!
Artix Krieger | Friday, November 17, 2017

Want to hide your helm, shoulders, cape, or other items?
Visit Warlic’s magic shop in town. He now sells invisible items. Just equip them cosmetically to hide your items. He sells them for gold (surprise!)

• Invisible Helm
• Invisible Shoulders
• Invisible Cape
• Invisible Gloves
• Invisible Boots
• Invisible Belt

 

You just got +10 Inventory Spaces!
Artix Krieger | Friday, November 17, 2017

EVERYONE gets 10 more Inventory Spaces
We heard you were running out of room, so we just added 10 more inventory spaces to your character’s backpack

This should help a little with your storage needs while we work on a few longer term solutions to free up your main inventory space. Enjoy!



Coming next in AdventureQuest 3D
Darkovia is currently open now for all players. Next up, the saga continues in Part II which leads us deep into Darkovia’s Forest where you will encounter a Werewolf Hunter named Little Dread-- and search for the forest’s most carefully guarded secret. Meanwhile, the newest version of the game has been submitted which will bring new features and squish a good number of bugs. Finally, we have a 1st draft of the DragonSlayer class that we are experimenting with. As promised, Legendary Backers are going to get first shot at trying it out soon. Ashfall Part III’s cinematics are making good progress. We will need to do one of those “Last time, on DragonFable Z” style recap videos before you go into the finale so the plot is fresh in your mind. Finally, OMG I cannot wait until you see the Vampire King’s castle-- I can see the throne room on Llussion’s screen from where I am sitting and it is amazing. Maybe I should post a sneak peek ealry next week. For the latest news and updates, be sure to keep an eye on my regular design notes posts here.

 

10 inv spaces will definitely come in handy in the future, I wonder if this affects newly created accounts too.

 

New Update! Version 1.6.3 "Pinapple Savage"
Artix Krieger | Monday, November 20, 2017

New! Version 1.6.3 "Pineapple Savage"
A good way to start off the new week! Grab the latest version of AdventureQuest 3D from steam or the app store. Loot now remains after you die, aggro now decays, and other things... like problems sitting in chairs. As Oishii says, "Sitting is hard."

In this Game Update

• Loot System Update!
  • Your Loot right remains even after the you die. (Voted #1 best improvement in this patch)
  • The 1st player to attack a mob will always be eligible for loot.
  • Other players who attack will be eligible for loot once the pass the 'threat threshold'.
  • However, logging off or switching maps will remove you from loot eligibility.
• Running far enough from a monster will cause you to exit combat
• Aggro now decays during a fight to allow quicker changing of targets.
  • So, if you stop attacking / taking any action during a fight, other players who continue to attack will be able to grab the monster's attention.
• Guardians "Dragon's Breath" skill now applies a debuff which forces the target to switch to the Guardian for the duration.
• Mobs should no longer instantly reset if an unreachable target (on a ledge / in a tree, etc) takes aggro.
• Status effects should no longer shuffle around when switching gear / classes.
• Fixed an issue with status effects getting reset when relogging.
• Opening and re-opening the Use Menu will now reflect the proper cooldown timer.
• Fixed an issue where customization options would not appear until the player relogged.
• Vampires & Werewolves now have a chance to drop additional fangs.
• Fixed some issues with chairs. Sitting is hard.

In Development this Week
The 3D & textures for the new Darkovia maps are done! So the programmers are doing their "1 day challenge" to see if they can code ALL of Darkovia Part II in only ONE DAY. This pre-planned challenge was requested by Zhoom and the coders to show off the improvements they made to the way we build maps. During the creation of the first part of Darkovia, Zhoom sat with us and watched as we built the quests and machines over the course of the week. He said that he had some ideas and if he implemented the changes, it would be possible to reduce the time to a single day-- and not by him, by any member of the programming team (and ultimately, any member of our content team). We are pretty excited to see this in action as it will really help with the creation of new game content for you. Wish them luck! Meanwhile, we are adding meta data to Monsters. This means that dragons will be tagged as "dragonkind" and the skeletons as "undead". Also, an undead dragon would be tagged as both "undead & dragonkind." This will allow the DragonSlayer class to do special things against dragonkind monsters. When you click on a monster's portrait to inspect it, we are going to add additional information. I personally want to add a "Monster Lore" skill which allows you to see extra information about monsters. This is a good way to bring our monster descriptions to this game-- which was one of my most favorite parts of the original AdventureQuest.

Question! "Pineapple Pizza"
The name of this patch, "Pineapple Savage" unleashed a brutal debate about putting pineapple on pizza here at the lab... so what say you hero!? Does pineapple belong on pizza!?

 

A solid patch all in all. Loot right is best update in a while

 

11/21/2017 - 1.6.4 fixes and updates *NEW*

• Added the new Dragon's Breath ability for real this time.
• Fixed some more issues with chairs and sitting. Very, very complicated! Still not fixed.
• Lowered mob runspeed slightly as well as improved their pathing animations slightly.