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AdventureQuest Worlds (also referred to by its website name AQWorlds or simply AQW) is a browser-based massively multiplayer online role playing game developed by Artix Entertainment in 2008. Unlike most massively multiplayer role playing games, AdventureQuest Worlds was developed entirely in Adobe Flash, allowing it, among other things, to load and play quickly, even on slow internet connections. It currently has over 10 million registered accounts.[1]
Contents [hide]*1 Gameplay
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Gameplay[]
[1][2]Screenshot from the original AdventureQuest Worlds homepage displaying realtime battles.Instead of turn-by-turn basis battles (as in previous Artix Entertainment games), it uses real time battling with simultaneous players/monsters. Currently, there is one player versus player battles, but only in the PTR.[2].
Quests, as in many other role playing games, are given by non-player characters (NPCs). In a quest, players slay a certain monster, or number of monsters, getting "quest items" (proof that the player has slain the monsters), which the non-player character will trade for gold (the in-game currency), experience points, class points, and/or items (like weapons). Some quests items are obtained by walking over them. There are also "dungeon crawls", which require the player to defeat monsters to obtain quest items before advancing to the next room.
Gear (weapons, helms, cloaks, armors, classes, and member-only pets) can be found in shops, as quest rewards, and (occasionally) after killing certain monsters. Helms, cloaks, armors, and most pets do not affect gameplay, and are used solely for modifying appearance. Most weapons also end up with around the same average damage per level after enhancement. Players cannot switch equipment while battling.
Many items are initially in the form of "designs". Players must pay to "enhance" the designs at special shops to form actual usable items (like weapons) at whichever level the player chooses to pay for. This does not mean, however, the items can not be further enhanced after they are enhanced. The higher the level, the more powerful the item typically is, and the more expensive. The player's character must be at an equal or higher level as the item's level to wield or enhance it.
Inventory for items is limited to 40, but extra inventory space (20 extra slots) or NO bank space can be purchased for Adventure Coins, a currency that must be purchased with real-world money
Combat and classes[]
There are two types of attacks: "auto attacks" and 'skills'. Auto attacking continously attacks, dealing damage at a specific rate, although attacks are dealt at different speeds. Skills are special attacks that attack a special way and/or apply an effect (such as stunning an enemy) and typically take up mana points. Skills are unlocked using classes. There are also passive skills (or 'abilities') which are gained similarly to skills, but which cannot been seen and add to the character's ability (as by replenishing mana).
AdventureQuest Worlds includes many classes that players can unlock, typically by performing a certain quest and buying them. There are several basic classes and an advanced class, requiring certain requirements in other classes. The four starting classes are mage, rogue, warrior, and healer. The classes have leveling independent of the main levels, called class levels. Each class currently has four skills that are unlocked as the character levels up their class level. The specific combination of skills for each class drives how it is used; for example, ninjas are good for quick kills.
Events[]
AdventureQuest Worlds has special events on special occasions, usually lasting afterwards to a week. Some are unique to the day (one time only), while others are presumed to be annual events. Many of the events also accompanied major updates (such as the release of the first chapter during Friday the 13th) and bug fixes, along with special areas that appeared only during that event. Some of the more major events have included:
- Mogloween: Mogloween is Artix Entertainment's version of Halloween, appearing near the end of October each year. Characters helped Safira the Vampire Queen and three witches called the Cauldron Sisters in the Mogloween town of Mystcroft gather candy off monsters for a special armor shop.
- Mogloween 2009: Mogloween 2009 deals with Dr. Voltabolt (a magic-hating dentist/mad scientist from DragonFable) creating sugar-free candy that turned the Moglins into Moglinsters that threatened the Cauldron Sisters' Candy Shoppe (and took the Cauldron Sisters' talking cauldron Myx hostage) in his plan to prevent tooth decay. Characters fought their way through the Mogloween Graveyard, defeating the Thriller (an homage to Michael Jackson), and then entering the Candy Shoppe and defeating a Super Moglinster. After defeating the Dental Driller, the players tell Dr. Voltabolt that tooth decay can't be stopped but treated. Dr. Voltabolt states that he never thought about it before. Dr. Voltabolt then leaves with his Moglinsterbots wishing the players a happy Mogloween.
- 'Harvest Festival: AdventureQuest Worldss version of Thanksgiving, adopted from AdventureQuest.
- Frostval: Frostval was a winter holiday event that started early December and ran until New Years. It occurred in the town of Frostvale (as is traditional), and is also a yearly event in the other games.
- Hero's Heart Day: A special with Valentine's Day themed items. During the first year this was released (2009), it coincided with Friday the 13th.
- Friday the 13th: An already active holiday in most other Artix Entertainment games. This event takes place every Friday the 13th, and so far has always involved undead. The second event attracted 32,000 players when Voltaire guest-starred. Then the third event attracted more than 30,000 players and they have the Voltaire Live Stage in the town of BattleOn which repeats in an hour.
- Saint Patrick's Day: A Saint Patrick's Day special event where characters could get the rare "Leprechaun" class and several other items.
- April Fool's Day: A surprise April Fools' Day a prank is played every year on April 1.
- Talk Like a Pirate Day: In celebration of International Talk Like a Pirate Day, a special release with Pirate themed items and events happens each year on or around September 19.
- AdventureQuest Worlds 1st Birthday: In celebration of the game's release date, the players are invited to a birthday party organized by Twig. However, a Sweetish Fish has stolen the presents.
- Canadian Thanksgiving Day: October 12 is a day when a shop opens in Battleon and will only be open for a couple of days.
- New Year's Eve: The players help Lim prepare a New Year's Eve show by eliminating the ice monsters in the well and the Ice Master Yeti to prepare for 2010.
Synopsis[]
Setting[]
The setting of the game is in the world of Lore, 5 years after AdventureQuest, 100 years after DragonFable, and 5,005 years after MechQuest. The universe of Adventure Quest Worlds came into being when Galanoth slew the Dragon of Time, leading all the stray storylines of the previous games to come together into one. However, the inhabitants are not aware of this change.
Drakath (first shown in DragonFable), the current antagonist, is attacking Lore through his 13 Chaos Lords, which forms the main plot. (He was offered to be a Champion of Chaos during the end of "The Sinister 7" quest in AdventureQuest.)
Plot[]
The main storyline of the game is called "The 13 Lords of Chaos." The plot is divided into 'chapters', which are told through quests and cut scenes. Currently, a prologue and three chapters, plus the start of the fourth chapter have been released.
Prologue[]
[3][4]The Lore GrimoireThe intro has the character go through a number of quests to obtain the "Lore Grimoire" (though it is usually referred to as the "Book of Lore"), a book that chronicles their journey through Lore, and, ironically, rescue a dragon from a princess. The character must defeat a dragon under the control of the Princess by the Ring of Dragon Control. At first the character believes that he must save the Princess from the dragon, but finds out the opposite.
Swordhaven[]
[5][6]The city of Shadowfall.Chapter One featured Sepulchure (the main antagonist of DragonFable) and his undead army attacking Swordhaven, the capital of Lore. King Alteon of Lore faced Sepulchure in a one-on-one duel to stop him. Here, the character decides whether to serve the side of Evil or the side of Good. However, Sepulchure and King Alteon's battle was interrupted by the appearance of Drakath(Drakath is the character's rival working for Sepulchure in DragonFable). He used his Chaos powers to destroy Sepulchure, mortally injure the king, and then shot down Sepulchure's flying undead dragon fortress Shadowfall causing it to crash into a nearby mountain. Drakath then proclaimed that the battle between Good and Evil had ended, and that Chaos had begun and would take over. Drakath then left, preparing to send forth his 13 Lords of Chaos to take over all of Lore.
Shadowfall[]
The character then discovers where Shadowfall has crashed and ends up meeting Sepulcher's daughter Gravelyn (now Empress of Shadowfall).
The forces of Good (led by King Alteon) and Evil (led by Gravelyn) form a temporary alliance against Chaos. Shadowfall has the shops for players who choose to be evil.
Chaos Invasion Begins[]
The first area to become Chaorrupted (short for "Chaos Corrupted") is a forest nearby Swordhaven. The heroes are sent to the Forest of Chaos to capture 7 Chaorrupted Wolves and a Chaorrupted Bear so that they can be studied by King Alteon's healers. Then, a part of the marsh has been Chaorrupted and the players end up capturing the Chaos Spiders and antidote-based plant samples.
Chiral Valley[]
The first Lord of Chaos named Escherion (a battlemage who is named after M.C. Escher) invades the mining town of Mobius with his army of Fire Imps, Chaos Sp-Eyes, and Cyclops Raiders. He then inverts Mobius and its Guardian Tower using his Staff of Inversion. King Alteon and Gravelyn send Renn (a good Rune Warrior) and Zio (an evil illusionist) in an attempt to evacuate the town while the character fights Escherion's army throwing it into 'chaos' after taking out their commander Slugfit. King Alteon and Gravelyn then discover that Escherion was looking for the Runix Cube. Upon being given the first piece by one of Mobius' citzens, the players head to the Forest of Three Worlds (which is a fairy forest) and the Ruins of Cornelis to obtain the other two pieces of the Runix Cube. Upon recovering all three pieces, the players forge the disguise of a pizza delivery guy to infiltrate his tower and fight through the soldiers there. After besting the final guard Head Gargoyle, the players finally confront Escherion. They throw the Runix Cube at him not knowing what it does. He takes the opportunity to grab the Cube and eject the character from the tower, then awakening the Lake Hydra (the first of the "Chaos Beasts" that accompany each Chaos Lord) under orders by JAN IAN
Using several "rune stones" and the Hydra's teeth, the character drops the Inverted Guardian Tower on the Lake Hydra defeating it. The character then goes back to Escherion. After taking out the Staff of Inversion and Escherion, the character demands that Escherion leave Chiral Valley and never return. When Escherion retaliates, the character uses a Mirror Shield found in the Ruins of Cornelis to deflect Escherion's spells. When he tries to polymorph (shapeshift) the character, he ends up turning himself into a toad which undoes the effects of his inversion spells. JAN IAN gets word of this and prepares his next Lord of Chaos after stating that Escherion has served his purpose.
Meteor Crisis[]
Xing and Xang (conscious-themed twins who are based on the Yin and Yang balance) approach JAN IAN for recommendations on which Lord of Chaos to send next. JAN IAN Chaorrupts them to his side as the 2nd Lord(s) of Chaos and takes their suggestions to crash two meteors into Battleon. Warlic meets with magic users to determine what to do about the crisis. With help from Twilly and the player, the magic users agree to teleport Battleon to a different location. Drakath hears of this attempt and speeds up a meteor, but the magic users manage to move Battleon in time. Although at first it goes to the wrong location (a mountain above Shadowfall), they eventually move it to its intended location in Greenguard Forest.
Dwarfhold[]
The player then finds out from Quibble Coinbiter that the 3rd Lord of Chaos is in the Dwarfhold Mountains. The heroes venture to the Inn Ternet in the Pinewood Forest and learn from Snowbeard the Dwarf and the "Seven Gems" (a homage to Snow White and the Seven Dwarves) that the 3rd Lord of Chaos named Vath (a Drow Dragonlord) has enslaved Snowbeard's people with an army of Drows and Chaotic Draconians. The player does various quests for Snowbeard before they can use his battleaxe to get into the Dwarfhold Mountains.
When all that is done, the players infiltrate Dwarfhold Keep to get to the Memory Stone to see how powerful Vath is. They learn from the Dwarf Elder Ironfist that Vath's Dragon Control Amulet is Chaorrupted and is controlling the dragon Stalagbite. Geopetal the Stone Spirit helps the character gain access to the Upper City by forging a key to get through the gates. Upon making their way to the Upper City, the character meets Jorxlol, a Drow who is the leader of the Breethen D'irt Clan. They learn that most of Jorxlol's clan has joined Vath in his plot to unite the warring Drow clans. Using the Cloak of Disapoofing, the character infiltrate Vath's lair and learn of his plans to have the Dwarves mine for Chaos Generalds to power the weapons that will be delivered to JAN IAN
The character infiltrates Vath's keep only to fall into his trap. Jorxlol brings in Snowbeard who is paid for informing Vath of the arriving players. The character is thrown in a prison cell and Jorxlol appears stating that he was only pretending to be on Vath's side in order to get to their stuff. He informs the character to find a dwarf named Mick Guyver (a homage to MacGuyver). When the character finds the Dwarven Engineer Mick Guyver in the Dwarfhold Mine Prison, he reveals that he has a plan to escape. The players learn that in order to escape, they need to open the blocked-off tunnel the dwarves have dug in order to get out. They gather ingredients to melt the lock on the prison. After besting the Drow Warden Elfis (a homage to Elvis Presely), the character obtains the keys to free the other dwarves. Once the players gather ingredients to make dynamite, they form the dynamite and blow off the large boulder at the end of the tunnel. The character then finds themselves in the Inn Ternet and Snowbeard states that he was only pretending to betray the players. Mick Guyver tells the character that Vath is ready to hatch the Rock Roc.
The character returns to Vath's Keep and find a secret passage to the peak of the Dwarfhold Mountains where they see Vath preparing to use the Chaos Generalds to hatch the Rock Roc, the second Chaos Beast. After an aerial battle on Stalagbite, the player is thrown off and finishes the Rock Roc on the ground and prepares to battle Vath himself.
When the players confront Vath, he summons Stalagbite to aid him in battle. After beating Vath and Stalagbite, the players demand Vath to surrender. When Vath conjures his Dragon Control Amulet, the players throw the disarmed Sword of Dragon Control at the amulet destroying both of the Dragon Control items. This frees Stalagbite from Vath's control as Stalagbite pins down Vath. Upon stating that he will meet the players again and will remember their good deeds, Stalagbite carries Vath away to an unknown fate while the players rid Dwarfhold of Vath's remaining army led by D'wain Jonsen (a Scorpion Rider who is a homage to Dwayne Johnson).
Yokai Island Pt. 1[]
Quibble Coinbiter returns and reveals to the players that the 4th Lord of Chaos is on Yokai Island. Upon receiving an invite to the place by Princess Ai No Miko for a Dragon Koi Tournament, the players head to Lolosia to obtain a ship there. However, the ship has been attacked by Kappa Ninjas and the players fight to get them off. When the Kappa Ninja army's leader Dai Tengu is defeated, the 4th Lord of Chaos named Kitsune (a Yokai Shogun) sees this in his crystal ball and prepares his Yokai brethren for the players' arrival stating that he will use his illusions to trick the players in unleashing Yokai Island's Beast of Chaos.
The players managed to obtain a ship from Cap'n Herlock. Upon arrival, the players encounter Princess Ai No Miko who reveals a secret message (which has her calling for the player's help) in the invitation and says that she will explain further when the players win the Dragon Koi Tournament. At the Dragon Koi Tournament, the players fight Bash Ketchup and his Pockey Moglin called Pocky Chew (a homage to Ash Ketchum and Pikachu from Pokémon), NOTruto (a homage to Naruto Uzumaki), Neko Yasha (a homage to InuYasha), Absolute Zero and Sporkion (a homage to Sub-Zero and Scorpion from Mortal Kombat), and Ryoku (a hybrid homage to both Ryu from Street Fighter and Goku from Dragonball Z). After defeating their opponents, the players qualify for the Finals. Yet Ryoku gets ready to charge a powerful attack called "Soul Nuke." So powerful is the attack, that after several hours of charge time, the player asks to leave, which Ryoku allows them to do, as he remains behind, still charging his attack.
Golden Onslaught[]
A turn of events has occurred in Lore.JAN IAN Artix, Cysero, Beleen, Warlic, J6, Twilly, Zhoom, Llussion, King Alteon, and even Princess Miko have gone missing! Gravelyn calls all the players on the sides of good and evil to Shadowfall. She reveals that she has gotten a letter from Archlord Maximilian Lionfang (a former warrior of King Alteon) stating that he captured them. It then shows that the missing characters are held captive in his fortress (which was stolen from a necromancer he defeated and cleansed of all evil). Lionfang is blind to the truth that Drakath and his 13 Lords of Chaos are threatening all of Lore and plans to lead the Golden Onslaught to rid Lore of all that is Evil. He plans on releasing them once he has tortured them to make them realize his way is "correct." Gravelyn also reveals that Lionfang has placed a Death Fog (a fog that kills anything that comes in contact with it) around his fortress and the only way in is for those who want to save the captives to become Undead.
Using temporary Undead armors, the characters become Undead, infiltrate the Death Fog, and fight an army comprised of Golden Casters, Golden Warriors, and Golden Cavalries in order to get to the captives. Upon defeating Lionfang on his giant lion, the character frees the captives. Half of Lionfang's forces are convinced about the truce between good and evil while Lionfang himself isn't convinced. While Golden Onslaught members join up with the Great Truce, the character tells Lionfang that he will be taken to Swordhaven to be tried for his crimes against the Great Truce. When Lionfang tries to attack Gravelyn, King Alteon takes the whiplash then disarms Lionfang. King Alteon tries to convince the Archlord to join up with him, but Lionfang is still blind to the fact that Drakath is threatening Lore. Realizing he is beaT Lionfang escapes by crashing through the wall of his fortress and plummeting into the moat. Back in the fortress, the captives thank the character for freeing them. As for Lionfang, he begins to wonder if he was wrong about his opinions. Just then, he is approached by Xing and Xang who mesmerize Lionfang into thinking that the Great Truce "must be punished."
Yokai Island Pt. 2[]
Several weeks later, the player returns. After a brief nap on the floor in front of Ryoku (who is still charging his attack), they go and talk to Princess Miko, who tells them the Legend of the Hanzamune Blade. If a koi fish swims upriver against the current and even manages to swim up the waterfall and reaches the top, it will become the next Great Dragon. Princess Miko also explains that the Hanzamune Blade holds awesome power, and that the winner of the Dragon Koi Tournament becomes the Guardian of the Blade for one year. Right in the middle of her explanation, Kitsune appears and snatches the Hanzamune Sword away. When the player tries to take it back, Kitsune evades them easily with inhuman speed. Stating that the player and Princess Miko know nothing of the true power of the Hanzamune Blade, he sprints off stating that the Yokai's time has come. Leaving the player and Princess Miko departing from the arena, and deal with this latest state of events. Ryoku remains still charging his attack. While gathering information, the players learn that Daisho's samurais and ninjas have been replaced by Noppera-bō (faceless) versions of them in the Hachicko Tower. Also, the real ones are locked up at the top of the Hachicko Tower. After besting Dai Tengu again, the players rescue the captive soldiers. Upon learning that Dai Tengu was guarding them, Princess Miko's suspicions of Kitsune controlling her father are true. Now the player must go to the Yokai Shrines to get the friendly Yokai to help break Kitsune's spell on Emperor Daisho.
Mount Frost[]
Adak Amaroq shows up in Battleon seeking help. His village in the Frozen Northlands near Mount Frost is under attack by Queen Aisha and her army of Snow Golems and Frostwyrm Riders. After besting the army and the Frost Dragon, the players confront Queen Aisha who is disatisfied that the players harmed her "people." She uses her magic to send the players down the mountain. Upon informing Adak about the situation, they are approached by Nythera. Not only does Nythera reveal her status as a half-dragon, she reveals that Queen Aisha is the Queen of the Ice Dragons. Nythera states that she has a plan to defeat Queen Aisha.
At Guwio Village, Nythera states that one group will sneak into Aisha's fortress while the other group will attack the fortress. After either one is done, the player fights Queen Aisha and her Frost Drake. When both are defeated, Queen Aisha turns into a larger Frost Dragon. Nythera arrives and also turns into a dragon using the power of the Chaos Gemerald. The collision of dragon attacks blast the players out of the fortress. Nythera then sends the player back to Guwio Village. While the player does that, Nythera sees signs of Chaorruption after using the Chaos Gemerald. It ends up overtaking her as Xing and Xang arrive.
Yokai Island Pt. 3[]
To help Princess Miko, the players explore the bamboo forest for the Jinmenju Tree Shrine and end up fighting the bewitched Tanukis and a Wanyūdō that robbed the Jinmenju Tree of it's fruit. After recovering the Jinmenju Fruit, the players head to the Junkyard to get to the Tsukumogami Shrine to recover the forgotten Tsukomogami. The player manages to recover the Tsukomogami and defeat Onibaba.
The players then head to the Yokai River to get to the Funayūrei Shrine. The players collect ingredients for a Kappa Maki Sushi which they prepare for Princess Miko. Then they fight the Nure-onna. The players meet the Bridge Maiden Hashi Hime who tells the tale of Kitsune. She reveals that Kitsune was once a fox spirit who guarded Yokai Island of all that was evil with the assistance of Emperor Daisho. Kitsune was displeased with Emperor Daisho's plan to allow outsiders to Yokai Island. He was approached by Drakath who Chaorrupted him to his side and informed him of the 3rd Chaos Beast called O-dukuro (a monstrous skeleton that is classified as a forbidden Chaos Beast) from the Rift of Time with the use of the Hanzamune Blade. When Kitsune brainwashed Emperor Daisho, Princess Miko suspected this and held the Dragon Koi Tournament to find a hero to help fight Kitsune. That was where the players come in. Hashi then sends the players to the graveyard to stop Kitsune from freeing the O-dukuro from the Rift of Time. At the Yokai Graveyard when getting to the Neko-Mata Shrine, the players meet Neko-Mata who informs them that the graveyard is infested with Skello Kittens and the Noppera-bo Ninjas and Samurais. It turns out that Neko-Mata is in cahoots with Kitsune and the players fight him. After defeating Neko-Mata, the players confront Kitsune who releases the O-dukuro. When the O-dukuro is defeated, the players now prepare for the Yokai War.
History[]
[7][8]Screenshot from the original AdventureQuest Worlds homepage displaying beta-testing.Alpha testing began June 2, 2008 for all players with an upgraded account for one of Artix Entertainment's previous three games: AdventureQuest, DragonFable, and MechQuest.[3] Testing continued with some mishaps, including a coding mistake that changed all players' names to Captain Rhubarb, the nickname of a staff member. Because fixing the error required the deletion of all accounts, players who participated in testing that day gained the "Captain Rhubarb" name tag, allowing them to equip the rare Alpha Pirate Armor. Testing did not occur every day, and the server was usually only available for a few hours each testing day. The final day of alpha testing took place on July 21, 2008. In it, many new additions were made, including more quests and the first quest string. Over 90,000 accounts were created.
Progressive Beta testing officially began August 18, 2008. In beta testing, the servers ran continually, day and night, and several new locations were revealed. The first part of the plot was also revealed, featuring Sepulchure's undead army attacking the capital city of Swordhaven. The Berseker Armor obtained during testing has 'Beta' preceding it's name. "Alpha Pirate" and "Beta Berserker", are permanently rare (never available again).
The game is currently in 'gamma' release. Gamma was officially released on October 10, 2008, is open to all players and was updated to include ten servers, new shops, and sound effects. The first parts of the storyline were also released.
A server-wide crash occurred on March 13, 2009, as a record-breaking 32,000 people logged into the game at the same time. This was a response to the second live in-game event known as Friday 13th II.Also on early October the game got a new game engine.