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EpicDuel PVP Game Design Notes
 | November 07, 2014 Birthday Bio War Rumble
The time has come...FOR WAR...and cake. Cake? That's right. Today, we're excited to launch a new war region, the Biological Preserve, in addition to Nightwraith's birthday stash of rare loot.
The Biological Preserve is the last bastion for all that is green and growing on Delta V, and it is being used as a weapon by those occupying the region. By using Davarril's research on mind-controlling Spores, Exiles have engineered a massive tree to become a spore-launching factory, spreading spores throughout the region.
The Legion, under the watch of Cinderella, are attempting to stop this threat with Purifiers. These devices launch spores to counteract the Corruption Spores launched by the Corrupted Tree.
Exiles will attempt to use this to their advantage by planting Corruption Spore on the Purifiers, infesting them and turning them into Corruption Spore factories.
The only way to stop the spread of the spores is to cleanse the Corrupted Tree. When it is fully cleansed, the Legion will take control of the Biological Preserve. If the Exiles prevail and infest the Purifiers, the region will fall fully under Exile control.
Davarril has been moved one screen to the left of the Corrupted Tree. You'll find him next to the Ammunition Depot stocked with war drops. Davarril's mind still isn't right from the Arborgeddon event so he won't be much help to you.
This war's prize is a mighty one indeed! Claws and teeth and hardened-bone armor await the conquerers of the Biological Preserve!
We've also added some small changes to the War balancing mechanics, specifically to prevent War Rallies from occuring when both alignments are within 1% of each other. Also, rallies will not happen when the war is nearly over. This should provide clarity to those confused by the outcome of the last war. Now, go forth my Legion and Exile warriors! Claim the Biological Preserve for glory! But first...
Nightwraith's Birthday Bash
Happy Birthday to me! Well, it's still a bit early, but why not? Everyone loves cake!
Also, everyone loves new stuff! Remember, you'll need the OneX6 Key to access my stash in the ArmoryBot. You can either claim it from me by completing the OneX6 4 mission or just buy it from me if you're the impatient type. This year, I've stolen NegaWraith's (that IMPOSTER) armor to sell at my own shop. Haha! I can't wait to see the look on his face when he sees my minions clad in his precious power armor!
Be sure to kick him in the shin if you find him in Fortune City skulking around the Battle Arena. Also, there are new and returning missions ready to play! The Party Business mission chain has returned with a new mission, and Titan has a new chain Caffeine Crash to complement the Coffee Crusader chain. This chain will allow you to redeem Titan's Mug for a rare Achievement!
Titan's Trinket
Some have been asking about the Titan's Mug item from the Artix Entertainment 12th anniversary event. Here's what will happen:
Got it? You've got until the end of November to complete these missions and claim your prize!
Have a safe and happy weekend everyone! Duel On! Tags: Nightwraith RPG Browser MMORPG Flash War Legion exile Battle Duel Strategy Holiday Achievement Titan Missions Rare Collector Rares Armor |
| December 05, 2013 Winter Returns
Welcome back, Duelists! We hope you had a happy and safe Thanksgiving, Hanukkah, or last Thursday of November! Did you complete the Black Abyss Saga? If not, there's still time, but some big changes are coming this Friday to EpicDuel!
Achievement Overhaul The central feature of this latest release is a complete overhaul of the Achievement system. Over time, EpicDuel has released over 300 achievements in multiple categories. Some are seasonal, some are rare, some can only be earned once while other accumulate. We will be consolidating them all into one interface, divided into categories:
From this interface, you will also be able to track your progress in collecting all of the available achievements. To make this feature easier to access, we've readded the Achievement button to the main HUD. Also, you can purchase Badge-style achievements from the main Achievement interface now, instead of seeking out a VendBot.
Winter Rares Return Visit Hank and Valestra in Frysteland to browse a robust selection of returning seasonal rares!
These items will only be around for a limited time, so get them while you can! Speaking of rares, a lot of current seasonal rares will be leaving this Friday, including all the Harvest and Nightwraith seasonal rares. Rabblefroth's Thanksgiving rares will remain a bit longer, but all the Harvest and Nightwraith missions will also be leaving until next year!
Balance This Friday we will also be pushing out a balance update to address energy stealing skills like Static Smash and Static Grenade. Energy stealing skills will be capped to the target’s current energy, thus obeying the laws of thermodynamics.
Preview As I type this, Charfade is busily concepting new armors, vehicles, weapons, and bots for the upcoming winter release. It's going to be a super-sized mega release so we'll need two weeks to complete it!
Stay tuned for further updates!
Royal Wedding Royale  What happens in a video game creators wedding, stays in... nope. It goes right onto YouTube. This actually happened. Inspired byAdventureQuest Worlds weddings, the groomsmen wore Knight armor over their suits and you will not believe what happens next. The only thing this wedding is missing is you... and we are going to fix that! Join us at sundown on Friday the 13th for a very special AQWorlds in-game wedding event!
 If you find it worthy, please like and share this video. Tags: Nightwraith Frysteland Juloffenblotten Hank Valestra Achievements Winter Seasonal Rares Weapons previews Wedding Artix snow Frost |
| October 25, 2013 Ebil's End
Thanks to you and your fellow duelists, Chairman Platinum and his vile sludge factory are all but defeated! When the life bar finally falls, get ready to access Elon Musk's SolarWorld factory, to be contructed on the ruins of Ebilcorp's sluge machine. Within, you'll find many awesome gadgets, including and exciting new power. What power you ask? How about the power of flight!
The new Flight Module equips in your vehicle slot just like bikes and hovercraft. The module is activated by typing /fly to takeoff and again to land. This new flight ability looks great when combined with the new Musk Husk Armor, a mass-production version of Elon Musk's power suit.
This elegant, yet efficient design is able to adapt to any class or gender. If you don't have the stomach for air travel, you can always try a more grounded method: the Model L hovercar!
This new vehicle allows the driver to travel in luxury and privacy while preserving the environment!
Core Contingency The SolarWorld factory will also house two new cores for your dueling pleasure! Piston Punch
Deliver a solid, solar-powered punch that absorbs your opponent's energy with this new active armor core! The energy absorbtion is based on your armor's Defense and Resistance values. Critical Heal
Always have a backup...especially when your life is on the line! This armor core improves the effectiveness of Field Medic when you're in critical condition (less than 20% HP).
Rare Harvest While you're in the Wasteland, you might want to visit Snork in his subterranean home beneath the Minetower to check out some of his awesome returning seasonal rares!
Also, be sure to check out the Event-based Harvest missions and collect the Hallowarrior achievement! There's more holiday fun to be had next week -- we just need to boot that pesky Chairman off the planet for good! Tags: Elon Musk Nightwraith Lotus James Bond Car Vehicle SolarCity SpaceX Chairman Platinum EbilCorp Armor Battle Green Energy Rares Solar Cores |
| September 19, 2013 Step Right Up 2*Note: Due to events out of our control, we are unexpectedly short-staffed this week. Still, Titan and I will work as hard as we can to release this on Friday. However, if we feel the feature is too lacking in polish or excitement, we will hold it until next week. Thank you for your patience!
You asked for it, and it's back! After a long hiatus, Valestra's Arcade is back in business and eagerly awaiting a flood of players both new and experience! For those of you who don't recall or weren't around, the Arcade used to be a battle mode in which you could deposit Battle Tokens (5 at a time) to join an Arcade Battle. This battle was just like an duel except it offered the chance to earn a prize if you won. The downside was that it was possible to win the duel and not win a prize. This time, you will win a prize for every play. The prize may not be a jackpot every time, but you'll still never walk away empty-handed! Excited yet? Read on to learn more about this revamped feature!
How Do I Arcade? To participate in the Arcade, you must have at least one Arcade Token. This is not a new currency, but is a miscellaneous inventory item. You can acquire them by completing certain Daily Missions or by purchasing them from the ArcadeBots in Valestra's Arcade in Fortune City.
If you're having trouble finding Valestra's Arcade, there will be a link in the What's New page. If you're still lost, then the EpicDuel Wiki has you covered.
Once you're in the Arcade you can click on an ArcadeBot to bring up the Arcade interface. From there, you can play, view your current balance of Arcade Token, or buy more Arcade Tokens. Hitting the "Go" button will cycle through a list of possible prizes. You'll win something each time: it could be credits, a weapon, armor, or even a house! However, to keep the game's Credit economy from exploding, sellback on items won in the Arcade may be reduced from the normal values.
Expansion We're building this feature with expansion in mind. For this release, we will only have one prize pool, but in the future, we plan to include selectable prize pools, allowing you to choose which set of prizes you wish to play for. Another feature that may not be ready for Friday, is an Arcade Leaderboard featuring the all-time winners, complete with an evolving Arcade achievement. This achievement will track the value of your prizes so each time you play, you're basically earning Arcade experience! Even if it's not in-game Friday, we will still be tracking the data!
Our goal with this system is to never make an Arcade play feel wasted, and we believe this additions will make for a truly epic Arcade experience!
Rare Clarification In last week's Design Notes, I mentioned that the Arcade would give you a chance to win retired rares. There was a bit of an outcry from those who were concerned that their own rares would be devalued. I'm happy to say, that you need not worry -- your hard-earned rares will remain rares. We've decided on a happy compromise to introduce Arcade exclusives -- items that can only be won in the Arcade. Some of these items will be revamped or reimaged versions of retired items. This preserved the value of the older rares while giving new players a reason to play! However, items like seasonal rares, limited quantity items, or prize-code items are still up for grabs! Also, legacy items like Founder Armor or Alpha Gear will be excluded for obvious reasons. I hope that addresses your concerns about rares in the Arcade! Tags: Arcade Titan Achievements Missions tokens Leaderboards Prizes Rares Exclusives Varium Valestra |
| August 08, 2013 Fire Ze Missiles!
Covering Fire! EpicDuel is finally rolling out the heavy artillery for the Dread War. Capture and upgrade turrets to fire upon opposition War Objectives within the various regions of Delta V. Turrets can be upgraded by filling the control bar. The more heavily an alignment dominates a turret, the further it will upgrade. To fire a turret, simply click on it as you would an NPC. You can then select an option to fire the turret, select your target, then fire. The turret will fire in real time and those on the target screen will see the impact! Remember, you can only fire turrets that your alignment controls so it is imperative to capture and hold turrets to maintain a tactical advantage in any region in which they are present.
Titan's Triumph Soon we will be celebrating the birthday of everyone's favorite Delta V demi-god: Titan. This mighty being uses technology so advanced, it is indistinguishable from magic. Some believe he created Delta V through sheer force of will. These people are quickly dismissed as fanatics, but there is no denying his awesome power. Visit Titan in his Frysteland lair to collect new mutating weapons and a mighty new sword: Titan's Triumph. These will be limited in quantity so you had better be quick!
Hmmmm...seems a bit sketchy.
Also returning will be Titan's Burger Bike! Omnomnomnom. The image speaks for itself.
Core Continuum We are adding additional Active Cores to the roster of Charge Cores. Each use in battle will deplete a Core charge. We're hoping to have enough time to implement some completely new Charge Cores for your battling enjoyment. Could they be Titan-themed? Perhaps...
VendBot Upgrade One of the oldest and most prolific NPCs in EpicDuel is the humble VendBot. These little guys have seen the evolution of EpicDuel from the earliest Alpha days to the modern Omega phase. In that time, they've traded their inventories of obsolete boosters to Cores. Their old technology can barely contain the demand so they've been refitted for extra capacity to provide you with the latest and greatest hardware upgrades, serving as a one-stop core shop.
Someone's been working out! Miss the old design? Don't worry, the original will still be around in a few remote places of Delta V. Tags: War Nightwraith Titan Birthday Rares Bike Mutating Weapons Turrets Objectives Cores |
 | May 30, 2013 Dread War DevelopmentsHey there, EpicDuelists! It's time once again for some delicious design notes from your friendly neighborhood Cinderella.
The Dread War itself is still in development, and will likely remain so for a bit more time. Our planned rollout for the War is in mid-June, but expect rapid-fire updates as development is underway. However, I can confirm that the War will coincide with improvements to the Faction system, and will involve territorial control on a much greater scale than the current flag system. This conflict is fairly large -- the biggest players have ever faced -- and could expand beyond the Dread Plains to consume all of Delta V!
MAIL TIME! The new mail system is getting some nice improvements. You'll be able to manually choose search criteria (eg. Subject, Sender, Message) instead of searching through all three simultaneously. In addition, you'll now get a confirmation message when deleting mail, so it's at least less likely that you'll delete something important...like a message from a Delta III prince who needs your bank account information.
Balancing Act The conversion of passive skills to active skills is still underway. Since this is a massive change and we want to cover all the classes in one release, we are allowing as much time for testing as possible. This means that the changes will probably go live next week, thoroughly tested. It's very important that class balance is in a good place for the War so we are taking these upcoming changes very seriously.
The Long Arm of the Law A special message from the Lawman:
With the new and improved reporting system, there is no reason to take screenshots and send them to the AEF Lawman account. Do not send messages to the Lawman -- he's not going to answer them. Having said that, we would like to thank all those who took the time to compose reports to the Lawman under the old system. However, that system required a great deal of time investment, both from the Moderator staff and the players making the reports, and it have been made almost entirely obsolete by the new system. If you need to report a player, please use the in-game report system!
Celtic and April Fools Weapons Leaving The April Fools and Celtic weapons have hung on long enough, being as it's nearly June. If you still need a giant spoon, now's your last chance! Also, the Bunny Weapons from last year are leaving as well. However, the 2013 Bunny weapons will stick around for another week because of a bug with Brachylagus' shop that has been fixed for the new release.
Calissa and Oz Many of you were curious about Calissa, and her relationship with Oz and the Exiles. I've actually read the story suggestions. Here's my own take on their story.
Tags: Cinderella Dread War Factions Legion exile Rares Reports Lawman Oz Caden |
 | November 29, 2012 Top-Secret Details Revealed!Some of you may have seen on Twitter that BIG changes are coming to items. We wanted to take the time to explain some of these changes as we get ready for Omega. Today, we'll be talking about gear requirements and stats.
SO LONG, DELTA! Before we dig into the meat of this post, I will tell you that as soon as Omega launches, the Delta Knight armor, Platinum's Pride armor, the Dragonoid Saga gear, and all the Harvest gear will be leaving the in-game shops and Varium store. Delta Knight we go ultra rare, never to return again, while the Dragon Buster II and Platinum's Pride will be going perma-rare. We're not yet comfortable posting an official date, but it WILL happen sometime in December before Christmas. If you've been holding off on picking up any of this superb gear, what are you waiting for? Grab it before it's GONE!
REQUIREMENTS One major change we want to bring to the game is greater freedom of choice in gear. Currently your choices are severely limited by the level and stat requirements on gear. If your level is too low, you simply can't equip the item. If your level is too high, the item isn't useful enough. If the item has odd stat requirements, you either can't use it or you have to alter your build to equip it. In Omega, these requirements are going away entirely. You can buy and equip any item at any level, and there will be no stat requirements to prevent you from equipping anything. The only requirements that will remain are gender and class for class-specific items.
STAT FREEDOM One other limitation to picking your gear is the built-in nature of stats on your items. If you like a staff or gun, but the stats are bad for your build, then that weapon is no good to you. In Omega, you may now arrange your stats how YOU want on all of your items. To maintain balance, you will not be able to put all of the item's points into one stat, but otherwise you can customize it as you wish. Similarly, you will be able to choose the allocation of Defense and Resistance on any armor.
UPGRADING ITEMS
(Please note that the above graphic is still in the testing phase and not finalized. It's simply meant to illustrate this exciting new upgrade feature!) Another major change coming to items in Omega is the ability to upgrade any item. As you level up, you will gain the ability to put more stats, damage, and defense/resistance onto your items, up to their maximum potential for your level. This effectively means that any item can be used at any level and will not be stronger or weaker than any other item at that level. Let me repeat that. You'll be able to upgrade any item to your current level and it will be useful in battle. Founder Armor, Beta Gear, last year's Autumn items, that weapon you loved using at level 6 -- all of these will be viable at your level. And just to be perfectly clear, these features will be available with or without Varium. Upgrading your gear and rearranging your gear's stats will have both Credit and Varium options available.
ENHANCEMENTS That covers everything we want to share today, but we have more still to talk about in the coming weeks before Omega's launch. Maybe next time we'll discuss our plans for enhancements.....Stay tuned! Feel free to discuss everything in the forums.
Other Progress Here's a quick look at some of the projects the art team is working on for the Omega release!
Stay tuned for further updates as development on Omega progresses! Tags: Titan Omega Update Weapons Armors RabbleFroth Forum Yeti Delta Rares |
