EpicDuel PVP Game Design Notes

October 31, 2014

This week, in EpicDuel, we've released a horrific harvest of terrifying yet tantalizing gear.

Coffinzookas

The dead are restless this Halloween, and they wish to rejoin the battlefield! These Coffinzookas were inspired by the work of Reki, who submitted them as a suggestion years ago. Better late than never? I'm happy I was finally able to squeeze them in this year, and I hope they were worth the wait. 

These beastly bazookas are available for a limited time at Snork!

Paladin Armor!

Ever wanted to dress like Artix in EpicDuel? Now, thanks to G00ny, you'll have your chance to adorn yourself in classic Paladin armor! Visit Titan, who clearly ripped a hole in the fabric of the universe to claim the armor from Lore, to check it out!

Now you'll be able to take on the undead...if they ever show up in EpicDuel.

Bone Hazard Ahead

Yikes! That's kind of like an undead. Stop at Snork to pick up the limited quantity season Bone Hazard Armor!

Power Weekend!

After you're done collecting candy and partying off the sugar rush, hop into EpicDuel for Power Weekend! That means double XP and Credits all weekend! All you need to do to get this advantage is to log in and play!

Winter Preview

We're hard at work on this year's epic Winter release. We can't release too many details yet, but it will be guaranteed to be an event to remember!

And now, a special message from Artix about some amazing new cloth armor available from HeroMart!

Armor T-Shirt Pre-Orders Open

Pre-Order at HeroMart.com to guarantee yours

Hiya guys! We found a way to get these amazing wrap-around armor T-shirts created. The process to create them is complicated and pretty expensive so we cannot just order a bunch of them like we usually do.  So, if you want to get your hands on a 1st Edition Paladin or Legion  Armor T-Shirt, lock in your pre-order at HeroMart now!

Real-life Undead Legion armor

You have until production starts (We are estimating around November 25th-ish, Thanksgiving) to place your order and guarantee that you will get your shirt. We are going to produce all of the pre-orders at once and then ship in December.  

Includes exclusive items for AQWorlds!

Each shirt comes with an awesome weapon and half of the "Legion Paladin" class. Combine both halves to create the full class in AdventureQuest Worlds! Themed after the shirts... we merged Artix's Paladin armor and Dage's Paragon armor together into a horrifying and powerful new class. 

Get both shirts to unlock the Class!

• Get the Legion Light of Destiny when you buy the Legion Armor T-Shirt
• Get the Purified Caladbolg Sword when you buy the Paladin Armor T-Shirt
• Get the Legion Paladin CLASS when you buy both T-shirts

Have a Safe and Happy Halloween!

Trick-or-Treat On!

Tags: Nightwraith Browser PvP MMO Duel Combat Halloween Warfare Weapons Prizes HeroMart merchandise Shirt

October 04, 2013

Valestra's Arcade is getting brand new game with some shiny new prizes!

What could the prizes be? Something nice? Something...hazardous?

Maybe.

As with all the other games, there will be a new 5-tier evolving achievement for Hazard Havoc! When we roll the update, hurry up and be the first to Valestra's Arcade to claim your spot on the newest leaderboard!

Also, for the first time, we will be offering home items as prizes. "What if I don't have a home?" you might ask. Well, follow me down below for the next paragraph for some great news!

Home Again

In this update, everyone is getting access to a Fortune City Efficiency. This single-room living space is designed to give everyone a chance to experience EpicDuel's home feature. Before this update, if you didn't own a home, you had know way to know what items were even available for decoration!

To get this new home, simple click the Home button on the main HUD and click the big black "Claim Home" button.

You might also notice that all the homes now have Credit OR Varium options. There are no more mixed currency options. This should make it easier to acquire a home buy either buying Varium outright or saving credits to buy one. We have carried this partially through to the home items. Now, any home item that was previously Varium and Credits will now be just Varium (with a slightly increased price).

Tags: Titan Arcade tokens Hazard Bio Hazard Prizes Home Items Homes

September 27, 2013

The Arcade is nearly here, but before Valestra officially has her Grand-Grand Reopening for her Arcade, I'll walk you through the newly renovated Arcade.

You know Valestra's, right? Fortune City's premiere hangout -- at least before Baelius banished most of the population to an interdimensional prison. If you're new to the game or just never explored much beyond Central Station, you can find Valestra's in Fortune City tucked behind Alydriah's Spire. Don't worry, there's a sign.

Token Time!

Once you're in Valestra's you can activate one of many ArcadeBots. You can't miss them -- there's a least one on every screen. An Arcade interface will immediately appear, displaying a game title, prize, list, leaderboard, and buttons for playing / purchasing more Arcade Tokens.

One Arcade Token gets you one press of the "GO" button. That's one chance to hit the Jackpot. Even if you miss, you'll leave with something nice. Arcade Tokens are easy enough to come by -- Daily Missions reward one Arcade Token as a reward for completion of the mission chain.

Maybe you don't want to play once. Maybe you want to mash the "GO" button until it shakes the whole Arcade, and all the players around you give you the old shifty eyes look and back away slowly. If that's they case, we appreciate and accommodate your enthusiasm. Each ArcadeBot features an option to buy one Arcade Token or a bundle of ten. Since they don't take up space in your inventory, you can buy as many as you want. 

Just be mindful of your Varium balance -- once you hit a winning streak, it might be difficult to stop!

Game Changer

Snork's Stash not exciting you? Choose from 3 other games/prize pools buy using the navigational arrows. Each game offers a different assortment of prizes. We look forward to offering many new prize pools in the future with truly unique rewards!

Prizes aren't the only different aspect of each game. Every time you deposit an Arcade Token, you earn a score based on your prize -- the higher the tier (Bronze, Silver, or Gold), the better! All the different games store an individual score based on your success. This score comes with a unique achievement that evolves as your score grows! Currently, we are offering 5 tiers per achievement. Can you level them all?

Each game also features an all-time leaderboard displaying the top scoring players with your current score displayed alongside them. 

What are you waiting for? Grab your Arcade Tokens and head over to Valestra's Arcade! You can't win if you don't play!

Tags: Arcade Nightwraith Credits Prizes tokens Achievements evolution Games

September 19, 2013

*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

September 12, 2013

Are You Ready for a Challenge?

After weeks of controlling events from behind the scenes, Administrator 10 and the mysterious Exile Leader are ready to step into the spotlight, and they’re taking matters into their own hands! Team up with a friend to challenge these foes and claim their achievements for your own! These bosses will be some of the most challenging in game, but we’re not without mercy. To make it easier to triumph over these foes, we’re raising the level cap!

Level Up!

At long last, we have increased the level cap to 36. It won’t be quick or easy to reach so we’re sure there will be a mad dueling dash to be the first to reach it. The first players to reach this goal will be able to upgrade their gear and skills to become the most powerful duelists on Delta V! Will you be strong enough to defeat Administrator 10 and the Exile Leader?

Daily Missions

In between duels, Administrator 10 and the Exile Leader will have some new tasks for you. Check back with them daily for missions and rewards.  The missions will be part of a chain so players will need to complete all of them in order to receive the best reward! To keep missions from becoming monotonous, we’ll be cycling in new chains each day to guarantee that there’s always something exciting to do on Delta V!

Arcade Returns!

Remember the Arcade? We haven’t forgotten, and we’re working on implementing a new and improved version next week. Under the new system players will be able to deposit Arcade Tokens for a chance to win anything from a pile of credits, to never-before-seen weapons, to previously retired rares (gasp)!

Tags: Nightwraith Missions Daily Level Cap Arcade Prizes Legion exile War Challenge Achievements

February 14, 2012

Happy Discount Candy Day Eve!

 Hope all of you are having a wonderful and love-filled Valentine’s Day, not-so-bitter Singles Awareness Day, anticipatory Clearance Chocolates Eve, or a great Tuesday. I’ve put heart socks on the Squidlings for the occasion, but I’m sure you’re having just as much fun as Mr. Squiddles.

Home Improvement

Due to the paint in his office still being wet, Raymus wasn’t quite ready to open shop last week, but he’ll (hopefully) get the contractors out of the building by Friday. He’s brought along with him some new housing features. Starting Friday, you’ll be able to see whose home you’ve invaded, and homeowners will be able to restrict access to their homes. If you own a home, you will now be able to restrict access to your home to make it private (only you have access), to your buddy list only, or just let everyone come in and track dirty mud all over your carpets!

We will also be slashing prices on home items! This means there's never been a better time to decorate!

Expanded drops

Following the success of the lowbie drops, we’ve expanded PvP drops to include weapons for everyone! You get a drop! And you get a drop! In addition to expanding the PvP drop weapons to include weapons for all levels, we are adding the Hoverbike and Assault Bot to the mix. Rumor has it that there may also be some "broken" items that are unusable. I wonder if there's anyone who could fix them?  Unfortunately, with the revaming of the drop system, the random credit bonuses and home prizes are going away forever. With mission rewards and power hour, there are many more reliable ways to get credits.

We’re also adding another dropped bot: the Rusty Assault Bot. Since it’s rusty and secondhand, this bot has similar effects to the Assault Bot, but he’s a little weaker. If you’re impatient and want to buy a refurbished bot, you can buy him (for credits only) at Junker.

We may be repurposing the arcade in future updates with minigames and other fun extraneous things to do (like "Battle Fruits"!).

NegaWraith!

In addition to Mr. Alexander, players will meet one of Administrator 12’s lackeys, a man nicknamed by the Exiles as “NegaWraith” due to his uncanny resemblance to the interstellar assassin Nightwraith. Could he be an asset? An enemy? What is his plan? These questions and more will be answered in Part II of the Heartbreaker Saga. See the Exile Soldier in the Bazaar (next to Titan) for more info and to begin Part II of the Heartbreaker Saga.

Name Campers

Word on the streets (of the Internet) is that Artix Entertainment is making its very first 3D game! Since space is limited, we're giving everyone who has ever purchased Varium in EpicDuel, along with members of the other AE games, a chance to grab your favorite name before anyone else! For more information, please check out http://artix.com/, your source for all things AdventureQuest 3D, and the future home of the Artix Entertainment portal. 

BEEEES! OH GOD, NOT THE BEES!

Let me start out this week’s insect fact with a little anecdote. This weekend was completely spent on an assignment for my Environmental Studies class, and it was a review of the factors contributing to Colony Collapse Disorder. Being the sole Entomologist in the class (and pretty sure I’m the only Entomologist at my institution of Higher Learning), I ended going way off the deep end and wrote 10 pages for what I found out later was supposed to be a 2 page assignment. Suffice to say, I’ve been brain-deep in bee for the past few days. My conclusion for that paper is that further research is needed to quantify synergistic effects between pesticides and use measurement endpoints other than honeybee mortality to quantify the effect of chemicals such as imidicloprid, which confuses bees and the workers are likely to wander off and forget where their hive is. Also, the medicines used prophylactically to prevent bacterial infection may weaken the bees’ defense to the effect of chronic sublethal exposure to multiple pesticides, including those that prevent harm coming to the hive from Varroa mites. The parasitic mite Varroa destructor lives up to its name, and will wipe out a thriving colony in a year if left untreated. So, things are very unclear as how to manage the threats to honeybees.

One thing I found interesting that I actually hadn’t thought about before, is that the honeybee is an invasive species in North America, and there are over 4,000 species of native North American bees that can “pick up the slack” if we were to lose all of our honeybees. The bumblebee (genus Bomba) is actually a more efficient agricultural pollinator than the honeybee! 

Tags: Cinderella NegaWraith PvP drops Prizes Arcade Bot bots Heartbreaker Valentine's Day Homes Raymus

December 20, 2011

EpicDuel’s First Annual House Decorating Contest

In case you haven't heard (that the bird is the word?), it's not too late to enter the EpicDuel Holiday House Decorating Contest! Decorate your in-game home in its holiday finest and post a picture in the ArtixEntertainment Forums by Friday, December 30th at 12 PM (noon) Eastern Standard Time to be considered for the prize, which consists of a personal EpicDuel House Item and a special achievement!

As always, your entry must be your own in-game house (please include your EpicDuel character name), and above all, be creative! See the Forums post for official rules, and Decorate On!

Tags: charfade contest decorating Prizes