AdventureQuest Worlds
Encyclopedia
AdventureQuest Worlds, often shortened to AQWorlds or simply AQW, is a browser-based MMORPG or 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
. It currently has over 16 million registered accounts, reaching 6 million in May and 9 million in July 2009. On 10 October 2010, the game celebrated its second birthday.
, One-Eyed Doll
, George Lowe
, Paul and Storm
, Jonathan Coulton
, the cast of Ctrl+Alt+Del
, Ayi Jihu
, ArcAttack
, They Might Be Giants
, and Michael Sinterniklaas
as the voice of Deady.
, DragonFable
, and MechQuest. The universe of AdventureQuest Worlds came into being when the Dragon of Time was defeated by Galanoth leading all the stray storylines of the previous games to come together into one.
The plot centers on the player hunting down the 13 Lords of Chaos, a group controlled by the antagonist Drakath. The player may also choose to side with two other factions known as Good (led by King Alteon) or Evil (led by Gravelyn) who have teamed up to fight Drakath and his 13 Lords of Chaos, each of which can summon a deadly Chaos Beast.
Each Chaos Beast summoned makes one rune on a mysterious portal in Drakath's lair glow. Drakath's main aim is to unlock that portal and release an almighty beast within it.
games), it uses real time battling with simultaneous players/monsters. Like many RPGs, players advance by gaining experience points from killing enemies and completing quests, and gather currency and equipment. Equipment is only valuable cosmetically with only slight differences being the range of damage that weapons have (e.g. one weapon may have a weapon range of 78-99, meaning it can hit between 78 and 99, and another may have 29-160, meaning it can hit between 29 and 160). All equippable items, except cover-armor and pets, can be used with "enhancements" to give stat bonuses which include Strength, Intellect, Dexterity, Wisdom, Endurace, and Luck.
AdventureQuest Worlds includes many classes like warrior, rogue, mage, healer and special advanced classes like dragonslayer, ninja, pirate, shaman, warlord, enforcer that players can unlock and switch between, typically by completing a quest chain or series and then buying them. Players can own as many classes as they want, but can only equip one at a time. Each class currently has six skills including two passive skills. As a player uses a class more, he/she gets experience in that particular class. Each class has 10 ranks that can be reached by gaining class experience. Each rank (up to rank 5) unlocks a new skill (or at rank 4, 2 passive skills) for the player to use. Some classes also have passive skills unlocked at rank 10.
Adventure Coins may be bought on the website or via Battleon Points. (Used only if the account on AQ Worlds has been linked with the Master Account) They can be used in many shops on the game such as Yulgar's Suggestion Shop. The coins can be used to buy some of the best items in the game in terms of art quality. There is a variety of methods you can use to purchase coins. This includes Cell Phone, Home phone, Credit Card and Cards that you can redeem online (bought in a shop) These are only a few methods.
Mike Fahey praised the idea of using advertisements when the player died. Pete Davison, from GamePro
, also noted the advertisements at death, calling it an "interesting" idea.
Artix Entertainment
Artix Entertainment, LLC. is a game development company that works primarily with browser-based role-playing games. As of September 2010, the company has over 110 million users in their games.-History:...
in 2008. Unlike most massively multiplayer role playing games, AdventureQuest Worlds was developed entirely in Adobe Flash
Adobe Flash
Adobe Flash is a multimedia platform used to add animation, video, and interactivity to web pages. Flash is frequently used for advertisements, games and flash animations for broadcast...
. It currently has over 16 million registered accounts, reaching 6 million in May and 9 million in July 2009. On 10 October 2010, the game celebrated its second birthday.
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. There were also live events with guest stars like VoltaireVoltaire (musician)
Voltaire , is a popular dark cabaret Cuban-American musician...
, One-Eyed Doll
One-Eyed Doll
One-Eyed Doll is an eclectic goth punk duo based in Austin, Texas, which was voted the Best Punk Band in 2009, 2010 and 2011 at the Austin Music Awards at SXSW along with variously placing in the Top Ten in the categories of Best New Band, Best Metal Band, Best Female Vocalist, Best Guitarist, Best...
, George Lowe
George Lowe
George Lowe is an American voice actor/comedian.He is perhaps best known for his role as the voice of Space Ghost on the Cartoon Network/Adult Swim, talk show Space Ghost Coast to Coast, a role which he played for all 110 episodes spanning fourteen years before the series ended in 2008, along...
, Paul and Storm
Paul and Storm
Paul and Storm are an Arlington, Virginia-based comedic musical duo consisting of Paul Sabourin and Greg "Storm" DiCostanzo. They had formerly been members of the a cappella group Da Vinci’s Notebook....
, Jonathan Coulton
Jonathan Coulton
Jonathan Coulton is an American singer-songwriter, known for his songs about geek culture and his use of the Internet to draw fans...
, the cast of Ctrl+Alt+Del
Ctrl+Alt+Del (webcomic)
Ctrl+Alt+Del is a gaming-related webcomic and animated series written by Tim Buckley. The name of the comic refers to the Windows command Control-Alt-Delete. Premiering on October 23, 2002, the comic's focus has gradually shifted away from single strip gags towards longer story arcs and greater...
, Ayi Jihu
Ayi Jihu
Ayi Jihu is a Chinese singer of Yi ethnicity, signed to British company Shlepp Records.-Early life:Ayi Jihu grew up in Leibo County in the Liangshan Yi Autonomous Prefecture of Sichuan. Dance was one of her early hobbies. Her parents were farmers; however, her father died when she was just five or...
, ArcAttack
ArcAttack
ArcAttack is a performance art group that specializes in playing music through a combination of home made, high tech instruments, and more traditional instruments suchas guitar and bass.-Background:...
, They Might Be Giants
They Might Be Giants
They Might Be Giants is an American alternative rock band formed in 1982 by John Flansburgh and John Linnell. During TMBG's early years Flansburgh and Linnell were frequently accompanied by a drum machine. In the early 1990s, TMBG became a full band. Currently, the members of TMBG are...
, and Michael Sinterniklaas
Michael Sinterniklaas
Michael Tremain Sinterniklaas is a Dutch American actor, voice actor, ADR Director and script writer who has worked for Viz Media, Bandai Entertainment, Funimation Entertainment, DuArt Film and Video, 4Kids Entertainment, and Tripwire Productions...
as the voice of Deady.
Plot synopsis
The setting of the game is in the same universe as AdventureQuestAdventureQuest
AdventureQuest is an online flash based single-player RPG developed by Artix Entertainment in 2002. As of June 14, 2010, aq.battleon.com, the game's hosting website, and www.battleon.com, the game's homepage, have an Alexa rating of 3,041...
, DragonFable
DragonFable
DragonFable is a free-to-play, online, browser-based, single-player fantasy role-playing game developed by Artix Entertainment and updated on a weekly basis...
, and MechQuest. The universe of AdventureQuest Worlds came into being when the Dragon of Time was defeated by Galanoth leading all the stray storylines of the previous games to come together into one.
The plot centers on the player hunting down the 13 Lords of Chaos, a group controlled by the antagonist Drakath. The player may also choose to side with two other factions known as Good (led by King Alteon) or Evil (led by Gravelyn) who have teamed up to fight Drakath and his 13 Lords of Chaos, each of which can summon a deadly Chaos Beast.
- The First Lord of Chaos is Escherion, a Battle Mage who wields the Staff of Inversion. His Chaos Beast is the Lake HydraLernaean HydraIn Greek mythology, the Lernaean Hydra was an ancient nameless serpent-like chthonic water beast, with reptilian traits, that possessed many heads — the poets mention more heads than the vase-painters could paint, and for each head cut off it grew two more — and poisonous breath so virulent even...
which he freed using the Runix Cube. - The Second Lord(s) of Chaos are the twins Xing and Xang. They haven't been fought yet, but have enticed Maximilian Lionfang and Nythera to their side. Xing and Xang were then seen taking interest in the Void. Xing and Xang also appear in the Bloodtusk Ravine where they are summoned by the player to answer five questions. They also pair the Trolls and Orcs against each other in order to help Drakath determin who will become the Ninth Lord of Chaos.
- The Third Lord of Chaos is Vath, a Drow Dragonlord. The Chaos Beast hatched by him is the Rock Roc using the Chaos Gemeralds.
- The Fourth Lord of Chaos is Kitsune, an anthropomorphic fox. He uses the stolen Hanzamune Dragon Koi Blade to summon the Forbidden O-DokuroGashadokuroright|thumb|300px|GashadokuroIn Japanese folklore, Gashadokuro or "Odokuro" are giant skeletons, often fifteen times taller than an average person. If a gashadokuro sees a human, it will grab it and bite its head off if it does not flee quickly. Gashadokuro are created from gathering bones from...
from the Rift of Time as his chaos beast. - The Fifth Lord of Chaos is the Chaorrupted Werepyre Wolfwing. He bites a dragon on the Mystic Wolf Moon to turn it into the Dracowerepyre (a combination of a dragon, a vampire and a werewolf).
- The Sixth Lord of Chaos is a Chaorrupted Kimberly Freeman of One-Eyed DollOne-Eyed DollOne-Eyed Doll is an eclectic goth punk duo based in Austin, Texas, which was voted the Best Punk Band in 2009, 2010 and 2011 at the Austin Music Awards at SXSW along with variously placing in the Top Ten in the categories of Best New Band, Best Metal Band, Best Female Vocalist, Best Guitarist, Best...
. She used Discordia (a parody of Erik from The Phantom of the OperaThe Phantom of the OperaLe Fantôme de l'Opéra is a novel by French writer Gaston Leroux. It was first published as a serialisation in "Le Gaulois" from September 23, 1909 to January 8, 1910...
) as her proxy. She sent the players back in time to fight her Chaos Beast Pony Gary Yellow (a Triceratops/Dragon-like creature). - The Seventh Lord of Chaos is Ledgermayne, a bunch of raw mana that gained shape upon exposure to Drakath's chaos magic making him a "living magic." He frees the Mana Golem from it's prison.
- The Eighth Lord of Chaos is Tibicenas, a Chaos JinnJinnJinn are supernatural beings in Arab folklore and Islamic teachings.Jinn may also refer to:* Jinn , a Japanese band* Qui-Gon Jinn, a character in the Star Wars universe...
who used the hedge-mage Zahart as his master until the ring was broken. He used the Heart of the Sphinx to animate the Chaos SphinxSphinxA sphinx is a mythical creature with a lion's body and a human head or a cat head.The sphinx, in Greek tradition, has the haunches of a lion, the wings of a great bird, and the face of a woman. She is mythicised as treacherous and merciless...
as his Chaos Beast.
Each Chaos Beast summoned makes one rune on a mysterious portal in Drakath's lair glow. Drakath's main aim is to unlock that portal and release an almighty beast within it.
Gameplay
Instead of turn-by-turn basis battles (as in previous Artix EntertainmentArtix Entertainment
Artix Entertainment, LLC. is a game development company that works primarily with browser-based role-playing games. As of September 2010, the company has over 110 million users in their games.-History:...
games), it uses real time battling with simultaneous players/monsters. Like many RPGs, players advance by gaining experience points from killing enemies and completing quests, and gather currency and equipment. Equipment is only valuable cosmetically with only slight differences being the range of damage that weapons have (e.g. one weapon may have a weapon range of 78-99, meaning it can hit between 78 and 99, and another may have 29-160, meaning it can hit between 29 and 160). All equippable items, except cover-armor and pets, can be used with "enhancements" to give stat bonuses which include Strength, Intellect, Dexterity, Wisdom, Endurace, and Luck.
AdventureQuest Worlds includes many classes like warrior, rogue, mage, healer and special advanced classes like dragonslayer, ninja, pirate, shaman, warlord, enforcer that players can unlock and switch between, typically by completing a quest chain or series and then buying them. Players can own as many classes as they want, but can only equip one at a time. Each class currently has six skills including two passive skills. As a player uses a class more, he/she gets experience in that particular class. Each class has 10 ranks that can be reached by gaining class experience. Each rank (up to rank 5) unlocks a new skill (or at rank 4, 2 passive skills) for the player to use. Some classes also have passive skills unlocked at rank 10.
Payment
The main form of payment is membership, a monthly, three-monthly, six-monthly or yearly fee required to access additional game content. However AQ Worlds can be played for free without this additional game content. Like Artix Entertainment's other games, microtransactions, known in AdventureQuest Worlds as AdventureCoins, can be used to buy exclusive ingame items. Most Artix Entertainment merchandise can also be redeemed for ingame items.Adventure Coins may be bought on the website or via Battleon Points. (Used only if the account on AQ Worlds has been linked with the Master Account) They can be used in many shops on the game such as Yulgar's Suggestion Shop. The coins can be used to buy some of the best items in the game in terms of art quality. There is a variety of methods you can use to purchase coins. This includes Cell Phone, Home phone, Credit Card and Cards that you can redeem online (bought in a shop) These are only a few methods.
Reception
Carolyn Koh, from MMORPG.com, stated that "AdventureQuest Worlds is a fun little casual MMO". Kotaku'sKotaku
Kotaku is a video games-focused blog. It is part of Gawker Media's "Gawker" network of sites, which also includes Gizmodo, Deadspin, Lifehacker, io9 and Jezebel. Named to CNET News' Blog 100, Kotaku is consistently listed in the top 40 of Technorati's Top 100...
Mike Fahey praised the idea of using advertisements when the player died. Pete Davison, from GamePro
GamePro
GamePro Media was a United States gaming media company publishing online and print content on the video game industry, video game hardware, and video game software developed for a video game console , a computer, and/or a mobile device . GamePro Media properties include GamePro magazine and...
, also noted the advertisements at death, calling it an "interesting" idea.