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So, on Monday geo gave me a rough outline for her quest this week.  It sounded pretty fun.  Then, just now, Rolith poked me with a silver Sharpie and said "Hey, hey Alina! Check this out! Quick, you're going to miss it!"

So I rolled over (all our chairs have wheels. And spin.)* to Rolith's computer (roughly two feet and around the corner of the table from me) and saw something REALLY cool! And glowy! I'm probably not talking about what you think I'm talking about, but if I am, you know how cool it is! It is pretty nifty, but that is all I will say about that.

Actually, it's not. From what Rolith tells me about this quest (I haven't run it yet, I've been working on the Ravenloss War), it has two REALLY spoileriffic cutscenes, so when you go to discuss it on the forums this weekend, PLEASE use spoiler tags! They're such spoilers I can't even HINT at them because they will knock you out of your chairs, onto your floors, and propel you under whatever piece of furniture is closest. (I hope you don't have any 2-week old pizza boxes under there. Yuck!)

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So, this past weekend, Rolith rushed home because he had some action-packed plans!

He was planning on doing a game-making challenge where programmers have 48 hours to make a full game.  You might remember in December when he and Artix each made a game in 48 hours.  This was the same kind of contest, but this one was a little different. For a couple reasons.

1) It was an all new theme.

2) It was a team challenge, so Rolith could get help from other AE team members.

3) His Ustream (live video-streaming) showed him making the game, and this time we had an audio hookup so we got to talk to you guys all weekend!

At 8PM Eastern, Rolith went to the challenge homepage and found out the theme.  He immediately went to the Ustream chat-room where dozens of you guys were already waiting to support him.  He told you the challenge and asked for ideas!

Between the 35 of us in the room at the time, we came up with a steam-punk spring physics action game called 1888.  (Unfortunately, Zeronius' idea for a steampink game- it's AMAZING what ideas a typo will give you!- was shot down, but I just told Beleen about it and she LOVES the idea! So who knows what will happen with that?)  It might eventually look like steampunk art, but for now, it's got placeholder art made by Randor the Red (thanks Randor!).

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*chugs purple potion of healing and hydration +15*

I'm here, I'm here! It's a Friday, and on Fridays we must pull together and battle on, because it's... RELEASE DAY!  And we LOVE release days!  We're just as excited to get them out as you are to play them, and I wouldn't let a little unexpected illness keep me away from such an important day. No sir!

And I really wanted to thank everyone who posted on the forum and Twitter hoping I felt better. I will definitely be taking your advice and imbibing large quantites of juice and chickencow noodle soup tonight!

So, what do we have for you today?  I have a feeling you guys already know!  Yep, it's a HUGE Friday for us, and here's your release lineup:

• DA-only SoulWeaver class preview and testing
• Ravenloss quest for the final Gate Key
• WillowShire quest in a race for the Nature Orb

If you're a DragonLord and haven't heard the details about the SoulWeaver class (or you're a really really excited free player), scroll down and check out all the awesome bits and bobs about SoulWeaver here!

So head on over to Falconreach, take a moment to take in the beauty of the setting sun, and then click that VERY shiny button which will take you to the screen that will let you load the SoulWeaver class preview!  You've got to have a Dragon Amulet to try it out, though, so if you've got one grab it and go go go! Weave those souls! Gooooooo SoulWeavers!

We've ALSO got a nifty little Ravenloss quest tonight! Yes, that IS two Ravenloss quests in a row! We are moving steadily towards the Ravenloss finale. I HOPE it will release next week, but we've got a TON of things planned for it (like premiering your SoulAllies!), so we want to make it as good as it can be. 

But THIS week you'll be racing Greed towards the Bolt Key.  You and Tomix aren't quite sure where it is, and Riadne doesn't remember what happened to it after she was kidnapped, so you've got to find it again! The only problem is... a whole race of crazed ChaosWeavers is rushing your way and they want to take you AND Greed down!  It's a game of skill and chance to corner the ChaosWeavers pitting themselves against you, but if you strategize with Tomix and Riadne, you'll be able to take them down!

Remember, they key to Ravenloss is getting into that Gate, so find that last Key!  For those of you who're fans of the Elemental Gate Key art, here's a pretty picture:

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Wow, you guys sure are excited for the SoulWeaver DA-only testing on Friday!  And you've got some great ideas for skills and skill names.  Tomix will be checking over the thread to see which inspire him!

SPOILER ALERT! SPOILER ALERT!

I have a love/hate relationship with surprises.  I love KNOWING a surprise is coming, but I never want to know what the surprise IS. Except I do. Because surprises are awesome. But I don't. Because that would ruin the surprise.  Anyone else feel the same way?

Maybe it's just me. So... back on track.  Assuming you DO like knowing what your surprises consist of, who wants to see two of the skill animations? You do? Excellent! Because I just happen to have a sneak peek of them here. 

Does that whet your appetite for the 8-skill class preview on Friday? Good!  It will make the wait longer, but the reward will be all the sweeter when you channel your Dragon Amulet and unlock the ability to load our newest (and one of our awesomest) armors yet!

And for a bit of funny to balance out the superomgawesomesauce-ness of the above preview, here's a soundbyte from an impromptu DragonFable team meeting in the Secret Underground Lab:'

(Long detailed explanation of the Willowshire quest that you will have to wait until Friday to learn about except for the thing that's going in that will make it awesome and I love the thing and Ghost is doing the thing and it will be perfect but back to the soundbyte)

Geopetal: So, yeah, And Ghost will be adding (the thing) and it'll run every time you go into a new room.
Rolith: BIG GROAN  and a /facepalm
Alina:  Rolith groans in pain when things are funny because it hurts him to be happy.
Rolith: That's one of the most accurate descriptions of my moods yet.
Geopetal: Awwwww!

Rolith is actually a very happy person.  You just have to approach him when he's petting one of his seventy-two cats to know it's true.* 

That's this Wednesday's Sneak Peek.  Enjoy imagining the rest of SoulWeaver's animations, because they are SUH-WEET!

* That's a lie. He only has three cats. It's also a lie that you should approach him when he's petting them. That's the worst time to ask him to do things. Rolith needs his kitty-time. It keeps him sane.**
** Only manly men acknowledge they need kitty-time. (Rolith said I could say this! :D)

That's right, DA-only testing of SoulWeaver Class is coming THIS Friday!

Before you get TOO excited-
Oh, who am I kidding, go nuts! Get excited! You've waited a year for this!

There IS one caveat, though.  The class isn't done.  We're gearing up for the end of the Ravenloss Saga and we want to get what we have of the class out to you for testing so that you can preview it! (Especially since so many of you have been anticipating it for so long.)

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I know what I'm searching for: a cold Diet Coke and a good historical novel.  Then again, I'm not a hero. 

Now you, YOU are a hero, adventuring around the world, saving babies, kissing the rainforest (or was that the other way around?) and just generally being busy doing heroic things.  You're SO busy doing them, in fact, that we should probably see about getting you a secretary or personal assistant.  Someone to keep track of your schedule.  Keep you on task.  (Man, I wish *I* had one of those!)

And if you DID have someone to point you towards your next task (hey... wait... That's what I do...!), they would tell you that you have TWO new quests to go on this week.

First up is the next Willowshire quest!  Talk to Guardian Fortuna to begin a larger-than-life adventure fighting monsters almost smaller than you can see.  And for why?  All to find the location of the Nature half of the Orb!  (It's only natural to want to find it.)  You'll need to shake off that little bout of unconsciousness you ended the last quest with and get your rear in gear, because you're running out of time!

There is ALSO a Ravenloss quest on your schedule.  You'll need to journey to the center of the undercity and up Altar Hill in order to confront the ChaosWeaver High Priest! But that's not all, because there's a titan-fight that only DragonLords can handle.  So if you don't have an amulet on hand, you'll have to step back, because this big bad bug is out to SQUASH you for interfering with her subjects!  Oh, and try to find the Void Key while you're there.  You might have some help in your battle against the Priest, too. Just a little hint.  /smile

HEROMART NEWS!

We are restocking some of our sold out items on HeroMart! (Not the Paladin Toilet Paper, sorry!)

Starting tonight (right NOW, in fact!) we have

150 calendars
30 Twillies
10 Small Mens Chickencow T-shirts
10 Med Mens Chickencow T-shirts
5 XL Mens Chickencow T-shirts
20 2XL Mens Chickencow T-shirts
20 3XL Mens Chickencow T-shirts

Next week EpicDuel shirts will be coming in!  The shirts will go on sale next weekend, so better get ready to get this EPIC gear!

It'll come with an unlockable achievement in EpicDuel and an AWESOMELY epic Cyber Hunter armor in AdventureQuest Worlds!

Reminder!

AEXtras is still a great way to get FREE DRAGONCOINS and even FREE BATTLEON POINTS!  Just CLICK HERE to get started!

Or, You can jump onto your Master Account and start earning free BattleOn Games Points using AExtras and use those Points to get stuff in ANY of our games!

Have a great weekend! See you on Monday!

We're looking for tshirt ideas to make and sell in HeroMart, and we'd like to see what aspects of DragonFable YOU would like to see on a tshirt!  Have a favorite NPC (or a line that has been said), background, zone, weapon, pet... the list goes on and on! 

(NOT an actualy t-shirt idea. Unless you guys want it. Then... maybe.)

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This is what we call a Stress Test…. so let’s see if we can ACE it… or bomb it?

Ohhh yeah, you read correctly. HeroSmash is NOW open to everyone for a limited time! As we draw closer to Thyton’s Live Drawing Contest, we thought it would be a great idea to crash NOT ONLY AQWorlds servers… but also HeroSmash’s!

So while you are waiting for us to give Thyton a pep-talk right before the AQWorlds in-game drawing event streams LIVE from his desktop… head on over to HeroSmash and get your hero-ing on!

www.HeroSmash.com

Remember folks, this is a STRESS TEST and it could be closed at any time. But in the meantime… and if the servers hold... anyone and everyone can play HeroSmash right now!

Now that’s what I call SUPER!

(borrowed from the super-awesome Beleen's heroic efforts on the AQWorlds Design Notes page!)

It's a triple peek written in triple time! 

My fingers are flying as I race to write this Design Notes amid the other work I need to get done today.  But we want to make sure you guys learn of these new awesome things, so here you go: SoulAlly background info, SoulAlly pic, and news about the Equilibrium Gate!

Tomix sent me some information to pass on to you all about SoulAllies!

I know he's mentioned them on the forums before, but here's a good deal of great information that no one's ever known about them before:

• In order to become a SoulWeaver, you need to have a SoulAlly.
• SoulAllies are Elemental Spirits.
• Elemental Spirits are a completely different beings than normal spirits and souls.
• SoulAllies are the spirits of SoulWeavers who have been reborn.
• Each SoulAlly has an element and an attribute, both of which are dependent on their nature while alive.
• SoulAllies make threads, and soulweavers use these threads in weaving ritual.
• Soulweaver can't weave without a soulally

And to set the match to the dry tinder of your imagination... a picture of your SoulAlly!

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New news is better than old news, just like new sparkleponies are cuter than old sparkleponies!  And what's better than a NEW sparklepony?  A pink, DERPING sparklepony! 

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That's right, like we mentioned earlier this week, we're revisiting the past and it's going to be nostalgic!* 

When your hero sets wearily down his or her backpack in Falconreach after wandering through deserts, over icebergs, and through not-quite-endless forests, the first thing they'll see is a blast to the recent past with a "Best of 2010" Shop!

• Invisible Helm (level 60)
• Invisible Cape (level 60)
• Blind Master Sage Helm (level 60)
• Mightier 100k Scythe (level 61)
• Hyper Supermassive Warpdrive (level 61)
• Hyper Supermassive Warpgenerator (level 61)
• Hyper Supermassive Warpfield (level 61)
• Bright Star Helm IV (level 60)
• Bright Star Cape IV (level 60)
• Mr. Poofles (level 61)
• Faunus Dragon Helm (level 61)

Thanks for all your help coming up with the list on the forum!

We ALSO have two new quests coming in old towns today!  The first will take you back to the ice-covered, snow-laden burgs of Dragesvard!  Talk to Galanoth and click on his random quests button to be taken to the newest quest, in which he asks you to explore the town to see if any of the townspeople NOT at the party have seen any Dragonsbane. An Ice Dragon Scale will drop from the "Draggin' in Dragesvard" quest, just like Galanoth's other random quests.

Geopetal will have a quest in the Shadow of the Wind Village that will release later tonight, so be sure to check back in a few hours for the new ninja town and quest!  AND it will have hidden ninja NPCs who will speak ominously to you from the shadows.

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The new random quest in the Shadow of the Wind Village is now live! Visit the Inn and help Pi Mae deliver food to the hungry ninja's out in the field!

Also, check out the new mysterious items in Cysero's Orb DC house items shop. A brand new couch, chair, fireplace (all in the Stuff shop) and candle (in the Wall items shop) created by True Mortal are for sale.

Yesterday we asked what you'd like to see in a "Best of 2010" shop.

Today we want to know: What older towns would you like us to revisit with a new random quest or two?  Any town we haven't updated in a while is fair game! So if you like the pirate/ninja zones, or maybe you're a fan of the frigid Dragesvard (that WOULD be appropriate in this wintery time), then this is the week for you!

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Today’s been more than a little crazy here in the underground lab.  The majority of the team is back here for the first time since the Holidays began (we all worked around the country for the release last week, and I even visited Alina’s family for the first time up in the cold and windy city of Chicago) .  There were lots of things to talk about and show off (including my new hobby – Crocheting – never let it be said that I don’t have a crafty side, just that it’s not very good. 

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In testing now! The boss fight is almost ready! Wow... just wow guys, good job!

Update: I borked something. Rolith to the rescue. I owe him some togsitting or something!

Update to the update: I'm so desperate to get this working I have Rolith working on this from a bathroom. It's the only room where he's staying that has an available outlet. So he's fixing the cutscene.... on a toilet. I owe him BIG TIME.

Update to the update to the update: Added the villain/anti-hero plushies to Cysero's Rare Pet Shop for you guys (they are permanently there).

Update x 4: I miss Ghost. He rocks. Rolith rocks too!

Update x 5: It works! It works! Thank you so much for being patient! The weapons are in and you'll notice a level 61 option. The level cap will go up on Monday!

Yet another update: Lim fixed the plushie pets already! I have to go into the database and change them to pets one by one, but if you clear cache everything should work. HUGE thank you to Verlyrus, he helped get stuff tested for you guys tonight!

Also, special thanks to my nephew, Jacob, for leaving his crayons behind after Christmas and to my Dad for the copious amount of paper I recycled. Also, that huge heart on the last page, totally not covering a mutant Maya head. Nope, def not. I hope you guys enjoyed the cutscene!

Update x7: Brand new Defender's Rings and Necklaces are now available!

Final Update: The Frostval Celebration has begun in Frostvale! Any presents still in inventories have been burst open so their plushie elementals can escape to wreak havoc in their owner's inventory and the presents shop, with all the presents in it, is now available from the storybook!