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July 31st 2009 Drakonnan has the fire orb and is ready to burn through all of Lore! This week he attacks the town of Ashenvale and you are tasked with saving the residents! Two more new fire monsters make their appearence, the Magman (which some of you might recognize as another AQ inspired monster) and the Fire Ray. Art by Thyton, colored by WallOfText, and animated by Tomix, these new monsters are pretty awesome! Ghost and Tomix have also made up some Hero Hat's that will drop from the new quest! The Fire War will continue to heat up in the coming weeks, and special appearences will be made by some of our very own DragonLords! Congratulations to the winners of the creativity contest: Top Five winners: Elgert (Elgert) Runners-up: Darkichan (Sen) Keep your eye out for the winners! Who knows which one might have some valuble information for you? Which one might save you? Or be captured? Or be.... turned? Weapon Updates Shorts! |
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July
30th 2009 We're ALL busy working hard to bring you this week's release! Geopetal, Ghost, and Tomix are working on the Fire War quest for this week, and it should be a good one. You'll need to save some townspeople who find themselves in danger, so put your hero-hats on and get ready to rescue! (Note: hero-hats and hard hats are not the same thing. For one thing, hero-hats are MUCH more stylish!) There's also a NEW quest chain starting this week. It's a short one, but in the first quest you'll solve the mystery of just what is happening in Surewood Forest. It looks like something- or someone- had a BAD accident! Then, in the future quests, you'll need to help repair the forest. Tomix has drawn some new art for this one and it looks amazing! Amazingly broken, that is. Ghost and Tomix both have side projects they're working on, and I think you'll be very pleased with both of them. They should both be ready in the near future! And Rolith. Ah, the evil Codemonkey! He's been much LESS evil lately, and has been working on things which should hopefully make the game much better to play. He's put in an anti-sticking measure that should prevent the game from crashing in many instances. In addition, he's adding specials to the Frozen Mace/Dagger/Wand that are available in Cysero's Superstore of Savings! We'll see you Friday! |
| July 27th 2009 Geo's continued work on the Great Fire War saga continues. She has been stonewalling (Get it? STONEwalling? Ehh they can't all be winners... ) information getting out about the upcoming part of the storyline about the war in the east. The war's kept pretty close to the storyline in the orignal Great Fire War from AQ, but in its timeline, the town of BattleOn had already been founded when Akriloth came into the Orb's possesion. What other changes, large and small, will there be? If I were you guys, I'd be looking for the differences already, and the old Great Fire War for clues in LORE's history. Alac has taken a break from the Aria in Wanderland quest chain to investigate some weird happenings in Surewood Forest, and try to discover the cause behind them. I'd look to see Wanderland's storyline continue when these events are cleared up in a few weeks. Speaking of events continuing, Ash's story is far from over, but has been set aside while Geo works on the Fire War, but has definatly not been forgotten. For all of you archknight fans out there, I can say that we haven't forgotten about it, but we were at a good stopping point because when we continue, things will begin really picking up in Ash's Falconreach story. What am I up to? Well, a few of you guys reported some very oid bugs disguised as new ones over this week when trying to complete last week's release. It appears the pet/guest and monster freezing bugs are back with a vengeance and I'm going to spend my week hopefully hunting these and a few other nagging issues down. Wish me luck, this will likely involve me delving deep into the game's engine, a place from where few coders have returned. Cya on the forums!
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July
24th 2009 As I sit here, pen scratching onto a half-burnt piece of paper, I can look around and see the gathered group of heroes waiting in line for Yulgar to repair their armor and weapons. His new weapon shop is little more than a tent and an anvil, but he makes it work well. We are all of us sooty and weary, worn from battling constantly. Even Ash is here, with Rolith holding his place in Falconreach. When will this end? Who is behind it all? Will we ever have answers?! *sigh* But we forge on, just like Yulgar has (puns make even weary people smile) and we will battle until the end because we. Will. Be. Triumphant! No more time to talk! New fire minions have been sighted, and we must battle! And then, maybe, we can sleep. For an hour. You can access the release from the Weapon Shop Orb in Falconreach (it's doing such a good job as a stand-in for Yulgar). Enjoy the release! PS - The DragonLord Creativity Contest ends Monday, so make sure to enter! Grand Prizes are your very own NPC! (Must have a Dragon Amulet to enter.) Enter here, or discuss the entries in this thread. |
| July 22th 2009 Well, some of you have noticed the new front page animation, and are excited to get moving again. I mean who wouldn't be? During our journey north, we learned a little about what makes this Demento tick, but now that Akriloth has been bested, I know I'm not the only one looking forward to getting to know this far wandering blood brother of Galanoth a bit better. Galanoth and Demento are often seen wandering around Falconreach, boasting of the deeds left to do before this threat to LORE has been beaten. Galanoth, a cold person by more then nature, has been warmed by having his friend by his side again. The journey east is looking like it could even be a fun one, the stories these two must have to share, the sights they must have seen together... These two brave men are strengthened by their bond, and our hope for victory is stronger for having them fight along side us. With the trek east ahead of us, it appears the war against Akriloth was just the first frost to a much darker, longer winter. The next chapter of the Great Fire War starts Friday, I'll see you then. |
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July
20th 2009 If it does, or if anything else about the Great Fire War inspires you, then this creativity contest is the contest for you! Today marks the beginning of the DragonLord Creativity Contest! The contest is being run to thank Dragon Amulet holders for all their support, and what better way to do that than to give them their very own NPC in the Great Fire War? A Dragon Amulet is required to enter the contest. The winners (all five of them, unless we choose more!) will have their character used as an NPC in the Great Fire War! Contest entries can take the form of anything creative (except stories), so feel free to come up with: drawings, poems, songs, clay sculptures, anything creative that is inspired by the Great Fire War! The contest thread will close for judging on Monday, July 27th, at 10:00PM and winners will be announced on Friday, August 7th, in the evening. You can read the rules and enter the contest by posting in this thread, or discuss the entries in this one. In other Fire War news, there is a NEW version of the Akriloth battle! Some of you pointed out that the battle WE thought was really difficult... wasn't. And then you challenged Rolith to make it harder. And you know Rolith is always ready to do that for you, so welcome to Meltface Mode, where Akriloth tries harder to eat you! Now with much more chewing and chomping! And fire. Lots and lots of fire! Good luck on the contest! |
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July
17th 2009 The time has finally come, the battle you've waited for: it is time to take on Akriloth, the Great Fire Dragon! You are up against one of the toughest battles you've had yet to face. He is ready and waiting for you, and he is not in a mood to show ANY mercy! Look inside yourself. Find your courage and strength and then, using the Frozen Claymore (which heroes of ANY class can use), take on Akriloth in the battle of the summer! He has more than a few tricks up his sleeve, strategies that will prove that he is truly a Great Dragon! The fate of Lore depends on your victory; without it, he will continue to ravage the world, burning it to nothing but ashes and cinder. Can you challenge him?! There are also Dragon Amulet-only permanent versions of the Frozen Claymore, ranging from level 5 all the way to level 50! Any class can use this weapon, forged from pieces of the Ice Scythe, so don't worry, magic-based classes, you aren't getting left out! Not only that, but the quest itself drops TWELVE new fire weapons, a cape and a hood, all for DA-holders and free players alike, plus a DA-only cloak and cowl! Also releasing tonight is the next DA-only quest in the Aria in Wanderland chain. You'll be visiting a strange house owned by Bubble Dee and Bubble Doom, the candy-making twins. After all that wandering, you must be hungry. But... is it safe to eat what you find in there? Find out by talking to Ash and continuing on in your quest to free Aria from the Queen of Tarts! The quest will drop NINE new Nature weapons! Have a great weekend, everyone! Good luck in the battle against Akriloth! Remember, the Extreme and Invite versions of the battle are MUCH harder! So if you want a challenge, be sure to try those. I know I'll be pitting myself against the Extreme version! (We'll see if I survive!) |
| July 16th 2009 We approach the end of the war feeling almost light hearted. Sure the battle has been long, dangerous, and almost lost, but the chaos has given way to victory against the hordes of fire minions. The cities of LORE held. They have stood, with all your help, against the blind violence of the entire realm of fire bearing down on them. Then what is that nagging feeling? Have the success and dwindling numbers made you nervous? Sure Akriloth still stands before us. The Orb in his possession drives his powers- which have already proved your better- to new unimaginable heights. But with the frozen claymore, a blade FORGED to defeat him, it will be more than enough. Right? Maybe not, a voice inside you says, so you fight on. Your past failure has tempered the steel of your spirit. You have been taught a lesson at the cost of blood; there is no easy victory ahead. Akriloth is a Great Dragon of legend, his powers driven mad by the Orb he possesses. Nevertheless, tomorow will be a day for heroes and heroic deeds. Will you, adventurer, fill the part that is yours to play in them? |
| July 15th 2009 As today fades into evening, and the sun starts to set the battle has reached a frantic pace. The cities of LORE are threatening to fall to the forces of fire. Now you’re attention is split between two cities in desperate need of aid. Your only chance is to fight, to stand and battle an make every effort to hold back the burning forces. If you manage to push the war counter back in the right direction the cities defenses will be able to start holding their own again, returning us to one city at a time. However, if we continue to slip in the confusion more and more cities may come in danger of falling, needing your help. Remember, the more waves you defeat the more of a chance that Akriloth will be defeatable when the confrontation comes. Will the Frozen Claymore be enough to defeat this awesome foe? That’s up to you, the heroes of LORE to decide. Akriloth awaits this week. We’ve failed to defeat him once before, will we be ready this time? |
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July 14th 2009 ...is raging, the balance of elements is shifting as waves of fire monsters have come from the east and move against the towns of the west. You guys have managed to hold them off... so far... but things are coming to a head. If you keep interfering with Akriloth's minions... well, he won't be so kind this time. The more fire monsters that are out there the more powerful he'll be when he arrives... if you don't defeat enough, it's possible that not even the Frozen Claymore will be able to defeat the giant red dragon (but you are over halfway there though...). This Friday, you face off again against Akriloth, wielding your own secret weapon, the Frozen Claymore. Can you take down this monsterous dragon? And on foot? In order to commemorate this event, for this weekend only, there will be a special, permanent, DA version of the Frozen Claymore available in a dragon's chest at the end of the quest (and, no worries mages, the Claymore, since it's made of pieces of Scythe, will be designated a Scythe so that all classes can use it to it's full benefit). On Monday, the permanent Claymore will become a rare and a be replaced by a temporary version in the quest. Ghost has also made an amazing set of fire weapons, with matching helm and cape, that will drop. Can you defeat Akriloth!? Prepare yourself and push back the attacking monsters.... the ultimate dragon fight is coming.... NOTE: If you defeat Akriloth it will leave a hole in the elemental plane of Fire. Who... or what... will fill it? |
okay maybe a little... |
July 13th 2009 Anyone who knows me and my posts in these design notes often knows that I am the bearer of evil news. Usually this brings me a great deal of joy because i'm the one being evil, and usually it's all in good fun. This time, however, knowing the stakes of this war, I'm more than a little worried. The balance of elemental powers in LORE has started slipping from our grasp. The attacks on the cities all over LORE are intensifying, and if we heroes don't step up our defense, we're likely to be facing the threat of multiple fronts, fighting the raging fire monsters, driven mad by their increasing power, on mutiple sides. Will we be able to correct the imbalance of the Elements and put fire back into balance with the world? We must not look that far into the future. Before we can discover the source, we need to hold out against the flames that threaten to scorch the very earth beneth our feet. We need to survive this onslaught. So pick up arms and join me in defending our homelands from the flames. |
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July
10th 2009 It's Friday! Again! (Wasn't it just Wednesday? Those time travel fairies work FAST!) We've got two new quests for you this weekend, so lets get right to it. First up are events in the Great Fire War saga! Akriloth's minions have worked their way into the areas around Falconreach! Towns all over Lore are being attacked: Oaklore, Popsprocket, Dragesvard, Amityvale... is there no town Akriloth will leave unravaged?! Please help save the land from the fire elementals and other fiery fiends who are attacking it! Fighters should concentrate on Sandsea for the first few days, but prepare to move to a new town unexpectedly, as we hear that different areas need reinforcements! And poor Yulgar is torn between his need to do right by the townspeople who trust him and the needs of the people in the towns being attacked by Akriloth. What choice will he make? We also have the start of a new DA-only quest chain for you this week! Aria has gone wandering (again) and Grams is frantic! Ash is organizing the search for her, so talk to him in Falconreach. You'll find the option for the "Aria in Wanderland" chain under the "Quests" button. This chain will see the return of characters (and monsters!) we haven't interacted with in a while; it's always good to see old friends! (Unless they're calling for your head...) Six new weapons and a belt drop from the Aria quest! Remember, this quest chain is for DragonLords only; in order to unlock the quest, you'll need to have a Dragon Amulet. And in other VERY exciting news, the MechQuest artbook went on sale earlier today! It's full of awesome art, a how-to-draw section, and you'll be able to unlock the Skullcrusher Mecha in MQ and the Skullcrusher armor in AQW with your purchase! You can find them at J!nx, our merchandise agent, or just by clicking here: Artbook! We hope you enjoy the release, and have a great weekend! P.S. - Cheshire Twilly will not hurt you. He HEALS you! He is a GOOD moglin. Just keep telling yourself that and you'll be OK. |
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July
8th 2009 Sorry about the late Design Notes, we've all been busily working on plans, projects, and even secreter plans and projects! ("More secret" might be grammatically correct, but "secreter" is funner to say.) Here's what we're looking at giving you guys this week: Another Fire War quest is coming up as we draw closer and closer to the big confrontation! Ghost has been rocking out on his guitar and playing around with drums, so you might have some new music to look forward to in the coming Fire War quests. (You can't force creative genius, so we'll see what happens. What I've heard, though, makes me want to rock out. That or just sit and watch the pretty, pretty colors on my WinAmp player.) We're also going to being a new (short) quest chain that will bring back a couple old friends in VERY new roles! You might think you know who will be used but I think you'll be surprised. You won't be falling down a rabbit hole, but you will be going on a wild ride! The Fourth of July shop will be removed this Friday, so get the rare weapons while you can! I hope you're enjoying the summer, see you Friday! * "Hump day" is another name for Wednesday. Because it's the hump in the middle of the week. Get it? Got it? Good. |
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July 3th 2009 Anyone following my Twitter Feed knows that Wednesday night, I snuck out of the office early and flew back home up north to surprise my mom on her birthday. This lead to me working on Thursday from my brother's house, stealthily hiding from both of his dogs, cats, and my mom (who was convinced I, so busy for the release, had completely forgotten her birthday) for the entire day. As you saw from Alac's design notes, the confusion and chaos ensuing from that lead to Technomancer getting bumped back to today... and it's still in its final stages of tweaking. So, sometime either later tonight, or early tomorrow morning, when Technomancer comes out, a few of you may be surprised at how many of the powerfull skills we were able to leave more or less intact. Some, including the stun-everyone skill, were even buffed instead of nerfed. Costs were increased to allow this and, more importantly, a new minimum level was added. Players will need to be level 30 to unlock Technomancer, and to have all of its skills you'll need to reach level 40. This new twist on unlocking armors allows us to balance against knowing the players are later in the game, have a bunch more mana, and are more or less facing far harder fights, thus justifiying the more powerful skills. Technomancer's still a bit away, but I'll post an edit here as soon as it's done. Hopefully sometime tonight, and if not, early tomorrow. :) Sorry for the delays, but things are a bit more chaotic and busy than I was expecting. May not be able to go home again, but it's sure nice to visit. Will be back in the underground lab Monday, and things should go back to normal. :) Technomancer is GO for training. I repeat, Technomancer training is live! Head to Popsprocket and talk to Yix to train up your armor using charged cogs. |
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July
2nd 2009 It IS pretty easy, especially if you're a kid on break from school. Then it's all day swimming in the pool and stalking ice cream trucks. (In my neighborhood growing up, the trucks played "The Entertainer." I'll forever link that song to cherry popsicles and ice cream tacos.) And in THIS summer time, we're leading up to the Great Fire War! The next quest in the Konnan saga is ready; yulgar has work to do, and Konnan has one last test to work through. Things are heating up, and you'll need a nice, cool, refreshing ice weapon for what's coming up next. Talk to Konnan in Yulgar's weapon shop in Falconreach to play the next quest in the chain! There are THREE new Ice weapons in Cysero's Dragon Coin shop, which will all get a new special sometime during the Fire War, so they're sure to be something... well, special! Technomancer is being released for ALL players this weekend! (Tomorrow, though, NOT tonight.) We've tweaked the skills and fixed the problems, and it's time for everyone to get to play with just a little more pewpew and zzzzzzzapp! But that's not all Rolith has for you; there's also a brand new minigame for you! It's a shooter game, the first of its kind to be put into DragonFable! Click the mouse to make Drakkonan shoot great balls of fire at oncoming enemies. We also have some new shops for you! The Fourth of July shop is ready to open today, so those of you going away tomorrow and this weekend can have a chance to buy the new weapons and trinket available. The trinket will make you go "oooooh" and "aaaah" (and make you that much more visible to enemies). There is a summer housing shop which will offer some new, summer-themed landscaping for your DF house. Ghost has done up a tricky thing for the Sneak Attack Landscape item. There's rumors that it comes complete with pond monster, so if you wait around for a minute or two, you just might catch a glimpse of it! Popsprocket's Housing Shop has also opened! Head to Popsprocket, then take a left at Yix and go see Lowe's Housing Shop. He'll have a brand new house type for you, a human-sized version of the homes the gnomes use as well as a background which will make it look like you're living right in the center of town. Added to those are things like a mana-powered lava lamp, the Flying Eyeball with a camera attached (comes complete with perch), a water heater, and Yix and Balthar plushies, his shop is stocked! For Canadian players, I hope your Canada Day celebration was awesome. For the US-residents, have a great Fourth of July weekend. Me, I'm going to go make some homemade pasta salad and see if I can set up with grill without too many explosions. Have a great weekend! P.S.: Check back on the Fourth of July for the yearly tradition of lighting the town up with fireworks! |
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