AdventureQuest
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| AdventureQuest | |
|---|---|
| File:AdventureQuest-header5.jpg Logo and all the major characters present in AdventureQuest. | |
| Developer(s) | Artix Entertainment, LLC |
| Publisher(s) | Artix Entertainment, LLC |
| Designer(s) | Artix Entertainment, LLC |
| Platform(s) | Macromedia Flash Player |
| Release | October 2002 |
| Genre(s) | RPG |
| Mode(s) | Single-player |
AdventureQuest (also referred to by its website name BattleOn or simply as AQ) is an online single-player RPG developed by Artix Entertainment in 2002 and released on October 15 of that year. It is implemented in Flash and uses vector graphics, some of which are animated. The game follows the adventures of a character tied with the town of Battleon (the player) as he or she explores the game world while engaging in combat with various enemies. As of July 22, 2008, aq.battleon.com, the game's hosting website, has an Alexa rating of 938. AdventureQuest and all related games are set within the world of Lore, formerly a tongue-in-cheek reference to the game's original title, Lands of Rising Evil, which has since been explained to refer to Lorithia, a name of the goddess of creation in the game's storyline.
Guardianship, a measure introduced on February 22, 2003 to manage the costs of running the game, added a one-time fee-based character upgrade service. Ownership of the game transferred to the newly-formed Artix Entertainment in 2004, and a server population cap was added for non-Guardian players in May of that year. In June 2004, players of AdventureQuest reached 1 million in number.
By June 2005, the game had 5 million users, an amount which rapidly grew to 40 million by September 2007. As AdventureQuest grew, Artix Entertainment added new methods to pay for in-game content, such as X-Guardianship (in October 2005) and purchasable Z-Tokens (in June 2006), and released other related games, such as DragonFable (on July 26, 2005), MechQuest, ArchKnight and ZardWars.
Main Reference Source: [1]
Gameplay
Much of AdventureQuest's game play revolves around fighting monsters. On the players turn they may attack, equip a weapon shield or armor, drink a potion, cast a spell, call a pet or equip a miscellaneous item. Changing armor, weapon or shield does not use up a turn but equipping certain items, changing pets or drinking a potion does. On an opponents's turn it may attack, though some monsters have special attacks such as healing. Pack monsters and a few other monsters can summon reinforcements, which doesn't take up a turn.
As players defeat monsters, they gain Experience Points (XP), gold, and possibly Z-tokens. The XP is used for leveling up your character for more Mana, Health, etc. The gold is used for buying stronger items. Z-Tokens, not always dropped by monsters, can be used to buy special weapons from Valencia or to buy a house.
A more in-depth Gameplay description under Combat Mechanics.
Combat Mechanics
Several things can affect the outcome of a battle. Both characters and monsters have a "defense modifier" for each of the eight elements; a higher defense modifier means an attack of that element does more d