Temporium

Adventure Quest Worlds is the indirect sequel to Adventure Quest. Though it may share it's name, it is nothing like it's predecessor. Adventure Quest Worlds, or dubbed by the community as "AQW," is a MMORPG that focuses on the 13 Lords of Chaos and you the hero who has to stop them. AQW has gone through many years of updates, patches, and story lines. What was then a complete story has branched out to something much more, branching on to many other stories and side-quests.

I have been a long time player of AQW, starting all the way back in 2011. What started out as one time thing has now become a hobby for me. AQW has a rich story line and player base, and is given many monthly updates for things such as hot fixes, bugs, and content. Along with this, there are also many seasonal events that award players with seasonal classes or items that directly affect your power. I would say that the very nature of the game is "grindy" and more so during the late-game. Though it is entirely possible to pay real money for "Adventure Coins" (the in-game currency) the game allows free-to-play players to grind or farm for different variants of exclusive paid-content. The time required for an individual item depends on it's appearance or power. For example, some items take over 2 months to grind for, while others take a few hours or even days. There is a definite time sink needed for someone to play AQW (at least for end-game content) and some players might not have the time nor patience to do so.


(A few of the many classes that exist in AQW)

When I first started playing AQW, I definitely had trouble with certain monsters and areas. Though, it's not hard finding and asking a player to help you with a boss. Now when starting, it can still be a bit difficult but I would say it's much easier. The amount of content players are given (basically for free) at a low level is astounding and might contribute to why you rarely see low-level players. Though I may only speak for myself, the story line gets drowned out by the huge amount of content waiting to be explored. After getting through the lower levels and advancing in the story line, players might get confused on what to do. This is when players might start grinding for certain classes or items. At this stage of the game, you're still exploring different areas and maps and finally understanding what to do. AQW is a massive grind, and once you stop grinding your progress in the game is effectively paused. The mid-game is the make it or break it factor for many of the new players who have played until this point. Some choose to continue while others choose to leave and not spend any more time on the game. If you do somehow get past the mid-game and proceed towards late-game content, you'll be surprised at how much content there is. There is an overabundance of mid-game to late-game content for AQW, whether it be long story lines that fill you with surprise or suspense, or the massive grind required to gain an item. Whatever you do, there are almost always more things to grind for, but that's the only downside of the late game. Most late-game content are short story lines or massive grinds needed to get rare or powerful classes and items. The only other practical thing I see anyone doing other than grinding or farming is PVPing. Though you might expect the PVP (player vs player) scene to be a mess, it's actually quite balanced. Despite there being well over 200 classes in the entirety of the game's lifespan, only about 20-30 are actually used for PVP. PVP also gives the player another reason to grind. Many of the grind-able classes (that can only be obtained by grinding, can't be bought with money) are the best for PVP. Primarily, the Void Highlord class is the cream of the crop when it comes to classes. It is by far the best class for killing bosses solo and is one of, if not the best class for PVP currently.


(A picture of the Void Highlord Class, taken from the AQW Wiki, http://aqwwiki.wikidot.com/)

Grinding for certain items can definitely be hard for someone who can't play often, or who can't invest a certain amount of time in the game. Thankfully, there are many pets and items that can help shorten the time required to grind for certain items. Many of these pets or items require you to spend real life money, or AC, which is the paid currency for AQW. Many free-to-play players skip this and grind for items and classes without the help of pets. Many of the pets are seasonal or rare, which means that they are either unobtainable (hence the "rare" tag given to them) or are only available for a certain amount of time in the year (hence the "seasonal" tag given to them) This can make it extremely hard to obtain these pets, which is why some players choose to avoid them entirely. Another big section of the game revolves around Dage and Nulgath, two NPCs who are sworn enemies, and have been fighting each other for as long as AQW has been out. (Over-exaggeration but you get the point, they've been here a long time) Players can join both factions, and can obtain limited items for that specific faction. Both of these factions contain sought-after items and gears that many end-game players strive for. There are really no "requirements" for joining Nulgath's faction, and even a new player could start doing Nulgath's quests, provided they are able to actually fight the monsters they are tasked to kill. Though the community may be divided on this, I feel that Nulgath's items are much more harder to grind for. Nulgath items are typically harder to get due to the heavy RNG-factor in obtaining his items. Dage's faction, the legion, on the other hand is much more easier to grind for. The only downside is that you need to pay 1,200 AC, which is the paid currency for the game, to join his faction. After joining the legion, you must complete a quest chain before you are able to do any quests for legion tokens. Legion tokens are the currency used to buy items for Dage's faction. Compared to Nulgath items, legion tokens are much easier to farm for as they don't require any RNG and are typically easy quests to complete. Nulgath's quests require you to get many different items, that will bring you all around the map, whereas Dage's quests typically only require you to grind for one or two items that are typically in the same quest-chain or map area. I feel the need to explain this because the Dage and Nulgath aspect of the game is extremely big in AQW, especially in the late game. When players have gathered all the items they want from each faction, it typically marks the end of their grind. At this point of the game, they are either waiting for new content to come out or doing old quest chains to complete their collections.


(A picture of Nulgath, taken from AQW Wiki, http://aqwwiki.wikidot.com/)



(Screenshot of Dage)

Overall, I think AQW is a pretty fun game. Most of it's player base is the same from 2012, or 2011, and I feel that the ratio between old and new players are closing in. As old players come back and finish their "grind" new players come in begin their grind. It's a cycle that will continue happening for as long as AQW will stand. AQW is a game with rich history, both sour and sweet. They've gone through their ups and downs and have become what it is now because of the outstanding developers behind the game, and the players, who continue to support the game even years after it's release. AQW is filled with content, so much so that I don't think there is any one person who has visited every map. Even if you complete all the new content, there is still several years of content you have missed, and I think that is the one major flaw of AQW, and any other game in general. AQW focuses on new content, and neglects old content. You can definitely see maps that don't connect to anything and are just standalone maps that you wonder what It was made for, but that's part of the beauty. Understanding the rich history behind this game and the work the developers have poured into this game is absolutely astonishing.I definitely recommend you check out this game if you're new, and if you've played before, I also recommend you re-visit. 11 Years standing, and even more to go. Battle on! Adventurers.


Image Sources : aqwwiki.wikidot.com
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