Adventurequest: Analysis of 9/3/09 Release

Update flood incoming!

*Pant* Well.. After three weeks of fighting dragons and Network forces, we’ve won! Ryuusei is once more at work, using the power of one his new toys on a dragon named Rath. What follows? Read on..

Monke.. Er, Dragons in Space! (Shearhide Attacks!)

About

This week brought us another dragon war, but not the ones we’re used to. This one was unique in multiple ways.

A Darkness dragon by the name of Rath has sought out the expertise of none other than Ryuusei Cartwright for a special task. Rath wishes to extend the dominance of dragons beyond Lore, to the very stars above! However, since many dragons rely on magic for the bulk of their power, he is unable to sate his hunger for control. However, Ryuusei has a solution. Using a small orb called the Astromorph Device (Which more closely resembles a child’s toy), Ryuusei is able to convert all of Rath’s dragon magic into pure physical power! With a stronger body, cooler looks, and a weakened mind, Rath is the perfect beast to fight in even the vacuum of space. Now, with an army of  dragons and (Interestingly enough) Network forces, he begins his conquest on both Lore and space.

He's a mean (If cool-looking) looking buggah, ain't he?

This brings me to one of the greatest things about his event: It is a crossover war with WF. Since both games are tied to the sam servers, the war count in one was the same as that in the other, and all waves in both contributed to the overall war effort. Truly a great thing.

After the 2,000,000 waves of Shearhide’s army were bested by the heros on and above Lore, it came time to face the beast himself. Shearhide is a tough opponent, sporting heavy physical attacks as well as the ability to discharge large amounts of power in a devastating attack. However, with a little ingenuity, you’ll be able to easily defeat him and head after your next goal: Ryuusei.

The devious man in the red suit plays coy, as he always does. He explains that he had no evil intention at all, and that he did not even really create Shearhide. It was the thoughts and desires of the dragon that had turned him into the creature he became. All Ryuusei was doing was testing out the power of the Astramorphic Device. He explains that he received some of an element from a distant star called ‘Mysterium’ from an alien called The Finder. How could he resist trying it out? Then Ryuusei, kind man that he is, offers to sell you one of your own. He can always have more made, apparently..

The Astromorphic Device can transform you into Shearhide, a very nice thing indeed. When you transform, all of your Intelligence stat is moved to other areas. It will boost your offensive stats t0 a certain point, then move on to another. It’s amazing to see all of your offensive areas boosted by so much, making this a very unique and powerful reward, perfect for Hybrids (Oh yeah baby! :D)

Pros

Needless to say, this event was very well done.

The tie-in with WF was an excellent idea, letting players experience the war on two fronts, and definitely got a lot of activity up on WF. It was great to see just what is possible in the future between AQ and WF. Events like this will not only be a lot of fun, but also be a great way to advance the storyline in both.

The story was fantastic for this war. AE has done a great job lately of tying every new release into the main story arcs in some way. Seeing Ryuusei “Push pieces around the board” as he put it, was a great way to get an appreciation for his new, devious role. Is he evil, with a great ulterior motive? Is he doing all he can to harm those who stripped him of his rank? Or is he, like he said, simply wandering and looking for some purpose? Only time (And the Bizarre Fleck saga) will tell. The dragon war concept was taken and fully used. Shearhide proved to be a terrifying (If somewhat stupid) foe, and had incredible artwork.

And of course, the rewards. It would have been a shame to let the beautiful artwork of Shearhide disappear, and it’s great to see it live on in such a great armor. The armor itself is powerful, both defensively and offensively, and rippling with plenty of effects, detailed above. Awesome!

Cons

Yes, there are cons to this one as well.

My first gripe against this war was the ending. Well, we fought through the 2,000,000 enemies, and defeated Shearhide. Now we get to question Ryuusei on stuff, right?

Well.. No, actually. While we did find out a little of Ryuusei’s motives, we did not get near the amount of information an event like this could have given. We saw Ryuusei morph a deadly dragon into a physically powerful beast, but many questions were left unanswered. When Ryuusei mentioned payment from Rath, what did he mean? What could be valuable enough to pay for the talents of one of the most powerful and bloodthirty men in AQ? Why does Shearhide have Network forces fighting for him? Does Ryuusei still hold some sway over the Network, or what? While this event did give us a glimpse into Ryuusei’s seemingly new life, it still left too many questions unanswered, and didn;t take advantage of what it could have.

Finally, the number of war waves itself was a bit of overkill. WF, on average, has about 1000 players online (And taht’s being generous). I’m not insulting numbers since it’s only been out a short time, but that’s not my point. The vast majority of new wars have 700k or so enemies, since the Sweep has made participation in wars somewhat more difficult through harder enemies. But how can just justify the addition of 1.3 Million enemies, when we only have 1000 or so more players to help? It makes very little sense to me. Unless this event was designed to take a while, which is, I suppose, possible.

Final Grade of Release

Well, while this war did have a few holes in it, it was an overall great experience. The rewards were great, the storyline excellent, and the tie-in with WF a great sign of future events. All in all, not a bad week, I must say. I give this week’s release 9 Astramorphed and Prickly Dragons, out of 10.