AdventureQuest, aka BattleOn
Thursday, 14 October 2004 17:19![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
pneThe other day, I was looking through the archives of the Queen of Wands comic when a banner ad caught my eye—advertising an online role-playing game you play in your browser. It stuck in my mind enough for me to remember the URL and have another look at it later.
AdventureQuest is advertised as a "lunch-break sized" game; at first I was skeptical that it would work behind the firewall but since it runs in a Flash applet in the browser and not, say, through telnet, it works fine. And it's enjoyable enough, though so far I've only gone through random encounters and not gone on a quest or anything with a storyline.
Some elements are pretty typical: money is "gold", you have experience points and hit points and go up levels when you get enough XP; you also have mana points (MP) which you can use to cast spells (each spell costs a certain amount of mana and when your mana is used up, you can't cast any more spells). There are potions which give back hit points and mana and you can also be healed (HP and MP brought back up to full) between encounters. At first I thought there was a catch but there appears not to be one.
Money is needed to buy better weapons (you start off with one sword), armour (you get one suit), shields, spells, and pets. (You can't cast any spells at first—you have to buy them.) Some items are restricted to characters of a given level. Pets can fight alongside you and hurt enemies.
One thing I haven't seen elsewhere are the eight elements: fire and earth, light and darkness, water and energy, ice and wind. Various creatures are more susceptible to attacks by some elements than others (attacks with some elements may even heal them!) and so you have weapons for various elements, as well as shields and armour protecting against certain elements (and usually making you more vulnerable to the "opposite" of each element). So there's no such thing as "+2 chain mail"—nearly all armour provides element-specific protection. (But you can change armour during battle if you want; it's turn-based.)
So yeah. Kinda fun, and a little addictive :) But there are only 4000 free users allowed on the server at once, which can fill up occasionally. Also a way of encouraging users to become Guardians through a one-time donation of $14 (reminds me of Fastmail.FM Membership, which is $14.95, also one-time): they can always logon. They also get various in-game benefits.
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
no subject
Date: Thursday, 14 October 2004 10:50 (UTC)The main thing that's annoying about it (well, beyond the minor annoyance that you can't switch pets mid-battle) is that you can't save your state -- if you log off, you lose any extra potions you have, and guest pets, and if you're in the middle of a battle you lose that. But, yes, it's rather fun. :)
no subject
Date: Thursday, 14 October 2004 21:18 (UTC)you can't switch pets mid-battle
How can you switch pets at all? I bought a new pet at one point but kept using the old one... I finally ended up selling my first pet (at a loss, of course), but I haven't found out how to select a specific pet. So I'm not sure what the point is in having eight pet slots.
if you log off, you lose any extra potions you have,
*nods* This kind of sucks.
I believe that for some special items, this is the intended behaviour - because the rewards are temporary, they can make them more powerful than something you'd get to keep.
But it does mean that people who spend the odd half-hour on the game will have a different experience than people who play it for hours on end (and so get to keep stuff they find along the way).
Though even if I play for a bit longer, I tend to visit the shop occasionally and re-enter the game so that I get another healing potion *cough*. I've become a bit dependent on them, I suppose. Especially when training stats - that Sir Lanceler is deadly.
if you're in the middle of a battle you lose that
I used to think that's good - a way to run away from defeat. But now that I've risen up a few levels, I'm beginning to change my mind, since there are battles that certainly can be won but need ages to fight out since both of you have tons of hit points and it just takes forever. In that case, not being able to save is annoying.
no subject
Date: Friday, 15 October 2004 09:34 (UTC)Switching pets -- in the main town thingie, there's a pet shop -- I think it's the second one back on the left side? -- and if you go in there and click on the shopkeeper, there's a 'choose active pet' option.
Really sucks that there isn't an easier way though.
Pet Shop Boys
Date: Friday, 15 October 2004 09:42 (UTC)(I had bought my pets in the Inn so far.)
no subject
Date: Thursday, 14 October 2004 17:03 (UTC)no subject
Date: Thursday, 14 October 2004 21:14 (UTC)Just Wondering....
Date: Tuesday, 19 October 2004 15:03 (UTC)Please send to Sedrik@comcast.net
Re: Just Wondering....
Date: Tuesday, 19 October 2004 15:26 (UTC)Re: Just Wondering....
Date: Saturday, 23 October 2004 06:59 (UTC)OH I FORGOT MY BROTHERS ARE ALREADY GAURDIANS JUST LIKE ME...
Re: Just Wondering....
Date: Thursday, 28 October 2004 06:09 (UTC)hey just noticed this site
Date: Tuesday, 9 November 2004 11:55 (UTC)Re: hey just noticed this site
Date: Tuesday, 9 November 2004 12:10 (UTC)me again
Date: Tuesday, 9 November 2004 11:59 (UTC)the travel passes
Date: Tuesday, 9 November 2004 12:40 (UTC)Re: the travel passes
Date: Tuesday, 9 November 2004 21:03 (UTC)