The Doomwood saga is over.
A quick recap of what went down recently in Adventure Quest Worlds:
The ArcAttack event went down last week, involving Vordred invading CastleMania and forcing the guys of ArcAttack into conducting an experiment involving electricity and magic to make him even more powerful than he previously was. My characters came up with a plan to overload Vordred with power in order to destroy him and roped the boys of ArcAttack into doing so. We had to fight four Electric Men as the final showdown of that event, only for it to transpire that trying to give him too much power for him to handle didn't work -- instead, it made Vordred even more powerful than he was before. As dumbass mistakes went, that was right up there with throwing the Runix Cube at Escherion, and Etheara and Ariacus didn't even have the excuse of being tricked by the bad guy this time.
Which brings us to the finale. With Vordred now even more powerful than ever, he finds Artix waiting for him. Our heroes arrive with Cysero and Beleen for the final showdown.
The Doomwood Finale treated the final boss battle a little differently than the end of the Chaos Lord sagas so far. Instead of having everyone piling on the boss at once, Artix Entertainment turned the final showdown into a series of back-to-back duels. It also gave you five major endings for the saga in question, with each one opening up a shop to buy stuff from. Which ending you get depends on who you have Cysero and Beleen send for before challenging Vordred, with three "Evil" choices (Gravelyn, Vayle and Zorbak) that you have to go through first before picking the final "Good" choice. The other major factor in which ending you get depends on whether you help Artix against Vordred or pull a Judas on his ass. Before I go over the endings, I'll tell you how the main battle goes.
When you first intervene, Artix reveals to Vordred that he's freed the Spirit Orbs of every one of Vordred's undead minions. He then begins charging up for his Ultimate Dragon Soul Spear of Ten Million Spirit Orbs attack, but he needs time to charge up the attack. This is where you come in. The Good choice has you jumping right in to hold Vordred off and buy Artix time to charge up the attack. The Evil choice has you trying the "your shoe's untied" ploy again to get Artix the hell out of there, but he came prepared this time -- he's wearing nothing but his boxers under his armor. The Betrayal choice is one I will detail in the Endings below, since it leads directly to the Bad Ending. Needless to say, you have to fight Vordred mano a mano to give Artix time to charge up his attack, and he's not too hard provided you've leveled up to at least 20-25. After defeating him, Artix's spear is fully charged. Your character gets a spear as well, and together, both heroes throw their spears at Vordred. But this turns out to be a classic Worf Barrage, as Vordred emerges unscathed. He then draws more skulls (MORE SKULLS!) into his armor, and you have to fight an Electric Undead in an effort to destroy as many skulls as you can.
After defeating the Electric undead, both you and Artix get the crap kicked out of you by Vordred, Artix reveals that Vordred himself isn't immune to light-based magic, but that his armor of skulls is, and that his shadow form regenerates the skulls. As Vordred prepares to finish Artix so that he can become the Champion of Darkness, Artix makes a very important reveal -- spirit orbs that he frees from the undead cannot be re-enslaved. Vordred laughs this off, telling him how he enslaved all of the spirit orbs from both spears that got thrown at him, as well as the spirit orbs in Artix's axe, the Blinding Light of Destiny. Turns out that Artix was counting on just such a thing, as he then proceeds to unleash the power of all the spirit orbs at once, which has the effect of blasting most of Vordred's armor to bits. You then have to fight Vordred again, this time in Enraged mode, in order to break off the rest of the skulls before they can regenerate.
After defeating him again, Vordred's true form stands revealed, but Vordred isn't finished yet. Vordred proceeds to try to kill Artix with his infamous Voiduminance Necrot-Morph spell, which he previously used to turn pretty much every High Paladin in Doomwood into undead. But much to Vordred's shock, the spell doesn't work. The Hero postulates about how Artix might be the Champion of Light. But then, the biggest WHAM of the saga hits -- Vordred reveals that Artix is actually the Champion of Darkness, and Vordred wants to claim Artix's power for his own. He explains about how Artix was brought to Lore in order to destroy it, about how Lady Celestia trained him to become like a Paladin, and how the undead attack that claimed Artix's family (foster family, as Vordred tells him) were the undead attempting to reclaim him. Our hero remarks that Artix has never used a single darkness spell -- and as Artix tells us all, he never will. Because he has sworn himself to the side of good and righteousness, so that the evil and suffering caused by the likes of Vordred never happens to another. Vordred then demands that Artix release his Shadow form so that they can do battle before then releasing his own (basically a giant version of Vordred). Then the Shadowscythe Amulet that Gravelyn gave the hero starts glowing, and Vordred reveals that Sepulchure's master used it to control the Champion of Darkness, and that the hero can use it to control Artix and make him bring out the Shadow form. Despite Artix's protests, the hero has no choice but to use it. Artix's shadow form turns out to be a huge black dragon that pins Vordred's shadow form down, allowing the hero to finish Vordred once and for all. You then have to fight Shadow Vordred, who isn't really that much tougher than his previous forms, in order to finish the saga.
After defeating Shadow Vordred, the ending you get mainly depends on which character you had Beleen and Cysero send for. All of these are in order, as you have to unlock each one:
All in all, the Doomwood saga was a damned nice change of pace from the Chaos Lord chapters that we've had to slog through, and it would be nice if we could do more of these kinds of storylines in between the regular installments of the Chaos saga. My ongoing storyline with Etheara will definitely have this as an important part of my character's general journey, especially since I plan to kill off several important characters during the course of it. My only gripes about the Doomwood finale are the fact that you're pretty much forced to solo the Ultra version of Vordred (which is comparable to a regular boss requiring multiple characters) since the VordredBoss instance only allows one player in a room at a time, and the fact that I have to wait for the shop to open and the various parts of the Blinding Light of Destiny to be released so that we can forge it. But all in all, it was a very satisfying end to things. Now all I need to do is wait for the next release...
The ArcAttack event went down last week, involving Vordred invading CastleMania and forcing the guys of ArcAttack into conducting an experiment involving electricity and magic to make him even more powerful than he previously was. My characters came up with a plan to overload Vordred with power in order to destroy him and roped the boys of ArcAttack into doing so. We had to fight four Electric Men as the final showdown of that event, only for it to transpire that trying to give him too much power for him to handle didn't work -- instead, it made Vordred even more powerful than he was before. As dumbass mistakes went, that was right up there with throwing the Runix Cube at Escherion, and Etheara and Ariacus didn't even have the excuse of being tricked by the bad guy this time.
Which brings us to the finale. With Vordred now even more powerful than ever, he finds Artix waiting for him. Our heroes arrive with Cysero and Beleen for the final showdown.
The Doomwood Finale treated the final boss battle a little differently than the end of the Chaos Lord sagas so far. Instead of having everyone piling on the boss at once, Artix Entertainment turned the final showdown into a series of back-to-back duels. It also gave you five major endings for the saga in question, with each one opening up a shop to buy stuff from. Which ending you get depends on who you have Cysero and Beleen send for before challenging Vordred, with three "Evil" choices (Gravelyn, Vayle and Zorbak) that you have to go through first before picking the final "Good" choice. The other major factor in which ending you get depends on whether you help Artix against Vordred or pull a Judas on his ass. Before I go over the endings, I'll tell you how the main battle goes.
When you first intervene, Artix reveals to Vordred that he's freed the Spirit Orbs of every one of Vordred's undead minions. He then begins charging up for his Ultimate Dragon Soul Spear of Ten Million Spirit Orbs attack, but he needs time to charge up the attack. This is where you come in. The Good choice has you jumping right in to hold Vordred off and buy Artix time to charge up the attack. The Evil choice has you trying the "your shoe's untied" ploy again to get Artix the hell out of there, but he came prepared this time -- he's wearing nothing but his boxers under his armor. The Betrayal choice is one I will detail in the Endings below, since it leads directly to the Bad Ending. Needless to say, you have to fight Vordred mano a mano to give Artix time to charge up his attack, and he's not too hard provided you've leveled up to at least 20-25. After defeating him, Artix's spear is fully charged. Your character gets a spear as well, and together, both heroes throw their spears at Vordred. But this turns out to be a classic Worf Barrage, as Vordred emerges unscathed. He then draws more skulls (MORE SKULLS!) into his armor, and you have to fight an Electric Undead in an effort to destroy as many skulls as you can.
After defeating the Electric undead, both you and Artix get the crap kicked out of you by Vordred, Artix reveals that Vordred himself isn't immune to light-based magic, but that his armor of skulls is, and that his shadow form regenerates the skulls. As Vordred prepares to finish Artix so that he can become the Champion of Darkness, Artix makes a very important reveal -- spirit orbs that he frees from the undead cannot be re-enslaved. Vordred laughs this off, telling him how he enslaved all of the spirit orbs from both spears that got thrown at him, as well as the spirit orbs in Artix's axe, the Blinding Light of Destiny. Turns out that Artix was counting on just such a thing, as he then proceeds to unleash the power of all the spirit orbs at once, which has the effect of blasting most of Vordred's armor to bits. You then have to fight Vordred again, this time in Enraged mode, in order to break off the rest of the skulls before they can regenerate.
After defeating him again, Vordred's true form stands revealed, but Vordred isn't finished yet. Vordred proceeds to try to kill Artix with his infamous Voiduminance Necrot-Morph spell, which he previously used to turn pretty much every High Paladin in Doomwood into undead. But much to Vordred's shock, the spell doesn't work. The Hero postulates about how Artix might be the Champion of Light. But then, the biggest WHAM of the saga hits -- Vordred reveals that Artix is actually the Champion of Darkness, and Vordred wants to claim Artix's power for his own. He explains about how Artix was brought to Lore in order to destroy it, about how Lady Celestia trained him to become like a Paladin, and how the undead attack that claimed Artix's family (foster family, as Vordred tells him) were the undead attempting to reclaim him. Our hero remarks that Artix has never used a single darkness spell -- and as Artix tells us all, he never will. Because he has sworn himself to the side of good and righteousness, so that the evil and suffering caused by the likes of Vordred never happens to another. Vordred then demands that Artix release his Shadow form so that they can do battle before then releasing his own (basically a giant version of Vordred). Then the Shadowscythe Amulet that Gravelyn gave the hero starts glowing, and Vordred reveals that Sepulchure's master used it to control the Champion of Darkness, and that the hero can use it to control Artix and make him bring out the Shadow form. Despite Artix's protests, the hero has no choice but to use it. Artix's shadow form turns out to be a huge black dragon that pins Vordred's shadow form down, allowing the hero to finish Vordred once and for all. You then have to fight Shadow Vordred, who isn't really that much tougher than his previous forms, in order to finish the saga.
After defeating Shadow Vordred, the ending you get mainly depends on which character you had Beleen and Cysero send for. All of these are in order, as you have to unlock each one:
- Gravelyn: The sun rises for the first time in years in Doomwood. Artix tells the hero that you and him make a good team and that the two of you should savor the memory. But then Vordred comes back for one final attack, only for Gravelyn, back in her full armor, to show up and finish Vordred off using the weapon that she had Cysero make from Noxus' skull. It turns out that Artix and Gravelyn haven't met before, and upon confirmation that Artix is indeed the Champion of Darkness, Gravelyn offers to make Artix the commander of all her undead legions, telling him that if he refuses, she'll have no choice but to kill him and claim the title of Champion of Darkness for herself -- which then prompts the hero to ask "Are there any girls in this game that don't want to kill you, Artix?" Alas, Artix cannot accept, as he is a warrior of Good, a Paladin, and a faithful knight of King Alteon, and when Gravelyn tells him that he is no Paladin, Artix tells her that being a Paladin is more than just being able to cast Light-based spells, but a way of life. Gravelyn then renews her vow to finish what her father started once Drakath is finished, and tells him that it would be wise for him to change his mind before then. She then hands the Noxus Head Staff off to the Hero, ensuring that it will be in good hands from now on.
- Vayle: When Vordred makes his final attack on Artix and the Hero, Vayle destroys him, using her necromantic energy to shield Artix and the Hero -- she's determined to be the only one allowed to kill Artix. After Vordred is history, Vayle then proceeds to challenge Artix, swearing to avenge the loss of her brother (and again, the Hero has to ask "Are there any cute girls in this game who don't want to kill you?") Artix explains that her brother was an undead abomination at the time, and then Vayle brings up the crystal that Artix broke that had her brother's spirit orb in it. And then the spirit orb of her brother shows up, and one of the saddest scenes of the game ensues as the spirit of her brother explains that what she did was wrong, and that the two of them both knew that he wouldn't be able to be resurrected despite any of Vayle's efforts. He thanks Artix and the Hero for allowing him the chance to redeem himself before moving on to the afterlife. With final closure on Vayle's issues with Artix about her brother, does Vayle finally settle her differences with Artix? As it turns out, not a chance in hell. She furiously tells Artix that this changes nothing, that she dedicated her life to necromancy to try to bring her brother back and that he ruined everything. She then tells him that the next time they meet, it will be as mortal enemies. A wonderfully bittersweet ending, though I have to confess that I have a bit of a soft spot for these two ever since Dragonfable, and this had me wanting to go back to the Shadowfall War in order to kick seven shades of shit out of Noxus all over again, since a lot of the blame for things turning out the way they did can be laid directly at that rotting bastard's feet.
- Zorbak: When Vordred makes his final attack on Artix and the Hero, Zorbak lands right on top of him, and he's quite nonchalant about it (Whoops! Sorry Vordred!). He plans to have Vordred's head converted into a throne for him, and upon the Hero and Artix reminding him about Drakonnan's helmet from Dragonfable, Zorbak tells us that he's starting a collection. He then tells Artix that he wants to become the Champion of Darkness himself (pulling out two evil-looking swords), but the Hero asks him about the other elemental champions -- in particular, who the Champion of Light is if Artix is the Champion of Darkness. The Hero postulates that it's probably Robina, while Zorbak theorizes that it's probably that little runt Twilly. Artix says that it's probably someone SUPER good, such as King Alteon. And then the Hero has a hunch on exactly who the Champion of Light really is, which brings us to...
- Daimyo: Artix's adorable little canine companion jumps in and finishes off Vordred. He basically does the same thing to Vordred as Zorbak, only without the plans to use his skull as a throne. Artix still has a lot of unanswered questions, poor guy, but when the Hero tries to give the Shadowscythe Amulet to him, Artix tells you that you can keep it, as you are the person that he trusts the most in the world, and he's sure that you will choose to do the right thing. He then tells you that he will need to have the Blinding Light of Destiny reforged, since all that's left of it is its handle. He then remarks on how at least this is a happy ending for everyone, though Daimyo has his doubts. And then we cut to Sally, all alone with no more friends and hating every minute of it. And then Drakath shows up. Sally asks him if he's going to make her one of his Chaos Lords, and Drakath says no, instead giving her Vordred's head in one of his rare nice moments. Sally is overjoyed by this, and immediately plans to restore the original Necropolis and bring Vordred back more powerful than before. We will be seeing them again...
All in all, the Doomwood saga was a damned nice change of pace from the Chaos Lord chapters that we've had to slog through, and it would be nice if we could do more of these kinds of storylines in between the regular installments of the Chaos saga. My ongoing storyline with Etheara will definitely have this as an important part of my character's general journey, especially since I plan to kill off several important characters during the course of it. My only gripes about the Doomwood finale are the fact that you're pretty much forced to solo the Ultra version of Vordred (which is comparable to a regular boss requiring multiple characters) since the VordredBoss instance only allows one player in a room at a time, and the fact that I have to wait for the shop to open and the various parts of the Blinding Light of Destiny to be released so that we can forge it. But all in all, it was a very satisfying end to things. Now all I need to do is wait for the next release...