Dragonica
Encyclopedia
Dragonica known in North America as Dragon Saga, is a free-to-play
3D
side-scrolling
massively multiplayer online role-playing game
developed by Barunson Interactive. Development has been ongoing since March 2006. Operation of Dragonica is relegated to different publishers for their respective regions. Whilst being free-to-play, the game also includes a cash shop that allows for unique customization of player's characters. The game's commercial launch was on June 2009 in China and October 2009 in Europe and October 2010 in North America. Characters created during the Open Beta testing were carried over to the commercial release. Barunson Interactive have confirmed that the game will be released for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360.
Four optional expansions for the game have been released, all of which are free: Tales of the Damned which was released on 16 October 2009 and Awakening of the Ice Dragon which was released on 15 February 2011 have both been released in North America.
The leader of the dragons, the Dark Dragon Elga would continue to mount attacks on the land, but was pushed by when five heroes of legend were able to defeat Elga and trap him in a dark prison known as the Shadow Cabinet, effectively putting the lands of El Grego forever.
However, not even the Shadow Cabinet could hold Elga forever — a thousand years after being trapped, Elga has found a way to release his darkness into the world, sending minions to attack the lands in preparation for his arrival. It is up the players to take up arms and push back these dark forces.
Combat is action-based with moves performed in real-time. All combat is centered around the use of special skill sets on cooldown
s. Players can also perform ground and aerial combos by utilizing certain skills in order to render enemies unable to retaliate but can also play the role of a healer or supporter when necessary.
There is also a large number of missions and scenarios for a player to complete co-operatively with others. Each individual dungeon has one to four separate modes for advancement, each increasing in difficulty and not being accessible until the previous instance has been cleared. At the end of every mission sequence is a scenario that advances your character to the next stage of the game.
As of 15 February 2011, there are currently a total of four class advancements in the game bringing the total of 28 playable classes.
Warrior - This is a melee-oriented class which focuses mainly on performing various air combos and ground techniques to keep enemies immobilized and weakened. In groups the warrior assumes the role of a "tank" though not in the conventional sense; the warrior is in charge of keeping enemies from reaching the mid-lines where the healers and ranged classes are ideally situated. Against bosses the warrior will often bear the brunt of the attacks due to the lack of ranged attacks. The warrior class can advance to become either a gladiator or knight.
Thief - This class employs swift attacks and combos to annihilate waves of enemies. Focused around the use of claws, the thief is often seen on the frontlines alongside the warriors dealing damage and debuffing enemies at will. In group situations, the thief makes use of attacking from behind the enemy in order to increase the ranking score on mission maps. They specialize in and speed to tear down lines of enemies as quickly as possible. Oftentimes they are utilized as "cleaners" or "sweepers" in missions to pick up any enemies the frontline may have missed. The thief class can advance to become either a jester or assassin.
Archer - This class wields bows, crossbows, and even gatling guns to lay waste to any enemies from afar. They are seen mainly in the mid-line in-between the healers and the melee classes. They capitalize on wreaking havoc on enemies by repeatedly attacking to keep the enemy in midair to obtain as high of a ranking as possible in groups. Although their attack power is weaker than that of a warrior's, their attack speed and movement speed is among the fastest in the game. Archers can advance to become either a ranger or a hunter.
Magician - This is the game's token caster class. Seen very often in the frontlines, the magician is occupied with either healing and buffing the group or dealing massive amounts of area of effect
damage to enemies. In groups the magician becomes one of the most valuable assets as they are able to heal the wounds of damaged allies and offer support from a distance, without ever getting caught up in the action itself. Magicians can advance to become either an acolyte or a battlemage.
Missions are often composed of four main mission modes (increasing in difficulty) and a fifth scenario (unlocked when the previous modes have been completed). Each step in the mission also features a grading system that attempts to rank players based on how a player has performed during that step. The grading system allows the player to obtain higher quality and quantity loot
based on that individual's performance and group contribution.
Players will often be sent into these missions to complete important quests, such as those needed to change class. Although many of these missions can be done by oneself, the benefits of tackling these missions with others far outweigh that of taking them on alone. Players in groups gain bonus experience and, with the right group composition, will find it much easier to progress through the game.
IAH and 8interactive's Dragonica for the SEA-ANZ region have been live since 2009.
gPotato
Europe's EU English, French and German services began on June 10, 2009 after a Closed Beta period the previous month. It has been in full release since the October 2009 release of Tales of the Damned.
Former publisher of the North American version, THQ*ICE, launched started the official service on October 15, 2009. THQ*ICE shut down their services on August 31, 2010, and Gravity Interactive
re-launched the North American service in mid October that year under a new name, Dragon Saga, after they purchased Barunson Interactive, the game's developer.
Nexon, the Korean publishers of the game have announced that their service will shut down in July 2011.
a In North America, Dragonica is known as Dragon Saga.
b In North America, the game was shut down by THQ*ICE before being picked up again and re-released by Gravity Interactive in 2010.
Free-to-play
Free-to-play refers to any video game that has the option of allowing its players to play without paying. The model was first popularly used in early massively multiplayer online games targeted towards casual gamers, before finding wider adoption among games released by major video game...
3D
3D computer graphics
3D computer graphics are graphics that use a three-dimensional representation of geometric data that is stored in the computer for the purposes of performing calculations and rendering 2D images...
side-scrolling
Side-scrolling video game
A side-scrolling game or side-scroller is a video game in which the gameplay action is viewed from a side-view camera angle, and the onscreen characters generally move from the left side of the screen to the right. These games make use of scrolling computer display technology...
massively multiplayer online role-playing game
MMORPG
Massively multiplayer online role-playing game is a genre of role-playing video games in which a very large number of players interact with one another within a virtual game world....
developed by Barunson Interactive. Development has been ongoing since March 2006. Operation of Dragonica is relegated to different publishers for their respective regions. Whilst being free-to-play, the game also includes a cash shop that allows for unique customization of player's characters. The game's commercial launch was on June 2009 in China and October 2009 in Europe and October 2010 in North America. Characters created during the Open Beta testing were carried over to the commercial release. Barunson Interactive have confirmed that the game will be released for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360.
Four optional expansions for the game have been released, all of which are free: Tales of the Damned which was released on 16 October 2009 and Awakening of the Ice Dragon which was released on 15 February 2011 have both been released in North America.
Plot
Dragonica takes place on the continents of El Grego and Angrakka, which had experienced a golden age where humans and dragons were able to live together in peace. However, these times were not destined to last, and the dragons and humans eventually went to war in what was known as the Dragon Age. Eventually, the dragons were banished to the ancient realm of Aether.The leader of the dragons, the Dark Dragon Elga would continue to mount attacks on the land, but was pushed by when five heroes of legend were able to defeat Elga and trap him in a dark prison known as the Shadow Cabinet, effectively putting the lands of El Grego forever.
However, not even the Shadow Cabinet could hold Elga forever — a thousand years after being trapped, Elga has found a way to release his darkness into the world, sending minions to attack the lands in preparation for his arrival. It is up the players to take up arms and push back these dark forces.
Gameplay
Players control a character in a three-dimensional plane but the scope of movement is mainly focused on the horizontal axis with limited vertical movement, much like the arcade style side-scrolling classics. In its current state, players can progress through 75 levels in the North American release with the level cap reaching as high as 80 on servers in Asia.Combat is action-based with moves performed in real-time. All combat is centered around the use of special skill sets on cooldown
Cooldown
Cooldown is, in numerous video games, the minimum length of time that the player needs to wait after using an ability before they can use it again....
s. Players can also perform ground and aerial combos by utilizing certain skills in order to render enemies unable to retaliate but can also play the role of a healer or supporter when necessary.
There is also a large number of missions and scenarios for a player to complete co-operatively with others. Each individual dungeon has one to four separate modes for advancement, each increasing in difficulty and not being accessible until the previous instance has been cleared. At the end of every mission sequence is a scenario that advances your character to the next stage of the game.
Classes
At the beginning of the game, players are allowed to choose from one of six basic classes and accumulate levels in order to advance into deeper specialties with more abilities and skills. The six starting classes warrior, thief, archer and magician. With the expansion New Origin two new classes were introduced. The summoner and the twin fighter . Each class has a diverse skill tree in which players may place points into to acquire new skills or enhance ones that have already been obtained.As of 15 February 2011, there are currently a total of four class advancements in the game bringing the total of 28 playable classes.
Warrior - This is a melee-oriented class which focuses mainly on performing various air combos and ground techniques to keep enemies immobilized and weakened. In groups the warrior assumes the role of a "tank" though not in the conventional sense; the warrior is in charge of keeping enemies from reaching the mid-lines where the healers and ranged classes are ideally situated. Against bosses the warrior will often bear the brunt of the attacks due to the lack of ranged attacks. The warrior class can advance to become either a gladiator or knight.
Thief - This class employs swift attacks and combos to annihilate waves of enemies. Focused around the use of claws, the thief is often seen on the frontlines alongside the warriors dealing damage and debuffing enemies at will. In group situations, the thief makes use of attacking from behind the enemy in order to increase the ranking score on mission maps. They specialize in and speed to tear down lines of enemies as quickly as possible. Oftentimes they are utilized as "cleaners" or "sweepers" in missions to pick up any enemies the frontline may have missed. The thief class can advance to become either a jester or assassin.
Archer - This class wields bows, crossbows, and even gatling guns to lay waste to any enemies from afar. They are seen mainly in the mid-line in-between the healers and the melee classes. They capitalize on wreaking havoc on enemies by repeatedly attacking to keep the enemy in midair to obtain as high of a ranking as possible in groups. Although their attack power is weaker than that of a warrior's, their attack speed and movement speed is among the fastest in the game. Archers can advance to become either a ranger or a hunter.
Magician - This is the game's token caster class. Seen very often in the frontlines, the magician is occupied with either healing and buffing the group or dealing massive amounts of area of effect
Area of effect
thumb|Screenshot from FreedroidRPG showing Area of Effect.Area of effect is a term used in many role-playing and strategy games to describe attacks or spells that affect multiple targets within a specified area....
damage to enemies. In groups the magician becomes one of the most valuable assets as they are able to heal the wounds of damaged allies and offer support from a distance, without ever getting caught up in the action itself. Magicians can advance to become either an acolyte or a battlemage.
Missions
Dragonica features instances that allow players to gain access to items, experience, and currency as well as serve to advance the overall storyline in the game. These instances are known as "missions" and must be completed sequentially in order to unlock the final scenario that advances the plot. Each step in the mission becomes significantly more difficult than the previous and oftentimes requires a group to complete.Missions are often composed of four main mission modes (increasing in difficulty) and a fifth scenario (unlocked when the previous modes have been completed). Each step in the mission also features a grading system that attempts to rank players based on how a player has performed during that step. The grading system allows the player to obtain higher quality and quantity loot
Looting (gaming)
Looting in a gaming context, specifically in massively multiplayer online games and MUDs, is the process by which a player character obtains items such as in-game currency, spells, equipment, or weapons, often from the corpse of a creature or possibly the corpse of another player in a PVP situation...
based on that individual's performance and group contribution.
Players will often be sent into these missions to complete important quests, such as those needed to change class. Although many of these missions can be done by oneself, the benefits of tackling these missions with others far outweigh that of taking them on alone. Players in groups gain bonus experience and, with the right group composition, will find it much easier to progress through the game.
Tales of the Damned
Tales of the Damned was published on 16 October 2009 in Europe and November 2010 in North America. Tales of the Damned added a variety of new content and features to the game. This included the addition of a new storyline, controller support and the introduction of pets. The expansion elaborated into the story of the first chapter and as a result two new areas in Dragotaka were also introduced accessible to those who are level 60 or above only; the Van Cliff Dungeon and Drakos' Tower, which served as a fortified tower used to imprison the evil Dragon Lord Elga, until the witch Paris broke in and freed him to cause mayhem across the land. In addition to these new maps, Tales of the Damned also raised the level cap from 60 too 65.Paris Strikes Back
Paris Strikes Back was the second expansion to Dragonica and was released only in Europe on 23 June 2010. This expansion included the next chapter of the storyline, increased the level cap from 60 to 70 and has other general enhancements such as new weapon and armour sets. Some maps were also given a nice tune-up including the Van Cliff Dungeon and Drakos' Tower, both of which were given the choice of three levels of difficulty. Also, eight new classes were added to the game: Dragoon, Berserker, Sentinel, Bombardier, Joker, Shadow Walker, Cleric and Chaosmage. All the new classes were named by the Dragonica forum community but are only accessible after the player hits level 60 and a chain quest is completed.Awakening of the Ice Dragon (Kryos Unleashed)
Awakening of the Ice Dragon (known as Kryos Unleashed in North America) was the third expansion to Dragonica. It was released on 15 February 2011 in Europe and North America. The expansion includes the brand new ice continent of Pagosia in which the third chapter of the story is set. As the name suggests, large portions of Pagosia are entombed in ice, with its frosty appearance enhanced by the spooky spectral creatures that live in its fresh landscape. Seasoned heroes, from level 62 upwards, will find a large quantity of new maps in Pagosia, filled with new sets of both hero and daily quests, providing more than enough challenges for players. The expansion also increased the level cap again, this time to level 75. All the classes introduced in Paris Strikes Back were also made available in the North American version of this expansion.New Origin (Elga Unleashed)
This expansion is currently available on the Japanese version of Dragonica, and it is the fourth and upcoming expansion for Dragonica. It was released on 8 June 2011 in the Japanese server and on 10 August 2011 in the SEA server. The expansion includes a new playable race that has 2 new jobs. These 2 jobs are the summoner and the fighter. The fourth chapter to the story is added and as a result the world map has had a complete overhaul due to the influence of chaos in the world of Dragotaka.Development
ICEE's Chinese Dragonica released their Version 6 Open Beta on April 24, 2009.IAH and 8interactive's Dragonica for the SEA-ANZ region have been live since 2009.
gPotato
GPotato
gPotato, is a free multiplayer game portal website operated regionally by subsidiaries of Japan based Gala Inc. gPotato game portals are in South Korea, Japan, North America, Europe and Brazil...
Europe's EU English, French and German services began on June 10, 2009 after a Closed Beta period the previous month. It has been in full release since the October 2009 release of Tales of the Damned.
Former publisher of the North American version, THQ*ICE, launched started the official service on October 15, 2009. THQ*ICE shut down their services on August 31, 2010, and Gravity Interactive
Gravity Interactive
Founded in March 2003, Gravity Interactive LLC was created to host games for North America developed by GRAVITY Co., Ltd.. It is based in Marina del Rey near Los Angeles, California. Gravity was initially provided with several servers from Gravity Co., and began beta testing of the International...
re-launched the North American service in mid October that year under a new name, Dragon Saga, after they purchased Barunson Interactive, the game's developer.
Nexon, the Korean publishers of the game have announced that their service will shut down in July 2011.
| Region | Language(s) | Publisher(s) | Alpha | Closed Beta | Open Beta | Full Release | Servers Online |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| China China Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture... |
Simplified Chinese | ICE Entertainment | #1March 19–27, 2008 #2July 15–18, 2008 |
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| Europe Europe Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting... |
English English language English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria... , French French language French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts... , German German language German is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union.... |
gPotato GPotato gPotato, is a free multiplayer game portal website operated regionally by subsidiaries of Japan based Gala Inc. gPotato game portals are in South Korea, Japan, North America, Europe and Brazil... |
May 13–22, 2009 | ||||
| Japan Japan Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south... |
Japanese Japanese language is a language spoken by over 130 million people in Japan and in Japanese emigrant communities. It is a member of the Japonic language family, which has a number of proposed relationships with other languages, none of which has gained wide acceptance among historical linguists .Japanese is an... |
Nexon | December 23–28, 2009 | ||||
| Korea Korea Korea ) is an East Asian geographic region that is currently divided into two separate sovereign states — North Korea and South Korea. Located on the Korean Peninsula, Korea is bordered by the People's Republic of China to the northwest, Russia to the northeast, and is separated from Japan to the... |
Korean Korean language Korean is the official language of the country Korea, in both South and North. It is also one of the two official languages in the Yanbian Korean Autonomous Prefecture in People's Republic of China. There are about 78 million Korean speakers worldwide. In the 15th century, a national writing... |
NCsoft NCsoft NCsoft is a South Korea-based online video game company, which has published massively multiplayer online role-playing games including Lineage, City of Heroes, Wildstar, Exteel, Guild Wars and Aion.-History:... |
April 17–23, 2008 | ||||
| North America North America North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas... |
English English language English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria... |
THQ Ice THQ THQ Inc. is an American developer and publisher of video games. Founded in 1989 in the United States, the company develops products for video game consoles, handheld game systems, as well as for personal computers and wireless devices... / Gravity Interactive Gravity Interactive Founded in March 2003, Gravity Interactive LLC was created to host games for North America developed by GRAVITY Co., Ltd.. It is based in Marina del Rey near Los Angeles, California. Gravity was initially provided with several servers from Gravity Co., and began beta testing of the International... |
#2March 30–April 1, 2009 | June 30, 2009 | |
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| Philippines Philippines The Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam... |
English English language English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria... |
IP E-Games IP E-Games IP E-Games, also known as E-Games, is the leading online game publisher in the Philippines under IPVG Corporation . IP E-Games is also an F2P-based-company, meaning every one can play their titles freely.- Published titles :* Ran Online... |
#1December 21–23, 2009 #2April 1–May 3, 2010 |
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| Russia Russia Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects... |
Russian Russian language Russian is a Slavic language used primarily in Russia, Belarus, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan. It is an unofficial but widely spoken language in Ukraine, Moldova, Latvia, Turkmenistan and Estonia and, to a lesser extent, the other countries that were once constituent republics... |
Nival Nival (company) Nival is a global video game developer and publisher of social strategy games with extensive experience in strategy game development and massively multiplayer online game publishing. Nival is headquartered in Moscow and was founded in 1996 by Russian games industry veteran Sergey Orlovskiy, who... |
December 11–21, 2009 | ||||
| Southeast Asia Southeast Asia Southeast Asia, South-East Asia, South East Asia or Southeastern Asia is a subregion of Asia, consisting of the countries that are geographically south of China, east of India, west of New Guinea and north of Australia. The region lies on the intersection of geological plates, with heavy seismic... , Oceania Oceania Oceania is a region centered on the islands of the tropical Pacific Ocean. Conceptions of what constitutes Oceania range from the coral atolls and volcanic islands of the South Pacific to the entire insular region between Asia and the Americas, including Australasia and the Malay Archipelago... |
English English language English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria... , Simplified Chinese |
IAHgames / 8interactive | #1June 14–15, 2008 #2July 24–28, 2008 |
May 7–18, 2009 | |||
| Taiwan Taiwan Taiwan , also known, especially in the past, as Formosa , is the largest island of the same-named island group of East Asia in the western Pacific Ocean and located off the southeastern coast of mainland China. The island forms over 99% of the current territory of the Republic of China following... , Hong Kong Hong Kong Hong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China , the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour... , Macau Macau Macau , also spelled Macao , is, along with Hong Kong, one of the two special administrative regions of the People's Republic of China... |
Traditional Chinese | Gameflier | |||||
| Thailand Thailand Thailand , officially the Kingdom of Thailand , formerly known as Siam , is a country located at the centre of the Indochina peninsula and Southeast Asia. It is bordered to the north by Burma and Laos, to the east by Laos and Cambodia, to the south by the Gulf of Thailand and Malaysia, and to the... |
Thai Thai language Thai , also known as Central Thai and Siamese, is the national and official language of Thailand and the native language of the Thai people, Thailand's dominant ethnic group. Thai is a member of the Tai group of the Tai–Kadai language family. Historical linguists have been unable to definitively... |
One Net | December 1–8, 2009 | ||||
| Vietnam Vietnam Vietnam – sometimes spelled Viet Nam , officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam – is the easternmost country on the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by China to the north, Laos to the northwest, Cambodia to the southwest, and the South China Sea –... |
Vietnamese Vietnamese language Vietnamese is the national and official language of Vietnam. It is the mother tongue of 86% of Vietnam's population, and of about three million overseas Vietnamese. It is also spoken as a second language by many ethnic minorities of Vietnam... |
IAHgames |
a In North America, Dragonica is known as Dragon Saga.
b In North America, the game was shut down by THQ*ICE before being picked up again and re-released by Gravity Interactive in 2010.