First of all, I will really like to thank Taiwanese publisher, M-etel, for passing me a Closed Beta key for Dragona Taiwan after I emailed them seeking for one. They graciously accepted my request and I am really, really thankful for the company’s gesture. M-etel is having another new MMO in a few months, a really awesome one, let’s hope I have the same luck again! Ok, let’s cut to the chase. As all of you know, Dragona Philippines and Dragona Global (both English servers) will start Closed Beta either in June or July, but being the anxious me, I really wanted to try the game out. The Taiwanese version was my best shot as I really can’t read any Korean words. The Shaman class was chosen (although it has a different name here), and let’s find out more!
When creating a character, there is a choice asking players which body part do they want to have the Partial Transformation ability first. As you can see in the video below, there are 4 parts to choose from, each giving the character different stat boosts. Do not worry! You will get the other parts through quests and crafting in the game (assumption since I got my 2nd part).
So how is this system used? I have simplified the system in the screenshot below. Characters will need to have enough Spirit (bottom of the screen), select F1 (default) and use the Partial Transformation system till the Spirit bar runs down. Every defeated mob gives Spirit for players to charge, which is automatically collected (the blue orbs). The piece of artifact armor needed to do Partial Transformation must be equipped by the character in order to have the ability skill. So when do players get to achieve Full Transformation? Find out in the interview here!
The character I chose to use, as mentioned above, is the Shaman. The class is actually the ultimate support character in the game, with tons of party buff, single target buff etc. There are buffs for increasing defense, attacks, recovery rate and more, making it an awesome class to have in any parties. Shaman’s skills are mostly melee based, but all of them are actually elemental attacks. For the Fire Punch, there is a chance to deal extra damage to the target, the Electric Punch has a chance to stun while the Rising Ice Fist has a chance to lower movement speed. The skill window is neatly separated as well, with the first tab being active skills, followed by passive skills, dragon transformation skills and actions. Passive skills can be learned at any level. Being a passive skill nerd myself, it is a really hard challenge!
As you can see from the footage, part of the quests are given automatically without having to report to any NPCs. I really hope ALL quests are given this way, as this will accommodate to players lazy to run back and forth, like me. So that is all for my simply first 10 levels in the game, I will play more as soon as the server comes up. If anyone is interested in any one other class, I will record some footage for it. Just post in the comment box below! Nope, I am not going to post footage of all classes, I will do so in the Global server to show my support. As usual, other parts of the beginner footage can be seen here in my YouTube channel!
