Developed by Taiwanese studio X-Legend Entertainment, Dragon Slayer recently entered its Alpha phase in Taiwan. X-Legend is most well known in the western market for games such as Grand Fantasia, Eden Eternal and more recently, Aura Kingdom. Let us find out more about Dragon Slayer!
Character creation
Similar to most of X-Legend’s game, having a deep customization system right at the start is not the usual style. The selections are limited, especially since some are not available at this test phase. The characters are of course very anime-style, reminding me of games such as Emil Chronicles Online.
World view
Dragon Slayer is not exactly an open world game, since players teleport to individual maps rather than having a “connected” world. Some are “open world” in a sense, since there are other players, while some of the same maps are entered solo for quests. The colours are certainly vivid and anime-ish.
Character stats
There are 2 core systems here, character level and DS level. Character level allows players to equip higher level gears, while DS level gives players stat points to distribute. Nothing really special in this system, and I am currently adding all to defence as a melee character, since I really suck at dodging (see below).
Combat
As some of my readers would know, I am very particular about online games’ combat system. I have a rather mixed feeling about Dragon Slayer’s combat. Players can choose to target 1 target, or just hit into empty space like a non-target MMO. Either way, all enemies in attack range will be damaged.
There is no right or left click auto-attack here, and players will have to spam the normal attack action button. I am sure some folks are not fans of such button mashing, but it is what it is here in Dragon Slayer. At level 20, characters can choose a new 2nd weapon type, which will grant new skills.
Speaking of skills, there are really not much difference I am seeing currently between the 2 weapons other than the buff. The attacking skills are almost clones of each other (no mana, only cool-down), while in axe mode, the buff provides extra attack; in sword mode, the buff provides extra health points. There is a temporary buff activated randomly as well, depending on the weapon used (attack for axe, defence for sword).
1 of the core functions of combat will be the ability to actively dodge attacks using the corresponding hot key. Somewhat similar to the combat found in WildStar and to a certain extent, League of Legends, dodging is almost everything about being able to survive. It uses the full SP bar to activate.
Character progression
There are tons of quests, solo, party, kill X etc, and these are really where the bulk of experience and DS points come from. Monsters apparently give points as well, but I did not really notice given the insignificant amount. Anti-bot captcha system has already been implemented, which is a nice touch.
