With World of Dragon Nest having its Closed Beta test right now, another mobile MMORPG based on the same Dragon Nest IP is drumming up interest over in China, and particularly at the annual ChinaJoy this week. We are of course talking about Dragon Nest 2, which is a different game from World of Dragon Nest. Let us start off with a quick look at the starting gameplay of Dragon Nest 2, which was recorded in a recent 5-day super-limited test phase.
• Everything on World of Dragon Nest
But before we talk more about Dragon Nest 2, let us look at some of the differences and similarities we know about the 2 games first. Do spend some time to give this a quick read!
Main differences we know right now:
Developer
• World of Dragon Nest is developed in South Korea by Eyedentity Games, the original creator of the Dragon Nest PC game.
• Dragon Nest 2 is developed in China by Shengqu Games (originally Shanda Games), and most likely the same team which made Dragon Nest M, the first mobile MMORPG based on Dragon Nest.
Launch regions
• World of Dragon Nest is confirmed for Southeast Asia (publish by Nexon Thailand) and also Taiwan (publish by Gamania).
• Dragon Nest 2 will be published by Tencent Games in China, with no other regions announced. As it is Tencent Games, we expect Dragon Nest 2 to be China-exclusive.
Story
• World of Dragon Nest is more of a parallel “what if” story rather than a direct sequel to the PC version of Dragon Nest. You can read more about this in our interview with Nexon.
• According to a developer blog, Dragon Nest 2 is the sequel of both the PC and mobile versions of Dragon Nest. We are guessing that he is talking about Dragon Nest M. We will talk more about this detail below.
Dual gender
• World of Dragon Nest supports both male and female gender for all classes, a first for any Dragon Nest game.
• Dragon Nest 2, according to the game footage and press release thus far, sticks to the one gender per class formula.
Dual weapon
• World of Dragon Nest sees a new dual weapon system which allows players to swap weapons in the middle of battle and access a second set of skills. This feature removes the job advancement system in the game.
• Dragon Nest 2’s characters will stick to one core weapon. Job advancement is still available here.
Skills
• World of Dragon Nest has a new Chain Skill system in which new, powerful versions of normal skills can be activated when the meter bar gets full with each active attack.
• Dragon Nest 2 uses the familiar skill-slot unlock system, where new skill slots open up at different levels for players to add in more active skills to use during battle.
Main similarities we know right now:
Classes
• Both World of Dragon Nest and Dragon Nest 2 starts off with the same 4 base classes: Warrior, Archer, Cleric, and Sorceress.
Miscellaneous
• Other features such as costumes, pets, mounts, etc are all available in both games.
Open-world
• Both World of Dragon Nest and Dragon Nest 2 have open world maps with story instances and instanced dungeons.
Ok, with those details out of the way, let us talk more about and focus on Dragon Nest 2. According to a developer blog, the team spoke with the lore master of the Dragon Nest IP at great lengths to craft out the game’s story. We are guessing this lore master is someone over at Eyedentity Games. While we have to wait for future blog updates for the eact story of Dragon Nest 2, here are some points which the development team highlighted:
• The story of Dragon Nest 2 is said to be taking place just 2 years after the defeat of the Green Dragon. While being touted as a sequel, Dragon Nest 2 is also a new take on parts of the original story. Yes, we know this is confusing, but these are what the developers wrote.
• The team does not want to repeat the adventures of characters such as Angelica (the Sorceress) and Xian (the Warrior) as they are still being continued in the PC and first mobile versions of Dragon Nest.
• The world view of Dragon Nest is a huge one, and the team wishes to explore other characters and other corners of the world.
• After the stories which involved the death of Karacule and the romance between Knight Cassius and Aisha (Desert Dragon), the subsequent stories were not as memorable. The team aims to bring these lost tales into prominence through the eyes of a new generation of adventurers.
That brings us to the end of this rather long article! We do not expect anything new to be announced at ChinaJoy 2019 regarding Dragon Nest 2, but do check back regularly for the latest details! Here are some of the costumes which are being prepared for Dragon Nest 2.
