During ChinaJoy the last weekend, several media outlets were able to speak with the development team of Dragon Nest 2, the mobile MMORPG made for the Chinese market. While we do know some details already, these interviews managed to answer even more questions players have been wanting to know. Once again, this is not World of Dragon Nest, and there are huge difference between the 2 games. Without further a due, read on!
Q: When was the decision made to build an open world for Dragon Nest 2?
A: The project started in 2017, and we were slightly influenced by how well players received the open world concept in The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. Hence, we took quite sometime conceptualizing the open world structure for Dragon Nest 2.
Q: The first Dragon Nest mobile game did very well financially, reportedly doing over USD 100 million in its best month. Is there pressure to perform even better?
A: Due to the first title’s success, our boss did not spare any expenses in developing Dragon Nest 2, and costs so far has gone over the amount you mentioned in the question. The game is also around 5 GB large, with more assets in the works. And yes, our estimates all aim to do even better than the first title, so there is definitely some stress factors. But we are confident since many team members are players of both the previous games, and our world builder expert has worked on the Dragon Nest IP for 9 years.
Q: As the market looks towards more games based on popular IPs, what plans do Shengqu Games have for the Dragon Nest IP?
A: Dragon Nest is one of the core IP for Shengqu Games, and you can see how some companies do not do as much as us in protecting IPs. We plan for every game made using the Dragon Nest IP to be the best of its class. In terms of the future, we have update plans for the PC version as well as a major update for the first mobile game.
For the core Dragon Nest games, we have determined to name them in numerical order, such as Dragon Nest 2 and Dragon Nest 3. There might be other games in the pipeline, but they will not be using the “Dragon Nest” name as the headline. Animations, movies, themed-cafes, and more based on Dragon Nest are also in the works.
Q: What are the main difference between the first Dragon Nest mobile game and Dragon Nest 2?
A: In Dragon Nest and the first mobile game, it is more about smaller team battles. Dragon Nest 2 is focused on multi-player experiences, with open world maps where players can hunt bosses, PK, find treasures, and even obtain secret quests. In terms of classes, each will have its own unique energy system.
Q: It seems that Dragon Nest 2 looks much better than the first Dragon Nest mobile title.
A: When determining the game engine to be used, we tried looking into future trends and see what players demand. We chose Unity, and even invited the development team at Unity to work with us to optimize Dragon Nest 2. The end product perfectly merges our ideas for the art design and engine mechanics.
Q: How will Dragon Nest 2 express this “open world” concept other than the ones mentioned?
A: We have prepared a huge ancient city map where players can meet over 200 random encounters. This is a map designed for those who love exploration. For example, a rift portal might appear and players must decide if it is worth the risk to enter. With great risks come great rewards too. Players can interact with the dwellers, investigate weird items such as a giant flower, and more. Random events “might” be triggered according to time of the day and weather as well. From completing all these random encounters, players will get points to trade for items such as mounts, wings, pets, costumes, and more.
Q: What new elements will there be in terms of PVE for both new and old players?
A: For now we have a dungeon catering 30 players, along with classic dungeons such as Cerberus, Green Dragon, Typhoon Kim, and more. Other than some of the original boss fight mechanics, more elements such as boss clones, burnt players will spread the fire to nearby players, using bombs to attack bosses, etc are added.
Q: What about the PVP modes for Dragon Nest 2?
A: We have 4 vs 4, 12 vs 12, Guild PVP, and also open world PK. There is also a new mode where players are divided into 2 teams, with the defending team having more players. The players of the attacking team can transform into various monsters. The system will match-make players of similar levels into this mode.
Q: There are only 4 classes announced for Dragon Nest 2. What other plans can players expect for this feature?
A: We are now working on 3 other classes, including Assassin, Kali, and female gamers’ favorite Loli (I think he means Academic?). We will officially announce them after going through players’ survey feedback and consult with our development team. A new feature which we would like to exclusively announce is that we are working on the opposite gender for each class. There might be a chance that the opposite gender classes might be something similar, but different. The team is working hard on this, but as it is a heavy task, it will only be added some time after launch. We will release some concept art before then.
Q: Will Dragon Nest 2 drain players of their hard-earned cash?
A: This is an unavoidable question. Players might think that due to the first mobile version’s success, the game is only friendly to heavy spenders. We have actually placed restrictions on many cash-grab ideas and push for a more balanced paying system. The team actually had long discussions with the bosses on the positives on having a united community despite under situations where a huge performance requirement has been passed down. For Dragon Nest 2, the team will continue to push for similar treatments and resist cash-grabbing elements, so please support us.
