|
DragonFable
|
|
DragonFable (often abbreviated to DF) is a free, online, browser-based, single-player RPG developed by Artix Entertainment. Created in July 2005, the game went into beta testing on November 21, and on June 10, 2006, the game was officially released. It is implemented in Adobe Flash and uses vector graphics, some of which are animated. The storyline to the game sets DragonFable as a prequel to the storyline of AdventureQuest (set 5 years after DragonFable) and a sequel to that of MechQuest (set 4995 years before DragonFable), each of which are also games from Artix Entertainment. DragonFable receives weekly updates with the introduction of new quests, monsters and weapons. Each player may create an account, which can have up to three playable characters for non-paying players or up to six characters for Dragon Amulet holders. Each character is associated with a base and has an upgradeable combat and six trainable . The game allows players to engage in turn-based combat against monsters and villains to accumulate experience points, gold, and equipment. Players may use a character's gold to purchase additional equipment and in the game to aid in combat. Along with an ever-expanding world featuring regular quests, DragonFable also features temporary special events, such as holidays and wars. Gameplay Players are able to walk their character around and explore a 2D world. Players may also interact and team-up with NPCs in different towns and have them help in battle with special abilities. Players may also engage in PvP ("Player Versus Player") battles at an in-game arena called Aeris Battlespire. In these battles, contrary to its name, players do not actually compete against other real-world players who may also be online at that moment. Instead, the player's character battles against an AI-controlled opponent, whose configuration (name, appearance, and statistics) is based upon the saved profile of another player's character. Combat Combat in DragonFable uses a turn-based battle system with option commands such as "Attack!". The object of each combat sequence is to decrease the opposition's Health points (HP) to zero before it (or they) does the same to the hero. During combat, potions may be used to restore either health or Mana Points (MP). Weapons Every weapon and pet has an element and an attack damage value. The damage value is the base damage that the weapon or pet can do. A player's stats will modify this, though the modified value will not be shown. The weapon's element can also affect its damage to different enemies as explained above. Weapons can be purchased at weapon shops, or can be found after completing a quest. They can also be created at several places in the game. Some special weapons allow mages to use as a weapon and a staff. Pets Pets are used to inflict additional damage during battle. All pets' damage revolves around different elements, much like the character's weapons. The pets will do more damage if the character's Charisma stat is raised. Leveling After defeating a monster, players gain experience points, or experience points. If a player accumulates enough experience points, they will gain a level. As characters gain levels, they unlock abilities which can be used in battle. Most monsters are scaled to level with the player. Weapons also have levels and cannot be used until a player has attained at least the same level as the weapon; the same goes for pets and equippable items. Players who have reached the level cap can continue to gain experience points, but will not raise levels until the level cap is raised again. Classes When a player starts playing DragonFable for the first time, they must create a character before they can begin playing. A player can also create a character for each available slot at any time. The player is given a choice of gender and base class, as well as the character's appearance and name. All classes have 14 unlockable abilities and each class has a different set. The base classes' abilities are unlocked when a player reaches certain levels. Players can upgrade to a new class by wearing armor belonging to that class. A player may switch from one non-base class to another, or back to their original base class. These classes' abilities are unlocked by leveling up the class' armor. For most non-base classes, upgraded players will be able to use all 14 skills once trained, while free players will usually be able to use about 7 of them. However, this does not stop players from training all 14 skills. Annual events The annual events of DragonFable mostly coincide with the major American holidays. The following is a list of all annual events: * Hero's Heart Day - Valentine's Day * April Fools' Day - this annually celebrated event varies from year to year. * Talk Like a Pirate Day - this holiday is unique to Artix Entertainment games. In DragonFable, it usually involves a shop where rare items can be purchased. * Mogloween - Halloween * Thanksgiving - this annually celebrated event's name changes from year to year. * Frostval - Christmas Wars are also a common event in DragonFable, often to help advance the storyline. In each, there is a set number of waves of monsters that players must defeat to win the war. When all waves are defeated, a boss fight will be unlocked. Most wars cannot be lost by the players, but several of the "losable" wars have actually been lost by the players. The recent Popsrocket War, for example, was losable, although the players won. There are two annual or semi-annual wars- every Frostval, an army of ice-based monsters attack, and in the past, every Friday the 13th, an undead war began. There are also some shops that are open only for the duration of an event, such as a holiday or a war. It is also possible to obtain or purchase some items that will only be useable at a later date, such as Frostval presents and eggs. Synopsis Setting The game takes place in a medieval land called "Lore", set roughly 5 years before the beginning of AdventureQuest, 4995 years after MechQuest, and 10 years before AdventureQuest Worlds. The central town is called Falconreach. Falconreach is where most of the current events happen, but the character starts west of Falconreach at Oaklore Keep, a stronghold of the Knights of the Pactagonal Table. Transportation to other towns is possible through riding griffins, teleporting through portals, and walking. Aside from its main fantasy setting, DragonFable also has a pirate town, a ninja village, several mining towns, a steampunk-esque town, and a desert. While dragons play a crucial part in the storyline, they do not appear very often throughout the plot. Plot It was prophecised in the world of Lore that a box (known as the White Dragon Box) held a dragon egg that would hatch a dragon that, in the hands of a "hero", would save the world; while its polar opposite (The Black Dragon Box) would hatch a dragon that would in the hands of a "villiain", destroy it. The character finds and hatches the egg in the Black Dragon Box, and being on the side of good (which is not what happens in the prophecy) is unaware of whether the dragon will save or destroy the world. The other major plot thread involves the eight Prime Elemental Orbs. They have the power to control each , and thus are immensely powerful. The control of them is the ultimate objective of the player- to collect all of the orbs before Sepulchure and his minion, Drakath, do. Each are located in different locations within Lore, leading to some unusual situations. As of July 2009, five of the orbs have been found (Wind, Light, Darkness , Energy and Ice). Currently, the hero has killed the fire dragon Akriloth who had possession of the Fire Orb. However, Drakonnan stole the Orb after the dragon's death. The Fire War ended and the orb was thrown into a pit of lava where it was recovered by Sepulchure and then given to Xan. Special (plot-involved) weapons Doom Weapons are weapons whose power stems from spirits of elemental darkness bound within them. Unlike most weapons, they can be upgraded. They have special powers, including a "Doooom" power that poisons the enemy with Darkness. There are four types of Doom Weapons the player can use, the Skullstaff of Doom, The Shadowreaper of Doom, The Twin Blades of Doom, and the Necrotic Blade of Doom(Nbod) available in the Doomknight package. The first Doom Weapon was accidentally created when Artix trapped an evil spirit in his axe to defeat it. At the end of the Necropolis Saga, Artix gained the ability to purify Doom Weapons, converting them into equally powerful weapons of Light. These purified versions of the Doom Weapons are named the Destiny Weapons and can also be upgraded. Similar to the Doom Weapons, the Destiny Weapons have a converse effect of infusing an enemy with Light. Upgrades Dragon Amulet Though DragonFable may be played without any form of payment, players may purchase a "Dragon Amulet" with real-world money. A Dragon Amulet allows users to access special areas, quests, skills, weapons, and other items which are not available to non-paying players. Unlike non-paying players, Players who have purchased a Dragon Amulet may create up to six characters, instead of three, and also have access to the DragonLord class, which allows full control of the character's dragon and its customization, as well as five free inventory spots in an "item bank". Upgrade cards (similar to gift cards) available at participating stores within the US. Dragon Coins Dragon Coins are special coins that are claimed in the game to be the ancient currency used by dragons. All players can use them to buy extra storage space for their items or to purchase powerful weapons and armor. They can only be obtained if the player either wins one of Artix Entertainment's contests or if the player purchases them with real money. On January 21, the DF AEXtras page was launched, allowing players to complete 3rd-party offers to gain DragonCoins in-game. Balyhoo, a non playable character in game that gives gold to players for watching ads also now gives out 5 DCs. An item bought with Dragon Coins can be sold back, but like items purchased with gold, the player only receives a portion of what he originally paid. DoomKnight The DoomKnight upgrade was officially released on September 4, 2009. It is exclusively available to Dragon Amulet holders, depending on how long they have been upgraded, with every six months of the Dragon Amulet upgrade allowing a new DoomKnight upgrade. Each 19.95 upgrade comes with a piece of the DoomKnight set, and a title on the character page of said character. The first upgrade gives the Necrotic Sword of Doom and the title of 'DoomKnight' on the character page, the second upgrade gives the DoomKnight Helm and the title of 'Superior DoomKnight' on the character page, the third upgrade gives the DoomKnight Cloak and the title of 'Elite DoomKnight' on the character page, and the fourth and final upgrade gives the DoomKnight armor (with all skills already unlocked) and the title of 'Master DoomKnight' on the character page. Each upgrade also comes with 10,000 Dragon Coins. Players that have been upgraded for more than two years can purchase the entire DoomKnight set and all 40,000 Dragon Coins for US$65.00. Archknight History ArchKnight was originally a mod made in 2003 for AdventureQuest, planned as Artix Entertainment's second game. The game was discontinued before completion, and further development seemingly stopped for several years. DragonFable became the second game instead, and took many elements from ArchKnight, though it was anticipated that the plot of ArchKnight would eventually be incorporated into it. The project was eventually revived, and ArchKnight was merged into DragonFable on March 27, 2009. Access ArchKnight can only be played by Dragon Amulet owners and those who have verified their AdventureQuest Guardianship. A completely separate "Ash Dragonblade" character slot is created in the account's character selection list. The slot will have a Dragon Amulet if the account has at least one Dragon Amulet character. It will also obtain any full-account Dragon Coin packages. Plot ArchKnight is the story of Ash Dragonblade, a young boy who dreams of becoming a knight and defending his kingdom. However, Ash is not of noble blood and cannot normally become a knight. Ash is accidentally convinced by The Player of Dragonfable that he can become a knight by saving a princess and gaining the favor of a King. With all too much enthusiasm, he wanders into the forest of Doomwood on a quest to rescue a princess. In what can only be considered an immense twist of fate, Ash encounters an evil necromancer who has kidnapped who he believes to be a princess from Darkovia. The young knight-to-be jumps to her rescue and defeats the necromancer's undead forces, but the necromancer manages to escape with the girl. Once inside the necromancer's hidout, the villain calls upon his "master" so that he can use the princess to perform a spell that will give them immense power. Much to his surprise, the hooded master informs the necromancer that he has the wrong girl, and quickly leaves. Angered at the mistake and Ash's sudden arrival, the necromancer tries to kill the girl, but accidentally casts an ice spell that freezes her. Ash is able to defeat the necromancer, but is unable to free the princess from the ice with his "Sleeping Beauty" tactic, only succeeding in getting his lips stuck to her. Ash soon enlists the help of Warlic to free the girl. First, Warlic sends Ash to defeat three evil necromancers in the area before he can do so, as their magic is interfering with his own. After the necropies are eaten, Warlic attempts to free the princess with a fire orb. However, Ash and Aria, a young girl from Falconreach, accidentally turn the princess into stone and then break her, leaving Warlic unsure of how to save her. Ash is currently tagging along with The Hero, the player's main character, in the hopes that they will find a way to eventually fix the girl, or any other princess he can find. The girl is more or less in one piece, though unable to speak because she now spits fire when she opens her mouth, leaving her identity a mystery. When she and Ash go north to find a cure to the fire breath, snow immediately falls on them, and the girl gets amnesia. Reception See Also
|
| < Prev | Next > |
|---|
Main Menu
| Home |
| Articles |
| Search |
| Submit Article |
| Contact Us |
| Donate to Wikibin |
