DragonFable

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DragonFable
Image:Dragonfablelogo2.jpg
The logo of DragonFable
Developer(s) Artix Entertainment, LLC
Publisher(s) Artix Entertainment, LLC
Distributor(s) Artix Entertainment, LLC
Designer(s) Artix Entertainment, LLC
Version 6.12
Platform(s) Macromedia Flash Player
Release date July 2005 (Testing)
June 2006 (Live)
Genre(s) RPG
Mode(s) Single-player
Rating(s) Not rated, website requires 13+
Media Web
System requirements Web browser & Adobe Flash Player 8.0+
Input methods Mouse

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 and a sequel to that of MechQuest, 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 (paying players). Each character is associated with a base class and has an upgradeable combat level and six trainable stats. 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 pets 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.

Contents

[edit] Gameplay

A cutscene as seen in DragonFable.
A cutscene as seen in DragonFable.

In DragonFable players are able to walk around and explore a 2D world. The game is updated weekly with new quests, items, and areas. Players may also interact and team-up with NPCs in different towns and have them help in battle with special abilities.

Also, players may 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.

DragonFable has many unique monsters that may be encountered, as well as several recurring antagonists (enemies), such as Drakath, Sepulchure and Xan. Each enemy has his or her own goals and ambitions that intertwine with and form the game's storyline. There are many side quests that players can take to assist NPCs, gain experience points, or find rare items.

[edit] Combat

Combat in DragonFable uses a simple turn-based battle system with option commands like "attack" which lets warriors do a simple slash, rogues do two quick cuts with their daggers, and mages cast a spell using the element of the weapon they are currently wielding. There currently is no "flee" option, except in the special class ChickenCow Lord, and enemies currently cannot run away which renders the abilities "trip", "tangle", and "root" (all of which prevent enemies from escaping) currently useless.

Players try to get their opponent's health points (HP) down to zero before their opponents does the same to them. Some monsters have regenerative abilities making them more challenging to kill. Players can also use potions to restore Health Points (HP) or Mana Points (MP), or use an unlockable defensive ability which gives an 80% chance to block, dodge or parry their opponents' attacks. Another unlockable option gives the players a chance to immobilize the opponent. Some opponents, however, have a chance of resisting the attack.


[edit] Elements

In DF, every weapon, pet, and monster has an element, the type of damage they do. There are several elements, with the most common being fire, water, wind, stone, and ice. Some enemies have elemental modifiers, meaning that they receive either more or less damage from attacks of certain elements. For example, if a player attacks a Werewolf that has -200 defense towards Silver attacks with a silver weapon, the damage done to the Werewolf is greatly increased. However, if the player attacks a Basilisk that has 200 defense toward Stone attacks with a stone weapon, the player will do negative damage to the Basilisk, or in other words, the Basilisk will heal the amount of damage that would have been done to it were it not resistant to the Stone element. Note that in DragonFable elements are not opposites of each other; for instance, attacking an enemy that has high defense toward fire with an ice weapon will not cause greater than normal damage unless the enemy also has a modifier for ice. These things are also true for pets and magic attacks.

[edit] Weapons

The Doom weapons. From left to right: the Skull Staff of Doom, the Twin Blades of Doom, and the Shadow Reaper of Doom.
The Doom weapons. From left to right: the Skull Staff of Doom, the Twin Blades of Doom, and the Shadow Reaper of Doom.

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 occasionally found after completing a quest.

[edit] Doom weapons

In DragonFable, Doom weapons are weapons whose power stems from spirits of elemental darkness bound within them. Unlike most other weapons, they can be upgraded. Currently a Doom weapon can be upgraded up to three times by using a certain number of Unlucky Doom Essences each time. When used in battle, Doom weapons have a chance to enable their "Doooom" power, which is similar to the ability poison. "Doooom" poison deals five points of Darkness element damage per turn and lasts for five turns. There are currently five weapons, however, only four have been revealed in the game thus far. The weapons are:

  • Shadow Reaper of Doom - originally, the holy axe of Artix von Krieger. According to the game, it was accidentally created when Artix trapped an evil spirit in his axe to defeat it, creating the first Doom Weapon.
  • Twin Blades of Doom - a rogue's daggers ornamented with two small skulls on each blade.
  • Skull Staff of Doom - a mage's staff ornamented with a skull.
  • Necrotic Blade of Doom - Currently unattainable by players and is wielded by Sepulchure. The AE staff has confirmed it to be the fifth doom weapon, for there already has been a fourth doom weapon, where all three doom weapons are fused together. (Name unknown)[1]

In the new Moonridge war, Artix tells the player that they will be able to purify the weapons in the upcoming Doomwood expansion.

[edit] Pets

Pets are used for additional damage in battle. They can be bought in pet stores, or can sometimes be obtained as a reward after certain events. Many pets require a Dragon Amulet to use, however there is also a variety of pets that free players can use. 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 (see Stats below). Pets' levels can vary, and are similar to friends with the exception that will automatically attack the last enemy the player attacked.

[edit] Level

After defeating a monster, players gain experience points. If a player accumulates enough, they will gain a level. As characters gain levels, they unlock abilities which can be used in battle. With an increase in level, the amount of experience needed to reach the next level is also increased. The amount of experience points needed to get to the next level is the square of the current level times 100 (ex. to get to level 19, a level 18 player will need 182 × 100 = 32,400 EXP to reach level 19). Fortunately, 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. The current level cap is level 40 (since build 5.7); the previous level cap was at level 29. 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. The next level cap raise will be at the end of the Necropolis Saga, which is still underway.

[edit] Stats

The Stat Trainer.
The Stat Trainer.

With each increase in level a character gains three stat points, which can be used to raise the character's stats. Players choose which stats to raise in order to increase the strength of certain abilities. The cost of raising any one stat one point is based on the characters current level, and no stat can be raised higher than the character's current level. The cost of training any stat increases by 5 gold per level (ex. the cost to train a stat at level 5 is 25 gold and the cost at level 6 is 30 gold.)

To raise stats players must talk to Sir Render in Falconreach, or speak to Captain Rolith in Oaklore Keep. Players can also choose to remove all the character's stats for a price of 1000 gold coins in Falconreach; however, after doing so the players will have to repay for retraining their stats. The stats are as following:

  • Strength (STR) - STR affects the amount of minimum and maximum melee damage by 0.5 per point
  • Endurance (END) - END affects how much life the character has by increasing their HP by 5 points per one Endurance point increased.
  • Dexterity (DEX) - DEX currently only affects how much damage is done by ranged weapons
  • Intelligence (INT) - INT affects how much damage is done by magic attacks and increases the character's total mana points by 5 per one point increased.
  • Charisma (CHA) - CHA affects the pet training (raises pet damage), and some NPC interaction roles (any possible roles are currently unknown).
  • Luck (LUK) - LUK affects all rolls in a small way.

[edit] Classes

[edit] Base Classes

When a player starts 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 which gender and class they want their character to be, 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. The following are the starting classes that are currently available:

The Warrior, Mage, and Rogue classes.
The Warrior, Mage, and Rogue classes.
  • Warrior - a strong base class that is the most well-balanced of the three. Warriors wear plate armor and generally wield swords, maces, or axes. They can also wield staffs and daggers with no skill penalty, but can not use them as effectively. For instance, a warrior wielding a dagger will do 20% less damage than a Rogue equipped with the same daggers. Many of their abilities focus on one powerful strike or multiple attacks on a single foe.
  • Mage - a fast-learning base class that bases their fighting style around the elements. Their fighting style is more defensive than the Warrior's, as they possess a blind ability (increases the enemy's likelihood to miss) in addition to the immobilization ability common to all three base classes. They wear robes and typically equip staffs and wands. When equipped with other kinds of weapons, they use them to strike the enemy instead of cast spells with it. Mages have four elemental attack abilities which can be unlocked at level 6: Fire, Wind, Energy, and Ice. Also mages do not have to wait a certain number of turns before they can use their ability to attack all enemies at once again.
  • Rogue - a cunning and swift base class that wear lightweight armor. They use two identical daggers to attack their opponents and, unlike the other two classes, strike twice for their normal attack - once with each dagger; however, each attack only does 60% of the weapon's normal damage. When wielding any other weapon they can only strike once. Rogues have an ability that allows them to strike four times when they are equipped with daggers.

[edit] Additional Classes

Players can upgrade to a new class by wearing armor belonging to that class. These armors can be found at set locations throughout the game. A player may switch from one non-base class to another, or back to their original base class, at no cost. These classes' abilities are unlocked by leveling up the class' armor instead of raising a character's level. Three classes have been released for paying players and three for nonpaying players. However, nonpaying players can only use the first seven abilities of the free classes. The following is a list of additional classes:

The Guardian Armour.
The Guardian Armour.
  • Guardian - a class only available to players who have paid for a Guardianship for AdventureQuest. Some of the Guardians' abilities cannot be used without the Guardian Blade. The 14th skill was unlocked on the 6th June and is the ability to summon the Guardian Dragon to aid you in battle. The armor resides in the Falconreach Guardian Tower if the player wishes to equip it or remove it.
  • DragonLord - a powerful class that can control dragons. It is only available to players who have purchased a Dragon Amulet. Lady Celestia trains and gives you the armor at her grove.
  • Dread Pirate - a new version of the pirate class armor released in celebration of the ninja victory in the Pirates vs. Ninja war. Players wearing the normal Pirate armor can obtain the armor from Thyton in Falconreach. Any abilities a player has unlocked for the normal Pirate armor will also be unlocked for the Dread Pirate armor. This armor is identical to the pirate armor except that it is black and has slightly higher defense. This class is also only available to players with Dragon Amulets.
  • DragonRider - not a character class; instead, it allows upgraded players fight with their Titan Dragon. The character looks like it is wearing the DragonLord armor while riding a full-sized dragon with unique abilities. This class is only available to players with Dragon Amulets. There are some exceptions to this rule; for example the quest to get the final Guardian skill.
Free classes:
  • Pirate - wearing the Pirate armor allows a player to play as a pirate. Players can obtain the armor at Osprey Cove. Rhubarb is the Pirate armor trainer. There are no huge drawbacks for any starting class using the Pirate Armor, so the armor works well with each starting class.
  • Ninja - wearing the Ninja armor allows a player to play as a ninja. Players can obtain the armor at Shadow of the Wind Village. Thyton is the Ninja armor trainer. Leader of the Ninjas and Ninja class trainer is Thyton.
  • Ranger - wearing the Ranger armor allows a player to play as a ranger. Players can obtain the armor in Sandsea. Zhoom is the Ranger armor trainer. This class differs from the other classes in that players can wield their normal weapon and a bow, though they cannot use both in the same round. Also, the bow uses characters' stats the same way their equipped weapon does. According to Zhoom, you need three "Ancient Treasures" (as a drop in his quests) so he can give you the Ranger armor.
  • DeathKnight - a class that sacrifices health for its attacks. Players must have fully trained the upcoming Paladin and Necromancer classes to unlock this class. [2] The class' helmet, cape, and sword, as well as a necklace and ring, can all be currently obtained by completing Artix's special quest "DeathKnight". DeathKnight armor was released in December 2007 for testing. As of April 2008, another test version of DeathKnight armor has been released, the final version before it is full released in game. According to the Design Notes, this will be the most powerful armor yet. To unlock the Deathknight Armor, players will need both fully trained Paladin and Necromancer armor.
  • Paladin - the newest class to arrive in DragonFable. It has a mixture of powerful light attacks and attacks using the element of the player's weapon. It also has special healing abilities that can restore both mana and health. The armor is out of test stage and Artix in the Necropolis trains it. To train it, players need to collect Undead Slayer Badges obtained by doing some of Artix's quests. All of the skills of both this and the Necromancer classes will need to be trained to unlock the Deathknight armor.
  • Necromancer - Although this class is not available yet, it is coming soon in the new Necropolis updates. According to the Design Notes, it will have many unique skills, including the power to control an enemy. The armor will undoubtedly have darkness-based attacks. Players will need to have both this and the Paladin classes fully trained to unlock the Deathknight armor, once all three are released into the game.

[edit] Professions

Professions are a recently released update to the game allowing players to craft and build certain objects. So far only the Blacksmith and Alchemy professions have been released, but more professions will be available in the future.

  • Blacksmithing - allows players to craft strong weapons for relatively little gold. Raising the blacksmithing skill of a character allows the player to build new, more powerful weapons with materials purchased or found in quests. The level 10 and higher forged weapons can only be used by Dragon Amulet holders. The blacksmith trainer is Yulgar.
  • Alchemy - allows players to upgrade their character's heal potion flask. Raising the alchemy skill of a character causes that character's heal potion flask to restore a higher number of HP per use. Each raise in level increases that amount by 15 HP. A character's alchemy skill level has an upper bound equal to the character's current level. Alchemy does not affect the character's mana potion flask. The alchemy trainer is Reens.

[edit] Dragons

Dragons in DragonFable come in three different stages: egg, baby, and Titan. While any player can get a Dragon egg and hatch it into a baby Dragon, only Dragon Amulet holders can mature their baby Dragon into its Titan form. The chain of quests required to obtain a Dragon egg can be started by a player talking to the NPC Rolith. All baby dragons look the same and have the same element upon hatching. All players can choose their dragon's element but only Dragon Amulet holders can customize its adult appearance. In the game Baby dragons are "stabled" at her home of Lady Celestia in Sunbreeze Grove. Players can equip their baby dragons as pets. Players can also feed their baby Dragon once per day, which will increase its skill points. Players who feed their dragons require 500 days to get all skill points for Adventurers with no Dragon Coins, at least 250 days for players with Dragon Coins (Dragon Amulet owners and Adventurers alike), and at least 100 days for Dragon Amulet owners (you'll need rare items from quests to do this).These skill points can be allocated to one of five different skill pools. When a skill pool has a high enough number of skill points in it, a new battle skill is unlocked for the Dragon. Like any pet, the player cannot control the baby Dragon's actions in battle directly, but a higher Charisma stat will encourage it to use its skills more often. The available pools are:

  • Protection - the Dragon heals or defends the character.
  • Magic - the Dragon casts magic based on its element.
  • Fighting - the Dragon makes physical attacks such as biting the opponent.
  • Assistance - the Dragon boosts the character's stats and abilities, such as raising the chance of making a critical hit.
  • Mischief - the Dragon weakens enemy.

[edit] Titan Dragons

According to the game's creators, it normally takes a dragon over 100 years to become full sized without the use of a Dragon Amulet.[3] Players who have Dragon Amulets can instantly use their Dragon in its Titan (adult) form. Titan Dragons can be customized, trained, and used to fight with in the Dragon Arena, as well as used on certain quests. These quests are usually those at the end of quest chains. Titan Dragons are also used in training the DragonRider class.

[edit] Annual events

Rhubarb's house in Tricks or Treats (Mogloween) quest.
Rhubarb's house in Tricks or Treats (Mogloween) quest.

The annual events of DragonFable mostly coincide with the major American holidays. The following is a list of all annual events:

Wars are also a common event in DragonFable. 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 are won by the players, but in a few the players have lost, usually to move along the storyline. There are two annual or semi-annual wars- every Frostval, an army of ice-based monsters attack, and every Friday the 13th, an undead war begins.

[edit] Plot

[edit] Setting

The Guardian Tower in Falconreach.
The Guardian Tower in Falconreach.

The game takes place in a medieval land called "Lore", set roughly 5 years before AdventureQuest. The central town is known as Falconreach, which is where most of the current events happen, but characters start west of Falconreach at Oaklore Keep, a stronghold of the Knights of the Pactagonal Table. Transportation to other towns is possible through riding gryphons, teleporting through portals, and walking. Aside from its main fantasy setting, DragonFable also has a pirate town, a ninja village, and a mining town. While dragons play a crucial part in the storyline, they are not common creatures in the world of Lore.

[edit] Characters

Main article: List of Characters in DragonFable

[edit] Towns

Towns are places in DragonFable where the player can access stores (to buy weapons, armor, etc.) and take certain quests, as well as talk to NPCs. During Wars, different towns are attacked. Currently, eleven towns have been released:

  • Amityvale - A town always under nightfall, where the moon is always full. It is sometimes attacked by undead armies. It has a Guardian Tower nearby, in which a vampire lives.
  • Doomwood - A new zone, released April 19, 2008. Currently, the only accessible location in Doomwood is the Necropolis, an underground city of necromancers. It will introduce a new character, Noxus, and offer upgrades for the Cloak of Doom, similar to the upgrades available for Doom Weapons.
  • Falconreach - The main city in Dragonfable. It was once destroyed by Xan, but has since been rebuilt. It has a Guardian Tower, several shops, and several NPCs who give quests.
  • Frostvale - Always available around Christmas, or "Frostval" as the holiday is called ingame. It is populated by frost moglins.
  • Lymcrest - A mining town. The Lymcrest Labyrinth, a rapidly expanding maze of monster-filled passages, is accessible here. Currently, Douglass Digg is the only person in Lymcrest players can talk to.
  • Moonridge - A town near Doomwood that is currently under attack by the undead. Although the town itself is not available yet, players can watch a cutscene that takes place here.
  • Oaklore - The first city a player can access in Dragonfable. It is west of Falconreach. The keep is the home of the Knights of the Pactagonal Table.
  • Osprey Cove - A pirate town on Sho Nuff Island. There a few shops available. Players can talk to First Mate Rhubarb to become a pirate and defeat the pirates' sole enemy, the ninjas.
  • Sandsea - A desert area south of Falconreach. There are two NPCs available there, Zhoom, a Ranger; and Sek-Duat XV, the emperor of the Sandsea. Dragon Amulet owners may buy DA-only weapons from Zhoom.
  • Shadow of the Wind Village - A ninja village on Sho Nuff Island. There are three shops there. Players can talk Thyton to become a powerful ninja and defeat their enemy, the devil fox Okuchi No Okami.
  • Willowshire - Currently destroyed. It has a Guardian Tower and was once the home of the Nature Orb. DA-holders can battle Gorgok, the dragon who destoyed Willowshire.

[edit] Design Notes

The Design Notes, on the DragonFable website, offer an in-depth look at all the coming updates, quests, features, recent contests, and updates to the game. The Design Notes have run since July 26, 2005, to the present date and there is usually an entry every day or two. The staff, who are currently posting in the design notes include Artix, Cysero, Geopetal, Zhoom, and occasionally Reens and Rolith. Normally the Design Notes don't contain a single entry where it is serious. AE slip in crazy and insane things. Also, Geopetal types in purple, and Cysero in green.

[edit] Upgrades

[edit] Dragon Amulet

The Dragon Amulet icon.
The Dragon Amulet icon.

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. Players who have purchased a Dragon Amulet are referred to as "DA-holders". Unlike non-paying players, DA-holders 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". A comprehensive list of in-game features offered solely to DA-holders is maintained within the DragonFable forums.[4] The Dragon Amulet upgrade is similar to Artix Entertainment's Guardian upgrade in AdventureQuest and Star Captain upgrade in MechQuest.

Dragon Amulets may be purchased from the DragonFable website. Upgrade cards (similar to gift cards) are also available at participating Target stores within the US.[5]

[edit] Dragon Coins

Dragon Coins are special coins that are claimed in the game to be the ancient currency used by dragons. All players (even free ones) can use them to buy extra storage space for their items or to purchase powerful weapons and items. Dragon Coins can not currently be found after a victorious battle. This has led to criticism by players due to the unavailability of them in game,[citation needed] though in a recent Design Notes article, the AE staff has stated they are working on a new system for players to obtain Dragon Coins,[citation needed] though no more info has currently been released on the subject. 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. Currently, 2000 Dragon Coins cost $9.95. Dragon Amulet purchasers also receive 200 free Dragon Coins. 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. More recently, the DragonFable team have announced a new "item bank" which will allow Dragon Amulet players to purchase 30 more inventory places.

[edit] Critical Feedback

While the majority of DragonFable is available to free players, some quests and other game content are only accessible to paid players. This content includes titan fights, where the player's dragon becomes a full-sized dragon for battles against other large monsters, the ability to save starting items, and the special DragonLord armor. Some fights important to the storyline are also only available to Dragon Amulet holders with their Titan dragons. However, free players can usually still watch the cutscenes leading up to them.

Another complaint about the games is the lack of inventory space. Currently, a player's inventory is limited to only twenty spaces, to save on server space, although players can purchase up to ten more slots with Dragon Coins[6]. Now, the bank system is released in which you can store even more items starting at 5 slots for DA holders. You can buy more slots with Dragon Coins.

Some players also criticize the amount of farming that must be done in order to get gold or experience. Although farming is common in other RPGs, such as Runescape, many people believe that an excessive amount of farming is required even at low levels in DragonFable.

[edit] Artix vs. The Undead

Artix Entertainment has also created an animated short called "Artix vs. The Undead" based on Dragonfable which shows about three and a half minutes of Artix slaying numerous undead controlled by the Necromantress. The short is continued in the game as part of the Necropolis Saga. Where there are some secrets that are revealed.

[edit] See also

[edit] References

  1. ^ September 2006 DragonFable design notes. Retrieved on April 3, 2008.
  2. ^ April 23, 2008 Design Notes. Retrieved on April 25, 2008.
  3. ^ Design Notes for May 2007. Retrieved on April 1, 2008. “It takes over 100 years for a Dragon to reach its full size... normally..... but that Dragon Amulet is sure going to come in handy!”
  4. ^ Guide to Dragon Amulets & DA-only Items. Retrieved on April 16, 2008.
  5. ^ AE's upgrade card info page. Retrieved on March 15, 2008.
  6. ^ Bohn, Adam. "Design Notes", 2006-10-11. Retrieved on 2006-10-11. (English) "Soon, you will be able to use DragonCoins to increase the number of items you can hold in your backpack! Currently you can hold 20 items of any type. We are still testing to see how adding more bag slots effects character loading speed and the database size/strain. It seems likely that you will be able to use DragonCoins to unlock 10 more slots. (If it goes smoothly, we can always go higher)" 

[edit] External links


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