7-8-2009 Game News : Expect My Next Game Addiction: Dragonica OBT Coming Soon
 | Conquering Combat in Free Realms By Elliott Anderson Elliott Anderson is a college student from Portland, Oregon studying History and Photography. He's been a gamer since he was a young teenager, initially interested in First Person Shooters, strategy and console gaming. As he gained experience, the draw of playing with tens of thousands of other people became to great and he succumbed to games like Planetside, Everquest and World of Warcraft. |
The Dragonica North America closed beta wrapped up a couple weeks ago, and the staff over at THQ ICE are working hard to bring us the next phase of the beta. Though no official start date has been chosen by the Dragonica staff, rumors abound that it will be between August 17th and 21st. Furthermore, a Dragonica spokesperson gave us some interesting information regarding the open beta via the Dragonica forums. There will likely be no database wipe between the end of the OBT and the official release of the game, meaning you get to keep your name and level. To me, this is awesome news, as I hate losing a couple weeks worth of grinding when a beta ends.
The specific quote from 'Scapes', the THQ ICE forum representative, reads like this (regarding the database wipes):
"As many of you know we have three major test phases planned: Preview Beta Test (PBT), Closed Beta Test (CBT) and Open Beta Test (OBT) in that order. The first two will require invites to participate while the third will be readily accessible by creating an account. Invites are granted in the form of keys and are transferable. There is no non-disclosure agreement (NDA) for any of these beta test phases meaning you can share your experiences and captured media freely.
PBT will start in late May and be followed by CBT and OBT. The phases may not occur immediately after each other. Player accounts that gain access to earlier test phases (including Dragonica Online's Alpha Test) will have access to subsequent phases. PBT will be preceded by the Sneak Preview Beta Test (SPBT) which will occur two days before PBT begins. Database wipes will occur between each beta test phase, excluding between SPBT and PBT. This means that all characters and progress will be reset for each beta test phase. Items and gold won from contests will not carry over between beta test phases. Some coupon-based prizes may be reissued for OBT. OBT will be followed by commercial launch and no wipe is anticipated between these phases."
As well as:
"We are done with the database wipes!
Your characters will last through Open Beta Test to commercial launch and beyond.
-- Scapes"
Take it at face value, but still exciting nonetheless.
For those of you not familiar with Dragonica, it is a 3D sidescroller MMORPG. It plays like an arcade game but manages to sidestep the normal limitations of a sidescroller by allowing a third plane of movement and more freedom while in combat. Actual combat seems quick-paced and exciting, constantly involving area of effect attacks and keeping monsters airborne while you use often comedic effects to demolish them. The game definitely has the "cute” aspect going, as with most arcade-style MMO's, but it's not likely to make the game any less fun. The classes are pretty typical: Magician, Warrior, Archer and Thief. Like maplestory and countless other games, at level 20 you will have the option to further specialize your class, and again at level 40. The option to become a more specialized healer, tank or damage dealer will happen at 20. The gameplay will certainly have an arcade feel to it with lots of large combo's and button mashing, though many skills will require a specific sequence of buttons. PVP appears to be arena based with either a 1v1 or team scenario in an all out deathmatch.
Dragonica has already been released throughout most of the rest of the world. Intrepid North Americans can even opt to play on EU servers, as there is no IP restriction currently. Or, at least until the NA version is released (which is bound to happen soon enough that I haven't bothered to make an EU account). There will be some minor differences between the different region versions, but I believe they mainly reside in class and item names.
The chosen release date for the game kind of boggled my mind as it makes little sense to release a game right when your main demographic will be getting ready for school. However; the amount of press and anticipation floating around the net would lead me to believe that the release will have plenty of momentum. On almost every MMO gaming site, Dragonica usually hovers in the top 10 in terms of hits. Plus, the game has had an outstanding reception throughout the rest of the world, and will likely take well here in North America.
I, personally, am thoroughly excited about this game and it will likely make my next big gaming addiction. It certainly doesn't have the air of seriousness that a lot of games have, but I certainly foresee it being one of my favorites. At least, until Diablo 3 is released ;)
By mmosite
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