Dofus is a tactical strategy MMORPG which is set in an anime inspired world. What may at first seem on the outside to be a playful and cute little game is actually an extremely well planned and executed rich game world. It features extensive economy, exploration, both PvP and PvE systems, complex social systems including but not limited to guilds and alliances, quests, exceptionally rewarding crafting systems and a multitude of well balanced character classes each with a number of possibilities in own character builds. Dofus can be experienced F2P for approximately the first few months of casual play, after which chances are you will be pulled into it and wanting more. P2P is very affordable compared to most other games on the market and opens up full exploration mode and all of the game's features to the player.
The World
The Dofus game world consists of a main continent subdivided into themed areas, a number of uniquely themed islands and an insanely huge number of hidden areas and dungeons. Players explore this world by moving from map to map in one of four directions. New players begin in Incarnam, which is an entirely separate newbie zone and at around level five, upon competition of some basic quests and quite entertaining tutorials, are welcomed into the main world continent at the central city of Astrub. This city and its surrounding areas are open to both free-to-play and paying players. Here you begin your questing, leveling and making friends. Surroundings of Astrub are populated with cute and funny harmless looking creatures like gobbals, moskitos and larva. There are probably a total of few dozen different critters you will get to see around here in this particular theme. As you head out further and discover new areas, you begin to encounter far more threatening and fascinating monsters.
What makes Dofus world truly unique is the themed aspect to everything a player encounters. Monsters, their loot, locations and crafted gear all flow through themed environments that Ankama has created for its players. To give one example, after getting somewhat stronger I was able to secure a Canidae Dungeon Key, which has granted me, and a group I was with at the time, access to a dungeon populated by humanoid dogs, wolves and some unusual kangaroo-like monsters. At the end of the dungeon I had to fight Moowolf, which was a giant funny looking cow wolf crossbreed abomination. Slaying this boss granted us all a lot of loot, like Moowolf hairs, mojo, teeth and... his magic testicles. Combining some of these boss drop items and a few other minor ones I had to purchase from the markets with a help of an experienced craftsman has allowed me to become a proud owner of an "A Moolet", amulet, which was a beginning piece to my much desired full Moowolf armor set. Some other game themes that I have experienced evolved around rabbits, goblins, vampires, tribal folk, traveling circus, tofu, cannibals and monkeys just to name a few.
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The Quests
Dofus quests are innovative, funny, entertaining and most importantly rewarding. There are very few staple obtain & deliver quests. In fact very few quests you will encounter are alike. NPC dialogue is entertaining and engaging. Those who enjoy the questing feel of old adventure games will be very pleased here. Many Dofus quests will require you to actually think, some will leave you scratching your head for a while, but overall solving all of the puzzles and mystery that designers have implemented here is extremely amusing.
Another thing worth mentioning is the fact that quests exist to support many player-game interactions. This is unique and very different. It works well, as it motivates the players and gives questing itself a reason to exist beyond just experience rewards.
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For example, in order to be able to gain access to the moon jungle and fight the malevolent Moon (who happens to be a cute little monkey with a nasty hammer in his hand), I had to complete a cannibal mask quest. I have battled some cannibals and collected the needed masks, only to discover that apparently that was not good enough to gain access. I have learned that only black painted masks grant passage to the jungle. And so then I had to explore a pirate boat and fight a variety of pirates, thus securing various pirate bodily parts. Trading these to another NPC has earned me much needed black paint. I have painted the mask and was on my way to fight Moon. This is the same quest that everyone in my group had to undertake in order to gain access to this particular boss. The reward at the end of the road was tremendous, a Magic Moon Fabric drop, fetching five million Kamas from another player who needed it for a boot recipe ingredient. Enough money to buy a full set of top level equipment for my current character!
