Dragon Eternity had a serious presence on the show floor at GDC. For those unfamiliar, Dragon Eternity is an MMO set in a fantasy world where you can travel on huge adventures, bring dragons as pets, fight epic battles and bosses, and grow a character with a full specialization tree. One more thing: it is a mobile game. Yes, Dragon Eternity is cross platform. By that we mean it is playable on the browser, tablet, iOS, and Android.
The map has over thirty locations to explore offering quests and zones. There are also instances that pop up at different times. An example of this was an undead encounter at a graveyard. They are timed encounters but will lead players to locations for extra rewards. The game offers over one thousand quests for players to explore as well. There is no lack of content for sure.
So what can you play in Dragon Eternity? There are three character classes to start with and each one goes into a much larger skill-tree (a trend we are seeing in a lot of games lately which allows players to play how they want). There is the Witcher class which is magic oriented, the Berserker which covers the melee angle, and also the Paladin which is more of an all-around class. Each of these trees opens up other options for players to specialize in. The game was fully playable, but we only saw a few pieces of character progression during the demo. The advancement system seems to allow for a decent bit of customization.
Another aspect to your character is the equipment. The weapons and armor you choose impact how you play. Magic is important too as each class gets access to schools of magic. Earth, Air, Fire, Water, Order, and Chaos make up the magical sphere. You can imagine classes like the Berserker would use Chaos and the Paladin using order. These classes are not independent of each other though. Character design is one of Dragon Eternity’s strongest features and players will spend hours fine tuning their champions.
Combat is another feature that took us by surprise. The game ports you into a fight mode almost like Mortal Combat when you encounter a monster or opponent. You then have to battle it out. Dragons can help you in combat and work to crush your foes. Other players can also join your battles and you can even ask for help from friends. The combat interface was easy to use and we watched several levels of battles. You can also bring in dragon mounts for the battles. There are also PvP arenas and areas where you can go to fight other players. They have scenarios like King of the Hill, duels, and 4 vs 4 fights. There is even a sea battle which carries over three stages of combat. The game supports a reputation system for characters as well so you can see the top players. We really liked the 4 vs 4 combat for PvP.
Dragon Eternity also supports a massive crafting system. There are nine professions broken down into Gathering and Crafting areas. The professions are: Farmer, Hunter, Blacksmith, Jeweler, Fisherman, Prospector, Alchemist, Inscriptor, and Cook. The system gives players plenty of crafting options and allows them to make some great potions, armor, or recipes to support their game play. The profession guide on the website is very helpful and can guide players to make their choices on how they want to craft. The system also has an in game shop as it is free to play, and also an auction house. Finding resources should not be difficult for players.
Dragon Eternity has an amazing depth for a browser and mobile game. The booth at GDC had it playable on multiple platforms so you could see the difference. All of them interacted so players are in the same world: it truly is cross-platform in this way. As more gamers go to work or commute during the week, these are definitely the games they will pick up to kill time with.
Have you given Dragon Eternity a shot yet? If so, what do you think? Let us know in the comments.