Dragon's Nest Levels 1 to 5, a brief feel for the game

A video of the actual game with me talking about it: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SKQ9QiSImyI


Nexon came out with another game. Free to play, go figure. Nexon's cash shop is always there. Personally I hate their cash shops. But still I am curious on this game. I gave it a whirl.

The download was surprisingly small. A little under 2 gigs. Apparently this is a game that needs A LOT of content. Its needing major updates. But the NA version is the one thats behind the ball by a lot as always. The Chinese servers are way ahead. But I don't speak Chinese and I rather be with people who speak what I do. So North American servers it is.

4 classes. Seems basic. Warrior, Archer, Sorceress, and Cleric. I started off as a Warrior. Figured might as well. Also to take note: Warrior and Archer are for beginners. Sorceress is for intermediate players. Cleric is for expert players. Atleast that's what they say on the character screen. The 4 classes are gender locked. Male: Warrior, Cleric. Female: Archer, Sorceress. Not too much customization there. To make matters worse theres about 4 hair styles, 4 hair colors, 4 skin tones that don't vary much. Basically tan or no tan? Then 4 eye colors. The colors for the eyes are very odd. I don't like them. You can also mix or match one of three styles for the equipement looks. Chest, pants, gloves and boots. One of my major irks is the color schemes. Looks like the pants and chest can match up real well. As well as the boots and gloves. However the two have very different schemes. I can have light colored pants and vest. But my gloves and boots? Dark red or brown or black only. Yeah, not doing it for me. So I get through the "customization" screen. Then im launched into a cut scene of some girls getting chased down by a band of orcs. They steal the older sister, knock some apples on the ground and kick the little sister into the mud. Then I just casually stroll out of the forest and find the little girl surrounded by goblins. "Help me... please..." and then face down in the mud. Passed out. Apparently this is the tutorial. WASD move, mouse aim, click to attack, its all said. Kill the 4 goblins in like 2 swings, then talk to the girl. Cutscene again and boom town.

I am talking to an old man. The little girl is awake and standing by his side. Apparently its up to me to save Rose, The older girl. The old man then also asks me if I want to take the tutorial. I thought I just finished it. Apparently this game has 2 tutorials that are separate from each other. Odd but okay. I do it, its real easy. Blew right through it. Then it gave me a free potion and a pat on the back with some NPC dialogue. Apparently I'm not helpless. Yay?

The next 4 levels play out exactly the same. Main quest recieved, go into a dungeon. Hop out and back to town, hand in. Side quests for that same dungeon or next part of main quest in the next dungeon. So usually you'll be doing the same dungeon a few times. Thankfully theyre so easy its not a problem at all. I haven't gotten less than S rank yet. I was lv 2 doing the hard mode dungeon. It requested 2 people, I did it alone. S rank, no problem.

So dungeons... Seems to be the only way to kill stuff and level up. All my quests involve dungeon diving. Not really big on that. Vindictus also did the same thing. Apparently going to a dungeon will drain your power. You only get so much per day. I can't seem to find out if it recharges in other ways. But it refills daily. It grants you bonus exp but you can still do dungeons even if you hit zero. They are also really easy to blow through. Also upon clearing a dungeon you get to choose a random piece of loot. All they tell you is 1, 2, 3, or 4. Feels like a game show. Whats behind chest number 3? Oh its a piece of gear for a different class. Try again next time! I always guess wrong. Oh well. Luck and I just don't mesh well. At least I can sell my reward for a little extra pocket change.

At level 4 you can learn new skills and upgrade current ones. You get only so much SP per level. Each skill has different costs. Use your SP wisely. Also you can buy a respec from the cash shop. But they're pretty pricey. Go figure. Also there are class progressions. You can pick different paths for that class and specialize in certain areas. Pretty standard. But still works well enough.

I have a problem with this cash shop. Same gripe with all nexon cash shops. I can buy power. Simply but I can buy gear that gives bonus stats that stack with my normal armors. Also they change my looks too. My problem with this? Seems like this game's pretty focused on PVP. Buying power seems under handed for a PVP focused game. Skill or cash? I prefer skill.

Moving on from my gripes about the cash shop. I do have to say the movement in this game feels really well. Its fluid and tight. It does what I say when I say. Little delays, no problems there. Actually I love that. Also it seems like all the NPCs are done pretty well. They have their little quirks and arguments, personality and emotions do shine through. But you will only see it if you read quest text. (Seriously, read some quest text.) The graphics are pretty dated but they're very functional. Lots of machines can handle this one. No real complaints except for customization.

The combats really smooth too. I can link normal hits with skills into a special attack kick to the face. Or skill chain up some moves and then roll to the side. It feels right. It feels nice. I like the combat. It is an action mmorpg and the the action is fluid. Good stuff there. You can also break a TON of stuff. World things like barrels and tables to stuff on enemies like shields. No shield = no block. No block = soon to be dead. I like it a lot actually. Its a bit repetitive between levels 1 and 4. After 4 and you get more skills you can then mix it up a lot more.

To be fair this game is pretty good. Its free and has some problems. Cash shop is the biggest one here. But you know the game plays well. They put some thought into the world you play in. I like it. I would recommend it to others who want a casually fun game. Depending on what Nexon does this game could go far. See what happens. But really give it a try. Its free and is only like 2 gigs to download. There is nothing to loose by trying it. Give it a shot.