Komikero: All Consuming Evil

One of the more difficult lesser bosses in Drakensang-Online is the Level 39 All Consuming Evil, which is basically the highest level of the Bog Monster that players will encounter very early on in the game.

This version of All Consuming Evil is found in the difficult setting of Liar's Lair. Other players might find this guy easy, and from a certain point of view, they may be right. This monster is fairly easy to evade since it just slowly dodders clumsily around the area, but since it has an incredible amount of hit points, it takes a really long time to kill. It gets tedious after a while and you just might get killed if you get complacent and lazy.

Click on thumbnail for a larger image.

This monster packs a smashing attack that can give an incredible amount of damage. You may think you may still have enough life, but sometimes that may not be enough. One whack from this guy reduces my health down by almost 40%. Two more whacks and I'm dead. I have to circle around it, trying to regenerate health before I attack again.

The new skills come in pretty handy because a combination of the Paralyzing Onslaught, Iron Brow, Scream of Rage, and Ground Breaker can damage this guy quite a lot. Just watch out to avoid its smashing attacks.

Oh yeah, I've finally managed to reach Level 39! And with the new level, I get my final quest: KILL HERALD.

Tall order, man! Tall order!

You are...GOLD!

I started wondering what will happen when I get to 99 pieces of gold and then some. Will I get extra Andermants or will a new coin be introduced (such as platinum maybe)?

Anybody knows?

Komikero: The Crystals of Truth

The Crystals of Truth (or COT) are items dropped by enemies when they are killed which you can use to identify Unidentified items. You can also buy COTs from the in-game shops.

Unlike Diablo where Deckard Cain will identify your items for free, here in Drakensang-Online you need to collect COTs to do the same. And no, it doesn't take one crystal to identify an item. Improved items take around a hundred COTs to identify. Magic Items take around 160. Extraordinary items take around 260-600. Legendary items take around 1,000.

How often do COTs drop? Well, monsters would occasionally drop 7 COTs and that number will increase up to around 10 COTS as the levels of your enemies increase. Playing Slifmoor for around 30 minutes can get me around 50 or 60 or so COTs. Granted it may not seem much, especially when you constantly find unidentified items left and right.

Some players get frustrated, fretting that you need to use real money to buy Andermant which you use in-game to buy COTs so you can identify the items you have.

I used to get really frustrated myself, but as time went on, I just adjusted to how the game is played realizing that I didn't need to identify every single Unidentified item I came across. In fact, I learned to be patient and collect these Unidentified items to craft much better items. I ditched Unidentified items that have levels lower than me, opting to use only higher level items and identifying only the best items my character can use.

For instance, I spent several weeks (I play only an hour or so a day) collecting Unidentified items of only Level 37 and above and crafting better items out of them. I eventually came up with an Extraordinary Duria Mace. In the time I spent collecting the items, I managed to accumulate more than 1000 COTs. It was more than enough to identify the mace. I never had to spend a single peso or real money to get it.

Right now I'm collecting COTs again, because I've managed to craft an even better weapon, a Legendary Broad Sword, and I need a lot of COTs to identify that.

Drakensangers 12

What's for lunch!?

Meeting the Herald of the Anderworld

I’ve got three words for you: Frikkin. Big. Monster.

The Herald of the Anderworld is a Level 40 character, massive, and it packs quite a punch too. My Dragon Knight is currently at Level 37 and has a little over 3,000 hit points yet the Herald only took about two blows to kill me (I suppose I should be thankful I lasted that long).

At my current level I still can’t defeat Khalys solo (though Gerry, in-game name: Komikero, came really close...read about it here) so I figure I’m going to have to be at least Level 50 before being able to stand toe to toe with the Herald of the Anderworld (maybe not even then).

So it’s back to the grind again for me.

In the meantime I just took out my excess energy at a bunch of hapless undead archers and guardians in Slifmoor.

Drakensangers 11

Because we love Twilight so much.

Komikero: I Almost Took Out Khalys Solo

One of the big challenges of the game are the three huge bosses: Khalys, Sigrisimarr Frostclaw, and Herald of the Anderworld.

When my Dragon Knight was at Level 19, I encountered Khalys for the very first time. I died even before I saw her. She hit me with some kind of energy beam that followed me where I went. It killed me instantly. Khalys herself is a Level 26 Unique enemy but, even if I went back as a Level 26 Dragon Knight weeks later, I still couldn't beat her.

Even at Level 32, which is 6 levels above Khalys, I still couldn't beat her. And as with how the game is designed, I can no longer gain experience points when enemies I encounter are more than 5 levels below me. I find it ridiculous that even when I can no longer gain experience points if I beat her, I still can't beat her.

Worse, the stun skills simply won't work on big bosses like Khalys. "Paralyzing Onslaught" simply doesn't work on her at all, the skill that I use to stun enemies as I hack away at them keeping myself free from damage.

I started to think that perhaps I wasn't meant to beat her alone.

Click on thumbnail for a larger image.

Grouping up with other players would probably be my only option, but since it's hard to find the time that syncs with Jonas and Ysa's free time and not wanting to group with people I don't know, I just went on playing the rest of the game. Unlike Diablo where you absolutely need to kill the big boss before you can progress into the next area, in Drakensang-Online you can actually skip killing these big bosses and play the rest of the game, allowing you to level up and come back when you're strong enough.

And so that's what I did. When I hit Level 37, armed with polished gems that made my armor stronger and weapons more powerful, I returned to face Khalys once again.

Frustratingly, some of the new stun skills don't work on her as well. Along with "Paralyzing Onslaught", "Iron Brow" and "Ground Breaker" don't seem to affect her at all. So my technique of stunning enemies almost perpetually with a combo of those three skills simply will not work. I would just have to go toe to toe with her.

As it turns out, the new skill "Smash" proved to the most useful, as it gave me 200% weapon damage. Since my Extraordinary Duria Mace already gives me a maximum of 111 damage, helped along with a couple of "Essence of War" boosts, I find myself remarkably strong enough to really go toe to toe with Khalys. The perpetual presence of the Powerful Health Drops around the battle area help me sustain my health long enough to keep fighting.

It took a long time of going at it, but I managed to whittle down Khalys' health to around 5%. Unfortunately, I got careless and got a little overconfident. Just as I was about to beat her, I got killed.

I thought, no problem! I could just resurrect myself and keep on fighting. This is when I discovered something even more frustrating about fighting big bosses. Unlike lesser bosses, Khalys' health returned to 100% after my resurrection. Holy crap. I couldn't muster the energy and the will to go toe to toe again right at that moment for another 15 minutes of fighting so I just allowed her to kill me.

I'll just recover, psych myself up for it, and I'll try again next time. Now that I'm level 38, going on 39, I hope it gets easier.

I mean... there's still Sigrisimarr and Herald to go!

I spent it all!

Well…almost all of it.

I’m talking about the 12,000 Andermants that I received as a gift from Vanslaugh, Drakensang-Online’s community manager a few days ago, of course. I was hesitant to spend it at first but I figured what the hell! So off I went and gone on a spending spree.

Click on thumbnail for a larger image.

I’d like to think that I spent it wisely. Here’s the stuff that I spent it on:

• Two (2) additional lines of slots on my inventory
• Upgraded my Extraordinary Adventurer’s Sword
• Added slots to some items so I can use up a few gems I picked up

I didn’t buy health potions because I pick those up more often nowadays anyway (the same goes for Essence of Combat). I was tempted to buy a Fruit of Insight (increases XP rewards by 100%) but I’m still getting used to my new skills and I figure I won’t be able to maximize the increased rewards yet (I’ll try it out later when I’m more seasoned). I was also considering buying a new item but decided against it in the end because I’m thinking I’m going to pick one up later anyway or maybe I’ll take a leaf from Gerry’s book and try crafting.

So, what do you guys think? Andermants well spent?

From Rags to Riches

When I had little I frequently spent it all and spent it fast.

I bought potions, added slots to my weapon (one typo there and that would’ve come out very wrong), and gotten a few trivial items of no real consequence. Whatever Andermants I came upon during battle was quickly used up.

Andermants

I recently was given a gift, together with Gerry (in-game name: Komikero) and Ysa (in-game name: Xvii), of 12,000 Andermants from Vanslaugh, a community manager from Drakensang-Online and I suddenly found myself relatively rich (or at least relatively well-off). From my history you’d think I’d be spending the Andermants left and right but just the opposite: I found myself spending less.

I have no doubt I’d be spending those Andermants in the near future but for now I’m just enjoying the fact that I have so much virtual moolah in my virtual pockets.

What was your most indulgent purchase in Drakensang-Online?

Location, Location, Location!

Proof that you can take on overwhelming odds by being at the right place (behind a bunch of crates and barrels) at the right time.

Click on thumbnail for a larger image.

Jonasdiego: Level 37 Dragon Knight

My Dragon Knight finally reached Level 37! I got here sooner thanks to Vanslaugh's gift which included a dragon pet (grants 20% more XP).

Click on thumbnail for a larger image.

Battling with RaidCall

After publishing my article on the use of Skype in-party during a Drakensang-Online adventure session, Kristal Arce suggested RaidCall as another option.

RaidCall is a free, low-latency voice solution for professional gamers.

According to the official website, “RaidCall is specifically designed for group communication, especially for games requiring tight teamwork such as FPS and MMORPG games. It can provide clear voice quality with low latency, with no need to rent servers or set up a server yourself."

Click to enlarge.

Basically, RaidCall makes group communication easier.

Definitely a boon for Drakensangers like me who are typing challenged (i.e., slow typers) and, like Drakensang-Online, RaidCall is free with no need to buy or rent servers.

The site boasts that the service is light and fast (low CPU usage and low memory usage) while providing crisp and smooth audio quality.

I’m going to download it and take it for a spin with some of the guys.

We’ll let you know how it flies.

Komikero: Dragon Knight Skills Configuration

Hello! Gerry Alanguilan here again, rambling about my Dragon Knight.

Two new skills have been added with Release 046, in addition to to new skills added with Release 045. I think the two new skills are tremendous but it left a few players are asking, "how am I going to fit all those skills in the hotkeys/tabs?"

That's a legitimate question, because as it is, there are more skills than there are hotkeys. The hotkeys, as I like to call them, are the row of buttons between the two globes at the bottom of the playing screen. The hotkeys are divided into two sections. The left section has 6 hotkeys, while the right section has 3 hotkeys.

The right section represents the attacks that are activated by your mouse. The first key represents your left mouse button, which is your primary attack key. In that key, I placed "Angry Strike", which is probably the only skill I can place there because it's the only attack strike that you can use right away without building up "Rage". In this game, "Rage" is generated by using the "Angry Strike" continuously, and as your rage rises, you can see just  how much in the beige globe on the left. When you have enough "Rage", it is only then other skills can become usable.

In the second and third key I placed "Mighty Swing" and "Mighty Wild Swing". The second key is the skill that's activated when you use your right mouse button. Key 2 and Key 3 can be interchanged by clicking "Tab".

Before Release046, I would generate "Rage" by using "Angry Strike" continuously. When my rage level is at maximum, I would then press Button #5 (on the keyboard) to activate "Scream of Rage". This would increase the damage I can give as well as give me speed. I would then use up the rage by using a combination of the "Mighty Swing" and "Mighty Wild Swing".

With Release046, I replaced "Mighty Swing" with "Smash". I did this because "Smash" can be used continuously as long as you have rage. Unlike most other skills, "Smash" doesn't need a cool down period to be used again. You can use it again and again in quick succession.

Not only that, "Smash" brings 200% weapon damage, which is insanely powerful. I love using it because it really kicks those monsters asses. Awesome sound effects too.

Which brings me to the left set of hotkeys. I already mentioned Button #5. I will now talk about the rest. The left set of hotkeys represents a bunch of other skills that the Dragon Knight possesses. They can be activated by the number keys on your keyboard from #1 to #6.

Button #1: Not really a skill but a shortcut for health potions. This assignment is indispensable because I absolutely need a shortcut for health potions which would allow me to quickly regain health when I'm dangerously close to dying. With the increase in the number of skills, it might be wise of the developers assign a different key on the keyboard to activate health potions (probably "H"?) so that this button can also be used for skills. Now I don't know if there is actually a health potion shortcut somewhere on the keyboard. Let me know if there is.

Button #2: Paralyzing Onslaught.

Button #3: Furious Battle Cry. Before Release 046, this button was assigned the "Furious Battle Cry". This is a skill that instantly increases your rage, allowing you to use other skills right away without engaging in battle first. It's useful, but it's a skill I never really used much anyway and I thought I could do away with it by replacing it with the new skill "Rage Jump". Like "Furious Battle Cry", "Rage Jump" can be used right away without needing to generate rage.I like using "Rage Jump" to either jump into battle or escape from it (to regenerate health).

Button #4: Iron Brow.

Button #6: Ground Breaker.

I use Buttons #2, #4 and #6 in one after the other to keep monsters almost perpetually stunned. That allows me to take down the more difficult monsters much quicker, and much easier than before.

One trick I really like to use now is clicking "Iron Brow" and then using "Smash". "Iron Brow" both stuns and lowers the armor of monsters. This makes "Smash" even more powerful when it brings in 200% weapon damage. Big monsters fall like ten pins.

And that's how my Dragon Knight skills configuration stands as it is now. And it's awesome!

Drakensangers 10

Know that guy in the Resistance Command Center who sells potions (the ones that restores hitpoints or mana when you drink it)? Have you seen what it looks like before he bottles it?

Whatever that thing is, it looks nasty!

Thank you for the GIFT!

In behalf of Gerry Alanguilan (in-game name: Komikero) and Ysa Arce (in-game name: Xvii) we would like to thank Vanslaugh, Community Manager for Drakensang-Online, for the wonderful gifts.

• 12,000 Andermant
• Some Extraordinary Level 1 Items
• Dragon Pet (which grants 20% more XP)

You sir, are truly AWE*waitforit*SOME!

Release 046

New skills, baby! Everybody gets new skills!

The Skills Renaissance is still going strong with two brand new skills available for each archetype (some skills are only available when a certain Level is reached) in Drakensang-Online.

Wolf Pack.

• The Dragon Knight receives ‘Rage Jump’ in Level 22 and ‘Smash’ in Level 26
• The Spellweaver receives ‘Singularity’ in Level 22 and ‘Watchman’ in Level 35
• The Ranger receives ‘Scatter Shot’ in Level 22 and ‘Wolf Pack’ in Level 35.
• There are two new quests in Hognis Mine for level 27 heroes and above (see Eida for the quest ‘lights that no longer shine’ but beware…these quests are not for the weak willed)
• In addition, there is a confirmation prompt before you leave a guild

For those who likes fairies, you can now make one of your own!

"You may have been wondering what the special items from the Daily Login Bonus are good for. After you have collected the flawless diamond, pollen from everlasting fairy lilies, the gnarled branch from ancient oaks and the ordinary lock of hair from a fair maiden, you can create a fairy in the workbench, who will accompany you on your quests."

Find out more about the entire details here.

Battling with Skype

Communication is paramount in war and Drakensang-Online is no exception.

Excellent communication allows for the planning and execution of strategy throwing the odds in your party’s favor, bringing you so much closer to victory (or at least survival).

The game has a built-in chat system which allows players to communicate either to a general group in a given environment such as an urban area or between members of their party. It also allows whispers, direct messages to specific people who are not members of your party.

I am not however adept at battling and sending out short messages via the chat system at the same time. By the time I compose and send my message I’d probably be dying or worse, dead.

Click to enlarge.

That’s why whenever Ysa (in-game name: Xvii) and I go questing we communicate in real time via Skype (though Ysa is quite adept at chatting while playing the game, something I am not able to do well, unfortunately).

I find it kinda cool actually.

We’ve yet to try a group call during an adventure. Maybe we’ll give it a run one of these days when we party up with Gerry (in-game name: Komikero) and see how it goes. You can also do these things with Yahoo Messenger of course but I find Skype’s voice and call quality better.

The only thing that could possibly be better is if you guys were playing in the same room together at the same time.

Drakensangers 9

Those archers really are a bunch of pesky creatures. Even when at my current level (Level 36) a good number of these guys at Slifmoor can still dish out some serious damage to my hitpoints.

And for the nitpickers out there, no this place is not Slifmoor (it's actually near the entrance to Stonekeep).

Release 045

There's a new teleportation item included with Release 045 (a small update) along with a feedback announcement about the status of PvP registrations, two new quests, a few adjustments, and bug fixes. The new teleportation item available in the shop, which makes it possible to travel from any location in the game to a travel stone.

Additional exciting news was heard regarding the characters' skill system and the introduction of a new character.

"From now until the beginning of April, we will increase the number of skills per archetype up to 12. By the end of April, we will expand the skill system into a talent tree. In the upcoming weeks, there will be many new things to try out and discover. And the summer is basically just around the corner, when you can expect a huge land update and a new, fourth archetype."

Click here for the complete details of Release 045.

Drakensangers 8

You never know who you're going to meet.

Following is the translation for our non-Pinoy speaking readers:

Jonasdiego: You guys look awfully familiar.
Luigi: Mario, there are still some mushroom burgers left. Want one?
Mario: I'll eat later when we've killed King Koopa!

Skill Pointers for Spellweavers

Click on thumbnail for a larger image.

Here are some tips on how you can effectively use your skills.

1. The Magic Missile is the Spellweaver's basic attack skill. Its base damage is equivalent to 55% of your basic damage. It is best used against Nefertaris since they are magic type.

2. When you use Lightning Strike pair it up with Fire Ball but don't wait for the lightning to strike before you use another skill. Cast the lightning and fire away immediately for bigger damage.

3. Lightning Strike can be helpful when you need an escape plan. It paralyzes the enemy for at least 3-5 seconds which gives you enough time to run. If you still can't get through because you are surrounded you can use your Teleport skill.

4. Another helpful skill when you are surrounded is the Frost Nova. I suggest you use it when you are surrounded with at least 4 or more enemies so you can maximize the skill. Once the enemies surrounding you are frozen you can cast your fire ball for bigger damage.

5. When you are to fight a boss and you're in a group, you can help your tank (Dragon Knight) best by using your skills that can paralyze the enemy like your Frost Nova, Lightning, and Frost Wind. This will help the Dragon Knight by lessening the damage he will take from the monsters.

6. Take note that when you Teleport there are times you return in the same place where you were before. That's because there probably are monsters or objects in between you and the place you're looking to Teleport to. It's best to click in place where nothing is blocking the path.

7. If you are to choose between a Meteor or Lightning Strike, I suggest you use Lightning Strike instead because it creates bigger damage compared to Meteor (plus the stun effect, of course).

8. If you want to reduce the attack speed of your enemy, use the Ice Blast. If you are trapped, this will help you run away because it will slow the enemy down by 20%. This is also helpful for long range fights since it decelerates the enemy's movements, it gives you more time to do damage before it reaches you.

9. If you are to use your chain of Lightning Skills, I suggest you use with enemies lower than your level. It only takes about 10% of your basic damage so it won't really help that much.

10. Skills that causes the enemy to daze usually has a longer cool-off time. Don't use them all at once.

Drakensangers 7

When you got to go you got to go!

Following is the translation for our non-Pinoy speaking readers:

Off-panel Dialogue: Hoy! You can't piss there!

Farming Tips: Pick up Signets, Amulets, and Rings ONLY

From time to time, I make it a point to go to Slifmoor just to dish out pain and punishment to its otherworldly denizens and collect the loot they surrender just so I can avoid buying ‘em with Andermant, Drakensang-Online’s in-game currency (bought with real world money).

At the beginning my strategy consisted of basically picking up everything that the monsters I dispatched dropped and sold them to the blacksmith. It became tedious after a while because I had to go back to the Urban Area frequently making hard to build momentum. It was also mildly frustrating because it was taking so long to fill my coffers so I decided a new strategy was in order.

Nowadays, when out farming, I only pick up the following items:

• Essences (Combat, Aggression)
• Healing Potions
• Signets, Amulets, and Rings

Essences and Healing Potions are pretty self-explanatory but why Signets, Amulets, and Rings only? Three words: they’re worth more.

Most Signets, Amulets, and Rings will go for 2-6 silver pieces depending on the type compared to armor and weapons which are usually worth only a few copper pieces to a couple of silver coins at the most. There are exceptions of course but they’re pretty hard to come by.

So, each trip I make to the blacksmith to sell stuff actually yields more money as compared to before when I keep bringing in things like belt and fangs.

Having said that, make sure to check the non-Signets, Amulets, and Rings items that gets dropped by the monsters you kill. You never know when a Magical or Legendary is going to cross your path so it’s best to check rather than regret it later. Of course, if you never knew to begin with there’s no reason to regret it, is there?

Apparently, ignorance is bliss!

Komikero: My Awesome Weapon

And I don't mean that. I mean THIS.

Although I was hoping for Legendary, I'm perfectly and deliriously happy with this awesome Extraordinary Duria Mace. I did not pick this up. I've had to painstakingly collect Level 37 Unidentified Items and then craft them into this beauty.

In the game, you can collect Unidentified Items of 4 classes: Improved, Magic, Extraordinary and Legendary. If you manage to get 4 Unidentified Improved items, you can craft them into one Magic item using the work bench (which you can find at any Urban Area). Four Unidentified Magic items will give you one Extraordinary item and 4 Unidentified Extraordinary items will give you one Legendary item.

Now the item you get from crafting is completely random. You have no choice what the game will give you when you craft those 4 items in. Basically, it's a gamble. The best way to get, at the very least, good results is to place only high level items.

You have no idea how difficult it was for me to ditch some really cool Magic and Extraordinary weapons and armor because they were level 35 and below. I couldn't let them lower the overall level of the items I will be crafting.

Grinding Liar's Lair on Difficult setting allowed me to collect, over time, only level 37 and above items. It took a while but I was finally able to collect enough items to start crafting. I held my breath each time I clicked the "Combine" button on the work bench. I was hoping for a good weapon, like an Extraordinary Broad Sword or something like that.... what I got was beyond anything I had expected. Whew!

Bring on them monsters!!!

Oh yeah, I've never tried crafting 4 Legendary items yet. Since there is no level higher than Legendary...who knows what will happen.

Komikero: Level 37 Dragon Knight

Hello guys! It's Gerry Alanguilan again. Today, I'll be talking about my Dragon Knight character, holding currently at Level 37.

All these items above have been found while playing the game (as opposed to buying stuff with Andermant bought with real money). I used to have a Legendary Necklace, which I got through crafting, but for some reason it's disappeared. And I don't know how it happened. I think it was when I was trading medallions I found that my Legendary Necklace got dragged to the trading window instead.

I guess when fighting level 40 Dragons it can get pretty nerve wracking and I get confused.

Click on thumbnail for a larger image.

At this point, I no longer have any quests to finish, except for killing Khalys and Sigrisimarr, which I absolutely cannot kill on my own. I'll probably team up with Jonas and Ysa at some point when I'm free from deadlines.

What I do now to gain experience is to farm lower levels for Andermant, Crystals of Truth, and Essences of Combat. When I have enough blue essences, I go to Liar's Lair on difficult setting. There I get level 39 and  level 40 monsters: usually skeleton swordsmen, bog monsters, and dragons. The best thing? NO freakin' archers! My Level 37 DK can pretty much deal with these monsters capably, especially considering the new DK skills.

At first I thought the new DK skills, namely the "Iron Brow" and "Ground Breaker" were a little too weak and that the "Paralyzing Onslaught" is still more powerful. But I realized upon playing that I could use those three skills one after the other to keep monsters almost continually stunned. There would be a few seconds between using the skills where the monster would be "awake" but it's not enough time for it to actually attack or cause me damage. I found this amazingly useful with beating more difficult enemies.

I've used this technique quite effectively with boss dragons as well as the level 40 dragons.

With these new skills, the Dragon Knight has become amazingly powerful. I used to save up Andermant to buy Essences of War to combat the higher level creatures, but with the new skills, I can manage well enough with Essences of Combat.

Drakensang-Online in the News!

Drakensang-Online is starting to really make some waves worldwide!

The game was recently featured in MTV Geek, the home of MTV Comics and your daily destination for the latest in comic books, video games, animation, toys, hobby gaming, tech, sci-fi, and fantasy.

"The MTV Arcade is shaping up to be quite a destination for browser-based gaming. Not only will you find Battlestar Galactica Online stirring things up sci-fi style, you'll also have the opportunity to check out another free MMO title from Bigpoint Games – Drakensang Online."

Click here to read the entire article.

Drakensangers 6

You're going to need lungs of steel to blow those candles out!

The Evil Miller

If you find yourself in the Resistance Command Center (RCC) pay the Evil Miller over at Stonekeep a visit if you can. It’s going to be worth your while though I’m sure he’s not going to be too happy to see you seeing as you’re there to, you know…kill him.

This particular trick was taught to me by Ysa Arce (in-game name: Xvii) who learned it from one of her party mates during one of her quests. The Evil Miller apparently gives high rewards in terms of XP points (assuming you succeed in giving him the boot).

The place is easy enough to get to from the RCC. Check out the map below:

It's just a short run from the RCC to Stonekeep but make no mistake: there're going to be Level 32 Dragons barring your way. It's probably best to party up with a few other characters to stack the odds in your favor but, if you're an experienced prudent warrior with a Level 32 rank or higher, you can probably fly solo if you wish.

You can opt to teleport instead if you got Andermant to burn. It'll set you back 40 Andermants however so I opt to just walk the whole way and slay a few dragons in between.

Once you reach Stonekeep, you'll find the Evil Miller at the following location:

Dispatch the unholy creature and see your Experience Points rise!

UPDATE: Vanslaugh, Community Manager for Drakensang-Online just informed me that the massive amount of XP for killing the MOB was given to the players by mistake. The MOB was bugged and gave a wrong amount of XP to the player. This bug was fixed with today’s server restart.

For those players who managed to strike while the iron was hot, consider yourselves lucky!

Drakensangers 5

I would be, like, the most awesomest Dragon Knight around if I got a shield like this in Drakensang-Online.

Drakensangers 4

Following is the translation for our non-Pinoy speaking readers:

Panel 1
Jonasdiego: How much is the Essence of Combat?
Essence Merchant: 300 Andermants. Final price.
Jonasdiego: Wow! That's expensive! Is there no discount?

Panel 2
Essence Merchant: Try the Essence of Aggression. You can buy it with silver.
Jonasdiego: Can I get it on credit?
Essence Merchant: Fucker!

Battle Tips: Choosing where to Fight

In the world of Drakensang-Online, you don’t usually get to choose where to fight but rather fight where your enemies find you.

The type of place you fight in however, offer its fair share of advantages and disadvantages and knowing these can be the difference between life and death for your character.

There are basically two types of battlefields you’re going to find yourself in: enclosed and open space.

Enclosed Spaces

These are spaces which, either because of man-made (fences, walls, etc.) or natural (rocks, trees, etc.) structures, forces your opponents into a bottle neck. Wikipedia defines a bottle neck as a term “taken from the 'assets are water' metaphor. As water is poured out of a bottle, the rate of outflow is limited by the width of the conduit of exit—that is, bottleneck’. Simply put, there’s not a whole lot of space to move.

Advantages
Since space is limited and by positioning yourself in the right place, a bottle neck will force your opponents to come at you 1-2 at a time, giving you a better than average chance of overcoming a horde which would have otherwise overwhelmed you in other environments. This is very helpful when you’re faced with monsters that can inflict high levels of damage (such as dragons) since they can only attack you taking turns instead of all at once.

Disadvantages
Since space is very limited you can very well get trapped with no means of escape. I normally employ this tactic when faced with 3-5 dragons. Beyond that I find that there is a better than average chance that I’m the one who’s going to be getting the short end of the stick.

Open Spaces

Open spaces are environments which don’t have a lot of hindrance for movement and you’re pretty much free to run (or dash) in whichever direction you might choose.

Advantages
These kinds of spaces are ideal for hit and run tactics when battling multiple opponents. You can just pretty much do damage and run away before the enemy can retaliate then swoop back in and repeat as needed. The new skills for Dragon Knights (Iron Brow and Ground Breaker) coupled with the Paralyzing Onslaught are perfect for keeping 3-5 monsters stunned while you whittle away their hit points bit by bit.

Disadvantages
If you’re not too careful however, it’s easy to get surrounded by enemies (especially in cases where you’ve taken on more than you can fight effectively). The thing to do in this kind of situation is try to get away, regroup, and resume your tactic before you get killed.

There are of course permutations to these two types of battle fields and how to use them to your advantage which I will discuss in a future article.

Where do you prefer to battle?

Jonasdiego: Level 33 Dragon Knight

There's a bit of an improvement in terms of color from the time I was still a Level 29 Dragon Knight but only a tiny little bit.

Click on thumbnail for a larger image.