Farming in the Burning Coast

Is it me or there are actually a lot more items and coins being dropped now at the Burning Coast?

There was a time when I headed off to Slifmoor when I wanted to stock up on health potions and Essence of Combat. Now it seems that I get more stuff when I do my farming at the Burning Coast.

I'm now at my six batch of Essence of Combat and have 16 Better Health Potions.

I definitely like!

Dealing with Nefertaris

Nefertaris are probably some of the most challenging denizens in Drakensang-Online that you’ll have to battle with for two reasons:

1. They summon undead warriors to kill you
2. They try to avoid you when you’re trying to kill them

In my book, the only thing more annoying than a Nefertari summoning an undead warrior is a Nefertari summoning an undead archer. They can be found in dungeons (i.e., The Catacombs in Kingshill) and some regions (i.e., Slifmoor). Depending on their level (and yours, of course), they can dish out damage pretty fast not only because of the undead they summon but also because of the blasts they emit.

If you’re not carefully, you’ll find your hit points dwindling really fast.

In any battle situation involving Nefertaris, the first order of business is to take them out to prevent them from calling more undead warriors and overwhelming you or your party with sheer numbers.

There are three ways of doing this:

1. Driving them back to a wall
Since they tend to move away from you as you’re coming towards them, the idea is to back them up against a wall (or an immovable in-game object) and give ‘em hell once they have nowhere else to go.

2. Stunning then attacking them
For Dragon Knights, such as myself, I frequently utilize either the Paralyzing Onslaught or the Ground Breaker to stun a Nefertari trying to beat a hasty retreat. It is at this point that I dish out hell while they’re trying to recovering their wits.

3. Sandwiching them
In the event that you’re in an open space where the nearest wall is too far away, you can try trapping a Nefertari between 2-3 members of your party. This being said, this technique will only work with 1-2 Nefertari present.

What are your techniques for dealing with Nefertaris?

I finally SAW someone with a FAIRY

Saw someone the other day with a tiny fairy him around (I was farming in Slifmoor at the time when I saw them). I'm just one item away myself, from crafting a fairy-summoning wand.

Speaking of which, I wonder if it will be possible to summon a fairy and your Dragon Pet at the same time? I guess I'll just have to try it out once I acquire the fairy wand.

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.

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 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).

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!

Battle Strategy: Dealing with Slifmoor’s Undead Guardians

Click to enlarge.

I mentioned during a past article that Slifmoor has one of the best places to go item farming in Drakensang-Online. If you’re going to go farming there though be prepared to deal with a horde of Undead Slifmoor Guardians, Archers (which I hate the most out of all the monsters and creatures in Drakensang-Online), and Nefertaris (who can revive the undead you dispatch).

Individually, these creatures are easy enough to deal with (the Nefertari can be a bit annoying though as they have an evade manoeuvre of sorts) but can be a real pain in great numbers. If you’re not careful, you can get over run without realizing it.

As a Dragon Knight, I employ a sort of priority list when faced all three in a combat situation (illustrated below).

Click thumbnail to enlarge.

I take out the Nefertaris first (since they raise the dead from, well…the dead), archers second (because they can hurt you a lot even from a distance), and the guardians last. It goes without saying that, if the Nefertaris are not in the equation, then the first order of business is to dispatch the Archers and the Guardians next. Conversely, if the Archers are the ones not present (which is indeed a rare situation) then the Nefertaris gets it first. This is the kind of situation where I frequently employ the Paralyzing Onslaught as part of Melee Attack no. 2.

"I start off with a Furious Battle Cry to generate the needed Rage to use the Paralyzing Onslaught. After stunning the enemy, I use 2 Angry Strikes to generate more Rage then use a Mighty Swing and then another Angry Strike (in the event that the monster is still standing)."

Click on thumbnail for a larger image.

Just make sure to keep a close watch on your hit points lest you get carried away and lose sight that you’re bleeding to death.

Item Farming in Drakenang-Online

As my Dragon Knight character levelled up and I moved from region to region in Drakensang-Online, I noticed that kill rewards (items you get from killing monsters such as potions, weapons, armor, and jewels) were becoming less and less frequent.

It got so bad at one point that I actually had to resort to using Andermant (in-game currency that you can buy with real money) to get some of the stuff that I needed and this can get really expensive if you don’t watch it.

Click to enlarge.

To taper off my Andermant spending, I decided it would be worth my while to go item farming for stuff that I’m going to need later (in my case, health potions and essences tops my list) in future quests and adventures especially against increasingly tougher creatures.

Thus far, Slifmoor offers the most in terms of kill rewards (the skeleton warriors in particular are most profitable). The place is not going to do much in the way of XP points especially if you’re already a bit advanced (my character is currently Level 30) but you do get to pick up more items compared to other regions (at least in my experience).

Where do you guys usually go item farming?

The World of Drakensang

Discover the world of adventure that is Drakensang-Online!

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Grimmagstone
The road to Grimmagstone is older than the kingdom itself. Over two thousand years ago, as the empire began to take shape, a spellcaster of the first circle was buried deep in the earth, now marking this holy pilgrimage site.

Willuxshire
A trip through the area surrounding Kingshill leads travelers to places long since forgotten in the shadows of time. Much awaits those brave enough to wander into the shadows.

Kingshill
Long ago, Heredur the great commander ordered the construction of a fortress, thus severing the ties to the dying empire and crowning himself king of Duria. Slifmoor

Slifmoor
The small town of Grovery was once known throughout Duria for its precious and processed metals. In the nearby farms lived the hard-working people peacefully in the shadow of the local mountain.

Shorefolk
On the eastern coast of the little island kingdom of Duria lies the harbor city of Shorfolk. The proud trading capital and gateway to the world has always played an important economic and military role within the kingdom.

Teganswall
High atop the eastern-most mountain of Duria towers the old fortress of Teganswall like a memorial over the coastal region of Shorfolk. As early as the time of Heredur, too few Dragonknights were charged with the task of defending its walls. They would withdraw to the gatehouse and venture down the arduous path to complete the ancient rites passed down to them, no longer aware of the true fact why they must: To protect the gate to the Anderworld!

Torstrond
The village of Jarlshofn lies beyond the dark sea, on the much celebrated thunder coast, called Torstrond by the Norsemen. Long did the coastal towns of Duria live in fear of a local bearded warrior’s bladed dragon boats, until a young King Harold and the Jarl of the Norselands made a pact of eternal peace.

You can read more about the different regions and find out more about the world of Drakensang here.