Drakensangers 23

Online Gaming using a WACOM Tablet

Gerry Alanguilan (in-game name: Komikero) and I use a WACOM tablet to play Drakensang-Online.

Just to make it perfectly clear, we didn’t buy our WACOM tablets just to play the game. We’re actually artists and we have WACOMs for work.

Using a tablet actually provides some advantages:

Click on thumbnail to enlarge.

1. It leaves your hand at a more natural angle thus preventing Carpal Tunnel Syndrome (Gerry himself had a brush with it some time back)
2. It’s sturdier compared to your garden variety optical mouse (unless you get one of those designed specifically for gaming) where the left and right buttons give out after clicking your enemies brains out
3. Moving the cursor around is much easier (it is, at least, for me)

It’s not all on the upside however.

My fingers cramp and hurt somewhat after a prolonged game session from gripping the pen (it’s one of those occasions that I wish that the pen was actually a little thicker).

What’s your mouse like?

Komikero: Finding a Technique

With all the new features, I find myself playing Drakesang-Online once more.

Another motivation is that since I'm almost halfway to level 40, I would like to at least reach that level before moving on. But still, moving on is up in the air because the developers have announced more Level 40 quests coming soon, so at least that's something to look forward to.

Still frustrated with the loss of Scream of Rage (or Scream of Fury, I don't remember now which), I've had to find other techniques with which I can dispatch monsters with my Dragon Knight. My usual technique was to use Scream of Rage and then with the added speed, I can use Smash very effectively. I can't do that anymore, so I tried to look for something else.

Here's what I found:

Using Banner of War, alongside with an old trusty skill Mighty Wild Swing, seems to create an awesome combo I discovered. With Banner of War activated, one can use the Mighty Wild Swing continuously with only a split second pause in between. Mighty Wild Swing uses up a lot of Rage so much so you can only use it once, build up Rage for a few seconds, and then use it again. With Banner of War activated, your Rage is always full so you can keep using Mighty Wild Swing on and on for 10 or more seconds.

This has the added benefit of hitting all monsters around you at once.

Surrounded by Level 40 Dragons and Level 39 Skeletons, it becomes much easier to survive and kill them all quickly using this combo. And not once have resorted to use any health potions.

Try it!

I Destroyed my Fairy Summoning Wand

It’s been several weeks now since I destroyed my Fairy Summoning Wand (click here to read my article on how I got the materials and made the wand).

The Fairy Summoning Wand, once the fairy has been summoned, supposedly increased your travel speed by 20-25% (give or take a few, I forgot the exact percentage). It also made you glitter like a Twilight Vampire and the little fairy followed you around like Peter Pan.

I destroyed it for several reasons:

1. It was taking up precious space in my inventory
2. It kinda made me look stupid glittering and being followed by a little pixie
3. It didn’t work

Actually, the third statement isn’t entirely true.

It worked while I was inside an urban area but once I’m out there’s not much difference between my old speed and the current one.

Anyone else out there with the same experience?

Halfway There

My Level 39 Dragon Knight is finally halfway to ramping up and turning Level 40!

Click on thumbnail for a larger image.

Probably going to take another 2-3 weeks of endless grinding in Dragon's Caverns though. Gahd! Time for a Bon Jovi song!

Color your World

Drakensang-Online provides you with more color options, 16 in fact, to further customize your items with Release 052. These colors are currently only available at the in-game shop but will be accessible via the merchants soon.

Click on thumbnail for a larger image.

The colors are bought with, you guessed it, Andermants (but of course). I was kind of hoping that they can be bought with coins. Personally, I don't mind paying for armor, essences, and potions but I don't really see myself shelling out cash (Andermants, Drakensang-Online's in-game currency, are bought with real world money) to change the color of my boots.

The developers also promises that there will be more quests soon so that's something to look forward to at least.

Click here for more details about the new updates.

Drakensangers 22

Because we Filipinos love our beer. Who doesn't?

Spellweaver Poll

Looks like we were not alone in decrying the new changes to the Spellweaver class in Drakensang-Online. A bunch of folks in the forums were also unhappy with Release 051.

Check out the results (as of May 1, 2012 10:14 PM Manila, Philippines) below:

Click on thumbnail for a larger image.

Exercise your right and vote. Click here.

Xvii: Ranting Time

I really don't like the revision for the Spellweaver class.

Let me say that again: I DON'T LIKE THE REVISION FOR SPELLWEAVERS!

The revision made the Spellweavers weaker because of the new Mana cap which basically means no more chain attacks because we have limited Mana points.

And I really hate to see "not enough mana" on my screen.

I don't know what they were thinking when they made this revision. When they first balanced the Spellweaver, removing the Lighting and changing it to Magic Missile, it was somehow acceptable but not this time.

Click on thumbnail for a larger image.

Aside from putting a Mana cap they also changed the Mana requirement of some skills which became a hindrance especially when grinding solo which I used to be able to do in Teganswall and Dragon's Cavern. Just a bunch of essence and Mana potions and I'm good to go. But now, even if i have a bunch of mana potions in my inventory, I can easily die because of the mana cap.

Okay, so I appreciate that the Mana points recovers faster despite the cap but it's still not enough (the Mana points will recover faster if you use Magic Missiles...that's the time you can see a Mana ball glowing around you because you are using that skill). Unfortunately you can't kill your opponent fast enough with that skill because, in my opinion, when they made that balancing crap it made the main skill set of the Spellweaver weaker.

And that skill tree or talent tree. I can' figure out what it has to do with my HP.

Sorry, guys but I won't promote this game anymore. Especially not with people I know who's into online gaming too.

Spellweavers on an uproar over Release 051

Release 051 saw the introduction of a new talent system, a new monster, and brand new quests in Teganswall.

Unfortunately, it also saw the complete revision of the Spellweaver class which didn’t sit particularly well with a lot of Spellweavers, Ysa Arce (in-game name: Xvii) included. Apparently, aside from other changes brought about by the rebalancing of the character class, the Spellweaver’s Mana reservoir got capped at 100 points.

Suffice to say, people are not happy. Not happy at all.

Word from the developers over at the message boards (click here for the complete details) says that, as far as the Spellweavers are concerned:

• The Mana enchantments on Spellweavers’ armor have been converted to damage points or hitpoints enchantments
• Mana potions and Mana roots have been completed revamped

A spellweaver.

I can certainly understand where the disgruntled Spellweavers are coming from.

After all, if I spent hundreds of hours painstakingly collecting Mana boosting items and paid good money for Andermants to beef up my Spellweaver’s Mana reservoir only to find it capped at a 100 after the update, I’d certainly be pissed off too.

The Spellweaver rebalancing has also made the class less effective fighters and less enjoyable to play for several reasons:

1. They’re unable to do chain attacks because of the Mana cap (and some of those spells eat up a lot of Mana and once a Spellweaver is out of Mana they’re quite vulnerable even with armor and hitpoints enhancing items)
2. The limitation in Mana also means a more limited repertoire of spells they can cast, making them less helpful in a party setting and more of a liability (since they need to be defended more often by the Dragon Knights and/or Ranger)
3. The Spellweaver’s new found vulnerability necessitates that they join a party when grinding, farming, or questing to avoid getting killed prematurely (i.e., less solo flights)

And, let’s face it, going from god-like to pathetic overnight after an update is a total buzz kill.

Still, Drakensang-Online is in open beta, undergoing more development and updates.

Hopefully we’ll see a return of the Spellweaver class to their former glory (the developers do take the community’s feedback seriously after all). As for Ysa, she decided to stop playing the game in the meantime.

It hurts too much to see her Spellweaver as a shadow of its former self.