Release 054

Sorry, guys but no word on the Spellweaver issue (Release 051).

Instead, honor points will no longer solely be for armor. Every point you earn in battle will bring you closer to unlocking improved skills from the Talents of Honor.

And you get...fame (Irene Cara's song of the same title suddenly comes to mind)!

The Talents of Honor (PVP)

• Increase your skills in addition to the Talents of Experience in player versus player battles and in Anderworld
• Each time you reach a new talent level, your powers in battle improve and, with every 5th talent level you reach, you can choose from one of 2 talents
• To learn how to use your new talents, you need honor points, which you can win while battling other warriors

Read all the details about the new Release here.

XVII: Resting at Level 39

As much as I want to race my character till level 40, I decided to stop playing and stop at 39 (I am still very upset with the update).

It's also hard to grind and fill the XP cells when there's very limited quests. Since being a Spellweaver is expensive, I'll probably be online occasionally or when I feel like playing

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I really feel bad about the R051 update which according to them is predominantly a "revision of the Spellweaver" (WHY THE HELL DID YOU NEED TO DO THAT?!).

Before I can grind solo in Dragon's Cavern without breaking a sweat. Now, I need a bodyguard (thank you very much, Jonas) or else I'll be dead most of the time. My character feels helpless whenever I grind solo. When I'm surrounded by monsters I can't perform chain attacks because of the stupid mana cap.

So, after that update, I ran out of interest in playing.

Maybe one of the game developers got his heart broken by an ex-GF who used to play Drakensang as a Spellweaver and decided to get even by de-powering the Spellweaver class.

New Quests in the Resistance Command Center

Release 053 finds Prince Aldred summoning heroes from all over Duria willing to face the fiery fiends from the darkest corners of the Anderworld (Levels 36-38) in 8 new series of quests (15 total individual quests).

There's also some minor bug fixes (nothing on the Spellweaver Mana cap I'm afraid) introduced with this release.

Check out the full details here.

Drakensangers 23

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:

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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.

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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.

Xvii: Mana points

I am wondering big time why my Mana points from 1,300+ turned 100 after the update.

As we all know Spellweavers rely solely on our Mana to attack and, with the mana points ceiling lowered after the last update, it's going to be even more difficult to grind solo.

This was the first game I know that decreased the Mana points' ceiling (weird).

I find it really hard since some of my skills requires 75 Mana points to use such as the Lightning Strike. So after casting it you need to rest a little bit in order to use another skill. In my opinion this is a very big disadvantage for Spellweavers because you cannot perform chain attacks during battle which makes you more vulnerable

I can't just employ hit and run tactics all the time, right!?

Xvii: Missing Hit Points and Mana Points

If I remember correctly my hit points is already at 1,980 and my mana points is around 1,000+.

When I logged in earlier this was my stats:

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What happened?!

Xvii: No Quest for Level 37

Just reached level 37 a couple of days ago and I was surprised to find out that there are no quest available for this level.

It's a bit hard to grind and grind considering most of the monsters are level 33 and you will only find level 38 mobs when you go to Dragon's Cavern. So, I was a bit lazy to go online and grind for experience.

I hope there are quests available in all level.

We KILLED Khalys!

Ysa and I haven't planned anything special for the day's incursion, actually.

We were both trying to level up and we figured we'd try Prison of Souls and Liar's Lair on the Difficult Level (as Gerry suggested) so we can gain more XP and level up faster. We got bored after touring the place about twice and I suggested we try out Khalys.

So, try her out we did.

As Gerry (in-game name: Komikero) found out (click here for his article detailing how he almost beat Khalys single-handed), Khalys is one tough cookie. She follows a pattern when attacking however and, once we figured that out, we stood a chance of beating her. Aside from that knowledge, we had the odds in our favor because Ysa's Level 35 Spellweaver can do long-range attacks while my Level 37 Dragon Knight likes to get up close and personal (perfect combination).

Here's how it all went down...

We found out early on that Khalys has the ability to teleport and will appear from any of the farthest point of the eight point start pattern depicted on the floor.

You have to be fast and get to her and do as much damage as you can while she's there. Make sure you have lots of health potions as she can inflict a high level of damage. Thankfully, there are regular drops of health balls all around the place but I wouldn't get too complacent just because they're there.

I was on point, being the tank, and took most of the damage to keep Khalys attention away from Ysa while she dealt out Lightning Strikes to devastating effect (she also called on her guardian periodically to distract Khalys away from me).

Khalys will only stay put for a certain time however before she teleports to the center of the star. While there she will regenerate her health (don't worry it's not going to be a full regeneration though it will certainly look that way at first) and unleash a maelstrom of energy. Before she has the chance to do this you must get to one of the circle of protection arranged around the star.

While within, you will not be affected by her devastating onslaught. If you don't make it to one of the circles in time, it's probably safe to say you'll be dead really quick. Once Khalys finishes her energy storm attack she'll head back to one of the points of the star for another round of attack using conventional means and the process I outlined is repeated.

The place is pretty big so it takes a bit of time to figure out where Khalys went once she teleports from the center (during which time you lose valuable seconds to deal damage to her before she returns to the center and she returns the favor). Ysa found a way to determine ahead of time where Khalys is going to be headed: she targets Khalys with her Lightning Strike just a split second before she disappears from the center and to one of the star's points. The lightning will strike exactly where she's headed giving us foreknowledge of where she's gone to.

It's going to take some time (a lot of time, actually) to take her down but it can be done.

Where Khalys met her end.

You just have to keep your focus, keep your timing tight, and you should be alright.

Commemorative shot at the center of Khalys' star.

And, just as a reminder, don't forget to finish your quest once you dispatch of Khalys (I almost went back to the Urban Area at the Werian Sanctuary after the battle without finishing the rest of my quest being overwhelmed with victory).

Had that happened and we returned, we probably would have found Khalys resurrected and we would have had to go through the whole thing all over again!

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.

Skill Pointers for Spellweavers

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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.

Release 044

At last, the new skills are finally here with the coming of Release 044 for Drakensang-Online!

New skills have been unlocked for the heroes of Duria. Each class of characters will receive two new skills, one at level 18 and one at level 30.

• The Dragonknight will receive the “Iron Brow” skill at level 18 and the “Ground Breaker” skill at level 30.
• The Spellweaver will receive the “Chain of Lightning“ skill at level 18 and the “Frost Wind” skill at level 30. Also, beginning at level 1, the “Lightning Shot” skill will be replaced with the “Magic Missile” skill.
• The Ranger will receive the “Bird of Prey” skill at level 18 and the “Adrenaline” skill at level 30.

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“Release 044 is ushering in a skills renaissance – there will be two new skills available for each archetype. There will also be a new quest in the Norselands and jewels can be improved using the work bench from this point on.”

I’m kinda disappointed with the new Dragon Knight skills though.

It seems to me that the two new skills I got (Iron Brow and Ground Breaker) basically produces the same effect as the Paralyzing Onslaught (produce 20 Rage points, stun enemy, deal some damage) but with different visuals and animation. The head butt courtesy of the Iron Brow skill is useful though as it also weakens your enemy's armor which makes him vulnerable while he's stunned for the next 2-3 seconds.

Still, it would’ve been nice if they came up with something different.

Click here for the complete details of Release 044.

The Drakensang-Online Dream Team

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A group of Dragon Knights invited me one time to team up with them for a run that began at Torstrond.

These guys were heavyweights, ranging from Level 27-38 (I was a level 29 back then). The thing was our party was composed of Dragon Knights with no Spellweavers or Rangers. I thought that it wouldn’t be a problem with all the muscle in the group.

Apparently, I was wrong.

While we didn’t get slaughtered (not immediately anyway) we did have a harder time as compared to the times when my party had a Spellweaver and/or a Ranger. This got me thinking as to what the ideal party is. As far as I can figure it, a good party should have:

2 Dragon Knights
2 Spellweavers
1 Ranger

I’ve seen some parties that had only one Dragon Knight with the rest of the team composed mainly of Spellweavers and Rangers. It was good team for shock and awe but individual members suffered when faced with a lot of fast moving opponents.

Balance is key.

What’s your perfect mix for a dream team?

Release 043

The Drakensang-Online Team recently announced Release 043, a small release that includes a few improvements and bug fixes, as well as 3 new quests.

New Quests

• The series of quests entitled “Bad News” now has a new Jarlshofn quest that can be embarked by speaking to Alvis Runevision after reaching level 26
•  There is the new quest “Restless Ghosts” in Jarlshofn, as well as a second variation for level 24 (and above) players available from Alvis Runevision. To start the quest, you must first complete the fourth part of the “Deadly Screams” series of quests

What’s really exciting for me is that the bit about the new skills!

"We will be presenting you with the first 6 new skills in release 44. Each character class will receive 2 new skills, with one added at level 18 and one at level 30. This is the first phase of our skill rally; and, each character class will possess 12 skills and have a skill tree by the end of April."

Read the full release details. Click here.

Hello, Spellweavers!

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First of all, I would like to thank Jonas for allowing me to publish some Drakensang-Online related posts here.

Okay, Spellweavers: this is our time to shine!

Character: Spellweaver
Current Level: 26
In-game Name: Xvii

So, here are some basic Spellweavers facts and tips:

1. Spellweavers are magic user type of character.

2. They cast spells like Lightning Strikes, Fire Bolt, and Frost Nova.

3. Since they are long range type, they excel in dishing damage to the enemy before they get close.

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4. Spellweavers rely on mana points to power their spells so it's best to collect and store as many mana potions as you can. In the event you run out of potions your options are either to buy more potions using Andermats (expensive in-game currency that you buy with real money) or run (LOL!).

5. Unlike Archers, if the enemy gets too close we can't use our wands to hit or stab. So, if you have the opportunity to run, please do so.

6. You have two choices for weapons: the long hand staff or the main hand staff. If you are going to use the main hand staff, partner it with a book or a clairvoyance ball. Based on experience, it's best to use the book or clairvoyance ball that has block rate in it. It helps you lessen the damage you get from your enemy. Long hand staff has bigger damage compared to main hand but you need to use two hands so say goodbye to the book.

7. Spellweaver hit points are low compared to the other race so I suggest you look for armor that increases health and armor (but also consider armor that increases mana points since you will be using a lot of it). The higher the number the better chances that your character will be less affected by monster blows. You can buy some defense stones to increase your armor value (hello, Andermats!).

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8. You can use essences such as aggression, combat, war, and destruction to increase your attack damage. The cheapest essence you can buy is the essence of aggression (you can purchase them using silver from your local essence merchant so no need to buy Andermats). Essence of combat is good for Spellweavers especially for the lightning skill.

9. The faster the attack speed of the weapon, the faster your mana will burn. Main hand staff usually have higher attack speed, meaning you can hit your enemy twice as fast unlike when you are using the long hand staff.

10. If in case you ran out of mana, hit points, but are without mana and/or healing potions, you can always run away from your enemy, go to a safe place, and rest. Wait until your mana and/or health regenerates then go back and kill more mobs.

The Beautiful World of Drakensang

Ysa Arce and I checking out the sights in the world of Drakensang-Online.

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Drakensang Heroes

Choosing a character to play as in Drakensang-Online is not really that difficult (there’s only three after all with a fourth one incoming still undisclosed at this time).

Each class has its own strengths and advantages as well as its requisite weaknesses and handicaps. Most players who have been playing for some time tends to gravitate to certain characters and play as these types over and over again for different games.

A word of advice for those who are just starting out: it’s best to try all the characters out and just get a feel for what works best for your particular temperament and style (only time and experience will tell).

Drakensang-Online features the following classes:

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Dragon Knights are highly skilled in hand-to-hand combat, and are capable of channeling their pent-up anger to invoke special skills and make powerful attacks.

That's why the longer they stay in battle, the more dangerous they become!

"An impressive array of deadly weapons serve an equally deadly line of warriors. Using much more than brute force, the Dragonknights are the fearless freedom fighters of Duria. Each recruit, assuming they survive their training, must undergo the Order's blood-initiation ritual. Within the halls of the Dragonknight stronghold, they drink the centuries-old dragon blood. They then continue their studies, learning how to use the fire and rage of the dragon within them to master the feared fighting techniques of the Dragonknights."

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Rangers are not only outstanding archers, but are also apt at melee.

Their style is characterized by dynamics, as they stay constantly in motion. They choose their targets from afar, first weakening them with arrows and then striking them down in close combat with their blade bow.

"A hard life in the wilderness has made the Rangers into what they are: Alert hunters who prove time and again that they are at least a match for all other beings of creation. From an early age, young members of the clan learn knowledge that has been passed down through millennia, as the traditions of Rangers are as old as humanity itself. Over time, their intense involvement with nature and their inherent inner balance has given them an almost magical ability to wield the blade bow."

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Spellweavers are excellent ranged fighters.

They use their mana to control the elements of fire, ice and lighting and manifest their spiritual powers by invoking mysterious spells. A spellweaver may be easy to disable in close combat but they're not easy to catch. They teleport out of the way of danger.

"These highly intelligent beings have dedicated their lives to studying magic, commanding the elemental essences of fire, ice and lightening to improve their magic attacks. The magic knowledge gleaned from their apprenticeship helps the Spellweavers to become masters of their craft. Their quest for wisdom and magic mastery is guided by a codex that must be strictly obeyed."

You can find out more about the characters on the Drakensang-Online characters page. Click here.

My character is a Dragon Knight named Jonasdiego (now there's a surprise). I've always been partial to playing barbarian/warrior types, as I prefer to dispatch hordes of monsters and undead warriors in close quarter combat. As can be expected with these types, Dragon Knights start off with a high number of hit points as compared to other character class and will not go down easily.

I've tried playing as a Ranger and a Spellweaver but it just doesn't do it for me. That being said, I don't mind having both of them at my back in a party facing down a great number of monsters.

What character class do you play and why?