Drakensang Online

Drakensang online can be downloaded free from the internet, some 20 mb. I think it is originally German but is available in many languages (some 20 of them), just click the one you want. There are a number of different skills for your character to play. Ranger with a bow, Dragonknight (melee), or Sorceror (magic) are the main categories. 

You get to start off with a quest, in which there are a number of routes to success. There are many more that you can access by clicking on a major NPC.

There are several sub-worlds, of different degrees of difficulty, so there is a lot of choice, including several dungeons. Although the game is free, the quality of the game is good, so can be quite atmospheric.

There is a forum which is well-worth reading. You are encouraged to start off with two, three, or four characters as there is a game-based currency (copper, silver, gold and andamant. The latter can be pooled between your characters, and it is clear that many do, to be able to afford upgrading their equipment. I have not done this yet, though I may do so in the future. This video can be visited on u-tube. to get a feel for the game.

I have been playing Drakensang Online for several weeks now, and it get better and better. There are several levels of play, with the emphasis on new players. PVE and PVP are separated from each other. Swerdfield Pastures on Heredur (European server) is a good place to start, and you can still make gains in skill up to about level 13 (max at the moment is 50). But the various dungeons cater for any to try. You get to be on your own in the dungeon, so it is a lot less crowded than Swerdfield Pastures - no other players at all! The Old Tomb is a good introduction to the game (level 9-10).

My best character is a Level 19 Ranger. This is my preferred type of position, strong constitution and with a bow that gives decent range of attack. In addition there is Spellweaver (mage but physically weaker than Rangers) and Dragonknight, a strong melee character. There is also a fourth type Steam Mechanicus a dwarven position. I have not tried this one.

In my next post I will include a study of the Wild Forest, where I have been using my Ranger.

The Wild Forest is strange and mysterious. It is very atmospheric, but very easy to get lost in if you wander off the route you have to the goal of the quest. I have a quest in here to discover the secret exit from this place, though I am still a long way from achieving it.

Clicking on the map icon brings up the small map which just shows the route to the quest goal. This is also marked out on the floor of the forest for the quester to follow. A second click of the map bring up an enlarged version, marking the exit/entry points and other features. This map shows Slifmoor, the Imperial Ruins, and the Wildherz Caverns, plus the entrance I used from the town of Kingshill. There is also a Woodfolk Settlement. I have no idea where or what these are, but once my Ranger has improved a couple of levels or so I hope to be able to explore these.

My Ranger is Level 18, and the Wild Forest is classed as being 17-20, but it is tough. There are Wildherz Hunting Hounds here and they have Wildherz Hunters (humanlike) which summon the hounds with a trumpet call to drive intruders out. There are also creatures called Wildherz Agitators, which are even more serious a challenge. Basically 3 or 4 hounds or 2 agitators are enough to deter me from going further and I leave the forest in haste, before they kill me.

In short, I could easily explore more widely and push on to the ruins to complete the quest. But it is risky to probe too far, especially because of how easy it is to stray.

My next post will explore the wider aspects of the game.

The Wild Forest is strange and mysterious. It is very atmospheric, but very easy to get lost in if you wander off the route you have to the goal of the quest. I have a quest in here to discover the secret exit from this place, though I am still a long way from achieving it.

Clicking on the map icon brings up the small map which just shows the route to the quest goal. This is also marked out on the floor of the forest for the quester to follow. A second click of the map bring up an enlarged version, marking the exit/entry points and other features. This map shows Slifmoor, the Imperial Ruins, and the Wildherz Caverns, plus the entrance I used from the town of Kingshill. There is also a Woodfolk Settlement. I have no idea where or what these are, but once my Ranger has improved a couple of levels or so I hope to be able to explore these.

My Ranger is Level 18, and the Wild Forest is classed as being 17-20, but it is tough. There are Wildherz Hunting Hounds here and they have Wildherz Hunters (humanlike) which summon the hounds with a trumpet call to drive intruders out. There are also creatures called Wildherz Agitators, which are even more serious a challenge. Basically 3 or 4 hounds or 2 agitators are enough to deter me from going further and I leave the forest in haste, before they kill me.

In short, I could easily explore more widely and push on to the ruins to complete the quest. But it is risky to probe too far, especially because of how easy it is to stray.

My next post will explore the wider aspects of the game.

I have been playing Drakensang Online for several weeks now, and it get better and better. There are several levels of play, with the emphasis on new players. PVE and PVP are separated from each other. Swerdfield Pastures on Heredur (European server) is a good place to start, and you can still make gains in skill up to about level 13 (max at the moment is 50). But the various dungeons cater for any to try. You get to be on your own in the dungeon, so it is a lot less crowded than Swerdfield Pastures - no other players at all! The Old Tomb is a good introduction to the game (level 9-10).

My best character is a Level 19 Ranger. This is my preferred type of position, strong constitution and with a bow that gives decent range of attack. In addition there is Spellweaver (mage but physically weaker than Rangers) and Dragonknight, a strong melee character. There is also a fourth type Steam Mechanicus a dwarven position. I have not tried this one.

In my next post I will include a study of the Wild Forest, where I have been using my Ranger.

Drakensang can, by the way, be played on any computer (and so far it is free!), so with my middle of the range apple computer I manage quite well with it. There are not so many games accessible with a macbook pro retina, especially not quality games like Drakensang. Microsoft and other kinds of software also work.

The Wild Forest has levels (levels 17-20 for its monsters), so with a level 19 ranger it is just about manageable. I have for the most part been so far conducting short raids, retreating when my ranger's health starts to get dangerously low.

I have so far only met wildherz hunting hounds and a hog-like creature called a wildherz agitator, which are more formidable than the hounds but slower. My ranger can take on 2 or 3 hounds but only 1 agitator at a time. There is also a sort of hunter type who can summon hounds with a bugle call. But yesterday I managed to get to the target - the Imperial Ruins - but there was no wildherz shaman assistant there for me to take the symbol from that was my task. I was to take that to the priest in Kingshill. Odd that. But I persevere.

There are two maps the can be accessed for each location, a general one and a more specific one. On the more detailed map there are more gates; one leading to Slifmoor, one leading to the Wildherz Caverns, as well as a location within the forest called the Woodfolk Settlement. I would like to visit the settlement one day, it sounds interesting. I wonder if the village head will co-operate?

There are many other locations that can be reached for a small in-game fee (money is in coppers, silver, gold and andamant. But I am saving for more important things, especially a better bow.

Between raids into the Wild Forest I go to the Catacombs in Kingshill, a level 15-16 dungeon. 15-16 is more my natural level, and skill gains can be made there more easily than in the Wild Forest. You can often pick up minor goodies in there, like a number of lockpicks and small sums of cash. A Nefetari snooper haunts down there, quite powerful but as long as it is not significantly supported by ghost archers and risen soldiers and as long as ranger health is in it can be defeated.

My ranger is now at level 20, and each new level adds a new more powerful attack or other skill to his repertoire. The maximum is level 50, but to there it is a long way. I have been exploring new areas, using the maps to help me open them up. The complexity of the game grows with this exploration. At the moment I am exploring how jewels embedded in the weapon of your choice can enhance your attacks. This can best be done by the help of a jeweller in one of the urban areas. The game map is being extended to include more options, like guerrilla warfare, stealth, ambush and so on.

This is my 100th post on the forum, so cause for some satisfaction.

Drakensang continues to surprise. There are many merchants in the main city of Kingshill, selling a astonishing variety of goods. There is a giant animal tamer as tall as a building, from whom any tamed creatures can be bought, ranging from a plain brown horse up to dragons and rainbow-coloured unicorns, armoured polar bears, and giant apes moving on two feet and with the rider astride its shoulders.

Quests abound and can can be obtained from NPCs in Kingshill. This is a good way to earn cash and to rise quickly in skill, but takes careful planning so as not to over-extend your character. This is the wording of one of these:
"Take the symbol from the Wildherz Shaman Assistant new the Imperial Ruins". Others involve solving a number of sub-quests, perhaps as many as five.

Drakensang prides itself in its advertisements for being free-to-play. And so it is, but a planned change is to charge the in-game currency of andermant for characters to be raised from the dead:

Inventory expansion by 28 slots
Free travel
Free revival in same location
Free reshuffling of daily challenges
Additional big surprise chest with daily login bonus
A Crown icon next to your character name
Mystic Cube drops
Access to the special trader NPC Emilia in Kingshill
Pre-selection of talents
A bonus 25% increased honor in PvP on top of all other bonuses
+10% to earned experience
25% reduction to Andermant crafting costs at the workbench
Daily login bonus of 100 Andermant per account
Tempest Phoenix pet to accompany you on your travels!
Access to your locker any where you go
How much does a Premium Account cost?
Premium Accounts cost €9.99 per month (30 days)
Players based in Turkey, Romania, Ukraine, Argentinia and Brazil have different pricing

Yes, sure it is still technically free but I am sure the dedicated Dakensangers will pay the premium rate of 9.99 euro for each 30 days.

The best way to progress in Drakensang is to undertake and solve quests. But as a level 20 ranger, I get far too difficult quests. The latest is to kill 15 nefertari necromancers in the Catacombs Dungeon (level 15-16). I have not yet killed one. The quest guides you by marking out the route to take. Yet this quest is difficult for me. The goal is to enter the Crypt of Kings (level 16-17) which is only reached from the Catacombs. I have only entered the Crypt of Kings a few times, but never reached a necromancer to fight one. Just entering this dungeon-with-a-dungeon is difficult. There the minions defending it are many and too hard for me to beat, before I can engage a necromancer one-to-one.

I have come to the conclusion that I am just too slow to complete this task. My old fingers are not nimble enough. In the dungeons you fight solo, but in the Wild Forest, the young level 16 rangers can wipe out many opponents, faster than I can follow with my eye.

Still in Drakensang online, my ranger now level 21. Its about at this level that it becomes a hard grind to get better. I've switched to a spellweaver character, level 17 just now gone up to level 18.

However, the game is going to introduce a restriction on free revival of dead characters only available to those paying the premium. At that point I will withdraw from Drakensang.

One of the fun things about Drakensang is the weird characters. Just about every conceivable mount imaginable -polar bears wearing armour Giant apes with a frame on the back to carry a fighter on, Giant insects, dragons, and many different kinds of familiar, each with special skills to complement the player's character and skills. There are even skeletons, some with wings to enable them to fly, as well as winged player characters.

Another cool thing is the dungeons that only one player at a time gets to enter. No idea how they do that. Each narrow range of skill levels has its own private dungeon. The disadvantage of other players being able to enter, for example, the Wild Forest, is that other players launch attacks on the monster you happen to be fighting. And apart from dungeon environments there is no limit to the number - and level - of players with the hunger to snatch environmental opponents thata you re about to kill yourself.

On alliances and guilds:

I've been handicapped by not joining with other players in guilds or alliances. They do tend to be short-lived as far as I can see, but being older and with slower reactions I don't feel I would be competitive enough to make it worth my while to apply. A familiar would be handy but none of my characters have been approached by a familiar so I don't have one. Again, this would be an advantage of joining a guild, I've just never done it.

My ranger has reached level 22. I have been given a "Bird of Prey" which harasses an enemy, thereby distracting him for a few seconds. This animal follower is a specialised familiar, so it is limited.

I have barely begun exploring the wider world of this game. Based in the large town of Kingshill this is just one of a series of urban centres that provide a non-fighting environment, and a place where quests can be obtained. The others I have visited are Grimford (a village), Werian Sanctuary is another. This is just a small part of the world, and one location, in the port of Shorefolk, has a Resistance Command Center, (perhaps I will go there one day) which looks interesting. Completing quests is a vital part of success in this game, There are rewards for successfully completing quests which are both in-game money (andermant, gold, silver, copper) and progress through your level. The higher levels also need these quests to progress from one level to the next, as it gets progressively harder.

It is 4 months since I last posted on this thread and my ranger has reached level 25 of 50 levels. Still a beginner, really. I also started a new character, a Spellweaver, and he is also now on level 25.

So what does the world of Drakensang look like? Players begin in one of the home areas, "urban areas" where no fighting can take place and that have exits to 2 or 3 other areas where most of the action occurs and they are ranked in order of diifficulty. The urban areas vary considerably. The Werian Sanctuary is useful as a base for Slifmoor My characters all started in Kingshill, the largest urban area I have yet come across in the game. It has a hill on top of which is a throne where the king sits. He has a chancellor, one level below. And there are many other who task willing adventurers with quests. Most players seem to start out with quests against undead in Swerdfield Pastures. As characters become more experienced they graduate to harder quests. Hagastove Grotto is probably the next place to receive quests. The Dark Forest (17-20 levels) will be next (including the Wildherz Caverns - caverns are classed as dungeons, which players solve quests alone), and after that Slifmoor (lvl 20-22). There is another sanctuary called The Resistance Command Centre where I have been once, and another wilderness area Troll Canyon (lvls 25-26), good for hunting fist-stone trolls. There is also the Burning Coast where dragons set fire to buildings and  plunder them. These are the main ones I have been active in but there are many, many more. I hope to explore some of them if I progress and get the chance.

The beauty of the game lies in the great variety of quests to be undertaken and the well-designed scenic nature of the areas. But also the German efficiency of the way the game is run.

I tried it, just now. After about five minutes, I closed it out. Maybe I need a better computer.

Or perhaps a better internet connection? Its well worth persevering.

I got tired of the character continually going backwards a few steps, every time that I tried to have it walk forward. I just couldn't see doing that over the long term.

Its called "rubberbanding", I've seen it done by others but never done it myself. Wouldn't even know how to do it. Very odd.

There is also a forum, but I rarely use it.

Purely by chance, yesterday I experienced rubberbanding when I tried to exit my character from Troll Canyon. Another character was standing there having just entered the area, and I found my character was having difficulty leaving and displayed the same behaviour.

My best character is now a Spellweaver, who uses magic to attack with. There are four character types - Ranger (bow), Dragonknight (sword/axe melee), Spellweaver, and Steam Mechanicus. The latter is dwarven and specialises in steam mechanics, can build a temporary fortified position on the field to support the character, and has access to various mechanical aids like a steamroller. This is the one character-type I have not tried.

Each new character you start up begins with being led through an introduction to the game, which is based on quests, and which takes your character to level 6. This is very useful. NPCs can be approached if an exclamation mark (!) shows above it's head. Once you solve a quest the NPC who gave it to you shows a question mark (?) above it's head. Sometimes this is when you have brought an item the NPC wanted you to get as your quest.

I would urge you to take all the quests you can. They are in a sense the key to playing effectively.

My Spellweaver has now reached level 28 and operates entirely out of the Resistance Command Centre. Resistance against what, you may ask? In the game at large the main enemy is the undead and there are necromancers who worship this god and have the power to summon undead to attack their enemies. You can actually watch this happen when one of the Nefertiti you are confronting does this.

The Resistance Command Centre has a second task to confront Pillaging Dragon Berserkers that have the power to breath fire as an attack (in addition to melee). My Spellweaver's main area of operation is on the Burning Coast, accessed directly from the Resistance Command Centre. I believe the pillaging dragon berserkers were responsible for turning the Burning Coast into a burning hell, littered with burning buildings, ruins and abandoned wagons, etc. But no doubt all will be made clear later in the game.

All my characters got stymied around the level of the mid-20s. So I started a new character, a female DragonKnight and she has now got to level 31, about half-way to 32. She is now based at a dwarven city, an urban area in a mine. The Dwarven mine is in a region where the Vikings are active. It is called Hodni's Mine.

It seems that I have now been closed off from the Drakensang website, so can no longer play. This can only mean that the game is now by subscription only, I think about 20 Swedish kronor each month. I filled in a questionnaire from the Drakensang team and the last question was how much I would be prepared to pay to continue playing. I left it blank which means zero.

I thoroughly enjoyed playing. I only discovered the website 6 months ago, though it has been in existence for the last 5 years. But being an old man there is no way I can keep up with the youngsters, so I retire from the game contented with what I have been able to achieve.

Drakensang online was an excellent free game, its fantasy places and inhabitants were what I would call Reality-Fantasy, apart from Dragons and Dwarves, and ghosts, there was little that departed from the kind of experience offered by Ultima Online. The graphics stood out as being in colour and were very impressive. Trolls were like giant monkeys and Troll Canyon, was very much like canyon country, deep gorges and ravines, often filled with mist. Very atmospheric. 

Over the years 200 kronor a month builds up to 2,300 kronor a year. 

The game also had its own currency, with which you could buy a mount for your character and even a range of familiars to choose between, to give your character a boost in power.

My preference was always for rangers and spellbinders for the range they gave. Made possible a fighting retreat, making stands at places that gave you a decent distance from which to hit the enemy while your ranger retreats in the face of great superiority.

I rejoined Drakensang online accepting the offer of a free trial of the software that usUally costs 9.99 euros for 30 days. You have the trial from your first login to the computer until you log out, but only for a few days, I have one or two log-ins left.

Post No. 10 in this sequence of posts shows the benefits of becoming a Premium subscriber (i.e. paying). It is this that costs 9.99 euros for 30 days, and for which I have accepted - without charge - to experience what a Premium Subscriber enjoys. I don't think I will subscribe permanently, but perhaps 30 days every month or two. Right now my Drakenknight is on level 32, so progress will slow down considerably from now on.

What would you say that they would need to change or to improve about the game, in order to persuade you to become a regular subscriber, Jim?

Its difficult to say. There is too much grinding at the higher levels. The quality of quests have declined. I would like to see more quests that make the level of play more interesting. Quests have become a bit too much like grinding: but at higher levels! My trial period has ended and because of the fewer quests, I've decided to drop out of Drakensang, at least for a while.

I have been playing on  Drakensang Online for about 10 months, and have nearly 20 posts on this topic on playbymail.net. This is the latest.
My best character is now a Spellweaver, who uses magic to attack with. He is now on Level 28. There are four character types - Ranger (bow), Dragonknight (sword/axe melee),Spellweaver, and Steam Mechanicus. The latter is dwarven and specialises in steam mechanics, can build a temporary fortified position on the field to support the character, and has access to various mechanical aids like a steamroller. This is the one character-type I have not tried.

Each new character you start up begins with being led through an introduction to the game, which is based on quests, and which takes your character to level 6. This is very useful. NPCs can be approached if an exclamation mark (!) shows above it's head. Once you solve a quest the NPC who gave it to you shows a question mark (?) above it's head. Sometimes this is when you have brought an item the NPC wanted you to get as your quest.

I would urge anyone playing this to take all the quests you can. They are in a sense the key to playing effectively.

My Spellweaver has now reached level 28 and operates entirely out of the Resistance Command Centre. Resistance against what, you may ask? In the game at large the main enemy is the undead and there are necromancers who worship this god and have the power to summon undead to attack their enemies. You can actually watch this happen when one of the Nefertiti you are confronting does this.

The Resistance Command Centre has a second task to confront Pillaging Dragon Berserkers that have the power to breath fire as an attack (in addition to melee). My Spellweaver's main area of operation is on the Burning Coast, accessed directly from the Resistance Command Centre. I believe the pillaging dragon berserkers were responsible for turning the Burning Coast into a burning hell, littered with burning buildings, ruins and abandoned wagons, etc. But no doubt all will be made clear later in the game.

 My best character is now a Spellweaver, who uses magic to attack with. There are four character types - Ranger (bow), Dragonknight (sword/axe melee),Spellweaver (magic), and Steam Mechanicus. The latter is dwarven and specialises in steam mechanics, can build a temporary fortified position on the field to support the character, and has access to various mechanical aids like a steamroller. This is the one character-type I have not tried.

Each new character you start up begins with being led through an introduction to the game, which is based on quests, and which takes your character to level 6. This is very useful. NPCs can be approached if an exclamation mark (!) shows above it's head. Once you solve a quest the NPC who gave it to you shows a question mark (?) above it's head. Sometimes this is when you have brought an item the NPC wanted you to get as your quest.

I would urge you to take all the quests you can. They are in a sense the key to playing effectively.

My Spellweaver has now reached level 28 and operates entirely out of the Resistance Command Centre. Resistance against what, you may ask? In the game at large the main enemy is the undead and there are necromancers who worship this god and have the power to summon undead to attack their enemies. You can actually watch this happen when one of the Nefertiti you are confronting does this.

The Resistance Command Centre has a second task to confront Pillaging Dragon Berserkers that have the power to breath fire as an attack (in addition to melee). My Spellweaver's main area of operation is on the Burning Coast, accessed directly from the Resistance Command Centre. I believe the pillaging dragon berserkers were responsible for turning the Burning Coast into a burning hell, littered with burning buildings, ruins and abandoned wagons, etc. But no doubt all will be made clear later in the game.

Within the last few weeks I have continued to develop my Ranger, who was on Level 22. The next post will be about him, Oakhand.

Rangers have always been my favourite character-type. Stronger than any other and with his bow, plus the ability to make a fighting retreat, can inflict casualties on an advancing group of fighters, enough to force them to flee rather than continue the advance. But one of the problems with all the character-types is the dreaded "not enough" message. Not enough mana (for a spellweaver), and for a ranger "not enough concentration". I know that one of the reasons for this is using equipment that is too advanced for the character. But knowing what to do about is less clear. I tried equipping Oakhand with lower value equipment, but nothing helped. So I appealed to the forum, posting my question there. I had two useful replies. One was to equip my character with a longbow in place of a short bow. This proved to be as decisive as the first comment suggested. He was using a "legendary" short bow, the highest class of "quality". I was reluctant to do this, but waited a couple of days to see if there were any other replies. There was another reply which I quote below:

In addition to what UK said, you have a multitude of skills. Use them when you hunt.
Few hints:

Use death sweep against a group of creatures. Use the 2 skill trait on this skill to do 43% additional damage.

Use Adrenaline every time it is up to replenish your concentration. Use the 2 skill trait on it to make it reusable quickly.

Use the trait 2 and 3 on Hunting Arrow to remove the concentration that it uses, so you can use the concentration all for the precise shot.

Use Hunting Trap on groups of creatures to mark all of them at once and then shoot Scatter shot at them to kill them quickly.
Use trait 2 and 3 on scatter shot to recover concentration back.

Use Blade Dance and with skill trait 5 to reduce active cool downs on all skills when you target a group of creatures, specially now you can re-use Adrenaline again.

Use skill trait 2 on Deadly Blow to kill an almost dead creature to regain all your concentration.
Use skill trait 5 of Deadly Blow to heal.

Hope these tips will help you.
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This was very helpful, despite not understanding some points. I am still not sure what the 2-skill trait refers to, but I get the gist of what he is saying. The longbow allows one to make several briefer shots that, while it is used, replenishes concentration.

It has made a huge difference to my character. He still has not enough concentration, but the use of special skills and a sequence of briefer shots with the longbow do make a significant difference. I have increased his concentration and my ranger now is soon to reach level 31 (in I guess about 2 hours of play).

This is a great game, the video quality graphics and the fact that it is free to play give it the edge over any other video quality game. that I know of. I have also learned ways to overcome loss of concentration thanks to the forum suggestions.

I thought I would let readers know of the sorts of services that exist in the larger urban areas where no fighting is allowed. These are the places to come to see what quests are on offer by the various NPCs that frequent the urban area. The biggest is Kingshill, but there are many more. The Resistance Command Centre is where my Ranger and other characters before him went to get quests. My Ranger, Oakhand has reached Level 32 and now operates in a viking area, out of Jarlshofen urban centre.  I have a second character, a Spellweaver (Mirageman, Level 38), still active who is in a Greek urban centre, Elonidis, but I play him only rarely since my Ranger got good advice, re longbows and this is my preferred character. I find that one character is enough, as a sort of main character.

Other services on offer in most urban areas are also important. An animal trainer, usually a giant of a human (look for the sign of a horseshoe on your local map), sells mounts. I make do with the cheapest sold for gold, a riding horse. But mounts come in all shapes and sizes! The most expensive are usually dragons.

There is also often a dwarf who offers storage of items that can be collected and left there, at no charge.

There is also a smithy, where character's armour can be mended for a few silver coins. I always go to the smithy as soon as I see the warning of damaged armour. I have found that if you delay more of your equipment is damaged and mending can cost more.

There are also NPCs who sell potions that heal, that give a boost of concentration (for Rangers), mana (for Spellbinders) or whatever your specific character type needs. The healing ones are the most common. 

There is also a Travel Post, to travel to areas that you can go to. The first time your character goes to an area he has to journey there by foot or mount first, to be subsequently able to go there by the Travel Post for a few silver coins.

My Ranger is now on level 36, some 80% of the way to level 37. My best character was and still is my Spellweaver, level 37, but I neglected the cloak dimension, quite simply because I was not aware of it. For a Spellweaver, who has weak defences, this was an omission I should not have made. I cannot make up the loss, so have decided to concentrate on developing my Ranger, Oakhand. 

A new development in Drakensang has been the introduction of a wiki, http://drakensangonline.wikia.com/wiki/Drakensang_Online_Wiki, which in the long run will become useful. It is available for anyone to add to and make changes. It was here I discovered and learned about the advantage of the hierarchy of cloaks, and the method of acquiring them. Each level has its own 3 quests to solve, to complete the quests. My Ranger now has the Cloak of Wisdom, and the next level is the Cloak of Power. It will be a while before my Ranger will be ready to attempt the power cloak quests...

To my knowledge, Drakensang is the only game that is completely free to join. No file to buy, and available to Microsoft, Apple, and other format users. I have been playing for about a year on my 2012 Macbook Pro Retina. It is now an older Mac, but still perfectly adequate for Drakensang. There is a choice of four character-types: Ranger (uses a bow), DragonKnight (melee), Spellweaver (magic) and Steam Mechanicus (a new character type that is dwarven and that uses steam age mechanics).

Whatever character-type you start off with there is an introduction to the game in Swerdfield Pastures, which lasts about 6 levels, after which you are on your own. There are several “urban areas” where combat is not allowed and where there are NPCs to get quests from, A free dwarven storage facility to store valuables, and to mend your armour at the smithy. The main urban area is Kingshill: http://drakensangonline.wikia.com/wiki/Category:Urban_Areas. There is also a wiki that is a recent development. Once it is fully built out it will be an even more valuable resource. This is excellent news!

There is also an in-game forum where you can ask questions. I have used this in the past and found it very useful.

This is the starting point at this link: http://drakensangonline.wikia.com/wiki/Databases. I have added links to the current developments that are within my knowledge. The world is divided into regions. My level 34 Ranger is currently in the Norselands, a Viking region. He is at the difficulty level my Ranger is currently at. My Spellweaver (Mirageman, level 37) is in the next higher region, Helios, a Greek Mediterranean-type region.

Note that Dungeons are a special area that only admits singe players or single groups. In addition there are two dungeons that are open for those with sufficent entry qualifications. One is the Viscanium Mine, a dungeon that needs a “map” of the mine to enter, and that can be bought on the black market. I check it out once in a while but it is too difficut for me. If you get together with up to 4 players they can enter as a collaborating group. The other is a dungeon called Varholm, which is suitable for all levels, you get to meet monsters of your level in this place. This is only open at full moon and new moon, so roughly every 2 weeks.

Apparently in Kingshill there is a mage NPC (Thabo, who floats on a magic carpet) who will enchant realm fragments which, unenchanted, you need to enter Valborg (see the new wiki): Fragment
(This item is part of a quest)
Thabo will enchant your realm fragments with teleportation magic, if you bring him enough of them.

The above statement is rather vague. What is “enough” realm fragments? Have I got enough with over 400? And what does “teleportation magic” do? I will wait until I have collected 500 and then send my character to Kingshill to have them enchanted.

There is one special item (cloaks) which you can get from Thabo in Kingshill. It is actually a series of cloaks increasing in power the higher up you go. You apply for a cloak to him. You need to complete the three quests, associated with this. I didn’t know about this for my Spellweaver. So I never did any quests.

The pieces of equipment are ranked by their uniqueness. At the top is legendary. Then come various degree of usefulness: unique, extraordinary, improved, magic. My ranger mostly has a combination of legendary and unique. Then the equipment is related to the level at which it is used, so it has to be improved to maintain its usefulness as the character goes up a level.

It can also be improved by the addition of jewels. Diamonds, Rubies, and other gems.There is a list of these and how they make a difference (at the link in this paragraph).

All this makes the choice of weapon very complex. For my own part I go for a weapon that has the fastest shooting rate. The more shots that can be loosed per second the better. But even then all this must be balanced against the power of the shots. So a bow which can only be used by, say, a level 35 ranger may be better than one which is level 34. There are many dimensions to your main weapon. All this must be weighed up on the judgement of which bow to use!

Is that last posting what you wanted included in Issue #16, Jim?

Yes, if possible. Otherwise it can wait until next time.

Grim, I still can't open the latest issue of S&D, it used to be opened with Adobe Reader, but that doesn't work any more. The other alternative don't work either.

Your model of computer, from what little research that I did about it, seems to have an issue with PDF files, Jim. I'm not Mac knowledgeable, myself, so I am very limited nn my ability to help you.

Never mind, Grim. I am happy to keep posting here anyway.

I now have a lvl 40 spellweaver, Mirageman, my best character. I am also working up my lvl 30 ranger, Elmfist.

Currently Mirageman is at Misty Ridge (lvl 40-41), accessed from Jarlshof, one of the many urban areas where no fighting is allowed. Here you can buy items like mounts and familiars (companions), repair armour at the blacksmith, take on quests, and more.

I had no idea I've been playing Drakensang since 2016...

A Guide to Drakensang terminology:

Dungeon: these can be open air as well as underground. It is nothing to do with the type of location, instead it is a region where the player is on his own against monsters. If you are a member of guild or collaborating with a group of friends then more than one player can be present at the same time. I always prefer dungeons to wilderness type regions, as I am usually alone and so there is no other player in the dungeon at the same time, to compete for kills there. When you enter a dungeon it will have that name under the name of the area, on the bottom right corner of the screen.

Your character-level (like level 40) should be the same as the region you are entering, if the region-level is higher you may struggle to survive. But if the region-level is lower you may not get gains in skill from fighting there.

Some regions can be very atmospheric, like the Dark Forest, places I enjoy visiting if my character has the appropriate skill level.

There is a whole area of this game that I have not really developed, namely jewellery embedded into weapons and armour. There are jewellers in some of the urban areas, who can work on your jewellery to improve your skills. They can also remove embedded jewels. They also sell them, though it can be pricey! Apparently, one jewel - onyx - is particularly relevant to Rangers. I think it boosts their defences. Never come across any onyx. Diamonds, rubies, sapphires and other jewels can also be embedded. I really need to enter this aspect of character improvement more systematically. And, yes, I know, I am remiss in neglecting this dimension of the game! But it is never too late to learn...

My Ranger, Oakhand, has just reached Level 39. He is handicapped by loss of concentration, but it is manageable. I also have a Spellweaver, Mirageman, who is now at level 42. I am still very much a Ranger-oriented player, and look forward to working Oakhand up. He has a new companion, a tiny elf called Stardust. She keeps Oakhand near the top of his skill-level.

I am still around. Oakhand (lvl 39) is elder brother to Elmfist, another ranger (lvl 31). Progress slows down noticeably in all classes after reaching lvl 30. But there are many players now with lvl 55! It doesn't matter, each lvl has it fun parts and challenges. I particularly appreciate the video quality of the images, the forests, and even the cities have their own challenges. The capital of Drakensang is the large city of Kingshill. Many quests and things to purchase here! Quests beyond my ability to achieve I just save for later in the game.

I have found ways to prevent loss of concentration. Keep your equipment simple, not a jumble of different types. Weapons with magic abilities seem to be OK for higher level rangers, but I still try to minimise the rise by keeping it simple even at the price of lower combat values.

The stroke I had in 2010 still badly affects my writing, so am much more clumsy than before. Admire the youngsters with their fast keyboard control. My character would soon die if I tried to do what they do...

Changes have been made to Drakensang, so as a result my postings have become fewer. But I am now getting a better grip of things. Heredur, the main EU server, is where my prime account is, so here are my three best characters: a lvl 32 spellbinder, and my two Rangers (see preceding post for info on these). I still have difficulties doing the cloak tasks, which I do retroactively, that is I get tasks after I have progressed enough, something I have to judge and test the water once in a while. Each cloak level requires getting tasked by the man in charge of the cloaks, so I go to Kingshill to check this out from time to time with this in mind.

There are many side-quests like the one in the kingshill sewers, and the periodic visits I make to quests needing access to the jewel mines. Mostly I have given upon these, they are too difficult for me. I can't keep up with the youngsters...

What are your favorite and least favorite things about Drakensang, to date? What stands out the most? Is there any PBM game that you think came closest, out of all of the PBM games that you have played down through the years?

There have been big changes in Drakensang, with the servers having been moved to Germany (Hamburg). From where is not clear: England because of Brexit? But the company has always been German...The main forum appears to have gone. It won't be missed as you could only ever post while you were in-game. There remain the wikia one, like http://drakensangonline.wikia.com/wiki/Pets

Well, Jim, it looks like you can still access this forum, so hopefully that previous headache is behind you, now.

Not really sure why they would want to have their forum set up so that you could only post to it while in the game. If it were me, I would want to play the game, while in the game, and do the whole forum thing as a separate activity apart from the game. But, that's just me. Maybe many liked it. Not sure.

Yes, the forum works very well like this, thank you Grim!

Well, it was a good way to ask the game organisers about the game, any questions we had. But I agree it was awkward though I always made sure I was in an urban area where we are all safe from attack, when using the forum.

We, the players, are now left to our own devices concerning forums for asking questions. The player-run forum (a wiki) is still there but appears to have closed to new posts. But it is still there so can be visited, whereas the main forum for the game cannot be visited.

My main character is the spellweaver Mirageman, lvl 42. I left him for a couple of weeks without submitting turns while I developed my two rangers. Oakhand is still my main ranger, lvl 40, and Elmfist is still forging ahead, completing his cloak-development. I hope to have him go up o lvl 35 soon.

Well, the main forums for Drakensang have re-opened after a period of about a month, so all is back to normal. My two Rangers are both doing well. Oakhand and Elmfist now both have good companions, with the elf-dust embracing them. Elmfist has acquired a very effective short bow with the fastest rate of archer fire I have ever seen, and storms ahead, he is now on level 36. Oakhand is still on level 40, but increasing at his level very well.

Elmfist's rate of archery fire is some 1.18 shots per second, the highest rate of fire I have ever seen. The shortbow he uses is legendary class, which means every time he has to have his gear fixed at the blacksmith this weapon becomes as good as new. Elmfist will keep this weapon permanently. Also he is now at level 37. Progress is much slower from here on.