9Dragons

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9Dragons

Developer(s) Indy21
Publisher(s) Acclaim Games (North America and Europe)
Nexon (South Korea)
PFamily(Taiwan)
Vinagame(Vietnam)
Version Client Patch 48
Platform(s) Windows
Release date March 21, 2008 (North America and Europe)[1]
Genre(s) Massively multiplayer online role-playing game
Mode(s) Online game
Rating(s) N/A
Media Download only (827.22 MB)
System requirements Pentium III
384 MB RAM
32 MB Video card
Sound card
DirectX 9.0
800 MB Hard Drive Space
Input methods Keyboard, Mouse

9Dragons is a MMORPG (Massively Multiplayer Online Role Playing Game) published by Korean game company Indy21 and remastered for the Western Market for Acclaim Games by best-selling American author Steven-Elliot Altman. The game features 3D graphics and traditional MMO control schemes. Set in China during the Ming Dynasty, it includes actual Chinese geography and historical features such as the Great Wall of China and the famous Shaolin Temple.

The Clans a player may join in 9Dragons are based upon various schools of Kung Fu and are separated into two major factions, The White Clans (loyal to the Imperial Emperor) and The Black Clans (who have no allegiance to him). The White Clans include: Shaolin (male disciples only), Wu-Tang Clan, and The League of Beggars. The Black Clans include: Sacred Flower (female disciples only), The Brotherhood of Thieves, and Heavenly Demon Clan. Each Clan has its own separate but very similar requirements for admission.

Contents

[edit] Development and Distribution

Indy21, a game developer in Korea, originally created the video game 9Dragons, then they made agreements with both "Persistent Worlds" and "Acclaim", to allow them to market and sell 9Dragons to the European and American markets. The original In-game story for Indy21's Korean version was written by best-selling Wuxia novelist Jwa Baek and then Steven-Elliot Altman was hired by Acclaim to rewrite the game in its entirety so that it would become accessible to Western audiences. Both companies released the game in "Open Beta" to the public in January 2007.[2] The deal that Indy21 has with both companies allows them to market and sell the game using their own method of choice. Acclaim (American) then stated that the game will continue to be F2P (Free to Play) when Open Beta comes to an end, they will integrate advertisement and an Item Mall to obtain their profits. Later Persistent Worlds announced that they would cease trading and that their servers would be shut down. Indy21 has now granted European Rights for 9Dragons entirely to Acclaim.


[edit] Version History

The commercial Acclaim version of the game is at version 3.1 (as at 4 January, 2008), where some new functions have been added, some minor user interface enhancements have been made, and some previously inactive functions are now active (such as the Yin, Yang, Body and Soul elements in the character screen) as well as some new advertisements. Critically however, the ability to 'keyjam' has been removed leading to many users complaining that they would no longer be able to train buffs as high level buffs require as many as 32 casts to gain .01%. It is unclear yet as to what effect this move will have on the popularity of the game. Versions 20 and 21 were patched in October 2007 and the level cap was raised from 120 to 159 in version 21. A notable inclusion in the previous version 19 was the long-awaited second episode of the "Road to the Dragon" quest series. While this quest in itself is a relatively low level quest, it possibly heralds the beginning of the next phase of the game. Recently, skill exp had been increased by 5 times, amounting to 10 times during double exp events and also bringing about more discussions about the fairness of such an increment towards existing users.

Patch 30, however, has reduced this skill exp increment to 4 times (8 times during double exp hours).

Players were told in August that a new map is coming soon (it was briefly released in September for a few hours but removed due to bugs). As of Patch 35 (March 18, 2008), the new map Liaodong has been added, this time without its previous bugs.

The release of patch 44 caused an uproar in the 9Dragons community due to the new in-game advertising system it implemented. This advertising system, which is still in beta testing is currently under review. Patch 48 removed a bug that allowed players to hide the ads.

The latest version of Acclaim 9Dragons is Patch 48 as of June 5, 2008.

[edit] Classes

After reaching Opening Chi 1, the player can then choose a role in the clan. They all go by different names but they fall into 4 distinct classes:

  • Warrior: Warriors are the masters of their clan's main weapon. They are the first to rush into combat, and all of their skills are centered around dealing direct damage to the opponent. They emphasize Constitution, Dexterity, and Strength, while Essence is harder for them to develop.
  • Healer: The healer of a clan uses their clan's secondary weapon, but their abilities focus more on buffing and healing other members. As the Hybrid has the same basic abilities as they do, the Healer is able to heal external and internal injuries, while the Hybrid cannot. They emphasize Essence and Wisdom, while Constitution is harder for them to develop.
  • Nuker: The nuker is a specialist in the Chi Kung arts handed down in their clan. They focus on dealing long-range damage to their target, and the majority of their skills can do quite a bit of damage. They emphasize Essence and Wisdom, while Strength is hard for them to develop. They are ill-suited to melee combat.
  • Hybrid: The Hybrid is an army unto themselves; they learn a bit of every art passed down in their clan, from secondary clan weapon usage to Chi Kung attacks and buffing and healing. They emphasize Constitution and Essence, while Wisdom is harder for them to develop.

These are the unique names each clan has for each role:

  • White Clans
    • Shaolin
      • Luohan Monk (Warrior) Polearms (cudgels and spades)
      • Diamond Monk (Healer) Gloves
      • Exocrist Monk (Nuker) Bracers (weapons that aid in energy channeling)
      • Deva Monk (Hybrid) Gloves
    • Wu Tang
      • Blue Dragon (Warrior) Swords
      • Red Phoenix (Healer) Gloves
      • Black Tortoise (Nuker) Bracers (weapons that aid in energy channeling)
      • White Tiger (Hybrid) Gloves
    • The League of Beggars
      • Vanguard Beggar (Warrior) Staves
      • Strategy Beggar (Healer) Gloves
      • Dragon Beggar (Nuker) Bracers (weapons that aid in energy channeling)
      • Spirit Beggar (Hybrid) Gloves
  • Black Clans
    • Sacred Flower
      • Mistress of War (Warrior) Flying Wheels
      • Mistress of Heaven (Healer) Daggers
      • Mistress of Spirit (Nuker) Bracers (weapons that aid in energy channeling)
      • Mistress of Cloud (Hybrid) Daggers
    • Heavenly Demon
      • Blood Demon (Warrior) Sabers
      • Phantom Demon (Healer) Gloves
      • Storm Demon (Nuker) Bracers (weapons that aid in energy channeling)
      • Fire Demon (Hybrid) Gloves
    • The Brotherhood of Thieves
      • Warrior Bandit (Warrior) Spears
      • Strategist Bandit (Healer) Axes
      • Armored Bandit (Nuker) Bracers (weapons that aid in energy channeling)
      • Taishan Bandit (Hybrid) Axes

Advanced Clan Roles are still under production

The names of which are

Iron Fist (White Clan)
Black Dragon (Black Clan)
Union Of Noble Families (Neutral)

[edit] Gameplay

[edit] Leveling

The game uses a unique leveling system, in which each level has 12 Cheng as a kind of sub-level system. Each time a character receives a title change (such as when leveling from Losing Self 12 to Gathering Chi 1) a mini-game is required to level, and extra stat and skill points awarded (6 chi points)

Level Cheng Type
1 - 12 Cheng 1-12 of Losing Self
13 - 24 Cheng 1-12 of Gathering Chi
25 - 36 Cheng 1-12 of Opening Chi
37 - 48 Cheng 1-12 of Revolving Chakra
49 - 60 Cheng 1-12 of Raising Light
61 - 72 Cheng 1-12 of Five Dragons
73 - 84 Cheng 1-12 of Sun and Moon
85 - 96 Cheng 1-12 of Golden Blossoms
97 - 108 Cheng 1-12 of Elemental Crown (Cheng 4 of Elemental Crown (lvl 100) is the lowest level of mobs on the new map Liaodong)
109 - 120 Cheng 1-12 of Floral Crown
121 - 132 Cheng 1-12 of Crimson Snake
133 - 144 Cheng 1-12 of Golden Lotus (The current maximum level is approximately Cheng 3 of Golden Lotus (level 135))
145 - 156 Cheng 1-12 of Humble Master
157 - 168 Cheng 1-12 Little Master (It is said that one can join an Advanced Clan at Little Master 4,lvl 160)
169 - 180 Cheng 1-12 of Hermit
181 - 192 Cheng 1-12 of Projected Soul
193 - 204 Cheng 1-12 of Dissolved Body
205 - 216 Cheng 1-12 Immortal

[edit] Combat system

In Dragons you have the Player-versus-Player (PvP) system, and Player-versus-Environment system depending on which server and which map on the server you are located. When in PvP areas, such as Bloody Plains, you can attack any other player except the players who are in your own clan (unless you are masked). If you kill someone in a PvP area you can get karma. If you kill a member of a white clan when you're black clan you get 30 Good Karma, and vice versa if you are white clan. If, however, you kill a member of a black clan when you too are black clan then you will get 10 Bad Karma, and vice versa if you are white clan. When you have collected enough karma you can get karma epithets. There is also an area called Cave of the Conqueror. This area has 5 levels. 4 are accessible and 1 is a secret, hidden floor. In this area you can have both PvP and PvE. When you enter the Cave you will get poisoned by the Conqueror's Mist. You need certain herbs to protect you from it and if you don't have them you will slowly die.

[edit] Hero Band and Hero League

Within the game are small communities known has Hero Bands. A player is required to reach Raising Light 1 (lvl 49) and complete a quest to create a band. Additionnal requirements are : 5000 clan contributions point and have 5 party members of the same clan then him to create a band. The band limites are 1 band master, 10 band leaders and a total of 40 members. The band master choses who he wants to be the band leaders. Hero Leagues are alliances formed with multiple bands(up to 5 bands in a league).

[edit] Blood Essence

There is a rare material in the game known as Blood Essence (BE). It can be obtained as rare drops from killing monsters, camping boss, or gaining 999 Blood Count. When the Blood Count, a number derived from how many kills a character has, reaches its maximum of 999, the player will receive a Blood Essence and the Blood Count is reset to zero again. Blood count is also reset to zero whenever a player dies from being killed by a monster or while in Conquerors Cave (without the appropriate buff or herbs). Blood Essence can be used to refine or strengthen weapons (they glow brightly when this has been done). Weapons can be refined until +9 in game. For levels 1 and 2 of refinement, success is 100% guaranteed. The materials for the first and second levels of refinement may be bought at the general store in Hefei; these are Blood of Sleeping Dragon and Blood of Crouching Dragon, respectively.

From level 3 and above, there is a chance of the weapon breaking, resulting in the loss of the weapon as well as the Blood Essence used to refine it; after level 3 refinement, you will receive half of the BE used to refine back in your inventory. Blood Essence is often sold or traded at different values depending on the server. On Nirvana (US) the price is around 400k-475k in game gold (as of May 5 , 2008). On Bardo (EU) it is around 280-320k (as of 19 Feb 08) in game gold and on Asura (PK server) it is around 300K - 450K game gold (as of April 8, 2008).

Level Amount of Blood Essence Required (Total) Weapon Color
1 0 (0)-Material can be bought in Hefei. Weapon remains the same color.
2 0 (0)-Material can be bought in Hefei. Weapon remains the same color.
3 1 (1) Faint white glow.
4 2 (3) Strong white glow.
5 4 (7) Faint green glow.
6 7 (14) Strong green glow.
7 10 (24) Faint blue glow.
8 15 (39) Strong blue glow.
9 20 (59) Strong red glow.
10 * 25 (84) Large purple glow.
11 * 35 (119) Large bluish glow.
12 * 90 (209) Large Rainbow glow.
  • - levels 10, 11, 12 are not yet available to Acclaim version players. Level 12 refinement is however possible for Game Masters and VGMs.

[edit] Elixirs

There are also elixirs in 9Dragons which can affect stats and skills.

level Requirements Names Adds stats
level 1 elixirs: strength, constitution, dexterity, essence, wisdom. Cheng 1 of Losing self Violet Flower fruit, Changnao Ginseng, Fives Leaves Herbs, Blue Mind Tablet, Jade Spirit Liquid. adds +1 or +2(max)
level 2 elixirs: strength, constitution, dexterity, essence, wisdom. Cheng 1 of Losing Self Gold Spirit Fruit, Heavenly Ginseng, Golden Stem Herb, Nine Yang Tablet, Biaoxian Liquid. adds +1 to +3(max)
level 3 elixirs: strength, constitution, dexterity, essence, wisdom. Cheng 1 of Losing Self White Heaven Peach, Kings Ginseng, Heavenly Herb, Violet Leaf Tablet, Crystal Liquid. adds +1 to +4(max)
level 4 elixirs: strength, constitution, dexterity, essence, wisdom. Cheng 1 of Gathering Chi Nine Leafs Fruit,Nine Leafs Root, Nine Leafs Herb, Nine Leafs Tablet, Nine Leafs Liquid. adds +1 to +5(max)
level 5 elixirs: strength, constitution, dexterity, essence, wisdom. Cheng 1 of Opening Chi Budha's Fruit, Millennium Ginseng, Fire Spirit Herb, Fire Spirit Tablet. adds +1 to +6(max)
level 6 elixirs: strength, constitution, dexterity, essence, wisdom. Cheng 1 of Humble Master Hundred Herb Fruit, Millennium Herb Root, Five Elements Herb, Five Elements Tablet, Sarira Liquid. adds +1 to +6(max)

[edit] References

  1. ^ 9Dragons Launches Commercially. GameDaily (2007-05-09). Retrieved on 2007-05-19.
  2. ^ Holiday, Eliah (2006-12-27). 9Dragons Open Beta Begins. PCDailyNews.com. Retrieved on 2007-01-05.

black clan and white clan wars

[edit] External links