As a classic online game that has been operating for 15 years, Dragon Nest has accompanied countless people through their youth. Meanwhile, Dragon Nest Classic, which has been online for nearly a year, is about to celebrate its first anniversary. We were fortunate to interview Xiao Hei, the lead designer of Dragon Nest Classic, to discuss the game and receive many sincere answers.
Below is the interview content:
Q: When the new class "Dancer" was launched on the live server years ago, there was an imbalance between its two advanced classes. Now that this class is being introduced in Classic, will this issue be optimized?
A: The balance adjustments for the Dancer class aren't just about comparing damage numbers. We comprehensively consider factors such as class characteristics, role positioning, and ease of control, further optimizing their strengths. At the same time, we will impose some limitations in other areas to prevent the emergence of overly powerful "hexagon warriors." Additionally, we will address issues such as skill damage caps, summon model overlaps, and overpowered raid buffs for the Dancer class during the early stages of the version.
Q: Besides the 15th-anniversary celebration of the "Dragon Nest" IP, Dragon Nest Classic will also celebrate its own first anniversary in about half a month. What other activities will be held then?
A: In terms of gameplay, the first anniversary update will introduce the "Grand Ball" event. Once the event is live, players can enter a special event area, sign up for the themed ball, and dance together with the Dancer class characters and other participating players.
During the Classic server anniversary, we have also prepared generous gifts for all Dragon Nest fans. Anniversary-limited outfits, massive amounts of Diamond Pandora, flower crowns, protection potions, mounts, active costume vouchers, and other popular in-game items will be given away for free through events. On August 20th, the first birthday of Dragon Nest Classic, we will roll out benefits every hour, with the ultimate reward being "one choice of 8-colored large wings." We hope everyone can spend a happy day together in the game on the Classic server's birthday.
Along with the anniversary update, the "Dancer" class will come with a series of benefit events. Massive amounts of active costume vouchers and mentorship activities can help Dragon Nest fans quickly accelerate the progression and equipment growth of their Dancer characters.
Everyone can experience these anniversary events on the day of the update. We hope to present the most sincere gifts to the Dragon Nest fans who have accompanied Dragon Nest Classic through its first year, thanking all fans for their long-term support.
Q: How did the ideas for "Guild Ball" and "Guild Hot Spring" originate? Was the command-input gameplay for "Guild Ball" developed domestically?
A: The Guild Ball gameplay was independently developed domestically. Initially, while clearing the Apocalypse dungeon, guild members who cleared the dungeon together liked to perform emotes matching their costumes when the camera focused on them, adding much joy to the dungeon clearing process for teammates. So, we wanted to add a new gameplay feature to help players show off their costumes to their friends. The combination of dancing and camera focus matched perfectly, leading to the creation of the "Guild Ball" feature. Players can gather their friends/guild members to have fun and express their personalities.
Regarding the Guild Hot Spring, I personally joined a guild as an "undercover" agent while playing games. I found that people usually log on for daily teams/nests or fixed raid teams, and log off immediately after finishing, rushing through the whole process. If members aren't very familiar with each other, there is actually little communication. So, I thought of finding a place to slow down the pace for players and bring them closer together.
The live server already has a hot spring feature. When soaking in the hot springs, people usually chat, bond, and create fond memories. We thought we could bring this feature to guilds, allowing everyone to deepen their connections in a warm environment.
Q: Will the "Skill Slate" system bring about visual changes, such as altering skill forms?
A: The changes brought by Skill Slates mainly focus on altering skill effects, such as adding functional or numerical buffs. A few skill slates will change skill animations, visual effects, or control schemes.
Q: Dungeon gameplay is common in many MMOs. What makes the dungeon gameplay in Dragon Nest Classic unique?
A: In many MMOs, dungeon gameplay provides players with scenarios to challenge their limits, and "Dragon Abyss" is no exception. Compared to traditional MMO dungeon gameplay, the "Dragon Abyss" in the Classic server has the following differences:
1. It encourages players to keep attacking. Players can break monsters' super armor to put them in a controlled state, thereby reducing the difficulty of clearing the dungeon.
2. It tests player coordination and skill chaining more rigorously. Party members need to consider how to maintain continuous control over monsters, how to work together to interrupt key monster skills, and how to stack buffs to achieve maximum output efficiency.
3. It provides players with more satisfaction. The black holes left behind when Xiao Mo is defeated can help gather monsters from a large area, making the feedback after releasing a skill more intense.
Q: After the new server opens, what strategies will be adopted to attract returning players and new players?
A: For the first anniversary of the Classic server, we will not open new servers. Instead, we will focus on the new Dancer class and recalling veteran players. Players should be able to access the anniversary version by late August or early September. Launching the Dancer at this time serves to better evoke players' memories, and we also hope to use this promotional point to recall more veteran players back to the Classic server.
Additionally, to help returning users get back into the Classic server faster and more conveniently, we will launch two systems: "Memories of the Past" and the "User Return Plan." "Memories of the Past" allows returning players to quickly understand the current version's main storyline through a quest line lasting about half an hour, reminiscing about old memories. The "User Return Plan" guides players after they enter Saint Haven through return quests, return blessing bonuses, and return social assistance, helping them quickly regain their combat feel and catch up on character progression.
Q: How has player feedback been during the first year since the launch of the Classic server? Is there anything particularly worth sharing?
A: From the inception of the Classic server, our goal was to help Dragon Nest fans rediscover memories of their youth. Therefore, in terms of version content, we have tried to restore the continent of Alteria as it was 15 years ago, optimized usability, and added some new system features.
Throughout the various versions over the past year, we have received many suggestions and complaints from players, learning valuable lessons. I believe the most important point is to stay close to players and listen to their actual needs. We made some controversial decisions in the early stages of operation, nearly causing a trust crisis. This year, through several developer livestreams, the Dragon Nest Fans Forum, and the recent offline anniversary event, we have been gradually improving communication channels between developers and players, aiming to make decisions faster and more accurately.
Q: Studios and bots have always been a major concern for Dragon Nest Classic players. How has the official team monitored and handled these issues since launch? What new measures will be taken in the future?
Dragon Nest Classic's economy is almost entirely open. Features like free trading, the exchange, and mail trading are directly available to players. This is why studios and bot users have been flooding into the game, attempting to profit from it.
Current measures include side-channel monitoring during client runtime, abnormal data monitoring, abnormal behavior monitoring, and player reports. Accounts are banned immediately upon verification. Apart from player reports, all other methods are currently automated.
Players who actively report often encounter opponents who use "methods" to bypass system monitoring; these opponents are very cunning. However, we are currently collaborating with colleagues from the data center to develop a specialized behavior analysis tool. This tool logs behavioral logic in key intervals multiple times a day and automatically performs batch comparisons in the database, extracting all data with similar behaviors. This saves a significant amount of time on manual comparison, allowing us to identify these bad actors more quickly.
Q: Finally, do you have any words for the players of Dragon Nest Classic?
Over the past year, the Classic server has experienced its ups and downs, and our team has been continuously summarizing and learning. Since the opening of the Dragon Nest Fans Forum, we have been monitoring daily discussions. We promptly evaluate suggestions from many players regarding version content and gameplay, including popular features from the live server suggested by veteran players. Whether it's discussion or complaints, these are all voices from our players, and we take them very seriously. Thank you again to all Dragon Nest fans for your support of Dragon Nest Classic!