Facebook Dragon’s Call New Player’s Guide

Facebook Dragon’s Call New Player’s Guide by Ozone

OZ’S GUIDE FOR BEGINNERS, THE NOT WELL KNOWN STUFF (at first)

I. The Main Buttons and Info Bars
II. Instances (includes special instance drops)
III. Work in your off-time
IV. Arena
V. Combining Gems, Shards, Runes, and Items
VI. Free Stuff for Levelling
VII. Go Eat Dinner While Killing Things… AFK Fighting (includies how to kill things very quickly)
VIII. ‘Musts’ for each session

I. THE MAIN SCREEN BUTTONS AND INFO BARS

The Top Bar (above the map):

Divine
Clicking this button brings you to a wheel of chance which you can spin once per server day. Prizes range from gems, to gold bonus, to experience bonuses, and to other various goodies.
This costs NOTHING! Use it, every day!

Forum
Er, this brings you magically to the, er, forum.

Website
Shazam! You’re at the website!

Bookmark
Again, a deceptive button. This actually bookmarks the game.

Settings
Presents you with some game settings in one sub-menu and a tutorial mode in another game menu. Play with em a bit. Figure ’em out.

Exit
Another excellent deceptive ploy! This button exits the game.

The Top Bar (above the character portrait):

Mall
The Mall allows you to spend Dragon Gold for special bonuses (note that Dragon Stones can be used in place of Dragon Gold at a 1:1 ratio). The mall is divided into two sections, the VIP shop and the Hot shop.

The VIP shop provides you, for a fee, a certain amount of days in which you become a VIP. This allows you to earn extra money and experience while working in a town’s job center, gains you a 10% discount from all merchants, a 120% increase in experience and gold from encounters, increases chance of success (of +5%) when refining items, and provides free AFK fighting.

A second service provided by the mall is the ‘Hot’ venue, which provides temporary increases in specific aspects of the game:
Experience Blessing increases gainded Exp by 30%.
Gold Blessing increases gold finds by 30%.
Protective Blessing prevents other players from looting you

Gift
The Gift button is your friend at certain levels, as much so as the Divine button is your friend every day. There are two categories located in the Gift area, the Gift area itself, and, another Hot venue as in the Mall.

The Gift Shop is the place to visit when you attain levels 15, 30, 50, 60, 70, and 80. Upon each of these levels a package will be waiting for you with some pretty groovie goodies which have a high tendency to give out or defend from pain (not to mention the odd gem or such).

The Hot area under this key is associated with Hot Packages. These packages are sold for Dragon Gold and each has a specific effect which benefits improved levelling of your character.

The Action Bars (below the character portrait)

HP
Represents the classic RPG ‘hit points’ this is the amount of damage you can take before death/failure. It can be replenished in multiple ways…

1. Before level 20 you can go to a tavern and have it topped up for free between combat encounters.

2. You can purchase HPs for your HP Pack by clicking to the (+) to the right of the HP bar. The HP Pack is a reserve of hit points which automatically heal you after combat with no additional effort or button pushes by you. Combat ends, auto heal, as you heal the pool diminishes.

3. You can purchase or find healing potions. These potions can be consumed between combat encounters to restore HPs. You may also decide to use the potion to increase the HP available in your HP Pack.

MP
Movement Points represent the amount of ‘energy’ available for certain special attacks or abilities. When these special attacks activate there is an automatic deduction from the MP bar. When the bar reaches zip, no more special attacks. MP restores over time or may be leeched from other players through special equipment or abilities.

AP
Action Points are the amount of points you have available before your session is done for the day. When AP=0, you=done till the next server reset (which occurs every morning). Up to 30 additional APs per day may be purchased with Honor Points from Arena battles (see Section IV).

II. INSTANCES

General Notes
Instances are ‘dungeons’ which hold special items, special monsters (many required for quests), and special item drops. It costs 20AP from your daily lot to enter an instance.
Instances are run by 1 player but can have 3 (total) members in the team. If you are in charge of the instance you should ‘hire’ 2 players to run with you. If you are joining along in the instance you must put yourself out to ‘hire’ as a mercenary and the ‘runner’ will ‘hire’ you.

Here’s how it works…

Running an Instance
When you run an instance you are in charge of all descions. You are also in charge of all healing (the healing of the entire party comes from your HP Pack).
1. Before you begin the run, go to a tavern and purchase as many points for your HP Pack as you can, as all the party will be healing from your reserve. Most early instances fizzle out as the lead character runs out of HP stock and can not heal a damaged party, so the instance fails.
2. Next, send out word in the chat that you’re looking to do an instance, for example, ‘Claymose’, and find 2 other players wishing to make the run. Tell them to set up as mercenaries (chances are they already know this and have done it).
3. When they are ready and registered as mercs, click the ‘Instance’ button underneath the map window. You will get a window telling you you must join a team with a few options available.
4. Click on ‘Mercenary Market‘. Then in the drop bar ‘Select Instance’, choose your instance, and hit ‘Search’. This will bring up players available for the run of that instance. The two players you spoke to should be listed here.
5. Click ‘Create a Team’, choose the instance for the team (eg Claymose), then hit ‘Create’ and ‘Confirm’. The Team is open, now you must fill it.
6. Chose the two members you communicated with, who should be there, and add them to the team.
7. Choose ‘Enter’. You’re in. You can now communicate with you’re instance party directly through the ‘Team’ chat setting.
8. Once in, you can further utilize the buttons in the control panel to set characters parameters such as ‘Tank (keeps targets occupied), primary attack, sub-tank, balanced (uses all abilities), etc’. It’s always a good idea to set a warrior as a tank and keep the other players on balance.
9. Play the instance. It is a series of squares which you click on to move into. Swords indicate combat encounters, scrolls indicate events which effect the party. If you encounter a ‘Boss’, you are given the option for an easy fight, a normal fight, or a hard fight. Remember Bosses are massively overpowered for their level. Id suggest that, for example, a group of three level 30 players encountering a level 30 Boss should set the battle on ‘easy’, which is still quite tough and, more oft than not, devestating to your party. A setting of normal may kill you’re entire party in seconds if you don’t have mega-heavy levels or firepower.

(A note on hiring fees of your party members)
There is a hiring price you have to pay to bring other players along with you. Most players needing to make the run will hire themselves out for 1g as you are the one spending healing points and making the descisions. Some players may try to cover their cost to become a merc and hire themselves out at 1,000g, which puts the full expenditure of the instance on you, even though they’re benefiting. If they need the run and charge you over 1,000 that’s just taking advantage of you as you will be covering their expenses, healing them, and supplying them profit as well as running them through the instance, not cool.
HOWEVER, if you are running a level 30 instance, and a level 40 is willing to go, he/she is justified in increasing their hiring fee as the benefits they supply are well worth the monetary expenditure on your end.

Joining an Instance
So, you’re invited to an instance. To run it you have to set yourself up to join the party as a mercenary.
1. Under the map screen, hit the ‘Mercenary’ button. In the sub buttons, click ‘To be a mercenary’.
2. Select the instance you’re going to enter. Type in your comission (hiring fee). This process will cost you 20AP and 1,000g. Once you are entered as a mercenary, anyone can hire you if you don’t set a password, so you may be hired before your party begins their run. To prevent this set a simple password and send a chat to the person you’re going into the instance with telling them what the password is. Click ‘confirm’ and viola, you’re set as a merc.
3. The player leading the mission will hire you, using your password, and run the instance as outlined above.
4. You’re in and don’t have to do anything, BUT, one of the few options you have in regards to the group is the consumptions of potions. Go to the ‘Character‘ button on the right (below the toon pic) and consume any potions which may be beneficial to your character during the run.
5. As a merc, you can not see the action step by step, but you can keep hitting the ‘Instance’ button under the main map screen to see where the party is. Click on it every few seconds to update the info, and keep in communication with the leader via Team  Chat.

Special Instance Items/Drops
Once in a while a Boss may drop a special grey item which is specific to a character class. For example, in the Claymose Instance the ‘Claymose Grasp’ may be dropped for warriors or the ‘Finger Guard’ for Mages. If you receive one of these items…
1. Once out of the Instance, go to the bottom of the main map and hit the ‘Instance’ button.
2. Click on ‘Instance Exchange‘.
3. Click on the Instance you obtained the item from.
4. Find the item you have and consider making an exchange for a working version of that item. Note that the exchanged items are very nice and can have some considerable upgrades but you may want to consider for two reasons: some of the exchanges cost a considerable amount of money to make, and, you will eventually find a better drop to replace the item with.
5. If the exchange is worthwhile to you, make it.

III. WORK

Downtime is money and experience!
There are multiple options when logging out for the night to allow you to benefit in your of-time.

Option1 – Mercenary
Set yourself up as a mercenary overnight (see ‘Joining an Instance’ above). If you’re willing to drop the 1,000g and 20AP you may be pulled into runs by other players (even while offline) to make a bit of cash, exp, and gold. Just don’t set a password for hiring so anyone that needs you can access.

Option 2 (recommended for lower levels) – Clerk(?)
Go into a town and visit the Job Center. Set the time you’ll be offline and choose somewhere to work. The higher your reputaion in various jobs provides you with bonuses when dealing with these industries in the future, plus you come back to gold and experience you earned while away. These jobs do not require any cash output or expenditure of APs on your end.

IV. ARENA

The arena offers experience, reputation, and points to exchange for bonuses.
At level 10 you can begin to enter the Arena. Each day you can enter into 20 challenges. It is a 1v1 situation. You see you’re ranking in the world, challenge one above you, and increase your rep, exp, and Honor Points. Honor points are specific points earned in the Arena which you can spend at the ‘Munitions Vendor’ for a variety of equipment and/or character building awards.

Challenging in Arena
1. Enter a town, click on the Arena.
2. You will be presented with a listing showing your ranking and those above you.
3. Find someone above you you wish to challenge. Click on their name. Click on ‘Detect Equipment’. Look it over.
4. If you think you can take ’em, hit ‘challenge’. Watch the fight.
5. Regardless of win or lose, you will earn some Arena credits (which effect your title) and Honor Points (which you use to trade for bonuses). If you win, the rewards are higher, but even if you lose, you still earn some.
6. ‘Return to Arena’ and either challenge more or choose ‘Munitions Vendor’ which allows you to exchange those Honor Points for items or boosts (highly recommend that earlier in career you change honor points for experience).

Being Challenged in Arena
You don’t have to do a thing. If someone challenges you the system will send you a mail describing the challenge, the win or loss, and the gains or losses.

V. COMBINING SHARDS, GEMS, RUNES AND ITEMS

There appears to be combos galore. I’m learning myself (at great expense) what can be done and how to do it. Shards appear to combine for weapon bonuses (+’s), gems combine to make a prefix or suffix (Mana drainer…., …of slaughter. etc) and add related attributes, and Runes seem to combine to add special powers (runes rquire a ‘slot’ to be open on a weapon). Let’s see where I can get with this. Learning as I go, hope it helps take some of the confusion out of the learning curve…

How to Combine Items with Gems to Give (+) Bonuses
This will provide the item with positive statistics (+1, +2, +3, etc…)
1. Take the item you wish to modify and the gem (shard) you wish to modify it with and put them into inventory. Note: you can not have them equipped.
2. Click to the ‘Character’ button under the toon picture.
3. Click on the ‘Combine’ button in the top area of the screen.
4. Drag the item to be modified and the gem providing the enhancement to the left area of the screen.
5. Hit ‘Begin Combining’.
6. A successful combine grant’s you with a ‘+’ item.
You can keep combining to increase the ‘+’, BUT, don’t get too greedy. A +6 may be workable, a +7 (depending on your level and experience) may not be. If you go to far and fail, the weapon returns to its original state and you lose all the gems/shards that you had used on it.

How to Combine Items with Shards to Modify Item Name and Abilities
This allows you to add a prefix or suffix to the item name. For example, ‘Magic Resistor’s Golden Leggings’ can become ‘Magic Resistor’s Golden Leggings of Slaughter’
1. Take the item you wish to modify and the appropriate shard you wish to modify it with and put them into inventory. Note: you can not have them equipped.
2. Click to the ‘Character’ button under the toon picture.
3. Click on the ‘Combine’ button in the top area of the screen.
4. Drag the item to be modified and the gem providing the enhancement to the left area of the screen.
5. Choose to modify either the prefix or suffix of the item. Example: For ‘Magic Resistor’s Golden Leggings of Slaughter’, you can choose to modify/change ‘Magic Resistor’s’ (and its bonuses) or ‘of Slaughter’ (and it’s bonuses), or you can change both. The choices are established in the small check boxes underneath the combine menu. If you like the prefix, click the box to preserve it, likewise with the suffix.
5. Hit ‘Begin Combining’.
6. A successful combine changes the prefix, suffix, or both based upon your selections. The outcome seems to be random, but you  may jus have an item much more useful to your situation.

How to Combine Items with Runes to Give Special Abilities
East wind blow, west wind blow, thunder, lightning, SMOG! Runes add additional attack abilities to your weapons or additional defense abilities to your armor. Runes are grey. Square runes seem to designate defense and can be used in armor, triangular/diamond runes appear to be attack based and socket in weapons.
1. Take the item you wish to modify (make sure it has open slots (appear as red ‘holes’ in weapon description)) and the rune you wish to modify it with and put them into inventory. Note: you can not have them equipped.
2. Click to the ‘Character’ button under the toon picture.
3. Click on the ‘Embed’ button in the top area of the screen.
4. Drag the weapon/armor to be modified and the rune providing the enhancement to the left area of the screen.
5. Hit ‘Begin Embedding’.
6. A successful combine grant’s you the rune’s additional abilities to the item. A failure returns the item to its original state with loss of any runes invested.

VI. FREE STUFF FOR LEVELLING

At levels 15, 30, 50, 60, 70, and 80, Go to the Gift button above the character portrait and collect your gift package courtesy of the DC team. Details on the Gift button are located in Section I above.

VII. Go Eat Dinner While Killing Things… AFK Fighting

AFK Fighting
So, you got a few things to do for a half hour or so but do plan to come back to the game. Let’s also say that you might have a daily to do requiring X amount of kills on ‘Quest Creature’. Here’s what you can do…
1. Go find some ‘Quest Creatures’.
2. Chose the crossed swords symbol under the creature.
3. Chose the number of ‘Quest Creatures’ you need to kill.
4. When you approve the action, a timer appears on the screen telling you when to come back to your pile of steaming creature corpses.

But! There are a few considerations to make before confirming AFK fighting…
1. You can not fight creatures greater in level than you are.
2. Creatures killed will count towards quest kills, they will drop normal items and you will get experience, but creatures will NOT drop quest items.
3. This is timely. Killing 10 creatures manually may take a few minutes, use AFK and it takes 30 minutes.
4. You must have your HP Pack charged up so your character can auto heal during the extended battle.

Using AFK (and some gold/stones) to Kill Many Things Quickly
OK, you’re gettting bored of these dailies…Kill 10 bears, 10 tigers, 10 lawyers, etc… Here’s what you can do, but it does cost some Dragon Gold/Stones.
Find your target and set up AFK fighting as outlined above. As soon as the battle starts, choose to ‘End Instantly’. If you were set up for the standard daily killing number of 10 creatures, the instant finish will cost you 3 Dragon Gold/Stones. 30 Gold/Stones can get 10 dailies done within 5 minutes. Sweet .

VIII. MUST DO’S FOR EACH SESSION

1. (Optional ‘Must Do’) I highly advise spending a few Dragon Gold/Stones to become a VIP through the Mall button above the character portrait (Section I) . This gives you substantial bonuses in many aspects of the game.

2. Begin each session by clicking on ‘Divine’ above the map and spin the wheel for a free item or bonus (Section I).

3. Enter Arena and run all the challenges you can (Section IV).

4. Adventure as you choose. I would highly advise doing all non-instance dailies, then building a team for instance dailies and clearing them out. The daily quests are bread and butter experience points.

5. Find work before you log off for the night (Section III).

Hope this helps,

Ozone