In the German MMORPG Tibia, there is an item called ‘Dragon Scale Legs’, which caused quite a stir when it was discovered in the game. This item is regarded as the ‘ultimate status symbol’. We at MeinMMO spoke with the developers about why that is.
What kind of pants are these? The item in the MMORPG Tibia is called ‘Dragon Scale Legs’.
The Tibia Wiki states that the pants, with an armor value of 10, were long considered the pants with the ‘highest defensive value’ in Tibia until new pants with the same armor rating but additional bonuses were introduced (via tibia,fandom).
Only 3 pairs of the pants were said to have been distributed 15 years ago
Why is this item so sought after? The item cannot be obtained in Tibia. Apparently, only 3 pairs have ever been distributed, each directly by the developers:
- The first pair of pants was received by a player named ‘Lostboy’, who controlled the housing system in the city of Thais. He was said to have held the keys that opened and closed the apartments. CipSoft decided at that time that Lostboy’s influence was so significant that they rewarded him with the first pair of pants.
- The second player to receive the gift was named Pskonejott. He was thanked for helping the community in various ways, such as reporting bugs.
- The third and allegedly last pair of pants is said to have been received by a hero named Albertt on July 26, 2007; he was the 100,000th player to purchase a premium account in Tibia.
There are two other pairs of pants that are rumored: one is said to have been destroyed by a player instead of being lost to another player who had killed him, as he did not want to grant that valuable loot. Another pair was supposedly offered for so much gold that it broke Tibia’s trading system. It was then reportedly exchanged for US dollars.
But apart from such legends, the 3 confirmed pairs are believed to be the only ones distributed by Tibia between 2004 and 2007, according to Tibia experts in the forums.
Pants appear in live gameplay, spark discussion
This has now drawn attention: Because this item was so rare, it had almost been forgotten. However, a few weeks ago, one of the pants was found with an active Tibia player in live gameplay.
The mere sighting of the item was discussed in the forums. It is said:
A well-known collector of rare items in Tibia, Lord Warez, reportedly acquired these pants on February 23 for a “still unknown” price. He displays them in his house alongside other rare items.
The forum shows how rare this is. People are discussing the pants, as well as what the collector possibly paid (real-money trading is officially illegal) and that the pants could actually use a better-decorated house.
Even the developers do not know what the deal is with the pants
What do the developers say about it? We at MeinMMO asked Cipsoft in Regensburg, after all, it is the Studio of the Year 2022 in Germany.
More on why a successful MMORPG is developing in Regensburg can be found here:
German MMORPG is booming right now: ‘At first, we were laughed at’
We were referred to Sebastian Wodarski, the lead product manager of Tibia. When asked why they create such a rare item, he says:
This is difficult to answer, as the Dragon Scale Legs have existed as an item for many years and thus their creation cannot be fully reconstructed. It likely just happened that way. The item was supposed to be something special that could be awarded on a special occasion.
Uniqueness is achieved by two aspects: on the one hand through the gameplay-relevant values, attributes or properties, and on the other hand through the rarity or the way in which it can be obtained. Especially items that cannot be obtained through the game and are no longer distributed can potentially become such legendary collector’s pieces, even if that wasn’t originally planned.
Nowadays, the rarity of items is usually determined with consideration of balancing aspects, and they can be obtained through the game. Individually distributed at least gameplay-relevant items such as weapons and armor are no longer given out.
Sebastian Wodarski, lead product manager of Tibia
When asked whether there are really only 3 of these items left in the game, he did not provide us with any information and did not comment on it. This surely adds to the mythos of these legendary chain pants.
More on why a successful MMORPG is developing in Regensburg can be found here:
German MMORPG is booming right now: ‘At first, we were laughed at’
