With Draconia, a new MMORPG started Early Access on Steam on January 13. The special feature of this game is that you control a dragon and can complete quests, gather, and craft items with it. It also mixes some survival elements into the gameplay.
What kind of game is this? Draconia is a Buy2Play MMO centered around huge dragons. You can control them and even customize them in a character editor according to your wishes. There are various types of dragons, such as the European Vodros, the Wyvern, or the Eastern dragon Yamati.
Once the dragon is created, you explore a game world and experience adventures in a mix of MMORPG and survival:
- You move using WASD and fly through the world
- At a board, you can accept various quests
- You must regularly search for food and water to survive. You can find these using your sense of smell
- There is a gathering and crafting system. For instance, you can create a hoard to store your loot
- You can interact with objects in the open world and learn more about the game’s story
- There is a dynamic weather system and the night is so dark that you need to activate a special night vision
- At launch, you can choose from different servers. The official servers are PvE with an optional PvP system. However, players can also host their own servers and enable either PvE or open PvP there
The game is still in Early Access and primarily has the features mentioned above. However, additional content is planned, including private nest building and breeding children, a clan system, and talent points that do not currently exist.
Who is behind the game? Draconia is developed by an indie studio that claims to have conceived the plan to implement Draconia in 2016 and has been actively programming the game since 2019. It is being developed in Unreal Engine 4.
The developers themselves describe Draconia as an MORPG because only 60 players can be online at the same time on the official servers. However, on the players’ own servers, it should be possible to adjust this number up and down.
A first glimpse into the MMORPG is provided by the video from the YouTuber Blue Dragon, who has also tested the Alpha before:
Draconia attracts over 200 concurrent players despite Buy2Play and Early Access
How is the game doing on Steam? If you want to play Draconia in Early Access, you have to pay €29.99 in advance (via Steam). The game is Buy2Play and will remain so after the release. Since its launch on January 13, an average of 119 players have been online, with even 203 at peak on January 15. This is not bad for an indie MMORPG of this kind.
Draconia also received 80 reviews on Steam, which were 70% positive:
- The selection of dragons, flying, and the crafting system are particularly praised.
- Criticism is aimed at missing content, rather weak graphics and performance, and the fact that there is currently hardly anything to do.
Currently, Draconia appears to only offer a few quests, some crafting, and the free exploration of a world that has hardly any NPCs. However, the developers are said to be working very closely with the community and discussing new features with them.
If you want to dive deep into a dragon MMORPG, you can join the community or at least keep an eye on Draconia.
What do you think of Draconia? Does the concept with the dragons appeal to you? Will you buy the game or will you wait to see how it develops? Feel free to write your thoughts in the comments.
Draconia is not the only dragon MMO on Steam. In 2019, we reported on Day of Dragons, which inadvertently became a success on Kickstarter. The game recently received 82% positive ratings and has around 180 players on average almost 2 years after its Early Access launch. You can learn more about the setup here:
Kickstarter game inadvertently triggers fans of Harry Potter, raises $500,000
