Dragon’s Crown: Beginner’s Tips

At its core, Dragon’s Crown is your basic side scrolling hack and slash title. It’s what you would expect from the advancement of the genre, going from what many considered the peak of excellence years ago with Capcom’s Dungeons and Dragons series, to the modern day consoles with updated graphics and online play. The old arcade side scrollers were designed to take your quarters, but thankfully Dragon’s Crown has a variety of challenges depending on how you decide to play, allowing for players of all skill levels to have fun with the game.

While there are three difficulty settings you can unlock and play through, your class selection and NPC party members also have a significant role in the difficulty of each dungeon. We’ll have more in-depth articles on the various classes over the next week. For now, take a look at a few basic gameplay tips to get you started when you first pick up the title. Each class plays differently, and knowing what each can do will drastically change your play style.

STATS

Each stat is directly linked to specific abilities. Every class increases their stats as they level up. However, each class starts with a stat rating that lets you know how they fair with no additional buffs from gear and skills. These stats are ranked from E to S, with E being the worst. If a class has a low stat rating, either you should not focus on the ability linked to that stat, or try to find weapons, armor and skills that help increase the stat to balance the character.

Strength (STR)

The strength stat measures the effectiveness of physical attacks. This includes everything from the Fighter’s sword and axe attacks, to the Elf’s kicking attacks. The higher the stat, the more damage a character will inflict with each physical attack.

Constitution (CON)

Each character’s physical defense is directly related to their constitution stat. The higher a character’s constitution, the less damage they’ll take from physical attacks. However, this has no impact on magic-based attacks. If a class has a low constitution ranking, try to fight from a distance, or obtain armor with high defensive ratings or increased constitution stats.

Intelligence (INT)

The intelligence stat governs a character’s magical attack prowess. The higher this stat, the more powerful a character’s magic-based attacks. This stat is important for both the Wizard and Sorceress, but it also comes in handy for the Elf.

Magic Resistance (MGR)

Magic resistance is directly related to magic defense. The higher your character’s magic resistance stat, the better equipped they are to defend against magic-based attacks. In early levels, most enemies use physical attacks, but as you progress through the game you’ll find more enemies who rely on magic-based attacks. This becomes an important stat later on in the game, so make sure you hold on to gear that boosts magic resistance, just in case you have a difficult time with some of the more powerful magic-based enemies.

Dexterity (DEX)

A character’s dexterity basically controls how much damage is inflicted with their weapon. All weapons have a damage rating that varies. For example, a Fighter’s sword may display a damage rating of 1-9. This means that every time you hit an enemy with the weapon, it inflicts anywhere from one to nine points of damage (in addition to other factors that add to the damage of a weapon, such as the strength stat). The higher your dexterity stat, the more likely your weapon is to inflict the maximum amount of damage.

Luck (LUC)

Luck is essentially your critical hit rate. A critical hit inflicts more damage than you’d normally be able to get with your attacks. The higher your luck stat, the more likely you are to score a critical hit. In most cases, this is the least important stat. However, if you have a high strength stat and a weapon with high damage output, landing a few critical hits could end an encounter very quickly. This becomes more important as you progress through the game.

CLASSES

Amazon

STR: A | CON: C | INT: C | MGR: C | DEX: B | LUC: A

The Amazon is a melee class that deals damage and little else. She’s similar to the Fighter in that she’s one of the few classes who can block or parry attacks. However, at first she isn’t as fearsome a combatant as the Fighter or Dwarf. Instead, she must land a four-hit combo before she can initiate her berserker ability and unleash her true potential.

Her attacks have very little knockback, so you won’t be able to use a blistering barrage of nonstop offense like you can with the Dwarf and Fighter. Pay close attention to the enemy and be ready to dodge, block or parry when they attack. As you level up the Amazon, you’ll gain abilities that allow her to initiate her berserker ability at the exchange of HP, as well as increase the damage and speed boost of her berserker state. Still, even at higher levels you have to be careful when you attack, unless you have other party members backing you up.

Dwarf

STR: S | CON: S | INT: E | MGR: D | DEX: C | LUC: B

A Dwarf is almost exclusively an offensive combatant. While he does have the Pump Up ability to increase his defense, he is powerful and slow, and should be played as a purely offensive character. When you first play with a Dwarf, he’s fairly straightforward. You’ll hack and slash without a care in the world, and you’ll decimate enemies in the process. He can even grab most enemies and throw them around, inflicting damage to nearby foes. As you level up your Dwarf, you’ll have the opportunity to obtain powerful attacks utilizing explosive barrels, bombs and other such gadgetry. At higher levels, the Dwarf is nearly unmatched in his offensive capabilities.

The only negative aspect of a Dwarf is that he’s slow. If you need to get away from an enemy or widespread attack, you won’t be able to move very quickly. Even his dodge, which is a universal tool all characters have, doesn’t cover as much range as many of the other classes. Still, he carries two weapons and uses them to fiercely destroy any foe that may cross his path.

Elf

STR: B | CON: C | INT: B | MGR: C | DEX: A | LUC: A

If you’re looking to select the Elf as your first class, she’s a little more challenging than some of the other classes in the early stages of the game. Her attack power is relatively low unless you use her archery skills, but you’re limited when it comes to arrows which means you’ll often find yourself having to get close to bosses or more menacing enemies to replenish your supply. She can still be useful as your first class, but you’ll have to use her superior evasion skills to move in and out of danger as quickly as possible.

Once you level up your Elf and she’s acquired a few key skills that give her more melee attack power, increase the amount of arrows she can hold, and give her access to different types of arrows; then she becomes a bit easier to play. If you’re not in a hurry to level up an Elf, adventure with a different class first so you can get a nice stable of higher-level NPC companions. This will give you a good supporting party while you fire your arrows from a distance, and give you time to level up your Elf and obtain all the skills you need to be formidable.

Fighter

STR: S | CON: A | INT: D | MGR: C | DEX: B | LUC: B

The Fighter class is your tried and true hack and slash character. If you want an easier time working your way through the game, the Fighter should be your class of choice. He has higher defense than most other classes, which means he can survive longer in battle. He is also one of the few classes that can block or parry attacks. As you acquire a Fighter’s various skills, you’ll be able to protect the rest of your party, and even call your enemy’s attention away from the other party members. They’re essentially the tanking class in Dragon’s Crown.

If you like to get right in the fight and start inflicting damage, the Fighter class is the easiest of the melee warriors to do this. You don’t need a lot of advanced tactics or strategies. Just run into a crowd of enemies with your sword swinging and you won’t have to worry about much else. Fighters even have solid aerial attacks, allowing them to stay off the ground for extended periods of time as they wreak havoc on unsuspecting foes. They’re also not hampered by the need to land combos or recharge MP to be at their full potential.

Sorceress

STR: E | CON: D | INT: A | MGR: S | DEX: B | LUC: A

The Sorceress is a formidable combatant right from the start. You may have to adjust to the need to recharge your MP, but once you have that down, she’s not overly difficult to use. As you level up and obtain new skills, she becomes one of the deadliest and best classes in the game. Not only can she inflict significant damage with her magic (although not quite as damaging as a Wizard), she can also use spells that will protect the entire party, draw enemies closer and allow her to hover in the air while inflicting additional damage through her magic, and turn a pile of bones into a skeleton familiar.

Her only downfall is that you have to manage your MP well or else you’ll spend a lot of time charging your MP instead of fighting. There are skills you can obtain to increase your MP and charge it at a faster rate, but your spells also use more MP as you increase in level and obtain more powerful magic.  It will likely take some time before you learn how to properly manage your MP so your spells are available when you need them, but once you have that down, the Sorceress is deadly.

Wizard

STR: D | CON: C | INT: S | MGR: A | DEX: B | LUC: D

A Wizard and Sorceress are very similar in how they play. At first, they’re almost identical. However, a Wizard’s magic is based primarily in fire and is more offensive than a Sorceress’ magic. The only issues you may have when you first begin your journey as a Wizard are managing his MP, and dealing with the fact that he is a fire-based magic user. If you’re fighting in water, which happens more often than you may think, many of the Wizard’s base spells are ineffective. In fact, his only base spell that works in water is his aerial flame shot. However, once you obtain new spells through skills, you’ll gain access to wind, thunder, the ability to turn crates into familiars and other non-fire based magic.

Similar to a Sorceress, you will need to learn how to manage your MP. At first you may find yourself running out of MP quite often, spending time recharging it instead of fighting. As you level up, you’ll be able to obtain new skills that allow you to gain MP in different ways, and charge your MP faster. However, you’ll also find new ways to spend your MP.

NON-PLAYER CHARACTERS (NPCs)

Rannie

Rannie only serves one purpose, to unlock things. He can unlock doors and chests for you. As soon as you see a chest on-screen, stop moving forward and have Rannie open it. Enemies can attack at any time, and things can get hectic to the point where you may move past a chest and can’t go back. If you have Rannie open a chest as soon as it appears on-screen, you can immediately collect the loot and engage any enemies that may have spawned. As Rannie unlocks things, he levels up, which allows him to unlock chests and doors with greater speed and a higher success rate.

Be careful not to leave loot on the ground for too long. If loot lingers without being picked up, Rannie will collect it for himself. While loot gathered by NPC party members is yours to keep, anything Rannie gathers will not be added to your stash.

Occasionally another thief appears as Rannie is trying to open a chest. Take him down before he steals the loot. He looks very similar to Rannie, but don’t get confused. If your NPC party members are attacking a thief, follow suit and attack as well.

Tiki

Tiki is there to help point out anything you may have missed. She’ll sit on top of chests, point toward doors and even light the way in dark areas. Unfortunately, she doesn’t point out most of the “hidden” treasure. To find this, move your cursor in broad circles in front of you as your party progresses through each dungeon. If the cursor hits a shiny object, click on it as many times as you can. In some situations, you can get a great deal of loot from a single hidden treasure point.

Party Members

As you work your way through dungeons, you’ll encounter piles of bones. Collect these to resurrect or bury NPC party members. If you resurrect them, they can join your party. If you bury them, there’s a chance you will be rewarded with a basic item from their inventory.

There isn’t much of a downfall to having a full party of four adventurers, even when the party is yourself and three NPCs. Try to use classes that supplement your play style. If you’re a Fighter, use at least one magic class and one ranged class. If you’re an Elf, use at least one melee class and one magic class. Having a balanced party will make things considerably easier as your progress through the game.

Once you have played through a good portion of the game with one character, if you change characters, you’ll still have access to any NPC party members you’ve resurrected. The NPCs you find are generally around the same level of your character. That means you may have level 20 NPCs ready to party with your level 1 character when you start a second or third class. While you won’t be getting many kills, it makes moving through dungeons considerably easier.