9Dragons Guides - Beginner's FAQ
Posted: October 7th, 2007, 8:04 pm
The
Completely Unofficial 9 Dragons Frequently Asked Questions list. (CUDFAQ)
Compiled by Proxy
What Clan is the best?
Pick the fighting style that you like best. Each Clan has both pros and cons due to the fighting style and weapons used. The game balance is likely to change over time so try them all and give feedback to the developers about what you like, don’t like etc.
What weapons do the most damage?
All weapons offer very similar DPS across many encounters but have a wide array of single strike damage potential.
To illustrate this we will use 2 weapons with fictional stats that reflect the current balance of the game. Dagger vs Spear. The dagger is faster to hit, but hits for less damage and has a much smaller range of damage 75-85. The spear is very slow but can hit for high damage, however the variance is also wide at 70-175.
The spear offers a chance at what is called as burst damage. This is sometimes preferred by DPS, PVP or CRIT builds. It also allows for longer delays between attacks. Missing with the spear can mean trouble in some scenarios where you are low on health or need to pull a monster off a friend.
The dagger does constant damage. The attack rate is fast, misses are recoverable quickly. Critical strikes with daggers may not be as impressive but the extra hits add up just the same.
That said the Axe and Spear have the highest potential for burst damage in the game.
All RPGs use combat engines that are designed to give balance while also allowing you to choose a weapon that fits your play-style. Over time some weapons are favored due to their specific pro’s and cons in certain situations. It is a bit early to tell what weapons will stand out in the endgame.
Where do I put my stat points?
There is no easy answer to this. Basically it doesn’t matter much until you select a profession at OC1. You get to redistribute your points at this time. Generally the following are true:
• Warriors require more STR, DEX and CON
• Healers and Nukers require more ESS and WIS
• Hybrids must place stats according to their play style.
• PVP Warriors place emphasis on DEX due to a bug with the Defense skill
In the endgame much of the stat distribution will become more clear and depend entirely on your chosen play-style, Hero Band and Party makeup.
Where should I spend my weapon mastery points?
Each class within each clan will have a favored weapon. This favored weapon is where you should spend your skill points. It is not wise to distribute them across several weapons. In order to achieve the greatest damage potential with the weapon you need to place all weapon mastery points into a single area. When your chosen weapon requires 2 points, save the extra skill point until you have 2 and spend them at that time.
How do I learn new clan skills? (Chi Kung, Kung Fu & Meditations)
There are 4 steps to learning new skills. Donate to the clan, Purchase the skill, Train the skill and Leveling the skill up.
1. Each clan city will have a Clan Leader where you can donate items in exchange for credit with the clan, or create a Hero Band. This credit is then used to purchase the skills. You should get a quest at the appropriate level that will take you to your clan leader.
2. In each clan city there is a training ground. You can find the NPC vendor for skills here. Click the vendor and select (Learn Kung Fu). The skills up for sale will be listed. If they are in red you do not meet the required level, or have not trained the previous skill high enough to purchase the new skill.
3. Some skills will require that you train them before you can use them. Meditation skills require training at the temple (double click the round things on the ground). Kung Fu skills require training at the Training grounds (double click the stick dummies). You will have to play a little game with mouse clicks to train the skill.
4. After you have trained the skill and added it to your hot bar you need to use it. In fact you will have to use it A LOT in order to level it up. This is why you can purchase manuals. Manuals will increase the rate at which you can gain XP using the skill. The number under the skills on the hotbar is the “Cheng” level of the skill. In order to buy new skills in the game you may be required to possess a certain “Cheng” level of the previous skill.
How do I level up my skills? (Chi Kung & Kung Fu)
Use them as much as possible. Your skills only get better with use. The widely accepted practice within 9D is to fight only Green or Light Blue mobs. They give less XP per kill but allow the player to suffer from less downtime. This is important because the Skills level up on each hit (Kung Fu), or cast (Chi Kung), or active tick (Meditations). The longer you can fight, the more hits, casts or ticks are processed before you pause.
Buffs and Heals are harder to train. The normal way to train them is to group with players and click on them frequently. You can train them solo by casting on yourself repeatedly. A common practice is to purchase many manuals, go to a remote location where you will not be bothered by beggars and grind casting on yourself.
How do you level meditations?
These can be the hardest and easiest skills to level. Hard if you don’t know how to level them, easy if you know what to do and can leave your character logged in for a long period of time. Go to Hefi, buy a Crane Embroidered Sachet from the general vendor. Equip it. Set your character to Peace mode. Keep your meditations on at all times while shopping, selling items, or talking with friends. Buy manuals to speed up the learning process. This will ensure that your meditations are always leveling up when fighting monsters or enjoying all of the other rich activities the game has to offer.
How do I speed up leveling my skills?
You can speed up this process by using manuals. You can buy them from NPC vendors or you can find them as world drops. Manuals will teach you a routine that will multiply the XP rate of a skill by a fraction,2,3,4 or 5. The books get progressively more expensive and harder to find as the rate goes up. Most manuals will only work up to Cheng 5. After that you can only do it the hard way.
Do I really have to level my skills?
No you don’t “Have to”. In fact most of the PVP crowd will bank on you not having very high skills for your level. This way they can own you. On a more serious note; you should always train your skills to the highest Cheng level possible. Early on it is not as important to grind out Kung Fu levels (pre OC1). It is however very important to get your meditatons and lightfoot skills up as soon as possible. They are required to learn new skills and you will wan to have the jump when you hit OC1.
How do I get around faster?
Easy! Use Lightfoot!
Travel in 9D is based around the skill Lightfoot. You can obtain this skill via a quest line, or purcahse from your clan Kung Fu Trainer. Place it on your hotbar, and click it or press the corresponding number key. Now to activate it hold down the ALT key. To control the direction use the arrow keys, or hold down the right mouse button and steer with the mouse. This skill, just like Kung Fu, becomes more powerful 9 (faster movement speed) with training. As with other skills you can train this by using it frequently and applying manuals. Some tips to level it faster are tape the key down in peace mode and run in circles, or go explorer the world! There are lots of sights to see so get moving!
How do I learn the enhanced Lightfoot?
You must either purcahse the Tome or find it killing monsters. Once you have it you need to get your basic lightfoot to skill level 10 and then you can read the book by right clicking on it. you will sit down and learn the skill. Now that you have read the Tome you can now use the new lightfoot by placing it on your hotbar.
Some quests won’t complete or make my game freeze!
These are bugs, please report them to the proper area of the forums. You can find the ones that are bugged by searching the forums.
How do I upgrade Weapons?
There are several ways to upgrade weapons in 9D.
You can buy white weapons from the NPC Blacksmiths in the cities. These weapons are standard quality and have no bonus attributes.
Some weapons drop in the world which have bonus attributes. They are noted by the blue or green frame around the item name. Blue and Green weapons are generally more sought after than white items and command a higher price from player stands. You can not create a blue or green weapon from a white one.
Blue weapons appear to have base stat modifications like dexterity or strength
Green weapons and items appear to boost special stats like critical rate, dodge, damage or attack power.
You can also refine weapons to make them better. You can purchase refinement materials from the general goods vendor. (Blood of Sleeping Dragon, Blood of Crouching Dragon) Take these materials and the weapon of your choice to the Master Refiner. (There is one in HEFI) The weapon refiner will apply the material to your item increasing the damage it can do. Items that are both Blue and Refined are very nice to have. They will typically last you many more levels than a white weapon. If you use the player economy you can often purchase a Blue Weapon, and refine it for the same price as a white weapon from the vendor.
Weapons may also have sockets. This is noted by the empty squares in the item description. You can place weapon ornaments in the weapon sockets to change their attributes.
Remember to examine the stats that a weapon offers and do not simply purchase it because it is a Blue. Wisdom and increased Chi Kung damage offer little benefit to a Warrior.
How do I upgrade my clothes and what do they do other than look cool?
The main purpose of upgrading your clothes is to expand the number of pockets you have available or enable the ability to add patches that can modify the stats of the item. Placing items in your pockets or adding patches to the slots is the only way to upgrade clothing at this time.
You can buy clothing from Tailor NPCs, acquire them from quests, or purchase them from a Clan Supplier in your Clan Base.
Clothing seems to follow the same system as weapons . Colored items with bonus attributes and are more sought after than white ones. Be sure to examine the stats before you buy them to ensure that your character will benefit from the attributes. Items are designed for casters or for fighters and sometimes hybrids.
Help I’m out of storage space and my bag is full!
Bags can usually be purchased from the clothing vendors in cities and at your Clan base. You can also purchase expanded storage from the Couriers guild NPC in cities. Your character can equip 2 extra bags at any time. Some bags will have a clan requirement.
How do I setup a stand?
Open your character sheet and select the Living tab. Click Open Stand. Drag the items you want to sell to the stand window. Type in a price for each item and press Enter to set the price. Set the name of your stand so that people will know what you have to offer. Letting folks know what range of items you carry is also nice. An example title may be as follows:
GC-OC WHLs, DGRs, MANs
This lets people know that your stand contains items from the Gathering to Opening levels and your items are Wheels, Daggers and Manuals. If you have Blue or green items add that to the stand name as well!
How do I make money?
Open a stand. Yes seriously. Unlike some other games selling your items back to a NPC vendor won’t net you much cash. Everything you pick up in 9D can be used by someone for something. Most people think that items which are not Weapons, manuals, or clothing are “junk”. DO NOT SELL YOUR “JUNK”. Keep it. Buy bags and more storage space. Chances are that JUNK is part of a collectables quest. Keep the items until you have the quest completed and go get the item from the NPC vendor. Now you can either use that item to boost your character or you can sell it for tons of cash.
When I party is it best to have it on Shared XP, or Individual?
If everyone is fighting in the same area set the XP to shared so it will go faster. Your player level will rise faster but your Kung Fu appears to level at the same rate, party or not. When you get into higher levels this also helps out your healers to make sure they are getting XP doing what they do best. When you have active healers in your party it is also courteous to set the drops on shared as well.
If your group is scattered and you fear leaching (people who like to sit in town and soak up free XP) then set the XP to Individual. I have not done enough experimenting to notice if you actually get any bonus XP from having a party that is not set to shared XP. Many in game swear that you get a bonus for a full party of 9 no matter what, however I have not seen a GM state this.
Completely Unofficial 9 Dragons Frequently Asked Questions list. (CUDFAQ)
Compiled by Proxy
What Clan is the best?
Pick the fighting style that you like best. Each Clan has both pros and cons due to the fighting style and weapons used. The game balance is likely to change over time so try them all and give feedback to the developers about what you like, don’t like etc.
What weapons do the most damage?
All weapons offer very similar DPS across many encounters but have a wide array of single strike damage potential.
To illustrate this we will use 2 weapons with fictional stats that reflect the current balance of the game. Dagger vs Spear. The dagger is faster to hit, but hits for less damage and has a much smaller range of damage 75-85. The spear is very slow but can hit for high damage, however the variance is also wide at 70-175.
The spear offers a chance at what is called as burst damage. This is sometimes preferred by DPS, PVP or CRIT builds. It also allows for longer delays between attacks. Missing with the spear can mean trouble in some scenarios where you are low on health or need to pull a monster off a friend.
The dagger does constant damage. The attack rate is fast, misses are recoverable quickly. Critical strikes with daggers may not be as impressive but the extra hits add up just the same.
That said the Axe and Spear have the highest potential for burst damage in the game.
All RPGs use combat engines that are designed to give balance while also allowing you to choose a weapon that fits your play-style. Over time some weapons are favored due to their specific pro’s and cons in certain situations. It is a bit early to tell what weapons will stand out in the endgame.
Where do I put my stat points?
There is no easy answer to this. Basically it doesn’t matter much until you select a profession at OC1. You get to redistribute your points at this time. Generally the following are true:
• Warriors require more STR, DEX and CON
• Healers and Nukers require more ESS and WIS
• Hybrids must place stats according to their play style.
• PVP Warriors place emphasis on DEX due to a bug with the Defense skill
In the endgame much of the stat distribution will become more clear and depend entirely on your chosen play-style, Hero Band and Party makeup.
Where should I spend my weapon mastery points?
Each class within each clan will have a favored weapon. This favored weapon is where you should spend your skill points. It is not wise to distribute them across several weapons. In order to achieve the greatest damage potential with the weapon you need to place all weapon mastery points into a single area. When your chosen weapon requires 2 points, save the extra skill point until you have 2 and spend them at that time.
How do I learn new clan skills? (Chi Kung, Kung Fu & Meditations)
There are 4 steps to learning new skills. Donate to the clan, Purchase the skill, Train the skill and Leveling the skill up.
1. Each clan city will have a Clan Leader where you can donate items in exchange for credit with the clan, or create a Hero Band. This credit is then used to purchase the skills. You should get a quest at the appropriate level that will take you to your clan leader.
2. In each clan city there is a training ground. You can find the NPC vendor for skills here. Click the vendor and select (Learn Kung Fu). The skills up for sale will be listed. If they are in red you do not meet the required level, or have not trained the previous skill high enough to purchase the new skill.
3. Some skills will require that you train them before you can use them. Meditation skills require training at the temple (double click the round things on the ground). Kung Fu skills require training at the Training grounds (double click the stick dummies). You will have to play a little game with mouse clicks to train the skill.
4. After you have trained the skill and added it to your hot bar you need to use it. In fact you will have to use it A LOT in order to level it up. This is why you can purchase manuals. Manuals will increase the rate at which you can gain XP using the skill. The number under the skills on the hotbar is the “Cheng” level of the skill. In order to buy new skills in the game you may be required to possess a certain “Cheng” level of the previous skill.
How do I level up my skills? (Chi Kung & Kung Fu)
Use them as much as possible. Your skills only get better with use. The widely accepted practice within 9D is to fight only Green or Light Blue mobs. They give less XP per kill but allow the player to suffer from less downtime. This is important because the Skills level up on each hit (Kung Fu), or cast (Chi Kung), or active tick (Meditations). The longer you can fight, the more hits, casts or ticks are processed before you pause.
Buffs and Heals are harder to train. The normal way to train them is to group with players and click on them frequently. You can train them solo by casting on yourself repeatedly. A common practice is to purchase many manuals, go to a remote location where you will not be bothered by beggars and grind casting on yourself.
How do you level meditations?
These can be the hardest and easiest skills to level. Hard if you don’t know how to level them, easy if you know what to do and can leave your character logged in for a long period of time. Go to Hefi, buy a Crane Embroidered Sachet from the general vendor. Equip it. Set your character to Peace mode. Keep your meditations on at all times while shopping, selling items, or talking with friends. Buy manuals to speed up the learning process. This will ensure that your meditations are always leveling up when fighting monsters or enjoying all of the other rich activities the game has to offer.
How do I speed up leveling my skills?
You can speed up this process by using manuals. You can buy them from NPC vendors or you can find them as world drops. Manuals will teach you a routine that will multiply the XP rate of a skill by a fraction,2,3,4 or 5. The books get progressively more expensive and harder to find as the rate goes up. Most manuals will only work up to Cheng 5. After that you can only do it the hard way.
Do I really have to level my skills?
No you don’t “Have to”. In fact most of the PVP crowd will bank on you not having very high skills for your level. This way they can own you. On a more serious note; you should always train your skills to the highest Cheng level possible. Early on it is not as important to grind out Kung Fu levels (pre OC1). It is however very important to get your meditatons and lightfoot skills up as soon as possible. They are required to learn new skills and you will wan to have the jump when you hit OC1.
How do I get around faster?
Easy! Use Lightfoot!
Travel in 9D is based around the skill Lightfoot. You can obtain this skill via a quest line, or purcahse from your clan Kung Fu Trainer. Place it on your hotbar, and click it or press the corresponding number key. Now to activate it hold down the ALT key. To control the direction use the arrow keys, or hold down the right mouse button and steer with the mouse. This skill, just like Kung Fu, becomes more powerful 9 (faster movement speed) with training. As with other skills you can train this by using it frequently and applying manuals. Some tips to level it faster are tape the key down in peace mode and run in circles, or go explorer the world! There are lots of sights to see so get moving!
How do I learn the enhanced Lightfoot?
You must either purcahse the Tome or find it killing monsters. Once you have it you need to get your basic lightfoot to skill level 10 and then you can read the book by right clicking on it. you will sit down and learn the skill. Now that you have read the Tome you can now use the new lightfoot by placing it on your hotbar.
Some quests won’t complete or make my game freeze!
These are bugs, please report them to the proper area of the forums. You can find the ones that are bugged by searching the forums.
How do I upgrade Weapons?
There are several ways to upgrade weapons in 9D.
You can buy white weapons from the NPC Blacksmiths in the cities. These weapons are standard quality and have no bonus attributes.
Some weapons drop in the world which have bonus attributes. They are noted by the blue or green frame around the item name. Blue and Green weapons are generally more sought after than white items and command a higher price from player stands. You can not create a blue or green weapon from a white one.
Blue weapons appear to have base stat modifications like dexterity or strength
Green weapons and items appear to boost special stats like critical rate, dodge, damage or attack power.
You can also refine weapons to make them better. You can purchase refinement materials from the general goods vendor. (Blood of Sleeping Dragon, Blood of Crouching Dragon) Take these materials and the weapon of your choice to the Master Refiner. (There is one in HEFI) The weapon refiner will apply the material to your item increasing the damage it can do. Items that are both Blue and Refined are very nice to have. They will typically last you many more levels than a white weapon. If you use the player economy you can often purchase a Blue Weapon, and refine it for the same price as a white weapon from the vendor.
Weapons may also have sockets. This is noted by the empty squares in the item description. You can place weapon ornaments in the weapon sockets to change their attributes.
Remember to examine the stats that a weapon offers and do not simply purchase it because it is a Blue. Wisdom and increased Chi Kung damage offer little benefit to a Warrior.
How do I upgrade my clothes and what do they do other than look cool?
The main purpose of upgrading your clothes is to expand the number of pockets you have available or enable the ability to add patches that can modify the stats of the item. Placing items in your pockets or adding patches to the slots is the only way to upgrade clothing at this time.
You can buy clothing from Tailor NPCs, acquire them from quests, or purchase them from a Clan Supplier in your Clan Base.
Clothing seems to follow the same system as weapons . Colored items with bonus attributes and are more sought after than white ones. Be sure to examine the stats before you buy them to ensure that your character will benefit from the attributes. Items are designed for casters or for fighters and sometimes hybrids.
Help I’m out of storage space and my bag is full!
Bags can usually be purchased from the clothing vendors in cities and at your Clan base. You can also purchase expanded storage from the Couriers guild NPC in cities. Your character can equip 2 extra bags at any time. Some bags will have a clan requirement.
How do I setup a stand?
Open your character sheet and select the Living tab. Click Open Stand. Drag the items you want to sell to the stand window. Type in a price for each item and press Enter to set the price. Set the name of your stand so that people will know what you have to offer. Letting folks know what range of items you carry is also nice. An example title may be as follows:
GC-OC WHLs, DGRs, MANs
This lets people know that your stand contains items from the Gathering to Opening levels and your items are Wheels, Daggers and Manuals. If you have Blue or green items add that to the stand name as well!
How do I make money?
Open a stand. Yes seriously. Unlike some other games selling your items back to a NPC vendor won’t net you much cash. Everything you pick up in 9D can be used by someone for something. Most people think that items which are not Weapons, manuals, or clothing are “junk”. DO NOT SELL YOUR “JUNK”. Keep it. Buy bags and more storage space. Chances are that JUNK is part of a collectables quest. Keep the items until you have the quest completed and go get the item from the NPC vendor. Now you can either use that item to boost your character or you can sell it for tons of cash.
When I party is it best to have it on Shared XP, or Individual?
If everyone is fighting in the same area set the XP to shared so it will go faster. Your player level will rise faster but your Kung Fu appears to level at the same rate, party or not. When you get into higher levels this also helps out your healers to make sure they are getting XP doing what they do best. When you have active healers in your party it is also courteous to set the drops on shared as well.
If your group is scattered and you fear leaching (people who like to sit in town and soak up free XP) then set the XP to Individual. I have not done enough experimenting to notice if you actually get any bonus XP from having a party that is not set to shared XP. Many in game swear that you get a bonus for a full party of 9 no matter what, however I have not seen a GM state this.