Quick Guide
- Prioritize story progression to unlock characters, mounts, and game systems.
- Explore thoroughly for hidden content, especially underwater with the right mount.
- Understand character synergies and combat mechanics for effective team building.
- Efficiently farm materials and craft elemental gear with critical stats.
- Complete daily regional and world bosses for essential upgrade resources.
Welcome to the vibrant world of DragonSword: Awakening, an action-packed open-world RPG now available on Steam! With its deep combat, extensive exploration, and a roster of unique characters, it’s easy to feel overwhelmed when you first start. This DragonSword Awakening Steam beginner guide is designed to help new players navigate their initial hours, set up effective teams, and understand the core mechanics to ensure a smooth and enjoyable journey from the very beginning.
Whether you're looking to master flashy combos or prefer a more strategic, ranged approach, this guide will provide actionable insights to get you on the right path.
Unlocking Characters and Advancing the Story
Your adventure in DragonSword: Awakening is deeply tied to story progression. Clearing each chapter of the main narrative is crucial not just for the lore, but because it’s the primary way to earn character tickets. These tickets can then be exchanged in the game's shop to unlock new heroes for your roster.
Beyond the main story, you can acquire additional character tickets by completing Hero Quest lines. These exclusive quests, often featuring unique cinematics, also reward you with a character's exclusive Karma. If you find yourself with an exclusive Karma for a character you don't plan to use, don't worry! You can dismantle it to receive a special currency, which can then be used to exchange for another exclusive Karma more suited to your preferred heroes. This system ensures flexibility in your character development.
The story isn't just about unlocking characters; it's also your gateway to crucial progression systems. Many important game features and areas become accessible only after reaching certain story milestones. While it might be tempting to rush, remember to take your time and explore everything. The world is full of hidden materials and upgrades that will make your characters more versatile and powerful.
Mastering Exploration and Mounts
Exploration is a cornerstone of DragonSword: Awakening. The world of Orbis is vast, with secrets tucked away in every corner, including underwater areas. To fully uncover these, you'll need the right tools, specifically the right mounts.
Mounts in DragonSword: Awakening are more than just transportation; they offer unique skills that facilitate exploration. You unlock mounts through mercenary leveling and story progression. While some of the best mounts are tied to late-game story, you'll acquire several capable ones by Chapter 6 that are sufficient for most early exploration.
A key feature of the mount system is skill inheritance. When you unlock a variation of an existing mount, you often gain a second skill that can be applied to other mounts. For instance, the "Bright Crow Tit" mount, unlocked by achieving Novice Mercenary rank, grants a free air dash skill. This air dash is incredibly useful for traversal and can be transferred to many other mounts, making exploration much more efficient. For underwater exploration, prioritize completing early story quests to unlock the dedicated aquatic mount.
Focus on early story progression to unlock the aquatic mount.
This mount is essential for accessing hidden underwater content and resources, which can give you a significant advantage. Don't skip these early story beats!
Combat Fundamentals and Strategic Team Building
Combat in DragonSword: Awakening appears simple on the surface, but it boasts surprising depth. Each character has basic attacks, jump attacks, and unique dodge maneuvers. The true complexity comes from understanding how skills, team synergy, and specific mechanics work together.
Active skills have cooldowns that are reduced by hitting enemies, encouraging aggressive play. Additionally, when enemies are "broken" (indicated by a white bar beneath their health), you can trigger "Signal Skills," calling in teammates for powerful assist attacks. This adds a dynamic layer to combat, rewarding precise timing and target prioritization.
When building your team, consider two main approaches:
- Action-Oriented (Flashy DPS): Characters like Charlotte (a high-mobility ninja with daggers and bows), Johnny, and Raina excel at fast-paced, high-damage combat. This team thrives on player skill, requiring good reaction times and a deep understanding of each character's unique combo potential, including air combos and dodge attacks. Charlotte, for example, can detonate shadow clones and has a unique mid-air backflip dodge.
- Relaxed (Ranged & Control): For players who prefer a more laid-back approach, a team composed of Sice, Otellio, and Dana offers excellent ranged damage and crowd control. This setup allows you to keep bosses at a distance, making endgame content more manageable without needing pinpoint reflexes.
While the game might suggest certain character synergies, DragonSword: Awakening encourages experimentation. You can build any team you enjoy, but for challenging endgame content, optimized synergies will be critical. Remember that swapping characters mid-combat grants brief invulnerability (i-frames), a valuable tool for dodging damage or repositioning.
Gear, Crafting, and Efficient Resource Farming
Optimizing your gear is crucial for tackling tougher challenges. Each character typically has a specific elemental affinity (e.g., Charlotte benefits from venom/poison gear). When crafting gear at the blacksmith, you'll want to focus on main stats that complement your character's playstyle. For assassins like Charlotte, critical damage and critical chance are paramount.
Crafting Tips:
- Main Stat Placement: Certain gear slots provide higher values for specific main stats. For example, critical damage often yields its highest value when crafted on a chest piece or leg armor. Always select your desired main stat using the dedicated option at the blacksmith to avoid wasting materials.
- Gear Sets: You only benefit from having three pieces of a specific gear set. Equipping more than three pieces of the same set will not provide additional bonuses. This allows for flexible builds, combining a 3-piece elemental set with two pieces from another set that offers complementary stats (e.g., three venom pieces and two stun pieces).
- Reforging: If a piece of gear has undesirable sub-stats, you can use the reforge option to reroll them. This is an RNG-based process but allows for fine-tuning your equipment to perfectly match your character's needs, such as stacking airborne additional damage for characters that excel in air combat.
Efficient Farming: Materials for crafting and upgrades can be scarce, but DragonSword: Awakening rewards consistent play.
- Medals: Completing missions and activities earns you medals, which can be exchanged at trade points for almost any material, including those for gear crafting and skill upgrades.
- Daily Activities: Engage in daily regional bosses and world bosses. Regional bosses drop valuable items like skill scrolls for upgrading abilities and forging molds for selecting main stats. World bosses drop basic Karmas, which can be ascended by collecting duplicates to significantly boost their power. Prioritize world bosses that drop Karmas benefiting your main character's element.
Unlocking Master Skills and Sacred Light
As your characters reach level 30, you can unlock their powerful "Master Skill" (also known as the "Grimroar"). To do this, you'll need to find treasure maps, often acquired by solving environmental puzzles or opening specific chests. These maps will mark a location on your world map, leading you to a hidden chest containing the necessary "Grimroar" item and awakening points. These awakening points can also be used to unlock other powerful character skills and new move sets.
Another vital currency in DragonSword: Awakening is the "Fragment of Sacred Light." This resource is obtained by opening chests and defeating mini-bosses found while exploring the world. These mini-boss encounters refresh daily, making them a reliable source for Fragments of Sacred Light, which are essential for various endgame progressions. Keep an eye out for them as you traverse the map.
By following these fundamental guidelines, you'll be well-equipped to face the challenges of DragonSword: Awakening and build a formidable team. Enjoy your journey, Mercenary!
Visit the DragonSword: Awakening Steam page for more details.
Frequently Asked Questions
What should I prioritize in the early game of DragonSword: Awakening on Steam?
In the early game, focus on progressing through the main story to unlock new characters, essential mounts (especially for underwater exploration), and core game systems. Simultaneously, engage in exploration to find hidden materials and complete daily regional boss challenges for upgrade resources.
How do I get new characters and their unique abilities?
Characters are primarily unlocked by completing story chapters to earn tickets, which are then exchanged in the shop. Hero Quest lines also grant tickets and exclusive "Karma" items that unlock special character skills.
What's the best way to get strong gear in DragonSword: Awakening?
To get strong gear, craft elemental-specific items at the blacksmith, prioritizing critical stats on chest and leg pieces. Farm materials by completing missions for medals, and use the reforge system to optimize sub-stats. Remember the 3-piece set bonus rule for gear.
Can I change my team composition if I don't like it?
Absolutely! DragonSword: Awakening encourages experimentation. While certain character synergies are recommended for endgame, you can mix and match any heroes you enjoy. Understanding each character's strengths and weaknesses is key to making any team work.