Strategy Session – Dragonica Online, Part IV

Probably the most heavily populated class in Dragonica Online, Thieves sport high agility, good critical rates and evasion, balanced out by some spectacular fragility and a somewhat single-minded playstyle. Thieves can be promoted to Tricksters, which focus on pure offense and area of effect attacks, or Assassins, a more balanced class that incorporates the blocking and evasion abilities of Knights while still maintaining a powerful offense.

For the early areas of the game, Thieves tend to be a bit of a tedious class to play. The Thief’s best attack for this period is Aerial Frenzy, a spinning, slashing attack against a foe launched into the air. Combined with Cut Down, an attack from the air that launches foes skyward again, Thieves can keep a small group of foes locked in a repetitious pattern of Aerial Frenzy followed by Cut Down until the whole group is gone or the Thief finally takes a hit. This class does have some unusual secondary and support abilities, including; Venom, which poisons foes, an ability that would probably be more useful on a class that didn’t finish enemies off so fast; skills that grant extra agility and, for whatever reason, vitality, to the Thief’s party; and a passive ability that adds extra hits to the Thief’s basic combo. This last ability would be a great deal more useful if the overall damage were improved, but since it drops the level of damage whenever you score extra hits, it’s significantly less useful.

As to the first job promotions, we’ll look at the Trickster first. Tricksters focus primarily on area of effect damage, running into large groups of foes and breaking them up with skills like Final Decision, Upper Screwdriver and Rolling Stinger. The Trickster also gets some odd support abilities, including the ability to boost allies’ intelligence and strength, as well as their own evasion rate. Overall, Tricksters are a good choice for players who liked playing as a Thief, and want to continue along the same lines.

Assassins, on the other hand, focus on some unusual means of attack. Though both Tricksters and Assassins get Burrow, a skill that hides the player underground for a short period of time, only Assassins can actually attack while using it. Between this ability and others that combine evasion with attack, Assassins can be extremely powerful and difficult to dispatch. They even get additional evasion, in the form of Claw Blocking, a counterpart to the Knight’s Shield Evasion. Assassins are a great choice for players looking to take their Thief in a new, more complex direction.

In the end, Thieves are a solid choice for players looking for an offensively-focused character with a few quirks. The tedium associated with the first class and its bizarre and sometimes confusing secondary abilities make it a poor choice for beginners, but with some attention to how their abilites interact, Thieves can be powerful.



Leave a comment

You must be logged in to post a comment.