Dragonkin: The Banished News

Hello hunters!

We hope you’ve been enjoying your first look at Dragonkin: The Banished via the demo released as part of Steam Next Fest.

There are a lot of differences between the Demo and the Early Access planned for March 6th, but from the feedback we’ve received so far, we’ve learned a lot. We’re still seeing what we’re able to do in the short term regarding this, but in the meantime we wanted to introduce some general tips and advice for getting the most out of the Dragonkin: the Banished Demo!

[h3]Prologue[/h3]

The demo starts with the prologue. This is a cinematic experience designed to introduce you to the characters, gameplay, story and the world. During this section, there’s no mini-map, inventory or character customization. It’s designed to give you a feel for each of the characters, but if you prefer, you can skip the prologue by pressing the esc key and choosing the skip option.

[h3]Ancestral Grid Advice[/h3]

In the demo, you have access to 3 characters at level 35. We understand that some players would prefer to start their experience at level 1. Of course, this is the experience in Early Access where you’ll start at level 1 and be able to play through the 1st act of Dragonkin and keep leveling via the various end-game content.

For the demo, we wanted to give players the tools to experiment and play around with the systems by creating preset builds. These are examples of what these characters can be, they’re by no means perfect, nor are they the optimal build for every player's playstyle. There is room for experimentation and growth, this is one of the core loops of Dragonkin.

As you do dungeon purification runs, you’ll collect new fragments. These can be used to change and empower your skills by altering the layout of your Ancestral Grid. We recommend getting used to your character and their skills before you start to experiment with the Ancestral Grid.

We know that there’s more we could have done with the demo to assist in explaining the Ancestral Grid system, it wasn’t our intention to drop players in at the deep end. Ideally, we wanted to give players the tools needed to explore the depth of the Ancestral Grid system without the need for a significant time investment in levelling your character. We know we missed the mark somewhat with this, but hope you will give the demo a shot.

If you wish to reset your character to how they were at the start of the beta, you can find the default builds below:

[h3]Camera Options + Control options[/h3]

You can adjust your gameplay experience in the Dragonkin: The Banished. You can play Dragonkin with either a keyboard and mouse or a controller. For those playing on keyboard, you can choose between mouse movement or keyboard movement.

Additionally, we have two camera modes: action and classic mode. Action is the default in Dragonkin, but if you’d prefer to draw the camera back a little, we’d recommend playing in classic mode. You can find this setting in the options menu under UI.

[h3]General Advice for getting the most out of the Dragonkin Demo: [/h3]

• You can instantly teleport around the city by opening the city menu by pressing the R key to visit the different vendors and merchants
  
• You can create custom rings and potions at the Jeweler and the Apothecary
  
• You can adjust your attributes in the character menu
  
• For players who want to deep dive into the Ancestral Grid you can experiment with different Wrymlings (You can change Wrymlings at the Jailer).
  • Wyrmling abilities can vastly alter your playstyle, so don’t forget to update your Ancestral Grid! (Recommended for players who have gotten used to the systems in Dragonkin)
    

Thank you for joining us in the Demo. We’re excited for you to experience even more content when Dragonkin: The Banished comes to Early Access on March 6th.

If you want to follow our progress then don’t forget to wishlist the game!

Hello Dragon Hunters!

Many of you have already tried our demo, and we sincerely thank you for that.

For a small number of players, we have noted some specific issues that cause issues with the demo, so we wanted to share what we've found out.

[h3]Crashes[/h3]

• The most significant issue is a crash affecting players using 13th and 14th-generation Intel CPUs, particularly in games running on Unreal Engine 5, which uses Oodle for data decompression. You can find more details about this specific issue here. For full transparency, this issue affects approximately 0.8% of our players.
• Another cause of crashes is the use of RivaTuner Statistics Server (RTSS), which is commonly used with MSI Afterburner. This module injects rendering code for its overlay display. Unfortunately, we are not the only game affected, and this issue impacts about 0.4% of our players. Turning off MSI Afterburner should resolve this issue.
• The last type of crash identified affects players using an AMD 7900XT/XTX graphics card. As of today, we have not yet determined the exact cause of the issue and are actively investigating. This affects approximately 0.2% of players.

[h3]Low Texture Quality in 4K[/h3]
Some players have reported texture quality issues when playing the game at 4K resolution. We have identified the problem and should have it resolved for the Early Access launch on March 6.

In the meantime, for the demo, playing at a lower resolution (2K) should resolve the issue for affected players. However, keep in mind that if you are playing in borderless windowed mode, the game will still use your monitor’s native resolution. Changing the resolution in the game's graphics options won’t have any effect in this mode (to clarify this for players, resolution options will be removed when playing in borderless windowed mode at EA launch).

We are doing everything we can to ensure the best possible Early Access launch. We want to thank the players who helped us identify these issues, allowing us to work on fixing them.

Thank you all, and happy hunting!

The Eko Software Team

Hello Dragon Hunters,

It’s the moment we’ve all been waiting for, Dragonkin: The Banished Demo is available now!

[previewyoutube][link of the video][/previewyoutube]

[h3]WHERE & FOR WHOM?[/h3]
On Steam (exclusively) but for EVERYONE.

Download the demo now:

https://store.steampowered.com/app/1863430/Dragonkin_The_Banished/

While this demo showcases content we can’t wait for you to discover, it’s only a fraction of what will be available when Early Access starts on March 6th.

Please note: any progress made in the demo won't be carried over to Early Access launch.

[h2]What to expect in this Demo?[/h2]

[h3]Prologue[/h3]
In this demo, you will get to explore the world of Dragonkin through the prologue, to give you a first look of the story.

[h3]3 pre-built characters starting at level 35[/h3]
After completing the prologue, you will have access to 3 pre-built characters:

• The Knight, the Oracle, and the Barbarian
  

You can customize them to match your playstyle by:

• Modifying their equipment
  
• Adjusting their Ancestral Grid
  
• Managing their Wyrmlings
  
• Leveling up to level 50
  

[h3]The city of Montescail[/h3]
The city will be available but with limited content. However, you can still access several essential services:

• The Jailer allows you to change your Wyrmlings
  
• The Dark Merchant lets you sell unwanted items
  
• The Apothecary allows you to craft potions
  
• The Jeweler allows you to create rings
  

[h3]6 difficulty levels & 1 endgame activity[/h3]
For those looking for a challenge, the demo includes 6 difficulty levels and an endgame activity:

• Dungeon Purification, a repeatable challenge that can be played indefinitely
  

[h3]2 distinct environments[/h3]
You will be able to explore 2 distinct environments, each with 3 different variations:

• The Perdition Sanctuary
  
• The Sunken Temple
  

Thanks for your understanding!

[h2]Want to closely follow the game's development?[/h2]

As usual, keep looking at our Steam page but we invite you to join our Discord. We’re building something awesome over there, and we want YOU to be part of it!

For the occasion, new channels on Discord are available to share your feedback:

Have feedback or If you want to share your opinion? Share them in #feedback.

Have fun!

“Built in the heart of the mountains, sheltered from Dragons and their voices, lies a huge city and bastion of humanity.”

Hello Dragon Hunters!

This time, we’re bringing something special to the table, as we finally unveil one of the most important aspects of Dragonkin: The Banished ; The city of Montescail.

But before that, we're excited to reveal that we're going to launch a demo for Dragonkin: The Banished on February 20th.

But back to the topic at hand, welcome to Montescail!

[previewyoutube][link of the video][/previewyoutube]


[h3]Multiple Heroes, One Town[/h3]

If you read our previous DevBlog that featured the single-player and multiplayer, you already know that before you create your first character, you’ll need to create an offline or online city or simply join a friend's existing online city.

If you want more details on how multiplayer works, please check our previous DevBlog:

https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/1863430/view/508445172204306551



Not only, Montescail contains various buildings that allow the player to craft various potions, train against dummies, manage their Wyrmlings, and much more, this city also serves as a hub for all characters created within it.

Each character has access to a Personal Chest, a private storage space where you can put your equipment.

All characters tied to the same city have access to a Shared Chest, a storage where you can put the equipment you gathered during your adventure.



Each character in the city benefits from the improvements and features unlocked within that city. With the group system, independent of your characters, you can progress the story or endgame hunts alone, together simultaneously, asynchronously, or even across different characters.

[h3]A City That Evolves With You[/h3]

The city of Montescail is divided into several districts, each representing a unique civilization from the world, Montescail will evolve alongside your characters.



The more you progress in the story or complete endgame content, the more Prosperity (XP) you earn. Each time your city levels up, you receive City Upgrade Points, which can be spent to unlock and enhance Services and Buildings. These upgrades improve the efficiency of Services, grant passive bonuses to your heroes, and sometimes unlock unique perks.

Though you'll need to prioritize which aspects to focus on, you'll have the opportunity to unlock everything as you progress.



[h3]So, what exactly can you do in Montescail?[/h3]

You will unlock a wide variety of merchants, each offering unique Services. This can be as simple as a Dark Merchant to buy items or sell your junk, a Memorialist to modify your equipment pieces, an Ornamentalist to craft ornaments for each armor type, an Arsenal allowing you to save and change your equipment presets.



You can also unlock various perks such as larger city storage, experience bonuses, damage, movement speed or even additional slots for your Ancestral Grid.

Green indicates upgrades you have already unlocked, while yellow show upgrades that are available but require City Upgrade Points to be unlocked. Some buildings have prerequisites that must be met to reveal the next bonus and unlock further upgrades.



Here an exemple with the Jeweler able to craft rings.



You can customize your ring by always selecting the desired attribute between courage, Intellect, Resilience, and Agility, followed by a primary (offensive) stat such as Cooldown Reduction, Life Drain, Summon Damage, then a secondary stat (defensive), such as Maximum HP, Barrier, or X Resistance.

As the ring's rarity increases, the values of these stats improve. Additionally, starting at Legendary rarity, you gain the ability to improve your ring further by adding a talent, which can stack with your itemization:

• Common: 1 attribute + 2 stats
  
• Uncommon: 1 attribute + 2 stats
  
• Rare: 1 attribute + 2 stats
  
• Legendary: 1 attribute + 2 stats + 1 Talent (1 point)
  
• Mythic: 1 attribute + 2 stats + 1 random stats + 1 Talent (2 points)
  

You may wonder what the Talents are! In short, these are earned and obtained via a points system. Each talent has several ranks with stacking effects and some even offer exclusive bonuses at the highest rank. You’ll get to know more in a dedicated DevBlog that covers itemization.

Now let's talk about the Apothecary to create special healing potions.



Here, you can customize your potion by first selecting the desired effect(s). The rarity of the potion determines the amount of healing it provides and the number of effects you can add:

• Common: No additional effects.
  
• Uncommon: Adds 1 effect
  
• Rare: 2 effects
  
• Legendary: 3 effects
  
• Mythic: 3 effects + 1 random effect
  

All these services and perks are meant to participate in the improvement of your character and itemization as much as possible.

[h3]A city that visually changes as you progress[/h3]

Montescail evolves visually with every improvement, each building subtly transforms as you upgrade them. Upgrading a merchant enhances their shop, improving the training camp introduces new types of mannequins, and unlocking certain Services result in the development of entire streets.







[h3]For the players that participate in our Early Access[/h3]

You will have access to exclusive customization options for Montescail. Here is a sneak peak of one of the city customization we plan to add at the Early Access launch.





To give you a bit of behind-the-scenes insight, our Environment Artist, Pierre, wanted to share with you more about his design process and how he shaped the look and feel of this exclusive Early Access customization DLC:

Originally posted by author

“Hi, my name is Pierre Huot, and I've been an Environment Artist at Eko Software for three years now. I've worked on several in-game environments, including the game's main hub, the city of Montescail.

For this first customization DLC, my inspiration came from imagining how the people of Montescail would celebrate and honor the heroes who sealed the Rift decades ago, preventing one of the dragons, Saur Iknog, from coming back.

The main idea was to decorate the city with various elements, such as banners, statues, and rooftops using a palette of white and gold, along with a unique color for each district. White symbolizes unity and neutrality among Montescail’s diverse inhabitants, while gold represents the Eternal Scales, central artifacts in the Dragonkin story that hold deep significance in each culture.

That said, I also wanted to highlight the individuality of each district through certain details, particularly the statues. Their styles and symbolism are more closely tied to the experiences of each civilization and how they perceived the great Rift War against Saur Iknog."

[h3]Navigating Montescail with Ease[/h3]

Given the vast size of the city, we understand that walking between the different buildings can take some time. That’s why we’ve designed a system to help you quickly access all of the city’s key locations and services. Just open the menu and click where you want to go, you’ll be able to move instantly between districts or interact directly with the merchant or store you want to engage with.

[h3]That’s it! For now…[/h3]



As we wrap up this DevBlog, some of the features displayed will be implemented throughout Early Access.

We are interested to know which aspects of the town caught your interest. Share your thoughts in the comments or hop onto our Discord server to discuss with our team!

As usual, stay tuned for more updates and reveals about our game consider adding Dragonkin: The Banished to your wishlist.

And don't forget next week, you'll be able try Dragonkin: The Banished when our demo drops on February 20th.

See you in Montescail next week fellow hunters!

https://store.steampowered.com/app/1863430/Dragonkin_The_Banished/

Hello Dragon Hunters,

This week, we’re diving into the worldbuilding of Dragonkin: The Banished. In a world ravaged by powerful dragons, these once enlightened beings, transformed by countless aeons in exile, are trying to make their return.

As their blood seeps into the earth, corrupting everything it touches, and their voices ring out, influencing the minds of man. It will be up to a group of heroes to turn the tide against this draconic onslaught.

This is the world of Dragonkin: the Banished.

[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]

[h3]If you want to know more…[/h3]

We’ve been regularly writing DevBlogs that give a deeper look at the systems in Dragonkin. If you’re interested, then check out our previous DevBlogs.

https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/1863430/view/508445172204307116
https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/1863430/view/508445172204306551
https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/1863430/view/508444538590724447
https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/1863430/view/516325296815734848

[h3]What’s next week?[/h3]

We’ll share more about Montescail, your hub city, how it evolves... while giving a sneak peek at the itemization.



If you want to stay in the loop on all our news and updates feel free to join our Discord, we try to reply to everyone and answer any questions you may have. We’re building a really cool community over there and would love to have you involved!

And yeah, we’ll keep saying it, but wishlisting our game helps us a ton. If you’re excited, spread the word and let us know in the comments!

See you next week !

https://store.steampowered.com/app/1863430/Dragonkin_The_Banished/