Whilst role playing games are not to everyone’s taste, this has an added bonus by being free to play. Most online games are disk based and you are charged for playing online, on top of the original game price, usually for an exhorbitant amount per month. This game is a cross between cartoon (amine style) and tactical battle role play, containing a high level of humour. If you’ve never played an online MMORPG (Massive Multiplayer Online Role Playing Game), this is a good place to start without the expense of purchasing a game to discover you don’t like the gameplay.

Dofus is Flash based, with a 2D interface for travelling, and an isometric interface for turn based combats with a time limit. Chat to other players is allowed at all times, invaluable for discussing tactics during battle, and gathering information in general play. The Flash interface is a 20MB download, and plays in it’s own window.

Dofus was recommended by a games forum which I subscribe to, and someone was recruiting for a team, but I joined as a solo free player to see what it was like. While Dofus is a French game, there is an English speaking server (Rushu), frequented by all nationalities. I have spoken with players from the UK, America, Australia, Germany, France, Spain and Brazil, during the first week of play. Within a few hours, our young lad joined me on his own account and we team up when necessary, but stay free if we wish. You can spend as much or as little time playing as you like developing your character, fulfilling quests or advancing in a profession.

Although Dofus is free to download and play, there is a slight catch, though. The first place you appear when playing is Astrub village, and this area is free to play and massively populated, particularly in the evenings and weekends. The rest of the playing area is by subscription only, although you can pass through these areas, and talk to other players; you cannot take part in any quests, buy items from these members or fight the battles in these areas. Having said that, Astrub has plenty to do, and the battle monsters appear regularly at random to increase your experience. Teaming with others can give you access to more difficult monsters, and can be essential to progressing.

I have found most people to be friendly and helpful, and you will need help in the beginning until you find your way around. Finding a few friends and teaming up helps everyone gain items and experience essential to progressing through the game.

I have found 6 team mates which I can link up with at various times during the day, battling, levelling up and sharing information. I hit a dead spot at level 8, with only having enough strength to take on lower level battles and getting bored with it, until I found someone in the same position and teamed up. Now we are all going from strength to strength, and helping each other with the different quests and professions. You have to interact with others during the game, to gain items.

My thanks go to my team-mates for making this a very enjoyable pastime :– Tedo, Anduwin, Rancour, The-Doctor, Xsargo, VoDooHG, BlackKite, Raining Death and FSM, mentioned in no particular order of importance. All characters have different skills, both for support and attack. The team misses the skills of those not online when in battle.

Dofus Community Forums are available to answer queries should you have any, and help to increase community spirit. You only need your Dofus account password if you wish to respond to any queries posted. The Home page also lists players who are doing particularly well in the game, and is up-dated regularly. After a short while, you may begin to recognise players whose characters you have interacted with.

There is only one rule – respect each other. If I were to add another, it would be to have fun. If you feel up to joining Dofus, I look forward to meeting you online.

If you’re interested in joining the fun, download from
http://www.dofus.com

See you there!

© RIYAN Productions