DOFUS

'''Dofus''' is a Flash massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) developed and published by Ankama _Studio^[2], a French computer game manufacturer. Dofus is set in the world of Amakna, which is Ankama spelled backwards.
Its success led to the marketing of spin-off products, like books, and with the development of two continuations: Dofus Arena, a tactical online multiplayer game, released at the beginning of 2006, is an alternative "tournament" version of Dofus; and Wakfu which is currently under development and will be released as a beta by the end of 2007.
The game has attracted nearly three million players worldwide ^[3] and is well known in France according to the French Agency for Video Games. ^[4]
Dofus has received international gaming awards including the Bytten Ernie Award for Best Graphics And Concept Art in 2007 ^[5] and the Audience Award at the Independent Game Festival in 2006^[6].

Contents

Gameplay information

Classes

External links

References

Gameplay information

Dofus is a massive multiplayer online role-playing game in which players create characters that serve as their avatar in the online world. The player can choose from twelve different classes, one of which is reserved for subscribers.
Combat is played out "turn by turn" on squared charts. Within a turn, each player can advance 3 squares and uses up to 6 "attack points" to cast spells. The AP (attack points) and MP (movement points) can be increased as the character evolves and by using certain equipment.
When a character dies, a specific amount of money and energy points are lost. This amount is able to be regained while sitting in a tavern before logging off, or by using certain objects. Losing against a collector will cause a character to lose an additional 3000 energy on top of the regular loss. If all the character's energy is exhausted, the character will take the form of a ghost which will be used to very slowly reach a statue of a phoenix, where it will be able to resurrect your character and regain a part of its vital energy (1000 points). A character's maximum energy is 10,000, but this can be raised upon reaching certain orders within an alignment. Resurrection with a portion of former energy is also possible through the help of a priest-level character, usually in exchange for payment.
Characters can join and form guilds, which make it possible for the members to speak with each other, to coordinate each other, set up a tax collector to take sales/taxes carried out by the players who are not members of the guild, or to steal the objects dropped from monsters at the end of a fight.
A system of alignment makes it possible to take part in a war between the cities Bonta (City of the Angels) and that of Brakmar (City of the Demons), in the form of a players versus players mode (PvP). Since the 1.13 update, points can be gained from these fights, and hence a PvP scene developed. The third alignment, named Sériane-Kern (represented by wings made of wood and fabric), makes it possible to remain neutral and to carry out contracts provided by other players. However, this alignment is only available on the first server, Jiva.
A new update in the game makes it possible to breed Dragoturkeys. This makes it possible to go twice as fast compared to running. As such, there are breeding enclosures, known as paddocks, available to players to breed their mounts.

Classes

There are 12 different classes. The choice of class determines which spells your character will receive, as well as how much characteristic upgrades will cost. The class names are inside jokes amongst the developers, often (but not always) referring in some way to the abilities of the class. For example, the Xelor class which uses time magic in combat, derives its name from Rolex, a watch manufacturer.

★ 'Sadida''s Boots (from "Adidas" backwards) - Nature-influenced direct damage and voodoo doll summoning. Sadida are a race of nature spirits, sleeping 23 hours a day.

★ 'Eniripsa''s Hands (Aspirine, the French spelling of "Aspirin") - Specialized in healing and invoking spells to increase the abilities of their allies. Eniripsa are winged fairies, females having semi-transparent dragonfly wings, males have bat wings.

★ 'Iop''s Heart (named for Yop yogurt drink, a developer in-joke) - Attack-based class with many powerful spells, however they have short range, similar to Paladins. Iops are one of the two races not to have irises or pupils, they resemble human beings.

★ 'Cra''s Range (Arc, French for "bow") - Archer class specializing in bow and arrow attacks that have long range to attack enemies from far away. Cras resemble elfs as for their long ears.

★ 'Feca''s Shield (café, French for coffee, another inside joke) - Defensive magic user, usually the last man standing in a fight.

★ 'Sacrier''s Blood (sacrifice + crier; the French name is sacrieur, sacrifice + rieur, "one who laughs" crier also means "scream" in French) - Attacks based on sacrifice and self-damage to deal more powerful attacks. Sacriers resemble normal humans without irises or pupils and have long ears, like elves.

★ 'Osamodas'' Whip (Sado-Maso{chism}) - Summoner class that can call creatures to its aid. Osamodas are humanoid creatures with 2 pointed tails. One of their most known attacks is to summon a "tofu", a kind of bird that resembles a tiny yellow chick.

★ 'Ecaflip''s Coin ("pilface" is a shortened form of "pile ou face", which means "tails or heads" or "Heads or tails") - Gambler class whose attacks are powerful but can backfire and harm the player. Ecaflip are anthropomorphic cat-like creatures.

★ 'Enutrof''s Fingers (Fortune) - Treasure seeker class that starts off weaker in battle but finds dropped items at a faster rate. Enutrofs resemble excessively short, old humans.

★ 'Xelor''s hourglass (Rolex) - Masters of time, able to delay or speed up units in battle by taking or adding Action Points (AP) to enemies and/or allies. Xelors resemble mummified, short humans wearing wizard's clothing.

★ 'Sram''s Shadow (Mars Bar) - thief/assassin class, specializing in different types of hidden traps, invisibility and powerful close combat. Female Srams resemble thief-like humans, while Male Srams resemble skeletons.

★ 'Pandawa''s Pint (Padawan or Panda Warrior) - While sober, they're a support class, carrying allies around the battlefield and lowering enemies' elemental resistance. When drunk, they become formidable close-range fighters, with reduced movement but powerful attacks and damage reduction. Pandawas are humanoid pandas, similar to Ecaflips being humanoid cats. This class is available only for paying players (pay-to-play or p2p).
According to a post on this topic on the official forums, Feca, Iop, and Sram were the first three classes created, so the developers named them after their favorites among the various they enjoyed while making the game, and the names have nothing to do with the classes themselves.

External links

★ The official Dofus site

★ Maps of the Dofus world

★ ''Wakfu Official Website''

References

1. About Dofus for Mac OS X
2. Ankama Studio official website about Dofus
3. Ankama Studio press release
4. "Latest French Avant Garde: Games" in ''Wired News''
5. Bytten Ernie Awards
6. Ankama Studio press release