The open beta testing for Dekaron SEA ended recently, smoothly making way for the game’s full operation beginning September 24.

Dekaron SEA is a free MMORPG hailed all over the world for its visually stunning graphics and intense gameplay. The year’s most anticipated game for Singapore, Philippines, and Malaysia, Dekaron SEA has been on open beta since September 3.

With thousands and thousands of players playing everyday, Dekaron SEA is increasingly becoming the most popular MMORPG title in the region.

Previously unavailable during the open beta testing period, Dekaron SEA will finally open the “D-Shop” during its commercial launch. “The players have been asking for us to go commercial barely a week into the OBT,” says Eric Roceles, marketing director. “[They're] really excited for us to open the D-Shop.”

The D-Shop is the in-game store where players can purchase items and consumables for their characters. “Mounts, bundled auto-pots, EXP-modifying accessories, and costumes… everything’s gonna be available for everyone to buy using ePoints converted into Dekaron Coins, the currency for the D-Shop,” Roceles explains.

Dekaron SEA is FREE for the Philippines, Singapore, and Malaysia. Anyone with a mobiusonline account can download and enjoy it. Free from subscription rates, Dekaron SEA relies on the micro-transaction business model.

“We have strategically priced the items with the players’ enjoyment in mind,” Roceles adds. “We’d rather have them enjoy the game than drain their resources. The more they enjoy the game, the more they’ll tell their friends about it.”

Dekaron SEA is a free MMORPG that tells of the epic struggle to destroy the evil brought by Karon (hence, “DE-Karon”). Players get to choose between six unique character classes to embark on adventures under threat of “Damnation. Destruction. Death.”

Uhmm, yeah, so I missed the transition from open beta to commercial thanks to this super flu going around and felling me and the entire family.

More Dekaron and Asian MMO goodness soon. Stay tuned!

Post from: MMOtaku

As you may have noticed, my wife also plays MMORPGs, and it’s been quite a while since she has taken a liking to any of the new games I’ve been laying my hands on these past four or five months.

First, we rekindled our passion for our first MMORPG, Ragnarok Online. It was shortlived. My wife decided to keep playing Perfect World, leaving me saddled with the responsibility of leveling our twin Tika Waylans on Ragnarok Online Philippines’ free-to-play server, Valkyrie.

Then I dipped my grubby hands in Rising Force Online. She hated it. Oh, yeah, my wife used to play the game with me back in 2006, but she didn’t like the gameplay this second time ’round. Fortunately, when RF Online came out with a patch, Crimson Dawn, the update bogged down, prompting me to seek an installer. I haven’t found a working installer. Sigh.

Next, I went for the internationally hosted MMORPG Requiem Bloodymare. She found it too bloody and gory. Scratch three for Joel and his MMORPGs. I still play Requiem, though. Leveling is tough.

Fly For Fun? Nah. The wife didn’t even lift a finger when I showed her old characters in all their glory. Dekaron and Granado Espada? Mere distractions, not enough to spark her interest.

When she saw me playing Florensia, however, her attitude changed … dramatically. Now, she couldn’t let go of the computer on which Florensia is installed. Double sigh.

Three days into the game, she’s still at it, while my character, Ginebra, named after a popular brand of gin in this little tropical paradise, is stuck at Level 10. Her character, Cesky, is now Level 14. Gawd!

Lost and confused

Screenshots taken by Joel from the online game Florensia, developed by NetTimeSoft and published by Burda:ic GmbH.

Post from: MMOtaku

Still, even if I’m low on cash, I’d rather hunt Akris, which give rather hefty experience points and good items, than fish, which only gives your character a measly 10 to 12 experience points for every catch.

I almost changed my opinion when I got this bauble as a reward for finishing the newbie instance dungeon. Aside from the very appropriate experience point boost it gives when equipped, it also turns your character into a pro-fisherman. Cool, eh? Pretty nifty when you frequently go AFK (away from keyboard) to either sleep or eat or do something else that I’d rather not mention here.

Screenshots taken and modified by Joel from the online game Dekaron, developed by GameHi and operated in Southeast Asia by dme and mobiusgames.

Post from: MMOtaku

Well, Dekaron is just like any MMORPG in the sense that you earn experience either by killing mobs or finishing quests. Dekaron, however, has something akin to a bonus monster. It’s called the Akris (which look like a large deer or moose), and the experience points it gives is higher than the normal mobs and the items it drops include potions and magical weapons and armor.

What’s even better is that they’re not that hard to kill, unless you’re hunting Akris that have names in red, which means their level is higher than your lowly character.

Talk about lucky. Two Akris equals mucho dinero and other loots.

Screenshot taken by Joel from the online game Dekaron, developed by GameHi and operated in Southeast Asia, including the Philippines, by dme and mobiusgames.

Post from: MMOtaku

Screenshot taken by Joel from the online game Dekaron, developed by GameHi and operated in Southeast Asia by dme and mobiusgames.

Post from: MMOtaku

Well, it has been both a very productive and unproductive week for me, depending on how you look at things. Productive because I’ve been playing non-stop, except for the repeated bathroom breaks due to cold weather and the body’s need to replenish energy by taking in food and getting short, energizing catnaps.

For the most part, I’ve been dipping my grubby fingers in five good MMORPGs, namely Perfect World, Ragnarok Online, Fly For Fun, Requiem: Bloodymare, and Dekaron. With the rig I’ve got, I can only play two games at a time—that is, if the hack-prevention program of the games don’t interfere with each other. (For example, I’ve found out that I can play Perfect World and Dekaron at the same time but not Fly For Fun and Requiem: Bloodymare. It’s also funny the way Ragnarok Online and Requiem: Bloodymare don’t get along well on your PC despite being developed by the same company, Gravity).

Ahh, wait! Did I say two games at the same time? No bots here, just a lot of micromanagement or time spent vending in one game and grinding in the other. There’s also the beauty known as craft leveling, which, to my knowledge, can only be done in Perfect World.

I was supposed to do a play for a few hours and post something about the experience thing. But the moments I spent playing these five games just gave me a lot of fun and stuff to waste time on that in the end I decided to gather as much data I could, collate them, and eventually come up with great articles for your reading pleasure. Let’s see how that turns out.

Post from: MMOtaku

So, in case you missed the jump onto the Dekaron bandwagon, I suggest you watch these videos to whet your appetite in time for open beta this September:

Post from: MMOtaku

Here’s the lowdown from mobiusgames:

The End of the Beginning

Closed Beta Testing for Dekaron SEA is now over.

Thank you for playing with us. Team mobiusgames is overwhelmed with your support. We appreciate each and everyone’s contributions in making Dekaron SEA on Closed Beta Testing a success.

To keep the playing field level (and all the more overflowing with fresh blood), we will be wiping our servers. This will make way for everyone to start anew when we finally launch Open Beta.

Open Beta Testing for Dekaron SEA will begin on the first week of September. Prepare for more exciting events and promos that will surely make you enjoy Dekaron SEA.

Post from: MMOtaku

I’m not the only one, judging from the comments on the Dekaron SEA forum. So what’s been causing these disconnections? The guys up at mobiusgames haven’t offered any answers yet, but they’ve opened a thread where players could post their disconnection woes, particularly those who get booted out of the CBT server while entering or adventuring in instance dungeons. I get disconnected not only in instance dungeons but also during fishing. Yeah, what’s up with that?

It’s really dismaying, to say the least. But, hey, Dekaron is still in closed beta, and things are bound to get awry—often. Let’s just hope that whatever bugs are discovered by closed beta testers will be patched up way before Dekaron’s open beta or commercial phase.

I’d hate to see a good MMORPG go to waste.

Post from: MMOtaku

As with other new MMORPGs that come my way, I rushed headlong into Dekaron, without doing much research on races, jobs or builds. Hey, the game’s still in closed beta, and I like to romp in this new virtual world without the help of guides—at least until open beta starts. By then, everything will turn serious, and I’ll need to step up efforts to be one of the top players. Yeah, right.

Dekaron looks promising. The graphics, however, need a lot of work—or a lot of patience, if you’re a hardcore gamer used to MMORPGs such as World of Warcraft, Rising Force Online, and Perfect World. The sounds also take a lot of getting used to. I particularly dislike the sounds played whenever a character approaches an NPC (non-player character). Cheesy to say the least. It’s like having a circus band follow you around and play tunes on cue … the cue being your character approaching NPCs.

Overall, like I said earlier, Dekaron would still take a big bite out of the Southeast Asian MMORPG market. The trick for dme and mobiusgames is to keep introducing new stuff to keep players hooked. At the moment, bugs are plenty, giving closed beta testers headaches. Not a good start, if you know what I mean. More on these bugs in a later post.

Screenshot of Dekaron Bagi Warrior taken by Joel. Dekaron, a massively multiplayer online role-playing game developed by GameHi, is published and operated in Southeast Asia by mobiusgames.

Post from: MMOtaku