The New Origin expansion is now live in the European version of Dragonica, bringing with it the new playable Drakan race, new dungeons, mounts, a fellowship party system for up to eight players, a level cap raise to 80, user interface updates and more.

Players can unlock the Drakan race by reaching level 20 with any character. The two new Drakan classes - Shaman and Amazonian - can then be played all the way up to the new level 80 cap.

For more details on the New Origin expansion, check out the patch notes.

The European version of Dragonica will receive its biggest content update yet when the New Origin expansion launches in September. Here's what you can expect to find in the expansion:

"New Origin will see the introduction of a new race for Dragonica players – the first to be added since the game’s official launch. This new race will arrive with an entirely new player class, which possesses skills specialising in summoning and other magical attributes, differing significantly from classes currently available. This new, unique class can summon monsters in order to help them during battles or fire at the player’s opponents from the ground or the air, and will only be available to players at level 20. Another class for the new race is due to be announced soon.

Furthermore, mountable pets will be obtainable with the launch of New Origin. This brand new system will allow players to use their pets as mounts and deploy them in battles. Both familiar looking pets and new ones will be available, with something to suit every type of hero. The previously anticipated Production System has been delayed and will not be updated with this expansion due to unanticipated balancing issues."

Starting today, players who log into Dragonica Online will be eligible to win €10,000 worth of prizes, including an Alienware laptop, three XPS Dell PCs, wireless keyboards, headsets and mice, along with lots of gPotato merchandise and in-game prizes such as EXP Potions. Here are the details:

"The very best prizes will be available for everyone who log's in for one hour on 5, 10, 15, 20, 25 or 30 days. These days do not need to be consecutive, and the rewards will get bigger and better the more days your  logged in. But watch out: logging in for 48 hours straight will count as one day’s activity, so you need to make sure to log out after each session to register correctly. Everyone who logs in at least for one hour for 30 out of the 60 days the competition is running for will automatically be entered into the draw to win real-world prizes."

The event ends on May 16 and players must be level 20 or higher to participate. For more details, check out the official announcement.

Gala Networks Europe has announced that Dragonic Online's "Awakening the Ice Dragon" expansion is set to launch tomorrow, Feb. 15. The update will raise the level cap to 75 and open up the continent of Pagosia for players to explore.

High level players will be able to take take on new monsters and challenges from levels 62-75, while low level players can try out three new dungeons. The expansion also introduces the Strategic Defence Mode, in which players must defend their core from invading monsters that follow paths around a specific route. Players can fight the monsters directly or build defensive structures to repel their enemies.

To catch a glimpse of the expansion in action, check out some new screenshots in our Dragonica Online gallery.

Gala Networks Europe is excited to announce the gPotato.eu portal has passed a landmark with six million players across its English, French, German, Italian, Polish and Turkish portals.

CEO of Gala Networks Europe Hyun Hur said:

"Reaching six million registered users is a huge achievement for Gala Networks Europe, as we pride ourselves on running a select group of high-quality online games that create loyal user bases."

To celebrate this landmark, a number of in-game events will be taking place across a range of titles in the portal’s portfolio. Check out the full list of events after the jump!

Gala Networks Europe has revealed more details about Dragonica's upcoming expansion, which is scheduled to launch in a few weeks. "Awakening the Ice Dragon" will raise the level cap to 75 and open up the continent of Pagosia for players to explore.

High level players will be able to take take on new monsters and challenges from levels 62-75, while low level players can try out three new dungeons. The expansion also introduces the Strategic Defence Mode, in which players must defend their core from invading monsters that follow paths around a specific route. Players can fight the monsters directly or build defensive structures to repel their enemies.

To catch a glimpse of the expansion in action, check out the trailer after the jump.

gPotato.eu has announced that the Dragonica's Awakening of the Ice Dragon update will launch in early 2011. The update will introduce a new continent called Pagosia and a level cap increase to the free-to-play MMO.

In addition, Awakening of the Ice Dragon will include three new dungeons, a guild and party search board and a market stall feature that will let players sell items on any map in the game. The update will be released following the conclusion of the in-game holiday event.

Every time I hear Paris, I tend to think of John Travolta, but that's just me. Either way, "Paris Strikes Back" is actually the name of Dragonica Online's latest update, scheduled for June 2010! With this "biggest update to the game yet," comes some cool new additions that will definitely have PvP fans drooling and customization fans perking their ears up.

With regards to PvP, the Dragonica Online team will be adding three new modes, in the form of a practice mode, a ranking mode and a "battle square." With the practice mode, players from level 20 to 35 will be able to fight against their peers with no real risk of losing out on rewards, as there are none. From level 35 and on, however, the team has added a new "Ranking Mode," where players can compete against each other to gain ranking and receive a prize for placing in the highest ranking for that day. There will also be a reward given to the top ranking player of the week, with the ladders being reset every six months. Finally, with the Battle Square, players will be able to fight up to 30 other players (level 40 and up!) in a "capture the flag" style setting. From here, players will be able to earn "Battle Square EXP," which can be used for some hefty EXP bonuses.

In addition to the new PvP updates, "Paris Strikes Back" will also introduce Dragonica's MyHome feature, where players can purchase homes for themselves to decorate and rest within. Decorating also unlocks some bonuses, so keep an eye out!

And that's all that's coming for you Dragonica Online fans in June 2010. I hope you're all looking forward to it!

From April 4th to April 25th, THQ*ICE will be having a special promotion for their new $10 Dragonica Online Earth Series Game Cards. Typically speaking, players who purchase the $25 Earth Series Game Card will receive a special "Orange Wreath," but for this month only, players who purchase the $10 card will receive this wreath as well! As well, any gamers that redeem these cards during the promotion will also receive three +30% Experience Potions that last 20 minutes each.

In addition to all of this, the Dragonica Team has some sweet events planned for the month of April, including Quiz Times for Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday at 5 P.M., which will reward players with a Gada Coin for each correct answer they get. Every Tuesday in April will also see a +50% EXP boost occur from 4-8 P.M. PST.

On April 2nd to the 4th, the Dragonica Team will kick off the "Catch the Bunny Event," where players who spot the dancing GM player in a bunny outfit will receive a special prize.

On April 13th to the 19th, Dragonica Online will celebrate a "Tax Rebate Sale," where items will have special reduced prices for players to spend their money on.

On April 15th, they will be celebrating "Tax Day Gold Increase," where they will double the gold amount that monsters drop - all day!

Finally, on April 22nd to the 25th, the Dragonica Online team will be celebrating Earth Day with a +40% EXP boost.

So Dragonica fans, it looks like April is the month for you! Come on out and celebrate with all of your fellow... Dragonicanians?

Dragonica Online officially launched in 2009, and THQ*ICE wants to make 2010 just as memorable by making your $10,000 wish come true. The company is currently asking you to submit your wish, and it will draw a random entry once the Dragonica Online Facebook and Twitter pages reach a total of 10,000 followers or on April 10, whichever comes first.

The pages currently have 4,000+ supporters, so there's still plenty of time to enter. According to the official rules, the $10,000 grand prize will be awarded through Visa gift cards. It's important to note that residents of New York, Florida, Rhode Island and Quebec cannot enter the sweepstakes.