A Look at the Drakkin

Today, SOE released some images of the new Drakkin race in action. Here are those screenshots, as well as some history about the Drakkin.



After Venril Sathir's curse was released into the Nest and destroyed the dragon eggs, it was clear that the future of dragonkind was in danger.  With the next generation of dragons lost forever, Veeshan's bloodline was in jeopardy. Six dragons who were children of the Nest proposed a plan to their elders -- the creation of a race to protect dragons and the Wyrmqueen's bloodline, something they had seen done once before.

The six dragons were scoffed at by the elders of the Nest, but they were so adamant with the idea that the elder dragons ordered their exile so their ideas would not gain a foothold.  To the elders, it was unthinkable.  The six left the Nest and ignored the decree of the elders.  They settled in the nearby Serpent Spine Mountains to carry out their plan to create a new race to protect the existence of Veeshan's bloodline on Norrath.  They would create a race of dragon-touched humans and call them Drakkin which means “Dragon Child” in the language of the elders.

They called themselves the Circle of the Crystalwing, defining themselves as the future of dragonkind.  The six dragons in the Circle:  Venesh the Greenblood; Draton`ra, Master of the Void; Keikolin, Bringer of Enlightenment; Mysaphar, Seeker of All; Atathus the Red Lord; and Osh`vir the Windspirit. 

In human form, the dragons traveled to Freeport and combed through the taverns and inns, looking for the right humans to suit this new race. The honorable dragons found many who sympathized with their plight and plans and agreed to help right the wrongs that mortals inflicted on dragons of the Nest by unleashing Venril's curse.  Many humans considered it a great honor. The darker dragons were not so willing to negotiate and simply took the human subjects they desired.  Each human taken was touched by the magic of a single drop of dragon’s blood across their cheek.

In only a matter of months, the dragon-touched humans began to experience changes, a coming-of-age that became known as the Awakening.  It is then that the latent strengths they inherit from their dragon bloodline surface and they have a burning desire to better understand them.  Their hair takes on new texture and color – the same color as the dragon who touched them.  Parts of their skin show small, toughened scales, and runic patterns representing their new race began to show on their face, torsos and legs – all in the color of their dragon progenitor.  Delicate horns appear in patterns on their foreheads. They are the essence of beauty to most who see them.

As their new traits develop, the drakkins yearn to meet their parents.  They find themselves on a pilgrimage into the Serpent Spine Mountains. Their final destination is the ancient abandoned ogre city of Nokk, now alive with drakkin who call it Crescent Reach.

As they enter the Dragon’s Grove of the great stone city where their parents await them, their human past is lost forever.  It is from their parents that the drakkin learn their purpose – to live and grow stronger to protect the future of Veeshan's bloodline on Norrath.  With their new identity affirmed, their drakkin life truly begins.








Comments

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Horrible
# Aug 12 2006 at 3:56 AM Rating: Default
When I saw the concept art on the EQ forums I thought to myself "No way its going to be this stupid looking" now I see its not..its worse...
Crap
# Aug 11 2006 at 11:03 PM Rating: Default
These models are terrible. I think a better Drakkin race would be someone who looks like Dark from Ark the Lad: Twilight of Spirits. Wings, horns, a tail, and scales. It can't be a dragon without those.

P.S. I'm just Qenelil's brother. Not actually him. His post is below mine.
WTF
# Aug 11 2006 at 10:27 PM Rating: Default
Is this a joke? This is seriously the model for the drakkin and not a new version of the human?? SOE, WTF! Could you have at least tried!!?? I could have made a better drakkin model on my paint program. This game is going down quick (sadly) and this new race isnt helping a thing. If you plan on making a new race, be original. Dont just put some tattoos on the already existing humans, make them skinnier, smooth out the edges, and put it out there like its some great new thing. I will definitely not be purchasing this expansion.

Edited, Aug 11th 2006 at 11:35pm EDT by qenelil
....
# Aug 11 2006 at 9:01 PM Rating: Default
This is just a bland humaniod race. They look like sand elves. My god SOE, why are you to lazy to make a good race?! Iksar were good and creative, Frogloks were....different (I just wanted to see frogloks look like the Guk ones and not be KoS to them...) and I don't really like Vah Shir because SoL ruined alot of things. I used to think that Eq2 only players were unlucky, they get little fae while we get Drakkin....after seeing this, I rather be have fae....
....
# Aug 11 2006 at 8:46 PM Rating: Default
This is just a bland humaniod race. They look like Eldaar elves in a way.
....
# Aug 15 2006 at 3:30 PM Rating: Decent
Scholar
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68 posts
Three words describe these. They look stupid.
Come on SOE
# Aug 11 2006 at 7:41 PM Rating: Decent
WOW, this is the best that can be done for a half-dragon, half human? A high Elf? Hell, the dragorns in OOW are more of what I would have pictured as half human, half dragon. They walk upright like humans but have little wings etc., Please look at this folly and rethink the character design. We don't need another elf looking race.

Edited, Aug 11th 2006 at 8:47pm EDT by Nundyen
Come On
# Aug 11 2006 at 7:13 PM Rating: Decent
Wow, i have to agree that these new toons don't look like they really had much creative thought put into them, but come on. It's not like SOE has EVER slapped something together and just put it out there, without thinking and testing it all the way through. Right? That's crazy talk, they get 15 bucks a month from me to put out the best content of any online game. Are people suggesting I may not be involved in the best MMO out there?
Please tell me SoE is kidding!
# Aug 11 2006 at 6:10 PM Rating: Decent
Ok if you were to show me a pic of this and an iksar i would say the Iksar is the new race if I had never placed EQ before! Come on SoE give us old timmers a break would ya.
drakkin
# Aug 11 2006 at 5:12 PM Rating: Decent
Sorry but my frist post.....ARE YOU KIDDING!!!!
Dragon-kin?
# Aug 11 2006 at 5:11 PM Rating: Decent
If Sony asked us to guess what the new race is, based solely from the screenshots above, NOONE would guess half-dragon.
Dragon-kin?
# Aug 11 2006 at 5:57 PM Rating: Decent
Quote:
If Sony asked us to guess what the new race is, based solely from the screenshots above, NOONE would guess half-dragon.


They aren't half dragon. They are 99.999% human, just touched by a single drop of dragon blood. Read the lore.

That being said, I thought they would look a bit more dragonish myself.
Disappointed in Drakkin
# Aug 11 2006 at 2:35 PM Rating: Decent
I normally don't jump on a bandwagon of negative comments, but I agree with everyone who says these are sand elves with bad Matt Damon haircuts. For something related to dragons, they bear no resemblance at all. I expected something with wings at least and possibly even levitate as an activatable ability, along the lines of FD for monks, HT for SKs, or LoH for pallies.

I guess like many folks, I pictured a dragorn-type character with at least small wings, not a LDON sand elf. If you were going to give us sand elves, you should have called the new playable race sand elves in your marketing and design so you didn't build our expectations only to disappoint all of us.

What the heck is going on with your design and art departments these days? Do they even talk to your customers anymore? Do any of them actually play this game anymore? Have they ever done a north ro LDoN? Apparently they forgot they already HAVE sand elves in the game and they're frankly not very interesting.

*sigh* I sure hope the AA's and spells are worth the cost of the expansion because this new playable "dragon" race is a complete farce.
very disappointed
# Aug 11 2006 at 2:28 PM Rating: Default
I'll have to agree, these are very disappointing. I was looking foward to the new race, but not now. The Devs could have come with something a little more desirable to play. If they were just going to change the sand elves, they could have just changed the dragorns. Word of advice: FIRE whoever designed these guys!!!!
You gotta be joking SoE
# Aug 11 2006 at 2:15 PM Rating: Decent
Wow!!! For once I agree with ALL the flamers!!

Sand Elves that have creepy zombie faces and Goth makeup on.
Emo Haircuts
Tattoos stolen from Barbarians
Originality that is... well non-existent
ABSOLUTELY no resemblance to Dragon, Hmmm perhaps the Drakkin are 1/200th Dragon?
I ecpected to see something at least REMOTELY reptillian! Perhaps something that resembles Dragorns or even Iksars.
Maybe next Expansion will have "Yeti-Kin" that look like halfling vampires... Oooh I know, give them tattoos on their faces!

For Crying out loud SoE, PLEASE Delete the Matt Damon model ASAP!

It is a good thing for SoE that there are new AA's and a new level cap or else sales on SS expansion would be shameful...
They gotta be Bards
# Aug 11 2006 at 1:44 PM Rating: Decent
Wow, these guys look like a punk rock band, I mean could you really see them as a warrior or necro, pretty soon SOE will start stereotyping them. There will be a rapper drakkin, a country & Western Drakkin, and an acid rock drakkin. Just think of the cool hat your country western can wear, or all the gold chains your rapper can wear, or how many piercings, augmented of course for your punk rocker. The possibilities are unlimited. WTG SOE.

Seriously they have to be joking.
Bring
what if...
# Aug 11 2006 at 1:37 PM Rating: Default
what if this is a new npc model and they are just phucking with us?
Sand elevs
# Aug 11 2006 at 1:13 PM Rating: Default
What kind of dragon/human thing is this? just sand eleves with tatoos =P laaaammmmmeeee. and they don't even tell you what classes they can play either =( Sony, you screwd up big time.
OH MY F****** GOD
# Aug 11 2006 at 12:29 PM Rating: Default
Sony you screwed up big time, this guy should look way better, you did great with Xannussus and tons of other guys, but this guy just BLOWS, and its insane how much better you could do, these guys look like **** sexual humans that did it with a dragon and the dragon burnt their face off, i might consider buying this expansion if there are better things to look forward to, also if you've seen any of the games out there, hire one of the people that know how to make a character look, atleast include some wings or horns or even tails or red skin, games that game out in 04 have better graphics than this guy, i know your art director died, but atleast get somebody worthy of it.
Model Blows
# Aug 11 2006 at 12:13 PM Rating: Decent
SOE... please follow these directions.

1. Admit you screwed up.
2. Push the release date for SS.
3. Go back to the drawing board with the Drakin model.
4. Release SS when you have created a character people will actually play.
WTF is that!?
# Aug 11 2006 at 10:19 AM Rating: Decent
What the hell? Thats the best they could do with a dragon human breed? That looks like a young guy with old dude skin. I see in no way how this looks dragon-like. Well this just sucks. That last screenshot kinda looks like When the Vampires in Buffy go all vampirey (god i gotta get away from my sister). But really thats a F***in Diseased human FFS! Im gonna have to agree with the posts below me that it looks like a Sand elf. Come on! not even any horns or wings? If your making a dragon species they gotta at least have wings! God SoE sucks.



__________________________________________________________________________
Lord Shadew Deathreaver of Vazaelle 68 Dread Lord

Edited, Aug 11th 2006 at 11:29am EDT by Krouk
WTF is that!?
# Aug 17 2006 at 10:02 PM Rating: Default
*sigh* with only one character slot on FV there is NO WAY im going to reroll or buy titanium for anohter looks like a human character.

They DO need a new graphics artist in the first place but.. the character should have looked more like a dragorn. Preferabley not as skinney wasted.
Sony.. cant you learn to make models that dont look like ... they have an animal head on a human style body , etc,
these guys just look like a more healthy version of a zombie, .... with tattoos.
May as well have given us a new vampire race at that rate.

WE want half dragons.. not dragon 'touched.' Get a clue please, sony.

Horns, wings, tail, scales. ANd please.. stop with the skin showing armor holes... its stupid. Armor is suppoed to protect ones body.
LOOKS LIKE JUNK
# Aug 11 2006 at 10:13 AM Rating: Decent
Wow metrosexual characters now. Whats next?
I concur
# Aug 11 2006 at 10:12 AM Rating: Decent
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130 posts
Hmmm...I'm disappointed to be honest. I expected more imagination to go into the Drakkin...this guy looks more like an escapee from Cirque du Soleil! Perhaps if he had some small horns on his head and maybe a small dragon tail, THEN I would've considered making one when it comes out. Now, I'm not so sure. I hope to hell this class has some abilities that REALLY set him apart to make it worth developing. Also, it might be a nice idea if you guys develop three or four different characters and present them to the EQ public to choose...perhaps that way, people will complain less../shrug. IF, however, you have plans for this character to 'morph' into a more dragonlike character with aa abilities or a special tool (in like the way we summon horses) to morph (along with special abilities when he morphs) THAT would be worthy as well. ;-)

Edited, Aug 11th 2006 at 11:17am EDT by staarlite
ugly
# Aug 11 2006 at 9:45 AM Rating: Decent
will skip this expantion for now. No toons at lvl 70. So no need to get 75. Still havent played in the last 2 that came out. Sony, please, oh please, pick up the phone and call Verant to come help you make reasonable decisions.
verry sad
# Aug 11 2006 at 9:43 AM Rating: Decent
Wow, are you serious? These are the new "dragon kin" we have to look forward to? Iksar's are closer related to dragons than these flamed out boy band rejects. Its time to do some major upgrade on the other character models now. There has not been one since Luclin came out in what 02?
Yuck
# Aug 11 2006 at 9:17 AM Rating: Decent
49 posts
I remember seeing some screenies from the SOE block party and was so sad that I just didn't have it in me to make another alt. The drakkins looked really cool in those pics from the block party. I wanted them to make a "touched by the blood" quest for other humans to do so they could become drakkins. But every single one here looks so horrible. The hair on the last pic is so bright it is hard to look at it. They actually look uncomfortable just standing lol. Who knows. Maybe there are some decent hair styles, colors, etc...that can make a cool looking Drakkin cuz the block party pics looked hot...whoever chose these is color blind and has horrible taste.
All Hail the Pretty Boy
# Aug 11 2006 at 8:46 AM Rating: Decent
What next, jocks? Then geeks? Then Goths? I can't wait for the mindless tight cheer-leaders.

Wow, I did not think this game would fall so quickly back into high school mentality. Can we form clicks and then only socialize within it?

I hope this is not the first of many poor decisions to come. Who reviews these decisions? Are we going to release Animee looking characters? There is a big trend to follow.

Can make characters that look like 1960s Chev muscle cars? Because everyone knows that Ford sucks.
All Hail the Pretty Boy
# Aug 15 2006 at 8:31 AM Rating: Default
Quote:
Are we going to release Animee looking characters?


They already did, the "upgrade" model face choices for EQ2... May what gods that have respawned help us all...
All Hail the Pretty Boy
# Aug 11 2006 at 6:17 PM Rating: Decent
29 posts
Quote:
Can we form clicks and then only socialize within it?


What game do you play? Cause thats been the way of EQ pretty much from the beginning. Its certainly the basis for forming guilds. Theres the "Core" members, and then everybody else in the Guild, who are pretty much necessary excess baggage, needed for raiding when the Core members need something.

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