Puzzle & Dragons X details cover Water City, field exploration

Puzzle & Dragons X launches in Japan later this month. With its release just a few weeks away, Famitsu has another article on the game this week with the latest details.

This week’s information starts with introduction of facilities in the Water City, the first city you start the game from. There are many civilians and Dragon Summoner Guild members on the island. Their conversations may change depending on story progression.

The facilities include:

1. Dragoza Communications Place

Players can trade monsters and guild cards, and receive presents from friends. It is also possible to trade between God and Dragon Chapters, so it is implied that it will be possible to trade rare monsters that are exclusive to each version.

A guild card contains the player’s max damage ever dealt to a monster, how many monsters they’ve befriended, play time, number of times they’ve used the Stone of Life, and a comment from the player. When you obtain someone else’s guild card, they become available as Puzzle Friends.

2. Gachadra Counter

Collected D-Medal items that are obtained from field drops and quest rewards can be used to pull a gacha named Gachadra that can result in monsters or items. Each Gachadra has its own type of compatible D-Medals. Gachadra also have a rarity rating; the higher the rarity, the better monsters and items that are available.

3. Soul Armor Store

In this shop, the player can create or buy Soul Armor. In order to create a new Soul Armor, the player must first collect a certain amount of Monster Souls earned by using Soul Capture in battles and Crene (money). This shop can also upgrade Soul Armor, which also cost Souls, but by upgrading them the Skill Level will go up, and reduce the number of turns required for skill activation.

4. Quest Counter

In this place, the player takes on quests posted by citizens. The more difficult the quests, the better the completion rewards will be. Some quests can be assigned again after clearing them once, which will be useful for farming money.

5. Monster Lab

Upgrade your own monsters here to raise their stats. Each monster also has different materials needed to evolve. When these materials are collected and the monster has also reached the maximum level, it can be evolved into a stronger monster. You can also put unneeded monsters into storage or sell them for money.

We also have information on two other features in Puzzle & Dragons X:

Multi-G

In each city, there is a quirky elder who is called the Multi-G. When he is spoken to, he will give access to co-op play through local wireless. The player can be a host or join an existing host.

Mr Metal’s Request

Mr Metal is met during the story prologue. When speaking to him in the city, he will give rewards based on categories such as the number of monsters collected and exploration percentages of field maps. The items he gives are all very useful, so you will want to visit him regularly.

Famitsu’s coverage goes on to talk about the field exploration features. At first, the range of explorable fields is limited, but it will gradually increase as player goes through the storyline by completing events. There are roads on the field where monsters will not appear if walking on them.

There are many dungeons located in the field. Discovering and going through them are part of the game’s features.

Basically the player can’t pass through rivers and seas, but there are shallow waters that can be traversed. There are also some dungeons that are located past shallow waters.

When the player goes out to the field, the lower screen will display a map of the current area. At first it will look empty, but as the player travels further, it will draw the area the player has passed through.

Dungeons

Dungeons have a different structure from fields. Ordinary monsters will be shown loitering in dungeons. If they spot the player, they will approach you for an assault. There are treasure chests placed in the dungeon, and also gates that are used to go to another floor. Some dungeons have different looks on each floor. A strong boss will be waiting on the final floor of the dungeon.

D-Flight

In the early part of the story, you also gain access to Dragon Flight (D-Flight). By riding a large dragon, you can go to cities, dungeons, and areas you have visited before. There is no limit in using D-Flight, so it will be a very convenient feature for transportation. At first you are limited to the close aras of the Water City, but eventually you will be able to access the entire island.

Field Features

In many parts of the field there may be bushes of various colors, which actually turn out to be Star Shard items. These shards will be useful later on, so collect them as much as possible. Other than Star Shards, there may be also drops of items required for Gachadra and monster evolution.

In many parts of the field and on dungeon entrances, there is a wriggling statue called the Phantom Rock. It looks suspicious but actually is not dangerous as it does not trigger a battle. Instead, by speaking to it you can reorganize your team. It also has unique and interesting way of speaking.

There are also other Dragon Summoners standing on the field. When player gets close to them, they will immediately challenge the player into a battle without your consent. Win these battles to gain rewards.

Additionally, there are Grand Bosses that loiter on the field. A Grand Boss is infinitely stronger compared to ordinary monsters, so players that are just starting out are advised to avoid them. Two such Grand Bosses are confirmed: Aldebaran and Megalodran.

If you lose in a field battle, the game will ask if you want to continue or not. However, in order to continue, you will need to consume an item named Stone of Life. If you do not continue, you will see a “game over” and restart from the last save point, thus losing everything that have been obtained past the save.

Aside from Puzzle & Dragons X itself, Famitsu also talks a tiny bit about the anime. This is based on the game naturally, and will tell the story of the young protagonist Ace becoming a Dragon Summoner. There will be also scenes exclusive to the anime.