Senior Staff Writer Chris "Pwyff" Tom spent the past few weeks in the Dragon Nest open beta. Read on to see what he thinks!

One of the biggest problems I've had with action MMORPGs has been the level of pacing. Because combat is so fast-paced, experience requirements usually get stretched out, with players required to visit certain stages multiple times to finish quests. While Dragon Nest is a bit guilty of pushing you into the same dungeon at half a dozen different times, there is still a solid variety of environments to go through, and each dungeon has five different levels of difficulty depending on what experience you're looking to get. Veteran players do most dungeons solo on "Master" mode, while full groups (or particularly brave solo players) can take on a dungeon on "Abyssal" mode to maximize loot potential. Recently Nexon introduced the "Minotaur's Nest," which is a level 24 dungeon where players face off against the strongest monsters currently in the game for a chance at some nice loot. 

Speaking of loot, while Dragon Nest is, unfortunately, a little slim with equipment and aesthetic customization, there are enough random variables that players can tweak to make their characters uniquely their own (from a statistical point of view). For example, my Acrobat prioritizes critical rating and stun rating for damage and crowd control, respectively, so I was able to tweak my equipment enchantments and accessories to highlight these stats. As well, Dragon Nest employs a unique "crest system," where players equip specific crests that give significant boosts to certain stats or abilities. There are even certain ability crests that can increase the damage or lower the cooldown of your favorite skill. In some rare ability crests, you can even reduce the cast times of specific abilities.

Overall, while Dragon Nest isn't incredibly innovative as an action MMORPG, I remain hooked on it just because it's a solid and fun MMO. Everything within Dragon Nest has been done well, and the polish shines through (except for some of those tooltip translations…). If you're honestly looking for a great action MMORPG experience with some over-the-top combo action, Dragon Nest is definitely what you should be looking at. With PvP being introduced today and more cash shop customization items on the way, I fully expect Dragon Nest to be one of my favorite action MMORPGs for some time to come.

Christopher "Pwyff" Tom, Senior Staff Writer

For more Dragon Nest information, check out our Dragon Nest Armory. It features searchable databases and a skill calculator.