Legend: Legacy of the Dragons is a fantasy role-playing video game, more specifically a MMORPG, created by the Russian developer IT Territory in 2006 and published by My.com. The English version of the game was released on November 6, 2007. In 2008 the game was localized for the German market by Mail.ru Games GmbH (formerly known as Astrum Online Entertainment), followed by Turkish, Polish, Spanish, French and Italian. In 2014 the game ceased to be published by Mail.ru Games GmbH in these languages and was transferred to My.com.
Today the audience exceeds 8 Million players worldwide. In Russia the game has won the prize for the best internet presence ("Premia Runeta") several times and has a cult status with the Russian gaming community.
The most notable difference in Legend: Legacy of the Dragons to most other games of this genre is the fight system which is animated and allows for great tactical depth.
Finance
The online browser game Legend: Legacy of the Dragons is playable free of charge and without any further software. The game does not require monthly fees. The revenue generated with this so-called "free-to-play" business model mostly result from shops within the game. These offer a vast variety of items and equipment to the player such as armour and weaponry, potions, scrolls and so on. The player can pay for these items with gold, the in-game currency, which is awarded to each player in small amounts for fights with monsters or the successful completion of quests. Additionally the players can use real money in order to by the diamond game currency which in turn may be exchanged in banks within the game for gold. The success of this business model is apparent in the "exceptionally high ARPU (average revenue per user), which exceeds market's average by far".
Story
Legend: Legacy of the Dragons is set in the fantasy realm of Faeo in which Humans and Magmars are locked in an eternal battle for supremacy. The races live on two different continents, Ogriy and Khair, in which most of the game play takes place. Apart from these continents there are also the island of Fay-Go and an Underwater World in the Balluar Ocean which separates the continents from one another. In the world of Legend: Legacy of the Dragons there are diverse landscapes such as moors, forests, plateaus and mountains, as well as small towns and cities. In addition there are several instances and battle fields in caves, grottoes and castles. The game's graphics are like paintings, grim at times and have been created "with an eye for detail".
The chronicles cover the whole history of the fantasy realm of Faeo from its mystic creation up to the "epoch of the dragons", in which we live today. They tell of an everlasting battle for the necessary equilibrium of good and evil on the one hand and that of order and uncontrollable chaos on the other. Even-handed ruler over the whole of Faeo is the goddess Sheara, mistress of the dragons and the two most powerful of these lizards - Striagorn and Erifarius - serve her a patrons of either race, the Humans and the Magmars. The dragons are locked in their struggle for supremacy which is overshadowed by the threat of chaos in the form of the Chaos Army. The only chance to save the world of Faeo is for the races to unite, put their quarrels aside and face the formidable foe side by side.
Gameplay
The player can take on quests (Assignments, Missions) and fight monsters in order to raise experience points which in turn will increase the player's level and award virtual currency or items. In the course of the game several more option will become available to the player, for example choosing a profession, acquiring a reputation with different organizations, getting a mount or a pet and learning the use of magic.
Mechanics
The player navigates their character from one location to the next in order to move through Faeo. These static locations are linked to one another and each act as a small instance on their own. By choosing the hunting-mode the player can switch to table-top-view of the location and look for resources to collect or monsters to fight. The fighting system itself is a dynamic 2D flash animation in a third person view. Here the player can see the character facing the enemy and use different attack moves as well as potions, scrolls and other items.