Dungeon Runners is a free to download and free to play online RPG published by NCSoft (publisher of City of Heroes/Villains, Lineage 1 and 2, GuildWars Series, Auto Assault, Tabula Rasa and other titles). Unlike NCSoft’s other titles, Dungeon Runners can be played absolutely FREE.

Title: Dungeon Runners
Site: www.dungeonrunners.com
Publisher: NCSoft
Access: Free 2 Play | Paid Membership

What is Dungeon Runners?

Dungeon Runners is not like your typical MMORPG. For one, it doesn’t have a persistent world where everybody can roam around instead every area in Dungeon Runners is instanced (except maybe Townston). If you have played GuildWars then you’ll know exactly what I mean. For those who have not played GuildWars then instancing means that you’ll have your very own private copy of the map/dungeon you are entering. Once you goes through that portal out of town, you will be in your own map/area/dungeon. No one can enter it except you unless of course you are in a group then everyone in your group will share the same instance of a map/area/dungeon.

Dungeon Runners is, in it’s simplest form, an online RPG. Just like single player RPGs, you create a character, explore the world around you, do various quest and kill hundreds of creatures but in Dungeon Runners, you don’t have to explore and kill monsters alone. Form a group with other players and head out together. You’ll experience lots of action and loads of fun.

Graphics & Sound

Dungeon Runners’ graphics isn’t extra ordinary but it isn’t that bad too. The character models look kinda stiff but I guess I’m just used to seeing Asian/Anime style character models. The colors are a little bright for me and I think that the game has a cartoon feel to it.

One thing I can’t understand about Dungeon Runners is that my machine is having a hard time running it in higher graphics mode. I can run GuildWars and City of Villains with almost no problem in higher graphic settings but with Dungeon Runners the animation just chops badly. I don’t know if there is something wrong with the game or with my machine. Anyway, the game still looks good at lower graphic settings.

The selection in character creation is very limited so there won’t be much variations from other player created characters but it is not overwhelming like Second Life’s character creation so you’ll be able to get in to the game quickly.

Dungeon Runners’ opening music very nice. It has that old medieval feel to it. The sound effects kinda reminded me of GuildWars. The NPC voiceovers are kinda cool too.

Gameplay

Dungeon Runners’ gameplay is quite simple. You take a quest, get out of town and enter a dungeon, kill monsters, complete your mission, report back to the NPC after completion. You develop your character by allocating status points every time you level up. Further development can be achieved through the various (although similar looking) items that monsters drop when killed. Looting won’t be a problem since the dungeon is exclusive to you or to your group only and dropped items are pre-assigned to its owner, just like in GuildWars.

In Dungeon Runners, you can choose to play a Fighter, a Mage and a Ranger. Each type has its pros and cons but I prefer to fight in close combat hence I chose to play a fighter. You’ll be equipped with basic armor and weapon and it’s up to you to improve on that. Don’t worry, it’s not that hard and you’ll get all the items you’ll ever need as you play.

Unfortunately, I haven’t seen any form of PVP in Dungeon Runner and the official site did not mention anything about it. So, it’s safe to assume that there won’t be any PVP in Dungeon Runners (for now at least).

Lag and Community

I did mention that I’m experiencing some weird animation chops with Dungeon Runner but besides that there is still some amount of lag in game. I’ve experienced a few “death by lag” incidents. This happens when everything stops and after a few seconds everything move but your dead already.

There seems to be an active community composed of not so many players. The world chat is always active. You’ll find a lot of chit-chat going on.

Price and Customer Service

The great thing about NCSoft is that they provide great customer service and there customer support team responds quickly to inquiries. This is based on my personal experience back when I was still playing City of Villains.

Dungeon Runners’ price can’t be beat! Why? Because it’s FREE TO DOWNLOAD and PLAY although there is an option to become a paying subscriber or member. Paying members get tons of goodies like strong items, storage, stackable potions, etc.

Fun Factor

Overall, Dungeon Runner is fun to play. Casual and hardcore gamers will surely find it enjoyable as it is. You can play it for free or you can become a member and take your gaming experience a notch higher.

If you want to experience or just try out Dungeon Runners then just post a comment with your e-mail and I will send an invite to you! Come on try it!

Rating: 7/10