The magic he summoned failed to create a complete prison the tiniest of flaws remained in the otherwise impervious barrier, a weakness that allowed Demonic influence to seep into the world during times of a lunar eclipse.Īngry but patient, the Demons lurked in their prison waiting. Something went wrong during Sar-Elams ritual, however. From the essence of his spirit, Sar-Elam wove a prison to contain the Demons forever. Using his almost god-like powers and supported by his fellow wizards, Sar-Elam cast the Demons out of the world into a limbo of eternal fire. Their victory was largely due to the heroic sacrifice of the wizard known as Sar-Elam, the Seventh Dragon. Great devastation was wrought, but in the end the allied forces were victorious. Men, Elves, Dwarves, and their allies pitted themselves against the hordes of Demons. Nearly a thousand years ago the Wars of Fire raged across the face of Ashan. When players are not battling in the current match, they can bet XP on the outcome of the current duel. There is also a Colosseum mode, in which players fight take turns to fight one-on-one duels, while the other players sit in the audience. A character customization system is present, with the limitation that players must select a predefined class and may only buy skills available for that class. There are two playable factions, consisting of humans and undead, along with five playable classes. Additionally, advanced items typically have a skill requirement, with the end result being that the character equips only a handful of different items over the course of the one play-through, depending on what skills they have chosen to develop on their character.ĭark Messiah features a multiplayer mode where opposing teams battle each other and earn points by performing strategic maneuvers across a large map. Each item has fixed stats, and the selection of items is also limited, with only a relatively small number of different weapons or armor in each category. Valuable items are placed in specific locations for the player to find.
The Miscellaneous tree contains general utility improvements, including Stealth.Īlthough some enemies will drop usable items when killed, looting in Dark Messiah is mostly a fixed affair. The Magic tree grants access to new spells. The Combat tree improves the power and efficiency of physical attacks. Each use of a spell consumes varying amounts of the player's mana, which gradually regenerates over time, but can be replenished more quickly through consumption of mana potions.Īs the player completes objectives throughout the game, Dark Messiah awards experience points that can be used to buy skills in one of three skill trees: Combat, Magic, and Miscellaneous. Particularly, the player character's ability to kick enemies and knock them back is emphasized by environmental hazards such as spike racks, open fires, and pitfalls being in almost every combat area, which can often end a fight more efficiently than using only weapon attacks.įor players who build their character to specialize in Magic, spells can be used to unleash offensive effects, heal the player character, or serve a number of utility purposes. Developing a character for resilience and strength for melee combat is still possible and completely viable, but even with proper specialization, successful close combat requires careful application of tactics, timing, accuracy, and properly using a range of close-quarters offensive techniques. Characters who develop their stealth skills can sneak up behind unaware enemies and perform a lethal backstab maneuver, while characters that have skill with a bow can use it to snipe enemies from a distance. Enemies are generally difficult to kill in straightforward combat, although characters developed for this purpose may have an easier time.