vasflam

[vasflam]

Awesome that someone labeled the maps!

South Grastea, Annotated (and the geography for why the Halidom is a prospective attacker's worst nightmare)

So, even if we got some info on geography for Grastea, keeping track of where exactly everything is can be tricky. Thus, I made a small, crude map to help give an idea of where the 'big' locations are, story-wise! Hopefully it helps any fic-writer out there who might want to have an easy consult for where stuff is.

Thus, Euden's path in the main campaign is as follows, as represented by this even cruder drawing wherein black lines are like ch 1-4, blue 5-9, yellow 10-14, purple 15 (the filled in white circle is 'start' in Sol Alberia, filled-in black circle is 'end' of South Grastea shenanigans at the border:

Some of these are guesses (Chanzelia to Clave Loy'elune and Clave Loy'elune to Murgia Village, ex) but others are evidenced or shown outright, like Euden's path from Sol Alberia to the Mistholt forest.

Still a terrible map, but it does show how Euden was bouncing everywhere. The early chapters do make a lot of sense: he approached the Halidom through its southern forest route, then left to leave through Myriage lake to approach Sol Alberia from the north, then got turned around and fled to Mt. Adolla. Guess Euden was lucky when deciding to then flee to the Halidom instead of running to nearby Leonidas for help, though!

Oh, and I also kinda have figured out the vaugeries of how the Halidom is even approachable, because it was kinda confusing as to how people could access it from the west if it only has that main drawbridge in its near-island position.

Long story short, it is still effectively an island, with the only 'permanent' bridge being the stone bridge from the southeast, but even that has a drawbridge they could pull. However, the Halidom does have a wooden rope bridge that goes to the west.

This can be better seen on my own picture (which also shows how the Halidom on the map would change depending on how far you've developed the Halidom!):

From a near distance, it looks like so:

This is where it becomes funny in the Blood That Binds, wherein most the family split up to try and bait the replica Alberius from all sides. Leonidas is to the north, Valyx the south, Chelle to the west, and Emile (and Phares) to the east.

But, as we can see, the only true feasible routes to march any decently-sized force through is the west and the south. Any other route would require a lot of swimming and then mountain-climbing to scale the rocky walls, which is not recommended to keep an energetic and safe force.

Thus, replica Alberius and his brutish strength decides to strike west, north, east, and then south. If I had to guess, Leonidas was put to the north to either be a one-man army himself by being able to fly over the lake separating him from the Halidom, or as a stealth source of reinforcements to either Emile or more likely Chelle to hopefully catch Alberius off-guard.

But Emile? Emile was likely put to the east just to keep him out of the action. And they still didn't trust him to lead that force well enough in case something did happen that they plunked Phares there to babysit!

Interestingly, the Halidom's layout has unique implications for the tunnel system that exists. We know it goes from outside the castle into it (and specifically into Euden's room at one point), but from where does the other side emerge? Is it still on the island, or is it a long long journey to the under the water surrounding the Halidom and under that, followed by a long climb up? We can see some more tunnels in the Halidom map in game, so who knows.

We also see Halidom strategy come into play for Gala Leif's story.

As we can see, it's technically possible to get very creative and 'make a route' from the east, likely in the form of a long bridge to span the gap between the island and the mainland. This, however, is still a very unconventional and dangerous endeavor (defenders just need to break the bridge), characteristic of Harle, and likely not a recommended warfare strategy if one dreams of attacking the Halidom.

Honestly, though, it's a phenomenal position defensively. The biggest risk would be a siege because of the easily cut-off routes in and out, but even that is mitigated by the presence of flying dragons that could carry food as well as its own mini-forest on the island they could cultivate and sustain a small force with. Its likely water supply also is hard to disrupt, being an absolutely massive lake surrounding it and entering via a waterfall, which would be hard to stop or poison entirely.

Last but not least, the weather is also favorable to defenders who know the land well, as Chelle explains in the Blood That Binds:

The water surrounding the Halidom, combined with its temperature swings from day to night, causes thick fog that a defender could utilize (even if it's not magically thick as it was in the very beginning). Yes, in this case, it's the offense taking use of it, but the replica Alberius, possessing Alberius' memories, had a 'defenders' knowledge that the rest of the family wouldn't know as well since Euden as the only current firsthand source of nitty-gritty details for how the Halidom works defensively had not shown up.

It really does sound like a nightmare for an invader. It's no wonder Euden is able to defend it with such a small standing force, and quite likely a bit part in why so many left him alone in the early stages; the time and resources it would require to truly root him out would be disproportionate.

So...yeah. There's a bit about Southern Alberian geography and why the Halidom is a defensive monster!

[vasflam]

I wish that I got to play Knights of Glory, was it Japan only?

March is the Month of the Wardragon (Ares)

Ares was a dragon originally featured in Knights of Glory, that unfortunately never made it to Dragalia Lost.

In Greek Mythology, Ares is the god of war and courage. His parents are Zeus and Hera. Ares is one of the 12 Olympian. Although slightly different, his Roman equivalent is Mars. Compared to Mars, Ares is depicted in Greek Mythology as being negative as he represents Violence and Chaos.

Dragalia Lost Version:

I think that Ares, like Mars would be a 5 star fire element dragon. Mars was seen as Destructive and Savage, opposite of the Roman god. I think that it would be a cool contrast if Ares took more after his Roman equivalent, symolizing military discipline and protection.

(Flame) Strength + 100%

If the user is attuned to Flame: increases strength by 100%.

(Flame) Team Skill Damage +40%

All members of the party that have flame attunement: increases that party member's attack skill damage by 40%. Does not stack.

Wardragon's Standard

Deals 1 hit of 1652% fire damage to surrounding enemies, and grants team members a defense amp. Increasing by one level each time the skill is used, capping at level 3.

Special Notes:

March (Martius) is the first month of the Roman calendar, named after the Roman god Mars. We learn from a diary in the Accursed Archives event that the Month of the Wardragon is proceeded by the First month of the Dragon and the Month of the Lovely Dragon.

[vasflam]

if you like chelle, please read raywall by PinkHydrangea on ao3. i am no longer asking

[vasflam]

✨The King of kings!!✨ Xander from Dragalia lost doodle!

Yesterday, I was talking to my friend about Dragalia lost (mainly about Xander asgjdlshf) I didn't play it too much, but I remember really enjoying it (also spending all my time and effort trying to make Xander as strong as possible) Listening to the ost brought back so many memories🥺

Fun fact!! One of my sonic ocs was inspired by Xander, among other characters haha

[vasflam]

Happy (Lunar) New Year!

[vasflam]

Year of the Dragon

[vasflam]

Promotional artwork for Dragalia Lost, posted on Nintendo's official Japanese LINE account, featuring Kinopio-kun, the account's former green Toad mascot.

Main Blog | Twitter | Patreon | Small Findings | Source

[vasflam]

"Psychic" on Fox "News"

[vasflam]

Happy Dragonyule to all those that celebrate!

Happy Dragonyule!

And a Happy New Year!

[vasflam]

Apparently GL World Flipper have their EoS date announced. (Crying)

But World 12 also there too, so that is nice but...

[vasflam]

i will deliver!

[vasflam]

I think you might be on to something, Meene literally said that the origins of her kind lie with Dragons.

Faerie Character Profile Cards (Posted by DragaliaLostApp) + Faerie Lore (and some theories)

Profile: Meene Race: Faerie "Though I am a faerie, I do this for Ilia!" Featured Event: Forgotten Truths

Profile: Finlorda Race: Faerie "Because I once had a dream, you see. A foolish one, yet mine all the same…"

Profile: Jinlorda Race: Faerie "March forth, all of you! March forth and throw wide the curtains on a new age for all faeries!"

Profile: Notte (Gala) (Kimono) Race: Faerie "Dude, I was AWESOME!"

Profile: Nino Race: Human "With one wing of the Goddess, I can soar!" Featured Event: Blessed Bloodline

Extras:

Much of the Lore regarding Faeries remains that of Myths and Legends. These are some thoughts on established Lore, that I might expand into full theories in the future. I definitely want to do a full Lore and theory craft on Meene (the Goddess Ilia) and the foundation of the Church of Ilia.

Northern Grastaea

Although we meet Notte early on, we learn in Chapter 12 that Faeries are of North Grastaea, so Notte's presence in South Grastaea is strange. Additionally, we get a few lyrics of a Northern Grastaean nursery rhyme:

I suspect that this was a nursery rhyme that Meene (episode 2 of her adventurer story) made for Ilia as it seems to mirror their meeting. The lyrics capture Meene's unusual presence in the woods (outside of the Faerie Kingdom), the lyrics capture her hiding from unseen danger (Soldiers after Ilia), and the lyrics capture her meeting the baby Ilia. It's also possible that it was in one of the scrolls of perdition, other songs by Meene could have become church hymns:

Dragons and Faeries

Several times throughout side stories, we learn that Faeries are distant relatives to Dragons:

Similarities between Dragons and Faeries

The original faerie wrought (either created or shaped/influenced) by the Origin became the Sacred Tree of Memory, this has happened before with a Dragon as it became Yggdrasill:

Another shared ability is proficiency with Mana. Knowledge of Dragon's governance over mana is so well known that it was a loading screen tip:

We learn through (Gala) Notte's adventurer story that Faeries cannot control mana, but they are able to direct it. This allows them to perform Faerie magic and skills like Metamorphasis:

The Sacred tree forms Dawnshards after amassing huge amounts of mana over a long period of time. Dawnshards have immense Holy Mana that can be used to alter reality (Zethia's pact with Bahamut) or easily travel alternate realities (Zena's means to travel between worlds as a mana projection, similarly Morsayati does the same to Zethia's consciousness when he takes over her body and taps into the Flow Eternal). The Faeries could use the power of creation in a manner similar to an Auspex, but with Black Mana:

It's possible that the Black Mana that was used to create the Agito Beasts and Masks came from the Flesh of the Other at the end of the Second War of Binding (epilogue of Dawn of Dragalia).

The Faerie King (Finlorda?) of Alberius's time taught him the Blood Casket technique to seal away the Other. From lore of the Qilin Sealers, it's implied that great mana control in necessary for sealing techniques.

My current theory on Dragons and Faeries

I plan to write a theory on Dragons and Mana in the future that might elaborate this subject in further detail, but my leading theory on the relationship between Dragons and Faeries is in direct contrast to the Progenitor's actions. According to the Memories of the Sacred tree, Dragons were created by the Origin and the Progenitor created Demons afterwards:

In Chapter 21, we learn directly from the Sacred Tree's will that "The Progenitor, known also as the human of beginning, and the Origin, known also as the dragon of beginning. The world was forged by these two pillars of creation. They gave rise to heaven and earth, human and dragon." This and other text imply that the Origin created the Dragons and the Progenitor created the Humans. Similarly, to how Demons were made from the mold of Dragons by the Progenitor, I think that Faeries were made from the mold of Humans by the Origin. This would explain why Faeries, when their wings are removed become "human." After removing her wings, and becoming the Goddess Ilia, Meene forged a pact with Midgardsormr.

Flaws in my theory

The biggest inconsistencies in this theory come from a previously listed Sacred Tree Memory (Faeries and Agito). The memory mentions that Faeries are a race that inherited the power of creation. Additionally, that memory mentions that Faeries "reached out for Black Mana", which implies that they made contact with the Flow Eternal. Primarily, only Auspexes have been shown to possess the ability to reach out to other worlds and the world beyond worlds, but it doesn't seem to be a power just reserved for those with the Primal Mark (i.e. Audric doesn't appear to be an Auspex, but he can reach out to other worlds). In Chapter 23, we learn that the Origin only passed their Primal Mark to Elysium. In Chapter 24, its implied that the power of creation requires those that possess the Primal Mark.

Power of Creation

In one previously listed Sacred Tree Memory (Tree of Memory) it strongly implies that the original Faerie was created (or influenced) by the Origin, and the original Faerie had more power of creation than any other:

"One of the things wrought by the Origin was the original faerie. She had inherited more of the power of creation than any other and lamented the conflict between creators more than any other—and because of this, she was moved to preserve her memories for all time."

The concept of "the power of creation" is one that I want to explore in the future. Right now, my understanding of it is vague. I'm sure that I'll re-evaluate this theory in the future. I think that I might even try to read some of the lore in Japanese, to help determine whether some of the confusion comes from the localization or not.

Faerie-Human (Hybrids)

After becoming human, Meene went on to have at least one child with a human. Eventually we get to meet one of her descendants, Nino. For the most part, Nino resembles a typical human, but she does have Heterochromia. When in danger, Nino's faerie powers awaken, she grows a faerie wing. Nino is the lone Faerie-Human that we are introduced to.

It is assumed that other Faeries have left the kingdom, by removing their wings, as Meene had knowledge that she'd remain larger. It's very likely that those "humans" that were formerly faeries also had children with humans. It's possible that the children of humans and faeries didn't always resemble humans (Similar to how the Archangels didn't align with demons).

With the weapon Grassrunner, we get a rare reference to a race of people from the grasslands that never comes up again. The Grath are of small stature, but they are willing to fight with weapons (whereas small Faeries flee). In North Grastea there appears to be grasslands just south of the Sacred Tree:

It's possible that some, if not all the humanoid races are actually descendants of Humans and Faeries. Another fact that supports this is that most (if not all) of the other humanoid races have significantly longer life spans than humans. The Qilin are basically the Faeries of Taiwu. Without definitive proof, this will have to remain a theory.

[vasflam]

🧚‍♀️

[vasflam]

Remember the "Flow Eternal?"

There was a term introduced with the start of service for Dragalia Lost, Flow Eternal (無窮の河), that was never mentioned again after the end of Chapter 8. Even in Japanese dialogue available at the sacred tree, the term is never mentioned again after Chapter 8.

Curiously, they use an alternate Kanji for "river" instead (川 vs 河). When localized in English "river" becomes "flow", which could mean it's the "action that a river takes."

What was the Flow Eternal?

We're given few clues through-out the early chapters:

In Chapter 5 is described as something similar to Black Mana, filled with hatred, anger, and resentment. With the body of an Auspex, the Other can draw upon the Flow Eternal. The Other hints that the use of Black Mana is used in the "creation" process, similar to the power of creation used by Auspexes later in the main campaign.

In Chapter 8, the Other's connection to the Flow Eternal has mostly been restored as he instructs the Royal Scions to locate the remaining sacred shards. Leonidas draws upon the remaining power within a scared shard after freeing Morsayati's power. Using the power that he gains; Leonidas opens a rift between the worlds (Which Luca shots arrows at). Leonidas believes that the fiends the come out from the rift defeat Euden.

Comparing to lore established later on:

We learned from Epilogue of the Dawn of Dragalia event, that the sacred shards were formed from a fraction of the Ilian Relic, the blade of Dragalia, when sealing away fragments of Morsayati's power and flesh. Morsayati's power seems to be identical to Black Mana, this is likely what he meant when he stated, "I'll form a river from the lees of hate, anger, and resentment that have churned within the Shard's seal—the Flow Eternal." Presumably, Leonidas used the power from the sacred shard that kept the Black Mana in check for his power up in Chapter 8.

In Chapter 23, we learn that Auspexes are capable of contacting other worlds (and the space beyond all worlds). The Other likely needed this ability of Zethia's to reach the Flow Eternal, until his full power was restored. In Chapter 24, we learn that Sheila is similar to Beren, as she has the power of an Auspex and she is resistant to Black Mana. The loss of Sheila to Black Mana, was likely conveyed to King Aurelius by Gatov. King Aurelius likely chose to lock up Beren to protect him (Chapter 12) and to prevent a tragedy like the fall of Lefkos. As exposure to Black Mana ("miasma" seems to be the corruption or reaction that is caused by Black Mana) will eventually cause nearly all beings' hearts to become corrupted and eventually turning them into fiends (with the main exceptions of Beren, Sheila, Euden, and Mordecai).

Conclusion:

I believe that the "Flow Eternal" is the name of the seemingly endless river of Black Mana that resides in the space beyond all worlds:

Likely the term was dropped due to changes in the writing staff, but the initial concept was kept.

It's also possible that the term was primarily only used by Morsayati. Also, Morsayati likely knew that Euden's body was created from his own flesh, so that taking over Euden's body would likely restore his connection to the Flow Eternal. Unfortunately for Morsayati, Beren indirectly saved Euden from this fate in Chapter 14. Beren's acquisition of Morsayati's power was paramount to the Progenitor's plans.

While other enemies did not seek the Flow Eternal's power, some did use Black Mana in their schemes. The closest scheme that may have involved the Flow Eternal involved Zena's brother Euden as he accumulated vast amounts of Black Mana in their world. After being freed by Zena from Morsayati's control, he used the Black Mana as bombs to destroy their world and surrounding worlds in Chapter 25.

Very likely after Beren restored Xenos in Chapter 24, the behavior of the Flow Eternal changed from "a flowing river" to better suit Xenos' needs. This change in behavior of the Black Mana was witnessed by Euden and Mordecai in Chapter 25, as Mordecai stated that it was becoming a cocoon for the new world.

[vasflam]

I just got from Japan, I saw this at Mister Donut. I immediately thought it was the Squishum from Dragalia Lost, not a Psyduck.

I started the game with the 1000 day event, but I got at least 3 Squishums. I thought I had more time to play, so unfortunately I missed the final day of service.

Squishums

A few weeks after the introduction void battles into Dragalia Lost, a rare loot called Squishums was added into the game for the void battles. To the official Dragalia Lost channel, there was a video with the summary of the first 6 chapters of the game was uploaded. Throughout the video there are 4 hidden Squishums.

The Official Dragalia Lost Twitter account made a tweet that revealed all their locations:

Around the 1st anniversary of the game, we got special endeavors associated with the Squishum and Imitation Squish, that allowed us to unlock the Squishum Sticker:

4 Imitation Squish could be traded for 1 Squishum Sticker in the Void Battle Treasure Trade, which allowed us to keep at least one Imitation Squish.

For a while, the Squishum Sticker was the meme spam sticker in co-op battles. In matchmaking for co-ops, the vibe that I always got with the sticker was "hey don't worry, I've got this." At least that was the message that I hoped to convey when using this sticker.

Purpose:

Squishums were long speculated to be items that would eventually be traded into the shop for rewards. The addition of the Imitation Squish and its value in the Void Battle Treasure Trade added fuel to that fire. That trade never came about, so squishums were just for bragging rights and rare nods by the development team. Around the time of their introduction into the game, the director of Dragalia Lost, Hiroki Matsuura stepped down. It's entirely possible that Squishums were abandoned with his departure (with the Imitation Squish and Sticker were already in the development pipeline).

Lore:

Officially there is little lore associated with the Squishums, mainly just the item description. The addition of Squishums to the game was just before Version 1.9, which introduced Chapter 9 of the main campaign and Astral Raids to the game. In Chapter 9, we were introduced to the rare material called Materium, this was used in the Golden Era of Alchemy (1000 years ago) to create devices, technology, etc. (i.e. Nadine's device Clix). It was speculated by many in the fanbase that the Squishums and the Augments that became available through Astral Raids were made of Materium.

The addition of the Imitation Squish as stated before, was around the 1st anniversary of the game. This gave special endeavors associated with the Void Dragons. All of these Void Dragons would eventually receive a Gala Reborn form, after the 2nd anniversary of the game. After that all the trail for the Squishums goes cold.

My Theory:

I believe that the Squishums and the Augments were both made from Materium. I believe that the Squishums can only be made by a Master Alchemist, perhaps as a method of showing that they've reached a certain level (Maybe an Auspex). The failed Squishums, become Imitation Squish. Although the Gala Void Dragons all have void endeavors, I think it's just a coincidence that Imitation Squish are the rewards.

Extra:

Looking at my photo album of screenshots from Dragalia Lost, it looks like one of my earliest Squishum drops was from a Co-op and another was from double drop event. It definitely became easier to acquire Squishums, with the QoL changes that allowed auto grinding quests. On the final day of Dragalia Lost's service, I had 8 Squishums and 2 Imitation Squishes:

For fun, I made the Imitation Squish and Squishums as pixel art last year:

Losties, how Squishums did you collect? What do you think the Squishums were made for?

[vasflam]

The Lovely Dragon: Venus

Although we never got see the Lovely Dragon in Dragalia Lost, the Month of the Lovely Dragon was referenced several times in stories with the Grastean Month Calendar. Many in the community (me included) believe that this month is a direct parallel to February of the Gregorian calendar. The biggest hint seems to be that the Month of the Lovely Dragon directly follows the First Month of the Dragon in The Horrors of Hethiwood. The month of February has Valentine's Day, which usually is associated with Cupid, love, and romance.

(Translation from Dragaliamini)

However, in Dragalia Lost the Valentine's Day events were dominated by Prometheus and his brothers. One of which will be the subject of a future missing dragon post in the future.

(Translation from Dragaliamini)

Looking at mythology, Cupid is the son of Venus and Mars (Month of the Blazewyrm and pact dragon of Leonidas). In mythology, Venus is the goddess of love, beauty, desire, sex, fertility, prosperity, and victory. This makes her an appropriate fit for the Lovely Dragon mentioned in the Grastean Month Calendar.

Fortunately, Venus did appear in Cygames' previous game Knights of Glory, which shares many similar designs of dragons that eventually appeared in Dragalia Lost:

Dragalia Lost Version: I like the idea of Venus being a 5 star no-element dragon. Her effects similar to the Skill Haste/Hp Increase Dragons, but not locked to an element and not as powerful (lagging 5% behind at each stage of unbind including 5th unbind). Also, I think it would be appropriate for Venus to have a healing skill:

HP +35% & Surge of Strength I

Increases HP by 35%. In addition, grants the user the "Surge of Strength" effect at the start of quests for 180 seconds. During Surge of Strength, the user's strength is increased by 30%.

Skill Haste +35%

Increases skill gauge fill rate by 35%.

Lovely Regeneration

Restores HP to all allies with 50% Recovery Potency and applies Regen for 15 seconds, healing with 50% Regen Potency every 2.9 seconds.

[vasflam]

I miss this game and its gameplay so much!

The Jojo Stan's Ending

Continuing with the posting of the comics my friend Grima made. She posted them all on the Dragalia Lost subreddit. This comic's final panel is kind of a spoiler for Chapter 21.

The Jojo Stan's Ending:

Memes: Dragalia Lost had several references to Jojo's bizarre adventure.

Takehito Koyasu was the Japanese voice actor for both Morsayati (Also: Xenos and Mordecai) and he's also the most recent Japanese voice actor for Dio Brando:

Dio's The World and Chronos Nyx's Time Stop:

Chronos Nyx Raid

Losties, what is your favorite Jojo reference that was made in Dragalia Lost or by the fandom?