Needs More Dragons.

So very recently (Yesterday) G8: Drake of Iria has been implemented into NA Mabinogi. I will now list the new content.

-Zardine, land of Dragons now available for exploration.
-Hot-Air Balloon Riding is now available to use in Iria.
-Fossil Restoration is now available to earn gold and exploration EXP, as well as a chance to obtain the rare Lava Cat Robe.
-G8 Mainstream is implemented.
-G8 Mainstream is free which pretty much confirms that all future mainstream will be free.
-New monsters are now available to fight in Zardine.
-Alby, Ciar, and Rundal Hardmode Dungeons are now available.
-Broom Pets are now available. These pets can be used as a mount on ground and air as well as sweep up items off the ground.
-All Two Handed Weapons have been rebalanced. (20% more damage when using Smash and Windmill and apparently 5% more criticals when normal attacking)
-The patch was successfully implemented a hour ahead of time and there have not been any bugs. Might be noteworthy as this was supposed to be 6 hours long and recent generation patches have a tendency to be extended a lot or have plenty of glitches.

Zardine: Land of Dragons

Zardine is a recently discovered region in Iria, just north of Physis. When entering Zardine, you'll want to go to the Calida Exploration Camp just south of Calida Lake. Register the Mana Tunnel on your map and you no longer have to go to Physis to enter Zardine. The area around Calida Lake is alive with green plants, but it's only limited to grass, a few bushes and some trees around the Exploration Camp. At the camp, you will find Kelpie, a young man who sells general stuff, tools, and things needed for Hot-Air Balloon Riding; Belita, a woman who owns the Healer shop and is a Fossil Hunter. She is also in charge of providing Holy Water to anyone who helps her with her work. If you have a restored fossil, trade it with her for money and Exploration EXP, or even a rare Lava Cat Robe; and finally Arenen, a Hispanic man who's in charge of the Bank and also the leader of the Exploration. According to him, he is quite strong.

As you proceed further through Zardine, the grassland dies off and you enter a vast wastelandthat have several vents letting loose steam. If you're using a Hot Air Balloon, you'll be able to enter the Sulfur Pits, which slowly poisons you to death. At the Sulfur Pits, you'll be able to mine Sulfur Ore that can be turned in at Belita's Part-Time Job for Holy Water. At times you'll be able to find a Fossil (More on that later) which if you restore can also be turned in to Belita.

Even further is the a region desolated with volcano activity. Strongish monsters lie here as well as the occasional Red Dragon, one of the strongest field boss yet. I can't really explain more since I haven't even reached this area.

As the Ceremony of forming the contract between the Gold Dragon and a living being of Erinn draws near, the Blue Dragons and Red Dragons are fighting each other. The Red Dragons are hostile to travelers, being the first to initiate battles. Such Red Dragon is Crumena (formerly known as Krumena). The Blue Dragons, however, are kind to travelers and will support them when needed. Such Blue Dragons are Cromm Cruiach and Legatus.

Hot-Air Balloon Riding and Fossil Restoration

There are two types of balloons you can purchase from Kelpie: a cheap balloon that goes for little above 500 gold and seats up 2 people, the other goes for little above 3000 gold and seats up to 8 people and is fitted with Ballistae cannons. Both balloons run on fuel though, which you can use Flints to replenish if needed. Flints can be found from certain rocks when using the Pickaxe or can be purchased from Kelpie for little above 5000 gold in sets of five. Good things about using Hot Air Balloons are the traveling speed, much faster than on foot or horseback but slower than flying birds. It can also reach the Sulfur Pits and Renes Island, though both can still be accessed by birds.

But there are dangers to this! Wyverns are all around the air in Zardine and will try to shoot you down. Best thing you can do is use ranged attacks to kill them before they kill you, either with Ranged Attack or Ballistae cannons. Ballista Bolts can be bought from Kelpie as well in sets of 30 for cheap or from simply trading in stars you obtain for killing the Wyverns. Wyverns are strong enemies coming in three types; Fire, Ice and Lightning. They like to perform fly-bys to damage your balloon and yourself. Kill them to obtain stars which can be traded in for rewards, such as stronger Ballista Bolts.

You're picking away at Sulfur piles in the Sulfur Pits and what's this? You find a Fossil! Great! Right-click the Fossil and choose use to start the minigame.

Fossil Restoration is a minigame you perform when attempting to restore a Fossil. To sum it up, it's like MS Paint where your mouse is an eraser or chisel. You must chisel away all the sulfur surrounding the fossil before time is up, which is about 1 minute. But here's the catch, you must not damage the fossil too much or it will be unidentifiable. Damage can be told by red spots. According to devCAT, having less damage is better than having less sulfur. If you're successful, you will end up with a Barely Restored Fossil, Somewhat Restored Fossil, Mostly Restored Fossil, and Perfectly Restored Fossil, the last one being the hardest to get. If you want any chance to obtain a Lava Cat Robe, you must turn in a Mostly Restored Fossil or better, but even then, Mostly Restored Fossils still have a slim chance to give you a Lava Cat Robe.

Hardmode Dungeon

Hardmode Dungeon is typically like the normal dungeons but are extremely tougher. You must prove yourself that you are strong before being able to access these tough dungeons. How do you do that? By reaching 250 total levels, that's how. After doing so, you will receive a quest from Duncan to talk to him. After you do so, go to Alby, Ciar or Rundal dungeons. You will see a new entrance to somewhere else. There, you will find the alters for Hardmode dungeons.

When I say tougher, apparently they are extremely tougher than normal dungeons, though they are still pretty easy of you know what you're doing. To enter these dungeons, simply do the same as you would with normal dungeons, drop a pass or item on the alter and off you go.

G8 Mainstream: The Awakening of the Gold Dragon

Like the name? I made it up. Anyways, the story continues where G7 left off.

To sum it up in a nutshell, you help Taunes and Atrata get back together after years of forbidden love, help Kelpie reclaim his memories, assist Crumena in killing Cromm Cruiach but you were deceived! Locate Ruairi and go kill the bastard that is Crumena for tricking you with 7 other friends. You form the contract with the Gold Dragon named Adniel and Ruairi sets off back to Uladh where he'll fulfill his promise to return to Tarlach and Mari (otherwise known as Nao). Boom you get a new title and a new action called Dragon Summoning which can't even be used until G9 Shadow Mission come out.

Guess I'm done here. I'm off now.