The dragon’s roar echoes across the landscape, sending the local deer population running and startling a chicken or two. I caught a glimpse of the dragon soaring through the sky when I first arrived on Ashenfall. I knew it was a threat at the time, like all dragons usually are, but thought it was one I wouldn’t have to worry about for a while. The dragon’s second visit proved me wrong. Thinking it would be nice to see it again, I looked up. Rather than seeing a scaly beast, though, I found myself drenched in poison. This is how I tasted death for the first time in RuneScape: Dragonwilds – the new survival crafting game from Jagex, which recently saw a surprise Early Access release.
On its latest visit, unsurprisingly, the dragon finds me desperately trying to build a base. After all, bases mean warmth, comfort and not being covered in poison. All’s been going well so far, too. The little building sits on a foundation to help prevent night attacks, has torches for when it gets dark, and a couple of windows for enjoying the scenery. It even has a door. There’s only one thing it’s missing, a very important thing all buildings should have, especially if they’ve been created to defend their occupants against poisonous dragons: a roof.
Shame I’m bad at building roofs in video games. No, scratch that. Shame I’m at building roofs in video games.
I don’t know what I’ve made so far, but it’s certainly not a roof. I’ve seen working roofs in real life and none of them have a great big hole in the middle. It’s my own fault really. I tried to be ‘fancy’. Past-Lottie thought she’d make a quaint entranceway with cornered roof sections and a little overhang above the door. What she’s actually done is waste the precious wood she spent 20 minutes collecting and plastered the walls with random roof tiles. One’s even facing inwards! She hasn’t even touched the main roof – sorry, I mean hole. We should all be thankful that ‘Lottie Lynn’s Roofers’ isn’t a real company.
There’s no point going inside. Even cowering in the corner won’t save present-Lottie from the dragon’s poisonous breath, which means…
Thankfully Dragonwilds considered my attempt at roofing a form of shelter, so I was able to place a bedroll in it – though I do feel somewhat pitied… This is great because, since you respawn at your bedroll upon death, I didn’t have to walk far to reclaim my items.