Hello everybody,

Something a bit different from my side today.
Not Splinterlands this time but still connected because of the partnership with Dungeon Cities.
That partnership was honestly the trigger for me to finally jump in and give the game a try.
There is also a writing challenge going on about Dungeon Cities so this felt like the perfect moment to share my first weeks experience.

I will go over what the game is.
What I like about it.
What I think can be improved.
And some tips I really wish I knew before I started.

What Is Dungeon Cities

Dungeon Cities is a text based RPG playable on the Hive blockchain.

The game follows a play to earn model.
You crawl dungeons.
Fight monsters.
Collect resources and equipment.
Level up your avatar.
And slowly progress through different cities and dungeons.

The whitepaper explains the vision pretty well if you want to go deeper into the mechanics and economy. whitepaper link

The Concept In Short

You explore dungeons to gather resources and gear so you can survive stronger monsters and unlock higher level content.
Progression is slow and very resource focused which I actually enjoy.
It feels more like a long term grind game instead of something you rush through in a weekend.

The game is clearly designed mobile first.
The layout works really well on phone and tablet from what I can tell. Directly this also leaves improvement in handling large list and view items like in the market (but game is it think in early development)

The art is fully AI generated and honestly looks great in my opinion.
Some monster exmaples:

The Start Of Your Journey

When you log in with your Hive account you land straight into the game interface.
Before doing anything else I highly recommend checking your inventory and equipment screen.

If you already have some starter equipment make sure to equip it before entering any dungeon.
Every little stat boost matters early on.

In my case I entered the game through the Splinterlands partnership.
During Winterfest every gift box also gave DCXT in Dungeon Cities.
That was my push to finally look into the game and I ended up buying a few packages (form the exclusive shop).

Some come with a backpack best value imho for new players

I am not fully sure how the normal key purchase flow looks because of that.
But I do know there are other ways to get a free key.
Best tip here is to ask around in the Dungeon Cities Discord.

Big Early Tip Get A Backpack

This is probably the biggest tip I can give after a few weeks of playing.

Get a backpack as fast as possible.
And get the biggest one you can / want to afford.

This game is all about inventory management and stamina (for what i understand at this moment).
Your backpack increases your inventory size and you will always feel like it is not big enough.

Important to know
Backpacks cannot be found in dungeons.
They can only be bought in the store with DCD or from other players on the market.

Quests And The Guild Hall

Before entering a dungeon head over to the guild hall.

There you can accept quests that give extra bonuses when crawling dungeons.
My personal approach right now is very simple.
I just select all quests and go play.

Planning specific monster hunts does not feel worth the time for me at the current state of the game.
That might change later but as a new player this feels like the most relaxed approach.

Dungeon Stamina Explained

Stamina is one of the most important mechanics in the game.
Almost every action costs stamina.

Here is a simple overview of the most important costs.

Action	Stamina Cost
Enter dungeon	1%
Exit dungeon	2%
Start battle	2%
Move left right forward	1%
Run from battle (assume flee)	5%
Enter next floor	1%

Big tip here
Always make sure you have at least 2% stamina left before you want to leave a dungeon.
If you hit zero stamina you will have to pay 100 DR to exit.

If that happens check your inventory.
Food items can restore stamina and might save you some DR.

Note: do not forget in the end of your dungeon run to collect potential quests you have finished, if you forget them it will reset after a day and rewards are gone!!

When you enter the dungeon where is how it it look and the battle is pretty self explanatory.

Leveling And Traveling

As you gain experience you level up and new requirements appear.
Early levels can be completed in Aldorian itself.

Later on you will need to move to other cities.

Traveling between cities costs Drupple.
The first city transfer is cheap.
Later ones get more expensive.
Exact costs are listed in the pinned messages on Discord.

Tokens Explained

Dungeon Cities uses multiple tokens and it can be confusing at first.

DCD
This is the main premium token.
It is bought with HBD at a 1 to 1 ratio.
Buying DCD also gives VIP points.

DCD is used in the store for items like backpacks.

DR or Drupple
This is the main in game earning token.
You earn it by battling and selling resources.
It is heavily used for crafting keys and traveling.

DR is tradable one hive-engine/tribaldex

DCXT
This is a promotional token.
It can be bought with other game tokens like DEC from Splinterlands.
1000 DEC equals 1 DCXT when DEC is at peg.
DCD can also be converted to DCXT at a 1 to 1 ratio.
DCXT is mainly used for exclusive store items.

The Forge And Key Crafting

The forge unlocks in the second city Brighthollow.

Here you can craft dungeon keys.
This is where the game can feel brutal at times.

Key crafting has a 20% success chance.
On the sixth attempt it is guaranteed to succeed.

This means you can burn a lot of resources and DR before you get a key.
Sometimes you also need resources from other cities.
That means either traveling or buying from the market.

Monster DEX

Once you have fight a monster you can find it in you monster dex:

You can see here how many you have discovered so and the stats on a certain monster... Note beginner tip when you have battle them a few times you discover wich items they drop and where you have spotted it first time so you know where to go for certain resources

I would like for the developers to add the option to search of a resource so monster are filtered that drop those are show, less clicking 🤣

The Shop And Market

The shop allows you to sell items directly for DR.
The market allows player to player trading.

Big tip from Hive account@quantumnachos that I fully agree with now

Never sell food to the shop.

Food is extremely valuable because stamina is everything in this game.
Food usually sells for more on the market and helps you stay longer in dungeons.

Things I Miss Or Want Improved

A way to lock items so you cannot accidentally sell important resources.
Something like a wish list or protected item flag would be amazing, the resource you are hunting to be forged for example.
Batch selling in the shop.
Right now you have to click each item individually which gets annoying fast.
Market usability.
It is hard to quickly compare lowest market price versus shop value / and how many you own.
This involves a lot of back and forth clicking.

Extra Gameplay Tips

Cheap equipment from the market can help a lot early on.
My current priority for equipment is

Weapon for attack

Feet for attack

Accessory for stamina and health recovery

The rest is defense .

Equipment can be obtained by

Exploring dungeons
Killing monsters
Buying from shop
Buying from other players
Opening chests

Equipment comes in multiple classes
F/E/D/C/B/A/S/SS/SSS/R

When all 13 items of the same class are equipped you receive a full set bonus.
I only learned this while writing this post so still learning myself, still not found the information on what the boosts is.

Items can be sold for Drupple either in the shop or on the market.

Final Thoughts

I definitely did not cover everything. As I'm learning myself the game let me know if i have somethings off.
But after a few weeks I can say I enjoy the game and play it once or twice a day.

Progression slows down a lot in the second city.
The forge luck can feel brutal.
Spending thousands of Drupple without success hurts.

Resources you need are often not on the market or listed at crazy prices.
That might be because many players are stuck at the same progression point.

If you are further ahead this might actually be a good opportunity to sell resources to newer players.

Overall I would definitely recommend checking Dungeon Cities out.
Especially if you can get a free key and just try it slowly.
The mechanics are interesting and the long term progression feels meaningful.

That is all about my journey in Dungeon Cities for now.
If you liked this post and are curious to try Dungeon Cities yourself you can use my referral link when signing up.
It supports me a little bit and helps me continue sharing my experiences and tips while I learn the game myself.

https://play.dungeoncities.com/login?ref=beaker007

Either way thanks for reading and happy crawling 👋
Beaker signing off

Dungeon Cities My First Weeks And Early Lessons