Dungeon

Dungeon (ダンジョン, Danjon) is any type of adventuring location in all MMO games. YGGDRASIL was mechanically known to contain various dungeons for such players to challenge.

Overview
In YGGDRASIL, dungeons are areas that players can enter to do some grindings both in term of leveling up and acquiring items. On the other hand, dungeons can also conquered by a guild for the extra benefits. It can then be made into a guild base controlled solely by the guild alone complete with various other means like customization, etc through the use of Data Crystals.

Dungeons vary in design and terrain. Some dungeons can only be found under certain conditions. For instance, the entrance to a dungeon amidst a field of flowers in the depths of a forest can only be seen under the light of the full moon. A notable example of this is the Frozen City in Niflheim which can only be entered during a blizzard.

Rules
YGGDRASIL has many unexplored dungeons within the Nine Realms. Plus, there is always a fierce competition to discover and clear them. The first time the players enter a dungeon, they will be granted a bonus of about 10% more treasure chests find. Also, the first time a dungeon is cleared the big treasure chest would offer equipment with item levels up to 10-20% higher than usual.

While dungeons seem impenetrable and impossible challenges, they are quite the contrary. Conquering a dungeon is a great undertaking that seems only a powerful guild can manage. Once occupied by the guild, the design, defenses and appearance of a dungeon can be altered to suit the needs and taste of the guild members.

However, in order to achieve this, several factors need to be included such as the necessary skill in programming for making alterations in the area; sufficient data crystals to add additional features; and even gold to finance the special effects of those areas. Additionally, another factor that needs to be considered for a guild controlling a dungeon is to ensure that it must meet the specified laws enforced by the programmers and administrators of YGGDRASIL.

For example the Ariadne System, a game system embedded in YGGDRASIL that checks the validity of a created guild base. There must be a path that leads from the entrance to the heart of the base. Other things which the Ariadne System inspects further is the distance one could travel inside, how many doors and rules on base constructions that are set in detail. As a result, dungeons that violate the rules will be flagged by the YGGDRASIL system and fined. The Guild funds will then be deducted gradually at a visible rate.

Clearing a dungeon often yielded a variety of items, from rare data crystals to artifacts. However, clearing a guild base dungeon merely gave the owner’s rights. In addition, guilds could only own one dungeon at a time. If they wanted to claim another dungeon, they would need to relinquish their claim on their present one.

NPC Data Storage
If a dungeon was conquered not only the base would be granted to the guild, but ialso command over the POPs and would allow for NPC customization. However, like funds, not only does the diligence of the guild needs to be accounted for, but also the quality of the dungeon base.

The monsters which automatically spawned under level 30 had maintenance costs, depending on their type. It was zero for undead, but living creatures, in particular large creatures, had maintenance costs which increased proportionally to the size of their bodies. In other words, a guild base which only popped large living creatures would rack up a ruinous maintenance bill. If a guild base’s innate income was not sufficient to cover those costs, the guild members would have to earn that money themselves. In addition, trap activation and monster summoning were expensive as well. Being attacked by an enemy guild could incur incalculable expenses for the defenders, and might even force them into POP bankruptcy.

Dungeons on a whole have a limit of NPC data that can be stored. In YGGDRASIL there were only nine places in the game which offered more NPC levels, at 3000 and others would offer less. City-based dungeons could be funded through tax collecting, however they possessed limited amount of NPC data storage, at most 700. Higher-risk dungeons gave higher levels if conquered.

List of Dungeons

 * Great Tomb of Nazarick: It is ranked as the top dungeon in YGGDRASIL.
 * Frozen City: It is a special event dungeon that could only appear during a blizzard in Nifheim.

Trivia

 * For Nazarick, the Ariadne System was solved by the 5th and 6th levels, which involved a lot of gold to widen the dungeon to maintain it.
 * Ariadne is a character from Greek mythology, most famously in the Minotaur myth, assisting Theseus in navigating the labyrinth.