Reviews: Dragon Valley review
Introduction
Some time ago I got Dragon Valley (standard edition). I love the world and as always I try to make a nice review. I also bought the Renaissance Faire to go with Dragon Valley. I will be showing Dragon Valley in this review, and the Duke of Bows Renaissance Faire in another review. I planned to combine them in one review at first, but both became too long so I had to split them into two parts.
The Sims 3: Dragon Valley is a celtic meets medieval themed world. It's definitely inspired by Ireland, and I think it's also inspired a little by Scotland. Just look at the family names! Also, a lot of green plains are present in this world.
The world has rivals in it. Two families trying to gain and keep control. And new in this world are the elves. They aren't a new creature, but they are presented as one. They look quite different from normal Sims! You can easily recognize elves in this world.
So this is my Sim, as usual it's Rosie. Rosie will be showing Dragon Valley to you!
Create-a-Sim
I love all the new outfits and hairs, take a look below.
Female Clothing
There are 2 new tops and 4 new dresses. These are all the styles included:
Female Hairs
Male Clothing
For men there is one full outfit, two tops and one bottom piece (kilt):
Buy Mode
I had hoped Dragon Valley would have more buy mode stuff, but the items that the Sims team made are definitely cool and suit the world nicely:
Chamber Pot
Flowing Fixture
Step Right Up Pedestral Sink
Great Hall Dining Chair
Great Hall Dining Table
Bonded Tapestry, comes with 4 prints!
Outdoor Lamplight (Sky Version), Outdoor Lamplight, and Knotted Torch
Dragon Slayer Heroine Statue
Well of Wisdom
Post Box
Rugged Receptacle
Ornate Roof End
Simple Roof End
Lofty Roof Lantern
Dragon's Ridge Roof Decor
Dragon's Ridge Roof Extender
Dragon Egg
Ascending Wisteria, Wandering Wisteria, Scaling Wisteria, Rising Wisteria, Root of Wisteria.
Build Mode
Check out the new build items:
Ornate Door
Ornate Arch
Sun Window and Slatted Sun Window
Barrier Entryway Gate
Stonework Fence
Amber Elm Tree
Ombre Umbrella
Ancient Oak Tree
Heather Shrub
Fantasy Column - 3 sizes
Celtic Branches
Airy Arches
Celtic Embossed
Columns On Walls
Feathery Flora
Households
Meet the families in Dragon Valley. And pay close attention. Because some of them are parodies of characters of stories and movies in real life!
Eames Household
Wisteria House - 2BR/2.5BA
58 Sailor Bend
Martin Eames
Gender: Male
Age: Adult
Career: Criminal - 2 - Cutpurse
Maeve Eames
Pregnant
Gender: Female
Age: Adult
Career: Criminal - 2 - Cutpurse
Liam Eames
Gender: Male
Age: Toddler
Finnigan Household
Limerick House - 1BR/1.5BA
82 Claddagh Court
Aaron Finnigan
Gender: Male
Age: Young Adult
Career: Business - 7 - Vice President
Flanagan Household
Sturdy Home - 2BR/1.5BA
15 Clover Drive
Quinn Flanagan
Gender: Male
Age: Young Adult
Career: Journalism - 6 - Investigative Reporter
McCann Household
Landing Place - 1BR/1BA
37 Aibell Avenue
Lorna McCann
Gender: Female
Age: Elder
Career: Medical - 9 - Neurosurgeon
Prendergast Household
The Orphanage - 6BR/4.5BA
6 Mithrilen Manor
Cassidy Predergast
Gender: Female
Age: Adult
Career: Medical - 7 - Gene Therapist
Sophie Dwyer
Gender: Female
Age: Teen
Corren Dwyer
Gender: Male
Age: Child
Nora Lawless
Gender: Female
Age: Child
Orion Lawless
Gender: Male
Age: Teen
Dillon Lawless
Gender: Male
Age: Toddler
Cara Gallgher
Gender: Female
Age: Toddler
Kelly Household
Glenbeg - 1BR/1.5BA
54 Brighid Bend
Sean Kelly
Gender: Male
Age: Young Adult
Career: Music - 4 - Band Manager
Ava Kelly
Gender: Female
Age: Young Adult
Career: Business - 4 - Corporate Drone
Mithrilen Household
Secure Stronghold - 2BR/2BA
1 Mithrilen Manor
Fintan Mithrilen
Gender: Male
Age: Adult
Career: Military - 7 - Fighter Pilot
Aine Mithrilen
Gender: Female
Age: Adult
Career: Medical - 5 - Resident
Riordan Mithrilen
Gender: Male
Age: Child
Sackholme Household
Defended Domicile - 2BR/1.5BA
75 Shillelagh Street
Mason Sackholme
Gender: Male
Age: Young Adult
Career: Law Enforcement - 1 - Snitch
Susie Sackholme
Gender: Female
Age: Young Adult
Career: Culinary - 2 - Spice Runner
Murphy Household
Small Steady Home - 1BR/1.5BA
74 Shillelagh Street
Siobahn Murphy
Gender: Female
Age: Young Adult
Career: Music - 8 - Lead Guitarist
MacAnna Household
Solidly Built Home - 2BR/2BA
76 Shillelagh Street
Teagan MacAnna
Gender: Female
Age: Young Adult
Career: Criminal - 5 - Bagwoman
Shannon MacAnna
Gender: Female
Age: Young Adult
Career: Law Enforcement - 5 - Lieutenant
MacGrath Household
The Cottage - 1BR/1.5BA
77 Shillelagh Street
Bradan MacGrath
Gender: Male
Age: Adult
Career: Professional Sports - 8 - League MVP
O'Shea Household
The Gables - 2BR/2.5BA
85 Deidre Drive
Breandan O'Shea
Gender: Male
Age: Young Adult
Career: Law Enforcement - 4 - Patrol Officer
Kearney O'Shea
Gender: Male
Age: Young Adult
Career: Military - 4 - Squad Leader
O'Connell Household
The Big House - 3BR/3.5BA
100 O'Connell Heights
Seamus O'Connell
Gender: Male
Age: Adult
Career: Political - 6 - Local Representitive
Shauna O'Connell
Gender: Female
Age: Adult
Career: Science - 4 - Fertilizer Analyst
That's one Brave girl
Morida O'Connell
Gender: Female
Age: Young Adult
Career: Professional Sports - 5 - Rookie
Brien O'Connell
Gender: Male
Age: Child
Aiden O'Connell
Gender: Male
Age: Child
Ordhen Household
Humble House - 1BR/1BA
90 Dagda Drive
Daric Ordhen
Gender: Male
Age: Adult
Career: Varies per game. Level one of any career or unemployed!
Delaney Household
Sun Home - 2BR/2BA
92 Dagda Drive
Emma Delaney
Gender: Female
Age: Adult
Career: Professional Sports - 4 - Minor Leaguer
Dorren Delaney
Gender: Male
Age: Elder
Career: Varies per game. Usually working in the sports career or pensioned!
Cromos Household
Carrigbeg - 2BR/1BA
33 Lugh Lane
Riley Cromos
Gender: Male
Age: Adult
Career: Culinary - 6 - Pastry Chef
Zoe Cromos
Gender: Female
Age: Child
Burb Household
Sweet Shelter - 1BR/1BA
34 Lugh Lane
John Burb
Gender: Male
Age: Young Adult
Career: Varies per game. Level one of any career or unemployed!
Jennifer Pleasant
Gender: Female
Age: Young Adult
Career: Varies per game. Level one of any career or unemployed!
Lochlan Household
Loch House - 1BR/1.5BA
30 Clover Drive
Nessie Lochlan
I always imagined The Monster of Loch Ness to look different.
Gender: Female
Age: Adult
Career: Journalism - 3 - Freelance Writer
Hooley Household
Dara Cottage - 1BR/1.5BA
26 Clover Drive
Robin Hooley
Robin Hood, anyone?
Gender: Male
Age: Adult
Career: Criminal - 6 - Con Artist
Marian Hooley
Gender: Female
Age: Young Adult
Career: Military - 4 - Squad Leader
Dolan Household
Hefty Home - 3BR/1.5BA
24 Clover Drive
Finn Dolan
Gender: Male
Age: Adult
Career: Science - 6 - Aquatic Ecosystem Tweaker
Sarah Dolan
Gender: Female
Age: Adult
Career: Business - 3 - Report Processor
Wynn Byrne
Gender: Female
Age: Elder
Career: Varies per game. Usually something on level one of any career or pensioned!
Grey Household
Vantage Point - 1BR/1BA
70 Oak Grove
Hugh Grey
Gender: Male
Age: Adult
Career: Varies per game. Level one of any career or unemployed!
Walsh Household
Thatched Cottage - 1BR/1BA
45 Brea Bend
Aislin Walsh
Gender: Female
Age: Adult
Career: Culinary - 5 - Line Cook
O'Reilly Household
Home for the Gentry - 3BR/2.5BA
61 Ardmore Avenue
Conor O'Reilly
Gender: Male
Age: Adult
Career: Science - 5 - Carnivorous Plant Tender
Chloe O'Reilly
pregnant
Gender: Female
Age: Adult
Career: Journalism - 4 - Professional Blogger
Morrigan O'Reilly
Gender: Female
Age: Teen
Chloe O'Reilly
Gender: Female
Age: Child
Empty Houses
There are a lot of empty houses available in Dragon Valley:
Rustic Home - 1BR/1BA
63 Oak Grove
§37.491
25x25
Cozy & Content - 1BR/1BA
21 Clover Drive
§13.340
20x20
Humble Home - 1BR/1.5BA
81 Claddagh Court
§16.361
30x30
Meek Manor - 1BR/1BA
52 Brighid Bend
§15.560
20x40
Glen House - 2BR/2BA
5 Mithrilen Manor
§59.250
30x30
Carrigbeg - 2BR/1.5BA
3 Mithrilen Manor
§150.990
40x40
Dormer House - 3BR/3BA
73 Shillelagh Street
§101.453
20x30
Very Comfortable House - 2BR/1BA
78 Shillelagh Street
§43.933
30x20
Cozy Cottage - 1BR/1.5BA
91 Dagda Drive
§71.747
50x25
Simple Shack - 2BR/1.5BA
87 Deidre Drive
§15.923
20x30
Empty Lots
Here is a list of all the empty lots in Dragon Valley. Of course you can always create more empty lots by using the in-game world editor. Dragon Valley has plenty of room for more lots if you need more lots!
14 Clover Drive
§800
20x20
16 Clover Drive
§1.250
25x25
17 Clover Drive
§1.800
30x30
19 Clover Drive
§2.400
30x40
20 Clover Drive
§2.600
40x40
2 Mithrilen Manor
§1.800
30x30
4 Mithrilen Manor
§1.200
30x20
8 Mithrilen Manor
§1.200
20x30
9 Mithrilen Manor
§1.200
20x30
64 Oak Grove
§8.192
64x64
66 Oak Grove
§1.800
30x30
35 Aibell Avenue
§1.800
30x30
38 Aibell Avenue
§8.192
64x64
47 Aine Avenue
§2.600
40x40
60 Abbey Alley
§800
20x20
32 Lugh Lane
§8.192
64x64
71 Shillelagh Street
§1.200
20x30
80 Shillelagh Street
§1.800
30x30
56 Morrigan Mews
§1.800
30x30
86 Deidre Drive
§1.200
30x20
88 Deidre Drive
§3.200
40x40
81 Claddagh Court
§8.192
64x64
Community Lots
I love the rabbit holes and other community lots in Dragon Valley. Take a look below:
Cladach Beach
68 Oak Grove
Dragon Tavern
23 Clover Drive
World's Theatre
13 Clover Drive
Swimmer's Society Practice Pool
11 Clover Drive
Ubiquitous Unity Day Spa
10 Clover Drive
The Local Grocer
Grocery store and Diner
50 Elm Grove
Like Minded Individuals, Inc.
Business and Journalism careers
46 Elm Grove
Playful Park
83 Claddagh Court
City Cairn Memorial Lot
Graveyard
84 Claddagh Court
Garda Police and Military
44 Elm Grove
Freedom Books
Library
43 Elm Grove
Practice Pit Gymnasium
41 Elm Grove
Tome Traders
Bookstore
57 Ardmore Avenue
City Hall
55 Ardmore Avenue
Sláinte Chugat Harmoney Hospital
53 Ardmore Avenue
Feudal Fishing Spot
7 Mithrilen Manor
Myth, Legend, Lore, and Fact Facility
Science career
40 Elm Grove
Heart and History Art Gallery
42 Elm Grove
McCafferty's Pub
72 Shillelagh Street
Tourney Tent of Novices
Stadium
49 Aine Avenue
Miser McCann's Restaurant
59 Ardmore Avenue
Community Garden
51 Elm Grove
Crios Pond
40 Cian Road
Mithrilen's Madmen Hideaway
Criminal career
28 Clover Drive
Mol Beach
25 Clover Drive
Traigh Mhor Beach
69 Oak Grove
Drake School of Life and Learning
101 O'Connell Heights
Neighborhood
What do you think of the world? I think it's beautiful! And look at the sunset:
Renaissance Faire
The Duke of Bows Renaissance Faire is a new venue which you can buy in The Sims 3 Store. It adds two new skills among other things. The new skills are the Violin and Archery. You can practice both at home and at the venue. I will explain the skills more thorougly in the separate Duke of Bows Renaissance Faire review, go here to read it!
Festival Lot
View and download the Dragon Valley Festival Lot!
Dragons
In buy mode you can buy a green Dragon Egg. Don't worry about the colour though, I will explain more about that in a bit. If you have The Sims 3: Seasons as well, you can replace the Playful Park with the custom festival lot that was created for Dragon Valley. My Sim was on the festival lot during Spring. While there, she was able to collect Dragon Eggs instead of regular Easter Eggs. Beware though if you collect more than 4 eggs, since each Sim can only keep one dragon of each colour!
Initially I thought (when buying the eggs from the buy mode catalog) that your Sim had to talk to the dragon eggs in order for the eggs to hatch. But she collected about 5 eggs on the festival lot and they all started to hatch after a couple of hours. I think it's roughly 6 hours? This was an issue since a Sim can only have one dragon of each colour in their inventory. And if you have one of a particular colour, you can't pick up a dragon with the same colour! It's best to be at home before the eggs hatch. Because when you are out in public and one (or all of) the eggs starts to hatch, other Sims can steal the dragon, or just as bad, the dragon can fly away. You can prevent this by giving a name to your dragon. But you can only do this if you don't already have a dragon of the same colour. I've had it happen to me that another Sim from Dragon Valley stole the dragon before I could at least sell it. I punished her for sure. My red dragon set her on fire muhahahaha!
You can talk to a dragon egg, and this can influence what kind of dragon will hatch. Here are all the interactions for a dragon egg:
- Brag about Physical Prowess
- Gossip about Love of Fire
- Talk about Job
- Talk about the Weather
- Talk about Friends
- Discuss the Egg Paradox
- Plot against Enemies
- Converse about Existentialism
Now you can influence which colour dragon will hatch, but only slightly. So it might not work. But if you try to "converse about existentialism" you might get the black dragon (only with DV gold or the combination of Dragon Valley and the Renaissance Faire), if you "talk about friends" you'll increase the chances of getting a purple dragon. If you "talk about the weather" you might get the green dragon. And finally, if you "gossip about love of fire" the chances for a red dragon are increased!
Here some more screens of Rosie playing around in the house I created. She was waiting for the eggs to hatch:
Every type of dragon can be named, renamed, fed, played with and they all can fly. You need quite a bit of land to let it fly! Playing with the dragons can result in being bitten. Besides a moodlet I haven't seen any negative effects come from this.
The Red Dragon
Interactions
- Name Dragon
- Rename Dragon
- Fly
- Feed Dragon
- Play With Dragon
- Talk to Dragon about Athletic
- Shoot Fireball At...
- Cast Fiery Torment On...
- Put Dragon Down
- Put Dragon In Inventory
Red Dragon hatching
Here is the red dragon being idle, spitting fire every now and then:
Cute right? Took me some time playing with the dragons to find out they can fall sleep hahaha!
Fiery red dragon
Shoot Fireball At...
This does exactly what you would think. The red dragon will shoot a fireball on another Sim. This will hurt the relationship!
Cast Fiery Torment On...
This makes sure a Sim is on fire. Again, not good for the relationship between Sims!
Talk About Athletic
With each dragon you can talk about a particular subject. With the red dragon it's athletic, and this will increase your athletic skill.
More red dragon screens
Just because it's so pretty:
The Green Dragon
Interactions
- Name Dragon
- Rename Dragon
- Fly
- Play With Dragon
- Talk To Dragon about Gardening
- Summon Treasure
- Harvest Plants
- Put Dragon Down
- Put Dragon In Inventory
Hatching the green dragon
Play With Dragon
Rosie is playing with Veggie, her green dragon:
Harvest Plants
This is such a time saver! Don't you just hate it that your gardening Sims spend HOURS harvesting their plants? If your Sims don't have enough time to do this, they can ask the green dragon to harvest the plants for them. The goods will then appear in your Sim's inventory.
Talk about Gardening
Need a gardening skill boost? Have a chat with the green dragon about gardening.
Summon Treasure
If you choose this interaction, the green dragon will summon a random treasure for your Sim. I tried it a couple of times and got a gem every time she tried.
The Purple Dragon
Interactions
- Name Dragon
- Rename Dragon
- Fly
- Feed Dragon
- Play With Dragon
- Talk To Dragon about Charisma
- Summon a Friend
- Summon Someone New
- Be the Life of the Party!
- Cast Rune Charm On...
- Put Dragon Down
- Put Dragon In Inventory
Hatching a purple dragon:
Pretty purple dragon
Talk about Charisma
Cast Rune Charm On...
Be the Life of the Party
Use this when you have a party. The interaction will happen with or without a party, but there won't be any effect without a party!
Summon Someone New
Need someone to talk to? Summon a random Sim. You can also choose to summon a friend, which will do the exact same, but it will summon a friend and not just any random Sim.
Play
Playing with a dragon can result in being bitten:
More screens from the purple dragon:
The Black Dragon
The black dragon only appears if you have both Dragon Valley and the Renaissance Faire! Read about the black dragon in The Duke of Bows Renaissance Faire review!
Celtic Lands
Unfortunately I don't have the gold version of Dragon Valley, and therefore can't take screenshots of the Celtic Lands set. But here is a store image so you can see what's in the set.
Go here to view the set in The Sims 3 Store. I hope they will release this set separately later on. The price would then be 800 SimPoints!
Review House
I usually create a custom house for the reviews I write. And with Dragon Valley and the Duke of Bows Renaissance Faire, I also wanted to create my own medieval house. If you like it, click here to view/download it!
Custom Clothing
Rosie had to be put in medieval clothing as well of course! If you like it, click the links below the images to view and download the custom outfits!
Rosie's Everyday outfit. The top requires Dragon Valley. The skirt requires the base game. The shoes require Supernatural. The hair is from the store.
Rosie's Formal outfit. The dress requires Dragon Valley.
Rosie's Outerwear outfit. The dress requires Dragon Valley.
Rosie's Sleep Outfit. This nightgown requires Master Suite Stuff.
Rosie's Athletic outfit. The top requires Dragon Valley. The pants require University Life!
Perfect Combination
If you like Dragon Valley and its medieval theme, do check out the following store sets as well. I feel they fit in perfectly in this world. And they make up for the lack of medieval themed objects!
Modern Technology
As you can see you can try your best to make ye olde world. But the cars, ice cream van and mobile phones sure gave me a good laugh. Of course, Dragon Valley is not necessarily a medieval world. But it appears as one to me. For storytellers the world is awesome, and the modern technology can "ruin" screenshots a little. But I managed to make most of my screenshots without cars "ruining" it. Of course you can live this world in a modern day as well. It's The Sims, use your imagination!
Bonus screenshots
Here are some bonus screenshots of Morida (Brave parody). I changed her hair a little and found out that there isn't the perfect hair for her in any of the expansions, stuff packs or store sets. But I think she is really pretty haha. I might take her Sim and move her to a modern world, for a new storyline.
Conclusion
I think Dragon Valley is awesome. It has a Celtic/Medieval theme and it's great for storytelling. I am glad the dragons came with a new world. I don't know how I would fit them in, in my other worlds. I'm not saying it can't be done, but I think Dragon Valley is THE world for dragons to live in. I would like to thank EA for letting me review Dragon Valley! It's one of the worlds I will find myself playing in more often. And I hope my review gets more people excited for Dragon Valley!
View and download The Sims 3: Dragon Valley in The Sims 3 Store!