2v2 and 3v3 arena battles. Emphasis on both mechanical and cognitive skill.
| Developer: | Stunlock Studios |
| Publisher: | Stunlock Studios |
| Platform: | Microsoft Windows, Xbox One |
| Release Date: | 7 November 2017 |
Underrated gem.
Introduction
To start off, personally I like niche games. However, I even more so like niche games that nails what they are doing. Battlerite is a game where you choose a champion, a “loadout” which are skill modifiers, and then get thrown into the arena. See, Battlerite isn’t your traditional MOBA where you buy items and “farm” to level up and then fight. It puts you into the fight at the very start of the round. Each champion have their own skills, different skills have different cooldown and effects. It is up to you to figure out how to use them to attain victory. Some champions are better suited to fight specific champions than others.Gameplay Mechanics
To make a match to come to an end without using a timer to end it abruptly and make players engage in fights more, Battlerite implemented clever gameplay mechanics.First off, the death vortex. After a set amount of time, there is a “fog” that moves closer to the middle. If you are in the fog, you take damage. This means that the players are forced to fight in closer proximity and thus makes the game end faster Next, Hit Points (HP). HP is the amount of damage the player can take before dying. What Battlerite did differently however, is that when your HP dips below a certain threshold (buffer of 40 hp is maintained between real and recovery health), you become unable to be healed past that threshold. Your new maximum HP at this point is called your recovery health.
For example, if you have 250hp max HP and dropped to 200 HP, then you end up with 240 recovery hp, meaning you are only able to be healed up to 240hp. The only exception to this is called true healing, which is currently only available by picking up health orbs(+6 real health) or destroying the Energy Rune (+10 real health).
Next, energy and EX abilities. Energy can be gained by: Hitting your abilities, destroying the Energy Rune in the middle of the map, collecting the energy orbs found around each map and picking up a teammate's Power Orb when they die. Energy is then used by your ultimate ability EX abilities by bars, which includes :a modified form of your base ability or a separate ability which can only be used with energy. Meanwhile the ultimate is simply an ability that does a lot of damage. All champions only have a maximum of up to 4 such bars. Hence, there is a layer of resource management involved in Battlerite.
The thing is, the Energy Rune is in the middle while health and energy orbs are scattered around the map. This incentivises players from the start of the round, to take control of the middle area as the Energy Rune provides many benefits. As the players come close to each other, naturally, they would attack each other as to try to kill off the other players. This is the point at which the champion’s role come into play.
Roles
Melee, to get as close as possible to other champions and damage them using melee attacks. All melee champions have at least one movement ability that allows them to close the gap between themselves and the enemy. This then allows them to do their job as they would be close enough.Ranged, to damage other champions while staying in a good position and keep enemies at bay (zoning). Ranged normally would have at least one ability that enables them to escape a fight or push enemies away so that they can safely attack from a distance.
Support, to provide support through buffs and healing and debuffs and damage the enemy. Buffs are abilities that provide benefits/protection for your teammates. Buffs could mean making your teammate walk faster or giving a temporary shield. Debuffs are the opposite, slowing and disabling enemy champions. The support role is the hardest to play as he needs to care for both his teammates and his own well being. This mean that if need be, he would help his teammate zone while not taking damage himself, all the while being in a good position to provide support.
Gameplay
Melees would either stay close to the orb to defend it or engage in a fight while supports and ranged champions hang back. As the battle starts, what matters the most now is how each player use their abilities. This game is about wits, meaning you can’t simply just win by trying to attack all the time.Each champion have both invincibility frame(I frame) and counter abilities. What are these? An I frame is an ability or “move” that lets you negate all damage for a few milliseconds, or frames. A counter is an ability that lets you negate one instance, this occurs only if an enemy damages you through a direct attack( Not an Area of Effect Attack). Once the counter gets triggered, the champion gets to use a free counter attack ability which usually means more damage. The main difference is that I frames can be used much more flexibly as you are invincible for a duration of a time rather than only for one single attack. Of course this makes it much more valuable.
There is also a new 1 V 1 game mode where you can practice dueling with your friends to practice your timing and try out new skills.
Gameplay Summary
And to win? Trick the enemy into using their I frame and counters so you can hit them safely while retaining good position. Win three times and you win the whole game.What I like best about this game is the depth of it. You need both mechanical skill ( reaction speed etc) and game sense ( knowing what to do). The best example would be the I frame. Sure it can negate all damage, but only for a short amount of time with a long cooldown ( time needed to use it again ) Hence, you need to be fast ( so that you would not receive damage) and yet know when to use it so you don’t waste it on a basic attack and then be damaged by an ultimate.
Add the different champions with different abilities and you have a whole new set of things to learn.
Conclusion
I would say that Battlerite is not a easy game to pick up, and definitely one that is hard to master. However, if you enjoy a fast paced game where there is a constant need to out-play others. Then this is the one for you.Get It Here!
