Paladins gamescom 2015 Preview

Being press at gamescom has some perks, and one of these perks was the ability to play Paladins on the public floor without having to wait in the queue, and it was easily the best idea I had upon the public stands.

I got to watch the people previously playing the game finish their match before playing my own, allowing me to get a look at the different champions and the way they play. Something that came to my mind immediately was TF2, with the multiple champions, cartoony art style and capture point based gameplay. As MOBOs are Hi-Rez’s strongpoint (SMITE), there is an obvious influence of these sort of games, with special moves, mid-game upgrades (this time in the form of cards) and a very back-and-forth style of play (presented with the lane system in SMITE), it’s an interesting mix that seems to work well.

One of the main mechanics of Paladins is the card system. Cards are separated into three categories, Armour, Weapons and Abilities. As you capture points and get kills, you can level up and when you do, you get the choice of selecting one of these cards. These boosts can be faster movement speed, or improve your damage. Others could give the chance to slow down enemies you attack. If you die, and your cards are active, they go on cooldown upon respawn. If they are on cooldown already when you die, they are off cooldown when you respawn. You can only hold 5 cards at once, and the higher level you are when selecting a card, the better its effect will be, capping at level 9. When you reach level 6, you replace your first card with a legendary. This then goes the same for 7 (boosting your second card), 8 (third card) and 9 (fourth card). This idea means you have to pick the right cards at the right times; picking a certain card at a certain point in the game could be the difference between winning and losing.

As I looked over the match that was playing before my own began, I was able to see some of the champions. There’s an archer champion, with a very fast firing bow that was ideal for long range, but appeared to be effective at close range, made for dealing with single targets instead of a crowd. Another one I saw was a Goblin in a mech suit, called Ruckus (the Goblin) & Bolt (his mech). I took an instant liking to the character from what I saw of it, and out of the six champions, decided to go with him for my game.

Ruckus & Bolt is the heavy hitting champion, designed to cause huge damage and clear the area for the other champions to progress. With a high amount of health and a minigun for a weapon, I found his equipment ideal for my playstyle. His abilities included ‘Dual Fire’ which doubled up his miniguns for twice the damage, ‘Emitter’, which reduces damage you take, and ‘Hover’, which throws you up in the air and holds you there for a few seconds. You also move faster when doing this and can still attack and use other abilities.

Capture Points in Paladins work a bit different to other games. Instead of the capture-ness of the point being reset over time, they work on a percentage level, and once that’s full, it releases a Siege Engine, and that’s when things get interesting. The Engine heads straight for the closest enemy gate, and this is the only way to take these out. The goal is to destroy all three points and escort the Siege Engine’s to the Gates safely. Should a Siege Engine be destroyed, a new capture point will appear, and both teams have to fight to capture it.

Abilities are a major tactical point to the game, and if timed right, can often be used together for a devastating combination. In one specific scenario when I was playing, the enemy team had four players on a capture point and I was able to sneak behind, using my two abilities, Dual Fire and Emitter, was able to take on and kill the group in a 4v1. After this, I used Hover to get away before anyone else could get close to finish me, allowing the rest of my team to swarm the point and keep it under their control.

Overall, Paladins is looked to be one of the largest upcoming games and one of the most promising games I saw at gamescom. Coming from someone who could not get on with SMITE (or any MOBA, for that matter), Hi-Rez’s upcoming title is looking to be a masterpiece in the making and I can’t wait to see what else comes from it. I’m going to be keeping an eye on this one.