You’ll probably know if Blizzard’s new mobile game, Warcraft: Arclight Rumble, a “tower attack” game, as they call it, is for you within ten seconds of looking at it. .
Warcraft: Arclight Rumble doesn’t seem to be trying to hide the fact that Blizzard has forayed into the realm of mobile strategy games that often feature the logo of some sort of wacky warrior yelling at you from the app store. . It’s stylized and whimsical even beyond the likes of Hearthstone, with familiar faces like Tyrande Whisperwind and the trusty orc grunt rendered in simple Saturday morning cartoon caricatures. , colorful and colorful.
But credit when credit is due: some interesting things are going on here. The basic premise is that you have a gold bar at the bottom of the screen that fills up over time, similar to the mana in Hearthstone. You then use the bars to summon units from groups of six “minis” that you collect and choose to assemble a team ahead of time.
From tanky gnoll warriors to crazed monster inventors, all can level up by gaining experience in PvE battles. Unique leader characters like Thrall or Tirion Fordring fix your squad and change your playstyle.
TRANSFER TABLES
Each board is different, but you’re generally trying to capture towers and summoning stones that allow you to spawn minis closer to the enemy side while fighting their minions and eventually killing their leader.
Depending on the complexity and difficulty of the board, this can take as little as a minute or as much as five or six. There is also a wrinkle in that the gold ridges will spawn that can be mined to fill your coffers faster, but you’ll have to invest in mostly kobold miners that don’t have the ability to self. guard to take advantage of them. It’s a choice between focusing on a stronger army early in the game or overwhelming the enemy with a larger force later.
“
On top of that, there’s an element of rock-paper-scissors going on as melee units hit ranged, ranged fly, and melee follow fly. I’m pretty happy with the amount of strategy involved, although it can still be tough to keep track of what’s going on with some tables even having very readable graphics.
Sometimes you have to click the arrows on the map to change the lane your auto attack friends are going to, and it can be like a herding cat figuring out when to hit it to have a group coming to split the road I want it.
THE LAND BETWEEN
The main mode is a PvE tour of the Eastern Kingdoms and Kalimdor, pitting you against some recognizable quest mobs from World of Warcraft like Princess and Hogger. You can unlock new minis and new, harder areas as you go.
Game director Tom Chilton said Blizzard is committed to not having any kind of fitness system, so the ultimate limiting factor will be the strength of your minis. I’ve reached a point where my team isn’t level enough to take on the next challenges and the skill can only go so far as to make up for this as you venture into more dangerous areas and challenges. in the Long Dungeon three maps inspired by some of WoW’s favorites.
The most effective free way to level up your minis is to do quests where you only get a certain amount per day. While you can’t buy more quests right now, there’s nothing stopping you from grinding out the boards you’ve already defeated. But it’s not an efficient use of your time.
This is the main way Arclight Rumble prevents you from being “lifeless” for the entire campaign for a couple of days. Senior 3D artist Justine Hamer estimates it will take the average player months to complete the entire world map, but things are still being tweaked.
SHOW ME MONEY
That brings us to the most obvious question for a free mobile game: what are the monetization plans? Chilton was careful not to give out any specifics other than that the team wanted to sit back and watch and listen to player feedback throughout the test to figure out what worked best.
Currently, in alpha you can buy 500 coins for $3.99 (enough to buy a new mini from a limited selection, rotate and still have a bit left over) or 800 coins for $9. $99 (enough to buy two minis). Alpha purchases use real money but will be credited to your in-game account when and if any reset occurs prior to launch.
However, you also get gold for winning battles and completing quests. As of now, there is nothing that can only be bought with real money and no secondary currency. Experience themes can also be purchased for gold, so if you really want to use the full Whale Mode you can level up your models very quickly for real money with no limits whatsoever. that I know.
However, this won’t give you an advantage in 1v1 PvP mode, as all minis will have their stats normalized, ignoring their PvE level.
Cooperative raids between two players that aim to provide an even tougher challenge are also approaching. Blizzard has not yet announced any plans for modes involving more than two players, either in PvP or co-op. I also asked Chilton if there are any plans for a PC version after the original mobile-focused Diablo Immortal was recently announced to be getting one.
“There are reasons to do it and there are reasons not to do it,” he said. “But ultimately it will be driven by what the players want.”
Hamer hopes this will be a game for Warcraft fans of any plaid, even black-clad wizards who just play Death Knight, leaning against the wall in Orgrimmar’s grim tavern. But I think the experience of playing it speaks volumes about what it means. And it’s certainly not “normal” in the sense of lack of challenge.
In fact, I’m impressed with the depth of strategy it can provide. But it’s still essentially a Warcraft spin on a kind of mobile strategy game that’s more geared toward finding something to do while you wait to order your lunch than the go-to adventure type. Blizzard is best known. And you know, that might not make me flutter with excitement, but it’s totally fine, as long as they can avoid some of the worst mobile game monetization trends that can make even Trade Prince Gallywix also had to wince. The fun is there, even with this initial build.
There’s no release date yet, but if you’d like to apply yourself to be a tester, you can do so at official website.
Leana Hafer is a freelance writer for IGN.
