FIRST IMPRESSIONS: Battleborn Open Beta

Battleborn

There’s been an awakening, have you felt it? In the next few months, consoles will welcome an influx of MOBA titles. Paragon, Smite, Overwatch and Battleborn to name a few. Admittedly, MOBAs are a genre that until now, has been generally limited to PC gamers.

Famed for steep learning curves, varying classes and top-down gameplay, titles such as DOTA 2 and League of Legends have been around for a few years. My previous experience with the genre is somewhat limited – I dabbled with Blizzard’s Heroes of the Storm, only to find that familiar characters could only keep me hooked for so long. Looking forward, Overwatch (from the same company no less) has me intrigued and now, so does Battleborn.

Stepping away from top-down gameplay, Gearbox have favoured a first-person perspective. Perhaps they have assumed – and rightly so in my case – that console gamers may be much more inclined to test out this slightly alien genre if it offers some sense of familiarity. Players are able to assume the role of over 20 playable characters, each boasting a uniquely animated design along with varying weapons, abilities and roles. Take for example the gentlemanly Marquis, a steampunk-inspired, monocle-wearing robot who carries a golden sniper rifle named Bindlebane.

Not all heroes are unlocked from the beginning, although the Battleborn Beta’s starting roster offers a variety of roles – either Attacker, Defender or Support – that allow you to establish your playstyle. One of the most satisfying aspects of Battleborn is its progression system, which works on multiple levels. Increasing your player rank allows access to new heroes, keeping the game fresh, whilst the completion of in-game achievements allows you to take a shortcut and unlock specific heroes for completing specific tasks. Beneath this system lies rewards for levelling specific characters too, unlocking a variety of skins and taunts that allows for personalisation of your heroes.

In terms of the notorious learning curve, Battleborn does very little to ease in the new player. After launching the game, I frantically searched for a tutorial – to no avail. It took a few matches for me to become accustomed to the actual objectives and the inclusion of minions (a MOBA staple) may throw player unfamiliar with the genre. Other MOBA ingredients, such as capturing mercenary camps to give teams a much needed boost are also left unexplained. Three matches in, I realised the importance of keeping my team’s NPC robot minions alive, whilst trying to crush the opposing minions for valuable XP.

This XP allows you to augment your hero’s abilities in the middle of a match. For example, playing as the aforementioned Marquis, after reaching a certain level I could choose whether to increase the clip size of my sniper rifle, or increase its base damage by a certain percentage. This ‘Helix’ system allows you to adapt your hero to the situation at hand, and alter your playstyle on the fly. As well as earning XP within a match, players can also collect currency, also known as shards. These shards are spent building turrets and healing stations that bolster your defences, as well as activating particular pieces of gear for your character, giving them minor increases in damage output, health regeneration and the like.

With a plethora of systems acting both inside and outside of matches, Battleborn is certainly a daunting prospect. Battleborn confused me, and it will almost certainly discombobulate players that are novices in the MOBA genre. For me, it has definitely been worth the plunge. Having multiple levelling systems deepens the sense of progression for me. With only three modes available in the beta, it appears that there will be plenty for gamers to busy themselves with in the final game. It only remains to be seen whether gamers will welcome Battleborn with open arms, or cast the MOBA genre aside in favour of more traditional shooters.

Battleborn’s Open Beta is now available on all platforms. Pre-order it on PS4 and Xbox One.

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