At 1:00 a.m. Beijing time on May 4, 2022, Blizzard broadcast the launch of the Warcraft IP mobile game on a global scale. The new mobile game is called Warcraft Arclight Rumble, which is positioned as a strategy action game, including PVP and PVE gameplay, and will contain more than 65 well-known characters from the Warcraft universe. At present, the launch time of the game has not yet been announced.
Gameplay
According to the official introduction, the gameplay of this mobile game is inspired by the tower defense mobile game, Blizzard said: "Our inspiration comes from the tower defense game, our game is not a real tower defense game, but a 'tower attack' game." ”
Obviously, the core gameplay of Warcraft Arc is very similar to the gameplay of Clash Royale, and it seems that it is not an exaggeration to call it Clash of Clans: Clash Royale 2.0.
Among them, the game provides players with more than 70 PVE levels. Each single-player campaign level is a unique strategy puzzle that players need to adapt to and adjust their tactics in real time to complete these exciting challenges. Blizzard plans to update one level per week, one multiplayer level per month, and will also launch PvP mode in the future.
So how exactly should the game be played? Simply put, you and the enemy each have a base, if the base is destroyed, you will lose the game, you need to place different classes to fight the enemy, to protect your base from being captured or destroyed by the enemy's base.
There will be some special buildings on the map, such as the collection stone, and in the initial stage, both sides can only put down soldiers next to their own base to advance, if they occupy the collection stone, they can put the soldiers near the collection stone to advance forward.
Another example is the neutral defense tower, if captured, it can attack the enemy.
Gold mines, if you occupy the gold mine, you can continue to get gold coins.
After the player starts the player race and class, tap the screen to put down a group of soldiers to automatically advance forward, and then the class begins to cool down, and when it is cooled, you can put another group. You'll need to keep capturing key buildings on the map and attacking enemy camps until one side destroys the other side's base, or when it's time for both sides to win or lose.
Game characters
If you want to say that this game has anything to do with Warcraft, you have to talk about the "captain system" similar to the war3 hero concept. Here, players will have the opportunity to collect more than 60 classic characters from the Warcraft series, including heroes, villains, monsters and other characters. Each unit has unique skills that can be further enhanced with talents, with the ability to turn the tide of battle. In the game, they will appear in the form of a board game-style Q version of the image. At present, the live broadcast only says that you can get currency after passing the level to enhance the hero, and there is no mention of Krypton gold card for the time being.
There are 5 major factions in the game, namely: Alliance, Horde, Undead, Blackstone and Beast, which have different characteristics:
The Noble Alliance has many defensive units and spells, and the hero characters include Tirio Fortin, Mavi Shadow Song, and Jenna Prodmore.
The domineering tribe is invincible and invincible, and the hero characters include Grum, Hell Roar, Sneid and Kane BloodHoof.
The blazing Black Stone can burn a large hole in the enemy's defense line, and the heroic characters include Red Black Hand and General Dakysas.
Ghostly undead are adept at flooding the battlefield with massive skeletons, and heroic characters include Baron Rivendell and Blood Mage Kelsas.
Ferocious beasts swarming from the plains and rainforests of Azeroth, trampling on opponents, with heroic characters such as Calgar Thorn Rib.
The map of the game is naturally Azeroth, and the entire mobile game world is the epitome of the World of Warcraft, from winter spring valley to treasure bay is our battle stage.
Player reviews
As soon as "Warcraft Arc Light Battle" was announced, terms such as "Blizzard" and "Warcraft Mobile Game" immediately rushed to Weibo hot search, and the "Blizzard" entry was the most cattle, and even once reached the top of the hot search.
But under such attention, this game has not been favored by players, under our Weibo, many players believe that the game is too similar to "Clash Royale" in terms of style, color and gameplay design. And many players bluntly said that Blizzard "is not alive to bite the lighter" and "did not expect to return to the summer of 2016 in this way".
On the foreign forum Reddit, although foreign players said that they would wait for the quality of the official version of the game, they seemed to be equally unoptimistic about this work, and similar ideas also resonated with many people.
Is it a little late?
As far as the game itself is concerned, "Warcraft Arc Light Battle" seems to be quite good, and the relaxed rhythm and simple and easy-to-use gameplay are quite in line with the rhythm of the current mobile game. In terms of graphics style, the characters and buildings of the Q version should be able to attract some young players, and at the same time, the image of the Warcraft character in the game can also attract some Warcraft nostalgia parties.
In this regard, the well-known "World of Warcraft" blogger Lao Dao 99 commented: "Many people accuse Blizzard of not innovating, in fact, the company is so big, when stepping into a new field, it often chooses a more secure way, I understand Blizzard's thinking very well, because tower defense games are a popular theme in Europe and the United States, plus mature IP such as Warcraft, it will be a game product that may not be good but will be very stable to make money." Such results are good for both the company's board of directors and investors in the market. ”
However, the game can be said by netizens together that it is not without its reasoning, and the biggest spit point is that it is too similar to "Clash Royale". Think of that year, Blizzard production must be a boutique, Blizzard is the benchmark to lead the development of the game, but now from the previous trend to chase the trend, even the mobile game directly take the "skin" route, the "World of Warcraft" copy map and Warcraft characters, put into the "Clash of Clans", it has become a new Warcraft mobile game, four years of grinding a sword to grind out such a thing, it is indeed a little unacceptable.
In other words, no matter what Blizzard thinks, players have requirements for the quality of Blizzard games, at least a little new, not just a "skinning game". Especially at this juncture, Blizzard urgently needs a masterpiece to revive morale, and launching such a game now will give people a signal of "screwing up to the end".
Of course, the gameplay is similar, and now the fire of LOL is also crazy to borrow DOTA. Unfortunately, the timing of Blizzard's launch was not right, it was not pushed when it was popular, and now there is no heat but it is online.
This is like the "Heroes of the Storm" that year, if Blizzard was launched as soon as it saw DOTA, presumably even if it can't be a fire, it won't be the current situation. If "Warcraft Arc Light Battle" was launched four or five years ago, it may still be a statement, and it is no wonder that players will be disappointed in 2022.