Perfect World continues to add games to their stable and grow their MMO market share. At E3 we got a good look at Battle of the Immortals. The game has some really strong systems that work well in MMOs and also offers players in game buffs for using them, something that other MMOs could learn from. With a fun fantasy setting and lots of options for your character, Battle of the Immortals makes the strong arugment that Eastern games have a place with the Western audience.
The game offers five classes to players. The Champion is the tank class, enhanced with amazing armor and using the soul gear system that armor grows with you. The Berserker is the DPS class and offers melee players a great opportunity to tear things up. The Slayer acts like a Rogue style class with stealth and quick strikes to bring down foes. The Magus is the Mage who uses all kinds of offense and defense with Magic. Last, but not least, is the Heretic who is the healing class in the game.
The game play is similar style to Diablo with a top view looking down, but the camera angles allow you to zoom in close up. For players who like to stand above the action, that is there too. The combat moves quickly and players are able to hack and blast through foes to make their place in the world. One area where the game really shines is in the Pet System. Perfect World explained that 90% of pets in the game are tameable and they are tameable by any class. Players can tame bosses, wildlife, or just about any dungeon crawling monster. This system is wide open and players can use their pets to fight along side them. Also, they get buffs from having a pet and can change those systems as needed when facing different boss fights. Along with their pets, players also can get all different types of mounts in the game. Here is the best part. Your mount actually gives you buffs as well. So, if you ride around for a while on a certain mount, when you actually get buffs for 30 minutes after you dismount. These buffs can all stack and add to your characters effectiveness in combat.
The weapons leveling system is important to mention in the game. You can find weapons that level up with you, but they are not for life. Some weapons will last you five or six levels and grow more powerful through that time frame. Once you reach the level cap on the weapon it maxes out its power and it is time for you to go find another. This is a great boost for players because everyone likes to level and can do so quickly without having to go back in to town and get new weapons. There is a point where you can get end game gear and those weapons will max out with you at maximum level.
The dungeon system in Battle of the Immortals also offers some unique choices for players. Each instanced dungeon also has a public clone of itself. So if players chose to enter an instance as a group they can or they can risk the public dungeon. The public version of the dungeon offers great rewards, but comes with much more risk. This unique idea is great for MMOs and should really be explored by other development teams.
Another system that is great in Battle of the Immortals is the friend and marriage system. I know it sounds funny to get married in game, but many people do. The great part of this system is that if you have a group you normally play with, you eventually get buffs for working with each other on a continued basis. If you decide to go down the path of marriage, then you and your spouse both receive buffs from working together. This type of social system makes the game fun and gives players a reason to play together.
The game is free to play and has a very friendly approach to their game store. Players can buy in game cahs for microtransactions. Players also have the ability to use the salary system which gives you game cash for playing. So if a player has a lot of time, they can earn in game cash, if a player does not, they can simply buy it.
Overall, Battle of the Immortals is a fun game. It has great systems in place to bring players together and have a purpose in battle monsters and exploring dungeons. The ideas in the game are great in terms of the social and dungeon systems. It does have all the trimmings of an MMO with PvE and PvP. If you are looking for a fun game to jump into and enjoy some of the unique systems, definitely try Battle of the Immortals.
