Bloodline Champions: PvP In Your Face

So a few weeks ago, Funcom sends over this online arena style game called Bloodline Champions. Let me start by saying the game is not a full MMO (thus we won’t be listing it but thought it might be fun to talk about anyway), but it is online and has plenty of MMO elements to it, the largest of which is very fast paced PvP. The less time I have to play games, the more I am coming to truly enjoy arena style games that give the quick burst of combat in a short period of time. Bloodline Champions is the perfect fuel for PvP players who need to get their fix. The game also has a unique art style which was what drew me in first. So let’s take a look at Bloodline Champions.

I’ll start with the fact that Arena based PvP games are fun. Of course there is a learning curve and I got my butt kicked rather quickly in the first few rounds, but once I learned my Spear Master class I did pretty well. There are several battle grounds to choose from and the interface allows you to set up games, or join games with other players. When I played, there were a lot of folks online so plenty of games were open and easy to join. I would say the wait time to get into a game was only about two to three minutes, which is great.

Once in, you can select your Bloodline Champ. You also get to see what your teammates are choosing, to give you the best build as a team. The class breakdown goes as follows: Healing classes are comprised of the Astronomer, Psychopomp, Herald, and Alchemist. These classes are more support style than just healing, but they also have a range of attacks to help their team. I did not choose a support style class, but remember clearly getting our nuts crunched by a team with a well-played Alchemist.

The Ranged classes do very well and are made up of: Igniter, Gunner, Nomad, and Engineer. Of this group I played the Igniter in several games, mostly because I loved his crazy witch doctor look. The class is deadly, and has some great escape abilities to get away from melee fights. With deadly ranged attacks and placement bombs, he is fun to play. Just don’t get caught by melee without any escape abilities or things go bad real quick.

The Tank classes are fun as well. They are made up of: Glutton, Inhibitor, Vanguard, and Thorn. I played the Glutton just because he looked fun. I was not disappointed as the Glutton just pounds on players with his bare hands. He has some good defensive abilities to minimize ranged attacks and once he gets ahold of you…SMASH! A great style class too with his skill painted face and hulking run across the battlefield. He reminded me of the classic wrestler Kamala the Ugandan Giant!

The last group of classes and the one I played the most was the Damage Bloodline. The choices were: Spear Master, Harbinger, Ranid Assassin, and Ravener. Of these classes I played the Spear Master the most. He looked great like something out of a 1970s kung fu movie and once he got going, his whirlwind was nasty. I liked how fast he moved and was able to get to Ranged classes quickly. I also tried the Assassin which I think is extremely deadly, mostly because I was the first target of every team we faced when I played one. The Harbinger has great melee capabilities but also has a lot of ranged options as well. I have not played the Ravener yet.

So in the games I played over the last week I have started to get better. Mostly I just played pickups and did not have a dedicated team. That was the atmosphere in beta though. People getting used to the game and learning the play styles, what I do like is that if you get tired of one class or one Bloodline type, you can easily switch. The game is still fresh and specific build have not been mastered which is always the best time to play an online arena game.

There are two main points that I really liked about Bloodline Champions. The first is the art style. A mix of Asian and Voodoo styles is very cool. It has a barbaric feel to it but still has classes like the Engineer. It was the art style that drew me into the game and I am glad I opened the book with the cool cover because I discovered a lot more inside, as you always do. Thanks to the team at Stunlock Studios for giving us a game with a different art style than the classic fantasy we have all seen a thousand times.

The other point is the ease of play. Once you launch the game you can get in and out quickly with no hassles. If you have to step away for a minute you can while waiting in the queue for matches. Obviously once you are in a fight, you want to stay. Another small feature that is fun is if you die you can switch cameras to someone else on your team. This is a great learning tool which helped me a lot early on. The interface is clean and easy to pick up for any MMO player, targeting can be tricky to get the hang of but after a few games I was doing fine.

Overall, Bloodline Champions is a fun fast paced game that really has a lot to offer both action game and MMO players. The game is pure PvP awesome with an easiness to it that allows new players a chance to learn. There are also ranked games, which mean you know who you are fighting so you don’t jump into the deep end of the pool right away. Open beta is going on right now and definitely worth a look. I am excited to get back in and try more classes and hopefully get a solid team together. Bloodline Champions gets my vote as a fun and stylish game without the MMO grind. It is great for the PvP player.