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MMORPG.com Gods and Heroes In-Depth Preview Day III: Squad Combat
![]() While pets are almost a given in MMORPGs these days, commanding a whole squad of AI characters has the potential to offer a drastically different experience than controlling a single avatar and his pet bear. This system promises to be unlike anything currently on the market, and should add great depth to gameplay if implimented correctly. When trying to envision Gods and Heroes' squad system, take a step outside the traditional MMORPG framework and look instead towards the classics of the strategy genre that wed RPG character development to tactical gameplay. A squad isn’t just something bought and paid for, never to be thought of again. Instead, you must groom your squad into perfection. This process can be a game unto itself, a mini-army management system more like Romance of the Three Kingdoms than Everquest. It’s also one of the most exciting things about Gods and Heroes.
Squad management isn’t the only part of the hireling meta-game. In Gods and Heroes, underlings aren’t simple automatons, hired on to kill people and break things and suffer abuses silently. Gods and Heroes also includes a morale system. You not only have to keep them alive, you have to keep them happy too. Minions with low morale will be more likely to flee from battle when things get tough, and generally will not follow orders as desired. Minions lose morale for a variety of reasons, including not being paid, being left out of battle too long, losing battles, and of course being killed. As you would imagine, there are also a variety of ways of improving Minion morale, including being well paid, fighting, winning, and trips to taverns and bathhouses. Management of your minions’ moods is almost as important as running around and killing things.
While there are a diverse mix of troops to choose from, squads will be limited to a fixed number of roles, which keeps things from getting too out of hand and adds another layer of depth to the squad system. Having your personal troops consisting of only light cavalry might fulfill those Genghis Khan fantasies, but you’re going to be in a world of pain when you run into another hero with spearmen in his troop. Of course, if you’re adventuring with another player and their squad, it might make sense for you to control all the melee troops while he devotes his entire squad to ranged and support. But how do you tell all those troops apart, you ask? Each hero will be able to pick specific heraldic colors, as well as devices (or emblems, if you prefer) for their shields. These customization options also pass down to the armies, giving each one an overall look that reflects the appearance of their leader. But here’s the best part: You’ll also get “signa”, which are basically flags for each “role” in the army, which their troops will carry and display for the world.
RTS gamers will also feel right at home when they see the custom formation screen. Players will design their own formations representing different mixes of units in different positions. These formations – representing different offensive and defensive strategies - can be added to your hot bar and called during combat as you react to the tide of battle.
Squad combat is one of the most exciting things to happen to MMORPG development in years, and Gods and Heroes is at the very tip of the spear on this one. This is one of those new movements in MMORPGs that has the potential to catch on and redefine the way we think about these games we love. Let us hope it turns out as good as its sounds! |
Gods and Heroes Week Day III: Squad Combat
