It’s not essential to know that Waven is in the same universe as some of Ankama’s other hit games such as Wakfu and Dofus. But if you loved those games, Ankama’s upcoming game, Waven, will absolutely pique your interest.
The delightful and cheery upcoming MMORPG, described by Ankama as a tactical deckbuilder roleplaying game, has already seen an alpha test so far. As part of this wave of announcements, we’ve received the first full trailer for the game, as well as an announcement of a summertime Early Access, and a full release date of later this calendar year.
How exactly do tactical RPGs and deckbuilding combine into an MMORPG format? And on mobile? It just works, I promise.
MMORPG.com was able to attend a remote preview of the game, where devs showed off the basic features of Waven’s gameplay and world—so how does the strategy MMORPG look so far? And does it have cross-play and cross-save? (Spoiler: Yes, right down to pausing your current battle as we understand it.)
While the universe Ankama forged has experienced disasters in the past, Waven is a game where everyone keeps their chin up and pushes forward. It’s even in the name Waven itself, a mix of “wave,” a nod to the ocean setting, and “haven.” Like Ankama’s other games, the world is intentionally bright, colorful and cartoonish, giving it a friendly and light-hearted vibe.
The love shows in the details littered throughout the world, with little endearing interactable moments such as quest-giving cats and delightful themes for each island you encounter. A memorable one for me, personally, was Tofu Island, which was game-themed with a familiar game console as a landing pad and a plinko setup on the side of a steep hill, though we were also shown ones themed to classical knights, Japanese culture, and cheeky, light-hearted necromancy.
We were only given a vague idea of what the story is like, but Waven does appear to continue Ankama’s penchant for storytelling. The basic overview is that Waven takes place during a post-disaster era where clans are divided into islands, but enemies from a mysterious rift threaten the peace.
Players will be able to acquiesce with the peoples of the islands through the story, which the devs say will last through and beyond the level 99 cap. Each region’s clan has its own questlines that players are fully encouraged to complete, despite the divides and occasional turmoil between them explored throughout.
It’s technically an MMORPG, meaning that as you quest and wander these islands, you’ll find other players with you. The spaces are intentionally large to give space for this multiplayer aspect, but even when it’s empty, as we saw in the developers’ play-through, it’s still a cozy game that isn’t too overwhelming. It’s more like the top-down social games of the 2000s than the 3D MMORPGs or even the isometric ones like Lost Ark.
It works since, unlike other MMORPGs, the overworld isn’t where combat takes place. Much like other modern tactical RPGs, once you’ve approached an enemy or entered a battle instance like a dungeon, you swoop into a smaller stage in order to engage in Waven’s core gameplay. And thankfully, the gameplay is as approachable as the world, without sacrificing potential depth.
Waven can best be described as: “What if you made your favorite mobile card game into a tactical RPG?” It sounds more complex than it is.
The card game portion matches the online trading card game standard beat-for-beat. Before you enter battle, you have the option to build a spell deck of up to 15 spell cards, which all have varying costs and effects. Throughout the battle, you’ll draw them in a randomized order and activate them using a maximum of six action points (think Hearthstone’s mana or Marvel Snap’s Energy).
As with any good RPG, you can customize your deck to fit your playstyle, but specializing will give you more of a perk called “Goji.” With enough Goji earned, you can summon Companions, assigned before entering battle, that’ll assist you with independent attacks, buffs, and auras. You’ll collect summonable Companions as you progress through the game (no real-life currency involved, says the dev team).
And further, you’ll be collecting items that’ll give you bonuses to your character in battle, which can then also be further upgraded as you play. In short, you’ve got plenty of options for your playstyle.
On top of all this strategizing, you’ll be executing this as your character stands within a square-grid arena, managing movement and effect ranges for maximum effect against enemies—and minimum damage taken from enemies. It seems like a lot to handle on paper, but Waven has visual preview markers for attacks to ensure you know what you and your enemies are capable of on any given turn. Plus, in early levels, it never feels too overwhelming; and if you lose, you can always return and try again later.
Or, if you’re overwhelmed, the game gives players solid options for moving forward. Of course, you can just come back and try again with a new build. If you’re frustrated, the game lets you try out new characters, and you’re able to carry over items between those characters. You can also bring a friend into the team, rounding out the game’s MMORPG features. It’s a bit unclear how scaling of enemies and difficulty will actually work, but with the returning uptick of co-op games online, this’ll definitely be a welcome feature for many.
Notably, none of the blockers or boosts appear to be based in real-world currency or grinding using such. It’s a breath of fresh air, as someone deeply opposed to gacha and who believes in the potential of mobile gaming.
The gameplay loop looks like it can scale well at least in theory, though that risks losing player interest once the core content is played through. Fortunately, it seems Ankama’s team has a few modes to let players take a break and try something new: Player versus Environment, Player versus Player, and Island Defense. The former two are self-explanatory, but we received little information about Island Defense besides that you’ll customize your own “Haven Island” to defend asynchronously, but that already feels intriguing enough to keep my ear on the ground for further. All three game modes are independent from each other.
I also asked about PvE “endgame” content beyond the primary quests, given the MMORPG label, and the developers said not to worry, because the game continues to offer quests beyond level 99, and exploring each clan’s full storyline will take up players’ time well enough. Players can try out new builds for fun, and we also saw a preview of some light side content where you play as a Companion. High-level players can also go back to earlier islands, and new enemies will appear alongside scaled-up older ones, offering a challenge.
This is basically the message I got: “You’re going to be grinding the primary content for hours on end, so reaching an endgame point shouldn’t be a worry for the first release cycle.” Given what we’ve seen? Extremely fair.
One dev also teased that further “endgame” content is also in development, primarily a high-level player mode, though it won’t be available in time for the game’s initial launch. It seems an acceptable answer for now, as there’s nothing tactical nerds love more than even more difficult tactical modes.
All aspects of the game appear to play out easily on both PC and mobile. While we saw a PC build of Waven, the mobile carry-overs are clear, with a simple and understandable UI that looks like it’ll scale well on the small screen.
Ankama also confirmed a huge selling quirk for players on the go: Not only do both versions have cross-save, you can also pick up a battle where you left off, assumedly in solo play. It’s definitely a feature made for mobile gaming, as some games will drop progress if the app reboots due to a locked screen or inactivity, but this mid-battle cross-save is a welcome feature.
Waven is strong on these platforms, but these will be the only ones for now. When asked, Ankama told the press that there’s no official plans for consoles yet. It’s a bit of a shame, because it seems like it’d be a great Switch game for those looking for free RPG and/or multiplayer options, competing with some of the heavy hitters on the market.
And speaking of free, I asked about monetization, and Ankama confirmed real currency will only go towards cosmetics. They intend on having costumes, special effects, and emotes on the real-money market; all other in-game collectibles will be acquired through currency earned in gameplay.
Waven seems like it’ll be a fantastic middle ground for a lot of types of players, not at the least casual mobile game players, tactical game enthusiasts, Wakfu fans, and those looking for a new co-op game that anyone can try.
