Trion Worlds is getting ready to bring Trove players superhero-sized fun with the Heroes content expansion coming on March 27th. Last week, I had the chance to check out Heroes with Senior Producer James Karras and Animator Ted Sanger and I have to say, it's shaping up to bring some very cool features and more to players. Let's take a look.
Trove players are already familiar with the Neon City biome. With Heroes, a new sub-biome is being added to Neon City called Luminopolis. This is where the Heroes action takes place and, from a lore perspective, it is under attack from a "nefarious group of robots known as the Amperium". Players will work with a rebel group called the Resistors that opposes the Amperium in an effort to "restore light back to the city".
)
Aesthetically, Luminopolis and the surrounding environs have been updated to provide a brighter, more vibrant look. In fact, the locations in and around Luminopolis actually embody the "neon" in Neon City. Lighting is much brighter and the sun shining over the city during daylight hours shows off a real "Miami Vice" vibe, according to James, for those who can remember the 80s TV show.
"The goal is to tell a story." James said. "We are going more with visual storytelling, but with a sense of purpose and a cohesive vision. This will carry forward in future expansions too."
Telling that story will be pretty cool in Heroes, especially with the arrival of Trove's 16th class, the Vanguardian, a truly superhero-themed class that even features "biff bam boom" type of the silver-age hero archetypes most commonly seen in comics or in the kitchy 60s era series, Batman with Adam West.
"We're inspired by heroes and the hero genre. We wanted to give players the chance to play the hero they want to be." James said.
The Vanguardian certainly embodies that vision. The Vanguardian uses both melee and ranged attacks in battle including punches, upper cuts and even eye lasers, the latter which increases the damage of the next attack for both the player and the group. In addition, Vanguardians have abilities that can increase speed and attack speed. Changing from melee to ranged (and vice versa) is a single keystroke. While at range, Vanguardians hurl fireballs and bigger fireballs and then shooting up in the air to close the gap back to melee range. In a fun and very cool twist, Vanguardians can also dance AND fight at the same time.
)
Of course, what superhero would be seen without the appropriate costume? Trion has that covered too with both a "silver age hero" suit that is themed around the paragons of the past and a wicked looking "villain" aesthetic with "sinister looking VFX". In addition, there is am Amperium Faction skin with more muted colors found in the older version of Neon City, while the Resistor Faction skin is much brighter. The team has plans to add even more costumes over time. "There are a lot that people want!" Ted mentioned.
It's a good thing so many heroe will be hanging around Luminopolis too since the new Rampage challenge feature. During a Rampage, a UI element shows up to let players know that any one of three gigantic mega-world boss is spawning. These are no pushovers either. To bring one down will take the cooperative effort of as many players as can be brought to the battle.
I had the chance to see Cassandra. She's as tall as some of the buildings in the area and swings a massive sword. As she does so, she literally and permanently destroys portions of the city (though not in club worlds if she is summoned there).
"They're sort of like pinatas too." James said. "Everyone who contributes even one damage gets something in return."
)
Another challenge that players will find Outposts that will spawn from time to time. They are similar to dungeons in lairs in this respect. Players can pick up adventures there as well as find Kami NPCs that provide lore-based reasons for their arrival.
"Outposts are the best way to earn XP in Luminopolis." James mentioned.
Other things that will arrive with the Heroes update include:
- two new dragon mounts, a serpent-like Amperium dragon and a Resistor-themed dragon with 6 wings
- new crafting materials
- new Kamis as allies and Kami mounts to collect including wind tunnel wings
- new costumes, terraformers, tomes to get resources and more
- a revamped Welcome screen that provides a few things players can focus on with a bit of direction
- daily bonuses are more prominently displayed and every day provides something exciting to do. Days are themed (ie Monday is Shadow Day and so forth). "We want to make thematic days play out in other ways in the future." according to James.
- other quality of life improvements
)
All in all, Heroes is shaping up to be a fun and interesting addition to Trove that will bring players tons of new content and the team exciting new ways to expand the game. You can look for it on March 27th.
What are you most excited about in the Trove Heroes expansion?
