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Check out the gameplay video youtube links below!
This game may look like others you know - like GuildWars or DotA or some other Arena game - but it's entirely different. The combat is closer to a Fighting game then an MMO, and the balancing and Arena play seems tailored for competition. Check out the features and videos below, and give it an unbiased try should you get into the beta.
From their website:
Bloodline Champions is a PVP game with short, intense matches for up to ten players divided into two teams. Every player plays one of several different bloodlines with 7 unique abilities each.
Different bloodlines in a set up complement each other, different maps and gamemodes need different tactics, so good teamwork is a must for success.
Chance is not a factor, spells and abilities do a set amount of damage. Random elements such as critical hits and passive abilities do not exist.
Spells travel to where the player aims and can be avoided by enemy players, making every ability dependant on individual player skill.
Without mana and creeps, the game has almost zero downtime and is instead based on short cooldowns, this coupled with no grind or farming ensures that every match is full of action.
From my experience -
I'm very impressed with the balancing - the developers play their own game, and are probably still some of the best players due to their experience. I have no doubt they will be surpassed - but it's a good indicator of both the skill depth, and their willingness to maintain a high level of play to understand what they are working on. They seem to have very clear goals in terms of balancing and they seem to be very good at dismissing bad suggestions - which is key while the game is still in beta and competition is limited.
Controls are WASD movement + Mouse Aim. Default keys are positioned well around the WASD, with Mouse1, Mouse2, Q, E, R triggering the six common abilities, and F for the charged ultimate.
Ultimate is charged through successfully landing attacks and in most cases works to break stalemates and as a finishing move. Like most abilities Ultimates can be avoided in various ways.
The survival in the game is much more reliant on using basic movement, mobility spells - and many bloodlines have at least one short duration reflect, invulnerability or absorption ability. Failing to use those properly results in swift death.
Arena (primarily 3v3)
* Round-based game mode. (2 minute rounds, default first to 4 wins, keeping match length to ~15 minutes max)
* One life per round, no respawns (everyone gets a resurrection and heal - both long cast time and easy to interrupt - not very useful during the fast paced combat).
* Last team alive wins the round.
* First team to score five points wins the match.
* Sudden-Death is handled by a narrowing field that forces opponents towards the center of the Arena, causing damage when touched and eventually killing everyone (HP advantage wins). This rarely happens but ensures running isn't an option and matches end on time.
* Currently it's Blind Pick - which seems to work well for the game, considering how short matches are. In a tournament setting where every round could be resolved through best of 3 matches, and still take under 45 minutes, this should work well.
Most people host 3v3 which seems the most balanced, 2v2 is not bad, and 1v1 is good for training purposes but favors certain bloodlines for obvious reasons (can't coordinate bursts as well, so superior attrition characters win).
Most stuns are very low duration - the longer ones are easier to dodge and usually removed by damage. Overall they are well implemented - a few that were too long / imbalanced got either modified or replaced.
There are CTF and Conquest (Turf War) modes - I included a video of the CTF. I think both need a lot of work before release, as they are currently a bit too bland.
Gameplay Videos (HD available at youtube):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LcOZWfuYIuA
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8hA_HVp6Rbw
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=opX7DclnXb0
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nnP3J2GmrPc
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zim3Qum9lPA - Very Basic Tutorial
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dIdWDUmTD2w - Battle Report with Commentary - from the game in Alpha - very outdated, beware.
There are currently servers in Europe, USE and USW - I'm in USE and played with 130 ping on EU servers with no problem. The Network Code is great at the current beta scale, and will continue to improve.
Friend Invites to the beta are vary limited, but new keys are released at steady intervals so Register if you are interested and you should get in soon.
This game may look like others you know - like GuildWars or DotA or some other Arena game - but it's entirely different. The combat is closer to a Fighting game then an MMO, and the balancing and Arena play seems tailored for competition. Check out the features and videos below, and give it an unbiased try should you get into the beta.
From their website:
Bloodline Champions is a PVP game with short, intense matches for up to ten players divided into two teams. Every player plays one of several different bloodlines with 7 unique abilities each.
Different bloodlines in a set up complement each other, different maps and gamemodes need different tactics, so good teamwork is a must for success.
Chance is not a factor, spells and abilities do a set amount of damage. Random elements such as critical hits and passive abilities do not exist.
Spells travel to where the player aims and can be avoided by enemy players, making every ability dependant on individual player skill.
Without mana and creeps, the game has almost zero downtime and is instead based on short cooldowns, this coupled with no grind or farming ensures that every match is full of action.
From my experience -
I'm very impressed with the balancing - the developers play their own game, and are probably still some of the best players due to their experience. I have no doubt they will be surpassed - but it's a good indicator of both the skill depth, and their willingness to maintain a high level of play to understand what they are working on. They seem to have very clear goals in terms of balancing and they seem to be very good at dismissing bad suggestions - which is key while the game is still in beta and competition is limited.
Controls are WASD movement + Mouse Aim. Default keys are positioned well around the WASD, with Mouse1, Mouse2, Q, E, R triggering the six common abilities, and F for the charged ultimate.
Ultimate is charged through successfully landing attacks and in most cases works to break stalemates and as a finishing move. Like most abilities Ultimates can be avoided in various ways.
The survival in the game is much more reliant on using basic movement, mobility spells - and many bloodlines have at least one short duration reflect, invulnerability or absorption ability. Failing to use those properly results in swift death.
Arena (primarily 3v3)
* Round-based game mode. (2 minute rounds, default first to 4 wins, keeping match length to ~15 minutes max)
* One life per round, no respawns (everyone gets a resurrection and heal - both long cast time and easy to interrupt - not very useful during the fast paced combat).
* Last team alive wins the round.
* First team to score five points wins the match.
* Sudden-Death is handled by a narrowing field that forces opponents towards the center of the Arena, causing damage when touched and eventually killing everyone (HP advantage wins). This rarely happens but ensures running isn't an option and matches end on time.
* Currently it's Blind Pick - which seems to work well for the game, considering how short matches are. In a tournament setting where every round could be resolved through best of 3 matches, and still take under 45 minutes, this should work well.
Most people host 3v3 which seems the most balanced, 2v2 is not bad, and 1v1 is good for training purposes but favors certain bloodlines for obvious reasons (can't coordinate bursts as well, so superior attrition characters win).
Most stuns are very low duration - the longer ones are easier to dodge and usually removed by damage. Overall they are well implemented - a few that were too long / imbalanced got either modified or replaced.
There are CTF and Conquest (Turf War) modes - I included a video of the CTF. I think both need a lot of work before release, as they are currently a bit too bland.
Gameplay Videos (HD available at youtube):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LcOZWfuYIuA
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8hA_HVp6Rbw
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=opX7DclnXb0
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nnP3J2GmrPc
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zim3Qum9lPA - Very Basic Tutorial
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dIdWDUmTD2w - Battle Report with Commentary - from the game in Alpha - very outdated, beware.
There are currently servers in Europe, USE and USW - I'm in USE and played with 130 ping on EU servers with no problem. The Network Code is great at the current beta scale, and will continue to improve.
Friend Invites to the beta are vary limited, but new keys are released at steady intervals so Register if you are interested and you should get in soon.
Edited by Tenet at 14:46 CDT, 20 May 2010 - 45121 Hits
