Dawngate impressions

This evening I tried out one of the latest attempts at a new MOBA (multiplayer online battle arena). Video game companies are keen to take on the incredibly popular DOTA 2 and League of Legends,  Dawngate is EA’s shot at taking on these behemoths.

Having played a couple of games on it I can confirm a high quality MOBA that plays a lot like the competition, in my opinion to much like the competition, most notably League of Legends.

It comes as no surprise that publishers should try to create games both in the same genre as and sticking closely to League of Legends as it’s popularity is absolutely incredible. But there seems to be little point in playing Dawngate when League of Legend is available.

Dawngate is not the only new MOBA trying carve out a piece of the market for itself at the moment. Most of the new or soon to be released MOBAs appear to be putting a large emphasis on trying to create a MOBA experience that is easier to get into than previous offerings.

Dawngate tries to ease in new players with changes such as the ability to chose a role for every character and the lack of an in game shop. These changes allow players to be far more flexible in game and takes the pressure from having to learn character builds to be successful. These changes are fine but I’m not convinced they will provide enough depth in the long run.

One change that I did quite like were the addition of spirit wells. These permanent structures gradually provide points to the team in control of them and can be captured by either time throughout the game. These add an extra strategic depth to matches.

I hope to continue to play Dawngate and will continue to update my thoughts on it on this Blog. Other new MOBAs that I’m interested in are Arena of fate and Heroes of the Storm. Both of which I’m hoping for BETA access to sometime.