The game of tactical warfare has continued to grow on me the past couple of weeks. I really can’t overstate just how much there is to do in Conqueror’s Blade. It isn’t without its faults, but it really is a cool game.
As I mentioned in my last piece, the release of the Persian-themed troops and combat class is what caught my attention and finally got me to install this tactical MMO. I’ve honestly had this in my Steam to-play list for the better part of this past year, but I’d been preoccupied enough that it simply lingered there… up until the news about the Scorpio update dropped.
Unfortunately for me, the timing of the update didn’t line up too well with my gaming availability, so I wasn’t able to really see what it was about until now. Even more unfortunately, I still haven’t been able to actually get my hands on any of the new troops or class even now. It’s partially on me for being a slow achiever and partially on the game for piece-mealing the rewards.
Still, now that I better understand how these systems work, maybe I can save you some grief in understanding them as well. Plus, there were so many systems in this game that I didn’t get to discuss last time, so now we can.
A new season means a new class and units to unlock
Apparently when a new season begins, your character is straight yeeted across the planet to whatever new biome or location that’s been added. Or maybe it’s just the most relevant location to the new season; I honestly couldn’t tell, and the game didn’t provide me with any information to really help me out in that regard. It was really quite perplexing.
Regardless, the gameplay has continued to revolve around simply queuing up and participating in arena matches. I kept thinking that as I hit the next level, surely this would be the one where the game opens up and says, “Congratulations! It’s now time for you to experience the open world.” But level 10 came and went with no change. Then level 20 and still nothing different as far as where to go. I’m not opposed to lobby gameplay, but it’s not what I expected.
So as I loaded up the game after the Scorpio update, I was immediately presented with a choice of three different lands to go to. It left me thoroughly confused. Suddenly, I’m in a Persian/Arabian desert-themed city. How did I get here and why? I don’t know! I continued to play the same way – by opening the arena menu and queuing up. Maybe that’s just how Conqueror’s Blade does things. Maybe the new update always changes the city/lobby. Again, there’s nothing wrong with that. It’s just not what I expected, and it wasn’t ever explained in-game to players that this is how things work here.
Still, the main goal I’m after is unlocking or swapping to these new Persian classes. After a bit of menu surfing, I finally found them. You can see from the image that all three of the new unit types are stationed around with the new weapon class front and center. It even looks like the class is using my character, so I can see just how badass I’d look if I could unlock it. I like that.
In other words, although you can now see all the units coming as part of the Scorpio update, Conqueror’s Blade is actually releasing them one at a time. By selecting any of them, you can see information about how to earn them, but for the ones that aren’t available yet you’ll simply see a lock icon with a note that you can begin to earn it in X number of days. I kind of like this because it lets you focus a little bit and not feel too overwhelmed. At the same time, if I were to play a ton, I wouldn’t want to wait to unlock the classes. I want them now.
I also seriously appreciate that the classes are available to be earned by simply playing the game. All too often in free-to-play titles like this, you’ll see the latest and greatest classes locked behind a paywall of one kind or another. Here you can see the achievements you need to unlock them, and they aren’t astronomically impossible to acquire (at least not for these first ones). From what I’ve seen, it’s a good system.
However, MyGames isn’t going to let easy money get away from it: If you so choose, you could skip the achievements and just buy the class instead. Some players might cry foul and argue it’s a pay-to-win scheme, but so long as the in-game earning route isn’t outrageous (and what I’ve seen isn’t), then I think it’s a fair trade.
Personal advancements include your character and your units
I discussed it in passing in my last column, but the level of customization and various ways you can level up and advance your character and units in Conqueror’s Blade around your own playstyle is vast. Just as in almost any RPG, you’ll gain experience and level up as you fight baddies and compete in the battles. I haven’t really been paying enough attention to tell whether better performance in the match results in more experience or it’s a flat rate, but it applies not just for your character but also for the units you bring into battle too. So if you want to level up one set of archers, then obviously you’ll need to bring them with you into a fight and have them active.
Now, I’m not entirely sure whether it’s simply because the game is a few years old and it functions largely as a catch up mechanic or it’s always been that way, but there tons of experience boosters and shared experience for your units. These are picked up as consumables through playing. You don’t get so many that you can fully max out levels on all your troops (not to mention that there’s so many different unit types in the game I don’t know if that’s even possible anyway), but it does help you feel like you are progressing.
As your character levels, you can assign attribute points to one of five stats, which is fairly standard stuff, and of course you have gear stats as well. However, it’s the unit customization that really starts to get impressive and a bit overwhelming: As the units level up, you can advance them along a skill tree for buffs like extra piercing damage or increased health. But they also have a tree to equip doctrines, which act as an additional layer of buffs. Earning the doctrines seems a bit like opening a loot box, which isn’t great, although I wouldn’t be surprised if there’s some other way of creating them or earning them.
But that’s just for a single unit. You’ll often bring five or so different units into combat with you (even though only one unit is active at a time). So you might have some longbow troops to open up a fight with ranged shots, then as you close the gap and enter more close quarters fights, you might choose to switch them out for some cavalry or even spearmen. There are also multiple different types of ranged, cavalry, and other units. The options and choices are just really incredible.
Overall, I really do like a lot about this game the more time I spend in it. I wish I had an even better rig to push the combat experience to its limits. I highly encourage players who enjoyed Dynasty Warriors and the like to give it a shot. It’s a fun one and worth it.
Every other week, Massively OP’s Sam Kash delivers Fight or Kite, our trip through the state of PvP across the MMORPG industry. Whether he’s sitting in a queue or rolling with the zerg, Sam’s all about the adrenaline rush of a good battle. Because when you boil it down, the whole reason we PvP (other than to pwn noobs) is to have fun fighting a new and unpredictable enemy!
