It has been two years since we heard word about Valorbound, so let us review before we dive in to some of the latest. This game first crossed our desk in June and October 2021, when developer Team Scionica was heralding the title as a “brutal” and “hardcore” PvPvE MMO with vertical progression, full loot mechanics, plans for 338 different class combos, the need for more realistic health management, and the promise of “hundreds of hours of play,” all in an attempt to go back to the roots of the genre.
Since then, project lead LordPhrozen has resurfaced with a new spotlight on the MMORPG subreddit to both reintroduce the MMO and bring word of development updates. One of the biggest changes is what reads like a scaling back of ambitions and tighter focus on its planned gameplay loops – it now is being referred to as an “MMO-lite” and an extraction game, with play sessions estimated to run between 15 to 45 minutes; gone are any references to health management, realistic injury management, or lengthy play sessions.
There are several other updates shared in the post as well, including a wholesale change to Valorbound’s art style that moves away from the intentional low-poly models to more refined designs, all with an eye towards standing out since there are no nameplates or other UI elements to identify threats. Other updates to the game’s visuals and lighting are also previewed.
As for loot, Team Scionica is still keeping things lean, with a basic series of equipment slots and three different weapon types currently available. The post confirms that Valorbound will have plenty of variants of each item, but gear will not have randomized stats since personalization will come through a gem and rune socketing system. There’s also the promise of other loot like non-equipment items, materials, trophies, and collectables used to trade, craft gear, and complete quests.
Finally, the post closes with plans for a cosmetics-only shop, a continued focus on “game mastery and skill” to be a determining factor in winning fights instead of time played, and the aspiration of making Valorbound “an MMO where you can’t leave your friends behind.”
Right now the devs are focusing on the model rework, quality-of-life features, and polish of animations and UI. The team remains non-committal about release dates or testing dates, though it would “love” to do a test sometime this year and even has opened signups for its first public test. In the meantime, the news section of the site has an embed of public Discord channels where players can look at a 10 second combat clip, and the game’s Twitter presence has moved to a new username.
