Monthly Archives: July 2015

Armored Warfare PvE Beta Impressions

By Jordan Hall (ApocaRUFF)

 

Armored-Warfare-PvE

Not too long ago, Armored Warfare‘s third Closed Beta event began. This beta was meant only to last until the 14th, but has been extended until the 21st of July so that more fixes could be introduced, as well as more testing of said fixes. This means it’s time to have another look to see how the game is shaping up. The star of this beta is definitely the PVE content, something players have been waiting for. So, let’s hop in and see what’s new and interesting!

 

 

PVE content isn’t something you assume will be in a team-versus-team tank game. I mean sure, perhaps some basic freestyle tutorial to help you get used to a new tank, but not a full-fledged mission system. Personally, I’m looking forward to seeing how this mission system is fleshed out and whether or not it will become one of the main features of the game, or just something in the background that won’t be played very often. So far, I’ve enjoyed the glimpses into the world lore that the story-aspect of the missions provide. And, as I’ll point out later in the article, these glimpses are important and interesting rather than a waste of time as you might assume.

Armored-Warfare-PvE

In most of the missions I played (though not all), enemies appear in waves. New waves appear almost immediately after the previous dies off. In fact, it was not uncommon for me to come across a group of enemies, take them out, and then see a new group of tanks simply appear from thin air right on top of them. Hopefully this will be ironed out and replaced with something more interesting and immersive. Like I said in previous articles, Armored Warfare excels at the cinematic aspect of tank games and having tanks appear out of nowhere damages the realism that the game manages to give me with their otherwise immaculate attention to detail.

 

Speaking of the game being cinematic, this PVE beta has continued to prove the quality of the Armored Warfare art team. The new battlefields look superb, with amazing sounds and lighting abound. Each map has something to set the tone, such as a jet launching or a cargo plane being shot down. Little things like sand blowing in the wind off a sand dune that you’re driving up bring the game to a whole new level that I didn’t realize I wanted. It’s stuff like this that cause the graphics in Armored Warfare to impress me and each new location is better than the last.

 

Armored Warfare PvE Plane Down

I love seeing the story play out with visuals instead of just text at the start of each battle.

 

Other missions I experienced were a bit linear. You would start at one end of the map and blow your way through it, destroying enemies and objectives along the way. Unlike the other wave-based missions I mentioned before, enemies won’t respawn in these types. Another important factor, too, is the ability to select difficulty. This helped a tiny bit with my issues mentioned above, but not as much as I would have preferred. When combined with the massive increase of time to find a match when compared to the normal (default) difficulty setting, it just didn’t make it worthwhile.

 

Armored Warfare PvE Dead

You can see the hordes of destroyed enemies that my teammates have cut through.

 

AI is, for the most part, quite dumb. This is good and bad. Good because everyone feels like a badass when they’re able to blow up a ton of tanks without much effort. Bad because it doesn’t feel like much of a challenge. It seems like, at least for now, the devs have tried to cover up the bad enemy tank AI with numbers. I’m hoping they manage to improve the AI a lot before the game goes live, because I have a feeling that the PVE options in Armored Warfare are what will set it apart from other tank games like World of Tanks and War Thunder.

 

PVE Missions have a marginally interesting backstory for each. Usually, I would just skim over the mission text or simply ignore it – not many games treat them as something useful, only using it to impart a bit of flavor to the game for a smaller sub-set of players who take the time to read all the literature. In Armored Warfare, though, this is different. The mission text will include important clues into what you can expect in the mission. Sure, once you’ve played a mission a few times, you’ll know it by name and know exactly what’s going to go on. But during the first few times, it’s an awesome addition to the game, and I’m hoping that the developers can figure out a way to keep it relevant by either including a ton of mission content or include some kind of random generated content.

Armored Warfare Mission Intro

An example of what I mean is that if a mission text says you need to defend a downed plane so that you can extract intel on an enemy force. Keeping in line with the cinematic style of the game, at the start of the mission you’ll watch as a huge cargo plane is shot down, loses control, and crashes nearby. Then your team will head out to the objective to take on the hordes of enemies. Add two or three more steps to the mission that are randomly generated beyond that, and you will have an engaging PvE system that blows the competition away.

 

 

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Conclusion

The Armored Warfare devs are definitely on the right track with the game. They probably won’t be able to match the incredible level of detail in War Thunder, but they’ve got their own cinematic art style that (in my opinion) makes up for this difference. On the other hand, I doubt that they can emulate the competitive scene that surrounds the ever-popular World of Tanks. So they need to slice their own piece of the market pie, and I feel like the PVE content (along with an overall more accessible game) may be their key to this. Whether or not the developers will fully embrace this is yet to be seen. I hope they do, though, as I enjoyed this early look at the PVE missions in Armored Warfare.

League of Legends Tahm Kench Review

By Jason Parker (Ragachak)

 

LoL Tahm Kench Review

One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Dead Fish

 

For weeks, we as players of League of Legends were treated to cryptic laughter, and a teaser video about an entity with an endless hunger who just wanted to go places. And some poor sap let him in. That gives us Tahm Kench, the River King. Tahm Kench reminds me of a Catfish, mixed with a “Crossroads Devil” or something from the Voodoo tradition where a man comes to a crossroads, seeking some kind of skill or ability; there’s always a price to be paid, and Tahm’s is to sate his never-ending hunger. He’s capable of making big plays and saving lives, even if he’s not as tanky as Leona or Taric, and lacks a “teamfight ult,” he brings his own brand of utility and harassment to any game he’s a part of. He can be an AP tank, dealing loads of magic damage, or simply build hp and armor, being obnoxious and in the way. There are lots of options for the River King, and we’ll cover an appetizer’s worth here.

LoL Tahm Kench Runes

He’s a support primary, but is also fairly tanky and can be seen top lane; while he’s fantastic with a partner, Tahm Kench can work on his own, with his incredible poke and “Thick Skin” creating shields for him. If he’s not taking constant poke damage, he likely won’t be getting pushed out of lane thanks to that. Despite not being able to lance in like Leona, pairing him with Kalista could create a lane that forces people to bite off more than they can chew (the puns can’t all be winners, okay?). You can’t spam skills with Tahm. Players need to be aware of how much mana they have, or else when the crucial time comes to devour your carry and run them to safety, you might not be able to afford it!

Tahm Kench Review Masteries

I’ve heard quite a few different ways to build Tahm as far as Masteries go. Right now though, I’m trying to mix aggressiveness with tankiness. I’m running three Armor Quintessences, Hybrid Penetration Reds, Scaling Health Yellows, and Magic Resistance Blues. I’ve also tried Health Quints and Armor Reds. I’m of the opinion that one could forgo the MR Blues if the other team isn’t AP heavy bot lane, and utilize that for more poking, but that’s ultimately up to you. Normally on a support, despite playing tank supports, I prefer to have more utility instead of more defense. Tahm is a bit difference with his defense scaling straight into power, making me choose to run 0-21-9, to be as tanky as I can possibly be in lane right out of the gate. So I have a little less gold starting, but that’s okay. I have a utility alternative set-up I’m still experimenting with, but ultimately it comes down to how comfortable I am with who I’m laning with and what our strategy is.

LoL Tahm Kench Review

Your goal with Tahm Kench is to be tanky and intrusive. Your build will reflect the fairly standard tank build in bot lane, with Sightstone, Face of the Mountain, Righteous Glory, Locket of the Iron Solari, Randuin’s Omen. Boots vary from player to player, and while Mobility Boots will make it easier for you to get into position for Devour shenanigans, I also am keen on tankier choices. If I’m being pressured and abused, tanky boots will go a longer way than mobility. Righteous Glory will aid you in getting into position to spit enemies up, grab your carry, or get into the sweet spot for your ultimate. And thanks to his ult giving your abilities scaling damage based on health, you can go aggressive and choose items like Warmogs Armor, or other heavy HP items to allow you to absorb hits and still dish out punishment.

LoL Tahm Kench Review

What makes Tahm Kench special is his passive. After three hits on a champion, his abilities change. “An Acquired Taste” will be obvious when it occurs, as there’s a fish icon next to the champion you’re hitting, and the final icon is a fat-looking red fish. With An Acquired Taste, your Q stuns instead of slows, and it will let you utilize your W (Devour) on that enemy champion, instead of minions and your allies. His Q is his poke, slapping the first target with his tongue, but if you tap W while it’s in the air, it will gulp up the first minion it hits from a safe distance. Also note that if you are pressing with Q, you want to land your second Q as soon as it goes off cooldown, so you can continue to apply stacks and get ready to devour. Devour is another fun harass tool where you can gulp up any creature in the game except Baron, Dragon, Red Buff and Blue buff. You can grab them and spit them out at the enemy or waves of minions. When it hits/runs out of its range it detonates, doing damage in a small area. Definitely something to be aware of. His E, Thick Skin, creates “gray health,” which he will rapidly regenerate when not taking damage for at least 2 seconds. Or he can pop it to give a shield that dwindles fast, but will help you get to safety!

LoL Tahm Kench Review

Abyssal Voyage, Kench’s ultimate is tricky but hilarious to surprise the enemy with. Though it has a very obvious tell when you’re coming to lane with it, you can bring a friend along for the ride! When you activate it, you click where you want to go in a pretty large radius (similar to Pantheon), and you can wait for someone to click you and hop in your mouth. Otherwise, you can hit it again to go alone, traveling through the water and suddenly arriving! It can also serve as an escape for you and the carry, provided you can go one second without taking damage, you can swim your way to safety, ruining the enemy’s four man gank squad. In addition, your skills and damage now also deal additional damage based on your bonus health (runes, items, masteries, spells, etc).

 

It can be said that Tahm Kench’s W is one of the best abilities in the game. You can devour an ally and run them to a fight with bonus movement speed or save them from death and run away with them in your mouth! You can activate items during this time, so you can Righteous Glory in/away, or grab the enemy carry with the most kills, deny that person vision or movement (essentially a 2 second stun), then activate Zhonya’s to keep that hypercarry out of the fight even longer! Tahm takes focus, and planning. You can’t recklessly spam skills, but utilizing them correctly can put enemies out of a fight, and create situations your opponents cannot possibly prepare for, such as a sudden gank from bot lane as the mid-laner commits too hard.

Then, if you’re packing Teleport, you can head top lane, smash them, and go back, nice and full. Also be aware that Devour is a defensive tool for many reasons. You can, in addition to simply saving someone from an ult, or a gank, let your jungler dive the tower, devour him and prevent the tower from continually aggroing them, spit ‘em out, and now you can just knock it over! You can also harass the enemy jungler if your team is moving through the jungle by denying them the Frog buff with a quick Q-W combo over the wall to steal it. Is this going to cause us to see Sated Devourer Kench bot-lane? Maybe not, but think of the possibilities!

Tahm Kench is not going to be a flavor of the month champion; he will be a mainstay with the amazing amount of utility he could possibly bring to a team. That’s not to say he’s overpowered, plus he has plenty of enemies that counter him. Janna ruins his day with knock-ups, slows, and her steroid shields. Her entire kit is built to stop him from doing his job. If you can poke him hard enough, he will be a non-issue and have to back out, leaving his carry vulnerable. He’s all about positioning, awareness, and skillshots, probably more than many supports. He’s not going to just walk into lane with no match experience and win, and you can’t hit buttons with reckless abandon like Sona with mana regen runes.

LoL Tahm Kench Review

Tahm Kench’s appetite cannot be quenched, but perhaps Summoner’s Rift will be a good place to start.

Disciples Of The Storm

Disciples Of The Storm is a fast-paced RTS game by Storm Isle Productions. As a successor to the original 1997 RTS game NetWar: Islands at War, Disciples of the Storm focuses on four factions based on Wind, Rain, Thunder and Sun. Players will play as one of these four factions and battle for control over floating islands in the sky.

Features:

Fast gameplay: Fast pace game play focus on capturing and holding islands and control of paths through islands are vital to victory.

Bridging system: Custom bridging and placement system which allows placement of different bridge types allowing for construction of bridge networks to support both resource collection and expanding the battle front.

Tower offense: Use different static defense and attack units with the ability to be built linked off side of bridge end s allow for construction of both on islands and out over the void of the sky.

Random Map Generatio: Supports on the fly map generation for both island generation in island shapes and with placement of islands and resources allowing for each multiplayer game to be unique.

Hierarchy

Hierarchy is a medieval sandbox game by indie group IronJag. The game’s main focus is on creating an environment where players fight for control of territory and power through economy and war, and gives players the option to play how they want.

Features:

Immersive faction system: Dform groups with similar interest and own castles, guilds, create religious factions, cults, bandit groups, merchant groups and many more.

Directional combat: Aim and block attacks with precession.

Procession: Players can become proficient in a few selected skills such as crafting, blacksmithing, engineering and more will allow for a more realistic experience when playing.

Siege warfare: Perform full out sieges against an occupied castle with siege camps, selection of siege weapons, dynamic wall destruction, all in real time large battles.