Battle of the Immortals review: The Rise of the Dragon Emperor
Written by Mohammed Afzal (MageMoa), OnRPG journalist
Love at first sight is definitely not the way I felt when I tried Battle of the Immortals on the Chinese servers. The website was pretty basic and the game seemed so effortless; the classes were common and there was hardly any customization when creating a character. It was definitely not something I would have expected from Perfect World Entertainment, the creators of Perfect World and the upcoming game Forsaken World.
Even when I created a character and entered the game I did not feel very enthusiastic. However, after finishing a few quests and leveling a few times, I noticed that I was actually enjoying the game. I looked forward to an English release, which arrived in the second quarter of 2010. Giving me pre-access to the game was a very generous gift of Perfect World Entertainment, which made it even easier for me to test the English version of the game for you!
Don’t let it scare you…
As I said before, the game seems very plain and shallow when you start. The game offers you only a few hairstyles, faces and player icons, which means that there isn’t much you can alter. Furthermore, the game only offers five ‘generic’ classes: Berserker (the offensive warrior), Champion (the tank), Heretic (the cleric), Magus (the offensive mage) and Slayer (the rogue). Keep in mind that the classes are not gender-locked, which is a relief. These generic features scare off many new players. However, the game is much more diverse than many people think. The immense amount of features is amazing and there is hardly any grind for the first sixty levels. Additionally, there are many pets and mounts that you can upgrade and enhance. Being bored is practically impossible.
Battles and monsters
The combat might be the biggest flaw of the game. The amount of skills is disappointing and upgrading your skills is very expensive. Skills can be learned at the following levels: 10, 25, 40, 55, 70, and 85. A Magus only has 15 skills at level 70, including some passives, buffs and a XP skill. This ‘XP skill’ is a special and powerful skill that can be used after filling your ‘XP bar’ by killing monsters and using skills. The XP bar automatically maxes when you level and it is able to deal massive damage to the mobs around your character. This is the perfect skill to use in order to quickly finish quests. The only downside is that it takes a while before you can actually use it, especially at higher levels. The combat is basically clicking on a monster and spamming skills, which might get on your nerves. The monsters do not deal a huge amount of damage either, which makes fighting them anything but challenging. However, the creatures you will find in game are all very diverse and unique and you will have a hard time finding the same monster graphic with just a different color and name (a common MMO technique).
Looking good, mister!
As a fan of games with amazing armor and weapons, such as the Monster Hunter series, I was slightly disappointed when I first entered Battle of the Immortals, but when my character progressed and became stronger and stronger I noticed a wide selection of clothing and weapons: Amazing costumes, detailed fashion and powerful weapons are examples of what I encountered in game. The equipment is all very appealing, even at lower levels, but that’s not everything! There are gorgeous wings, trendy capes and lovely dresses. Moreover, there are so many unique weapons including a pair of crab claws for the wacky Slayers!
There is a downside, however. Many good-looking sets will only be available in the Cash Shop. This is very disappointing for the players who would rather not spend money on the game. On the other hand, Battle of the Immortals offers its players the possibility to buy ZEN, the currency of the Cash Shop, with in-game money. In addition, players can trade Cash Shop items. This means that you do not have to worry about having to pay to play properly.
The graphics of the game made me have mixed feelings. When you zoom in the graphics are stunning and your character is very detailed, but when you zoom out it will look much more ‘pixelated’, which is a setback.
Catch, craft and enhance
It is time to tell you a bit about the most fascinating part of the game: Its features.
Let’s start off with the most impressive one. The pets and mounts that the game offers are as beautiful as the armor designs. You can catch all in game monsters, excluding the ones you find in dungeons, the bosses and the special quest monsters. Catching a creature does not require anything special either; you will only have to kill mobs in order to make a catchable one appear. Regular members will only be able to have three pets at once, which isn’t much, but you will only need one at a time anyway. Your pets improve by simply killing monsters and you will be able to strengthen them by melding them with another pet or by using certain items, such as a Pet Gem.
You will get your own free mount, which is class-based. You can upgrade yours by fortifying them with special crystals. When you successfully fortify your mount it will change its appearance and make it look badass. More mounts are available in the Cash Shop.
At level 35 you will be able to gather herbs, crystals, ores and materials. With these items you can craft various accessories and other useful items. The crafting feature is so simple, yet effective. I have never seen one similar to Battle of the Immortals’ Tech System.
Caring, kind and helpful
Perfect World Entertainment managed to surprise me again after the Closed Beta of Battle of the Immortals. The game used to be a point and click game, there was no WASD and there were many bugs. PWE listened to their players and completely changed the original game. They implemented a WASD system, they fixed all known bugs and they improved their help system. It does not happen very often that a gaming company actually bothers to listen to its customers, so I was stunned when I heard about these amazing changes. Perfect World Entertainment has shown its players a lot of respect and they are going to do the same in the future. The company is currently working on new skills for all classes, new pets, new dungeons, new monsters and a lot of new features. Keep up the great work, PWE!
Simple, yet effective
That would be the best way to describe Battle of the Immortals. The mediocre battle system and the poor character customization in the beginning of the game are nothing compared to the caring company, the amazing features and the constant updates and events. This game has always had potential and it seems as if Perfect World Entertainment wants to keep it this way. Battle of the Immortals is a simple MMORPG with amazing features and a brilliant staff. That is all that can be said.
Pros:
– Amazing features
– Detailed equipment
– Simple game with barely any grind
– A caring developer and publisher
– WASD
– Updated frequently
Cons:
– Lack of skills
– Generic combat
