Early Access: Realm of the Titans- Hero Review
By Darren Henderson (DizzyPW), OnRPG Editor-in-Chief
Welcome back to episode 3 of OnRPG’s Early Access: Realm of the Titans series, focusing on the Heroes themselves! Before we get started I wanted to give a shout out to a fantastic artist named Ajka (Alicja Chrena) I met at Anime Expo who helped me bring to life the image of what Dizzy from Guilty Gear would look like inside the world of League of Legends.
That’s Hot
Be sure to check out more works by Ajka at http://tirramisu.deviantart.com/.
Now to get back on topic! It’s the best and worst time in a game development cycle for Aeria Games this week. Their prized game, Realm of the Titans, which they have spent countless after hours testing and honing over the past year is finally amping up for closed beta access this Wednesday! Beta keys and press releases are being sent out, and there’s no turning back now!
I myself have been having a blast seeing the various heroes in action while playing with my new friends at MOBAcast. We had a fun 3v3 scrimmage against them last weekend and Colby made a video of the epicness so check it out HERE. After less than a week of hands on time, things are starting to feel familiar and intuitive. Denying, last hitting, and harassing all form together into an intricate dance akin to a life and death piano tune (Ok I might have spent a bit too much time on Yue).
Anyhow I felt it would be best to give a brief description of the heroes available at launch and what makes them each so special. This way OnRPG viewers will be in the know and get who they want on day 1 instead of fumbling through dozens of champions that don’t fit their play style and end up spending closed beta in the proverbial ELO Hell.
Offensive Heroes
The Offensive heroes are true to their name. They get up in your face, or blow you away with ranged physical damage like no one else can. If left unchecked, they will build into nightmarish foes that nothing will stand against come end game.
If you are playing one of these monsters, it’s your job to tell your team what’s up and ensure their strategy is based around getting you maxed out on all your stats as soon as possible. If you are against them, it’s time to deny minions, tower hug, and do whatever you can to shut them down while they are still vulnerable in the early game.
Misrefel
Misrefel represents one of the most feared of the offensive heroes. Her ability to deal damage at range and up close makes her a threat from any positioning. Only oppose her if you have a very good back up plan or you will find yourself another victim in her long killing streaks.
Ultimate- Blade of Vengeance: Misrefel launches her twin blades which track a target dealing considerable damage and slowing on impact.
Flame Wing and Misrefel Cut Through Their Unsuspecting Foes
Flame Wing
Flame Wing is best described as the Ashe of Realm of the Titans. Through constant harass, he will whittle you down and then burst into action to steal a long range kill. Beware letting this hero free farm gold at all costs!
Ultimate- Piercing Barrage: Flame Wing Fires a barrage of arrows that penetrate through targets and continue forward. He is immobilized while in this state but can still aim in various directions.
Deccat
Deccat is quite a tricky offensive hero. He’s hard to characterize but deadly if played in the right hands. Using traps and CC, he will leave you at the mercy of his ultimate.
Ultimate- Spirit Link: Charm a neutral creep that inherits Deccat’s base defense and magic resist. Charmed creep also inherits damage, attack speed, and health!
Pua-Pua
Oh Pua.. how I despise you! You’re the Teemo of the ROTT world.. except Pua-Pua goes where he pleases! His Mid-Range tribal dart gun can cut down a wary enemy before they recognize its happening.
Ultimate- Shaman King’s Curse: Pua-Pua is afflicted by the King’s Curse. This transforms him into a powerful buff action hero for a 25 second duration.
The Curse In Action
Samurai Spirit
I think the Curse representative summed Samurai Spirit up best at our private press preview. “His ultimate can’t be targeted, runs faster than me, and deals massive damage. How is this balanced?” Samurai Spirit is a relentless pursuer that would sooner die than let his target escape him. If played right, all team fights should give your team a 1 member advantage.
Ultimate- Crimson Fury: Summons a giant samurai warrior who relentlessly pursues an enemy hero. Samurai Spirit can teleport to his summon at any time during its short duration.
Samurai Spirit Hunts down Demon Judge with Crimson Fury!
Aether
You may recognize him from OnRPG’s noob stomper image I posted earlier in the month. Aether is a glass cannon with far too many skill shots to count. But if played properly, he can be considered the most dangerous hero on the map, causing massive constant damage at melee and ranged distances.
Ultimate- Sword Storm: Concentrate Energy for 3 seconds or discharge on command. The longer you channel, the more damaging the swords are. Swords spread out in a line, shoot forward and converge on a target, and then break apart in a fan shape dealing more damage to foes caught behind the target.
Why Run? Aether Will Catch You Anyway!
Defensive Heroes
Don’t let the name fool you. Defensive heroes can still pack a punch in many cases. However these tanks can survive through virtually anything if built for it and still come out on top. Masters of split pushing and overextension, no one can scout or disrupt the enemy team quite like this set of heroes.
Soul Taker
Soul Taker is quite a conundrum. Though not fast moving, he brings immense damage to targets he can slice his blades through. Most make the mistake of going toe to toe with him and then kiting thinking that the advantage is theirs due to Soul Taker’s inability to keep up with them. That’s usually their final mistake..
Ultimate- : God Destroyer: Soul Taker vaults through the air to a target location, causing massive AoE damage on impact.
Casteele
Casteele is tough to peg in one archetype of hero. However, due to his turret system that works similarly to heimerdinger, I classified him as a defensive hero for his intense ability to lock a lane down and punish anyone who overextends on the enemy team gunning for a kill. Casteele makes for quite the distraction himself to pull fire off hurting allies.
Ultimate- Siege Mode: Siege Mode grants ranged attacks with 100% splash damage for a duration of 40 seconds. The area of the splash damage is a sizable 300 units.
Casteele Dares You to Break Through His Makeshift Fortress
Sealed Beast
This nasty tiger-like.. . creature might be just a cute little kitty by himself. But in a team battle he is MVP. His ability to unleash the best in all of his teammates makes him truly shine as both a defensive and supportive hero.
Ultimate- Binding Chains: Within a range of 1500 units, Sealed Beast boosts all allies’ speed to equal the fastest ally. All enemies caught in the range will move as slow as their currently slowest moving teammate.
Silvar
Silvar, aka the Houdini of the Woods, can initiate team fights and flee with hardly a scratch on him. This living treant might not be able to withstand the damage of some defensive heroes, but you’ll never catch him to finish him off!
Ultimate- Overgrowth: Silvar weaves roots through the ground, snaring nearby enemies and doing 80 damage per second.
Silvar Holds On Tight
Spell Casters
Spell casters play the role of controller in Realm of the Titans. Although they don’t dish out quite as much consistent DPS as the offensive heroes, their spells usually come with crippling side effects, aoe damage, and are incredibly powerful for ganking heroes in the early games when magic resistance is low and base damage is high. A properly played spell caster can set the pace of a match in the early game to help support offensive heroes build into unopposed end game monsters.
Dead Rider
This nasty little goblin-like creature and his trusted mount spread discord and chaos quickly and efficiently all over the map. Due to insane mobility, Dead Rider is a top tier roamer who will leave opponents in fear of overextending away from their towers’ protection. However not even this can save a team from Dead Rider’s team fight killing ultimate.
Ultimate- Liaison to Hell: Dead Rider links enemy souls together. The enemy with the lowest hp takes extra damage based on the damage inflicted on his nearby teammates. This ultimate is nasty if you do not realize it is in effect because even if you hide on the back line, the damage inflicted on your tanks will still reach you.
Tide Walker
Tide Walker is a goofy little critter. He takes on the form of something between a sea monkey and a bull frog. His mastery over water spells and disruption is no joke though. He also has one of the greatest utility ultimates in the current game.
Ultimate- Tidal Wave: Summons a tidal wave that crashes forward, pushing enemies and minions 3,000 units back from the origin of the wave. This is amazing for buying your team time after losing a team battle.
Nevetira
Nevetira is a spicy little vixen that looks and feels like an unholy love child between LoL’s Janna and Ryze. With bursts of lightning, speed boosting powers, and a ranged tornado at her disposal, she will leave you harassed and confused.
Ultimate- Thunder Clap: Nevetira’s ultimate is one of the most spectacular and dreadful to watch in the game. She fires a volley of her thunder balls in a fan shape, slowing spreading out from their initial location. When you hit the spell button again the balls freeze in place for a quick moment. They will sparkle with energy and then target the nearest enemy and fly at them, doing 120 damage, 80 AoE damage, and causing a 0.1 second stun for each ball that hits a target. Ouch!
Demon Judge
Although I was unable to see much of the Demon Judge in play, his ability to support an offensive carry is uncanny and dangerous. The Demon Judge acts as the ultimate target caller in team battles, amplifying the power of his teammates so long as they follow his orders. Speaking of orders, opponents will have to be quick on their feet to get out of his ultimate alive.
Ultimate- Order of Execution: Demon Judge places a death warrant on an enemy, causing damage over time to the marked foe. If a set amount of damage is inflicted to the target during the duration of the Order, a large additional amount of damage will be incurred at the conclusion of the hex.
Haz’zard
Some OnRPG viewers may already be aware of Haz’zard from the hero showcase we did on him recently. I thought he seemed quite horrifying in the hero showcase, and he met all expectations when facing him ingame. Haz’zard’s ability to cause wide spread damage to an area is borderline absurd. In any team battle you have to take Haz’zard out asap or your entire team will be stunned and burnt to a crisp.
Ultimate- Thousand Flames: Haz’zard releases multiple rings of fire that spread outward almost endlessly, at a speed of 300 units per second. If you’re stuck inside this range for the full duration, your chance of survival is extremely low.
Haz’zard in His Own Base? Time To Run!
Supports
As a support in Realm of the Titans, you carry the responsibility of three major roles. Deny, map awareness, and CC. Since supports aren’t as reliant as other heroes on farming gold, they are much more capable of focusing on your own minions and using the deny mechanic to last hit minions before enemies do, denying your opponents of valuable gold and experience. Since wards (items that grant vision in a set area of the map) are so cheap, it’s also best if supports keep wards up in all the major chokepoints of the map to give allies early warning of incoming ganks. Supports also excel at crowd control abilities, whether it be delayed damage (aka psychological damage), heals, or silencing spells.
Marroc
Marroc is a hybrid hero that deals much more damage than the average support hero. His twin blades pack a punch and his ultimate can turn any team fight into a one sided massacre.
Ultimate- Dragon Evil Release: Marroc releases the spirit of a fiery dragon from his blades, targeting and chasing a selected enemy hero for a period of time. This dragon will also damage any enemies it encounters while chasing the enemy hero. In a worst case scenario this skill will send a skilled enemy hero running for their life to protect their teammates. In the best case scenario, the enemy will be clueless who the dragon is chasing and result in a breakdown of enemy formations and an ensuing ace.
Abraxas
Abraxas is an interesting hero because he looks far too bad ass to be labeled as a support hero. He functions similar to the Demon Judge but with a few tricks that can save allies who get stuck in a tight spot.
Ultimate- Majesty: Majesty is a two sided ultimate that can be used on allies or enemies. When used on enemies, you can visibility of the enemy while simultaneously doing damage over time and lowering all of their resistances. This is invaluable against heroes utilizing stealth or very mobile heroes that attempt to juke your team by running through the jungle. When Majesty is used on allies, it buffs all of their defenses and recovers a portion of their hp.
Ritter
Ritter is the poster child for a Knight in Shining Armor. Acting as half tank and half support, he rides the front lines disrupting enemy heroes left and right while soaking up damage and protecting his more vulnerable teammates. He is definitely a high skill cap champion though so expect a few beat downs before you get the hang of him.
Ultimate- Balancing Spear: Ritter throws a spear. On impact it takes an average of the enemy’s hp and mp and knocks both bars to this average. This is a very devastating ranged move to punish opponents that are out of mana but still high in hp.
Gadgetmeister
My award for most entertaining hero in Realm of the Titans goes to this weird little man. Though he can be played more as a spell caster than a support, I more preferred focusing on the support side of his build. He carries a large box on his back full of more tricks than Fiddle could hold a candle to. One of his most signature abilities is to create a clone of an enemy hero. The clone saps the power from the original Hero, channeling it as its own. And if Gadgetmeister attacks the clone, real damage is done to the original hero. And this isn’t even his ultimate!
Ultimate- Time Bomb: A time bomb is attached to an enemy unit. After a considerable wait, the bomb explodes, dealing massive AoE damage. However if the hero dies prematurely, the bomb goes off immediately, making this ultimate a powerful surprise to throw on a nearly dead hero in the middle of the confusion of a team battle.
Yue
It’s likely because I’m a major Sona fan, but Yue fits so well into my usual playstyle that I ended up turning her into a carry hero against Realm of the Titan’s own GM team in our preview event. She is a jack of all trades support hero, featuring a heal, a slow, a shield, and a silence. This unpredictable ghostly musician is a game changer in the right hands.
Ultimate- Melody of Sorrow: Yue channels a tune that spreads similar to Haz’zard’s Thousand Flames ultimate. After a short period of time it takes effect, silencing and damaging enemies for every second they remain within her 1200 unit range. If uninterrupted, she seems to be able to channel this spell for 20 seconds straight if mana permits.
Yue Controls the Tempo of Any Battle
Now you have a strong knowledge of both the titan skills and heroes available to you in Realm of the Titans. With just days away until closed beta, it’s time to get together with your team and start theory crafting on what team builds you will use to dominate the Realm. Even now I feel a bit fidgety wishing I was at home playing ROTT instead of at work writing about it.
As thanks for everyone who has followed this Early Access series, we will be providing keys granting guaranteed access to Realm of the Titans as well as a starter pack of goodies courtesy of Aeria Games. Stay tuned as the keys will become available later this week!
