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PAX West 2016 Day One Recap

PAX West 2016 Day One Recap

Atlas Reactor (Trion)

The majority of our afternoon was spent with the people at Trion Worlds. They showed me a lot of stuff that I frankly had not seen much of. Not the least of which was Atlas Reactor, which is pretty bold in what it is doing. It’s a turn-based team strategy game where players all take their turns at once and the players have MOBA-style roles to fill like damage dealers, tanks, support, et cetera. The phase system takes some getting used to, but I like that even if your character takes mortal damage, they stick around til the end of that turn and if someone anticipated you’d die and they healed you? You’re back in the fight!

Atlas Reactor did some adjustment to their cosmetic items that was very welcome in my eyes. No skin or cosmetic will be behind a paywall exclusively! There are boxes you can unlock that contain a variety of cosmetic pieces [sort of like Overwatch].

I love turn-based games, and taking your turns all at once brings the strategy to a whole new level. You have to guess and strategize about what the enemy might do. You have to be a Newtype and be three steps ahead of the enemy. Are you low on health and in the middle of the field? Maybe they’ll assume you’ll use your Dash ability and hurl yourself to safety. Maybe they won’t, and you’ll get a free hit on someone on the other side. Most players have a Dash ability that has a high cooldown but is a powerful mobility skill to get you away during the Dash phase.

You have the Prep phase [Traps, buffs, shields go here], Dash Phase [reposition before Blast phase. Can’t use a Movement if you Dash], Blast Phase [Damage abilities happen now!], and Move Phase [for people who Prep/Blast actions, they can walk around and get behind cover or something]. Then the resolution is concluded and another turn happens! It’s crazy.

We also got to see the latest character, Orion the Empyrean! He’s the character that sold me on the game to be honest. He’s an ego-driven support who applies a buff to his allies to take 75% of their damage instead. I also heard talk of the Trion Worlds team offering a pack to get all the characters forever for 20 bucks [in the same vein as the Ultimate Gods Pack for SMITE] and I love this idea. I wish more MOBA style games did this! It lets players invest in a game they enjoy and always have the latest character that comes out. Even if they take a break from the game and decide to return, they won’t be too behind! We also saw some sneak peeks on stuff we can’t talk about like new characters and maps! We promise you won’t be disappointed though. With their need to create regular content and characters, there’s plenty coming to Atlas Reactor.

Check out our interview with Atlas Reactor!

Atlas Reactor Dev Interview

Continue to ArcheAge: Revelation (Trion)

Pages: Lords of New York | For Honor | Atlas Reactor | ArcheAge: Revelation | Cosplay Round-Up Teaser (Day One)

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