CroNix
CroNix is a free-to-play, third-person 3D MOBA built around team arena matches, quick time-to-kill skirmishes, and ability combos, all wrapped in a gritty post-apocalyptic theme.
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Publisher: GameNGame Playerbase: Low Type: MOBA Release Date: July 17, 2015 PvP: Team-based Arena Battles Pros: +Energetic third-person combat. +Plenty of character tweaking. +Satisfying combo-focused kits. Cons: -Core loop feels familiar. -Not many match types. -No keybind options. -Busy, cluttered HUD. -Low playerbase. |
CroNix Overview
CroNix is a lobby-based MOBA that swaps the traditional top-down view for over-the-shoulder action, leaning hard into real-time aiming, mobility, and burst damage. Matches place two teams into compact arenas where positioning and timing matter just as much as raw mechanics. You pick from a roster built around familiar battlefield roles, including damage-focused Assaulters, front-line Tankers, and utility-heavy Supporters, then try to outplay the opposing team through coordinated engages and smart objective play.
One of CroNix’s defining ideas is flexibility during a match. You are not locked into a single approach for the whole round, since you can adjust your team composition by switching characters after death. Combat revolves around chaining abilities into combos, mixing in crowd control, buffs, and ultimates, and using consumable Tonics for short-lived boosts at key moments. The game originally promoted three main modes, Survival, Brawl, and Domination, each built around different win conditions and pacing.
CroNix Key Features:
- Strategic Action Combat – play as an Assaulter, Tanker, or Support and win fights through coordination and objective awareness.
- Switchable Characters – change your pick mid-match (after death) to answer enemy strategies and reshape team roles.
- Customizable Characters – earn, buy, and equip Properties to tune each character toward your preferred style.
- Tonics – bring temporary power-ups into battle for clutch moments and momentum swings.
- Three Game Modes – jump into Survival, Brawl, or Domination, each with a different objective focus.
CroNix Screenshots
CroNix Featured Video
CroNix Review
CroNix positions itself as a third-person MOBA with a heavier emphasis on direct action, even describing itself as a “MOSA” (Multiplayer Online Strategic Action). In practice, that label fits, because the game plays closer to a competitive arena brawler than a lane-pushing strategy title. The setting leans post-apocalyptic, and the match flow is built around short, high-pressure fights and objective control rather than long-form macro play.
Visually, it lands in the “solid for its era” category. Maps are readable, characters are clearly animated, and ability effects are easy to track during fights without becoming a fireworks show. Sound design is similarly serviceable, doing its job by telegraphing abilities and impacts, even if it is not especially memorable.
Getting Started
On your first login, CroNix offers a short tutorial that covers the essentials: moving, using abilities, handling Tonics, and interacting with objectives. It is brief enough that it does not feel like a chore, and it is worth running at least once to avoid early-match confusion. Even if you skip it initially, you can revisit the tutorial from the lobby menu later, though only the first completion provides a reward.
Queue Times and Matchmaking Reality
CroNix uses automated matchmaking to assemble teams, which is standard for lobby-driven arena games. The downside is that the experience depends heavily on how many people are actually queuing. With a low playerbase, wait times can stretch uncomfortably long, and it is possible to spend far more time searching for a match than actually playing. If you are evaluating CroNix today, this is one of the biggest practical barriers to enjoying what the combat system does well.
Picking a Character (and Why It Can Be Frustrating)
Before each match you choose a character from the available roster, with each pick designed to fill a combat role. A nice touch is the ability to swap characters when you die, allowing you to counter what the enemy team is doing or shore up weaknesses in your own composition.
However, selection is limited by availability, and it operates on a first come, first served basis. If you are late to load in, or you have not unlocked many characters yet, your choices can be narrow. That problem becomes more pronounced because Properties, the game’s perk-like customization system, are tied to specific characters. If someone else claims the character you have invested in, you may end up on a pick that does not benefit from your preferred setup, which can make the customization system feel less empowering than it should.
How Matches Play
CroNix initially advertised three modes (Survival, Brawl, and Domination), but after major revisions the playable options shifted to two modes: Raid and Elimination.
Raid is the more competitive, objective-driven mode. Two teams of five fight over control points, and holding an enemy point drains the opposing team’s score until they reclaim it. On top of that, teams can contest a power cell that spawns in the center of the map, then run it back to their control center to gain points. The round ends when one team’s points hit zero, so every skirmish has immediate consequences.
Elimination is structured as a five-player team facing a team of five AI in a straightforward deathmatch format. It is useful for learning characters and getting comfortable with the pace, but it is less compelling as a long-term mode because results and scores are not recorded.
Control-wise, CroNix feels closer to an action game than a classic MOBA. Movement is handled with WASD, while attacks and abilities are mapped to mouse clicks and a small set of keys (Q, E, and spacebar). The ultimate ability triggers with F once charged, and Tonics sit on 1 through 4. This layout makes sense for third-person aiming and quick reactions, but it may feel unusual to players conditioned by the more traditional MOBA key patterns. The bigger issue is that keybindings cannot be changed, which is a serious accessibility and comfort drawback.
Combat is fast and punishing, with fights resolving quickly and careless positioning getting you deleted in moments. The upside is that the action stays intense, and coordinated engages feel rewarding. Earlier versions struggled with melee viability compared to ranged picks, but later balance adjustments helped reduce that gap so close-range characters do not automatically feel like liabilities.
Monetization and the Shop
CroNix uses a single in-game store that mixes standard earnable items with premium purchases. You can spend Seed, the core currency, on practical gameplay pieces like Tonics and character unlocks. The cash shop focuses on the expected extras, including premium bundles and boosters for EXP and Seed. Importantly, it does not lean into selling blatantly overpowered gear, which keeps matches from feeling pay-determined and helps the game stay competitive on principle.
Final Verdict – Good
At its best, CroNix delivers tense, arcade-like arena fights with a rhythm that will feel familiar to fans of third-person competitive games, with some clear parallels to titles like Smite and Nosgoth. The foundation is stronger than you might expect, with responsive action combat and enough character customization to encourage experimentation.
Its long-term appeal, however, is constrained by practical issues. Limited mode variety reduces the reasons to keep queuing, and the low playerbase feeds into long matchmaking times that can drive away new players before they ever find their groove. If you can get matches consistently, CroNix can be an enjoyable, straightforward action MOBA, but it needs a healthier queue and more variety to truly stand out.
CroNix System Requirements
Minimum Requirements:
Operating System: Windows XP SP3
CPU: Dual Core 2.4 GHz
RAM: 2 GB RAM
Video Card: GeForce 9600 GT or Radeon HD 3600
Direct X: DirectX 9.0c
Hard Disk Space: 3 GB available space
Recommended Requirements:
Operating System: Windows XP SP3 / 7 / 8 / 8.1
CPU: i3 3.0 GHz or higher
RAM: 4 GB RAM or more
Video Card: GeForce GTX 260 / Radeon HT 4870
Direct X: DirectX 9.0c
Hard Disk Space: 3 GB or more available space
CroNix Music & Soundtrack
Coming soon…
CroNix Additional Information
Developer: Magics
Publisher: GameNGame
Game Engine: Unreal Engine 3
Closed Beta: December 12, 2014
Steam Greenlight Posting: December 24, 2014
Steam Release (Early Access): February 12, 2015
Release Date: July 17, 2015
Development History / Background:
CroNix is a free-to-play 3D MOBA developed by Korean gaming company Magics, and published by GameNGame in North America. It is distributed through Steam and has also been offered via the official site. Following its Early Access launch, the game went through frequent updates, including a major overhaul called The Big Patch that arrived on June 18, 2015. That update aimed to rework core systems based on player feedback gathered during the Early Access period.