Gearbox Software is hoping to create another successful franchise with Battleborn. From the first gameplay footage that I have seen it looks to be an interesting game. The 5 VS 5 multiplayer mode that the team has shown off to Game Informer has brought up the discussion of Battleborn being a MOBA. As that interview continued the comparison was somewhat thrown off the table. Yes, battleborn does have some gameplay elements that could be seen as taken from those types of games. But those elements needed to be tailor-fit to the fps genre. There are no 3 lanes and there is no static building that needs to be taken down.
Recently did some digging on Battleborn and found some interesting stuff about the multiplayer that made me think.
5 VS 5 Multiplayer
The development team over at Gearbox Software has been experimenting with different setups but 5 versus 5 seems to be a unique setup. Where does the fifth player match up with if the splits into two groups? This creates interesting situations and unique experiences. It’s not clear if the players are put into a specific role during a multiplayer session or if it will be free for the picking. Does everyone need to play a certain class or is there an opportunity for all players to select the same character? When Battleborn was announced this option was not determined yet, but they were testing both ways.
Everyone wants to play as their favorite character on the other hand the game needs to have some sort of balance in order to be enjoyed. Thinking about this there can be two scenarios, one where everyone can choose their Battleborn of choice. Or will Battleborn feature a similar character preference selected as Evolve, another game that’s published by 2K Games?
For those who haven’t played Evolve, Turtle Rock Studios implemented an option where you could set your favorite class type. As that game features 5 playable classes you could say that your first choice would be to play as the monster, if that’s not possible the game would look at your second pick and so on. Call it some sort of personal rating system for your playable classes where you could set your class preference. Would such a feature be a thing for Battleborn if Gearbox Software decided that all playable classes needed to be present on the battlefield? And what would this mean for the gameplay, could tie in that there is a rock/paper/scissors mechanic, that every class has a special ability that needs to be countered by another class resulting in some deep strategies.
Strategies
A previous multiplayer mode I recently revisited was that of Ghost Recon Future Soldier. It’s a tactical third-person shooter by Ubisoft. In the Multiplayer mode you get to choose between 3 classes, each class with its own strengths, weaknesses, weapons, and gadgets. You could choose which class you wanted to play, there was no ratio of the game needing an x-amount of soldiers, snipers, or support characters in order to play. This lets you play the game how you want and what suits your playstyle. But if you had players who played their roles right and you had a diverse team with a mix of the different classes you could notice that your team was better at overcoming certain obstacles by playing together.
The Battleborn characters do have some unique abilities that can be countered by other characters. During an Inside Gearbox Panel, the team described some highlights of a game session they had while playing Battleborn.
There was an epic battle, on one team Oscar Mike called in his final tier skill, the Airstrike, which deals massive damage to an area for a short period of time. It can take down an entire swarm of minions and turn the tide during the battle. On the other team, one of the players played as Reyna and was barely in time to get over to the location where the airstrike would hit and deploy a shield generator protecting everyone from the blast. Those are the moments that are fun and make you feel good and if there is one thing Gearbox is all about, that’s having a fun experience.
So concluding this Battleborn blog I would say that the decision of whether or not you will be able to choose your favorite character class will depend on what is the most fun experience. I would like to freely choose what character I want to play.
What do you prefer what will deliver the most fun for you ? Let me know in the comments.
