Paladins review 8/10

filmoret

Yes this game has copied ideas from Team Fortress 2.  But it also branched out into a venue that makes it feel like League of Legends/Dota2 as well.  So here's the skinny.

You collect cards and put them in builds for your champions.  Once the game begins you then buy items to further enhance the champion. You cannot switch champions during matches.  It is definitely more polished and has a better feel then TF2 but not quite as good of feel as Overwatch.  Since the game is f2p you can't really argue with that point though.

Its now free open beta on steam and just grab it for a few good fights.  I would expect this games playerbase to rival Smite but not anything like Dota2.  Steam approval rate for this game is currently 83%.  They got 16 champions right now.  IDK this game might end up holding its own quite well considering steam and f2p.  Its peaking at 30k players a day right now. 

Albatroes

The card thing is eh...mainly since you can get cards outside of the match and make better ones. Too easy to become p2w with a system like that, but we'll see.

filmoret

Albatroes said:

The card thing is eh...mainly since you can get cards outside of the match and make better ones. Too easy to become p2w with a system like that, but we'll see.

I don't think you can craft cards any more.

filmoret

Yea the card system works differently now.  You choose 5 cards and choose what level each card will be.  You get 12 card levels to dispense among the 5 cards you choose.  The video explains it.

Jaiml

I find it entertaining to jump in and out of.  A good fun game.

Card sets are limited at this time so in a week of so you should have all the cards collected.

Good casual fps.

They do have issues with server stability but if you have some patience it will be ok.

Albatroes

filmoret said:

Yea the card system works differently now.  You choose 5 cards and choose what level each card will be.  You get 12 card levels to dispense among the 5 cards you choose.  The video explains it.

Thanks for that. I'm addicted to Smite so I'll have to give this a go since its Hi-Rez.

filmoret

DMKano said:

Unfortunately like other FPS arena games that came out recently - this will be completely eclipsed by Overwatch.

But unlike Battleborn it might find a higher population niche audience due to F2P model.

Still releasing anything that is even remotely competing with Overwatch right now is financial suicide 

But this game caught my attention and Overwatch didn't.  I'm assuming some people will see the potential when they have options for different builds for each champion as well as purchasing items during matches.  Its in Beta stages and we hope they add bunch of different builds and items to the current pool.  Along with new champions.  We see their track record with Smite and their willingness to push out champions at reasonable rates.

Yea Battleborn made the huge mistake of being b2p.  Blizzard can fart a b2p product and people will love it.  Heck lot of them claimed it is the greatest game in the world and we know that isn't even remotely true.  At least Paladins added some kind of depth to the game. 

filmoret

Peaking at 37k now.  Approval rating is 84%.  They seem to be hard at work on this project right now.

Soki123

I own Paladins and Overwatch. Paladins is so so so bad compared to OW. It s an ok game, but will be a distant memory in a couple years, where OW will probably be even bigger.

I ve had fun in Paladins, it s just that it feels like a cheap wannabe version of OW.

Elminzter

sucker punch most of the chars looks kinda of similar to ow but blizzard was smart enough to release ow first, imo just a nail into the coffin, well imo paladin should have re-desgn the characters or it will constantly live in the shadows of ow...

holdenhamlet

Jaiml said:

I find it entertaining to jump in and out of.  A good fun game.

Card sets are limited at this time so in a week of so you should have all the cards collected.

Good casual fps.

They do have issues with server stability but if you have some patience it will be ok.

I wouldn't count on that.  I love Hirez but they are definitely not known for having good servers, at least with SMITE.

"But this game caught my attention and Overwatch didn't."

Yeah cause it's free and Overwatch costs $40.  You can't/don't want to spend the money, so this game seems enticing.

I admit if Overwatch didn't exist, I'd probably be playing it.  But Overwatch is simply better.  And $40 isn't too much for a great game- I have 180 hours in Overwatch now and it's still fun as hell and still surprises me.

As for it rivaling SMITE, I wouldn't count on that, either.  SMITE is unique as a 3rd person MOBA, plus it has the whole cool "God" lore thing going for it.  Paladins is not unique as a team/ability-based fps and almost everything about it is derivative.

filmoret

But overwatch is not any better.  What are they offering that this game isn't?  So why pay a pricetag on a game when you can play a free version of the same game with better features?

Phry

filmoret said:

But overwatch is not any better.  What are they offering that this game isn't?  So why pay a pricetag on a game when you can play a free version of the same game with better features?

Thats a bit of a large claim tbh, but it would make sense, if Paladins is in effect, a F2P version of OW, then chances are it will do relatively well, although, by the same token, it is likely to only draw those who have no intention of paying anything into the game via microtransactions either.

Deivos

filmoret said:

But overwatch is not any better.  What are they offering that this game isn't?  So why pay a pricetag on a game when you can play a free version of the same game with better features?

A bunch of lore very vaguely connected to the game via the fact that the characters exist both in the game and in the videos/comics about said characters (even though the lore of the game really has zero place, bearing, or explanation for what's taking place in the game itself)?

I mean, it is a difference...

Aside from that, "polish". The fact Blizzard has such a massive budget to throw at their game means they can iterate and refine things quite a lot more, and can make even sub-par features and designs shine rather well.

Overwatch is itself a solid, even if finite and more casual, experience for competitive gameplay and it has a Pixar level of visual refinement that other titles haven't really managed to capture.

Tsuru

filmoret said:

But overwatch is not any better.  What are they offering that this game isn't?  So why pay a pricetag on a game when you can play a free version of the same game with better features?

Ill tell you what they offer. A stable, long lasting game experience, that will continue to bring balance patches and content. 

filmoret

Tsuru said:

filmoret said:

But overwatch is not any better.  What are they offering that this game isn't?  So why pay a pricetag on a game when you can play a free version of the same game with better features?

Ill tell you what they offer. A stable, long lasting game experience, that will continue to bring balance patches and content. 

You are talking about the developers of Smite and Global Agenda here.  Not some indie studio who hasn't proven themselves.  

You also have the ability to try different builds for champions.  That alone brings a whole new dynamic to this type of game.

holdenhamlet

filmoret said:

But overwatch is not any better.  What are they offering that this game isn't?  So why pay a pricetag on a game when you can play a free version of the same game with better features?

The Blizzard polish.  Like I said in a different thread, it's like they took the bucket of Blizzard polish and just dumped all of it over the game.

There are just a million little things that add up to a much better experience.  Graphics, optimization, voicework, balance, servers, the maps, the characterization, etc.

This is really a case of "you get what you pay for" when you're comparing Overwatch to Paladins.

Plus it's also nice that the game is extremely popular because it's far more likely for matchmaking to pair you with people close to your skill level in a short time.  This is really important in a team-based game.

SMITE has always been riddled with matchmaking complaints- it's not HiRez's fault, it's just the playerbase is not large enough for it to work well.

Plus the B2P model is actually a good thing here- Blizzard has commented how it's freed them up to do what's best for the game, and not do things like MOBAs do where they pump out overpowered new characters.

Tiamat64

I wish I could see the average income per player that Paladins ends up bringing in a few months down the line.  As it is, in theory, most people playing Paladins right now probably wouldn't spend much on it because, as pointed out in this thread, anyone willing to spend money on an FPS game would probably have purchased Overwatch in the first place.

Bluehound17

Paladins is like Overwatch in its own league but I agree overwatch does everything better.

Just like this video below its like a copy of Hanzo. like my precise arrow skills doe?

filmoret

Bluehound17 said:

Paladins is like Overwatch in its own league but I agree overwatch does everything better.

Just like this video below its like a copy of Hanzo. like my precise arrow skills doe?

We are finding out that Blizzard is the one who copied Paladins and because they had the resources they pushed it out first.

Soki123

Who cares who copied who. The bottom line is OW is a far superior game. It s better controls, feels less clunky. Doesn t have mounts, which essentially play no point at all to the game, except more cosmetic stuff. The cards are meh at best. The combat in OW makes Paladins look like it was done by amateurs. I could go on and on.

[Deleted User]

The user and all related content has been deleted.

forcelima

Boom and the blue turtle wins!!!

holdenhamlet

blueturtle13 said:

To me they both play second fiddle to TF2 which is even more polished than OW without the DDOS attacks.

I haven't played tf2, but I think maybe it was polished 10 years ago, but the game is super old.  As for the DDOS attacks, they've booted me and prevented me from logging in for about 30 minutes total.

Plus I hear the gameplay is a clusterfuck.  Overwatch has definite tactical decisions to make (with tanks that can tank, potentially game-changing ulitmates and a META like MOBAs, and much counterplay).  Paladins is similar in this regard but I think Overwatch is much more refined.

jitter77

I played the over watch beta and it was fun.  I just started playing paladins and I think it is a fun game as well and free.  There is not enough difference to justify $60 vs Free (at least for me).  I have been on dominant teams in Paladins and crappy teams.  There are a lot of attack points.  The good teams spread out and attack from all angles while the crappy ones rush and get blown to pieces.  I have not had any lag problems or problems finding a game yet.  I am bad at FPS games, but with Viktor I can usually top the leaderboard in eliminations, damage, and objective time.  I am also pretty good with Drogoz although I did have a terrible game last time with him.  The only other one I have used in Kinessa and was not very good.  To play competitive mode you need to get 12 champions to level 4 mastery.

filmoret

Soki123 said:

Who cares who copied who. The bottom line is OW is a far superior game. It s better controls, feels less clunky. Doesn t have mounts, which essentially play no point at all to the game, except more cosmetic stuff. The cards are meh at best. The combat in OW makes Paladins look like it was done by amateurs. I could go on and on.

Quite the comedian you are.  It doesn't have mounts.  LOL thats funny right there.  BTW they have the same controls.  Nothing clunky about Paladins.  Maybe its your glasses with blizzard all over them idk.  You could go on and on about pointless stuff.  Accusing Paladins of having useless cosmetic items.  Overwatch has nothing but useless cosmetic items.