Hi-Rez studios, creators of the widely popular action MOBA SMITE, have unveiled their new game: Paladins. Hi-Rez have confirmed that Paladins will feature strong strategy elements alongside its team-based shooter mechanics, with an early playable build available to attendees of Gamescom 2015. The game will be Free-to play according to the development team, and available on the PC and current generation consoles. If you are unfortunately not one of those going to Gamescom then you are still able to sign up to the closed beta at www.paladinsgame.com. The game has already been in development for a year but Hi-Rez has managed to keep this secret, although I don’t know how.
Paladins has the fast action of a team-based first person shooter but that also mixes with a fantasy setting to make it really unique. Similar to their previous game SMITE Paladins offers deep strategy and in-game character progression, although this will be done through deck of collectible cards. These in-game progressions will amplify and augment a character’s core set of abilities. In Paladins, teams are pitted again each other. Each player enters the battlefield with a primary weapon, a set of combat and movement abilities, and a loyal stead to charge into the many battles. At the beginning of each match players are presented with a customizable deck of skill cards which can be activated and even evolved when the player levels up in-game.
Some of these features may sound very similar to some as it mirrors SMITE with relation to in-game levelling. This can be largely due to the team behind Paladins. Mark Larkins, senior producer had this to say “We’ve dedicated a separate team from SMITE to work on it, and while we are still early in development, we know we’re crafting something very special. Paladins is extremely quick, with a great deal of depth in how it blends action, tactics, and teamwork, and we’re excited for gamers to start discovering all it has to offer.†Since the team seems to originally work on SMITE there is bound to be similarities but Speaking about this Todd Harris, COO at Hi-Rez Studios had this to say title “We’ve focused on making something we find fun and competitive, and soon players will help us craft how Paladins grows from hereâ€. This shows that Hi-Rez want to make something fresh for players and not a sequel to SMITE.
What do you guys think of this upcoming release and will you be picking it up? Let us know in the comments. To keep up to date with all news Xbox and PC make sure to check us out at mousenjoypad.com