There have been a few MOBA(multiplayer online battle arena)games on Android for a while, probably the most notable being Heroes of Order and Chaos from Gameloft, until now with the release of The Witcher Battle Arena from CD Projekt Red. The MOBA is a game type most people might be familiar with from League of Legends or DOTA 2, and this is basically like those but with a style all its own. The nice refreshing thing about The Witcher Battle Arena is that the map styles are really nothing like either of those two massive MOBA games, which is actually quite nice to see. It breaks up the monotony since there are so many similar MOBA games out there, and something a little different is exactly what you need if you play games like League of Legends or DOTA 2 often. The maps are also more open, without lanes or jungles seen in other MOBA’s so the battlefield is completely open.
The Witcher Battle Arena gives you three different modes to play in currently, which consists of an online PvP mode where you battle it out against other live players in various different maps, a Co-Op vs the A.I. mode where you and your team combat the computer based players, and the single player training mode where you play with all A.I. to practice your skills. At the moment there are 9 available characters to play, although not all of them are immediately available. You can however unlock them through the in-game currency known as “crowns” which you acquire through playing the game. You’ll notice that The Witcher Battle Arena is a free-to-play title but you actually won’t need to spend any money at all to gain access to any of the games locked content. You can unlock everything through playing to gain enough crowns, even the skins, although some items are going to cost a lot so there will still be the aspect of grinding to acquire the amounts you need. Nonetheless the game doesn’t require you to spend real-world money at all which is a nice change of pace from F2P.
Matches are short and action packed, lasting roughly 10 minutes per, and the goal is deplete the enemies base HP by gaining and holding control of each of the three conquest points. Teams are made up of three heroes each, all which have unique skills and abilities that bring a specific role to the team. Just like other MOBA’s you have tank characters who are meant to take the brunt of the damage, you have your melee characters who can deal massive damage at close range, and you have your mage, ranged, and support characters who can deal damage from afar with attack damage and magic based skills and attacks, or heal allies and affect the enemy in a number of ways. As you level up in each match, you also gain gold from kills and capturing conquest points, which you can use to spend on new skills and defenses. The game also features RPG like player profile and character progression though, so you can up your players stats and attributes out of match as well, and you can add new items and other gear like different weapons and armor to your characters. Overall it feels like a really polished MOBA and it’s a fantastic mobile gaming experience.
