Hi everyone and welcome back to another post! I’ve been interested in RWBY lately, which got me thinking about the upcoming RWBY game, friendly arena. I’m lucky enough to be a participant in the official closed beta, and I’d like to take some time to share my experience with you all!
With the name Amity Arena, many predicted that the new game would be a fast-paced fighting game. That guess isn’t too far off, as the app is packing the fight. However, the differences are noticeable and the end result is a card-based tactics game.
On the surface, this may sound unappealing; It is a clone of ordinary mobile games. While the game does borrow some elements from other games (such as mobage character enhancements and stamina-based systems), the game moves forward with some new integrations.
After starting the game, players will directly enter the tutorial. The tutorial is definitely on point and not overbearing, as the game can be confusing without proper explanation. We play a practice match, learn the controls, learn the rules, and start with some iconic RWBY characters.
In order to understand RWBY: Amity Arena, the game elements must be explained. As a simple description, Gameplay includes:
A small arena that changes based on player ranking. The changes seem to be mostly aesthetic and feature set coming from RWBY (e.g. Beacon Academy).
Each player has a tower and two turrets that attack nearby enemies and take damage when attacked. The goal of the game is to destroy your opponent’s tower. The main central tower is the most important, and destroying this tower is an automatic victory. Otherwise, the player who destroys the most buildings wins.
To attack towers, players are given characters in the form of cards. These characters have different abilities and rankings, which are related to the amount of aura (bottom blue bar) used. The aura will regenerate at a set rate during the match.
Characters placed on the map will attack the character closest to them, or go to the nearest enemy tower. Characters have different attributes; there are ranged attackers and physical attackers, as well as characters with special effects based on rarity.
So, these are the basic game mechanics of Amity Arena. Playing the game is complex, but the overall concept is simple. If you are familiar with the following games League of Legendsthis RWBY game is not far away.
Finally, a very important gameplay element is the upgrade and currency system. Characters in the game are displayed in the form of cards with various attributes. Like many mobile games, in order to make these warriors stronger, players need to collect more warriors. Afterwards, they can level up using liens earned from missions and battles.
This sounds easy, but getting Lien in large quantities is a little more difficult. This is a big problem because stronger characters require more money to level up.
The game certainly allows currency purchases with real-world currency, which would solve this problem. Obtaining increasingly powerful characters depends entirely on upgrading them. There’s something wrong with the design of this system that results in pay-to-win gameplay, since you can spend money to level up your character nearly infinitely. More information on this is discussed below.
Extra facts about the game
There are different versions/costumes of the main RWBY characters. (Team RWBY has new costumes, along with original season versions.) Unlock the ability to use different characters based on Arena ranking. For example, Arena 2 can access characters that are not available in Arena 1, such as Penny. Once the character is acquired, they can be used regardless of level.
Characters are obtained through treasure chest drops received after each battle. You can open them with a key. Every day you will receive 5 free keys. Other chests can be purchased using crystals (another currency).
Upgrades increase your tower’s strength and health. So far this has not contributed to anything else.
There is no single-player mode as of yet; the entire game is PVP. The opponents you are paired with are determined by your PVP ranking, which separates players into different arenas.
last minute thoughts
First of all, I want to say that I absolutely love Amity Arena. As mentioned before, I love RWBY and it has a fantastic cast of characters. Regardless, since the game is still in development, it’s not without its problems.
The nature of Pay2Win is a major issue that stands out. While skill plays an important role in the game, it can only get you so far. Upgrading your character is a major part of the game and necessary to win. This is where Pay2Win comes into play, as leveling up is done by spending in-game currency, and large amounts of in-game currency aren’t available without external resources. Therefore, players who don’t spend money are always at a disadvantage compared to players who spend money, which is a terrible problem.
My battery is also draining all the time. The battery drain is killer when using the app and I hope this issue gets fixed. The option to reduce graphics settings will help in this regard.
Getting started was a bit difficult. You gain points for every win, but you also lose points when things don’t go your way. A string of losses can drop your ranking to a lower level, making it difficult to make any progress, especially in the beginning. It’s not always a level playing field, with matchmaking pairing you with higher-ranked players and characters you don’t have access to. This is another thing to work on.
But it’s not all bad! It has a lot going for it, such as beautiful artwork, great music, addictive and fun tactical gameplay, and more. I also liked that most of the characters kept their voices or quoted lines from the main series. This will definitely increase Features to the game.
Having said all that, are you looking forward to this game? Is it a success or a failure? Were you expecting something different? Let me know in the comments below!
Thank you for reading!