Dawngate has just leveled up and announced an open beta release. We wrote a bit about the closed beta almost a year ago , so EA's MOBA, developed by Waystone, has had a lot of time to marinate. If you're game for a new MOBA, head to the Dawngate website to sign up .
It's a new MOBA, but is it a different MOBA? When you drill down into it, Dawngate is trying a few new things. The game includes capture points, RTS-style, that provide a stream of resources to you and your team. Attack animations all seem more kinetic and interesting than in Dota 2 and League of Legends. The team at Waystone also mentions a flexible meta-game that allows players to approach the game how they'd like, though it isn't clear on exactly what that means.
Capture points, flash, and a new meta-game would be enough to stake a claim in the genre, but is it enough? Dota 2 and League of Legends are heavily entrenched in the MOBA ecosystem in the same way that World of Warcraft has dominated the MMO sphere for so long. It will take a game with a lot of new ideas and big risks to make headway— Smite , for example, is doing well with a completely different perspective and control scheme. If it's too similar, there's no reason for players to step away from the heavyweights.
Speaking of new ideas: a look at Dawngate's website shows that EA has chosen to represent the game with three pieces of concept art. If you'll look closely, I think you'll find six reasons they think you'll be interested in Dawngate. Can you spot them all?
It's not like other MOBAs aren't guilty of the same , but it would have been nice to see a new artistic style from a MOBA that's apparently so committed to being different.
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