Summary
Warhaven is a free-to-play, PVP sword action game that offers melee combat experience in medieval fantasy warfare. Players will hack and slash through massive swordfights in various maps and game modes. Warhaven provides a unique gaming experience in a space flooded with PVP shooters.
Warhaven takes place in a world called Herarth. During the wars, Many weapons were made in excess, and many more were scattered around the battlefields. People of Herarth re-use these excess weapons in their day-to-day lives to form vehicles, machines, and even structures.
Warhaven plans to launch early access on September 21st, and it can easily be the best free-to-play online PVP game this year.
Gameplay
The gameplay controls of Warhaven are simple and easy to pick up, but there is also a tall skill ceiling for players to develop nuanced techniques to set them apart. Charging into battle with swords ready to attack is extremely fun, but survival hinges on mastering the block move to swiftly counter enemy attacks. This may look similar to games likeFor HonororChivalry; however, unlike most of the existent melee swordfight games focusing on more refined combat mechanics, Warhaven provides a more casual and approachable gameplay experience.
Also, Warhaven focuses on teaming up to win battles. And don’t worry, regardless of skill level, players can squad up with their friends. Parties won’t make up an entire team in most game modes, but having a squad unlocks hidden strategic possibilities, enhancing the overall gameplay and discovery within the game.
Alongside the excellent gameplay, there is a world of surprisingly profound lore that enhances the gameplay for players who want to dive deeper into the world of Herath.
Soldier Classes
There are 6 characters for players to choose from, all using unique weapons that vary the play style greatly. Blade, for example, is a versatile warrior capable of devastating combos, typically best suited for players who love to be in the action and deal a large amount of damage. On the other hand, there is Smoke, a healer where players must rely on survival skills to heal and revive their teammates.
Although there are only 6 characters to choose from right now, new characters will be added every 3 months to keep gameplay fresh.
The Immortals
After passing a threshold of kills, assists, and points during a match, players can turn their character into Immortals. These immortals are god-like beings with magical powers and supernatural abilities that will turn the tide of any battle. Of course, players don’t always get to stay as one of the Immortals, but the time that they do is glorious.
There are 4 Immortals to choose from: Martyr, Hoet, Darkgale, and Raven.
Martyrspecializes in melee combat and is best suited for close-combat situations, including chaotic brawls and more minor engagements.
Hoetsupports allies with protective barriers and mass resurrections. Hoet is best suited when allies are down and need resurrections fast and all at once.
Darkgalerips through enemy lines with high-speed charges and is best suited in vast, unobstructed areas where enemies are in crowds.
Ravenwields powerful long-range magic that strikes multiple foes. She is best suited for long-distance damage, as she cannot take too much damage.
Game Modes
In Warhaven, there are 5 game modes and 5 maps where they take place, each altering the strategy and tactics to beat the opponents.
Dominionis where each team competes to control more footholds than the other team, either one central foothold or 3 footholds around the map.
Onslaughtis where players push the front line into enemy territory by controlling contested footholds. Onslaught focuses on team-wide tactical maneuvers, capturing the atmosphere of charging onto a battlefield.
Arms Raceis an escort game mode in which players must escort a War Machine into enemy territory and destroy the enemy team’s totems.
Team Deathmatchfollows the standard rules of deathmatch game modes, where each team’s objective is to defeat the target number of their opponents. Deathmatch is a simple ruleset, but it allows players to demonstrate their skill and allows the fun of this mode to shine.
Reclamationis a Capture the Flag game mode where both teams fight to capture Divine Stones that spawn in the middle of the map by transporting them to an allied foothold.
Early Access Release
Warhaven is adding a new character, battle mode, map, in-game enhancements, and a special event mode with the early access release scheduled for September 21st and the start of Season 1.
The new character is still in the shadows, but the one thing that has been released is that their name is Bard. From that, Game Rant can suspect that this new character will probably be a healer or a soldier focusing on buffing their teammates.
One of the battle modes, Arms Race, has been improved. Players must escort a war machine to destroy the enemy’s totem in this mode. This new mode will be played on the new Hwara map, which features air gliders, offering an exciting way to get around the map.
The in-game enhancements are mainly focused on the frequency with which players can switch to Immortals. In the beta testing, Warhaven developers found that how frequently players were getting to use Immortals was detracting from allowing the users to fight more intensely as soldiers instead of Immortals.
Finally, two smaller-scaled game modes have been introduced. These smaller-scale battles will decrease the number of players in the match to 6v6, allowing newer players to get a handle on the controls and more experienced players to challenge their skills.
For these smaller battles, there will be two game modes:Team Deathmatch,where each team’s objective is to defeat the target number of their opponents, andReclamation,a Capture the Flag game mode where both teams fight to capture Divine Stones that spawn in the middle of the map by transporting them to an allied foothold.
