(Image and all images are taken directly from the game and/or the game discord)
The Gameplay:
Strictly my thoughts on the gameplay. I'll come to my thoughts on other aspects of the game later.
There are rotating game modes which are fun and they do change the way you should play the game. If you just go out and kill everyone you see in every game mode, you aren't going to win very many matches. Which is something I love. It adds variety. However this notion can be lost on new players and they'll go in guns blazing like a Call of Booty game and end up feeding the enemy team. Which can happen, gaining kills means you unlock your abilities, but, there is a caveat. They did a very VERY good job allowing players to win even if they fall behind. And it's not so much from luck. There are other ways to gain experience. You can attack boxes and level up that way, and as the game goes on, there's a multiplier for earning points. For example, lets just say you ARE playing a team death match game mode. At the start kills will be worth 1 point, but as the time for the game ends, getting a kill will be worth 3 points instead. If you're ahead, it means you need less kills to end the game, but if you're behind, it means there's a real chance to turn the game around quickly enough to win the game. I find this nuance brilliant.
Changes I'd Like to See:
The controls are a little clunky. I think they should focus on making it a little smoother. They do have key bindings set up but It doesn't really help the clunky feeling. I'd like it to be more point and click for movement, similar to league of legends, but I'm not sure they could make that work.
Game Modes:
They have more game modes than I would have expected from this kind of game. I'm glad to see it. Some modes are very unique and fit well within the style of gameplay. They of course included Battle Royale, which I've actually had fun with. Another game mode called 'Superstar,' really forces people to play as a team. You must collect stars to win, and there's a special star players must battle over that allows you to generate normal stars based on your location. So if you grab the star and take it towards your teammates, it makes it much easier to collect the stars.
Changes I'd Like to See:
While the game modes rotate, it's actually only the maps that change. The game modes are pretty much the same. It's an interesting concept but there's still not enough content. I'd like to see some additional modes. Maybe a capture the flag or a mode with more players. Definitely need more maps as well.
Skills:
While each Hero has a unique skill there are others that all players have access to. Players can choose up to 2 different skills, one an attack type and the other a debuff type. Skills are really the only meaningful choices players have to fit the game to their style of play. Aside from the skills unique to the hero you're playing, everyone has access to the same skills. Like the game modes/maps, the skills available rotate. I guess that keeps the game fresh as well in a way but I'm not sure why they choose to lock away some of the abilities instead of just leaving them all available.
Changes I'd Like to See:
I don't understand why all skills aren't available. It doesn't make sense to me personally to rotate available skills. I think there's a way to make it work but the way it's being implemented now, it's just overcomplicating the system. It would also be nice to have some unlockable skills. Maybe the main skill of the hero could have some additional unlockable options. That would be nice. Otherwise the way this is set up doesn't make sense to me personally.
VS.
Buying Heroes:
For some reason, perhaps to confuse players, there are two shops. One where you're buying an NFT, the other you're not. Once you realize that the in game shop is just buying more "free to play" characters then you'll wonder how to get to the goods stuff. The real play to earn NFT characters. And unfortunately that's not really well explained in the game. The best way to get there and make sure you're going to the real Marketplace is by going to Thetanarena.com and clicking the marketplace button at the top right hand corner. That just ensures you're not going to a scam website.
The in-game shop actually isn't so bad. You see, the only way to be able to withdraw your $THC (the yellow one not the green one) Is by reaching bronze rank first, and then there's a minimum amount you must have as well. The minimum needed is low and will be easy to get if you're capable of reaching bronze. It's actually harder than you might think. The system is quite the grind. As you gain as much as you lose. What I mean by that is, to rank up, you must win. Unless you're playing solo battle royale, in which case you can come in 6th place and gain a couple points for your rank. If you don't win, or you don't place high enough in battle royale, you will lose an equal amount to winning.
For example, when I win a match I'm gaining 24 points. When I lose a match 24 points towards my rank is deducted! So, Unless you can maintain at least a 51% win rate or higher, you're never going to reach bronze rank. And if you can't maintain a win rate much higher than that, you'll have a very long and arduous grind up the ladders.
To that end, it could be, you'll never be able to climb the ladders, perhaps due to the heroes you're using? Well, if you continue you playing, and build up your $THC, over time you can technically purchase another hero in game. The drawbacks of course are that they aren't real NFT heroes.
The marketplace or the external shop can also be confusing if you're new to crypto. There are 4 (technically 5) different currencies presented in your wallet which may overwhelm someone new to crypto.
There's definitely a lot going on here. And it doesn't help that the price for heroes bought directly from other players, is in WBNB. Not even a game currency. Once you understand it a bit more then it's pretty easy to figure out though. WBNB is to buy directly from players, $THC is to buy common and epic crates and $gTHC (the green one) is to buy legendary crates.
Changes I'd Like to See:
I'd like for the Marketplace to be in the game and not an external shop. I don't understand that. I'd also like to see a rent option. It'd be nice if players could rent out their heroes. Maybe the owner and player could split the rewards, or there could be a better way to handle it but I want to see more options for people to play and earn. As fun as the game is, I want to make money while I play. And the path towards profitability is not really there at the moment. Even as a free to play game. If it's a grind and wastes a lot of time, people looking to invest in something will look elsewhere, it happens time and time again. Always dangerous to try and balance free to play, play to earn with remaining profitable. It seems like the best way to make money is to buy a hero. It's not the only way but it's really the most realistic way. Or maybe I just need to get good and it's not that grindy at all. I just suck. That's a real possibility too.
The Bugs:
This game is fun. The experience however is spoiled by all the bugs. This is just the surface. There are bugs with purchasing heroes, bugs in game, bugs loading, bugs inviting friends etc. etc. Incessant bugs and game crashes plus nonstop maintenance has spoiled the game for many. Some players/investors have left or expressed interest in selling off their assets and leaving because of the state of the game.
These issues however, are understandable to a certain extent. When the game released there was explosive growth. No one could have anticipated it reaching 2 million players in the first couple days. It's very impressive. They are a small team and could not meet the demand obviously. They've began restructuring support and they claim to be adding staff as well. There are few games that are released without any hiccups so I remain optimistic on them getting these things sorted out.
I hope they hire more talent, they obviously need it. I feel like this game is really pushing the boundaries on what investors (who at their core are also gamers) should expect from the blockchain games we are investing in. Right now this is still very new, and we are seeing a lot of small companies looking to hit it big as early developers. The problem is most of what we've seen so far is very ordinary. I am remaining optimistic about this game and can't wait to see what happens.
