We all know it when we see it. 2.5D angle, wide camera shot, avatars running around open spaces. The Isometric, Ultima-style RPG is one of the longest lived and most reiterated ideas in the medium. For good reason, too. Sometimes, when you create a system good enough, there isn’t much of a reason to change the formula too much. From Baldur’s Gate, to Diablo, to Pillars of Eternity, this presentation suits almost every need a good RPG requires while mimicking its pen and paper roots in homage. Add Master x Master to that list of iso-inspired games.
NCSoft, world famous for their MMOs like Blade and Soul, Guild Wars 2, and Aion, has decided to diversify their game offerings and jump into the MOBA sphere. And why not? It’s the fastest growing segment in the industry. MxM’s most surprising feature isn’t the dual champ “tag teams” or the frenetic action combat. It’s the very dedicated focus on a coherent single player experience. Both in aesthetic and in its mechanics.
It seems like an odd fit on paper because not many games outside of the RPG really use this perspective, but NCSoft’s heavy focus on co-op and single player modes really helps translate the PvP action into something immediately identifiable. Your targets switch from other player-controlled masters to dungeon mobs and mini bosses. Depending on the map you choose, you can adjust the difficulty of the run. The bigger the challenge, the bigger the reward.
In order to prepare for these PvE experiences, you have to upgrade and curate your abilities ahead of time. You buy ranks in abilities with in-game gold (earned by completing quests and gaining achievements), and they stick with your “stage” masters permanently. In a way, it makes planning ahead that much more important, because you can only upgrade if you have the money and not when you gain levels. Making your favorite skill on your favorite master uber strong can make him a one trick pony, especially since each master has three skills, and you have to bring two of them. Spreading your gold and your upgrades across a smattering of go-to masters is the key to being prepared and filling any gaps a team could need.
Skill management is one of the biggest challenges to navigate in MxM, and it’s way more apparent in the PvE sections. With only three of five total abilities, plus the right clickable survival skills and passives, there’s a lot to memorize when attempting to synergize between switchable pairs of characters, let alone a team of them. The only real way of knowing who does what the best with whom is a great deal of trial and error. It can be pretty intimidating, but PvE is the best place to really hash this part of the learning curve out. Free from the pressures of competition, you can learn the more basic functions of each master with a bit more of margin for error.
Exploring and experiencing much of the story content unfolds this way, and I have to say, the mechanics translate almost seamlessly. In fact, some masters seem to have abilities that are simply better suited for this kind of play than in PVP, like R&B’s zone heavy kit. It’s a good way to grind out component items and node materials, and during this pre-alpha test, a special dungeon was open to run that could earn you rewards that, if enough are gathered, can unlock a special master.
The story itself is pretty hazy, at the moment. It’s difficult to follow who the good and bad guys are, but there is a basic plot involving the native people of Karith being subjugated by a chief who’s turned traitor for the promise of power. Let’s hope it’s more fleshed out in the future, especially since the long list of colorful characters have plenty of stories that can be told about them.
I came to the Alpha expecting a new entry to the MOBA genre, which I got in good quantity. I left with a fascination for this unexpected single player experience wrapped tightly around tutorial content. It has a great deal of potential and I’m excited to watch it expand in the future. What are you most interested in regarding NCSoft’s Master x Master? Let us know on Twitter and Facebook. And don’t forget to stop by the Official MxM Wiki and dive into the vast ocean of knowledge (or add some wisdom of your own).