As an avid MOBA player I've tried just about every MOBA game I can get my hands on, literally I don't think there is a MOBA current in beta I haven't played. But honestly, the majority of them just aren't fun, the controls and gameplay just don't feel tactile, Dawngate is different.
When I first heard that Dawngate was being developed by a small EA team my initial thoughts were "Oh great they're going to milk it", but much to my surprise one of the developers of the small passion project passed me a beta key so I could try it and then tell him what I thought, so I did. The game is a ton of fun to play, it plays much the same as other MOBA games, but the four gold shrines on the map bring back a bit more of Warcraft and add another objective to the map.
What it always comes down to for me is the attitude of the developer towards the game and its community, and I'm happy to report that Waystone games are very passionate about this. The developers do a livestream on TwitchTV (which was an instant success) and give away beta keys en mass to viewers. They even hired an ex-League of Legends pro-player to help them with game balance.
The Free Agent: Episode 10 - PAX Prime Edition
The Free Agent returns from PAX Prime with his top 3 F2P picks from the show floor
First Place: Dawngate
Some would say that the MOBA market is saturated, and if we allow League of Legends and DOTA2 to define exactly what a MOBA is, then perhaps that true. But there are those out there who have a different concept of what this genre can be, and among them is Waystone Games.
Dawngate isn't just another MOBA. Yes it has roster of champions that use the standard QWER key bindings to wield various powers in a competitive PvP arena. And from what I've seen those powers are really no different than any other MOBA; a combination of buffs, snares, disables, damage abilities (both direct and sustained) and on the list goes.
But it's Dawngate's ambition to enable players to move beyond a rigid, established meta game and play the way they want to play that truly impressed me. While many have promised this very same thing Dawngate is the first MOBA that truly makes me believe it's possible.
How exactly do they accomplish this you ask? To start with they are one of the few MOBA developers out there at the moment who seem content to not push a tri-lane map as the main game mode. Now, in and of itself that's not enough, without something more substantial I would decry that effort as weak sauce. But, when coupled with their role-selection mechanics, I become cautiously optimistic.
By selecting from one of four roles, you as a player dictate how your selected champion will progress though out the game. Enjoy laning, choose the Gladiator role, or perhaps you want to control the map and harass your opponents, well then choose the Tactician role. Love jungling become a hunter, or if you just want to gank the living crap out of the other team all day then choose the Predator role.
Regardless of who chooses what roles, the champions, the map and the objectives are tuned to allow all kinds of combinations to be viable by rewarding players for playing the way they want to play rather than punishing them for not fitting into a pre-set meta game.
Will there be certain combinations that work better than others? Likely. Will top tier play eventually fall into some kind of static meta? Probably. But will the rest of us enjoy being able to throw together all sorts of interesting and entertaining team combinations without shooting ourselves in the foot or being bullied by toxic player responses? I believe so.
After playing Dawngate at PAX Prime, and chatting with Waystone Games Senior Producer Dave Cerra, I couldn't help but be excited about this game. Their presence at PAX was so understated that I almost missed them entirely, but I'm so glad I randomly stopped at a computer to take a gander at what at first glance was "just another MOBA", only to discover a small but dedicated and creative team, daring to be different.
I could go on at length, but since it's currently in closed beta I'll hold off. But you can count on seeing more of Dawngate on the Free Agent once it moves into open beta. In the meantime, you might even find me taking advantage of their no-NDA policy to stream some Dawngate closed beta with some of my old LoL friends who are desperately looking for something new to sink their teeth into.