Magic: Legends will soon finally start its beta after some delays. MeinMMO author Benedict Grothaus already had the chance to take a look at what the new ARPG in the Magic universe has to offer. He has discarded his initial expectations.
When I played Magic: Legends for the first time at PAX East in early 2020, I thought: this will be a cool alternative to Diablo 3 or Diablo 4. A strong hack’n’slash with the lore of Magic, the gameplay of Diablo, and some of its own mechanics.
Wrong thought.
The developers invited MeinMMO to take another look at Magic: Legends shortly before the beta launch, and I have to say: it has hardly anything to do with Diablo anymore. Yes, those who know and have played the series can draw on some experience. But that’s where the similarity ends.
Legends does so much differently that I felt pretty dumb at first glance at the mechanics – but also excited. Perhaps there is more here than just a pure alternative to Diablo. I hope for a new gem in the ARPG genre, but I also have my concerns.
This is how Magic: Legends plays
This is the gameplay: My session included two missions as well as a little browsing in the shop, the decks, cards, and the equipment as well as an overview of all classes. Basically, because of that, yes, the pure gameplay is indeed very similar to that of Diablo.
In the missions and the world, I move my character and use one of four currently available abilities. I find masses of enemies, usually in larger groups, and kindly guide them to the afterlife with fire, summons, or other magic.
The only difference is that my spells are not fixed. The four active abilities rotate out of a total of twelve that I installed in my (pre-made) decks. If I use an ability, it gets consumed and the next “card” is drawn randomly from the stack.
This changes which abilities I have available when. This way, different synergies and possibilities arise for killing enemies. Ultimately, everything builds on me coordinating my skills and considering how exactly my abilities should interact.
That sounds like Diablo, right? Builds in Diablo work in a similar way. Sets and abilities create synergies, and eventually, a “meta-build” emerges that every player of a class then uses.
In Legends, however, that is expected to be different. Because of the sheer number of cards available to each of the five classes so far, countless different decks can be created.
But that’s not all. Magic: Legends offers, in addition to the cards and decks, equipment and artifacts. Equipment provides bonuses for attributes and abilities as usual. Artifacts are what makes the decks and synergies really interesting.
They provide effects in addition to the cards and the equipment, such as: every time I cast a certain type of spell, I have a chance to summon a giant dragon. During my playtest, I had up to three dragons on the field simultaneously, one of which can already handle dozens of enemies on its own.
Additionally, Legends is not strictly divided into levels and maps like Diablo. There are, although, individual missions that function similarly to dungeons in Diablo 3. However, the world, with its many layers, offers an open world that you can explore and in which you can even find player hubs (cities). In addition, every player has a personal sanctum.
Legends is more MMO than Diablo
What makes Magic: Legends special: All these features make Legends more of an MMO than Diablo can claim. Roughly speaking, it is reminiscent of the size of Path of Exile, only, in my understanding, it is focused even more on social aspects.
In short, Legends offers the following core features:
- an open world that you can freely explore with portals for fast travel. There are several “layers” with their own cities that function similarly to Acts in Diablo 3
- closed levels or missions where you pursue a goal and earn loot at the end. For example, I played a sort of escort mission as well as a mission where I had to defend an area against enemies for a while
- continuous progress through more and more cards, equipment, and artifacts as well as the ability to upgrade them with farmable materials
- Decks that determine how you play Magic: Legends
- artifacts that enhance the effects of decks and lead to strong builds in the endgame
Levels work roughly like in Diablo. Once a mission in the story has been played, it can be completed again and again to loot better loot on higher difficulties or to help friends.
