The MMORPG Black Desert offers its own Battle Royale mode: Shadow Arena. It has been in free Early Access on Steam since May 2020. To learn a bit more about the new and unique game, MeinMMO author Benedict Grothaus conducted an interview with Executive Producer Kwangsam Kim to discuss the future of Shadow Arena.
Among all the new Battle Royales that have dominated and sometimes flooded the market in recent years, some stand out. One of these exceptional games is Shadow Arena, which lays a Battle Royale rule set over the PvP component of the MMORPG Black Desert, creating a unique experience.
Shadow Arena has been free to play on Steam in Early Access since May 21, 2020 and is still under development.
As part of “Find Your Next Game“, I spoke with the head of the new game. During this conversation, I learned interesting information about the development and future of Shadow Arena as well as the role of players in all of this.
“The action and gameplay of Shadow Arena are very close to that of fighting games, combined with MOBA-like skills, and everything takes place in a beautiful 3D environment. Shadow Arena combines nearly all combat mechanics you see in PvP games, such as distance, timing, combos, quick and precise aiming, and the need to make strategic predictions.”
Indeed, it is difficult to describe the game differently. Unlike classics like PUBG or newcomers like Warzone , it does not revolve around military shooting. Shadow Arena builds on RPG elements, similar to Realm Royale (which, however, was not an inspiration, as Kim informs me).
“Shadow Arena is its own genre”
How does Shadow Arena differ from other games? Unlike most current Battle Royales, Shadow Arena does not have a shooter as its basis, but an MMORPG, and one of the largest in recent years.
This means that players do not start a round with the same conditions, but play characters – as in an RPG. Currently, 10 characters are available, each having its own abilities, strengths, and weaknesses that differ significantly more from one another than, for example, the legends in Apex Legends.
Each hero has its roots in different game genres. We cannot say that it is a generic Battle Royale. It is a distilled form of RPG mixed with many other elements.
I believe Shadow Arena is its own genre because nothing can be compared to it.
These heroes are intentionally very different. Each hero has their strengths and weaknesses, Kim explains to me, and that is their way of balancing. If a hero appears too strong, their weakness is made more severe to take away some of their strength.
The heroes are designed to correspond to specific genres:
- Fans of fighting games may enjoy Badal. His playstyle is based on strong melee combos that can be punished if not executed correctly.
- For shooter fans, Orwen is more suitable. As an archer, she operates with ranged shots that need to hit well, while she is virtually unprotected in close combat.
This approach of specialized heroes is preferred by Kim over making all characters uniform.
What is the best thing about the game? The system with the heroes seems to work. As Kim tells me, the balanced matches are what players enjoy the most:
“It is the competition between players at a similar skill level and the feeling of victory after winning a match. Once you manage to win, you will fall in love with this game.”
How is Shadow Arena doing? In the last 30 days, an average of 1,023 players have played Shadow Arena on Steam, with a peak of 4,948 players (via steamcharts, as of June 15). The reviews on Steam currently sit at 51% positive and are “mixed”.
Since Shadow Arena is still in development, a lot is expected to change. Particularly the points that players currently criticize are what the developers aim to fix as quickly as possible.
The development of Shadow Arena
Since the start of Early Access, Shadow Arena has two major issues that currently take the highest priority: balancing and technical problems. These are some of the reasons why players rate Shadow Arena negatively on Steam, resulting in the game currently sitting at 51% positive ratings. When Kim answers the question about these ratings and how that should look different in the future, he states that both should be improved in the near future:
If we look at the comments, we have seen issues with lags, hacking, and balance. The price of the DLC was also a factor. Unfortunately, we don’t have a magic bullet that solves all problems at once, but we will use the Early Access period to fix everything as quickly as possible. In the first weeks, we put a lot of effort into improving the lag and minimizing the hacking while adjusting our heroes twice a week. For the DLC and cosmetics, we are considering lowering prices or even offering them for free.
One problem with this, however, is that player feedback often contradicts itself, especially regarding balance. While it helps that the team conducts tests themselves, with each update they collect more feedback and reimplement it.
Kim is confident that the balance issue will soon be resolved, as Shadow Arena receives updates twice a week and is not afraid to roll back updates if they don’t work. “That is basically our motto.”
The future and release of Shadow Arena – More than just Battle Royale
What else will be released before the launch? Shadow Arena is expected to grow bigger in the near future. Still in 2020, the developers plan to introduce 10 more heroes, as Kim tells me, so by the end of the year, 20 playable characters should be available.
Additionally, a new map and a completely new mode that will not be based on the rules of Battle Royale, as well as a tournament mode with special tournament rules, will be introduced. There is just no exact time yet, as the coronavirus crisis also affects Pearl Abyss, “but we are working hard to prevent a delay in the schedule.”
For 2021, new features and expansions are planned. These are expected to come at a “more aggressive pace”.
What are the developers focusing on for the future: So far, there are no further ideas about where things might go in the next five years. It depends too much on what the community wants:
To be honest, it is very difficult to say because our planned direction depends on player feedback. We have many things prepared and a basic direction that we want to pursue, but continuous updates based on user feedback can take us to completely different places. If the game ends up being more fun in an originally unplanned direction, then we will gladly follow that path.
However, Kim mentions elsewhere that Esports is an important point for the game when it comes to balancing different modes, solo and duo. But this will probably take a bit longer.
When will Shadow Arena be released? There is no release date yet. Kim told me: “As soon as we are satisfied with the quality and the amount of content for Shadow Arena, we will be ready for launch.” So it remains to be seen how long Early Access will last.
Tips for getting started
Finally, I asked Kim for some tips for beginners in Shadow Arena. If you liked the idea of the game and its future plans, the head himself has a few suggestions for you to ease your entry:
- “First, basic attacks can interrupt an opponent’s combo. You can’t just use any skill when you are close to the opponent because it gets nullified. You have to think first about which skill to use as long as you are not in range. Once you get closer, try to figure out your opponent’s timing and use your basic attack to counter their skill.
- Second, to get more items and skill points, you need to attract the attention of monsters because it is much more effective to kill them in groups rather than individually. RPG players will know what I mean.
- Third, in Shadow Arena, it’s about chaining combos. Combos have crowd control effects like stuns. While the opponent cannot move or defend, you can attack them with another combo. So it is important to learn and experiment with them. The AI mode is perfect for that. Basic combos all start with a kick (F).
- And to squeeze in another tip: If you are in danger, do not hesitate to use your blink or ‘Dark Shift’ as the skill recharges quite quickly. It is actually better than using your survival skills or your initial elixir of speed.”
Who is Shadow Arena suitable for? In principle, Shadow Arena is worth a look for anyone who enjoys playing Battle Royale and is looking for a new approach within the genre, but also for MMORPG players who place a high value on the PvP aspect in their games.
Shadow Arena differs significantly from other Battle Royales and should therefore not be directly compared with them. Anyone who generally prefers MMOs or MMORPGs might find an interesting variety of game modes here.
Kim told me that players of Shadow Arena come from many different genres. Many come from MMOs, but also MOBA, FPS, Battle Royale and fighting game fans are among them.
Potential: High
The approach of linking Battle Royale, heroes, and RPG with the classic rule set is something I have personally wished for in a deeper form since the early days of Realm Royale – and Shadow Arena could fill that gap.
The mechanics are unique, the graphics are great, and the PvE aspect of slaying monsters to level up is just the “cherry on top” for me in a Battle Royale game.
However, there is one catch: Whether Shadow Arena will become as good as I envision depends heavily on how it develops. If pricing policies and balancing improve a bit, while the approach with specialized heroes and their strengths and weaknesses is further deepened, it would be the right direction for me. If it goes more in the direction that Realm Royale later pursued, I would prefer to stay with the competition. After all, some decisions there already caused a massive drop after a strong rise.
It now depends on which direction Shadow Arena develops and what feedback players give. In the best case, it will become a true gem of the genre with a unique approach. In the worst case, it will fade into obscurity and be forgotten.
Benedict Grothaus
Freelance author at MeinMMO
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