Tuesday was patch day in the open beta MOBA Paragon and again changes were introduced that many players find hard to understand.
The loss of the unique feature
Paragon, the open beta MOBA from Epic Games, known for their fast shooters, received an update last Tuesday that most players want to see reverted. So what happened?
Once again it concerns the Prime Guardian and its Prime Orb, a sphere that it dropped upon death which had to be taken to a specific point in the enemy’s half of the map to activate a buff for the team or to reconstruct lost inhibitors.
However, with the current patch, the Prime Orb was completely removed from the game. Now, when a team kills the Prime Guardian, the team buff (more specifically, the activation of the main cards of the team) activates immediately. Thus, this guardian now functions much like a Baron in LoL.
But why are countless players complaining about this change? On one hand, because Epic Games is taking away an important unique feature that led to exciting team fights at the drop-off point of the orb, and to some tactical plays that are now completely gone.
On the other hand, due to the current focus on reducing game time and the ongoing unresolved issues with general balance, extreme situations are being created. With the removal of the Prime Orb, it is even easier for some characters to take down the guardian alone. Team fights in that area? Absent. Those who want to know more should check out the article on the current state of Paragon.
What’s broken stays broken
Paragon, the MOBA that wants to set the standard for all others, is taking a cue from other genre colleagues and introducing a homogenized mechanic. However, with the removal of the Prime Orb, the ability to rebuild inhibitors is also lost.
Not only will they now, if destroyed, remain broken. Furthermore, the regeneration rate of the inhibitors has been decreased, which leads to them regenerating less health during an attack, making it easier to destroy an inhibitor earlier in the match.
This may lead to shorter matches, but at the cost of the carries, as they have hardly any chance to reach their peak performance. Tanks like Rampage, who can currently take down towers single-handedly, or casters like Gideon, who can finish off early-damaged opponents with his cosmic rift, take the lead rather than Murdock or Twinblast.
Pascal says: While attempts are made to counter the issue of missing XP in the current patch by shortening the spawn time of collectors, I believe this cannot change much about the current situation.
The new skins for some characters can hardly compensate for the current issues.
Additionally, the speed of the travel mode has been reduced. This will be completely removed in one of the next patches, which also does not meet with a good response from the community. Let’s just hope that Epic Games does not lose sight of the overall picture, develops completely past its community, and brings the whole system back together into a coherent, enjoyable, and exciting gaming experience.
