Fellowship is a new game on Steam and describes itself as a Multiplayer Online Dungeon Adventure, throwing you and your group into dungeons as you know them from MMORPGs.
Those who play MMORPGs know that the leveling phase is often one of the more boring aspects of the games. It often serves as a mix between a tutorial and filler content meant to prepare players for the endgame.
Those who want to persuade their friends to try MMORPGs often fail because no one wants to level up for a long time until they reach the point where the game is really enjoyable – in the dungeons. And this is exactly where Fellowship comes in.
Here you can see the trailer for Fellowship:
Dungeons, but no MMORPG
What kind of game is this? Fellowship is officially not an MMORPG, but it has taken the dungeons from the genre and created a standalone game from them. Finally, I can show my friends what I love doing in MMORPGs, without losing them in the leveling phase.
The game is set to be released as a full-priced title in 2025 without Free2Play and without a subscription. A closed alpha will take place starting August 15, which you can already sign up for on the developers’ website.
As a group of four players, you can conquer dungeons with your friends or other people you can find through the group finder or matchmaking. You are not limited to the typical MMORPG classes.
Fellowship features characters similar to League of Legends, instead of classes like in MMORPGs, each with their own unique abilities. You also have the freedom to choose how your group is composed for tackling the dungeon. In the test with the developers, there were 2 DDs, tanks, and healers available, but more will be available at the game’s release.
Dungeons for Veterans and Beginners
How do the dungeons work? The heart of Fellowship is the dungeons. The developers distinguish between two different modes:
- The Quickplay mode provides you with a boss and some trash mobs along the way. To complete the dungeon, you must eliminate a certain number of enemies and defeat the boss. The dungeons in Quickplay mode are supposed to last around 10–15 minutes and are not too challenging.
- For experienced players, there are the Ranked Dungeons. The Ranked Dungeons feature several bosses and usually take about 30–40 minutes per dungeon. What is particularly interesting about this mode is that players can choose the difficulty level themselves. They can also toggle MMORPG elements such as aggro meters and the ability to interrupt skills on and off. If players want even more of a challenge, they can, for example, ignite their dungeon with a meteor storm. This is how the developers aim to ensure that both veterans and beginners have their needs met.
At the end of all dungeons, there is loot and experience points to improve your character. The developers have mentioned that there will later also be various sets that can be combined with each other to create very powerful characters.
Despite the fact that Fellowship avoids making us kill 20 wolves or retrieving the chain from the old mill for a farmer, players can still unlock levels and abilities in Fellowship. There is also a proper skill tree. This is designed to be easy to understand and hard to master, allowing players various playstyles.
Only Dungeons – Does it Work?
During the playtesting with the developers, I was also interested in the replayability of Fellowship. The developers stated that the difficulty of the dungeons can be infinitely increased, and even at the highest level, teams should still be able to compete for best times. With different modifiers, players should also be able to customize the game.
The dungeons never dictate a path you must take. It is left to the players how they want to conquer the dungeon. The developers deliberately want nothing prescribed to the players and are curious about what will come out of it. Even during the event, the developers allowed me to choose which paths I wanted to take.
Fellowship may not have invented the dungeons, but it has rethought them. For example, respawn points are guarded by larger groups of mobs or elite monsters. You also never have to defeat all enemies in the dungeon, but you can’t rush directly to the boss either.
Fellowship is therefore well-suited for anyone who wants to do some raids with friends in the evening but simply doesn’t have the time to level for hours, as well as for those who want to precisely set how difficult they want their dungeons to be.
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