The strategic action MMO Conqueror’s Blade is represented at this year’s Gamescom. Our authors Jürgen and Tarek had the opportunity to take a look at the game at publisher My.com and even play it themselves.
It’s Gamescom and publishers are taking the opportunity to showcase their upcoming titles. Therefore, Jürgen and I were able to take a detour to My.com to test the MMO Conqueror’s Blade and directly ask the developers questions.
What is Conqueror’s Blade? Conqueror’s Blade is a PC-exclusive MMO that combines action and military strategy elements and aims to deliver grand, epic battles to players. You command your own units against other players in battle to either expand or defend your territory.
Additionally, you manage fortresses, cities, resources, and trade routes. A variety of soldiers are available to you, each utilizing different weapons and abilities depending on their “culture” of origin.
You have access to troops primarily from the cultural spheres of
- the European region,
- the Near East,
- the Middle East, and
- East Asia
Also, you choose from specific weapons and thereby define your abilities. To put it superficially, you would probably compare it to a mix of For Honor and the Total War series.
When will Conqueror’s Blade be released and where? So far, there is no release date yet, but the platform will be Steam. A closed beta is set to start in the fall.
The Gamescom Demo of Conqueror’s Blade
First, we took a few initial steps in the demo. In a mission that could be described as a kind of tutorial, we familiarized ourselves with the hub, our fortress, the controls, and the peculiarities of troop management.
We had access to a level 60 character. We did not learn how advanced this level is.
So the mission began:Before starting, we select the composition of our unit. They differ in their ancestry. We could lead Polish and Chinese soldiers together into battle against a fortress. In addition to your units, you can pack siege equipment like
- cannons (with different types of ammunition),
- ballistae,
- crossbows
- and mortars
that you can place anywhere.
In the tutorial mission, we fought against NPCs and needed to conquer a fortress. Initially, we tried to cause damage to the walls with more or less well-aimed cannon shots.
When that went spectacularly wrong, we initiated a frontal assault on the fortress walls, stormed up the ladders, and were swiftly cut down. Conqueror’s Blade is not a one-man show.
You rely on the protection of your troops, otherwise, the enemy units will overrun you. So choose wisely which troops should accompany you. Archers? Melee fighters? The selection is ample and you can choose freely among the cultures.
In battle, you can command these units. As a command, you can either
- let them follow you,
- have them form a shield wall around you
- or send them against the enemy
This works quite quickly, and the soldiers always obey your commands. Just don’t run ahead alone, otherwise they won’t follow you. However, we did not complete this mission but rather jumped directly into a PvP round after a short introductory phase.
Battles in PvP offer cinematic moments
In PvP, Conqueror’s Blade became truly exciting. In the previously played tutorial mission, we had encountered relatively dumb AI opponents, but against other players, it became significantly more thrilling.
This time we were in the defender role and immediately targeted enemy siege towers with the cannon. Scenes like this are epic and reminiscent of movies like Kingdom of Heaven or The Lord of the Rings.
Ultimately, our opponents managed to break through and storm the outer walls. However, with the ballista and our units, we managed to hold the main gate and destroy an enemy battering ram. Many players met their end.
However, that’s not a problem. If you die during a siege in Conqueror’s Blade, you’ll simply respawn. You can only lose or win if the enemy troops are completely destroyed or if time runs out.
When our opponents finally succeeded in breaking through the main gate, we engaged in some skirmishes. In the heat of battle, we unfortunately had to stop due to time constraints. Nevertheless, we were able to glean some insights from the gameplay.
What to expect in the finished game
Our demo version only contained a small part of Conqueror’s Blade. A look at the map revealed that it is likely to be very large. Unfortunately, we did not see anything of the game world.
What can players expect in the full version? An extensive economy system that allows you to manage crafting, resources, and other goods. Additionally, the PvP battles are said to allow up to 30 players to compete against each other.
You will primarily choose from European and Asian leaders. Each continent will have different types of troops and weapons.
How does the open world work? The open world will likely be accessible through an NPC. You will need food to travel and visit other cities. There you can, for example, recruit units.
After a certain level, you can also attack them. How exactly this will work in the finished game is still unclear.
Our conclusion on the Gamescom demo of Conqueror’s Blade
Conqueror’s Blade plays fluidly and has a great atmosphere, yet there are still some unanswered questions. How will the balancing look? What if players just cause chaos in PvP? How does conquering player fortresses work?
We will keep an eye on this for you and report when there are updates.
